As I was sorting through some of the mounds of crap I have lying around I came across something that I had ripped out of a spin magazine back in the early to mid nineties. It has to be late 1993 or early 1994 (judging by what is written). It is a list of the 100 greatest songs of all time as voted by the readers (click to view a scan), on the reverse are various other top lists. There are some interesting things to note especially after this years release of spin's top 100 albums of the past 20 years.
Whenever we see a list of the top modern rock (or any rock for that matter)albums or songs of all time Nirvana will undoubtedly be in the top 5, or top 10 if its a British list. This is just accepted fact these days because that's the way history has presented to us since the mid nineties. We are told that grunge and especially Nirvana broke onto the scene and changed everything, although this is true it wasn't until Cobain's death that Nirvana (and the idea of grunge) rose to legendary status.
There is ample evidence right there on the readers songs picks of 1993. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ranks as number 43. The song didn't get any better after Cobain killed himself the following year. The number 1 song on the list is "Black" by Pearl Jam, Which makes sense because during the whole "grunge" thing Pearl Jam was a much bigger phenomenon than Nirvana was. The difference is that Pearl Jam made a bunch of mediocre records after Cobain offed himself thus changing the way music history is written. Its not breaking news that death is the best thing for a career (I've always found it interesting that people seem to forget that Lennon made crap records (with the exception of Imagine) for all of the 1970s.
As I said on the reverse of the readers poll there were other lists one being Spins picks for the top 5 albums of all time. Beside the 5 I will indicated what position the albums are on the new spin top 100.
1.Ten, Pearl Jam (drops to position 93)
2.Nothing's shocking, Jane's Addiction (drops to position 42)
3.Dirt, Alice in Chains (drops off the list)
4.The Joshua Tree, U2 (drops off the list)
5.Ritual de lo Habitual, Jane's Addiction (drops off the list)
Its funny that with the exception of Radiohead's OK computer the other 4 records in the top 5 had been released when the 1993 list came out. There is one glaring entry on the 1993 list that somewhat blows my theory about death and fame and that is of course Alice in Chains "Dirt" album, in just over ten years it went from being hailed as the 3rd best album of all time to an album someone would be embarrassed to use as a coaster. The explanation may be directly related to the last line of Cobain's suicide note. "Its better to burn out than to fade away". After "Dirt" Alice in Chains literally faded away where as Cobains death sprung them even farther into superstardom. Had Cobain's and Stayley's deaths been reversed I suspect history would too.
tags: music, top 100, grunge, Nirvana
I agree...legends are made into legends only after they die prematurely and tragiclly.
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog:-) The good will always die young. Bill Haley, Karen Carpenter, Buddy Holly, Mama Cass...
ReplyDeleteCarefree Mall
I've always had a bit of a problem with the whole "Top Whatever of All Time" lists. As you have so perfectly proven here, popularity is a phenomenon of either the present or the present mind set. True, some things become "legend", but their true popularity still wax and wane with the current vogue.
ReplyDelete"The Joshua Tree" is such a poignant album, but really only for those of us who remember the particular poignancy of 1987. While it will always be a musically brilliant work, it's impact will continue to lessen the further we travel away from that period on the timeline.
Sad, but true.
As for Lennon... Yeah, the 70's were pretty much a wasted decade for him. The true shame lies in the fact that his life was taken at a point when he was finding common ground with his fans once again and producing pieces worthy of his name. Despite Yoko Ono, "Double Fantasy" still ranks up there in my books...
hey
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, sorry for my english. I am from Spain !!!
Despite being a former huge Nirvana fan ("Teen angst has paid off well/(Now I am bored and old"), I agree with some of your remarks but I think that your logic is wrong in a way.
Back in the early 90's , Nirvana, during their mainstream career , were systematically slaughtered by all kinds of media at least in Spain . They alienated straight rock audiences , they had no credibility for indie rockers so they were caught a little bit in a no mans land so well they just were there caught in a media frenzy overexposure and taking lot of flak.
Its true that by 93, nirwana records were probaly reviewed poorly except for a few english magazines (Melody Maker, NME, mainly...)that were very supportive from minute one.
But then when he died, something clicked in peoples mind and put things in a very different light. He was not fucking around , he was really fucked up and I believe lot of people changed their perceptions and therefore their approach to music.
I remember clearly friends wondering that well maybe those records were worth giving them another try or rock critics publicly realizing that they had been maybe a little shortsighted.
Somebody could think that people feel guilty and then change their minds but honestly I believe that what really happened is the opposite and lot of people went the other way.
Then t-shirts came, the legend, the compilations, etc... but by then I believe people looked really into music and their four great records
Bye