Nirvana
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The band that made mumbling lyrics an art form and turned disheveled hair and flannel into the ultimate fashion statement. Kurt Cobain’s lyrics are basically a word salad of angst and existential dread, but somehow they convinced an entire generation that ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was profound instead of just profoundly unclear. Half the time, it’s like he’s daring you to figure out what he’s saying—spoiler alert: no one really knows.
They’re the ultimate ‘anti-establishment’ band that somehow became the establishment. Every song feels like it’s brooding in a dimly lit basement, trying to be mysterious but ending up as the soundtrack to every high schooler’s ‘no one understands me’ phase. Their whole vibe is basically ‘I don’t care’—which is probably why they didn’t bother learning more than three chords.
But props to them for turning grunge into a lifestyle brand. Nirvana is the band that proved that if you look miserable enough and play just loud enough, you can convince the world that you’ve got something to say, even if no one’s quite sure what it is.
Someone had to say it!
