The 1960s are routinely cited as one of the most instrumental decades for culture in modern memory. And, if you were to pick one band to have defined that era, then you’d be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn’t automatically point to The Beatles. In many ways, Nirvana replicated a similar furore and worked to define the 1990s, helping to popularise alternative rock through an intense yet accessible sound, using soft/loud dynamics and pop song structures.
Even though lead singer Kurt Cobain died in 1994, the band’s influence on the genre was monumental, shaping a generation of disillusioned youths worldwide. Nirvana’s music was revolutionary, and when they emerged from Seattle’s grunge scene alongside the likes of Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, publications such as Rolling Stone dubbed the city “the new Liverpool”.
Of course, Liverpool gave birth to the most influential band of all time – The Beatles – and even a group as popular as Nirvana can’t compare to the levels of influence possessed by the Fab Four. However, Nirvana’s impact on alternative rock and pop culture in general harnessed echoes of Beatle-like influence. They might not have made the same impact on the world as The Beatles, but Nirvana were easily the most successful band of their generation, and their influence has endured after three decades.
It can be strange to draw a straight line between grunge and the kind of straight then curly pop The Beatles made in their heyday, but there are clear similarities. Not just in their cultural impact, nor in Cobain and Lennon’s tragic deaths, but also in their music. Cobain and co didn’t just like their songs; they used them as influences.
Nirvana owed much of its success to The Beatles, with each member a self-confessed lover of the band. Dave Grohl told Access Hollywood: “When I was young, that’s how I learned how to play music – I had a guitar and a Beatles songbook. I never had a teacher – I just had these Beatles records. Even in Nirvana – The Beatles [were] such a huge influence.”
The bands feel like opposite ends of the rock spectrum, but they channelled similar energies when it came to songwriting, harnessing their visions of the world and laying them on the track without reproach. “Kurt loved The Beatles because it was just so simple. Well, it seemed simple, they sound easy to play, but you know what? They’re fucking hard,” claimed Grohl.
Indeed, Cobain was a massive fan, and in an interview with Mimmo Caccamo, he explained, “Even now I’m starting to go back to listen to The Beatles. My favourite period is the Rubber Soul period, the guitar and simple melodies are my favourite.”
However, in 1989, before Grohl joined Nirvana, the band released their debut record, Bleach. The abrasive album contained ‘About a Girl’, a considerably more delicate track, which stuck out to Grohl, who was asked to join the band shortly after in 1990. He told The Guardian, “Whenever [his previous band] Scream toured Europe we’d stay in his apartment, buy hash, and get high listening to records.”
This is how he first heard Bleach, explaining: “I loved the dissonance and the chaos, and then there was this beautiful song ‘About a Girl’ right in the middle that could have been off a 60s Beatles record.”
In the same interview with Caccamo, Cobain explained that ‘About a Girl’ stemmed from intensely listening to The Beatles. “In my opinion, the best pop songs that were ever written were written in the ’60s. And that’s why anything that’s simple guitar pop music nowadays is associated with ’60s music. I do have to admit, the night before I wrote [‘About a Girl’], I listened to The Beatles over and over that night. Not intentionally to write a song like The Beatles, but it flowed out of me the next day and I wrote that song.”
Revisit the song below.