In hindsight, the most striking thing about the period when Nirvana recorded Nevermind was how normal things were compared to what was to come. I went to Benihana with a credit card like, “Oh my God, this thing works!” It wasn’t some crazy VH1/MC Hammer overnight bling success-I think we were all in shock after it happened. I was still living in my friend’s back room by the time we’d sold ten million records. We were still touring in a van when we had a platinum record. The funny thing is that Nirvana were still playing places that held 700 to 800 people by the time we had a gold record. As you’ll see, the effect the record had on music fans and artists alike is as raw and personal now as it was 25 years ago.Īll of success happened so quickly.

Luminaries reflect on Nevermind, from contemporaries like Eddie Vedder, the Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne, Sleater-Kinney, and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, to contemporary rock heroes like the Black Keys, the Black Lips, and Against Me!, to Seattle scenesters of the time, to Dave Grohl himself. It has been edited for space and clarity. This piece originally ran in the September 2011 issue of SPIN to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind.

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