Track listing
All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted."Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Cobain, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic) – 5:01"In Bloom" – 4:14"Come as You Are" – 3:39"Breed" – 3:03"Lithium" – 4:17"Polly" – 2:57"Territorial Pissings" – 2:22"Drain You" – 3:43"Lounge Act" – 2:36"Stay Away" – 3:32"On a Plain" – 3:16"Something in the Way" – 3:55"Endless, Nameless" (Cobain, Grohl, Novoselic) -- 6:44 (hidden track on some copies of the record)
― it's a meme i made and i like (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 23 June 2011 05:48 (fifteen years ago)
Tough to choose. The singles are so inured in my psyche, so I feel more fondness/nostalgia for the album cuts. But man, some of those singles are just terrific if I can just disengage them from all the terrible associations FM rock radio has created.
― scott pgwp (pgwp), Thursday, 23 June 2011 05:53 (fifteen years ago)
Breed! The drums on the intro, the hardcore pace, and "...Afraid, afraid, Ghosts!" And singing it was the most fun I've ever had at karaoke. It just takes over!
― Janet Snakehole (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 23 June 2011 05:56 (fifteen years ago)
haha yeah if the first side were not burned into my head i might have picked "in bloom"
― Brad Nelson (BradNelson), Thursday, 23 June 2011 05:56 (fifteen years ago)
"in bloom," my favorite song in eighth grade vs "on a plain," one of the few songs of theirs i still enjoy
had to go with the former
― cause i'm close to the edge of glory i'm trying not to lose my hair (zachlyon), Thursday, 23 June 2011 06:48 (fifteen years ago)
Auto-piloted 'Lithium', as that was always the riff I liked best - Teen Spirit, but not Teen Spirit IYKWIM.
― the Sandalled Vandal (dog latin), Thursday, 23 June 2011 08:57 (fifteen years ago)
Don't tell me what I wanna hear.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 June 2011 11:00 (fifteen years ago)
Obviously done before. Still voting "Polly"
― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 23 June 2011 11:04 (fifteen years ago)
DRAIN YOU
― Clay, Thursday, June 23, 2011 1:44 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark
― Shart Shaped Box (Phil D.), Thursday, 23 June 2011 12:09 (fifteen years ago)
On A Plain
― ...wow! (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 23 June 2011 12:34 (fifteen years ago)
LOL Geir loves "Polly"!
― taking drugbs (to make music to take drugbs to) (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 23 June 2011 13:11 (fifteen years ago)
Betcha he hates "New Wave Polly"
― SBing crosby (Neanderthal), Thursday, 23 June 2011 13:17 (fifteen years ago)
Voted "On a Plain" but just as easily could've picked "Drain You". But come on:
I'll start this off without any wordsI got so high I scratched 'till I bledI love myself better than youI know it's wrong so what should I do?
― Telephoneface (Adam Bruneau), Thursday, 23 June 2011 17:44 (fifteen years ago)
(Cobain, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic)
I think many of my most favoritest Nirv trax have this songwriting credit.. Scentless Apprentice, Aneurysm, Endless Nameless..
― billstevejim, Thursday, 23 June 2011 18:00 (fifteen years ago)
I'm interested in seeing which one of these tracks doesn't get a vote.
I don't think that's happening this time.
― billstevejim, Thursday, 23 June 2011 18:01 (fifteen years ago)
Stay Away might be middle of the road enough that it squeaks by with a 0, but yea wouldn't be surprised if they all get at least 1...
― SBing crosby (Neanderthal), Thursday, 23 June 2011 21:34 (fifteen years ago)
(i mean middle of the road in that I don't see a lot of people pick it as their favorites, not sonically...)
― SBing crosby (Neanderthal), Thursday, 23 June 2011 21:35 (fifteen years ago)
― Marty Innerlogic, Friday, 24 June 2011 10:10 (fifteen years ago)
drain you
― in no way more ancient than fucking space (latebloomer), Friday, 24 June 2011 11:01 (fifteen years ago)
as last time, as always, "Lounge Act", for me the real keeper from this album all these years later.
― Euler, Friday, 24 June 2011 11:05 (fifteen years ago)
Lounge Act for sure, prob. my fav Nirvana song, swings like fuck.
― Euler, Tuesday, June 23, 2009 10:24 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark
― Euler, Friday, 24 June 2011 11:06 (fifteen years ago)
i heard "Breed" on the other night, bass sound on that song is just ridiculous. but i'd already voted for "Drain You."
i wonder what non-singles have had the most radio play, i think i've heard "Breed" and "Polly" the most, and "Drain You" and "Something In The Way" and "On A Plain a little bit
― some dude, Friday, 24 June 2011 12:23 (fifteen years ago)
my head says on a plain
my heart says teen spirit.
voted with my heart since teen spirit literally changed my life.
― gr8080, Friday, 24 June 2011 12:44 (fifteen years ago)
breed, but there are so many i might have gone with: in bloom, teen spirit, drain you, lounge act, on a plain, lithium...
love this album. i'm finally getting past the overplaying and negative contextual associations, to where i can just listen and enjoy it.
― And the piano, it sounds like a carnivore (contenderizer), Friday, 24 June 2011 17:35 (fifteen years ago)
voted Lithium
― Virginia Palin (Drugs A. Money), Friday, 24 June 2011 19:14 (fifteen years ago)
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Sunday, 26 June 2011 23:01 (fifteen years ago)
Drain You, with Breed a very close second.
― Chewshabadoo, Sunday, 26 June 2011 23:31 (fifteen years ago)
on a plain
― edit piaf (electricsound), Sunday, 26 June 2011 23:54 (fifteen years ago)
lounge act over breed and come as you are
gr80 is there a story about how slts changed your life?
― caek, Sunday, 26 June 2011 23:55 (fifteen years ago)
In Bloom
― Iago Galdston, Sunday, 26 June 2011 23:58 (fifteen years ago)
xpost
more just like a watershed moment for me as a 12 year old listening to the top 9 at 9 on Boston's KISS 108 FM every nite
― gr8080, Monday, 27 June 2011 00:12 (fifteen years ago)
On a Plain
― dmr, Monday, 27 June 2011 16:00 (fifteen years ago)
Breed.
― karma's ruthless invisible (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Monday, 27 June 2011 16:03 (fifteen years ago)
This album is going to be key for teenagers for years imo.
I vividly remember hearing "teen spirit" on the radio for the first time, shortly after my 13th birthday. I was in the car with my dad, when he said those time-honoured words "I think that record is skipping" I knew instantly that this was the record for me. (in fairness I think he was half-joking.) a few weeks later I bought the CD (my first - altho i already had a decent collection of U2 and REM tapes) from a guy in my class who also didn't get Nirvana.
gonna vote On A Plain, altho I haven't listened to the album in years (have revisited In Utero more often).
― Volvo Twilight (p-dog), Monday, 27 June 2011 17:13 (fifteen years ago)
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Monday, 27 June 2011 23:01 (fifteen years ago)
Close, but no cigar
― Frogbs Day Afternoon (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 27 June 2011 23:01 (fifteen years ago)
― SBing crosby (Neanderthal), Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:34 PM Bookmark
― carlton lutefisk (Neanderthal), Monday, 27 June 2011 23:10 (fifteen years ago)
surprised there isn't a gap of some kind between the top 8 and the bottom 4, if only cuz that's how i draw the line. either "come as you are" and "lounge act" deserve a little more ILX love, or "something in the way" and "territorial pissings" deserve less. but that's just me, hating as i will.
glad to see so much local support for and interest in the album, as it's all too often sneered at as an overrated alt-90s relic.
― And the piano, it sounds like a carnivore (contenderizer), Monday, 27 June 2011 23:12 (fifteen years ago)
pleasantly surprised by all the love for drain you!
― phantompenguin, Tuesday, 28 June 2011 00:01 (fifteen years ago)
I'm happy with these results, esp top 2
― the mods must be crazy 2 (Drugs A. Money), Tuesday, 28 June 2011 14:18 (fifteen years ago)
ILM must have a hive mind, cos I voted On a Plain in this one, Stutter on Elastica polleither that or i fall smack in the middle of the bell curve of "typical ILM user"
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Wednesday, 29 June 2011 19:14 (fifteen years ago)
This Nevermind boxed set thing includes more "Boombox demos" that no one wants to hear.. and the tracklisting doesn't include "Endless Nameless" as far as I can tell. And of course there's one disc that's just a different mix of the entire album. Sounds pretty fucking amazing.
― billstevejim, Friday, 29 July 2011 19:11 (fourteen years ago)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRm8RmNGFq4&feature=player_embedded
― how's life, Monday, 14 May 2012 11:27 (fourteen years ago)
― some dude, Friday, June 24, 2011 8:23 AM (10 months ago) Bookmark
lately i think "on a plain" might be the champ of this
― contendo entertainment system (some dude), Monday, 14 May 2012 11:35 (fourteen years ago)
yeah On a Plain is terrific
― cinco de extra mayo (loves laboured breathing), Monday, 14 May 2012 14:01 (fourteen years ago)
On a Plain got my vote last time and probably would again; what an earworm.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 14 May 2012 14:03 (fourteen years ago)
i meant specifically it's the champ of non-singles i've heard on the radio a lot, but yeah it may be my favorite song on the album these days too. lyrically it's almost like a thesis statement for kurt's nonsensical profundity.
― contendo entertainment system (some dude), Monday, 14 May 2012 14:10 (fourteen years ago)
Nevermind is 25 today. wow, i'm old.
― Bee OK, Saturday, 24 September 2016 01:26 (nine years ago)
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/nirvanas-nevermind-10-things-you-didnt-know-w441220
― Bee OK, Saturday, 24 September 2016 01:27 (nine years ago)
some more good stuff:http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/22/butch-vig-on-the-25th-anniversary-of-nirvana-s-nevermind-and-the-mediocre-state-of-music.html
― Bee OK, Saturday, 24 September 2016 19:06 (nine years ago)
I think there is so much music out there that is mediocre—not just EDM, but folk music, hip-hop music—because there’s so much music out there. Before, it was hard to put music out. So at the end of the day, you have to put out something that’s good. Whether it’s EDM or folk music, if it’s going to resonate some way you’re going to find an audience. And how many bands are on YouTube now? Ten million? You go through SoundCloud and check out all the EDM tracks out there and every now and then one sounds interesting, but a lot of it is really soulless. There’s no human passion in it, and it’s just a mixture of interesting sounds. I think people are going to get bored with that. Nirvana happened at the end of the ’80s because a lot of the music that was dominating the charts was very slick, and when Nirvana came along, it was so visceral and primal that it freaked people out, you know? They thought, ‘Wow, this is the real thing.’ The reason that record was so big is the timing. If Nirvana came out now with Nevermind, it would not have even remotely the same impact.
Butch is seriously overstating the quality of the music that was being released pre-internet.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, 24 September 2016 19:14 (nine years ago)
MTV Classic has three Nirvana things in a row scheduled tonight. First up is the "making of / classic albums" doc. Last is Unplugged. In the middle *seems* to be just Nirvana videos celebrating this ann'y (based on the description). Hoping it's more than that, but if not, oh well.
Just FYI.
― alpine static, Saturday, 24 September 2016 21:02 (nine years ago)
i remember hearing "Verse Chorus Verse" on a radio when it came out and being obsessed w that song but having no idea what it was called. this was before the internet and i had a BBS i used to download DOOM WADs and one of them was a Nirvana music mod that had that song. so for about a solid decade that's the way I heard that song.
no idea if Nevermind would make an impact nowadays. for one thing there's no MTV so you wouldn't have Teen Spirit on heavy rotation. for another it's an entirely different landscape and Kurt would have maybe said "screw this label business I'm going to be on SoundCloud"
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, 24 September 2016 21:19 (nine years ago)
it was a product of it's time. i actually saw Nirvana open up for Sonic Youth three months before Nevermind was released. they absolutely blew my mind that night. it was one of those moments were i knew i has witnessing something very special. best thing about Nirvana was the killing of hair metal. i hated the KNAC culture and it was something i could latch onto.
― Bee OK, Sunday, 25 September 2016 00:28 (nine years ago)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/I3FMoGC28iVPdOe1B0Mi-DNwPlfLhuObEcqSr7k1rk2thhCZE91HJQSU3NhZfntofvKMpRQPAY65jgKSBjZAEh3YJgjhTAQFpP-5Tvbn1aX1ni2CKkQc2D2U4TUFsvgeE5IBUaRaywMamw1Ty1524LFgH5pkB3lzKoMqaA1-1tgZyo8PiHZC86QzR0YfU_my4VTjP1_ceVppsJyh05GYOoPbiHeu766sa_-N419bP7gqKZcEn1tBge5YtbF6twOptLDsYD--00jYjXen5i2JKM9vfXyceJ8uphzACqdDReCeuD2Qk1QBlhbRegzsCW2j2CJdO-ZtB9lpraZIKjtzf1OARhXnn9SVt9yvQsiqSozIJ1GjJfqYHwEHFCG7VlLEyVZZPbdzJqpOiDN2kretqLrWttU-Hin9iCv5GeuyZruPPD515XSYZoBCf3suL0kSYQ08J9DDkuN4xjQ39FH2UDAwvbdjKXZcMo830Fl2T2VPt0-JEOJ60zlJ1oHok75cAICcOQYqQ2NLyP50qntFKhlFBMJOH3sDDcOQDP4ZHbpXNO9QLMOnIM5abuCt3DjZHi2fjVOw7gXGKOuJHKJeWGW3mDCfTZFUUpmimPpkvbwmrog9=w1689-h950-no
August 17, 1990:
BlewBeen a SonNegative CreepDrain YouLithiumFloyd the BarberSmells Like Teen SpiritSchoolAbout a GirlLove Buzz (Shocking Blue cover)SliverD-7 (Wipers cover)Territorial Pissings
― Bee OK, Sunday, 25 September 2016 02:10 (nine years ago)
I listened to this album this morning for the first time in at least 10 years. It's pretty good!
Incidentally, the other day I heard Hole's "Live Through This" for the first time. It's pretty good, too! I totally forgot I saw them live back in 1994 I think. Never saw Nirvana live, never really wanted to, nor do I regret missing them live. But yeah, "Nevermind" is pretty good!
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 29 November 2018 19:32 (seven years ago)
It's a great record! I know it was trendy for a few years for some to knock Nevermind because of its relatively shiny mix, pop smarts and its status as a gateway album, but all of those things are just a few of the reasons why it's such a great record. I've lost count of the number of people I've spoken to with a deep interest in alternative rock that began with this album.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:57 (seven years ago)
wow I thought come as you are was a consensus favorite!
― rip van wanko, Friday, 30 November 2018 00:59 (seven years ago)
these days it's Lithium
― flappy bird, Friday, 30 November 2018 06:56 (seven years ago)
If you had told me this was going to be a thing in September 1991...
To quote Gabriel Malor, sharing this on Bluesky:
Fed. judge again dismisses lawsuit from the naked (former) baby on Nirvana's Nevermind album accusing them of distributing CSAM.Held: "the album cover is not child pornography."
Held: "the album cover is not child pornography."
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.829719/gov.uscourts.cacd.829719.129.0.pdf
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 2 October 2025 19:10 (eight months ago)
What world is ILX where Lounge Act beats out Territorial Pissings
― Slim is an Alien, Thursday, 2 October 2025 19:31 (eight months ago)
Nevermind baby still chasing that dollar bill.― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, August 25, 2021
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, August 25, 2021
― Kim Kimberly, Thursday, 2 October 2025 20:05 (eight months ago)
The baby’s genitalia are in the background of the image, under a shadow, and comprise a small portion of the overall image
Burn.
― peace, man, Friday, 3 October 2025 11:05 (eight months ago)
My wife and I were taking about cds the other day and out of nowhere my 5 year old daughter said “you have the one with the little baby underwater chasing the money.” Maybe she heard about this at school or something
― Tallahassee Coates (Heez), Friday, 3 October 2025 12:06 (eight months ago)