I hate grunge.

Nick1976 · 05-16-2018, 05:41 PM

Were Nirvana really bigger than Guns n Roses? To me, GnR were bigger.
You'd think that from hearing/reading the way a lot of people talk about Nirvana and that whole period in music. I know it's a pretty common tactic (just like those people who pretend the whole punk thing was bigger and more important than it actually was) but it's kinda funny to see a band like Guns N' Roses lumped in with all these "Hair" metal acts that Nirvana supposedly killed off and made irrelevant because record sales and that massive worldwide tour they did don't really support that notion. Metallica and GnR are examples of bands whose dscography has sold well, but I've always found it curious that Nirvana's Bleach never achieved higher sales. If Nevermind could sell 11+ million albums, why is it that the people buying that weren't buying the reissue of Bleach that came out the following year. When the Black album hit, Metallica's back catalog went through the roof.

I don't think people were as enamored with Nirvana as a band as they were with that one album, and more specifically, that one song. Granted, I've known Nirvana acolytes who praise Bleach up and down, but they are rarer than the teens of 1992 who just bought Nevermind, thinking there was some meaning to the songs that Kurt himself said was never there.
I mean in the listening sense primarily. GNR didn't have an album prior to Appetite, but GNR Lies certainly appealed to casual fans of GNR more than Bleach appealed to casual fans of Nirvana. Metallica is kind of unique, really. In 1990, who would have thought that thrash metal would become main stream music within the next year or so? Certainly not me! But the earlier albums were not radical departures from the Black Album anyway. GNR played massive outdoor stadiums, nirvana peaked with larger indoor venues. GNR were playing stadiums. Nirvana was an arena band for the most part. They did play big festivals, but never toured stadiums as GNR did. Nirvana, IMO, was a fad. Like The Village People in the 70's. Or Vanilla Ice in the 90's.

GNR is timeless music. Nirvana definitely did not kill off GnR, as both of their "Use Your Illusion" records sold massively at the same time "Nevermind" was breaking huge.
Cobain clearly despised Axl Rose and GnR, and made a point of publicly rejecting a slot on the GnR/Metallica tour, and then publicly mocking Axl afterwards. Nirvana clearly saw GnR as part of the bloated rock-star "enemy" they wanted no part of.

By all objective measures, GnR was always the "bigger" band, in terms of record sales and tour revenues.

**Frownland** · 05-16-2018, 05:48 PM

But does it scale?

Trollheart · 05-16-2018, 05:48 PM

Trollheart · 05-16-2018, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

But does it scale?

The Batlord · 05-17-2018, 10:05 AM

It's lost its mojo. Let it die.

Blank. · 05-17-2018, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

It's lost its mojo. Let it die.

I second that.

Trollheart · 05-17-2018, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

It's lost its mojo. Let it die.

I wonder if it looked behind the sofa? Anything you lose is almost always there.

Nick1976 · 05-18-2018, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

It's lost its mojo. Let it die.

Batlord. What is your opinion of Appetite for Destruction. For me It's one of those classic albums from the '80s where every song is good. For me, still their best album. If you were there you remember that 'Appetite' was a slow-burner when first released. But once the video for 'Sweet Child O' Mine' came out , that album took off like a rocket. The rest, as they say, is history... This was one of those rare moments when an album is recorded at the right time in a band's life. Venom, Piss, Vinegar, all sorts of drugs. Had this been recorded a few months later it wouldn't have had that same anger. The original cover, imho, was a well executed publicity stunt. Shortly after AFD was re-released with it's now iconic cover, it started to climb, hitting number 1 in the summer of 1988. AFD is like a drunken punk rocker discovering The Rolling Stones after binging on Aerosmith, Black Sabbath , and The Misfits. It might be the best rock album of the late 80's. The impact of hearing 'Welcome To The Jungle' for the first time will never fade for me.

The Batlord · 05-18-2018, 10:25 AM

Appetite for Destruction can kiss my ass.

~~MicShazam~~ · 05-18-2018, 11:13 AM

Nick, do you like anything that isn't 80's glam metal or hard rock?

05-16-2018, 05:48 PM	#812 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	But does it scale? __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

05-16-2018, 05:48 PM	#813 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	__________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

05-16-2018, 05:41 PM	#811 (permalink)
Nick1976 Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 151	Were Nirvana really bigger than Guns n Roses? To me, GnR were bigger. You'd think that from hearing/reading the way a lot of people talk about Nirvana and that whole period in music. I know it's a pretty common tactic (just like those people who pretend the whole punk thing was bigger and more important than it actually was) but it's kinda funny to see a band like Guns N' Roses lumped in with all these "Hair" metal acts that Nirvana supposedly killed off and made irrelevant because record sales and that massive worldwide tour they did don't really support that notion. Metallica and GnR are examples of bands whose dscography has sold well, but I've always found it curious that Nirvana's Bleach never achieved higher sales. If Nevermind could sell 11+ million albums, why is it that the people buying that weren't buying the reissue of Bleach that came out the following year. When the Black album hit, Metallica's back catalog went through the roof. I don't think people were as enamored with Nirvana as a band as they were with that one album, and more specifically, that one song. Granted, I've known Nirvana acolytes who praise Bleach up and down, but they are rarer than the teens of 1992 who just bought Nevermind, thinking there was some meaning to the songs that Kurt himself said was never there. I mean in the listening sense primarily. GNR didn't have an album prior to Appetite, but GNR Lies certainly appealed to casual fans of GNR more than Bleach appealed to casual fans of Nirvana. Metallica is kind of unique, really. In 1990, who would have thought that thrash metal would become main stream music within the next year or so? Certainly not me! But the earlier albums were not radical departures from the Black Album anyway. GNR played massive outdoor stadiums, nirvana peaked with larger indoor venues. GNR were playing stadiums. Nirvana was an arena band for the most part. They did play big festivals, but never toured stadiums as GNR did. Nirvana, IMO, was a fad. Like The Village People in the 70's. Or Vanilla Ice in the 90's. GNR is timeless music. Nirvana definitely did not kill off GnR, as both of their "Use Your Illusion" records sold massively at the same time "Nevermind" was breaking huge. Cobain clearly despised Axl Rose and GnR, and made a point of publicly rejecting a slot on the GnR/Metallica tour, and then publicly mocking Axl afterwards. Nirvana clearly saw GnR as part of the bloated rock-star "enemy" they wanted no part of. By all objective measures, GnR was always the "bigger" band, in terms of record sales and tour revenues.

05-18-2018, 11:13 AM	#820 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,636	Nick, do you like anything that isn't 80's glam metal or hard rock?