Nevermind vs Loveless
 

I'd like to have a discussion of these two albums by Nirvana and My Bloody Valentine, respectively. A comparison is merited not only due to their shared 1991 releases, but also because they were (arguably) the defining moment in their respective subgenres, grunge and shoegaze.

Nevermind is a fun record. Loveless is an epic record. When I listen to Nevermind, I like to sing along, play air guitar, and jump around. When I listen to Loveless I like to sit back and immerse myself in the sound. Loveless is a better record, in my opinion, because it moves me, and that is what I really want from music more than anything else.

Loveless by far. Nevermind is a solid album but not nearly as interesting as Loveless.

Loveless is more diverse, but Nevermind is more impactful and meaningful in my opinion, which is what I'm basing my answer on. Nevermind all the way.

Nevermind by a lot, I don't like loveless.

I respect the hell out of Loveless for what it did, but I find moments on the record nearly unlistenable. Nevermind for me, even though it's not Nirvana's best work by a long shot. And I definitely feel Nevermind has more emotional depth.

^
I think Nevermind has more blatant emotion coming out of it. I feel that's mostly just because the lyrics are a big part of the music. Loveless, however, is ALL emotion. The music down to the ethereal singing...you have to feel the album. With Nevermind you can just listen to it.

I was going to come in here saying you couldn't compare the two and wonder why someone would make this thread...but I guess it's an interesting comparison.

Loveless is an amazing album but Nevermind is the perfect album. I can`t really think of too many albums where every song is just perfect as on Nevermind. The song order of that album is also amazing. Needless to say I go with Nevermind.

This is a great description. There's just something so beautiful and bittersweet about Loveless.

Obviously because they are probably the 2 most famous albums (critically anyway) of the early 90s. Neither would be among the greatest of the 90s for me though, so I don't mind who wins this poll.

Interesting pairing this one, but I have to go for Loveless of course. While it's nearly impossible to compare both of them musically they did both have a significant impact on alternative music at the time, Nevermind more so in the mainstream, and also on myself. These days Loveless is far more interesting to me musically as I love getting lost in a nice big sea of sound, while ten years ago Nevermind would be the obvious choice for me as I would definitely prefer the youthful intensity and angst-ridden lyrics. Comparing the two of them now Loveless is way ahead of Nevermind in originality, creativity and consistency, while Nevermind only gets one up on Loveless in terms of energy.

I actually feel the opposite. I can't really connect with the ethereal singing and although I know the emotion is there, I just can't tap into it. I just don't think I'm naturally inclined toward this album, which is strange because I love shoegaze.

Loveless is a great album, but my loyalties lie with Nirvana. I don't eiter think that Nevermind is their best work though. But in my world Nevermind is such an epic album, much more so than Loveless, so to me there's no comparison.

This.

Loveless of coz. I never tire of hearing it, and i musta heard it about 100 + times by now

i used to really like Nevermind, but put it on recently and it's pretty meh

now if you selected Bleach.........

I think they're two different albums trying to do two different things. But as much as I love Nevermind, Loveless takes the cake.

Nevermind for me.

Absolute no-brainer. At the risk of resorting to cliche, Loveless is a sonic piece of art. It initially nestles itself in the brain then claws its way down into the rest of your body. It has a totally visceral, throbbing quality to it that leaves a hazy serenity in its wake.

Nevermind, on the other hand, is just... good. It has some wonderful moments, namely Something in the Way, but it never truly stupefies me.

Nevermind had more of an impact on me, it helped pave the way to musical discoveries far beyond that over the years. So Nevermind has more of an emotional connection with me. Though it is my least favorite Nirvana albums, not because of the songs which I think are great, but the calculated production and gloss over it got. "Bleach" was more raw, but not as great in the songs department, It was a good album, but hinted at what Nevermind would come out and do, but it is now just okay to me. In Utero was more raw and in debt to the Noise Rock scene at times. Nevermind just sticks out like a sore thumb between the other 2.

Loveless came later for me and helped me discover more music just the same as Nevermind did years before... So I do not have as many connections to it.. but find it a more complex and interesting listen none the less that opens itself up to me with every listen, always something to discover in it.

Both albums have a place with me, and helped me in my discovery of music.. but I have to go with "Loveless" here. Just so much going on with that album that keeps me coming back, while I have wore out my interest in Nevermind and it is just the same odl to me with each listen.

Wierd pairings. Nevermind really showcased grunge in a big way bringing forth a lot of sound alikes. In that sense it's pretty influential, even though there were tons of artists at the time who had that sound then and before. It just globalized it. Loveless doesnt really fit in the category. That album showcases great sonic soundscapes that really don't show age. For me that album is timeless. I'd go with Loveless. Nevermind is still a good album though.

Definitely Loveless, Nevermind was ok but it wasn't the best album Nirvana released

There are tracks on Nevermind that cause the hair to raise on my arms and my skin to tingle. Then, there's Loveless, the entire album, which causes my heart to palpitate, and a fine layer of sweat to form on my skin.

I go with Loveless, because a few tracks on Nevermind feel like filler to me. Say Cobain was a genius all you want, but that album is not even in my top 25.

Am going with Nevermind.

Nevermind is THE ALBUM that got me into Alternative Rock so I have a sentimental attachment to it. (I even got the recent super deluxe re-release!) :yeah:

My Bloody Valentine? Have just never been able to get into them. Have tried listening to their stuff several times over the years but to no avail. I love the Jesus and Mary Chain and Dinosaur Jr. so I know I like stuff that is similar, but just can't seem to get into it, man.

Loveless of course. I have probably listened to Nevermind moire often, but I think I was one of those guys in my early teens who's first exposure to some kind of "Alternative" Rock was Nirvana. I now really don't care for them all that much.

Loveless, on the other hand, is an uncompromising piece of art. I rarely listen to it because I don't want to desensitize myself to great albums, like I did with The Stone Roses.

Nevermind because of the impact it had on pop music, how listenable it was, and how timeless it is.

I really should try to get into Loveless more. It's been a few years since I've heard it and my taste may have well developed in that direction.

i don't see the appeal of Nevermind at all, really, besides nostalgia

it's one side The Pixies and the other Melvins

as i've said, gimme Bleach or In Utero any day

hell, i'll even take Incesticide - it at least has its own character

I have to agree that In Utero is a far better record.

different record.

Nevermind is a great album, but the production on it is not as great. I mean, it is in it;s own right, but to me it is too poppy sounding as well. Had it been more raw, would have been greater.

"Territorial Pissings" and "Breed" could have been improved with more rawness.

The issue I have is not with the album itself, but with the way it was produced.

"Bleach" would have been cool to hear re-recorded with Dave on drums, as Dave is a great drummer, Chad was just an alright one.

But what if one likes the Pixies and Melvins? :banghead:

Then that would make it an alright album to listen to, right?

^^I'd rather to the original bands, not a clone

I think there is a difference between cloning and being influenced by. Though I hear an influence by those 2 bands, i hear nothing that sounds like them directly.

Show me one song on Nevermind that sounds like Melvins or Pixies.

^^it just sounds too much like them, yes, it's not a direct copy

yet on Bleach and In Utero, they have their own sound

Not really. Though In Utero sounded like something unique in the mainstream if you listen to the underground noise rock scene of the 80's, you can probably find quite a few bands that sound like that.

Bleach I would agree with you more on the Melvins influence.

Not really. Nothing had that incredible amount of passion in In Utero, I don't really think it's all that stylistically similar . In Utero actually sounds more like Surfer Rosa in places, but that's due to Albini helming production more than anything.

In Utero sounds more like a cross between the Cows and the Fall to me

Comparing these two albums is really like comparing apples and oranges.

On one hand you have a monstrously huge commercial and critical success that defined a generation.

On the other you have a monstrously huge critical success that's still gaining commercial success because it's been defined as something we should all have been appreciating 20 years ago but, generally speaking, we were all too busy headbanging and asking who was going to entertain us next to really pay attention.

Having said that, Loveless may well be a better artistic album, but really, only Soon actually makes me want to move, while the entirety of Nevermind makes me want to get up and freak out. To paraphrase Territorial Pissings...

Just because it's artisy fartsy, don't mean it's any better than you

If I was forced to choose I'd take Nevermind's rocking tunes and it's shiny plastic production over Loveless' meandering introspection and lush soundscapes. To argue that Nevermind sounds derivative to other bands just sounds like an incredibly weak justification to choose the more artistically correct option. I mean NO ONE actually heard anything like Loveless on early Spacemen3 or Sonic Youth discs right? Nope! No Siree! Though personally, Loveless has always sounded like a full length album built off of The Smiths' How Soon Is Now? to my ears.

Loveless might not be doing anything new but Shields did manage to sculpt the sounds in a way which to me is the aural equivalent of being in love

the only other album that sounds to me like that is The Cocteau Twins' Milk & Kisses and that was several years after

Why Milk and Honey? I feel like that album was a less realized version of Four Calendar Cafe...which itself paled in comparison to Heaven or Las Vegas.

I am currently listening to Head Over Heels and loving it. Anyway, continue...