'Nevermind' Originality: What Influenced (And Was Influenced By) Nirvana's Classic

From Elvis and the Beatles to the Sex Pistols and White Stripes, rock's era-defining artists have always shared one thing in common: A voracious appetite for all kinds of music. Nirvana fits snugly into this lineage, and throughout his life, Kurt Cobain spoke candidly about the musicians -- some hip and obscure, others quite the opposite -- who influenced his songwriting.

Nearly two decades after the Nirvana frontman's suicide, young musicians worship Cobain the way he once did John Lennon, Iggy Pop, Greg Sage and all of the other people who inspired him to pick up a guitar. Such is the nature of rock 'n' roll -- each generation builds on what the previous left behind -- and as the world celebrates the 20th anniversary of 'Nevermind,' we examine five albums that influenced, as well as five that were influenced by, Nirvana's commercial breakthrough.


Five That Inspired 'Nevermind'

1. 'Meet the Beatles,' the Beatles
When Cobain compiled a list of his top 50 favorite albums -- an inventory included in 'Journals,' his posthumously released book of his personal writings -- this Fab Four set came in at No. 37. It may seem like a lowly placing, but Liverpool's finest had a profound effect on Kurt's music. He reportedly wrote 'About a Girl,' from Nirvana's first album, 'Bleach,' after an all-day 'Meet the Beatles' binge, and as he pushed himself to create more melodic music on 'Nevermind,' the influence became all the more apparent. 'Nevermind' producer Butch Vig has said that in order to convince effects-averse Cobain to double-track his vocals, he'd remind him that John Lennon often employed that bit of studio trickery. That was all it took.

2. 'Surfer Rosa,' the Pixies
Anyone who knows anything about 'Nevermind' knows that Cobain lifted the disc's loud-quiet dynamic shifts directly from this alt-rock classic. "When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band -- or at least a Pixies cover band," Cobain famously said. On his album list, only Iggy and the Stooges' 'Raw Power' places higher.




3. 'Green,' R.E.M.
Even before he became close friends with Michael Stipe, with whom he'd planned to record a side-project album, Cobain was a devout fan of R.E.M. Their 1988 major-label debut, 'Green,' ranks 25th on his list of favorite albums, and while 'Nevermind' is notably louder, it's not entirely dissimilar. Like Stipe, Cobain had a gift for making the cryptic seem intensely heartfelt and meaningful, particularly when he paired his lyrical vagaries with giant pop hooks. Kick up the fuzz on something like Stipe's 'World Leader Pretend' -- "I sit at my table and wage war on myself" -- and you've got yourself a grunge anthem.

4. 'Especially For You,' the Smithereens
This one didn't make Kurt's list, but in his Nirvana biography 'Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana,' Michael Azerrad reveals that Cobain often played the cassette on his way to band practice. It's easy to see why: These Jersey power-poppers updated the early-Beatles' sound for the College Rock '80s, reinforcing the idea that tuneful bands could still rock.




5. 'Get the Knack,' the Knack
It's one of the most frequently quoted lines in all of Nirvana lore: "All in all, I think we sound like the Knack and the Bay City Rollers being molested by Black Flag and Black Sabbath." Written by Kurt for the DGC's 'Nevermind' press release, it was yet another pure-pop confession from a guy most people figure was too bummed to bump 'My Sharona.'







Five Albums Inspired by 'Nevermind'

1. 'Weezer' (aka "The Blue Album"), Weezer
Rivers Cuomo was reared on hair metal, but by the early '90s, at the dawn of Weezer, he'd found himself craving something new. That something was 'Nevermind.' "Back in 1991, I wasn't having any fun," he sings on 2008's telling 'Heart Song." "'Til my roommate said, 'Come on,' and put a brand new record on/ Had a baby on it; he was naked on it/ Then I heard the chords that broke the chains I had up on me." Weezer's 1994 debut was for geeks what 'Nevermind' had been for burnouts, although in both cases, the quarterbacks, cheerleaders and just about everyone else eventually crashed the party.

2. 'King of the Beach,' Wavves
Chatting with Rhapsody in 2009, Wavves main man Nathan Williams professed his love for 'Nevermind,' calling it "an absolute classic record." At the time, he was touring behind the ridiculously lo-fi 'Wavvves' album -- more 'Bleach' than 'Nevermind' -- but the following year, he returned with 'King of the Beach,' offering a more scrubbed-up, tuneful take on his surf-grunge sound. It smells like teen spirit -- and weed.



3. 'Monster,' R.E.M.
Suggesting rock's chain of influence sometimes loops back and forms a circle, R.E.M.'s ninth album may have been influenced by a record their first six made possible. Featuring an uncharacteristically brawny guitar sound, 1994's 'Monster' deals in part with the pitfalls of celebrity. It was dedicated to actor River Phoenix, who died in 1993 of a drug overdose, and lead single 'What's the Frequency, Kenneth?' gets its title from something a crazed mugger said in 1986 while attacking newsman Dan Rather. What's more, Stipe wrote the distortion-heavy ballad 'Let Me In,' which contains the line, "I had a mind to try to stop you," specifically for Cobain. Whether this was R.E.M.'s attempt at making a "grunge record," Nirvana's music and brush with fame obviously left their mark.

4. 'Vivian Girls,' Vivian Girls
"We're mainly influenced by Nirvana," singer and guitarist Cassie Ramone once told the website Uncensored Interview, revealing that this trio listens to more than just the Jesus and Mary Chain and '60s girl groups. The Vivs' 2008 self-titled debut is raw and amateurish yet undeniably catchy. Much of it harks back to the Vaselines, Scottish scruff-pop greats Cobain loved enough to cover three times, but closer 'I Believe in Nothing' is pure bubblegum grunge -- hipster Brooklyn's way of echoing that quintessential Cobain phrase, "Oh well, whatever, never mind."

5. 'Highly Evolved,' the Vines
It will surprise no one who still remembers this 2002 album that the Vines got their start playing Nirvana covers. The sound is grunge meets garage, which might explain why the Aussie foursome didn't quite fit with the other rock-revival bands -- the Hives, the Strokes, etc. -- popular at the beginning of the '00s. For a while, it seemed like erratic frontman Craig Nicholls might go the Cobain route, but instead of flaming out in public, he's largely faded away. It's not as romantic, but at least he's still breathing.