Want some circumstantial proof that Nevermind was a landmark release by a game-changing band? In 1991, when it was released, I was eight years old. And when I heard older kids talking about “Nirvana,” I thought that word sounded like some US state that was too far west for me to have heard of. By 1995, I was the 12-year-old kid in an XL Kurt Cobain memorial t-shirt who went around telling all his friends that Nevermind “was actually Nirvana’s weakest album” because it was “too glossy and radio-friendly” and that In Utero was “much cooler.”
Unfortunately for my 12-year-old self, we’ll probably have to wait until 2013 to get excited about an In Utero reissue. But on September 19, my hairless preteen lips can kiss my shaggy adult ass, because Universal is issuing a “Super Deluxe” edition of Nevermind to commemorate its China Jubilee, and I plan on consuming the shit out of it, Butch Vig’s controversial snare samples and all.
The anniversary reissue will consist of a 4CD/1DVD set containing previously unreleased tracks, rarities, B-sides, alternate mixes, rare live recordings, and BBC sessions, as well as an entire previously released Nirvana concert (on the DVD). The BBC shows are, according to Spin, most likely from between 1989 and 1991, and as such, they presumably have “something to say” about the live evolution of certain Nevermind tracks. And according to a statement from Universal, they plan on marking the 20th anniversary of the album with various piddly, unit-moving crap (“events and releases”) throughout the year. Suck it, 12-year-old me! (Seriously though, In Utero is totally the better record.)
• Nirvana: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_(band)
• Universal: http://www.universalmusic.com