Nevermind

In 1991, my parents and I went to Massena in New York to do some shopping. All I remember is going to the music store, and with my own money buying two cassette tapes. One was Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and the other was Nirvana’s Nevermind. I felt like such a rebel… they BOTH had the parent advisory mark on them. (Keep in mind that those labels were fairly new.) Driving back home, I gently removed the cellophane, opened the case of Nevermind, I can still hear the sound the plastic made the first time you crack a case open… I was hiding my purchases the best I could. That parental advisory label was SCREAMING… I didn’t have a Walkman, so all I could do was wait to get home to listen to my tapes. As soon as I did, I popped Nevermind in my boom box (given to me by a priest, ironically) and my music world changed. I don’t exactly remember how long until my dad found the tape. He noticed the title of the first song on Side B of Nevermind… Territorial Pissings. My dad confiscated my tape and went and listened to it. I don’t know how much he paid attention to the lyrics, but his reaction? He couldn’t understand how someone like me, who enjoyed classical music, big band, and generally well tuned instruments, could like Nirvana. I didn’t know how to explain it then.

But I will give it a go now. See, I’m the youngest of three, raised in the 80s. My big brother was into (and still is) the big heavy metal bands (and KISS), followed by my sister who was into (and still is) Glam metal, a.k.a. hair metal. Being the annoying little sister, I wanted to be like them and enjoyed my siblings’ tastes. I remember singing Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It in my brother’s room with my friend. (If he knew we had been playing in his room, I would have been in trouble! If you are reading this now…. oopsies!) Anyhoo, grade 10 comes around. I was into hip-hop, ’cause the boys in grade 11 were into hip-hop, and I did enjoy dancing! Then the music world changed. Something completely different than the 80s over-produced music was being heard. It was raw. It was relatable. The video was gritty. It was ok not to wear expensive clothes and spend way too much on hairspray. Thrifting was in! Give me a plaid shirt and jeans! It was mine! Not my brother’s, not my sister’s, mine.