"Nevermind" fifteen years later

This month, fifteen years ago Nirvana released Nevermind, a record which is widely acknowledged as having a massive importance in both mainstream and independent music.One of the first bands to come through the indie world and reach massive success, the album went on to sell nine million copies. For mainstream music, it began a gold rush as major labels trawled through indie labels searching for the next Nirvana. Difficult bands like Helmet, The Jesus Lizard and the Boredoms were soon signed to major label deals and the album put a massive spotlight on the indie underground that had formed around independent labels like Sub Pop, SST, Touch and Go and many others.

A recently piece by MTV looks back at the album, discussing it's significance with members of AFI, Mastodon, the Deftones, Fall Out Boy and many others. Of particular note was the channel's interview with Michael Azerrad, author of Our Band Could Be Your Life which documented the pre-Nirvana indie scene in America. Azerrad explained:

People were really tired of [hair-metal] bands like Warrant and Winger, and the fluffy electro-pop acts, and people were ready for something that spoke to them in a less cynical, condescending way. And along comes this album that was the perfect storm of rock and roll. And I don't know if that could ever happen again.