Today marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Bleach- Nirvana’s debut album. The album, released in November 1988, failed to chart in the US, until its re-release in 1992, following the bands success from their second album Nevermind.
Recorded at Reciprocal Recording Studios in Seattle, the 11 track album heavily reflects Cobain, and various incidents in his life.
Cobain, himself, did not highly regard the album, claiming on many occasions that he was pressured by his then record label, Sub Pop, to conform with the grunge scene and play ‘rock music’.
In a 1993 interview, Cobain went on to say “he didn’t give a flying fuck what the lyrics were about” and claimed the majority of the lyrics were written the night before they began recording.
“It was like I’m pissed off. I don’t know about what. Let’s just scream negative lyrics, and as long as they’re not sexist and don’t get too embarrassing it’ll be okay”.
25 years later, Bleach has sold over 1.7 million copies in the US alone and has become one of the most well-known and highly regarded albums in music history.
No better time to revisit it then…
-Kasia
