If you're still at school, and you've heard of the band Nirvana, chances are you have a hard-core rock-loving older sibling, or know of the untimely death of Kurt Cobain, the band's frontman, from some 'top-earning dead celebrity' list.
The American alternative rock band was huge in the early 90s. Along with Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, the band was responsible for starting the grunge movement.
Grunge, a subgenre of alternative rock, is a mixture of punk energy, heavy metal riffs and indie rock attitude. The distorted electronic guitar sound, emotional, usually angst-laden lyrics, and gritty musical and fashion style made grunge the most popular rock genre in the US for many years.
Nirvana spoke aloud the thoughts of generation X.
The charismatic and talented Cobain was the band's lead singer, songwriter and guitarist. He and bassist Krist Novoselic had played with several drummers before settling on Dave Grohl, now singer and guitarist for Foo Fighters.
Cobain once explained that he wanted a pretty-sounding name for his band, not the mean punk rock names of groups playing similar music. But their music stood in total contrast to their moniker: fierce, angry and rebellious. Their 1989 limited-release debut, Bleach, is a blend of punk, black metal and negativity, and it attracted some faithful followers.
But it wasn't until the release of their second album, Nevermind, in 1991 that the band was catapulted to the mainstream and grunge introduced to the world. Its iconic cover showing a baby swimming toward a U$1 bill, a metaphor for the loss of innocence, is still among the most talked-about cover art.