Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album from the early nineties is a blend of metallic riffs and punk attitudes. Its vision of the United States as a barren teenage wasteland, has revived the power of American rock as a force for sharp social comment.
Nirvana's success has focused attention on their hometown, Seattle - now the base for a generation of grunge bands schooled on rock's least fashionable influences, and now drenched in worldwide media attention.
How did Kurt Cobain, Chris Novoselic and Dave Grohl break out of the Indie ghetto and conquer the world? Why do diehard punks regard them as a corporate sell-out? Is there a philosophy which links the new Gods of the Seattle scene, from Soundgarden and Pearl Jam to Mudhoney and Hole? Did grunge excite a sexual revolution? And how did Seattle become the newest rock capital of the world?
The answers are in this book, which tracks Nirvana's remarkable progress and explains how Seattle's tight-knit alternative rock scene has now provided the soundtrack for Hollywood movies and worldwide teen fantasies.
