Nirvana's Nevermind: The Unexpected Success of an Album Built on Major Chords
2025-05-04
In 1991, Nirvana's *Nevermind* unexpectedly became a critical and commercial sensation. Its raw guitars and unapologetic sound captivated listeners. Over 30 years later, a re-examination reveals a key ingredient: the almost exclusive use of major chords, eschewing minor chords and complex chord progressions (7th, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 9th, dim, aug). This created a unique harmonic language, bold and innovative for its time. Interestingly, Kurt Cobain seemingly worked intuitively, unaware of any musical rules he was following. This demonstrates the power of raw emotion and instinct transcending technical proficiency.