Nirvana's Bleach Turns 20

Kurt Cobain

Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic

​
Ready to feel old? Nirvana's landmark debut, Bleach, turns twenty years old this year. (I'm pretty sure I have a few T-shirts as old as this. Really.) Before Nevermind made Nirvana a mainstream sensation, the lower-than-lo-fi buzzsawing of Bleach captivated the few who caught the band on tour or heard the LP. Sub Pop is reissuing a two-CD version of the album on Tuesday, which features a live Nirvana show from 1990. And our sister paper the Seattle Weekly published some illuminating stories about the players and circumstances involved with the album, including:

*Bassist Krist Novoselic interviewing Bleach drummers Chad Channing and Dale Crover.

*An interview with Jack Endino, who recorded demos for the Bleach sessions.

*Gillian G. Gaar puts Bleach in historical context -- what it meant then and what it means now