September 24, 1991: The rock band Nirvana release their 2nd album, Nevermind. It should not be confused with Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols or Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
Kurt Cobain, a lefthanded guitarist, was the group's lead singer and lead songwriter. Krist Novoselic was the bass guitarist. Dave Grohl was the drummer. The Seattle-based band had debuted in 1989, with Bleach. But Nevermind lifted them to stardom.
With its lead single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and its dark video with depressed-looking cheerleaders, it is often called the most influential album of the 1990s. It isn't: Considering how important female vocalists would become in the 21st Century, the most influential album of the 1990s is Alanis Morissette's 1995 opus Jagged Little Pill.
Nevermind has also been given credit for establishing "grunge rock" as a new genre, and for killing "hair metal." And the video's dark scenes of high school helped inspire the early 2020s superhero TV show Stargirl.
On the exact same day, Red Hot Chili Peppers (there is no “The” in their official name) released their album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. It became their most popular album, but not as big as big as Nevermind. On this day, Seattle beat L.A.
The 1990s were good to Seattle. Bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam restored its status as a big rock and roll city, which it had enjoyed in the 1960s due to acts like Jimi Hendrix, The Kingsmen, and Paul Revere & The Raiders. Singles, a romantic comedy, became one of the biggest films of 1992. Frasier, a spinoff of Cheers, was set in Seattle starting in 1993. In sports, the University of Washington won a share of college football's 1991 National Championship. And baseball's Mariners had a famous Playoff run in 1995, which resulted in a new ballpark being built in 1999.
On a 1992 episode of Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld (playing a fictionalized version of himself) lamented the rise of pesto as a sauce, and then, when the subject of Seattle was brought up, said, "Everybody's moving to Seattle!" And George Costanza (Jason Alexander), said, "It's the pesto of cities!"
The baby on the cover was Spencer Elden. He became an artist, living in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, and he sued Grohl, Novolesic, the Cobain estate, and the photographer, Kurt Weddle, for using his image without his consent. As of September 24, 2022, multiple legal issues between him and them are ongoing. Weird Al Yankovic would parody the cover (more discreetly) for his album "Off the Deep End."
In 1993, Nirvana released a 3rd album, In Utero. It was well-regarded at the time, but not as much as Nevermind. On April 5, 1994, having already survived a heroin overdose, Cobain shot himself to death. He was 27 years old, another member of "The 27 Club."
Cobain has been called a genius. He wasn't. He wasn't smart enough to grasp the concept that he is the musician, so he is supposed to entertain us, not the other way around.
Novoselic has worked with several bands since, including Sweet 75, Eyes Adrift, Flipper, Giants in the Trees, and Foo Fighters, the band that Grohl formed, switching to guitar. Foo Fighters are now so well-regarded, I saw one person call Nirvana "Foo Fighters Classic."
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September 24, 1991 was a Tuesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Cal Eldred outpitched Eric Plunk. Robin Yount went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4. For the Yankees, Don Mattingly went 0-for-5, but had an RBI on a groundout. Kevin Maas hit his 20th home run of the season, having hit 21 the year before. He only hit another 24 homers in the rest of his career, as major league pitchers seemed to figure him out.
* The New York Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-8 at Shea Stadium. Barry Bonds did not play. Howard Johnson and Daryl Boston hit home runs for the Mets, but it wasn't enough.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Montreal Expos, 4-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 9-7 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the California Angels, 3-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). The game was scoreless going to extra innings, but Pat Borders hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 10th inning, off Jim Abbott, who had gone the distance. It made a winning pitcher of David Wells, in relief of Todd Stottlemyre, completing a 10-inning, 6-hit shutout.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 5-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn did not play.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. George Brett went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-7 at the Kingdome in Seattle. The Rangers led 5-1 going to the bottom of the 7th, but the Mariners scored 2. In the 8th, the Rangers scored 2, and the Mariners 4 to tie it. In the 9th, Brian Downing singled Gary Pettis home with the winning run. Ken Griffey Jr. went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs.
* The Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds were rained out at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Braves won the opener, 2-1. Ron Gant singled Terry Pendleton home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. The nightcap also went 10 innings, and the Reds won, 10-9. The Reds scored 3 runs in the 10th, the Braves only 2.
* And the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox were rained out at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. They were rained out the next day, too. So they had to play a doubleheader on September 26. The Red Sox won the 1st game, 2-1. The Orioles won the 2nd game, 6-5. Over the 2 games, Cal Ripken went 4-for-8 with a home run, a walk and 2 RBIs.
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