Historic events this week from Neil Young, Nirvana and Oasis
AUGUST 16, 1994: SLEEPS WITH ANGELS BY NEIL YOUNG
Neil Young‘s 20th album, and 7th with Crazy Horse, is a dark affair.
The dark, grunge inflected rock of Sleeps With Angels stands in sharp contrast to the country/folk rock of his previous album, Harvest Moon.
Having Kurt Cobain quote his “It’s better to burn out than to fade away” in his suicide letter, inspired Young to write the album’s title track.
AUGUST 17, 1991: NIRVANA’S ICONIC “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT” VIDEO
Nirvana handed out casting call fliers for the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video, which is designed to look like a pep rally.
Filled with teen angst and anarchy, the video proved to be a smash and helped propel the single to the top of the charts.
The iconic video has been viewed over 2 billion times on YouTube.
AUGUST 21, 1997: OASIS RELEASE THE HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED BE HERE NOW
Oasis‘s Be Here Now arrived with unprecedented hype, becoming the fastest-selling album in UK chart history and reaching #1 in fifteen countries. Despite its initial massive commercial success, including a #2 peak on the Billboard 200, the album was later criticized for its bloated sound and excessive length, with Noel Gallagher himself expressing dissatisfaction. Notably, it features a guest appearance from Johnny Depp on the track “Fade In-Out,” and includes ambitious nine-minute epics like “All Around The World.”
