I'm a product of '82, most of my peers had a very serious and intense love affair with Nirvana. After Kurt Cobain parted ways with most of his skull, we all mourned and what not, but somewhere along the line we all got into different music. I think Nirvana was fabulous in context, if you were sick of slick Motownphilly New Jack Swing or oversafe commercial rap or the strung-out dregs of the tail-end of the hair metal movement. I personally had just come out of the phase where one listens strictly to "Weird Al" Yankovic and classic rock, so it was pretty damn illuminating to me.
And more importantly, Nirvana's success really dragged a lot of good indie bands into the spotlight, and even if they were only there for a moment the exposure has changed American popular music for better or worse. Matador getting bought and then dropped by Capitol, the Flaming Lips breaking even on a record for the first time in ten years, Spoon getting signed and then dropped, so forth. And then there's all the bands Cobain would name-check, like Sonic Youth and the Melvins and Boredoms and the people El Opium mentioned.
Without all that contextual importance: Nirvana were a solid Northwest punk band. They were one of the better bands of their scene, and Cobain showed some promise and interest in becoming a talented songwriter.
This is my take on it.
