Faith No More Paved the Way for Nirvana?
According to a Digital Spy interview with Krist Novoselic, bands like Faith No More “paved the way for Nirvana.”
“Living on the margins for so long, living in the underground scene it’s like: ‘Oh this will never catch on’.
“But it did, and it was starting to change where you had bands like Faith No More and Jane’s Addiction.
“They were these rock bands but they were more like alternative or edgy. Then they paved the way for Nirvana.”
March 11th, 2009 at 2:57 PM
Well, that was always obvious for me. Faith No More started, at least, the alternative rock boom during the 90′s (Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, even Radiohead and others), and the nu metal boom in the 90′s-2000′s, with all the shitty bands that came along. We have to thank FNM for what we are now, as rock music listeners.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:49 PM
My first reaction was, WTF? But still cool to see the influence.
March 12th, 2009 at 6:03 AM
Awesome to see Krist Novaselic giving credit where it is due.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:02 AM
It’s true.
Younger (well under 25) browsers here may not appreciate how truly horrible and dire the mainstream rock scene was in the 1980′s. Poodle hair metal ruled the day. An endless stream of dire songs about ‘girls’ and ‘rockin’ with a hearty “YEEEEEAAAAAHHH” at the end of every line.
To a certain extent (I’m loath to admit) Guns N’ Roses were the 1st to break the mould, although they retained the look in their early days.
Then, as Krist states, the likes of FNM and Jane’s Addiction came and forever shaped the future sounds of this impressionable young dude. And I am so glad that the ‘Alternative’ scene happened in the 90′s, otherwise we could all be walking about with perms and stonewashed denim!
March 15th, 2009 at 12:54 PM
I remember an old MTV UK interview (circa Angel Dust) where the interviewer asked FNM if they felt that they paved the way for bands like Nirvana. Patton responds ‘About as much as Liberace paved the way for us.’ There’s a long pause after which the interviewer goes ‘So…is that not very much at all?’
Sterling journalism of the time.
March 16th, 2009 at 6:01 PM
Great, Jane’s addiction was one of the best bands of all time…..until they re-united.
I will be so disappointed if FNM comes back & sucks as much as Jane’s did.
July 14th, 2009 at 11:06 PM
faith no more was the first band i really really loved. from out of nowhere was the first album i bought with my own money, and over the years i ended up with most of their albs on tape/cd/vinyl, plus a pretty decent sized box full of singles (including a couple of chuck-era vinyls) and a few boots (not that easy to find in New Zealand).
through 2-3 degrees of seperation, i became hip to the likes of bungle, zorn, secret chiefs, ennio morricone, cibo matto, even Oingo Boingo! learned of fairly obscure bands like Duh and Milk Cult, gained an appreciation for hip-hop (boo-ya!!), and definitely became more open to bands such as nirvana who pushed the envelope and made music that meant something. they effectively taught me to dig below the surface of the music industry to find the real gems. follow the music, rather than the branding associated with it.
I owe them for a lifetime of wide and eclectic musical appreciation, stuff i may never have heard elsewhere. the fact patton in particular went on to make such awesome and diverse stuff, with integrity, well that was gravy.