QUIZ: Which ’90s grunge album should you listen to?
It’s fair to say that 2020 makes us miss live music more than ever. But it certainly may make many people miss the era of shredding guitars and strained grunge vocals that’s characteristic of ’90s music. Alternative fans of the decade would walk through record shops, mosh at basement shows and even stage diving from bar tabletops.
Sure, there’s no time machine that will allow us to see the likes of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam perform live in the ’90s. But you can still check out which grunge album you should revisit today.
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More on grunge
In case you didn’t know, Nirvana have been involved in a two-year copyright lawsuit over their smiley face logo. Now, a California graphic artist claims he created the iconic logo, not Kurt Cobain.
As a recap, Nirvana took legal action against Marc Jacobs in December 2018. The lawsuit states that the fashion designer’s grunge collection ripped off their logo. Jacobs eventually requested that the lawsuit be dismissed. However, it has continued on for nearly two years.
Jacobs’ used the smiley face logo in several “Bootleg Redux Grunge” collection, including a T-shirt, sweatshirt and a pair of socks. Each item has replaced the classic Nirvana text at the top with “HEAVEN” in an incredibly similar font. Additionally, the designer edited each of the eyes on the smiley face portion. They reflected an “M” and “J” for Marc Jacobs instead of the Xs.
Jacobs previously admitted that “vintage Nirvana concert T-shirts from the 1990s” inspired the design. The brand is claiming that their design is unique enough because it was redesigned to include Jacobs’ classic “M” and “J” logo.
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Nirvana have owned the trademark for the logo since 1992. Cobain reportedly created it for a 1991 Nevermind–era gig flyer. However, back in November 2019, Jacobs filed a countersuit against Nirvana’s copyright registration. According to the documents, Jacobs claims the registration is “invalid and unenforceable.”
Now, a California artist is claiming that he designed the smiley face logo and that Cobain didn’t. Robert Fisher, a freelance graphic designer, filed a motion Sept. 13 to intervene in the ongoing federal litigation. He claims that he is the creator of Nirvana’s smiley face logo.
According to Billboard, Fisher says he was working as an art director at Geffen Records when he heard Nirvana were being signed. Fisher admits he was already a fan of the band at the time. Eventually, he began working with them on an upcoming album design.
Fisher claims that he collaborated with Nirvana for several months on the Nevermind album cover, the image of the naked baby swimming, which eventually became the iconic album artwork.
