-
Nevermind Baby Screen Test | photo 029 from a roll of 073.
Cobain said in multiple interviews that he was largely ambivalent about writing Nirvana’s lyrics—a stance that infamously drove Lou Barlow (of Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh fame) to describe the band’s provocative language as cynical.
The above photo came from a period during which the band had briefly considered retitling the album after the song “Polly” which had, by then, gone through several alternate titles, “Hitchhiker,” “Cracker” and “Baby Cuban Peso.”
September 24, 2011 marked the 20th Anniversary of Nirvana's chart-topping masterpiece Nevermind: an album that defined Seattle's "Grunge" sound for a generation of music listeners the world over.
To celebrate, New York Journal's Arts & Leisure section—in association with DGC Records—is proud to present to the public, for the first time ever, the original screen tests for the Nevermind baby.
DGC Records art director Robert Fisher photographed countless swimming infants before selecting three-month-old Spencer Elden to grace the cover of Nirvana's career-defining album. Fisher also tested several monetary values, currencies and denominations, before he and the band agreed upon the simple power of the U.S. dollar bill.
Each Saturday for the entirety of the 20th year anniversary of "Nevermind," we will be presenting original, never-before-seen mock-ups of the album's packaging (as well as mock-ups generated in the planning phases of several more recent reissues and other rarities).
We're "not the only ones" who love Nirvana! And we hope you'll share these "stupid and contagious" photos with the fellow Nirvana lovers in your life!
Sincerely,
Max Paige-Vieux
New York Journal
