Nirvana: Nevermind

One of the most enduring covers of all time and proof in the power of photography and music. I was also interested to see the same designer for this Robbert Fisher also designed Odeley for Beck. As art director at Geffen he must have touched on many great albums in his time and sadly has little web presence to link up.

If you’re wondering what the kid is up to these days then look no further, Spender Elden is still around (I wonder if he’s on Myspace?) The photo was taken at a local swimming pool after stock photography proved too costly. And for $200 they got all the shots they needed.

Spenser Elden

Kurt had originally liked photos of himself for the cover (in some arty photo not naked in the pool) but thankfully better ideas came forward from the man himself.

Here’s Weird Al’s take on the cover.

Weird Al Nirvana: Off the Deepend

And The Simpsons leave no pop icon alone.

Homer Nirvana

I went with the penis visible version here for authenticity.

Bart Nirvana

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Nirvana: Nevermind

Posted by Ash on 10 July, 2007
Album: Nevermind
Artist: Nirvana
Cover Artist: Robert Fisher
Record Label: Geffen
Album Art, Alternative, 90s, Photography, Grunge

28 Comments

  1. Ben:

    A while after this LP came out in the UK, the Sunday Mirror offered it up as a prize. In the accompanying pic they had air-brushed out the little boy’s offending rude bits.
    I still have the clipping, it still makes me laugh.
    Ben

    # 10 Dec 07 at 10:55 am

  2. Gee:

    Ben, you have no life :)
    you sad cat.

    yay

    # 26 Feb 08 at 3:15 pm

  3. T-Bone:

    Good cover, but the wavy ‘nevemind’ sucks real hard.

    # 10 Mar 08 at 8:26 am

  4. boner:

    t-bone, you suck real hard with yr comment.

    # 21 Mar 08 at 7:13 pm

  5. dalia:

    the baby who was on the cover is hot now

    # 12 Apr 08 at 12:45 pm

  6. Good Lt:

    Nevermind pwns. In Utero pwns moar.

    # 17 Apr 08 at 12:10 pm

  7. krist:

    nevermind is a ledgendary album but not for smells like teen spirit or in bloom, its ledgendary for drain you, on a plain and endless namelss. i like all of nirvanas albums their all different in their own way.

    # 05 May 08 at 8:42 pm

  8. Yvette:

    Apparently Cobain refused censorship of the image (rightly so) and his only compromise was a sticker on the baby’s appendage that read, “If you’re offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.”

    # 12 May 08 at 5:52 pm

  9. doornappel:

    in utero is the best. nevermind is good.

    # 12 May 08 at 10:46 pm

  10. Slanzar:

    T-Bone:
    You know, I never noticed “Nevermind” being wavy before on the cover till now, but now that I do I agree. The whole cover reeks of classy up until that wavy text which screams of “I just learned how to Photoshop”.

    # 14 May 08 at 6:32 am

  11. Pipp:

    Yeah.
    The baby on the cover is gorgeous now.
    c:

    I love Kurt Cobain with all my heart.
    R.I.P., doll.

    # 26 May 08 at 4:27 am

  12. asskick:

    Kurt was the coolest guy who ever lived. He made music that everyone understood, and reached out to so many people. i cant understand why anyone would want to make fun of him or the nevermind cover, which by the way is so cool, despity the wavy “nevermind” text.

    # 27 May 08 at 4:07 pm

  13. >:

    I reckon! I cant even imagine what it’d be like without the “nevermind” text. The whole album design is f***ing cool. You’d never even consider changing it.

    # 29 May 08 at 1:24 pm

  14. Benny The Ball:

    One of the greatest covers from one of the greatest albums. Simple as that.

    # 02 Jun 08 at 9:25 pm

  15. cool loser:

    oh yea the baby is hot now
    and i do wonder if he is on myspace
    haha

    # 14 Jun 08 at 9:01 am

  16. Bob:

    Nevermind is a kick ass albumb with an awesome cover. Krist is a idiot because Smells like teen spirit is an awesome song and ‘endless nameless’ isn’t part of the album. Bleach was there best work by far, listen to Downer or Rape Me.

    # 21 Jul 08 at 12:31 pm

  17. silvia:

    k todo esta chilo ok bay

    # 29 Jul 08 at 5:56 am

  18. april:

    kurt cobain…..cant really be edscribed as anything but a lonely misunderstood teenager who just never really grew up…thats a good thing in my eyes. Sure kurt had a good childhood…till he was like 7….but he was still a very dark person inside. All of kurts albums were a way to relese his emotions through songs that everyone like him could understand. i know i was only 1 when he died and everything i was born on the day his body was found in his greenhouse…but i feel as if i really knew him for some reason. i had the same childhood myself and i understand more than anyone how a disfunctional teenager gets things….but id like to get to my fucking point

    KURT WAS MURDERED!!!! Courtney fuckin hired some bastard to blow his ass to kingdom come so she can get all of his rights and all of his money..she deserves to die

    FUCK YOU DIRTY BITCH!!!!!
    BURN IN HELL

    I love you Kurt

    # 14 Aug 08 at 10:44 am

  19. Jamie Collins:

    Lol. I love the crazies, and “april” is definitely crazy!

    # 20 Aug 08 at 1:42 am

  20. C.:

    Ash, you misspelled “Spencer” and “Odelay”.

    # 11 Sep 08 at 5:22 pm

  21. kaheraien:

    well i think that all the people that commented that the nevermind wavy thing are all losers and probly still live with there mom in the basement and also any one else that said any thing bad about this album sucks hairy ball sacs

    # 05 Dec 08 at 6:07 am

  22. Basketti:

    Photoshop?! The album was released in 1991! Even if photoshop v0.1 was around at that time, I strongly doubt the guy who did the graphics went ‘I’ll just run liquify on the text’..

    # 21 Jan 09 at 6:17 am

  23. chicoboy:

    Back then there was no photo shop. Kids think that the computers we have today have always been around. So sad. I remember being impressed with a word processor that was basically a typewriter that hooked up to a TV. Black text on a white screen. That was it and it was the coolest thing. This album is awesome, though not the best, that’s Bleach. I still pick up a copy every now and then. I fold the insert to make the shot of Kurt flipping the bird to the camera the cover.

    # 16 Feb 09 at 2:04 am

  24. aguanteflema:

    this is about album covers, not about wich record is better than the other.

    yeah: “NEVERMIND” the wavy title looks like made up with some WordArt at PowerPoint

    # 25 Feb 09 at 5:20 pm

  25. Sofa Spud:

    I used to have the cover on a five- or six-foot wide poster that I got from (ironically enough) “The Electric Fetus.” Oh, I can hear it already- “You dirty pedophile!!!”No.That would be the guy who thought to make the poster in the first place.I put it up for the same reason Kurt didn’t want it censored- shock value.

    # 27 Feb 09 at 9:00 pm

  26. DENDE:

    HOLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA MU BUENA LA FOTO DE BART

    # 07 Apr 09 at 3:00 am

  27. Robert Fisher:

    The wavy type was done by moving it on a Xerox as it was copying. Then doing it again with that print out. Back then we had to order type from a typesetter then wax up printed type cut it out and lay it down on boards with a T-square. It sucked. But I’m glad I lived through it so I can appreciate how easy it is now.

    # 21 Apr 09 at 9:59 am

  28. Jess:

    the wavy text doesnt ruin it. the kids in effein water! the wavy text is keeping in theme with that

    it wasnt a random effect you twats!

    # 27 Apr 09 at 1:04 am

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