As 1990′s revivalism within most indie circles seems to be gaining substantial amounts of steam, it’s only fitting that Nirvana’s landmark record, Nevermind, would be celebrating its 20th anniversary. In anticipation of this momentous occasion, SPIN Magazine has decided to release a free tribute album honoring Kurt and the boys, that’s rather stupidly entitled Newermind. The folks over at SPIN got a hold of a number of contemporary rock acts, as well as some old timers, and requested they each cover a single track off the genre-defining record. After checking out the roster they assembled, I get the feeling you may want to go dust off that ratty flannel you keep at the back of your closet.

Upon actually listening to this thing, I found many of the new renditions to be pretty spot-on, but some to be particularly grueling. While I won’t specifically reveal which covers left a poor taste in my mouth, a couple of these tunes could potentially have you contemplating your very own shotgun-inflicted suicide… Sorry about that one. I didn’t mean to be rude… What I’m trying to say, is that all of these tracks ain’t winners, but that’s what fun about silly tribute records of this ilk.

Luckily, Titus Andronicus, Surfer Blood, Telekinesis and JEFF the Brotherhood all bring the goods when they step up to bat here. Some credit must also be given to the magazine for including two of Kurt’s personal favorites, The Vaselines and Meat Puppets, within the compilation. The Brothers Meat sound a bit worse for the wear as they tackle Smells Like Teen Spirit, but I think it adds a nice levity to the whole affair.

In a move that seems particularly un-90′s, SPIN is requiring that you Like them on Facebook, in order to actually download the compilation. While I realize the magazine is being generous in this endeavor, offering up the album for free, it still seems slightly off-putting that you have to pledge allegiance to their Facebook page in order to hear the thing. At any rate, I suppose that selling out to a magazine on a popular social networking site is a small price to pay for a stroll down memory lane.

- Zaius