Nirvana's debut album, Bleach, showcased the first fruit of Cobain's nascent genius. Bleach failed to set the world alight on its release and Nirvana were unfortunately pigeonholed as just another band attempting to rehash punk rock for a new generation. However, in retrospect it is easy to see that Nirvana had a unique talent which set them apart from their prosaic contemporaries. The stand out track of Bleach, About a Girl, is a three-minute slice of pop perfection, owing more to Day Tripper than The Damned and more akin to She Loves You than The Sex Pistols. About a Girl can be viewed as a statement of intent and the result of Cobain flexing his creative muscles in preparation for forthcoming masterpieces.

The precursor to Nirvana's ascent to musical greatness was the replacement of original drummer Chad Channing with Dave Grohl. With hindsight, it is obvious that Grohl was more than just the "Grunge Ringo". Grohl's debut album Foo Fighters, released after Cobain's death, demonstrated that Kurt was not the sole talent within Nirvana. Not only did Grohl compose and sing every song on Foo Fighters, but, barring a few cameo appearances, he played each and every instrument on the album. By adding Grohl to the Nirvana line-up, Cobain had finally assembled the roster of virtuoso musicians necessary to implement his masterplan.

Kurt Cobain's high standard of musicianship has been universally overlooked by both music critics and other musicians. Being a guitar hero is a highly competitive business and the worth of a guitarist is ultimately judged upon his ability to play the greatest number of notes in the shortest possible time, without regard for the aesthetics of the resulting sound. By these bizarre criteria, guitarists such as Michael Angelo and Yngwie Malmsteen receive plaudits for demonstrating little more than their manual dexterity, while the achievements of truly innovative musicians like Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix are downplayed. However, Cobain was undoubtedly one of the finest and most intelligent guitarists of all time.

While other rock guitarists sought to dumbfound their audience with displays of superhuman technical ability, Cobain opted for melodies that his fans could sing and play along with. In the same way that bands such as the Bay City Rollers developed an affinity with their audience by choosing fashions that their teenage followers could imitate, Cobain wrote guitar solos that his fans would wish to emulate. Kurt Cobain understood his target demographic and realised that Nirvana appealed to aspiring teenage musicians. Accordingly, Cobain dispensed with the fretboard pyrotechnics advocated by Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, instead choosing to play brilliantly simple melodies that his fans could easily copy. Kurt Cobain's sparing and calculated use of the guitar is at least partly responsible for the popularity of Nirvana.

With the release of Nevermind in September 1991, Cobain's plans finally came to fruition. Although the overnight success of Nevermind surprised the music industry, Cobain was well aware that his creation would take the world by storm. Nevermind's famous cover, featuring a baby swimming towards a dollar bill, is a clear sign that Kurt intended Nevermind to achieve the mainstream appeal that had previously eluded the band. While Nirvana's fans often claim that Nirvana were the antithesis of corporate rock music, Cobain didn't share his followers' disdain of the music industry and he hankered after commercial success. In the song In Bloom, Kurt derides Nirvana's fans, the same fans who so vigourously defend the band against claims of "selling out", for their inability to comprehend the band's desire for mainstream acceptance:

"He's the one who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along and he likes to shoot his gun
But he don't know what it means"

The highlight of Nevermind is the anthemic Smells Like Teen Spirit, a song that has become synonymous with the grunge movement. The origins of the instantly recognisable four chord riff that characterises the song have been the subject of much debate. While most Nirvana fans like to think that Smells Like Teen Spirit was heavily influenced by the work of seminal alternative rockers The Pixies, the most likely ancestor of this song is denied by the snobbish cognoscenti of alternative music. Close listening to Teen Spirit reveals that the song has much in common with More Than A Feeling by adult oriented rockers Boston. To use an old cliché, "hacks copy, geniuses steal", and it is a measure of Cobain's genius that Nirvana's breakthrough single bears such a resemblance to Boston's feelgood vibe and universal appeal. By evoking memories of Boston's biggest hit, the success of Smells Like Teen Spirit and Nevermind was assured.

However, success proved to be a poisoned chalice for Cobain, who was ill-prepared for the sudden adoration that was heaped upon Nirvana. Like many other bands, Kurt's reaction to his newfound popularity was to release a challenging album that would alienate his fanbase. Nirvana's third and final studio offering, In Utero, was an album of sugar-coated angst which demonstrated Cobain at the height of his songwriting ability. Despite being Cobain's most ambitious and coherent work, In Utero was greeted by an unenthusiastic response from critics and consumers alike, who were disappointed by the lack of moshpit anthems. It is ironic that those fans who had initially praised Nirvana as an alternative to bland commercial rock music turned their backs on the band following the release of their most innovative and uncommercial album to date.

Tragically, on 5 April 1994 Kurt Cobain took his own life. Many Nirvana fans saw Cobain's suicide as a validation of his music, a misconception which was fueled by the suicide note. Cobain's followers have selfishly interpreted phrases such as "The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I'm having 100% fun" to mean that the the suicide was intended to preserve the integrity of Nirvana's supposed punk rock ethic in the face of huge commercial success. It is more likely that Cobain's unfortunate suicide was simply a cry for help rather than an attempt to prove to his followers that he was "for real".

It should now be clear that Nirvana's rise to fame was no accident, with every aspect having been meticulously planned by Kurt Cobain. Perhaps it is comforting to delude ourselves with the belief that Nirvana were simply everyday guys who achieved greatness by accident, since this fallacy allows us to dream that we too may experience success and adoration despite our lack of God-given talent. However, it is a testament to Cobain's artistic vision that he was able to finely craft a band and musical style that the cynical Generation X youth would take to their hearts. In this way, Nirvana were little different to any number of faceless pop acts like The Spice Girls or The Backstreet Boys, who were invented by marketing men to target a specific demographic. Nirvana produced some great music and left us with fond memories of their short career, but it is time that their fans accepted the truth: Nirvana were just another manufactured band.