Gen-Xers are people born between 1965 and 1980. Wedged between the powerful “boomers” and the much despaired “millennials”

I’m a clear cut Gen-Xer. Born in 1973. I understand Gen-X. My People.

There are sterotypes about Gen-X. I’ve heard that we “don’t care” about anything or anyone and that we’re “tough”. While some may perceive us as ‘tough,’ it’s worth noting that boomers and older generations faced their own hardships.

We lived in a raw, competitive world where tolerance was scarce, and achievement was hard-earned.

I don’t want to glamorize my generation. It was tough. I had bullies torment me throughout my childhood (because everyone had an unofficial bully back then, it was very normal). I also watched daily fights in Junior high and High school.

It seemed normal at the time. Bullies, fights, and racial slurs.

The difference between Gen-X and boomers was that we were the last ones who lived in an less tolerant world where understanding, patience, and compassion are taught and expected.

Millennials were the first generation who benefitted from this new idea. A simple manifestation of this idea was the development of participation trophies.

We didn’t have participation trophies.

It’s easy to stereotype any generation and sometimes the stereotypes are right but in this case there is a subtle, but profound difference between the early Gen-X and the later Gen-Xers.

I believe it hinged on a watershed moment happened on September 24, 1991.

Nirvana released their blockbuster album “Nevermind”

Before “Nevermind” there were different genres of music that were clear to everyone. Heavy metal, pop, country, reggae, punk and rock and new wave. Sure, there were subsets of those categories but it was fairly straightforward.

Stoners listened to heavy metal. Punk rockers listened to punk. Cowboys listened to Country. It was easy to assume what music people listened to. Your music genre helped define you. You and your friends listened to the anthems of your people.

Iron Maiden led the stoners.

The Cure led the New Wavers

The Ramones led the punks.

George Strait led the cowboys

But when Nirvana released “Nevermind” It melted four genres together in a way that was new to us. Rock, heavy metal, pop and punk. In a flash their sound and ideas changed everything.

Nirvana quickly became the most popular band in the world. Everyone listen to Nirvana, stoners, jocks, new wavers, punks and cowboys.

It mulched the system that had existed and changed everything.

The new category of music was identified as “Grunge”. It blew our minds.

The sound was new but I believe the real revolution was that Nirvana dragged the anti-hero out of the shadows and into the limelight.

Before Nirvana, the typical image of a band was to look “cool”. They were heroes. Men and women who had it all together and were bold, brash, confident, devil-may-care sex fiends.

There were a lot of these types of bands at the time. In fact, that was all there was. Now they’re referred to as “Hair Bands”. It’s an apt description.

The objective was to look cool all the time. We didn’t use irony in our appearances. It was very bad to be a nerd, geek or anything but cool.

Instead of looking “cool” Nirvana looked sloppy, unorganized and rough. It shocked everyone at the time. Now it’s hard to imagine a time where looking “normal” wasn’t normal.

One of the most mind melting things I witnessed back then with Nirvana was the music video to their hit song “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

They are dressed sloppily and singing the song but there were these cheerleaders in all black with anarchy symbols on them. It was so disorienting to see cheerleaders like this. It seems trite, even silly now, but back in 1991 it was shocking.

It’s hard to describe the shock we all went through when we saw images and videos like the one above. All of a sudden the notion of looking intentionally cool forever changed.

It became cool to be uncool. It completely moved the goal post of life.

Nirvana ushered in a lot of new bands. Weezer was one. Their blue album was another shocking look for a rock band.

Here’s where it becomes interesting for the Gen-Xers.

Those who graduated high school before 1986 largely missed the transformative impact of Nirvana.

They were already establishing their careers, while those of us immersed in the cultural shift absorbed the anti-hero ethos. This distinction is evident in my early Gen-X friends, who often exhibit more Boomer-like characteristics compared to later Gen-Xers. I’ve witnessed it many, many times.

I attribute this difference to the profound cultural shift initiated by Nirvana.

This song lyric from Weezer’s 2008 song “heartsong” talks about Nirvana’s influence.

Back in 1991, I wasn’t havin’ any fun
‘Til my roommate said, “Come on and put a brand new record on”
Had a baby on it, he was naked on it
Then I heard the chords that broke the chains I had upon me

Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer of Weezer, refers to the immediate impact Nirvana had on him. He was born in 1970 and graduated high school in 1988. He was in college when he heard Nirvana for the first time.

If Rivers had been born in 1967, just three years earlier, he might not have had a roommate. He might have ignored the new sound. He was right in the oncoming path of the cultural revolution ignited by Nirvana.

His story reminds me of other stories that illustrate the benefit of an unforeseen, uncontrollable forces that sculpt a persons life. Such as stories in the book Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell.

The anti-hero movement gained momentum in the music world. In the late early 2000’s Hollywood caught up with the idea and Napoleon Dynamite was released. Napoleon, the ultimate anti-hero.

Napoleon Dynamite wouldn’t have happened without Nirvana destroying the stereotypes of what it meant to be cool.

These days when I hear about someone talking about how they’re so “nerdy” I think of Napoleon Dynamite. I can’t describe how abhorrent it was to refer to yourself as “nerdy” when I was a kid. It was definitely not what you wanted to be known as.

Napoleons existence is owed in part to Nirvana.

Ultimately, Nirvana’s message significantly impacted modern society. It contributed to a cultural shift that brought greater visibility to groups previously marginalized. This included increased representation and acceptance of people of all types, as well as people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Nirvana moved the world forward in a significant way. I welcome any opinions about this topic. I’ve thought about it for years.