10 Perfect '90s Rock Songs That Everyone Forgets About
2. Dumb - Nirvana
It's usually every band's dream to have the kind of success that Nirvana had in the early '90s. Coming out of the stench of the '80s hair band movement, hearing Kurt Cobain stir up anarchy in a gymnasium in the Smells Like Teen Spirit video was enough to get almost the entire rock scene hooked on the grunge movement bubbling up from Seattle. Kurt was on top of the world, being heralded as the voice of his generation, and all it did was make him feel more alone.
In the wake of his suicide shortly after In Utero, you can hear him trying to work out some of his darkest emotions on every song on this album, even trying to apologize for not being happy and taking the blame in All Apologies. Though there are moments of freaking out on this album like Tourette's and Milk It, Dumb is one of the gentlest moments on the record, where Kurt tries to make sense of why he can't feel any happiness after becoming so successful.
Coming out of the haze brought on by fame, this whole song deals with how difficult it is for Kurt to be happy, choosing to just pretend that he's happy or only convincing himself to play dumb to make it seem like he's having the time of his life most of the time. He may have alluded to missing the comfort in being sad on an earlier song, but this is the first moment on the record where he really starts to sound emotionally spent.