Among the new releases for this holiday season, an old friend of Generation X returns. In 1991, Nirvana exploded onto the music scene. Kurt Cobain's music destroyed the manufactured bands of the era, and gave music back to the struggling musicians. As the music industry tries to draw in new listeners, Nirvana's reemerging this holiday season is a reminder of the power Generation X had and can still possess. The reluctant icon has been lost, but his legacy of change has not.

In 1994, music lost a revolutionary icon, Kurt Cobain. His passing marked the death of a musical visionary whose music ended the reign of the 80's hair bands and pop music. He dethroned the King of Pop with "Nevermind". He pushed the envelope with "In Utero" solidifying Nirvana's legacy.

Since Cobain's untimely death, music has struggled to find a voice. Rap emerged for a few years as the dominant force, then bled back into Pop music. Only now, eight years later is rock finding some new life in bands such as P.O.D., System of the Down, and Puddle of Mud. Long time rockers such as Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Metallica, and Aerosmith remain from the era of music before Nirvana's 's ascension. Comparatively, 1996 saw the last official album in "The Banks of Muddy Wishka" – a live track CD, yet 2002 features the release Nirvana's self-titled album "Nirvana."

The black silver album cover marks a return to their roots, as the album resembles their 1989 Sub-pop release, "Bleach." The album is a greatest hits collection, featuring all of the bands popular radio tracks and features a new release of "You know You're Right" and contains a definitive take on Pennyroyal Tea. "You know You're Right" showcases the evolution of Kurt's music, as he wrestled with his vision of the music versus what the industry expected.

For fans of Kurt, the CD may not be what they wanted to add to their collection. Instead they may view this release as a pure monetary move due to the success that the Cobain estate managed to garner $4 million to release excerpts of Kurt's journals. Krist Novoselic has stated that he disagrees with the publication of Kurt's journal. Considering that Kurt's suicide was a reaction to this public scrutiny, this explosion of new material seems less about the music and more about what his death can generate. This greatest hits CD echoes this underlying sentiment, as the marketing push behind "Nirvana" has been steadily growing these past two months.

Is "Nirvana" worth your $15 bucks? Die-hard Nirvana fans whose collection feature all the released discs and some bootlegs may not go for this. I wrestled when I decided to purchase it, but the lure of a new Nirvana track overrode my initial opposition. For post suicide fans this disc may be exactly what you've wanted because it gives you a sample of the evolution and the power of Kurt's music. Kurt's music has always contained his raw emotion and power, and the CD gives a sampling of Nirvana influence.

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Brad DeMaagd was born in Sacramento, California in 1976. Mr. DeMaagd currently lives in Michigan, but is planning a move to Oregon in the late spring. Mr. DeMaagd attended Michigan State University where he majored in English, with minor studies in Economics and History. Mr. DeMaagd continues to pursue his goal of becoming an Acquisitions Editor at a publishing house. His past times include watching David Lynch films, NFL football, working on his stories, and reading an ever growing stack of books.