yeah the 70s is definately stairway to heaven. in fact, before i even read these comments, alex and i were talking friday and we brought up stairway to heaven as the defining song of the 70s.
personally, id just as soon have the killers define a generation as nirvana did. i know ill take a lot of flack for this from any grungies, but nirvana was definately overrated. its a classic case of the died-young-equals-legendary-status syndrome. sure, they were good, but i won't say i listen to them much.
Well, Nirvana was had a heavy fan base before he died. I don't think people like them just because he died young. Did more people notice Nirvana, afterwards.. probably. But that doesn't say they weren't noticed at all, before the fact. Nirvana definately had an impact on the 90s. Whether or not they're still as remembered as much now or not.. and even with taking into consideration where they pulled their own influences from. Nirvana's legendary.
Sometimes musicians die young, because of problems from this world, but doesn't make them less talented or hand them undue credit.
Growing up in different generations contributes to a person's viewpoint on this matter.