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Coffee Break

Coffee Break: The music of Gen X

Kurt Cobain performs with Nirvana in 1993.
Kurt Cobain performs with Nirvana in 1993.Joe Giron/Corbis, via NPR

by Jill Riley and Anna Weggel

January 11, 2021

Today in 1992 was a big day for Nirvana as the band's landmark album Nevermind reached the top of the Billboard 200 Album Chart for the first of two non-consecutive weeks at No. 1, they also peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and made their debut appearance on U.S. TV on Saturday Night Live.

This album and this single were a HUGE anthem for Gen X-ers - the generation that came after the baby boomers but before millennials, and typically includes those born in the early-to-mid-1960s to the the late 1970s to early 1980s.

Today we're looking for music that was the anthem to this generation - groups that brought grunge and hip hop to the mainstream.

So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that could be classified as "the essential music of Gen X"?

Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

Have an idea for a Coffee Break topic? Submit your idea for a future theme and browse past Coffee Breaks in our archive.

Songs played

Digable Planets - Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
Sonic Youth - Bull in the Heather
Alice in Chains - Rooster
Beastie Boys - Slow And Low
Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized
Babes in Toyland - Bruise Violet
Fishbone - Party at Ground Zero