Which album cover featured a baby underwater chasing a dollar bill?

Question: Which album cover featured a baby underwater chasing a dollar bill?

If you are a fan of rock music, you probably know the album cover for Nirvana's Nevermind, which features a naked baby underwater chasing a dollar bill on a fishing line. But do you know the story behind this iconic and controversial image? Here are some facts you may not know about the Nevermind album cover.

- The baby on the cover is Spencer Elden, who was four months old when his picture was taken by photographer Kirk Weddle, a friend of his parents. Elden's parents were paid $200 for the photo shoot and went to eat tacos afterwards. Elden later said they didn't give it "too much thought" and that he was "blown in the face to stimulate [his] gag reflex" before being dunked in the pool.

- The original idea for the cover was to show a woman giving birth underwater, inspired by Kurt Cobain's fascination with underwater births. However, the record label rejected this concept as too graphic and asked for something more palatable. Weddle came up with the idea of a baby swimming in a pool, which Cobain liked.

- The dollar bill on the fishing line was added later by the record label's art director, Robert Fisher, who wanted to add some "bait" to the image. Some interpret this as a critique of consumerism and capitalism, while others see it as a playful and absurd element. Fisher said he chose a dollar bill because it was "something everybody would recognize."

- The album cover sparked controversy for its depiction of child nudity and was censored or altered in some countries. In some cases, the baby's genitals were covered by a sticker or blurred out. In other cases, the whole image was replaced by something else, such as a group photo of the band or a live shot of Cobain. Elden said he felt "weird" about being famous for his penis and that he wished he had been paid more for his image.

- In 2021, Elden sued Nirvana LLC and several other defendants, claiming they violated child pornography laws and exploited his image without his consent or compensation. He also alleged that he suffered lifelong damages from the exposure and that the defendants failed to protect him from sexual exploitation and trafficking. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and asks for all copies of the album to be destroyed. The defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit.

The Nevermind album cover is one of the most recognizable and influential images in rock history, but it also has a complex and controversial backstory. What do you think of this image and its meaning? Do you think Elden has a valid case against Nirvana and the others? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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