Thirty years ago, I was 18-years old and desperately looking forward to seeing Nirvana live at the SECC in Glasgow. I had queued for hours to get a ticket from Virgin Records on Union Street.
Then, in early March 1994, Kurt overdosed in Italy, resulting in the original Glasgow date of 28th March being postponed. There was widespread concern for the health of Kurt, Courtney and young Frances. I remember reading an interview in the Melody Maker by Everett True, friend and champion of Kurt and the band where True wrote of his concern for the way Cobain and Love were living. It sounded utterly chaotic and unsustainable. Later documentary footage of the duo at home around this time is truly harrowing and heartbreaking.
On 8th April 1994, news broke that Kurt's body has been found. I was in King Tuts to see The Pastels play as part of Glasgow Sound City. In a time before mobiles and the internet, there were pre-gig whispers/rumours around the room. The Pastels came on stage and dedicated the show to Kurt.
I had parked directly outside King Tuts and after the gig my friend Grant and I got into the car and turned on Radio 1 to hear John Peel, but Peel wasn't there. It was just Nirvana song after song, then a pre-recorded message to say that John wasn't able to broadcast and the show was dedicated to Kurt.
From memory, I don't think Grant and I spoke much on the way home. We must have been in shock. A hero had died. Did I grieve? Or just throw myself into more music? I honestly can't remember. I had only just turned 18. I think my grief was over quickly, maybe within a couple of weeks. Music ... and life ... went on.
It's better to burn out than to fade away is what Kurt wrote in his suicide note. Cobain certainly burned bright and my friends and I would regularly talk about what the next Nirvana album was going to be like following their seminal MTV Unplugged performance. There were rumours that Michael Stipe wanted to write with Kurt.
On reflection, Nirvana got too big, far too quickly. They were a punk band with punk beliefs, but Kurt loved melodic guitar pop - from The Beatles to The Vaselines. Cobain's songwriting quickly developed from the release of debut album Bleach in 1989 to Nevermind and in 1991. Smells Like Teen Spirit took Nirvana to the mainstream, where they were eaten up and spat out, playing to 'jocks' and people that they were always against.
Geffen expected Nevermind (released in September) to sell 250,000 copies, the same as Sonic Youth's Goo. By Christmas of 1991, Nirvana were selling 400,000 copies per week, fuelled by the phenomenal success of Smells Like Teen Spirit. As a result, the follow up single, Come As You Are, wasn't released until March 1992.
When it came to recording the follow up, Cobain broke from the polished sound of Nevermind, working with producer Steve Albini and writing songs with puns in the title (Radio Friendly Unit Shifter) and cries for help in the lyrics.
I've been listening back to Nirvana quite a bit recently and thought I would blog on 5 of my favourite songs by the band.
At the time of writing, I chose;
About A Girl
The third song on debut album Bleach and the opening song from the MTV Unplugged performance and album. About A Girl was an early indication of Kurt's sense of melody, very much at odds from the heavy riffing and obscure song titles that dominated Bleach. In comparison, the title said it all. This was a love song about a girl (Tracy Marander), written back in 1988 after Kurt spent an afternoon listening to Meet The Beatles. Kurt had to go into the cafe that Marander worked in to see here. Hence the line I can't see you every night for free.
There is a fizzing guitar solo and a passionate vocal, the first real evidence that Kurt could sing and not just scream. The Unplugged performance sounds even better, Kurt's voice is so beautiful despite years of straining, screaming and singing with gut wrenching emotion. The fizzing guitar solo is much more mellow and allows the groove/rhythm a little space to breathe.
MTV Unplugged version
Lithium
Lithium is the sound of Nirvana perfecting the quiet /loud / quiet / loud / explosive sound.
Perfectly structured, Lithium begins with a cool melancholic riff for the verses and Kurt singing I'm so happy, 'cause today I found my friends, they're in my head. Cobain doesn't sound happy though.
Things kick in for the yeah, yeah, yeah bridge, with Kurt's vocals straining in that beautiful way that entranced a generation and the second verse contains the brilliant line I'm so horny, that's OK my will is good. Then the second bridge builds to an explosion.
Even now, the relentless power of the I'm not gonna crack double chorus absolutely blows me away.
I like it, I'm not gonna crack
I miss you, I'm not gonna crack
I love you, I'm not gonna crack
I killed you, I'm not gonna crack
Wow! At the time of writing, this could be my favourite Nirvana song. Listen to the lift into the second double chorus. As a teenager, cranking this up on my on my stereo with sub woofers and dancing around my bedroom was an absolute joy.
Official video
All Apologies
Or maybe All Apologies might just be my favourite Nirvana song! The groove, the riff, the melody, Kurt's voice ... he reportedly recorded all his vocals for In Utero in just 6-hours. The song dates back to 1990, Dave Grohl recalls hearing a 4-track demo and thinking; 'this guy has such a beautiful sense of melody, I can't believe he's screaming all the time.'
This could be the home demo released on the Sliver - Best of the Box / In Utero boxset.
All Apologies - home demo
Kurt revisits this version in his Unplugged performance. It's still mellow and melancholic as the closing song on In Utero, but the use of cello really comes out on the Unplugged version. Kurt's guitar solo is gorgeous.
MTV Unplugged version
Lounge Act
Outstanding guitar power pop. Kicking in with a bass groove, Kurt then produces warm guitar sounds and a flowing vocal melody over the top, finding the chorus in 32 seconds.
Don't, tell me what I wanna hear
Afraid of never knowing fear
Then at 90-seconds, Kurt brings out that voice. Stretched to the limits, Kurt goes for it with a verse and double chorus. There is no let up and it's all over in 2 minutes 36 seconds - glorious!
Truth, covered insecurity
I can't let you smother me
Son Of A Gun
I try not to include cover versions when writing features on 10 (or in this case 5) favourite songs by favourite artists, but given that covers feature so prominently through Nirvana's career - from debut single Love Buzz, through Peel sessions and to the legendary MTV show, it's hard not to feature one.
I was going to include Nirvana's cover of Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World as, personally, I think it is way better than the original. The thing that gets me about Bowie's recording is the percussion instrument that is turned up WAY TOO HIGH IN THE MIX in my opinion. It does my head in!
Kurt and Nirvana are not quite 'unplugged' for the fizzing guitar riff that opens their version. Kurt's voice has that beautiful aching feeling to it. No wonder so many people fell for Nirvana, no wonder their Unplugged performance was broadcast almost on a loop.
However, I'm going for Nirvana blitzing their way through The Vaselines for a John Peel session in 1990. This is pre-Teen Spirit and the post Nevermind craziness. I bought The Kurt Cobain Diaries in 2002 and poured over them. I loved Kurt doodling band logos, setlists, artwork and I loved reading his letters to Eugene Kelly from The Vaselines.
Kurt declared his love for the band. It's kind of amazing how he discovered The Vaselines EP's out in Seattle. The two form a bond, exchanging letters and records. In one unposted note to Eugene, Kurt says he is living in his car, passing on Krist's number. It was the same week Teen Spirit was released!
Playing a cover of a band he loved on a radio show by a DJ who fell for his own band just feels so Nirvana. So punk rock. Kurt would always champion his favourite underground acts, by wearing t-shirts by them, or covering their songs. Whether BMX Bandits, Daniel Johnston or The Meatpuppets (Kurt not only covered their songs but invited them to join Nirvana for Unplugged). For those he covered, royalty cheques made a huge difference to their lives and art.
Back to Son Of A Gun. Grohl's drums have a pounding punk Motown feel, Kurt's guitar fuzzes beautifully, Krist holds it all together and the vocals are almost bubblegum punk pop. And Cobain singing that chorus over and over just melts my heart every time.
Please also see my 2015 blog - Nirvana play The Vaselines
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