5 from Kurt and Nirvana

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

Lola

Cover version of the month #64

The Raincoats cover The Kinks

Lola by The Kinks is a magnificent example of Ray Davies songwriting skills. There is a story full of humour, delivered with a dash of mischief. You can imagine Davies smiling with a gleam in his eye as he wrote the song.

The playfulness in the lyrics is there from the off, warm chords turn to a finger picked riff and Ray introduces us to the setting of where he met Lola, cheekily and a little outrageously spelling out cola in the first verse. It's so cool, so simple yet so clever, and so effective - you're hooked immediately.

I met her in a club down in old Soho

Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola

C-O-L-A, cola

Davies doesn't let up, the song flows easily with his humour spilling into every verse, almost every line. There is some exaggeration as he tells the story of meeting Lola who has a deep voice who nearly breaks his spine when she squeezes him.

The fourth verse is just hilarious, leading to an even funnier break where Davies introduces the imagery of Lola picking him up and sitting him on 'her' knee.

I'm not dumb but I can't understand

Why she walked like a woman but talked like a man

Ray Davies is in sensational form, in his element as he continues his tale. My favourite section is probably the flowing break where he sings;

Girls will be boys and boys will be girls

It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world, except for Lola

Davies continues his tale to conclusion;

Well I'm not the worlds most masculine man

But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man

And so is Lola

La-la-la-la Lola

Lola was released in 1970, a full 2-years before Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side opened with Holly plucking her eyebrows and shaving her legs and then he was a she. I would have put money on Lou's song being released first.

This is just genius songwriting, an artist completely in the zone. The inspiration for Lola has generated a few stories down the years, but regardless of whether it was a band member or Davies himself, the result is undeniable - a story beautifully, hilariously and vividly told via the form of pop music, full of a vibrant energy, Davies sounds excited by his tale, excited by the song.

How on earth do you cover it?

What an amazing picture! Couldn't find a credit but how cool

do The Raincoats look? Like a real gang!

Well, in 1979 the punk band The Raincoats decided to cover it on their eponymous debut album. The brilliant picture above is how I imagine the song being played, the band close together, bashing it out and having fun. The Raincoats formed around Art School and the London squat scene in 1977, with Ana da Silva and Gina Birch as the central members.

The difference is quite staggering, a band feeling their way through the song. The zip and confidence that shines through The Kinks original is replaced by a young band sounding extremely raw, yet still managing to put their own twist on it.

Ana knew a couple of chords and I could sing along with a few hymns and rock n roll tunes - Gina Birch, The Raincoats

I definitely prefer the original version, but there is something I admire and love about The Raincoats version. The beats sound almost primitive at the beginning, the vocals start very deadpan before lifting in the second verse, then lifting further in the third verse when harmonies kick in. 

At times the band sound like they aren't sure what the chords are, then at times the band flow as they all sing and inject urgency into their version. I believe one of the main reasons that so many punk records have stood the test of time is precisely because a lot of the bands were far from technically great, but the rawness in terms of musical ability and production, matched with passion, creativity and energy created magic.

Well I left home just a week before

And I'd never, ever kissed a woman before

Lola smiled and took me by the hand

And said little boy I'm going to make you a man

I would have seen The Raincoats in 1994 supporting Nirvana at the SECC in Glasgow. Kurt Cobain was a huge fan. Sadly the show never happened. Kurt's love of The Raincoats, The Vaselines, The Meat Puppets and even the likes of Daniel Johnston helped propel these artists to worldwide audiences. Cover versions, t-shirts in pictures and regular mentions in interviews.

Cobain visited Da Silva in the antique shop she worked in while he was in London in 1992, asking her if she could replace his worn out version of their debut album. 

When I listen to The Raincoats I feel as if I'm a stowaway in an attic, violating and in the dark. Rather than listening to them, I feel like I'm listening in on them. We're together in the same old house and I have to be completely still or they will hear me spying from above and, if I get caught - everything will be ruined because it's their thing. They're playing music for themselves.

Kurt Cobain, extract from the liner notes to the reissue of The Raincoats debut album

The Kinks original version + live version

The Raincoats version

Click here (or search for) Everything Flows cool cover versions on Spotify for a playlist of the covers I have blogged about and read on for a full list and links to previous cover of the month blogs. 

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt

14. This Guy's In Love With You

15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine

16. California Soul

18. Wonder wall 

19. Dancing In The Dark

20. Always On My Mind

21. Ceremony

22. Heroes

23. Different Drum

24. Wild Horses

25. Respect

26. Mr Tambourine Man

27. I Heard It Through The Grapevine

28. Superstar

29. Twist and Shout

30. Purple Rain

31. Baker Street

32. Not Fade Away

33. Stop Your Sobbing

34. I Don't Want To Grow Up

35. Serious Drugs

36. Dancing With Myself

37. How Does It Feel To Feel?

38. Love Buzz

39. ABBA-esque
40. Jumpin' Jack Flash

41. Discoland

42. Varshons 2 by The Lemonheads

43. The Langley Schools Music Project
44. Witchi Tai To
45. Our Lips Are Sealed
46. Sunshine Of Your Love
47. Here Comes The Sun
48. I Think We're Alone Now
49. Don't Let Me Down 
50. It's Oh So Quiet
51. Alcoholiday 
52. Summer Holiday
53. Who Do You Think You Are?
54. Head On
55. Nothing Compares 2 U

56. Hey Jude

57. Seven Days Too Long

58. L.O.V.E Love

59. Into Your Arms

60. Heart Of Glass

61. Take Me To The River

62. We Can Work It Out 

63. Talking In My Sleep

500,000 page views

Page views on the morning of 13th September 2019

Everything Flows Glasgow has reached 500,000 page views.

I have no idea if this is good or terrible, but it is a landmark for me!

It works out at an average of 680 per blog. I'll take that. Blog views these days tend to be from anything as low as 50 to 500. Occasionally they will go higher - see below for reasons why.

I began the blog simply because I enjoy writing about music. I wanted to be a journalist as a kid and loved the weekly buzz of walking the long way to school to buy the NME and Melody Maker on a Wednesday morning. I used to devour Uncut, Mojo, Select, Record Collector and many more. I must have spent a fortune on magazines in my teens and through to my mid-20's.

If just one person finds my blog and discovers something that they haven't heard before, or something that makes them go back to check an old song or album they haven't listened to in ages, then that is ultimately what makes me happy.

Feedback is always welcome. Someone once bought me a pint in Stereo because of my blog - thank you if that was you!

Everything Flows Glasgow - most viewed blogs

Higher page views tend to happen for the following reasons;

a) luck - it happens to get RT's or shared by the right person or the bands involved. Example - one of my highest viewed blogs is on Hot Chip, band members individually RT'd as did the bands account and their side projects.

b) timing - writing a live review immediately after a gig can really help with views (see The The in my highest viewed blogs), however I don't always do that and sometimes leave it far too late to even bother. I really should have blogged on Martha Reeves playing Glasgow in June!

c) the subject - One of my blogs that still gets regular views is on Nirvana covering The Vaselines, it is the kind of thing people google regularly. Likewise with the Stone Roses Amsterdam show I attended when Reni walked off the stage.

Meeting Mani in Amsterdam back in 2012

d) all of the above - the prime example being my blog on Gerry Cinnamon last summer. Gerry doesn't do media, so the mainstream media don't tend to write about him. As a result my blog is probably one of the few places his fans can read anything about him. On a daily and weekly basis this blog still generates page views.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog. I intend to keep it going for a while yet and I'd love to try and get into the habit of doing a monthly podcast.

Current regular/semi- regular features include;

• Cover version of the month - approaching the 50th blog on cover versions
• Never Ending Mixtape - regular round up of songs added to my Never Ending Mixtape on Spotify, now at 1,142 songs
• Trust me - just a song and the lyrics (I might start to add in a little commentary)
• 10 from - newly introduced feature that started this month with The Vaselines

I'll write about anything I like - live show, old band, new band - whatever I enjoy and very largely depending on time. So please don't be offended if you send a press release through for an album review. You'll see from my blogs that I really don't do that many.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any feedback.

Many thanks
Murray

Love Buzz

Cover of the month #38 - Nirvana cover Shocking Blue

I recently watched the Nirvana documentary Montage of Heck accompanied by a few bottles of beer. I was transported back to my teenage years and the wonder of falling in love with the power, punk soul and melody of Nirvana and the charisma and attitude of Kurt Cobain.

The sheer energy that Nirvana generated live as they were breaking was incredible. One of the live performances shown in Montage of Heck was their cover version of Love Buzz by The Shocking Blue. I was captivated.

Krist Novoselic was seemingly lost and fixated on the bass groove, Dave Grohl looked young and ferocious on the drums, hair everywhere. And Kurt ... well Kurt is being Kurt; driving his band on by attacking his guitar, spinning around the stage and simultaneously inspiring and antagonising the crowd.

I have included 3 films of Nirvana playing Love Buzz in this blog to highlight the power and intensity of Nirvana's live performances around this time and the brilliant way they transform the original.

1. Live at the Paramount, Seattle, 31/10/91
Kurt is almost throwing his guitar around as he plays, looking to inject extra energy, urgency and sound. Meanwhile Novoselic and Grohl highlight how tight they were with Krist just grooving on the bass riff and Grohl matching both Kurt's energy and the groove of the bass.

Kurt looks and sounds like he is trying to dismantle his guitar at one point, scratching and pulling at the strings as the rhythm section groove on, they bring it all back together with his guitar miraculously still relatively in tune for one final blitz on the riff.

This is top class live footage with someone on stage really capturing the movement and ferocity of the performance. Breathtaking.

2. Dallas, Texas, 19/10/91
With the stage set dangerously close to the audience, with no real height to offer protection, Kurt plays with added intensity. A couple of bouncers try to deal with stage invaders and crowd surfers as Kurt rips into the riff and screams into the mic. At 2 minutes and 8 seconds something snaps and Kurt launches himself over the heads of the front row, he is hoisted aloft and somehow still generating sounds from his guitar as a bouncer tries to pull him back to the stage. For reasons we'll never know, Kurt strikes out at the bouncer with his guitar before being dragged back to the stage and receiving a hefty blow to the head by the bouncer.

Krist and Dave jump in and Kurt is back on his feet almost immediately as his mates try to defuse the situation.

 The full show is available on the second video. Kurt has issues with the sound and after Polly he smashes the sound desk with his guitar at around 34 minutes 50 seconds in. By the time of Love Buzz Cobain's frustrations boil over and he launches himself into the crowd- as above.

Cobain pics his guitar up and plays what sounds like the riff of Something In The Way before tossing his guitar high and into the drums. There is a lot of noise and confusion before Nirvana play again with Kurt's guitar way out of tune for Penny Royal Tea.

Then in a remarkable show of resilience and character after the fight, Kurt and co tear in Negative Creep and On A Plain as bouncers/stewards gamefully try to keep people from invading the stage. The band end by ripping through Territorial Pissings. It is remarkable footage!

3. Live At Reading 1992
The above footage is incredible, both from October 1991, just a month after the release of Nevermind. Fast forward to the summer of 1992 and Kurt takes the stage at Reading in a wheelchair and hospital gown to take the piss out of rumours about his health.

The energy, passion and punk attitude from the above shows is still there as Kurt throws, smashes and detunes his guitar and then somehow manages to play it again. His unpredictability means that you just cannot take your eyes off him.

So Love Buzz is a favourite of mine, the energy leaps out of the song and the rhythm of Krist and Dave is sensational.

The original was released by Shocking Blue in 1969. The riff is there, but Nirvana electrify and magnify it, recognising its power and transforming it to their advantage. The original also has a bit of a crazy section before bringing the riff back in, but again, Nirvana take that to another level and Kurt's rasping vocal is just incredible.

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt
14. This Guy's In Love With You

15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine
16. California Soul
18. Wonder wall 
19. Dancing In The Dark
20. Always On My Mind
21. Ceremony
22. Heroes
23. Different Drum
24. Wild Horses

25. Respect
26. Mr Tambourine Man
27. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
28. Superstar
29. Twist and Shout
30. Purple Rain
31. Baker Street
32. Not Fade Away
33. Stop Your Sobbing
34. I Don't Want To Grow Up
35. Serious Drugs
36. Dancing With Myself
37. How Does It Feel To Feel?

Everything Flows TV - episode 1

I love YouTube. I come from an era where I recorded music videos and performances from The Word, Top of the Pops, the White Room, Later with Jools and BBC coverage of festivals like Glastonbury and T in the Park on to VHS cassettes!

And there was a market for this. Some enterprising individuals would mass produce their homemade bootlegs and sell them at record fairs. So I forked out £15/£20 for everything I could find on the Stone Roses, Oasis and The Charlatans!

Of course nowadays any TV show a band has ever done is online, as is their promo videos, interviews, official live footage and plenty of bootleg footage - some good, others shoddy.

I love when people I follow online post good stuff to watch, so I thought I would introduce what will hopefully become a regular feature - Everything Flows TV.

Episode 1 features brilliant stuff from The Beastie Boys, Nirvana, AC/DC and Jimi Hendrix.

The Beastie Boys fly through Sabotage live on the Letterman show. Check the ferocious energy and fun they are having. Superb!

The Word, broadcast late on a Friday night on Channel 4, was essential trash TV for a young teenager. There was some truly awful stuff broadcast, but some incredible live performances. Check Kurt's intro to Smells Like Teen Spirit, Captain America (to become Eugenius) t-shirt and the brilliant performance - Nirvana were such a tight live band but they could just go crazy - and they do....live on TV.

There used to be so much music on TV. This was extremely memorable! Nirvana were booked to play their current single Lithium on Jonathan Ross' show and were introduced to that effect. Broadcast live, they decided to tear through Territorial Pissings instead! They blitz through it with exceptional punk rock energy and intensity, leaving Jonathan Ross a little shocked but he makes the most of it with a little joke.

Speaking of energy - a few people recently posted this brilliant video of AC/DC performing It's A Long Way To The Top If You Wanna Rock n Roll. Rocking out in the street (complete with bagpipes!) the band look like they are having the time of their lives - something that they always transferred to their fans.

In 1967 it must have seemed like anything could happen - and it often did. 2-days after the release of The Beatles seminal Sgt Pepper's, Jimi Hendrix and the Experience opened with it .... in front of The Beatles (Paul and George).

It would be one of his first gigs in London. Jimi was a sweetie, a very nice guy. I remember him opening at the Saville on a Sunday night, 4 June 1967. Brian Epstein used to rent it when it was usually dark on the Sunday. Jimi opened, the curtains flew back and he came walking forward, playing 'Sgt. Pepper', and it had only been released on the Thursday so that was like the ultimate compliment. It's still obviously a shining memory for me, because I admired him so much anyway, he was so accomplished. To think that that album had meant so much to him as to actually do it by the Sunday night, three days after the release. He must have been so into it, because normally it might take a day for rehearsal and then you might wonder whether you'd put it in, but he just opened with it. It's a pretty major compliment in anyone's book. I put that down as one of the great honours of my career. I mean, I'm sure he wouldn't have thought of it as an honour, I'm sure he thought it was the other way round, but to me that was like a great boost. - Paul McCartney, Many Years From Now

Never Ending Mixtape Part 5

There's not a British artist in sight for this months additions to the Never Ending Mixtape.

A lot of the songs on the mixtape relate to my teenage years when I was discovering all kinds of music - new and old. I remember buying a 7-inch in the old Missing Records in Glasgow cause I liked the cover of a beat up old car and the song title Babe Come Down. I've loved this song for over half my life but really don't know much about the band Sammy at all. Slacker indie guitar that just sounded glorious to a young teenager living in a small town 20-miles from Glasgow that might just as well have been 1 million miles.

Sammy split up way in 1996, way before the era of the internet. So there's not much about them online at all. Just a few references to their debut album and Babe Come Down from other people who happened to discover them.

It was such a different time back then. For independent bands from America the thought and fact that teenage kids in Glasgow were somehow picking up one of their limited edition 7-inch singles must have been slightly mind blowing.

I never got round to buying the Sammy album, or maybe it never for around to arriving in Glasgow. But it is now on Spotify and their slacker style indie guitar music is filling me with teen spirit.

And on that note; I've added in Sappy by Nirvana, a song my friend Craig and I discovered on a bootleg Nirvana CD over 20-years ago following Kurt's sad passing. He would have been 50 today,

Check the Never Ending Playlist from the start here. All of this months songs are listed below.

Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed
Lou Reed was known for his experimentation; I like his experimentation with pop and melody more than his noisier material. This is perfect; the groove, flow, stories, hook, backing vocals...

Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
Like Lou Reed's stuff, it is the copier stuff of Pixies that I like. Some of my friends are Pixies daft (as is half of Glasgow) - this is by far my favourite song of theirs.

Start Choppin' - Dinosaur Jr
Ah J Mascis playing guitar - what a sound. I had some guitar lessons when I was 18 and I asked if I could be taught this riff!

Soul and Fire - Sebadoh
Lou Barlow aches over the sound of chiming guitars. One of the singles I fell for so much that I own on multiple formats.

If I Can't Change Your Mind - Sugar
Bob Mould knew that his Sugar project was a good one and that Copper Blue would open doors. It certainly opened mine. This is power guitar pop perfection.

Cut Your Hair - Pavement
Crazy, fun, clever and sounding great. Slacker indie pop perfection.

Cannonball - The Breeders
See above for crazy and fun. The groove and flow, rises and falls in this song, the hook.....ooohh so good that 2ManyDj's dropped it into their sets.

Sugar Kane - Sonic Youth
Blistering guitar - just superb to hear.

Babe Come Down - Sammy
See opening paragraphs. Slacker indie guitar pop heaven.

Web in Front - Archers of Loaf
More American guitar indie brilliance. The mid-90's was an amazing time for discovering music from across the ocean.

Sappy - Nirvana
Ah yeah - what could have been. The demo's that Kurt left behind and the amazing Unplugged performance....what would Nirvana have done next.....

BMX Bandits 30

Everything Flows Podcast #10

BMX Bandits are 30 - Duglas T Stewart interview and music

Duglas and Chloe - BMX Bandits core in 2016

Yesterday afternoon I enjoyed a couple of hours sitting on a bench in Glasgow Green in glorious sunshine with a cheeky ice-cream, recording a special podcast in the company of Duglas T Stewart; singer, songwriter and leader of legendary Scottish band - the BMX Bandits.

BMX Bandits have been celebrating 30-years of music - the band formed in 1985 and released debut single E102 in 1986.

It was 5-years after the release of debut single that I discovered the band in 1991. Aged 15, I was a musical sponge, soaking up all kinds of stuff. From raiding my parents record collections to discover The Beatles, The Stones, Marvin and Tammi and Jose Feliciano....and scouring the NME and Melody Maker every week, looking to discover favourite bands of my own.

A number of the bands I fell for back in 1991 were from in and around Glasgow. A couple happened to hail from Bellshill which seemed rather incredible for a young teenager in the relative Lanarkshire backwater of Carluke.

The BMX Bandits seemed to be a band that practically everyone was linked to in some shape or form. Check their family tree below! Kurt Cobain also said 'If I could be in any other band, it would be BMX Bandits.'

BMX Bandits subsequently turned me on to all kinds of stuff. Being friends with Duglas means that you are never far from a lost 60's classic or super cool new band from Japan appearing on your timeline. I'm very fortunate to have grown up with bands who wear their influences on their sleeves and someone like Duglas has remained a musical sponge long past his teens! His knowledge and taste is impeccable and I was absolutely delighted when he agreed to meet for a podcast where he has selected all of the songs. 6Music or Radio Scotland should sign him up for a show!

Listen in to learn about what these songs mean to Duglas and we also get a chance to talk about all things BMX Bandits - The Pretty Flowers, the Splash Club, E102, 53rd and 3rd, Creation, the 90's, My Chain, Bee Stings, BMX Bandits In Space, past and current members, future plans....

We somehow pack all of this and much, much more into 72-minutes. LISTEN HERE



1. The Morning Of Our Lives - Jonathan Richman
2. The Sweet Sounds Of Summer - The Shangri-Las
3. Lutie Lutie - Tenniscoats
4. Who Do You Think You Are? - Jigsaw
5. Like A Monkey In A Zoo - Daniel Johnston
6. I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren
7. Someday Man - Paul Williams
8. Jean - Rod McKuen

Also - check this brilliant garage pop groove Razorblades and Honey by BMX Bandits and Anton Newcombe that Duglas mentions in the podcast. Recorded in Anton's Berlin studio during a recent trip. It is ace. Hope they record again in the future.

Nirvana play The Vaselines

Cover(s) of the month #3
Nirvana cover The Vaselines

The Vaselines were (originally) an small but influential alternative rock band from Glasgow that had released a couple of EP's and an album in their (initial) short career, before promptly breaking up.

Fanzine culture carried their songs across the ocean to a young fan in Seattle who promptly fell in love with them, leading to him corresponding with The Vaselines Eugene Kelly by mail. There was no instant communication online in those days.

That young fan happened to be Kurt Cobain who always remained true to his roots; Nirvana covered The Vaselines not once, not twice, but three times. Nirvana and Cobain also helped to promote Eugene's later bands; Captain America and Eugenius - through support slots, mentions in interviews, t-shirts and a guest appearance by Eugene at the Reading Festival.

I've been listening to Nirvana quite a bit over the last few months; marvelling at their unique urgency, Cobain's exceptional vocals and ferocious guitar playing, the brilliant rhythm section of Novoselic and Grohl, the sense of togetherness - a real band/gang.

Nirvana and Cobain were always quick to display their influences, churning out a load of covers for sessions, EP's, b-sides and at live shows. To cover 3 songs by The Vaselines alongside songs by the likes of The Velvet Underground, Bowie, Devo and Kiss is real evidence of Kurt's love for the Glasgow bands sense of fun and knack for melody.

Two of the covers are on the Incesticide album of b-sides, session tracks and demos.

The Vaselines Dying For It EP contained 2-tracks covered by Nirvana

Molly's Lips is so simple, Cobain fuzzes and scuzzies the guitar riff and remains true to the melody but just speeds and punks it up.

Son Of A Gun is sensational, the band tear through it and Cobain hammers home the chorus again and again with unbridled pop punk joy.

The sun shines in the bedroom

When we play

And the rain it always starts

When you go away

Cobain and Nirvana played some incredible covers on their MTV Unplugged show, 6 in total; Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World, 3 songs from The Meat Puppets who joined Nirvana on stage, Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Leadbelly and The Vaselines Jesus Don't Want Me For A Sunbeam.

It is a beautiful version, very true to the original, Cobain's voice is beautifully raw and soulful. You wonder what the next Nirvana album would have sounded like; would it have taken a more mellow and acoustic route?

Cobain's take on Bowie, his astonishing transformation of the Meat Puppets songs and his spine tingling version of Leadbelly's old song are truly incredible - an artist on top of his game, happy to display his love of music through covers.

Nirvana covering 3 songs by The Vaselines eventually led to the band reforming and having a worldwide audience. Would this have happened without Cobain and Nirvana? Almost certainly not. That The Vaselines have now recorded 2 albums in the last few years is something to be thankful for, their ear for pop and sense of fun and humour is still evident and it has been great to see them at the Barrowland Ballroom and the Wickerman Festival in the last 2-months; new songs mixing well with the early classics.

Cobain's take on The Vaselines is joyful, he injects real punk pop into Molly's Lips and Son Of A Gun and extra tenderness on Jesus Don't Want Me For A Sunbeam.

Oasis at the Glasgow Tramway 1994

20-years ago I took the week off work to attend some gigs and workshops that made up Glasgow Sound City. I was 18-years old and a musical sponge, soaking up all kinds of stuff from the 60's through to the current day.

One band in particular had caught my attention and imagination - Oasis. They really did arrive at the perfect time for me.

Oasis had released a few demos on cassette giveaways through the NME and Select Magazine and were being talked in hushed tones about being a cross between Happy Mondays and the Sex Pistols. The Stone Roses had also been mentioned in reviews/features and when I saw them on The Word in March that year I was hooked.

When the line-up for Sound City was announced, Oasis were going to be supporting label mates The Boo Radleys (riding high with their acclaimed Giant Steps LP) at a venue called the Tramway. I had to go.

I still have my ticket - now framed (above) in a collage that has The Charlatans ticket from Sound City underneath. Hole were due to be supporting them, but they cancelled after Cobain's failed suicide attempt in Paris, and were replaced by Pulp. Later that week I would be attending The Pastels at King Tut's when sadly news filtered through that this time Kurt had been successful. It was quite a week for a young music fan.

The Tramway is a brilliant arts venue in the Southside of Glasgow and I had no real way of getting there and back by public transport from the backwaters of Carluke where I am originally from. So I remember driving in at the weekend on a 'test run' with my Dad!

I was in bright and early. I always was back in the day, I wanted to capture the build up to all gigs and see all the support bands - especially this one!

Jo Whiley was floating around looking rather gorgeous as the set was going out on Radio 1. I could see Oasis lurking about backstage.

From memory, Liam had a cool blue and white jumper on (possibly the one in this picture but I may be mistaken) and was shaking a star shaped tambourine.

The crowd was pretty sparse with most folk standing at the back or out at the bar before the Boo Radleys came on. I wasn't cool and was right down the front where I met some lads I used to go to school with.

Oasis strolled on confidently, were introduced by Jo Whiley, and they launched into Shaker Maker, throwing in lines from the New Seekers I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing for good measure. They looked like a real gang.

Digsy's Dinner was next and the band blasted through it. It's not their greatest song but I always enjoyed it live and the line 'these could be the best days of our lives' was pretty apt for an 18-year old at the time.

Live Forever is one of their greatest songs though. Astonishing. There was nothing else out that spoke to me as much as Oasis did at the time. I was looking for a band to fall in love with, a front man to model myself on and songs to sing from the bottom of my heart. I had found them.

I knew Cigarettes and Alcohol as a demo version had been given away on an NME tape. The T-Rex rip off riff and the shake of Liam's tambourine built into a powerful wall of noise that just blew people away.

You can wait for a lifetime, to spend your days in the sunshiiiiinnnneee

You might as well do the white line

Cause when it comes on top

You gotta make it happen

You gotta make it happen

Supersonic ended the short set. Tony McCarroll's drums were simple but punk pure, Noel's guitar sounded sensational.

I bought an Oasis poster and t-shirt after the gig. I followed them intensely for the next few years. That night at the Tramway led to some incredible nights out and life long friendships. I think the bands that you fall in love with in your teens are the bands that last with you through your life, for Oasis to come along when I was 18 was just perfect.

Oasis - Tramway setlist
Shaker Maker
Digsy's Dinner
Live Forever
Cigarettes and Alcohol
Supersonic

Five for Friday, 21st October 2011

This week's Five for Friday digs deep into my CD and record collection for some tunes I haven't played in ages.

We start with Looper, fronted by Stuart David the former bassist of Belle and Sebastian. The song was used in the Vanilla Sky movie which has a tremendous soundtrack.

We then head Stateside for the sublime 'Such Great Heights' by The Postal Service, released on that lovely label that is Sub Pop.

Staying with Sub Pop we have the gorgeous harmonies of Beach House and 'Take Care' from their lovely album 'Teen Dream'. I still kick myself for not going to see them at Oran Mor.

Going back a little further and sticking with the Sub Pop vibe, we have one of my favourite tunes. It has been a while since I listened to it. It's one of those tunes I like so much that I have it on CD and vinyl. I remember buying it from the old Missing Records on Oswald Street back in the early 90's. The chiming guitar hooked me from the off and Lou Barlow's lyrics and voice just hooked me further. 'I think our love is coming to an end, I know our love is coming to an end'. Heartbreaking and life affirming at the same time. 'Saying goodbye, was so much fun.'

We go off on a slight tangent with the last tune, originally released on legendary Scottish label 53rd & 3rd, but I didn't get my hands on that EP, although a certain young Kurt Cobain in Seattle somehow did. However later on Sub Pop released the compilation 'The Way Of The Vaselines', another CD I bought from Missing Records. The innocence on this, the sheer sense of fun and the catchiness just brings a smile to my face every time.

Enjoy

'The sun shines in my bedroom, when you play,

and the rain it always starts, when you go away.'

Look out for the ferocious Nirvana cover version on Incesticide.

20-years since Nevermind

'So earlier this year I blogged about the 20^th anniversary of one of my all-time favourite albums; Screamadelica by Primal Scream.

1991 was a seminal year for music and 2 of my other all-time favourite albums were also released that year; Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub and the mighty Nevermind by Nirvana. Reports are out this week that Nevermind is set to get the deluxe, expanded and resmastered treatment this September. So I’ll save a Bandwagonesque blog for the future and focus on Nevermind for now.

1991 was a pretty good year to be a 15!

I discovered so many bands back then, swapping compilation tapes with guys like Grant Mitchell and Martin Callan, devouring the weekly musical press and listening to the Evening Session and the legendary John Peel.

I can’t quite remember exactly how or when I discovered Nirvana. I think it was probably through Grant who probably discovered them through their first album Bleach as Grant was (and is) a bit of a Sub Pop kid with his ear to the ground for new bands and obscure 7-inches. Grant was also well educated by a mutual friend David (Dava) Tough who was a few years older than us and he had an incredible knowledge of independent music that he passed on to kids in our year as Martin Callan (bass) and Scott Sneddon (drums) played in his bands Librarian and All Too Human.

What I do remember quite vividly is being in Glasgow City Centre with Grant and Davey Lamb one day, going into various record shops and Nevermind being played in every single one. There were also posters and billboards everywhere, not to mention t-shirts. Nirvana were everywhere. Nowadays loads of goth/emo kids hang out at Central Station. It used to be indie/Nirvana kids that hung out in Argyll Street outside HMV or at the Museum of Modern Art. I remember one cool girl with bleached blonde hair wearing a black Nirvana t-shirt with a smiley f**ked face and the words; flower sniffin, kitty petting, baby kissin, corporate rock whores. I thought she was beautiful but I never said hi, although she always smiled and recognised me as I walked by. She looked older and cooler.

I also remember a couple of legendary TV appearances. The first being Nirvana’s appearance on the classic youth show The Word that was on late on Friday nights on Channel 4. It was incredibly tacky at times, really cheesey, yet the music on the show was amazing. I think Jo Whiley was the booker...someone who went on to better things anyway. Teenagers used to come home from drinking cider, or stay up late with the TV on quiet in their room, lusting after Danni Behr, laughing at an up and coming Mark Lehmar (check his MC Hammer interview)and wondering how Terry Christian got a job. (that said, Christian is now doing some incredible work for independent and unsigned music in Manchester).

Cobain was in the early stage of his relationship with Courtney Love and promptly dedicated ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ to ‘Courtney Love, the best f*ck in the world.’ Watching this video back just makes me grin from ear to ear.

Cobain and Nirvana has a sense of excitement about them. A garage band who got massive yet remained fiercely independent, still releasing split singles with the likes of Jesus Lizard, still remaining true to their punk roots, singing the praises of (and ultimately turning thousands on to) The Vaselines, Captain Amercia/Eugenius, Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits (from Glasgow alone), Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Daniel Johnston and the Meat Puppets.

‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was the song that kicked down doors for Nirvana and left them ajar for countless other alternative independent bands to follow; Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Dinosaur Jr....

Grohl still recalls in interviews how Cobain would order them to practice the infectious riff for hours on end until it was perfected. Well they got it and so did millions of teenagers and the record company and marketing men recognised it too.

The other legendary TV performance that I recall fondly was Nirvana appearing live on the Jonathan Ross Show. They were meant to be playing their current single 'Lithium' but instead they tore into the sheer punk of ‘Territorial Pissings’, kicking over their amps and smashing up their equipment, much to the amusement of Jonathan Ross. This was punk rock, yet the shock tactics that may have scared off some viewers only attracted more teenage kids looking to rebel.

But on to the album, Nevermind; the iconic cover, laden with singles, yet jam packed with amazing tracks from start to finish.

Nevermind is not an album I listen to that often to be honest. Mainly because all of the Nirvana albums I have (other than Bleach) are on vinyl. Somehow that makes the albums even more special.

My copy of Nevermind certainly displays signs of wear and tear, yet lovingly so. It is an album that still gives me a sense of anticipation, a buzz, when I take it out the sleeve and the needle hits the record.

The record starts, of course, with the single that catapulted Nirvana from tiny bars to stadiums, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ (see the video on The Word above).The riff explodes into action, before the bass holds it all together.

A lot of the lyrics to Nevermind were supposedly written last minute, while that may show at times, the fact that maybe not a great deal of care went into some of them, makes them even more special. The first words that come to mind, or the ones that need to come to mind during recording, can sometimes be the best.

And I forget just why I taste 
Oh yeah I guess it makes me smile 

I found it hard it's hard to find 

Oh well whatever nevermind 

While the 'here we are now, entertain us' was adopted as an athem for Generation X. 20 -years down the line it is hard to measure the impact this song and Nevermind as an album had on a generation of teenagers across the world. The loud guitars, lyrics, Cobain's punk rock attitude, the video(s)...everything combined. I think that generation were crying out for a band with meaning to grasp on to and Nirvana obliged.

In Bloom was also a single from the album. The run of singles propelled Nirvana skywards and their sense of humour was allowed to flourish in the videos that accompanied them, none more so than in the video for this one.

There is yet another huge riff, distorted, Cobain's voice straining to its raw best. Two songs into the album, both mention guns, although this one is in a sexual context (to me anyway). The video cuts between suited and bespectacled Nirvana on an Ed Sullivan-esque show, to them playing on the same show in dresses, smashing the place up and being and true to their punk roots. Perhaps a pop at Geffen for the stuff that the record company were enforcing on Nirvana.

Sell the kids for food. Weather changes moods. 
Spring is here again. Reproductive glands. 

 He's the one who likes all the pretty songs. 

And he likes to sing along. And he likes to shoot his gun. 

But he knows not what it mean. Knows not what it mean. And I say yeah. (x2) 

We can have some more. Nature is a whore. 

Bruises on the fruit. Tender age in bloom. 

'Come As You Are' was one of my favourites off this record when it came out. A little mellower, yet with Cobain still showcasing that beautiful raw voice, only in a slightly different way. Of course it wasn't all about Cobain, Nirvana were a true band. Dave Grohl exploding on drums throughout the album and Krist Novoselic keeping it all together on bass. Of course this song also mentions 'gun'. 

'Breed' is one of the punkiest songs on Nevermind and it was a real favourite of mine as a teenager. Listening to it now, it still is. The band tear through it, barely pausing for breath, Cobain spewing out lyrics, Grohl and Novoselic locked in a manic groove, distorted guitars for a solo. The 'I don't care' and 'I don't mind' lyrics were just ripe for teenagers to sing.

'Lithium' is just f**king brilliant. Taking the 'yeah yeah yeah's' from Cobain's beloved Beatles and turning them into something different altogether. Nirvana were tagged with the quiet-loud-quiet-loud brush at times by lazy journalists. In reality they were just a shit hot band that knew when to explode into action as they do to devastating effect in this song with the 'I'm not gonna crack' section.

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. (x2)

'Polly' slows things down. This was a real common room favourite at school, with both this version and the electric version from Incesticide receiving equal blasts of love on the ghetto blasters. The song is allegedly (well quite clearly really) about the abduction, rape and torture of a girl who had been attending a rock show. 

'Territorial Pissings' is pure punk rock as demonstrated in the Jonathan Ross show video above. Cobain pushes his voice to breaking point screaming 'gotta find a way, a better way' before one of my favourite lyrics;

just because you're paranoid, don't mean they're not after you

If Side 1 of Nevermind is full of singles, Cobain cuts loose on Side 2, kicking off with 'Territorial Pissings' before going on to demonstrate his ability for melody with 'Drain You'. Listening to the lyrics now, it could easily be interpreted as a love song (no Courtney pun intended). 

'Lounge Act' is now possibly my favourite song from Nevermind. I just love the way it flows, the lyrics, the guitars and the hooks. Cobain is just in sensational form with his voice, just spitting out the lyrics towards the end.

And I've got this friend, you see

Who makes me feel and I

Wanted more than I could steal

I'll arrest myself, I'll wear a shield

I'll go outta my way to prove I still

Smell her on you

'Stay Away' is pure punk pop, for some reason it makes me smile. The lyrics are almost bubble gum pop with Cobain rhyming stuff of and Grohl responding, it is fast, furious and fun;

Monkey see, monkey do 

(I don't know why)

Rather be dead than cool 

(I don't know why)

every line ends in rhyme 

(I don't know why)

less is more, love is blind 

(I don't know why)

'On A Plain' is another fave of mine, the lyrics made me smile as a teenager and they still do. It's one of the poppier efforts from Nevermind. Pop isn't a word that may sit well with Nirvana fans, yet Cobain clearly had an ear for a hook and a riff. 

Some of the lyrics almost make fun of the fact that Cobain was still writing them during recording;

It is now time to make it unclear 

To write off lines that don't make sense 

And one more special message to go 

And then I'm done, and I can go home 

The song flows easily from start to finish and lyrics like the ones below hark back to childhood, the humour in the line 'the finest day I ever had, was when I learned to cry on demand' is maybe lost on some. The unplugged version is below.

I love myself better than you 

I know it's wrong so what should I do? 

The finest day that I've ever had 

Was when I learned to cry on commmand

I love myself better than you 

I know it's wrong so what should I do? 

'Something In The Way' ends Nevermind on a mellow and sombre note, in complete contrast the ferocious opening. Telling the tale of when Cobain was homeless and living under a bridge in Seattle. This song is perhaps an early indication of where Cobain was heading post In Utero.

So how do you sum up Nirvana and Nevermind. It is a quite staggering album, all the more so because of the band they went on to become and the icon that Cobain was and is to millions of music fans.

Listening to it again today I am reminded of the faith that you could place in a band like Nirvana. Cobain was funny, confused, passionate, a genuine music fan...all qualities that you would want in a front man. Nirvana became massive yet never sold out. They needed the leg up from a major label to reach the masses, yet they were still punk rock, covering The Vaselines and The Meat Puppets, playing by their own rules. I can only dream about the band that they would have become. It would have been interesting.

Looking at bands today, someone with Cobain's spirit is sadly missing from the music scene. He was a one-off of course, but there appear to be far to many artists and bands that will jump through hoops and play by the rules. 

I can only hope that the flourishing DIY and underground scenes throw up an artist like Cobain or a band like Nirvana to give hope to the millions of teenagers out there. In 1991 I had Cobain, Gillespie, Brown all speaking to me through music, but also teaching me by speaking passionately about their musical tastes. 

This blog could go on and on, I'll simply end by saying that Nevermind still has immense power and depth 20-years from its release. If you have a copy, dig it out.