NIRVANA
Nirvana
(Geffen)
RATING: four
How do you explain Nirvana to people who never took to their music? How do you describe the way Kurt Cobain’s serrated blade of a voice could reach inside of you and yank out your heart through your throat? How can someone else understand how much pain and wisdom you can find in lyrics that sound like they were once bathroom wall graffiti: I’m so ugly/ That’s okay, ‘cause so are you; Sell the kids for food; All alone is all we are; Here we are now, entertain us; Rape me.
This was the coming-of-age music for a whole generation of pained teens (is there any other kind?) who took to Nirvana’s new brand of pre-millennial punk. Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic were each talented musicians in their own right, but it was Cobain who was the dark star whose very presence was punk rock. With his intense, blue eyes peeking out from behind matted strings of blond hair, his thin frame hunched over a guitar and a microphone, Kurt was an anti-rock star anti-hero, a grunge god who preached empathy with, not salvation from, suffering. When he finally killed himself in April 1994, it was almost a perfect ending. Yes, we were shocked, yes, we were dismayed, yes, we thought it untimely—but what else is there for the king of pain? Surely nobody really thought he was destined for a happy ending.
Still, his death meant that Nirvana were only around for seven years and six albums; their reign as the kings of grunge really only lasted three years, from the release of Nevermind in 1991 to April 1994—not nearly enough time for the public to get enough of their music; perhaps not even enough time to let the band realize their full creative potential.
Nirvana is the long-delayed posthumous best-of compilation from the band, hurriedly released after a long legal battle between the surviving members of Nirvana and Kurt’s litigious widow, Courtney Love. Their only release since 1996’s From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, this collection comprises fourteen of their best songs, plus one previously unreleased track, “I Know You’re Right,” Kurt’s swan song, recorded just over two months before he died. This in itself isn’t a standout track, although it’s always newsworthy when a “new” Nirvana track is found. Otherwise, it doesn’t take a genius to pick out the songs to include in this compilation, and indeed, there are no contentious choices, nor any pleasant surprises here. Just the obvious, with only one new track and an essay by music journalist David Fricke to sweeten the deal.
Still, if nothing else, Nirvana offers the opportunity to trace the arc of the band’s career. Beginning with the landmark track “About a Girl,” off their 1989 debut Bleach—the first love song, and which Fricke refers to as Kurt’s first great one—the CD’s 15 tracks demonstrate Nirvana’s development as a band, and Kurt’s growth as a songwriter. There’s a world of difference between the rough-hewn “Been a Son” or “Sliver” and the phenomenal melodies and complicated lyrics of Nevermind’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come as You Are,” “Lithium,” and “In Bloom.”
Nevermind, arguably one of the most important and influential rock albums of the 21st century, is of course well-represented in this collection, as is the impressive In Utero. This 1993 album may mark the band’s true peak, earning more lauds from critics than Nevermind, offering both the sophisticated grunge of “Heart-Shaped Box” and “Pennyroyal Tea” and the coarser, more direct “Rape Me” and “Dumb.”
You know, come to think of it, Nirvana only came out with three albums—the other three (1992’s Incesticide, 1993’s MTV Unplugged in New York, and 1996’s From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah) were live sets and/or retrospectives. Of these, only MTV Unplugged is represented, with the band’s cover versions of “The Man Who Sold the World” and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” and the heartbreaking acoustic version of “All Apologies.”
I’d argue for the inclusion of a couple more tracks on this collection. Where’s “Drain You,” “Aneurysm,” or even “Pay to Play”? And where is “Polly”—how could they miss “Polly”? This is the song, a disturbing narrative of a rape told from the point of view of a rapist, that got even Bob Dylan to sit up and take notice. Missing also is “Something in the Way,” which is of autobiographical importance to Kurt; this is the song in which he recounts his days living as a runaway under a bridge—not true, most people around him say, but it’s a myth that Kurt liked to nurture.
Of course, it’s all a matter of taste. The truth is that Nevermind and In Utero are already best-ofs in themselves, given the many remarkable tracks on those albums and the limits of the Nirvana discography. If this collection were to try to please everybody, it might have just as well have just re-released the two albums with a few other token tracks.
The black-and-silver album packaging is somber and dignified, a far cry from the humor and edginess of their past covers. Nirvana offers nothing new by way of music or posthumous commentary, and is more a tribute than anything else. There’s no better, more respectful way to pay tribute than to keep quiet and let the music speak for itself; and this collection does just that.—Kristine D. Fonacier
Track List
“You Know You’re Right”
A previously unreleased track recorded on January 30, 1994, this song was recorded during Kurt Cobain’s final session with Nirvana. Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl had been at the studio for two days, waiting for Kurt, when the singer finally showed up with no explanation for his absence, recording the track in minutes.
“About a Girl”
Recorded in December 1988, Kurt wrote this song about then-girlfriend Tracy Marander. According to Cobain biographer Charles Cross, Kurt would play the song in front of her but never admitted that it was about her. Directly influenced by the Beatles (Kurt wrote the song after listening to Meet the Beatles! for three hours), early audiences often mistook it for a cover.
“Been a Son”
Kurt, who had deep-seated issues with both parents while growing up, might have written this about his sister Kim, and how their father would have preferred a boy. Or it may have been a twist to an early Cobain line, “I wanted a father, but I got a dad.”
“Sliver”
“It’s probably the most straightforward song we’ve ever recorded,” Kurt told Melody Maker. This song was released as a single on SubPop, reappearing on Incesticide. The track features Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”
If there’s one song that launched the grunge era, this is it. The lyrics are mostly vague and unintelligible, though the title was taken from graffiti that Bikini Kill band member Kathleen Hanna spray-painted on Kurt’s wall: “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit,” taunting Kurt about his relationship with fellow Bikini Kill member Tobi Vail and referring to her brand of deodorant, Teen Spirit. (Hanna was dating Dave Grohl at the time.)
“Come As You Are”
Kurt was in the middle of a detox program when the band had to record the video for this single, and he insisted that all shots of his face be distorted or obscured.
“Lithium”
Referring to a popular pre-Prozac anti-depressive, the lyrics for this song changed over time. In an interview with the magazine Musician, Kurt said that the song was about “some of my personal experiences, like breaking up with girlfriends and having bad relationships.” The cover for the CD single featured a sonogram image of Frances Bean Cobain.
“In Bloom”
“I don’t like rednecks,” Kurt has been quoted saying to explain this song. A line that says, “He’s the one who likes all our pretty songs/ and he likes to sing along/ and he likes to shoot his gun/ but he don’t know what it means,” ridicules the rednecks that the band used to play to.
“Heart-Shaped Box”
Originally titled “Heart-Shaped Coffin,” Courtney Love advised Kurt to change the lyrics, saying that the original were “too dark.” The new title referenced a heart-shaped silk-and-lace box that Courtney gave Kurt early in their relationship.
“Pennyroyal Tea”
The version that appears on this album was a previously unreleased single mix by Scott Litt. Litt’s remix scheduled for release before Kurt’s death was stopped by the record company, though there are copies that leaked out—which now reportedly fetch as much as $1000 on eBay.
“Rape Me”
MTV executives threatened to pull the band off-air if they played it at the MTV Music Awards. To spite them, the band played the opening strains of “Rape Me”—causing panic in the control room—before shifting to “Lithium.” “We did that to fuck them,” Krist said.
“Dumb”
“All that pot. All that supposedly, unaddictive, harmless, safe reefer that damaged my nerves, and ruined my memory, and made me feel like wanting to blow up the prom. It just wasn't ever strong enough, so I climbed the ladder to the poppy,” wrote Kurt about this song.
“All Apologies”
“The Man Who Sold the World”
“Where Did You Sleep Last Night”
Recorded on November 18, 1993 for the MTV Unplugged series, Kurt was terrified about performing the stripped-down set. He threatened several times to withdraw from the show, but finally showed up and turned in one of the most unforgettable, most poignant performances of his career.
(Geffen)
RATING: four
How do you explain Nirvana to people who never took to their music? How do you describe the way Kurt Cobain’s serrated blade of a voice could reach inside of you and yank out your heart through your throat? How can someone else understand how much pain and wisdom you can find in lyrics that sound like they were once bathroom wall graffiti: I’m so ugly/ That’s okay, ‘cause so are you; Sell the kids for food; All alone is all we are; Here we are now, entertain us; Rape me.
This was the coming-of-age music for a whole generation of pained teens (is there any other kind?) who took to Nirvana’s new brand of pre-millennial punk. Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic were each talented musicians in their own right, but it was Cobain who was the dark star whose very presence was punk rock. With his intense, blue eyes peeking out from behind matted strings of blond hair, his thin frame hunched over a guitar and a microphone, Kurt was an anti-rock star anti-hero, a grunge god who preached empathy with, not salvation from, suffering. When he finally killed himself in April 1994, it was almost a perfect ending. Yes, we were shocked, yes, we were dismayed, yes, we thought it untimely—but what else is there for the king of pain? Surely nobody really thought he was destined for a happy ending.
Still, his death meant that Nirvana were only around for seven years and six albums; their reign as the kings of grunge really only lasted three years, from the release of Nevermind in 1991 to April 1994—not nearly enough time for the public to get enough of their music; perhaps not even enough time to let the band realize their full creative potential.
Nirvana is the long-delayed posthumous best-of compilation from the band, hurriedly released after a long legal battle between the surviving members of Nirvana and Kurt’s litigious widow, Courtney Love. Their only release since 1996’s From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, this collection comprises fourteen of their best songs, plus one previously unreleased track, “I Know You’re Right,” Kurt’s swan song, recorded just over two months before he died. This in itself isn’t a standout track, although it’s always newsworthy when a “new” Nirvana track is found. Otherwise, it doesn’t take a genius to pick out the songs to include in this compilation, and indeed, there are no contentious choices, nor any pleasant surprises here. Just the obvious, with only one new track and an essay by music journalist David Fricke to sweeten the deal.
Still, if nothing else, Nirvana offers the opportunity to trace the arc of the band’s career. Beginning with the landmark track “About a Girl,” off their 1989 debut Bleach—the first love song, and which Fricke refers to as Kurt’s first great one—the CD’s 15 tracks demonstrate Nirvana’s development as a band, and Kurt’s growth as a songwriter. There’s a world of difference between the rough-hewn “Been a Son” or “Sliver” and the phenomenal melodies and complicated lyrics of Nevermind’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come as You Are,” “Lithium,” and “In Bloom.”
Nevermind, arguably one of the most important and influential rock albums of the 21st century, is of course well-represented in this collection, as is the impressive In Utero. This 1993 album may mark the band’s true peak, earning more lauds from critics than Nevermind, offering both the sophisticated grunge of “Heart-Shaped Box” and “Pennyroyal Tea” and the coarser, more direct “Rape Me” and “Dumb.”
You know, come to think of it, Nirvana only came out with three albums—the other three (1992’s Incesticide, 1993’s MTV Unplugged in New York, and 1996’s From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah) were live sets and/or retrospectives. Of these, only MTV Unplugged is represented, with the band’s cover versions of “The Man Who Sold the World” and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” and the heartbreaking acoustic version of “All Apologies.”
I’d argue for the inclusion of a couple more tracks on this collection. Where’s “Drain You,” “Aneurysm,” or even “Pay to Play”? And where is “Polly”—how could they miss “Polly”? This is the song, a disturbing narrative of a rape told from the point of view of a rapist, that got even Bob Dylan to sit up and take notice. Missing also is “Something in the Way,” which is of autobiographical importance to Kurt; this is the song in which he recounts his days living as a runaway under a bridge—not true, most people around him say, but it’s a myth that Kurt liked to nurture.
Of course, it’s all a matter of taste. The truth is that Nevermind and In Utero are already best-ofs in themselves, given the many remarkable tracks on those albums and the limits of the Nirvana discography. If this collection were to try to please everybody, it might have just as well have just re-released the two albums with a few other token tracks.
The black-and-silver album packaging is somber and dignified, a far cry from the humor and edginess of their past covers. Nirvana offers nothing new by way of music or posthumous commentary, and is more a tribute than anything else. There’s no better, more respectful way to pay tribute than to keep quiet and let the music speak for itself; and this collection does just that.—Kristine D. Fonacier
Track List
“You Know You’re Right”
A previously unreleased track recorded on January 30, 1994, this song was recorded during Kurt Cobain’s final session with Nirvana. Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl had been at the studio for two days, waiting for Kurt, when the singer finally showed up with no explanation for his absence, recording the track in minutes.
“About a Girl”
Recorded in December 1988, Kurt wrote this song about then-girlfriend Tracy Marander. According to Cobain biographer Charles Cross, Kurt would play the song in front of her but never admitted that it was about her. Directly influenced by the Beatles (Kurt wrote the song after listening to Meet the Beatles! for three hours), early audiences often mistook it for a cover.
“Been a Son”
Kurt, who had deep-seated issues with both parents while growing up, might have written this about his sister Kim, and how their father would have preferred a boy. Or it may have been a twist to an early Cobain line, “I wanted a father, but I got a dad.”
“Sliver”
“It’s probably the most straightforward song we’ve ever recorded,” Kurt told Melody Maker. This song was released as a single on SubPop, reappearing on Incesticide. The track features Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”
If there’s one song that launched the grunge era, this is it. The lyrics are mostly vague and unintelligible, though the title was taken from graffiti that Bikini Kill band member Kathleen Hanna spray-painted on Kurt’s wall: “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit,” taunting Kurt about his relationship with fellow Bikini Kill member Tobi Vail and referring to her brand of deodorant, Teen Spirit. (Hanna was dating Dave Grohl at the time.)
“Come As You Are”
Kurt was in the middle of a detox program when the band had to record the video for this single, and he insisted that all shots of his face be distorted or obscured.
“Lithium”
Referring to a popular pre-Prozac anti-depressive, the lyrics for this song changed over time. In an interview with the magazine Musician, Kurt said that the song was about “some of my personal experiences, like breaking up with girlfriends and having bad relationships.” The cover for the CD single featured a sonogram image of Frances Bean Cobain.
“In Bloom”
“I don’t like rednecks,” Kurt has been quoted saying to explain this song. A line that says, “He’s the one who likes all our pretty songs/ and he likes to sing along/ and he likes to shoot his gun/ but he don’t know what it means,” ridicules the rednecks that the band used to play to.
“Heart-Shaped Box”
Originally titled “Heart-Shaped Coffin,” Courtney Love advised Kurt to change the lyrics, saying that the original were “too dark.” The new title referenced a heart-shaped silk-and-lace box that Courtney gave Kurt early in their relationship.
“Pennyroyal Tea”
The version that appears on this album was a previously unreleased single mix by Scott Litt. Litt’s remix scheduled for release before Kurt’s death was stopped by the record company, though there are copies that leaked out—which now reportedly fetch as much as $1000 on eBay.
“Rape Me”
MTV executives threatened to pull the band off-air if they played it at the MTV Music Awards. To spite them, the band played the opening strains of “Rape Me”—causing panic in the control room—before shifting to “Lithium.” “We did that to fuck them,” Krist said.
“Dumb”
“All that pot. All that supposedly, unaddictive, harmless, safe reefer that damaged my nerves, and ruined my memory, and made me feel like wanting to blow up the prom. It just wasn't ever strong enough, so I climbed the ladder to the poppy,” wrote Kurt about this song.
“All Apologies”
“The Man Who Sold the World”
“Where Did You Sleep Last Night”
Recorded on November 18, 1993 for the MTV Unplugged series, Kurt was terrified about performing the stripped-down set. He threatened several times to withdraw from the show, but finally showed up and turned in one of the most unforgettable, most poignant performances of his career.
posted by Kristine F. | Sunday, December 01, 2002
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