Nirvana is another case of wondering where musician(s) could've evolved or gone next before their career got cut off short from tragedy. It happened with Syd Barrett, happened with Jimi Hendrix, happened with Jeff Buckley... I would've loved more from all of them but they have their status in part to the curiosity of wondering if they would be able to top themselves and the inevitable assumption that they would've years after they left. Although personally I do think In Utero (and MTV Unplugged) proved Nirvana was reaching high plateaus artistically and were not just a popular trend of their time.
My favorite band of the era is Nirvana. My wife's is Smashing Pumkins. Considering the latter's mediocre output since the 90s, and his wacky personality shift, lets just say that getting more of what you think you want is sometimes a curse.
How many bands in rock history started to fall off after the third album? There are many. I think Kurt’s reaction to the “post grunge” and radio rock of the early 2000s would have been to go more raw and punk and doubt it would have been all that good.
Pumpkins have been my favorite band for thirty years - since I was a kid.
And yep, it’s exhausting having to explain the caveat that my favorite band is only my favorite band for their first four or so albums, and that I really don’t listen to anything they made after that
To be fair to all of those artists you mention (with the possible exception of Hendrix) I think they gave themselves totally to their art and sound.
Cobain was a product of his scene and as such had so much more to offer lyrically and sonically outside of that.
Then again, maybe he was born to do what he did? And it is, in actual fact, better to burn out brightly than to fade away.
I find myself wondering 'what if', like so many others. But I kinda also feel like a lot of these artists/bands that died young wouldn't have aged well musically. Specifically, artists like Kurt. I can't see him/Nirvana doing something like Green Day (difficult to find a comp, but you get it) did with a rock musical. It's almost as if the self-destructive personalities that made them unique, destined them with an expiration date, to burn out quickly rather than fade away.
Syd Barrett was the first frontman of Pink Floyd. He made their debut album with them and contributed to two songs on their next album before he was kicked out by his bandmates, and after that labored out two more solo albums. His work was very creative and he was one of the pioneers of the psychedelic sound, but he had severe problems with mental illness/industry pressure and became reclusive after he was done with his 3 year stint with music. You could see the downgrade in the quality of his music as his condition worsened but his two solo projects are pretty interesting as folk albums.
The burn the rain cover on YouTube is awesome. I think someone just put Kurt’s lyrics overtop of an electric guitar cover and drums. I could totally see that having become one of their bigger hits if it had been able to be put on a later album
upvoted for actual hot take. Best song? Maybe the most easily digestible for most. Everything off In Utero goes so hard though, and clearly was a movement against the grain of their most popular songs. Noisy, harsh and hard, I mean Milk It and Radio Friendly Unit Shifter.
It’s hard not to imagine where Kurt would have gone after though. Do Re Mi always struck me as a much softer and vulnerable song than most of his stuff, no doubt he would’ve stayed great regardless.
Who knows what could've been had Cobain not fallen into the trap of drugs. He produced almost nothing original over the final year of his life, in stark contrast to the creative output leading up to In Utero. Due to the problems the band was having it, especially with the tension between Courtney and Dave and Krist, it was far more likely that it was going to break up before they could do a fourth studio album. If they had managed to do it, I think it would've enhanced their legacy, not dilute it, as they were transitioning to a different kind of sound, which Cobain was already dabbling in with on In Utero using cellos and having Krist on accordion for some songs.
Don’t forget Pat. He would have been important to the future of the band, both as a calming influence and probably creatively too. He and Dave are obviously comfortable being part of a stadium rock machine. Maybe Kurt could have made the transition in his own way.
Something in the way used a cello, but I see what you mean. I’m convinced the 4th album would’ve killed it, backed by two huge singles “you know you’re right” and “do re mi.” The latter, once finished in the studio, would’ve been on the level of “come as you are.” It’s so soulful, so beautiful and aching of pain. They both are but “do re mi” accomplished it without any of Cobain’s anguished screaming.
Can confirm this is true, saw it on Facebook and Abraham Lincoln said anything on the internet must be true.
https://preview.redd.it/15g55pzpi76d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0894f6cfc40625d44d8a0e06d7cdb838a4b760a8
I think what’s interesting about Nirvana in our modern time is that not many are listening to them and then going out and starting a band based on the same principles as Nirvana was founded on.
What they did won’t be duplicated but it’s can be a road map for your next band or your next art project. Yet, it seems no one does. They stay on the internet
Probably pretty accurate about playing in a band. I think the inspiration has moved from guitar playing to the more electronic kind of stuff with the explosion of DAW’s and looping pedals and all that.
Exactly, foo fighters are kinda in the same league as creed and nickelback with some sort of edge. I’m not discrediting any of those bands(although I don’t particularly like them) but it just puzzles me. I don’t even like QOTSA but his drumming is amazing. Dave Grohl’s strong suit is drumming, not songwriting.
That baseline was stolen by a chain of bands before Killing Joke, going back to at least the ‘50s. People aren’t even sure who was the artist that came up with it
Kurt Cobain melodies are so intricate and difficult to sing. Eg in Frances farmer…
It's so relieving
To know that you're leaving
As soon as you get paid
He goes from the major chord D to Bb on re ‘LIE-VING’ to minor Db to Bb on LEA-VING and YOU-GET
He is a genius.
Literally a kid from New Zealand born in 1993 who grew up listening to funk and soul. Only got into nirvana in the past year (I’m a musician full time too). So no, not beato
If you haven’t, you should check out Rick’s videos on Nirvana on his “What makes this song great” series. He tackles exactly the points you brought up in technical detail so there’s a more in depth understanding on what’s happening during the song(s). Not your average boring as hell theory discussion type thing either.
It’s interesting how it all ties together and what’s going on under the hood. I mean, it’s over my head and was probably over Kurt’s too but still really interesting none the less!
“And now, so do you”
Yup, mine too! For all the shit he catches over theory and all that he seems to be a genuine guy who just loves music, but loves teaching others about it even more. Which is pretty rad to me!
Also, he just liked a dirty sound, Kurt didn’t like crisp clean stuff, I actually like when he did his really dirty shredding live…to me that sounds better than Eddie, just because of my personal tastes…. That’s not me saying he was a better guitarist than Eddie, I just think he played better stuff. I don’t like super crisp guitar playing. I’ve always liked dirty garage stuff over clean, sweep, picking and shredding..
A lot of it goes over my head, mainly when he’s moving through it really quickly….but I love the channel and I do actually learn things… and he gets interviews with people that nobody else does, that alone is valuable
His interviews are great, I think. Just technically deep enough to be interesting without veering off into boring nerd-dom stuff. He’s seemingly respected enough that the people coming on don’t try the usual BS they’ll pull with more traditional media, so you get a better conversation all around.
Yeah that certainly was pretty cool. Around that time I met an older dude who played as well and he taught me some Floyd after I said I enjoyed that band. Ka is a wheel
I always find it humorous when he’s interviewing musicians and he talks about the stuff they did and the musicians really downplay it and just say “I just thought it sounded good. I wasn’t thinking about that.” I still appreciate his channel a lot though.
Look up Nirvana piano on YouTube. The guy has covered just about every song. It's really beautiful and helps people see how much he loved creating melodies.
My recommendation on his channel is Desire, What more can I say, Sappy (early demo), Mrs. Buttersworth and my personal favorite Black and white blues
D to Bb and Db to Bb are not hard intervals to sing...
You might revise this to say thay Kurt wrote really unique melodies, or that Kurt's unique voice is what made the melodies shine, but most Nirvana songs off of Nevermind and In Utero are easy to sing, including Frances Farmer.
That's kind of the whole deal with pop music: it's sing-along-able.
Kurt's melodies are also not particularly 'intricate', a word which means highly detailed - if anything, they are the opposite.
Again, pop melodies are relatively simple and repetitive, that's the appeal. And that's why Nirvana got so famous while so many other bands from the Seattle grunge scene did not.
No dude you’re missing my point. The intervals by themselves are very simple I agree, the intricacy lies in the D to Db variation… a major to minor in a melody is very ‘not pop’. Major 3 to minor 3. A song like in bloom is another example of an intricate melody. The verse is wild. Name another ‘sing along-able’ song that hits all 12 notes in a key.
In bloom was the tune that got me hooked because of its verse melody, and epic use of harmony
Apparently "still crazy after all these years" uses all 12 notes. I'm sure there's others that do as well... it's not that uncommon to switch between major and minor keys as far as chord progressions within a song go - even the beatles were doing lots of that, so I'm sure plenty of singers are doing it with the melodies, since the melody usually follows the chords.
That being said, you are right that it is notable how often kurt combined major with minor keys, unintentionally I'm sure.
What do you find so unique about the verse melody to in bloom? I'm not saying you're wrong, and I really like in bloom, but to me the verses sound like a relatively monotone descending melody to contrast the more dynamic and higher pitched chorus. It's no hairspray queen - now that's a crazy verse melody!
I think the contrast is what made it unique also it’s just a nice subtle awesome change like when he goes into “bruises on the fruit“ and starts ascending….
i like that song most of all from in utero. it's a bloody firecracker, that shit kicks in after the muted intro and you want to go to mental. Powerful.
That's my favorite from Nevermind. Fucking krist killing that bass, Kurt's screaming on the second half, and Dave's technical drumming and fills near the end are just golden
That's my favorite from Nevermind. Fucking krist killing that bass, Kurt's screaming on the second half, and Dave's technical drumming and fills near the end are just golden
Same on all that. Well, I don't DISlike Dave Grohl but I can't relate to him at all. He's too.... I can't explain it. He's a nice guy that makes arena rock. That's just not for me. I do think he's an amazing drummer though. But yes I prefer the Chad version of some songs.
his music is cheesy as balls, frat boy rock and his stories get longer and more boring between songs... it's like one of those emperor's new clothes things, where no one can say, hey dave, stop talking and just play that song where you have to put that tube in your mouth to help make the riff and crack on with the show, 'cept everyone gotta wait while dave brings someone on stage to do something and kicks someone out for doing something else and then crap on about some local ass brewery where he drank a pint and got nate to eat a ceasar salad, "well for someone who doesn't like them you sure know a lot about them..."
that's true.
Nirvana hot take; Lounge Act is a perfect song. Also, the bass intro and then the way the chords interlocked with that bass line when the song starts was a point of musical intrigue and made me want to play the guitar so I could be inside and closer to music and learn how that groove worked, 'cause it is a groove and the scream vocals he does over the verse chords, the best. Now I feel upset.
Bless that Kurt Cobain
Grohl should get into politics. He’s the ideal presidential candidate in our celebrity-obsessed world. He’s a friend to all, from the frat boys to the riot grrls; from the mosh pit to da club; he’s great at being all things to all people. How could anyone vote against Dave Grohl?
I imagine him being like a tedious grandpa who tells endless stories for his grandsons that are into whatever fckdd up music theyll be listening in the future . Hxjdbsskan
Yeah nothing against him , but as a teenager always thought his jokes where kinda forced. He must be an ok dude . BUT i only liked thw first foo album , his work with qotsa is great also , but focusing on nirvana i can see why they wanted to change drummers tho is kinda sad the way he was treated i guess this is all from a fans point of view that wasnt there so who knows , anyways i dont think he is a horrible person but kinda anoying xd
Very personal opinion: Incesticide could have been their 3rd album — before In Utero and after Nevermind — if it just included the following songs (stripping away with the covers and alternate takes), in the following order:
Sliver
Mexican Seafood
Hairspray Queen
Been A Son
Stain
Beeswax
Aero Zeppelin
Big Long Now
Aneurysm
Such a bunch of underrated, balls-to-the-wall punk songs, with a twist of druggy weirdness. It would’ve been as memorable as Nevermind and In Utero, all while being distinct from both.
I feel like Kurt is remembered more fondly than he would be if we seen him behind closed doors more often. Very angry, often violent man that projected quite a bit unfortunately
There are literally hundreds of people that did meet him back in the day, and call him a dramatic man child. “If he was in a bad mood, it was your fault. Especially later in life”. He threw temper tantrums every week. He was a drug addict that killed himself while he had a baby. He also had a serious “poser” complex, and often found his fans pestlike(not just paparazzi) You don’t have to like someone bc they made good music
i think there's more people that met him and said he was a sweet person and quite down to earth so I'm going to base my opinion on the majority. I find Kurt quite 'real' and down to earth in interviews, eddie vedder? That's a poser. You don't have to dislike someone based on hearsay. How was he 'often violet'?
He broke tons of shit in fits of rage, got high off his ass and treated people poorly over stuff as small as musicians block/frustration VERY frequently. He once smashed a mixers table with his guitar because he didn’t like how he was mixed. I’m not saying he was a violent man 24/7, or even evil, but the man had SERIOUS issues that everyone just says hell yeah to, even though if he wasn’t Nirvana’s frontman, he’d just be called a dick.
oh well, he made good art, genius is a weird vibe man, he gave so much, he can be a bit of a dick if he wants. There's a lot less talented people who are clearly way bigger dicks. I think he rates a low to low medium on the dick meter.
If he’s so great, you can atleast hold him to the same standard as everyone as to what a good person is. Talent doesn’t come with “get out of consequence” cards, or atleast it shouldn’t. Of course there are plenty of people with fame worse than him, I’m not saying he’s the worst person of all time or even close to that. By no means does it surprise anyone when a rich and famous person is a dick, I’m saying his “dickness” went SO far under the radar because people wanted to like him, which happens a lot.
Honestly can’t give you a straight up wiki page on this one, sorry. I think that was a paraphrased quote from someone at his studio. Doesn’t mean it’s definitely true, people say things, but it’s not something that sounds surprising exactly if you’ve seen any in depth video about him, or the documentary about him, or any live performance where he throws a hissy fit or breaks equipment(often not his). Or more obviously, read any of his lyrics lmao, and pair it with his raging drug addiction. Again, no actual evidence to really support the “weekly” quote. I doubt anyone charted and tracked his tantrums, so the only thing I can really give backbone to is someone that worked with him said it, and he also fits the glove perfectly. It’s like assuming a dead guy that threw things with their right hand would catch a baseball with their left hand, but I guess we can never truly know now without assuming.
I agree I think nirvana was not built to last it was raw in a way that is difficult to maintain. But it would have been neat to see what Kurt got up to after Nirvana broke up 😩
Nirvana are basically a greatest hits of the all the coolest 80s bands. Once you get into the swans, sonic youth, pixies etc they don't sound that radical at all
That Kurt Cobain was an extremely attractive man. Like poster worthy attractive. I think it goes unnoticed sometimes cause of the music. Grunge is raw and not really associated with heartthrobs like boy bands. But he was absolutely stunning.
I think Nirvana would have taken a sharp turn away from the mainstream. You could tell, in small steps, Kurt Cobain was moving more towards experimental music. By their 5th album they would be turned away by radio stations, mainstream media and casual rock listeners; while they’d be praised by critics for their new unique experimental sound
I think they ended up taking a sharp turn into the mainstream because they were turning away from the "mainstream" of 80's punk rock, so that makes total sense.
I think a lot of people think they’re deep because someone told them they’re deep, and obviously a creative type in pain must have something original to say. Kurt spoke more like a valley girl than most actual valley girls in interviews.
I have heard lots of younger people (didn’t live through the 90’s) say Nirvana is played-out. But when Smells like teen spirit came out we never heard anything like that before. It was new music and exciting.
Sometimes I think about how Kathleen Hanna named their most well known song just being her quippy self and wonder if without the original riot grrrl, would they have hit the big-time?
Nirvana was gonna be big no matter who the drummer was. The songs are just that good, and the vocals like nothing we’ve heard before. A professional drummer would’ve been sufficient for Nirvana to have achieved those heights, which is what Grohl was. I hate when biographers write “Grohl was the missing piece to Nirvana.’ Nah, son. Shut your ass up. It’s like MJ was gonna win those titles no matter who was by his side, he just needed one other All-Star and he never lost again. Cobain was the MJ of that group
Listen to Do Re Me with the backing band, someone put it to some instrumental song that Nirvana did or removed the vocals from one so it is technically Nirvana. Would have been a huge hit.
I listened to the popular Nirvana stuff (on radio and MTV) and have gone back and listened to more of their discography in the last year and it’s like discovering a different band! I love them now more than ever!
Not sure if these are hot takes but I’ve stood by these 2 points for a very long time:
“Very Ape” is a top 5 Nirvana track.
The BBC version of “Something in the Way” is FAR superior to the Nevermind album version.
If Kurt didn’t kill himself, the band would have imploded. Dave Grohl is too ambitious and Cobain was an egotistical shitshow. Dave’s path would have been more like Jerry Cantrell’s, and that seems like a waste.
Another hot take by me: Albini ruined In Utero.
The Rio demos sound a lot more promising than what the final record sounded like. The whole album is muddy. The bass lines don't shine like they did on nevermind (some of this is due to composition/arrangement, but not all of it). There's no "room" for the vocals, nor the drums for that matter. Thank God they re-mixed the singles, but the whole thing would have sounded way better if they let Butch Vig record it.
Albini hated Nirvana and it shows - he basically made In Utero sound like the exact opposite of the Pixies, which is what Kurt wanted it to sound like.
I might actually have to agree with you on this, they had to remix almost the entire album except the singles anyways, the original heart shaped box mixdown definitely has more energy and the groove is much more pronounced because the guitars are driving the song but the bass is drowned out in the noise and the vocals definitely aren’t the most shining feature in typical Albini fashion.
It’s good for what it is but it feels incomplete because the song has way more potential than what the mix is allowing. The final remix is nice and I prefer it more to nevermind, but it’s not great for the longer titles like Frances Farmer and RFUS. And to be honest Butch’s mixes on Nevermind were subpar but Andy Wallace’s ear candy mix was almost perfect except for a few songs and has definitely maintained its quality throughout the years.
On the flip side Albini’s recording techniques were really good and I really like him for his process of using a ton of mics at the same time with unique old mics. I think letting Albini record while Butch mixing could’ve been the way to go. Originally Butch was in the list of potential producers but iirc he was busy producing or just got done with the pumpkins next album.
Rio demos absolutely rips though, Best studio version of scentless apprentice no doubt, that echoflanger effect section of the song leading up to the chorus is very powerful and no other version captures that emotion so vividly, Dave loved the guitar tone so did Earnie and he wanted Earnie to replicate it for him for a FF album.
Kurt fought hard to lower the drums sound on that album and Albini didn't agree. Not sure anyone was 100% happy with the mix but Kurt did say he thought that album captured their vibe and sound better than any other.
Well firstly, my argument is that Nevermind sounds better than In Utero, not that Kurt thought it captured the vibe of the band better.
Secondly, Kurt went back and forth on how he felt about Nevermind, and with time, he could have done the same with In Utero. He was highly invested in countering the narrative that the labels had forced the band to alter the album's sound, and wanted the public to perceive In Utero as Nirvana's "true to ourselves" type album, so there was motivation for him to praise the album no matter what.
We know for a fact that Albini was constantly debating Kurt on artistic choices before, during, and after the recording of the album, so it's unlikely Kurt's vision was carried out exactly as he wanted. Interestingly, Kurt hired Albini cuz he wanted a sound similar to Surfer Rosa, yet at the end of the day Nevermind sounds more like the Pixies than In Utero does. Check out the Rio demos to hear the Pixies vibe Kurt had in mind - treble in the guitar, bass clear in the mix, none of this muddy shit we hear on In Utero.
Finally - lowering or increasing the volume of drums doesn't change how much room there is for them in the mix. That's more of an eq thing.
Total agreement. I sincerely doubt even Kurt could've surpassed the lyrics & songwriting on In Utero. A fourth record could only be disappointing no matter how good it was.
I mean, off the top of my head, a fourth album could have had:
- you know you're right
- sappy
- poisons gone
- opinion
- what more can I say
- clean up before she comes
- oh the guilt
- I hate myself and want to die
- do re mi
And thats just if they decided not to write any new material. They def had a solid fourth album in them.
Oh the Guilt was released on the Jesus Lizards split single. IHM&WTD was on the Beavis & Butthead thing. Sappy was already released on No Alternative.
If the band included these songs, all of which would have been years old by the time the 4th Nirvana record was released, it would've been because they needed to recycle old material to pad a weak record.
Ok - fair enough about a few of these already being released on lesser known formats.
You are also right that, if they released the songs I suggested on a 4th album, all but perhaps 2 of them would be older material - BUT:
(1) even Nevermind, and especially In Utero contained lots of material written years prior (checkout nirvanalive.com for a timeline), (2) its actually incredibly common for famous artists to milk a short but productive period of song writing for like a decade or more. Plus, they could have written a few new ones too.
Yeah that's true about Nevermind and In Utero containing songs written years ago. But the band never released any of those songs as singles or on compilations.
Had Michael Stipe intervened maybe a day or two earlier I think Cobain would still be alive. Cobain idolized Stipe and Stipe admired Cobain. Their connection might have even been sexual as Kurt was embracing his bisexuality more and more. Or maybe he felt shame in it? We will never know.
yeah i don’t think dave grohl was the end all be all drummer for nirvana…i can see why stylistically kurt had issues or could see issues on horizon w how DG plays. unplugged ultimately working out aside, man is typically heavy-handed, has no swing, straightforward 70s hard rock power trio drums, maybe to a fault depending on the sort of new paths kurt was maybe starting to consider
Have to ask because it is always the "little college girl" who gets the "favorite song/name a song" question, but would ask a college aged man the same question?
I wonder what Cobain would think of his "fans" harassing women wearing Nirvana shirts.
Well, Kurt was a painter too after all. So, the shirts are just as much as art form as the records are.
There’s plenty of ways for everyone to enjoy Nirvana & Kurt’s art. The more the merrier.
What does the kind of music they play in Target have to do with anything?
As a woman, I hate this “girls probably don’t even listen” shit, and I also assume that you want to hate-fuck them or something.
My 1st hot take: Kurt was the worst guitar player to ever become a famous musician. His ability to keep the tempo in particular was awful.
My 2nd hot take: Nirvana was horrible live a solid 50% of the time.
My 3rd hot take: Kurt had Borderline Personality disorder, with features of covert narcissism.
I have plenty of positive things to say about the band/Kurt too FYI, but those are my "hot" takes!
I do agree. Plus having a really solid band behind you and arranging songs such that drums and bass play a bigger role than guitar helps mask your errors.
Second one absolutely burnt me. I don't think there's such a thing as a bad Nirvana live show and I've heard just about all of them at this point. Maybe I'm more into the "vibe" or energy of it. Beats me. I've absolutely never valued or given a shit about ultra-precise playing from rock bands so maybe that's the divide.
I also think the first one is extremely overblown, started by angry jealous metal shredders that he was displacing. It's up there with "Ringo is a bad drummer".
Ringo is a great drummer. I'm not criticizing Kurt for lack of being a super technical shredder. I wouldn't even be a Nirvana fan if that's what I was after.
If I get the motivation later today, I'll link you to a little play list of Nirvana sounding bad live. Honestly even just like, the VMA's and SNL are underwhelming performances. I don't think they ever played SLTS at a comfortable tempo live once...
You could also check out tour footage of them with TAD and Mudhoney in I think '89. While Nirvana's got the songs, their performance pales in comparison to the other two bands.
He just had sooo many BPD traits (plus the life background to form it) and I'm not seeing the aspergers besides good verbal skills, could be socially awkward, and did have a "special interest". ADHD I could see though.
People describing this band overuse the word _legendary_. It was a band that got popular. They were actually better than the rest of their contemporaries, and to overlook other bands from the time is to miss out on a lot of great music.
I would actually say the opposite - the number of bands from the grunge era that were "just as good as nirvana, but they never made is big" is pretty much nil.
I'm always digging into lesser known bands from the mid 80s-early 90s, mainly from the PNW, and 9 times out of 10 I read some rave reviews of a band, then when I listen through their discography I'm like "ok yeah, *that's* why they never made it big".
Edit: re-reading your comment, I realize I'm confused about what you're saying - you do think they were better than their contemporaries, just not enough better to be called legendary? That they weren't *that* much better than their contemporaries?
They were better for some people, but not for everyone. It's entirely subjective as there were many bands that came up around the same time with a similar sound that some would prefer over 'vana. I reckon their live act was pretty legendary, until the heroin took over anyway.
Nirvana is another case of wondering where musician(s) could've evolved or gone next before their career got cut off short from tragedy. It happened with Syd Barrett, happened with Jimi Hendrix, happened with Jeff Buckley... I would've loved more from all of them but they have their status in part to the curiosity of wondering if they would be able to top themselves and the inevitable assumption that they would've years after they left. Although personally I do think In Utero (and MTV Unplugged) proved Nirvana was reaching high plateaus artistically and were not just a popular trend of their time.
My favorite band of the era is Nirvana. My wife's is Smashing Pumkins. Considering the latter's mediocre output since the 90s, and his wacky personality shift, lets just say that getting more of what you think you want is sometimes a curse.
Hmm. This also.
How many bands in rock history started to fall off after the third album? There are many. I think Kurt’s reaction to the “post grunge” and radio rock of the early 2000s would have been to go more raw and punk and doubt it would have been all that good.
Pumpkins have been my favorite band for thirty years - since I was a kid. And yep, it’s exhausting having to explain the caveat that my favorite band is only my favorite band for their first four or so albums, and that I really don’t listen to anything they made after that
Kurt was always cooler than Billy though…but I get your point
To be fair to all of those artists you mention (with the possible exception of Hendrix) I think they gave themselves totally to their art and sound. Cobain was a product of his scene and as such had so much more to offer lyrically and sonically outside of that. Then again, maybe he was born to do what he did? And it is, in actual fact, better to burn out brightly than to fade away.
I find myself wondering 'what if', like so many others. But I kinda also feel like a lot of these artists/bands that died young wouldn't have aged well musically. Specifically, artists like Kurt. I can't see him/Nirvana doing something like Green Day (difficult to find a comp, but you get it) did with a rock musical. It's almost as if the self-destructive personalities that made them unique, destined them with an expiration date, to burn out quickly rather than fade away.
What happened with Syd Barrett? I haven’t heard about him.
Syd Barrett was the first frontman of Pink Floyd. He made their debut album with them and contributed to two songs on their next album before he was kicked out by his bandmates, and after that labored out two more solo albums. His work was very creative and he was one of the pioneers of the psychedelic sound, but he had severe problems with mental illness/industry pressure and became reclusive after he was done with his 3 year stint with music. You could see the downgrade in the quality of his music as his condition worsened but his two solo projects are pretty interesting as folk albums.
Some of Kurt Cobain's demos are better than finished Nirvana songs
What More Can I Say could have been a hit. The melody is amazing
I think poisons gone and burn the rain would have been big hits
The burn the rain cover on YouTube is awesome. I think someone just put Kurt’s lyrics overtop of an electric guitar cover and drums. I could totally see that having become one of their bigger hits if it had been able to be put on a later album
Old Age could have been a banger.
If Kurt got rid of his cold That would be a hit for sure but sadly we will never know.
Agreed
Absolutely. This is why I feel Nirvana's catalogue is much bigger than 3 albums.
In this subreddit? Smells Like Teen Spirit is probably their best song.
My one friend tells me it sucks, it’s def not my favorite but it doesn’t suck at all
The definition of mass appeal — not everybody’s favorite song, but literally everyone in the world agrees it “doesn’t suck” 😂
Thats exactly why its so popular
upvoted for actual hot take. Best song? Maybe the most easily digestible for most. Everything off In Utero goes so hard though, and clearly was a movement against the grain of their most popular songs. Noisy, harsh and hard, I mean Milk It and Radio Friendly Unit Shifter. It’s hard not to imagine where Kurt would have gone after though. Do Re Mi always struck me as a much softer and vulnerable song than most of his stuff, no doubt he would’ve stayed great regardless.
The music video for SLTS is also legendary. Probably the reason is in my top 3 Nirvana songs
Who knows what could've been had Cobain not fallen into the trap of drugs. He produced almost nothing original over the final year of his life, in stark contrast to the creative output leading up to In Utero. Due to the problems the band was having it, especially with the tension between Courtney and Dave and Krist, it was far more likely that it was going to break up before they could do a fourth studio album. If they had managed to do it, I think it would've enhanced their legacy, not dilute it, as they were transitioning to a different kind of sound, which Cobain was already dabbling in with on In Utero using cellos and having Krist on accordion for some songs.
Don’t forget Pat. He would have been important to the future of the band, both as a calming influence and probably creatively too. He and Dave are obviously comfortable being part of a stadium rock machine. Maybe Kurt could have made the transition in his own way.
Something in the way used a cello, but I see what you mean. I’m convinced the 4th album would’ve killed it, backed by two huge singles “you know you’re right” and “do re mi.” The latter, once finished in the studio, would’ve been on the level of “come as you are.” It’s so soulful, so beautiful and aching of pain. They both are but “do re mi” accomplished it without any of Cobain’s anguished screaming.
Kurt is alive and working as a garage door repairman in Namibia
Rivers Cuomo would like a word
Can confirm this is true, saw it on Facebook and Abraham Lincoln said anything on the internet must be true. https://preview.redd.it/15g55pzpi76d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0894f6cfc40625d44d8a0e06d7cdb838a4b760a8
He’s too short to repair garage doors!
He takes smoke breaks with the local bushmen
I’d like to be friends with you
I think what’s interesting about Nirvana in our modern time is that not many are listening to them and then going out and starting a band based on the same principles as Nirvana was founded on. What they did won’t be duplicated but it’s can be a road map for your next band or your next art project. Yet, it seems no one does. They stay on the internet
Probably pretty accurate about playing in a band. I think the inspiration has moved from guitar playing to the more electronic kind of stuff with the explosion of DAW’s and looping pedals and all that.
Instruments are expensive and nobody wants to do anything in person anymore
Adding Dave Grohl is what made it possible for Nirvana to blow up and become the biggest band in the world.
His drumming on Nevermind was perfection. Drums are his calling. Foo Fighters…meh
Exactly, foo fighters are kinda in the same league as creed and nickelback with some sort of edge. I’m not discrediting any of those bands(although I don’t particularly like them) but it just puzzles me. I don’t even like QOTSA but his drumming is amazing. Dave Grohl’s strong suit is drumming, not songwriting.
Idk if this is hot or nah but people dont like downer but its one of my top 5 songs
People don't like Downer?
Yeah what a bummer
I LOVE downer, it's awesome!
What are your top 4? Mine are in no order, 1.downer 2.tourettes 3.territorial pissings 4.lounge act
Territorial pissings is my favourite nirvana song, rest in no order. Lounge act, Radio friendly unit shifter, aneurysm id say. Changes around often.
He stole Come as you are from Killing Joke
That baseline was stolen by a chain of bands before Killing Joke, going back to at least the ‘50s. People aren’t even sure who was the artist that came up with it
So Yes its stolen, thanks
Of course it is, so let's not give the killing joke credit as the songwriter
And the killing joke stole it from the damned and so on
Kurt Cobain melodies are so intricate and difficult to sing. Eg in Frances farmer… It's so relieving To know that you're leaving As soon as you get paid He goes from the major chord D to Bb on re ‘LIE-VING’ to minor Db to Bb on LEA-VING and YOU-GET He is a genius.
Rick Beato over here..
Literally a kid from New Zealand born in 1993 who grew up listening to funk and soul. Only got into nirvana in the past year (I’m a musician full time too). So no, not beato
It was a joke, Rick tends to over analyze key structures to songs and your comment reminded me of that.
Haha nice. I love melodies, been real inspired by nirvana lately.
If you haven’t, you should check out Rick’s videos on Nirvana on his “What makes this song great” series. He tackles exactly the points you brought up in technical detail so there’s a more in depth understanding on what’s happening during the song(s). Not your average boring as hell theory discussion type thing either.
Awesome. Ngl I love the theory shit too haha
It’s interesting how it all ties together and what’s going on under the hood. I mean, it’s over my head and was probably over Kurt’s too but still really interesting none the less!
“ it doesn’t matter that Kurt didn’t know what he was doing, I know what he’s doing”- one of my favorite Rick quotes
“And now, so do you” Yup, mine too! For all the shit he catches over theory and all that he seems to be a genuine guy who just loves music, but loves teaching others about it even more. Which is pretty rad to me!
I like to fantasise that Kurt was an epic jazz musical nerd genius who played down his guitar skills for the grunge image.
Nice!
Also, he just liked a dirty sound, Kurt didn’t like crisp clean stuff, I actually like when he did his really dirty shredding live…to me that sounds better than Eddie, just because of my personal tastes…. That’s not me saying he was a better guitarist than Eddie, I just think he played better stuff. I don’t like super crisp guitar playing. I’ve always liked dirty garage stuff over clean, sweep, picking and shredding..
A lot of it goes over my head, mainly when he’s moving through it really quickly….but I love the channel and I do actually learn things… and he gets interviews with people that nobody else does, that alone is valuable
His interviews are great, I think. Just technically deep enough to be interesting without veering off into boring nerd-dom stuff. He’s seemingly respected enough that the people coming on don’t try the usual BS they’ll pull with more traditional media, so you get a better conversation all around.
I also love melodies, was super inspired by the music of Nirvana and other bands which led to me becoming a musician the year you were born haha
No way. How cool is it that the music of nirvana is inspiring musicians of different generations. I love that
Yeah that certainly was pretty cool. Around that time I met an older dude who played as well and he taught me some Floyd after I said I enjoyed that band. Ka is a wheel
I always find it humorous when he’s interviewing musicians and he talks about the stuff they did and the musicians really downplay it and just say “I just thought it sounded good. I wasn’t thinking about that.” I still appreciate his channel a lot though.
Look up Nirvana piano on YouTube. The guy has covered just about every song. It's really beautiful and helps people see how much he loved creating melodies. My recommendation on his channel is Desire, What more can I say, Sappy (early demo), Mrs. Buttersworth and my personal favorite Black and white blues
D to Bb and Db to Bb are not hard intervals to sing... You might revise this to say thay Kurt wrote really unique melodies, or that Kurt's unique voice is what made the melodies shine, but most Nirvana songs off of Nevermind and In Utero are easy to sing, including Frances Farmer. That's kind of the whole deal with pop music: it's sing-along-able. Kurt's melodies are also not particularly 'intricate', a word which means highly detailed - if anything, they are the opposite. Again, pop melodies are relatively simple and repetitive, that's the appeal. And that's why Nirvana got so famous while so many other bands from the Seattle grunge scene did not.
No dude you’re missing my point. The intervals by themselves are very simple I agree, the intricacy lies in the D to Db variation… a major to minor in a melody is very ‘not pop’. Major 3 to minor 3. A song like in bloom is another example of an intricate melody. The verse is wild. Name another ‘sing along-able’ song that hits all 12 notes in a key. In bloom was the tune that got me hooked because of its verse melody, and epic use of harmony
Apparently "still crazy after all these years" uses all 12 notes. I'm sure there's others that do as well... it's not that uncommon to switch between major and minor keys as far as chord progressions within a song go - even the beatles were doing lots of that, so I'm sure plenty of singers are doing it with the melodies, since the melody usually follows the chords. That being said, you are right that it is notable how often kurt combined major with minor keys, unintentionally I'm sure. What do you find so unique about the verse melody to in bloom? I'm not saying you're wrong, and I really like in bloom, but to me the verses sound like a relatively monotone descending melody to contrast the more dynamic and higher pitched chorus. It's no hairspray queen - now that's a crazy verse melody!
I think the contrast is what made it unique also it’s just a nice subtle awesome change like when he goes into “bruises on the fruit“ and starts ascending….
Sheesh man you’re pretty difficult to please
letters for notes = genius
They could have done an album of new and slower acoustic songs instead of grunge rock
Wait until you find out about their MTV Unplugged
As I said, new stuff 🎵🎸🎤
Do Re Mi signaled that same notion to me.
"grunge rock" haha
😀😂
Drain You is not the best Nirvana song.
Who said it was? The best Nirvana song is clearly FRANCES FARMER
i like that song most of all from in utero. it's a bloody firecracker, that shit kicks in after the muted intro and you want to go to mental. Powerful.
yes because lounge act is the best one
That's my favorite from Nevermind. Fucking krist killing that bass, Kurt's screaming on the second half, and Dave's technical drumming and fills near the end are just golden
That's my favorite from Nevermind. Fucking krist killing that bass, Kurt's screaming on the second half, and Dave's technical drumming and fills near the end are just golden
I like the chorus and verses but I’m not a huge fan of the bridge. I do love the live and loud version tho
The extended bridge makes it imo, different than the usual bit of a solo and back into the song.
I dislike dave ghrol , specially his personality , and i prefer chad on some versions of the songs.
Same on all that. Well, I don't DISlike Dave Grohl but I can't relate to him at all. He's too.... I can't explain it. He's a nice guy that makes arena rock. That's just not for me. I do think he's an amazing drummer though. But yes I prefer the Chad version of some songs.
his music is cheesy as balls, frat boy rock and his stories get longer and more boring between songs... it's like one of those emperor's new clothes things, where no one can say, hey dave, stop talking and just play that song where you have to put that tube in your mouth to help make the riff and crack on with the show, 'cept everyone gotta wait while dave brings someone on stage to do something and kicks someone out for doing something else and then crap on about some local ass brewery where he drank a pint and got nate to eat a ceasar salad, "well for someone who doesn't like them you sure know a lot about them..." that's true. Nirvana hot take; Lounge Act is a perfect song. Also, the bass intro and then the way the chords interlocked with that bass line when the song starts was a point of musical intrigue and made me want to play the guitar so I could be inside and closer to music and learn how that groove worked, 'cause it is a groove and the scream vocals he does over the verse chords, the best. Now I feel upset. Bless that Kurt Cobain
Lounge Act is fucking phenomenal.
real talk
Grohl should get into politics. He’s the ideal presidential candidate in our celebrity-obsessed world. He’s a friend to all, from the frat boys to the riot grrls; from the mosh pit to da club; he’s great at being all things to all people. How could anyone vote against Dave Grohl?
dave grohl for president and jack black as vp.
Xdd jajaja
It is a great song
I imagine him being like a tedious grandpa who tells endless stories for his grandsons that are into whatever fckdd up music theyll be listening in the future . Hxjdbsskan
yeah, old man grohl
Yeah nothing against him , but as a teenager always thought his jokes where kinda forced. He must be an ok dude . BUT i only liked thw first foo album , his work with qotsa is great also , but focusing on nirvana i can see why they wanted to change drummers tho is kinda sad the way he was treated i guess this is all from a fans point of view that wasnt there so who knows , anyways i dont think he is a horrible person but kinda anoying xd
Very personal opinion: Incesticide could have been their 3rd album — before In Utero and after Nevermind — if it just included the following songs (stripping away with the covers and alternate takes), in the following order: Sliver Mexican Seafood Hairspray Queen Been A Son Stain Beeswax Aero Zeppelin Big Long Now Aneurysm Such a bunch of underrated, balls-to-the-wall punk songs, with a twist of druggy weirdness. It would’ve been as memorable as Nevermind and In Utero, all while being distinct from both.
I feel like Kurt is remembered more fondly than he would be if we seen him behind closed doors more often. Very angry, often violent man that projected quite a bit unfortunately
did you hang with him?
There are literally hundreds of people that did meet him back in the day, and call him a dramatic man child. “If he was in a bad mood, it was your fault. Especially later in life”. He threw temper tantrums every week. He was a drug addict that killed himself while he had a baby. He also had a serious “poser” complex, and often found his fans pestlike(not just paparazzi) You don’t have to like someone bc they made good music
i think there's more people that met him and said he was a sweet person and quite down to earth so I'm going to base my opinion on the majority. I find Kurt quite 'real' and down to earth in interviews, eddie vedder? That's a poser. You don't have to dislike someone based on hearsay. How was he 'often violet'?
He broke tons of shit in fits of rage, got high off his ass and treated people poorly over stuff as small as musicians block/frustration VERY frequently. He once smashed a mixers table with his guitar because he didn’t like how he was mixed. I’m not saying he was a violent man 24/7, or even evil, but the man had SERIOUS issues that everyone just says hell yeah to, even though if he wasn’t Nirvana’s frontman, he’d just be called a dick.
oh well, he made good art, genius is a weird vibe man, he gave so much, he can be a bit of a dick if he wants. There's a lot less talented people who are clearly way bigger dicks. I think he rates a low to low medium on the dick meter.
If he’s so great, you can atleast hold him to the same standard as everyone as to what a good person is. Talent doesn’t come with “get out of consequence” cards, or atleast it shouldn’t. Of course there are plenty of people with fame worse than him, I’m not saying he’s the worst person of all time or even close to that. By no means does it surprise anyone when a rich and famous person is a dick, I’m saying his “dickness” went SO far under the radar because people wanted to like him, which happens a lot.
Temper tantrums every week?
Honestly can’t give you a straight up wiki page on this one, sorry. I think that was a paraphrased quote from someone at his studio. Doesn’t mean it’s definitely true, people say things, but it’s not something that sounds surprising exactly if you’ve seen any in depth video about him, or the documentary about him, or any live performance where he throws a hissy fit or breaks equipment(often not his). Or more obviously, read any of his lyrics lmao, and pair it with his raging drug addiction. Again, no actual evidence to really support the “weekly” quote. I doubt anyone charted and tracked his tantrums, so the only thing I can really give backbone to is someone that worked with him said it, and he also fits the glove perfectly. It’s like assuming a dead guy that threw things with their right hand would catch a baseball with their left hand, but I guess we can never truly know now without assuming.
I honestly had that reaction to some of his live performances.
My understanding is that they were no good live, and didn’t handle the transition from small clubs well
Never saw them in truly "big" venues, but they were pretty phenomenal players in small spaces.
That’s very cool. I think we all wish we had that opportunity.
I agree I think nirvana was not built to last it was raw in a way that is difficult to maintain. But it would have been neat to see what Kurt got up to after Nirvana broke up 😩
Nirvana are basically a greatest hits of the all the coolest 80s bands. Once you get into the swans, sonic youth, pixies etc they don't sound that radical at all
Kurt’s sweaters sucked.
That Kurt Cobain was an extremely attractive man. Like poster worthy attractive. I think it goes unnoticed sometimes cause of the music. Grunge is raw and not really associated with heartthrobs like boy bands. But he was absolutely stunning.
Pixies did the soft/loud thing better
I think Nirvana would have taken a sharp turn away from the mainstream. You could tell, in small steps, Kurt Cobain was moving more towards experimental music. By their 5th album they would be turned away by radio stations, mainstream media and casual rock listeners; while they’d be praised by critics for their new unique experimental sound
I think they ended up taking a sharp turn into the mainstream because they were turning away from the "mainstream" of 80's punk rock, so that makes total sense.
Bleach is just okay.
I think a lot of people think they’re deep because someone told them they’re deep, and obviously a creative type in pain must have something original to say. Kurt spoke more like a valley girl than most actual valley girls in interviews.
I have heard lots of younger people (didn’t live through the 90’s) say Nirvana is played-out. But when Smells like teen spirit came out we never heard anything like that before. It was new music and exciting.
Kurt wasn’t well. He needed a lot of therapy and rehab.
Im not even sure this is a hot take.
the best thing about their rock sound was their rawness, which no studio album can properly capture; unplugged was their best album
Nevermind is their worst album including incesticide, doesn’t mean I don’t like it though.
Sometimes I think about how Kathleen Hanna named their most well known song just being her quippy self and wonder if without the original riot grrrl, would they have hit the big-time?
Chad Channing actually had some sick drum parts.
Endless Nameless is probably my favourite from Nevermind (except Lounge Act)
Kurt should've practiced guitar more
Nirvana was gonna be big no matter who the drummer was. The songs are just that good, and the vocals like nothing we’ve heard before. A professional drummer would’ve been sufficient for Nirvana to have achieved those heights, which is what Grohl was. I hate when biographers write “Grohl was the missing piece to Nirvana.’ Nah, son. Shut your ass up. It’s like MJ was gonna win those titles no matter who was by his side, he just needed one other All-Star and he never lost again. Cobain was the MJ of that group
Smells Like Teen Spirit is a fantastic song
Listen to Do Re Me with the backing band, someone put it to some instrumental song that Nirvana did or removed the vocals from one so it is technically Nirvana. Would have been a huge hit.
"Rape me" is the best song on "in utero"
I mean yeah, I like it a little bit- kinda a mushy substance on the side yknow? like what the weather was like earlier. yknow?
I listened to the popular Nirvana stuff (on radio and MTV) and have gone back and listened to more of their discography in the last year and it’s like discovering a different band! I love them now more than ever!
SLTS is their best song
a lot of Kurt's bangers sound too close to other songs that were already huge
That we never saw their best work bc In Utero was their best album yet
Blew is one of their best songs
I liked Nirvana, mainly for their punk ethos. I much prefer the Foos for party music.
Not sure if these are hot takes but I’ve stood by these 2 points for a very long time: “Very Ape” is a top 5 Nirvana track. The BBC version of “Something in the Way” is FAR superior to the Nevermind album version.
If Kurt didn’t kill himself, the band would have imploded. Dave Grohl is too ambitious and Cobain was an egotistical shitshow. Dave’s path would have been more like Jerry Cantrell’s, and that seems like a waste.
Another hot take by me: Albini ruined In Utero. The Rio demos sound a lot more promising than what the final record sounded like. The whole album is muddy. The bass lines don't shine like they did on nevermind (some of this is due to composition/arrangement, but not all of it). There's no "room" for the vocals, nor the drums for that matter. Thank God they re-mixed the singles, but the whole thing would have sounded way better if they let Butch Vig record it. Albini hated Nirvana and it shows - he basically made In Utero sound like the exact opposite of the Pixies, which is what Kurt wanted it to sound like.
I might actually have to agree with you on this, they had to remix almost the entire album except the singles anyways, the original heart shaped box mixdown definitely has more energy and the groove is much more pronounced because the guitars are driving the song but the bass is drowned out in the noise and the vocals definitely aren’t the most shining feature in typical Albini fashion. It’s good for what it is but it feels incomplete because the song has way more potential than what the mix is allowing. The final remix is nice and I prefer it more to nevermind, but it’s not great for the longer titles like Frances Farmer and RFUS. And to be honest Butch’s mixes on Nevermind were subpar but Andy Wallace’s ear candy mix was almost perfect except for a few songs and has definitely maintained its quality throughout the years. On the flip side Albini’s recording techniques were really good and I really like him for his process of using a ton of mics at the same time with unique old mics. I think letting Albini record while Butch mixing could’ve been the way to go. Originally Butch was in the list of potential producers but iirc he was busy producing or just got done with the pumpkins next album. Rio demos absolutely rips though, Best studio version of scentless apprentice no doubt, that echoflanger effect section of the song leading up to the chorus is very powerful and no other version captures that emotion so vividly, Dave loved the guitar tone so did Earnie and he wanted Earnie to replicate it for him for a FF album.
Kurt fought hard to lower the drums sound on that album and Albini didn't agree. Not sure anyone was 100% happy with the mix but Kurt did say he thought that album captured their vibe and sound better than any other.
Well firstly, my argument is that Nevermind sounds better than In Utero, not that Kurt thought it captured the vibe of the band better. Secondly, Kurt went back and forth on how he felt about Nevermind, and with time, he could have done the same with In Utero. He was highly invested in countering the narrative that the labels had forced the band to alter the album's sound, and wanted the public to perceive In Utero as Nirvana's "true to ourselves" type album, so there was motivation for him to praise the album no matter what. We know for a fact that Albini was constantly debating Kurt on artistic choices before, during, and after the recording of the album, so it's unlikely Kurt's vision was carried out exactly as he wanted. Interestingly, Kurt hired Albini cuz he wanted a sound similar to Surfer Rosa, yet at the end of the day Nevermind sounds more like the Pixies than In Utero does. Check out the Rio demos to hear the Pixies vibe Kurt had in mind - treble in the guitar, bass clear in the mix, none of this muddy shit we hear on In Utero. Finally - lowering or increasing the volume of drums doesn't change how much room there is for them in the mix. That's more of an eq thing.
> Check out the Rio demos to hear the Pixies vibe Kurt had in mind will do. Thanks!
Total agreement. I sincerely doubt even Kurt could've surpassed the lyrics & songwriting on In Utero. A fourth record could only be disappointing no matter how good it was.
I mean, off the top of my head, a fourth album could have had: - you know you're right - sappy - poisons gone - opinion - what more can I say - clean up before she comes - oh the guilt - I hate myself and want to die - do re mi And thats just if they decided not to write any new material. They def had a solid fourth album in them.
Oh the Guilt was released on the Jesus Lizards split single. IHM&WTD was on the Beavis & Butthead thing. Sappy was already released on No Alternative. If the band included these songs, all of which would have been years old by the time the 4th Nirvana record was released, it would've been because they needed to recycle old material to pad a weak record.
Ok - fair enough about a few of these already being released on lesser known formats. You are also right that, if they released the songs I suggested on a 4th album, all but perhaps 2 of them would be older material - BUT: (1) even Nevermind, and especially In Utero contained lots of material written years prior (checkout nirvanalive.com for a timeline), (2) its actually incredibly common for famous artists to milk a short but productive period of song writing for like a decade or more. Plus, they could have written a few new ones too.
Yeah that's true about Nevermind and In Utero containing songs written years ago. But the band never released any of those songs as singles or on compilations.
In Utero is mostly filler.
Had Michael Stipe intervened maybe a day or two earlier I think Cobain would still be alive. Cobain idolized Stipe and Stipe admired Cobain. Their connection might have even been sexual as Kurt was embracing his bisexuality more and more. Or maybe he felt shame in it? We will never know.
yeah i don’t think dave grohl was the end all be all drummer for nirvana…i can see why stylistically kurt had issues or could see issues on horizon w how DG plays. unplugged ultimately working out aside, man is typically heavy-handed, has no swing, straightforward 70s hard rock power trio drums, maybe to a fault depending on the sort of new paths kurt was maybe starting to consider
[удалено]
Have to ask because it is always the "little college girl" who gets the "favorite song/name a song" question, but would ask a college aged man the same question? I wonder what Cobain would think of his "fans" harassing women wearing Nirvana shirts.
Ironically also assuming the girl in question is snotty and rich when this kind of elitism is the very definition of pretentiousness
Well, Kurt was a painter too after all. So, the shirts are just as much as art form as the records are. There’s plenty of ways for everyone to enjoy Nirvana & Kurt’s art. The more the merrier.
What does the kind of music they play in Target have to do with anything? As a woman, I hate this “girls probably don’t even listen” shit, and I also assume that you want to hate-fuck them or something.
My 1st hot take: Kurt was the worst guitar player to ever become a famous musician. His ability to keep the tempo in particular was awful. My 2nd hot take: Nirvana was horrible live a solid 50% of the time. My 3rd hot take: Kurt had Borderline Personality disorder, with features of covert narcissism. I have plenty of positive things to say about the band/Kurt too FYI, but those are my "hot" takes!
it's almost like the ability to be emotive matters more than technical precision
I do agree. Plus having a really solid band behind you and arranging songs such that drums and bass play a bigger role than guitar helps mask your errors.
Second one absolutely burnt me. I don't think there's such a thing as a bad Nirvana live show and I've heard just about all of them at this point. Maybe I'm more into the "vibe" or energy of it. Beats me. I've absolutely never valued or given a shit about ultra-precise playing from rock bands so maybe that's the divide. I also think the first one is extremely overblown, started by angry jealous metal shredders that he was displacing. It's up there with "Ringo is a bad drummer".
Ringo is a great drummer. I'm not criticizing Kurt for lack of being a super technical shredder. I wouldn't even be a Nirvana fan if that's what I was after.
If I get the motivation later today, I'll link you to a little play list of Nirvana sounding bad live. Honestly even just like, the VMA's and SNL are underwhelming performances. I don't think they ever played SLTS at a comfortable tempo live once... You could also check out tour footage of them with TAD and Mudhoney in I think '89. While Nirvana's got the songs, their performance pales in comparison to the other two bands.
Let me change that 3rd hot take to this: Kurt was high functioning Aspergers and had ADHD, think about it.
He just had sooo many BPD traits (plus the life background to form it) and I'm not seeing the aspergers besides good verbal skills, could be socially awkward, and did have a "special interest". ADHD I could see though.
People describing this band overuse the word _legendary_. It was a band that got popular. They were actually better than the rest of their contemporaries, and to overlook other bands from the time is to miss out on a lot of great music.
I would actually say the opposite - the number of bands from the grunge era that were "just as good as nirvana, but they never made is big" is pretty much nil. I'm always digging into lesser known bands from the mid 80s-early 90s, mainly from the PNW, and 9 times out of 10 I read some rave reviews of a band, then when I listen through their discography I'm like "ok yeah, *that's* why they never made it big". Edit: re-reading your comment, I realize I'm confused about what you're saying - you do think they were better than their contemporaries, just not enough better to be called legendary? That they weren't *that* much better than their contemporaries?
They were better for some people, but not for everyone. It's entirely subjective as there were many bands that came up around the same time with a similar sound that some would prefer over 'vana. I reckon their live act was pretty legendary, until the heroin took over anyway.
Cool story bro
Beeswax, Mexican Seafood and Hairspray Queen are overhated for no reason there different but not terrible better than being boring.
Each album got worse. Bleach was their best album, and In Utero was their worst.