Nirvana began playing parties in Olympia, gaining a cult following. During 1987, the band made ten demos with producer Jack Endino, who played the recordings to Jonathan Poneman, one of the founders of the Seattle-based indie label Sub Pop. Poneman signed Nirvana, and in December of 1988, the band released their first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz.” Sub Pop orchestrated an effective marketing scheme, which painted the band as backwoods, logging-town hicks, which irritated Cobain and Novoselic. While “Love Buzz” was fairly well-received, the band’s debut album, Bleach, was what began the ball rolling. Recorded for just over 600 dollars and released in the spring of 1989, Bleach slowly became a hit on college radio, due to the group’s consistent touring. Though Jason Everman was credited as a second guitarist on the sleeve of Bleach, he didn’t appear on the record; he only toured in support of the album before leaving the band at the end of the year to join Soundgarden and then Mind Funk. Bleach sold 35,000 copies and Nirvana became favorites of college radio, the British weekly music press, and Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, and Dinosaur Jr., which was enough to attract the attention of major labels.
Nirvana timeline
05-16-65 Krist Anthony Novoselic born to Krist and Maria Novoselic
01-31-67 Chad Channing born to Wayne and Burnyce Channing
02-20-67 Kurt Donald Cobain born to Wendy and Donald Cobain
01-14-69 David Eric Grohl born to James and Virginia Grohl
01-23-88 Nirvana records demo with Dale Crover
11-??-88 First single: Love Buzz/Big Cheese released 06-??-89
Bleach – CD-Album released 10-23-89
Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England 12-30-89
Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma on 04-17-91
Nirvana first plays Smell Like Teen Spirit 04-30-91
Smells Like Teen Spirit – CD-Single Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records 08-?? -91
The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made 09-20-91
Tour for Nevermind – Japan – Vinyl- Album Nevermind – CD- Album Nevermind – Vinyl-Album begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-12-91 Nevermind goes Gold
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live,
Nevermind hits #1 01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
08-18-92 Francis Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana headlines Reading Festival
09-08-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
12-15-92 Insecticide Insecticide – Japan – Vinyl- Album Insecticide – CD-Album released
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
11-18-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero in Utero – Vinyl-Album In Utero – CD-Album released in US
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
03-01-94 The Final Nirvana show is played in Munich
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from a coma, asks for a milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power the body of Kurt Cobain is found, he committed suicide 3 days ago.
04-10-94 Memorial Service held in Seattle, Courtney reads from a suicide note.
09-??-94 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video for Heart-Shaped Box
11-01-94 Nirvana: Unplugged in New York Unplugged in New York – Vinyl-Album Unplugged in New York – CD-Album is released in the US
11-15-94 Nirvana: Live! Tonite! Sold Out! is released in US
07-04-95 Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighter’s Album released 10-01-96 From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Japan – Vinyl-Album from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album released
During the summer, Nirvana released “Sliver”/”Dive,” which was recorded with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums and produced by Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. By the end of the summer, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, had become Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in the summer. Following a European tour supporting Sonic Youth in the late summer, Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson’s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Story of the band from there sub pop days right through to that day in apriI 94
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. It soon become apparent that the band wasn’t quite sure how to handle their success. Around the time of Nevermind’s release, the band was into baiting their audience — Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in drag, the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops by Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis, and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss — but by the spring, questions had begun to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child in the fall. Shortly after the marriage, rumors that the couple were heavy heroin users began to circulate and the strength of the rumors only increased when Nirvana canceled several summer concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. But, heroin rumors continued to surface, especially in the form of a late-summer Vanity Fair article which implied that Love was using during her pregnancy. Both Love and Cobain denied the article’s allegations, and publicly harassed and threatened the article’s author. Love delivered Frances Bean Cobain, a healthy baby girl, on August 18, 1992, but the couple soon battled with Los Angeles’ children’s services, who claimed they were unfit parents on the basis of the Vanity Fair article. The couple was granted custody of their child by the beginning of 1993.
Since Cobain was going through such well-documented personal problems, Nirvana was unable to record a follow-up to Nevermind until the spring of 1993. In the meantime, DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 in the U.S. and number 14 U.K. As the group prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split-single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, Nirvana recorded their third album, In Utero, in two weeks during the spring of 1993. Following its completion, controversy began to surround Nirvana again. Cobain suffered a heroin overdose on May 2, but the event was hidden from the press. The following month, Love called police to their Seattle home after Cobain locked himself in the bathroom, threatening suicide. Prior to debuting In Utero material during the New Music Seminar at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, Cobain had another covered-up overdose. By that time, reports began to circulate, including an article in Newsweek, that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, accusing that the band deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini’s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt.
In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with a fall American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up the U.S. tour on January 8, 1994, with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Rohypnol and drinking champagne. While the attempt was initially reported as an accidental overdose, it was known within the Nirvana camp that the vocalist had left behind a suicide note.
Cobain returned to Seattle within a week of his hospitalization and his mental illness began to grow. On March 18, the police had to again talk the singer out of suicide after he locked himself in a room threatening to kill himself. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain’s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he escaped from the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. The following day, Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle home. His body wasn’t discovered until April 8, when an electrician contracted to install an alarm system at the Cobain house stumbled upon the body. After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
Novoselic and Grohl planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band’s Nevermind-era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to Cobain’s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers).
In 1996, its electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters (early rumors that Novoselic would also be a member of the band ultimately proved to be false) — releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. Novoselic formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra and former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live From the Battle in Seattle under the name the No W.T.O. Combo.
By the late ’90s, research began by Novoselic for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal problems began to surface. In 1997, Grohl and Novoselic formed the Nirvana L.L.C. partnership with Courtney Love (who manages Cobain’s estate) — a company that required a unanimous vote by all three regarding future albums, photos, and anything else Nirvana-related. When all three couldn’t agree on the songs to be included on the box set, the matter was taken to court as Love attempted to dissolve the partnership. The project was ultimately shelved indefinitely as any legal decision was tied up in court. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
NIRVANA LINE UP !(1985-1994)
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar (1985-1994)
Krist (Chris) Novoselic (1985-1994)
Aaron Burckhard (1985-1986)
Dale Crover: drums (1988)
Chad Channing (1986-1990)
Jason Everman: guitar (1989)
Dave Foster: drums (1988)
Dan Peters: drums (1990)
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals (1990-1994)
John Duncan: guitar (1993)
Pat Smear: guitar (1993-1994)
Early releases (1988–1990)
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz”, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first-ever interview with John Robb in Sounds who also made the release single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins and Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman, who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they “wanted to make him feel more at home in the band”. Just prior to the album’s release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Following the release of Bleach in June 1989, Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, and the album became a favourite of college radio stations. Due to increasing differences between Everman over the course of the tour, Nirvana cancelled the last few dates and drove back to Washington. No one told Everman he was fired, while Everman later said he had actually quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it was a steady seller and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label’s lack of promotion and distribution for the album. In late 1989, the band recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. In a late 1989 interview with John Robb in Sounds, Cobain noted that the band’s music was changing. He said, “The early songs were really angry… But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings”. Grohl performing in 1989 In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing’s drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana” demos with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana’s seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl, whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”
Grohl told Q: “I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks… I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You’re kidding me’.”
Mainstream breakthrough (1991–1992)
Disenchanted with Sub Pop and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana decided to look for a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy the group out of its contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana’s demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon,
Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990.
Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth’s Goo. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide
In Utero, final months, and Cobain’s death (1993–1994)
In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 1993.Time’s Christopher John Farley wrote in his review of the album, “Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn’t gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana”. In Utero went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as a second guitarist. In November, they recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the band broke convention for the show by choosing not to play their most recognizable songs. Instead, they performed several covers and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Nirvana’s final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1
The tour is cancelled when Kurt gets ill and checks into rehab where he leaves couple of days after, he is missing and reported missing by wife Courtney love using kurts mothers name suspiciously? His body is found April 8th dead by self-inflicted gunshot wound according to police. Nirvana fans dispute this and with good evidence to back them up also.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtWkahNquWc?wmode=transparent
NIRVANA SMILEY FACE STORY
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about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong
resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.
The Nirvana Logo Font The font
style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.
The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring
Legacy Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.
(Story here)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr8lCTs4yCylx8XBW2KO-OBq5n8y4Kx09SMILEY LOGONIRVANA’S SMILEY FACE
SMILEY LOGONIRVANA’S SMILEY FACE
(Nirvana.com)
Nirvana documentaries/movies
(Nirvana.com)
Nirvana documentaries/movies
Hear how the band came from no where to change the face of music!!https://www.youtube.com/embed/y2ZmM6btwjM?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/m9903WwsvAE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/s4tcsQJ4bQ0?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/yOYWX1uQMW8?wmode=transparent
Behind the album.. “incesticide”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-rDihTILjA?wmode=transparent
Behind the album..”in-utero”https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxPFNMMWYvE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yCrVWXNSw?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/kuYfAwwgCjI?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YBODze-zhbE?wmode=transparent
Nirvana get kicked out of own party !https://www.youtube.com/embed/iBKeI81fXiI?wmode=transparent
Reading festival ’92https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RmlOAjYmCo?wmode=transparent
“POLLY”
A look into Kurt’s songwriting as he sings about a girl who gets attacked after a concert..
POLLY UN-OFFICIAL
PAT SMEAR ON FINAL TOUR
Pat talks about how he loved nirvana & can’t believe he’s playing with them! Also speaks of the last leg of in-utero tour & the Rome “incident”!!
KURT’S LYRICS
MTV’S UNPLUGGED
Short but brilliant unedited clips from unplugged..
THE LAST PHOTO SESSION
NIRVANA FACTS!!!
KURT COBAIN SMILING
Every one thinks kurt was a depressed suicidal junkie! He was anything but that! He was a special person with a talent for anything he tried, poetry music art etc.. sit back & enjoy his smile & remember the music.. thanks kurt & nirvana
NIRVANA INTERVIEWS
KURT SCREAM MEDLEY
Dave Foster: A Formative Nirvana Moment
https://nirvana-legacy.com/category/bleach-and-the-sub-pop-era-1987-1990/
Timeline
11-??-88 First single: Love Buzz/Big Cheese released 06-??-89
Bleach – CD-Album released 10-23-89
Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England 12-30-89
Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma on 04-17-91
Nirvana first plays Smell Like Teen Spirit 04-30-91
Smells Like Teen Spirit – CD-Single Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records 08-?? -91
The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made 09-20-91
Tour for Nevermind – Japan – Vinyl- Album Nevermind – CD- Album Nevermind – Vinyl-Album begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-12-91 Nevermind goes Gold
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live,
Nevermind hits #1 01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
08-18-92 Francis Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana headlines Reading Festival
09-08-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
12-15-92 Insecticide Insecticide – Japan – Vinyl- Album Insecticide – CD-Album released
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
11-18-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero in Utero – Vinyl-Album In Utero – CD-Album released in US
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
03-01-94 The Final Nirvana show is played in Munich
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from a coma, asks for a milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power the body of Kurt Cobain is found, he committed suicide 3 days ago.
04-10-94 Memorial Service held in Seattle, Courtney reads from a suicide note.
09-??-94 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video for Heart-Shaped Box
11-01-94 Nirvana: Unplugged in New York Unplugged in New York – Vinyl-Album Unplugged in New York – CD-Album is released in the US
11-15-94 Nirvana: Live! Tonite! Sold Out! is released in US
07-04-95 Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighter’s Album released 10-01-96 From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Japan – Vinyl-Album from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album released
During the summer, Nirvana released “Sliver”/”Dive,” which was recorded with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums and produced by Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. By the end of the summer, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, had become Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in the summer. Following a European tour supporting Sonic Youth in the late summer, Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson’s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Story of the band from there sub pop days right through to that day in apriI 94
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. It soon become apparent that the band wasn’t quite sure how to handle their success. Around the time of Nevermind’s release, the band was into baiting their audience — Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in drag, the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops by Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis, and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss — but by the spring, questions had begun to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child in the fall. Shortly after the marriage, rumors that the couple were heavy heroin users began to circulate and the strength of the rumors only increased when Nirvana canceled several summer concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. But, heroin rumors continued to surface, especially in the form of a late-summer Vanity Fair article which implied that Love was using during her pregnancy. Both Love and Cobain denied the article’s allegations, and publicly harassed and threatened the article’s author. Love delivered Frances Bean Cobain, a healthy baby girl, on August 18, 1992, but the couple soon battled with Los Angeles’ children’s services, who claimed they were unfit parents on the basis of the Vanity Fair article. The couple was granted custody of their child by the beginning of 1993.
Since Cobain was going through such well-documented personal problems, Nirvana was unable to record a follow-up to Nevermind until the spring of 1993. In the meantime, DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 in the U.S. and number 14 U.K. As the group prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split-single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, Nirvana recorded their third album, In Utero, in two weeks during the spring of 1993. Following its completion, controversy began to surround Nirvana again. Cobain suffered a heroin overdose on May 2, but the event was hidden from the press. The following month, Love called police to their Seattle home after Cobain locked himself in the bathroom, threatening suicide. Prior to debuting In Utero material during the New Music Seminar at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, Cobain had another covered-up overdose. By that time, reports began to circulate, including an article in Newsweek, that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, accusing that the band deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini’s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt.
In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with a fall American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up the U.S. tour on January 8, 1994, with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Rohypnol and drinking champagne. While the attempt was initially reported as an accidental overdose, it was known within the Nirvana camp that the vocalist had left behind a suicide note.
Cobain returned to Seattle within a week of his hospitalization and his mental illness began to grow. On March 18, the police had to again talk the singer out of suicide after he locked himself in a room threatening to kill himself. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain’s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he escaped from the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. The following day, Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle home. His body wasn’t discovered until April 8, when an electrician contracted to install an alarm system at the Cobain house stumbled upon the body. After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
Novoselic and Grohl planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band’s Nevermind-era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to Cobain’s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers).
In 1996, its electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters (early rumors that Novoselic would also be a member of the band ultimately proved to be false) — releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. Novoselic formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra and former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live From the Battle in Seattle under the name the No W.T.O. Combo.
By the late ’90s, research began by Novoselic for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal problems began to surface. In 1997, Grohl and Novoselic formed the Nirvana L.L.C. partnership with Courtney Love (who manages Cobain’s estate) — a company that required a unanimous vote by all three regarding future albums, photos, and anything else Nirvana-related. When all three couldn’t agree on the songs to be included on the box set, the matter was taken to court as Love attempted to dissolve the partnership. The project was ultimately shelved indefinitely as any legal decision was tied up in court. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
NIRVANA LINE UP !(1985-1994)
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar (1985-1994)
Krist (Chris) Novoselic (1985-1994)
Aaron Burckhard (1985-1986)
Dale Crover: drums (1988)
Chad Channing (1986-1990)
Jason Everman: guitar (1989)
Dave Foster: drums (1988)
Dan Peters: drums (1990)
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals (1990-1994)
John Duncan: guitar (1993)
Pat Smear: guitar (1993-1994)
Early releases (1988–1990)
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz”, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first-ever interview with John Robb in Sounds who also made the release single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins and Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman, who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they “wanted to make him feel more at home in the band”. Just prior to the album’s release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Following the release of Bleach in June 1989, Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, and the album became a favourite of college radio stations. Due to increasing differences between Everman over the course of the tour, Nirvana cancelled the last few dates and drove back to Washington. No one told Everman he was fired, while Everman later said he had actually quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it was a steady seller and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label’s lack of promotion and distribution for the album. In late 1989, the band recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. In a late 1989 interview with John Robb in Sounds, Cobain noted that the band’s music was changing. He said, “The early songs were really angry… But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings”. Grohl performing in 1989 In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing’s drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana” demos with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana’s seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl, whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”
Grohl told Q: “I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks… I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You’re kidding me’.”
Mainstream breakthrough (1991–1992)
Disenchanted with Sub Pop and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana decided to look for a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy the group out of its contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana’s demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon,
Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990.
Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth’s Goo. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide
In Utero, final months, and Cobain’s death (1993–1994)
In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 1993.Time’s Christopher John Farley wrote in his review of the album, “Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn’t gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana”. In Utero went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as a second guitarist. In November, they recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the band broke convention for the show by choosing not to play their most recognizable songs. Instead, they performed several covers and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Nirvana’s final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1
The tour is cancelled when Kurt gets ill and checks into rehab where he leaves couple of days after, he is missing and reported missing by wife Courtney love using kurts mothers name suspiciously? His body is found April 8th dead by self-inflicted gunshot wound according to police. Nirvana fans dispute this and with good evidence to back them up also.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtWkahNquWc?wmode=transparent
NIRVANA SMILEY FACE STORY
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about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong
resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.
The Nirvana Logo Font The font
style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.
The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring
Legacy Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.
(Story here)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr8lCTs4yCylx8XBW2KO-OBq5n8y4Kx09SMILEY LOGONIRVANA’S SMILEY FACE
SMILEY LOGONIRVANA’S SMILEY FACE
(Nirvana.com)
NIRVANA THE STORY & THE SONGS
Nirvana documentaries/movies
(Nirvana.com)
Nirvana documentaries/movies
NIRVANA THE STORY & THE SONGS
Hear how the band came from no where to change the face of music!!https://www.youtube.com/embed/y2ZmM6btwjM?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/m9903WwsvAE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/s4tcsQJ4bQ0?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/yOYWX1uQMW8?wmode=transparent
Behind the album.. “incesticide”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-rDihTILjA?wmode=transparent
Behind the album..”in-utero”https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxPFNMMWYvE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yCrVWXNSw?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/kuYfAwwgCjI?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YBODze-zhbE?wmode=transparent
Nirvana get kicked out of own party !https://www.youtube.com/embed/iBKeI81fXiI?wmode=transparent
Reading festival ’92https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RmlOAjYmCo?wmode=transparent
“POLLY”
A look into Kurt’s songwriting as he sings about a girl who gets attacked after a concert..
Pat talks about how he loved nirvana & can’t believe he’s playing with them! Also speaks of the last leg of in-utero tour & the Rome “incident”!!
KURT’S LYRICS
MTV’S UNPLUGGED
Short but brilliant unedited clips from unplugged..
THE LAST PHOTO SESSION
NIRVANA FACTS!!!
KURT COBAIN SMILING
Every one thinks kurt was a depressed suicidal junkie! He was anything but that! He was a special person with a talent for anything he tried, poetry music art etc.. sit back & enjoy his smile & remember the music.. thanks kurt & nirvana
NIRVANA INTERVIEWS
KURT SCREAM MEDLEY
NEVERMIND
Studio Albums
Released: 09/23/91 (Europe), 09/24/91 (US), 04/96, 07/98 Releases:
Released on vinyl, cassette and CD in 1991
. Reissued in April 1996 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as a 24-carat gold CD and on 200g high-definition vinyl
. Reissued in July 1998 by Simply Vinyl on high-quality vinyl
Additional Information:
Recoded and produced by Butch Vig. Mixed by Andy Wallace.
Dave plays all the drums on the album. ‘Polly’ was taken from Nirvana’s April 1990 Smart Studios session (also with Butch Vig) when the drummer was Chad Channing, but at the ‘Nevermind’ session the drums for ‘Polly’ were re-recorded. The first batch of American pressings (46,251) on CD and cassette lacked ‘Endless Nameless’, the uncredited secret track which appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once ‘Something in the Way’ has ended, because of a pressing error.
The band put the ‘secret track’ on the album as a way of playing with the CD format, just as the Beatles, for example, put indecipherable messages in the runout grooves of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover shot was inspired by Kurt and Dave having seen a documentary on underwater birth during recording sessions. They investigated pictures of babies being born underwater, but they were too graphic. Therefore, they chose a stock graphic of a baby swimming, but it was too expensive. As a result, the art director, Robert Fisher, got Kirk Weddle, an underwater photographer to take some shots himself of a baby underwater. The baby in the final picture chosen was Spencer Elden. Kurt recommended the adding of a dollar on a fish-hook and thus a famous album cover was born.
Inside the inlay is a page of random lyrics from the songs on ‘Nevermind’ mashed together in no particular order. Two of the lines amongst them were made up by Kurt and do not feature in the lyrics of any of the songs (“The second coming came in last and out of the closet” and “At the end of the rainbow and your rope”). The back-cover features a meat-and-diseased vagina collage by Cobain behind the Chim (above the head of which is a picture of Kiss). Cobain’s name appears on photo credits as ‘Kurdt Kobain’. Later reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were both taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1996 CD and vinyl releases by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold of the CD is less susceptible to corrosion than the aluminium used on regular CDs. The MFSL LP booklet for this release misspelled Nirvana (‘Nirvana’) and CD releases do contain ‘Endless Nameless’ although, as with ordinary releases, this is not credited on the cover.
The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy card (300g) sleeve. The song credits on this vinyl release are different to those on the regular CD
INSECTICIDE
(1992)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Stain September 1989 Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Been A Son November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK
Turnaround October 21, 1990, Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Molly’s Lips October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London,
UK Son Of A Gun October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
(New Wave) Polly November 9, 1991 BBC Studios, London, UK
Beeswax January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle,
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Mexican Seafood
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Hairspray Queen
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Aero Zeppelin
January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Big Long Now
December, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK Three of the fifteen songs on ‘Insecticide’ cover.
The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On: Turnaround Devo We Are Not Men, We Are Devo Molly’s Lips Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Son of a Gun Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Released: 12/14/92 (Europe), 12/15/92 (US) Releases: Released on vinyl (with a limited edition of 15,000 on blue vinyl), cassette and CD. Additional Information: A collaborative enterprise by ‘Sub Pop’ and ‘Geffen’ (originally planned as two separate releases, one by each label), partly as an attempt to beat the bootleggers. The collaboration was intended to ensure a definite compilation, as well as give the band more control over it and ensure greater distribution than ‘Sub Pop’ could muster. The cover art is a painting by Cobain.
The sticker on it reads “Inside Insecticide: Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Stuff Never Before Available”, and six of the fifteen tracks were unreleased at the time (‘Hairspray Queen’, ‘Aero Zeppelin’, ‘Big Long Now’, ‘Been A Son’, ‘(New Wave) Polly’ and ‘Aneurysm’). ‘Mexican Seafood’ was previously made available on ‘Teriyaki Asthma’, ‘Beeswax’ on ‘Kill Rock Stars’, ‘Downer’ on CD versions of ‘Bleach’, ‘Stain’ on the ‘Blew’ EP, ‘Dive’ and ‘Sliver’ on the ‘Dive/Sliver’ single (note: the phone call outro to ‘Sliver’ between Krist and Jonathon Poneman on the single was omitted for its appearance on CD) and ‘Turnaround’, ‘Molly’s Lips’ and ‘Son Of A Gun’ appeared on the ‘Hormoaning’ EP. ‘Been A Son’ on ‘Insecticide is a different version to that on the ‘Blew’ EP, as are the versions ‘Aneurysm’ from their respective previous releases. According to Endino ‘Hairspray Queen’ and ‘Aero Zeppelin’ were not remastered for their release on this CD, virtually being the one-hour mix versions, he did on the day of their recording. Some American copies include liner notes written by Kurt. In trading circles complete versions of the October 21, 1990 and the November 9, 1991 radio sessions are available. Complete session tapes also exist for the January 23, 1989 and April 1990 sessions. Other outtakes from the September 1989 Music Source and December 1989 Reciprocal studio sessions have also surfaced.
(1993)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
Serve The Servants February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Scentless Apprentice February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Very Ape February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
Tourette’s February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
All Apologies February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip January 22, 1993, Ariola Ltda BMG,
Rio de Janeiro Released:
09/14/93 (Europe), 09/21/93 (US), 01/97, 11/98 Releases: Issued on vinyl (including a 15,000 limited edition on clear vinyl), cassette and CD in 1993. Reissued by MFSL in January 1997 on 24-carat gold CD and high-quality vinyl.
In November 1998 it was reissued on high-quality vinyl by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Steve Albini, who was paid $100,000 on top of $24,000 recording costs. ‘All Apologies’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ were remixed again in May by Scott Litt. ‘Sappy’ was also re-recorded at this session and this is the version that features on the ‘No Alternative’ compilation. European releases included a bonus track (‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip’), referred to on releases as ‘Devalued American Dollar Purchase Incentive Track’, which appears 25 minutes after the end of ‘All Apologies’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, except for ‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol’ (stating ‘whatever’ in its place) and Tourette’s (with the lyrics being given as ‘Cuff, Tish, Sips’). The disc features Michael DeWitt in drag, a former nanny employed by Kurt and Courtney.
Wal-Mart and K-Mart versions of the artwork were altered with Cobain’s acceptance (given that to refuse the changes would mean the album would be more difficult to get hold of) when these outlets refused to sell them, deeming them ‘offensive’. They also changed the title of ‘Rape Me’ to ‘Waif Me’. A remixed version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ (also available on the ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ single), different from on ordinary versions of ‘In Utero’, was used on these re-issued copies and ‘Gallons’ was omitted. Both the reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1997 release by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold is less susceptible to corrosion. These releases do not contain ‘Gallons’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy (300g) card sleeve. The guitar solo intro on ‘Very Ape’ on this vinyl release is longer than on other versions. ‘In Utero’ enters the Billboard chart at #1 with first week sales of 180,000 units.
Compilation Albums
NIRVANA
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
Previously unreleased About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Bleach Been a Son September 1989 Music Source Studios – Seattle, WA
Blew EP Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Insecticide Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come as You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea (remix version) February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero (K-Mart/Wal-Mart version) Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero All Apologies November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Something In The Way (vinyl & Japanese CD releases only) November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Released: 10/28/02 (outside US), 10/29/02 (US) Releases: CD, Vinyl (2 LPs). Additional Information: Features the previously unreleased song ‘You Know You’re Right’. All the other tracks, taken from the NIRVANA back catalog, have been “newly mastered” for this release. Includes a forward by David Fricke.
The vinyl version is a double LP release. Only the vinyl release and Japanese versions of the CD contain ‘Something in the Way’.
Review:
Almost six years to the day since the last NIRVANA album came the release of the greatest hits package, simply titled ‘Nirvana’. Fans had long believed the next album would be a box set of unreleased songs and demo versions, indeed a 45-track two-disc set was reportedly assembled for launch to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of the band’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’. Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, was displeased by her lack of input on the box set, and made a legal challenge to block the release. Coincidentally, she was also in court trying to extricate herself from her legal obligations to her record label with her former band ‘Hole’. Love threatened to withhold Cobain’s last known song, an unreleased anthem titled “You Know You’re Right” from any future releases, which would be the one and only unique selling point of any future release. Deadlock ensued as wild accusations concerning sanity and precise contributions to the band were presented in court. However, Love’s position of power was effectively undermined by two factors. First, Universal decided they would release a ‘greatest hits’ album with or without the new song, and secondly on May 10th a Spanish fan shocked the online fan community by claiming and then proving he had a copy of the song. Jim Barber, Courtney’s lawyer and boyfriend, responded by firing off emails to all online fans concerned threatening legal action, but it proved impossible to force the genie back into the bottle, and the song leaked on the internet in mid-September. Radio stations across the world started airing the track, and once again the band’s lawyers faxed legal threats to the stations demanding they cease and desist playing the song. Some radio stations were undeterred, and continued playing the track anyway. Fearing a public relations disaster on an unprecedented scale, the record company executives realised their position was hopeless, and shipped out promotional CD-Rs of the song.
Love was thus forced to negotiate, and was able to force the delay of the box set (which was finally released in 2004 – see our comprehensive guide to ‘With The Lights Out’) to be overtaken by a greatest hits package. The date originally suggested was October 22nd 2002, but Love feared her own new material would receive little attention and demanded the CD be held back until 2003. However, with all concerned realising the need to capitalize quickly on the media uproar over the new song, the release date was pushed forward to November 12th and incredibly then again to October 29th. The track list was published at online retailer Amazon, but was quickly removed as the band realised that bootleggers would be able to assemble the album themselves and release counterfeits early. Jim Barber proclaimed that the track listing was incorrect, but of course this turned out to be obfuscation. The first track, “You Know You’re Right” (recorded by Adam Kasper) is the sole previously unreleased song, recorded at NIRVANA’s last studio session in January 1994 just before the start of their final tour. The song is clearly one of the very best ones in the band’s oeuvre, and is hoped to propel album sales into the tens of millions.
“About A Girl” (recorded by Jack Endino) is the one representative of NIRVANA’s debut album, the 1989 release ‘Bleach’.
Next up is “Been A Son” (recorded by Steve Fisk), but the rendition selected is the one from the very rare ‘Blew EP’, and not the common Goodier Session version from ‘Insecticide’.
Following this is “Sliver” (recorded by Jack Endino), a Sub Pop single did a feature on ‘Insecticide’. Next are the four ‘Nevermind’ singles (all recorded by Butch Vig) in order of release, followed by four songs from the band’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ (recorded by Steve Albini), and concluding with three songs from NIRVANA’s November 1993 appearance on ‘MTV’s Unplugged’.
The track list has been much debated on the internet and in some quarters much-derided: just as anyone with a passing knowledge of English football (soccer) thinks he/she could select a better national team than the current manager, any fan with all the albums could select his/her dozen favorite songs. It is clear, however, that the songs chosen are the result of politics and commercial considerations.
The ‘Bleach’ rendition of “About A Girl” is unsteady and inferior to the acoustic version released on the ‘Unplugged In New York’ album, but was presumably included so that there would be some representative of the band’s debut. Had this release ignored ‘Bleach’ entirely, accusations would undoubtedly have surfaced accusing the band of ignoring its roots and the contribution of Chad Channing (the drummer on most early releases).
“Been A Son” was selected for those collectors who cannot afford to pay $100 to track down a copy of the scarce ‘Blew EP’, and is an extra purchase incentive for fans who have not heard this rendition. However, it sounds very uncouth and raw nestling beside the band’s genuine hits, and is probably the weakest song on the album, and so those collectors who were supposed to benefit from the addition of this song have ended up criticising its inclusion.
The next six songs are those for which NIRVANA produced music videos, and are uncontroversial choices. Indeed, only the four singles from ‘Nevermind’ are included, which surprised many: this album is widely considered their best work. The reasoning is easy to divine. The record label do not want to cannibalise new sales of ‘Nevermind’ by including too much on this album.
The Scott Litt remix of “Pennyroyal Tea” neuters the bass roar present in the choruses of the ‘In Utero’ album track, but is otherwise unspectacular. The liner notes claim this version to be “previously unreleased”, but it has actually been available for many years on the censored Wal-Mart version of ‘In Utero’. Next follow two further album tracks from ‘In Utero’, bringing the total up to four.
This CD then rounds off with two or three songs (depending on where you live) from the band’s fabulous quasi-acoustic concert recorded for MTV Unplugged. The pre-and post-song applause is muted as much as possible between the songs to allow this release to flow better. All three of the songs were aired extensively by radio stations on account of being pressed on promotional CDs. All songs selected, bar “Been A Son” and “Dumb”, are the standard NIRVANA songs played on the radio, and were therefore obvious candidates for inclusion on this record: that is precisely what a greatest hits CD should contain, by definition. The fact that none of the band’s less commercial / pop-influenced, more punk/metal-style songs have been included should not be a surprise either: they do not belong on a commercial CD such as this one. Those who bemoan the lack of rare song “Oh, The Guilt” or the popular “Sappy” similarly miss the point of a greatest hits compilation: with a new rareties release planned for next year, these songs have rightly been retained for that. Those who criticise the CD as being too short are also wide of the mark. Songs such as “Aneurysm” may be fine songs, but would seem out of place on such a pop-oriented compilation. A strong case could be made for making this release even shorter still, removing perhaps tracks 2, 3 and 4 to leave an even more definitive selection. The author is ambivalent on the subject of the remastering of the songs for this release: the pre-‘Nevermind’ songs now feature much greater separation between instruments and do sound clearer, but this causes their jagged edges (especially on “Been A Son”) to be more prominent. The stark contrast with the following Butch Vig produced numbers makes one wonder if the effort was wasted. The packaging of the CD is, as usual, excellent: Robert Fisher always seemed to be able to guide the band into selecting beautiful images and stunning photos, which were arguably one factor in the band’s success. This time the release is monochrome, but this is in keeping with the reverential tone of the release. This is not to say ‘Nirvana’ is faultless:
the editing of the CD is atrocious, with “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” starting over two seconds before the track marker, and the gaps between songs seeming in some cases too short and others too ponderous. Those responsible for this should be roundly condemned for their sloppiness. The liner notes are also egregious: the author David Fricke lacks both eloquence and erudition on the subject of NIRVANA. He misquotes the lyrics to “You Know You’re Right” (using instead those sung by Ms Love during her rendition) and astounded the online fan community by referring to the song as “Autopilot” and “On The Mountain”, both of which were bootleggers’ titles resulting from them mishearing Dave Grohl’s muffled introduction to the previously known live version, “This is our last song. It’s called ‘All Apologies’.� Cobain changed his mind and played “You Know You’re Right” instead. These quibbles do not detract from the album as a whole, which remains an excellent introduction to the band, surely the main purpose of this CD. Complaints from hardcore fans about the lack of rare material selected for their delectation are utterly ridiculous in the context of a greatest hits release.
Compilation Albums
Sliver – The Best of the Box Released:
1st November 2005 Releases: CD only Additional Information
: This is a compilation of tracks taken from NIRVANA’s 2004 boxset release With The Lights Out. To maximize sales and tempt owners of the boxset to buy it this compilation also includes 3 exclusive tracks that do not feature on the boxset itself which are indicated below.
Track: Date / Location: Exclusive To Sliver – Best of the Box?
Comments Spank Thru (home demo) December 1985 – Music room, Earl residence, Burien, WA, US Yes Sourced from the infamous ‘Fecal Matter’ demo!
Heartbreaker (live) 03/xx/87 – 17 Nussbaum Road (house party), Raymond, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Unknown (home demo) Summer, 1987 – Cobain residence, Aberdeen, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Floyd The Barber (Live) 01/23/88 – Community World Theater, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
About A Girl (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Blandest (studio) June�September 1988 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Ain’t It A Shame (studio) August 20 & 28, 1989 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track
. Sappy January 2�3, 1990 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US Yes This track was produced by Jack Endino and took a whopping 10 hours to record what is paradoxically one of the worst renditions of this song!
Opinion (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Lithium (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Sliver (home demo) Summer, 1990 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Come As You Are (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US Yes This is a boom box demo which was recorded at the same time as the SLTS demo above. Old Age (studio) May�June 1991 – Sound City Studios, Van Nuys & Devonshire Studios, Burbank, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Oh, The Guilt April 7, 1992 – Laundry Room Studio, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (home demo) May 1991 – Oakwood Apartment, Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (studio) 25�26 October 1992 – Word Of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Heart-Shaped Box (studio) January 19�21, 1993 – Studio B, BMG Ariola Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, BR No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Do Re Mi (home demo) Early 1994 – Bedroom, Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
You Know You’re Right (home demo) Mid 1993�Early 1994 – Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
All Apologies (home demo) 1991�1992 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US/Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this tr
Compilation Albums
ICON
.Released: 31st August 2010 Releases: CD only Additional Information:
NIRVANA’s second “greatest hits” compilation. Part of the Icon series by Universal Music Enterprises which featured greatest hits releases “from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B, and country”. Interestingly it does not include any tracks from NIRVANA’s first album ‘Bleach’ which may have been done to avoid having to pay fees to Sub Pop
. Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Album:
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY Unplugged In New York
Live Albums
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Come As You Are November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Pennyroyal Tea November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Dumb November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Polly November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
On A Plain on November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Something In The Way November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Plateau November 18, 1993 Sony Studios, New York, NY
Oh Me November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Lake Of Fire November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie The Man Who Sold The World (Ryko)
Six of the fourteen songs performed covered. The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Vaselines Way Of The Vaselines (Sub Pop)
Plateau Meat Puppets II (SST) Oh Me Meat Puppets II (SST) Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets II (SST)
Where Did You Sleep Last Night ‘Leadbelly’ Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Released: 11/01/94, 11/98 Releases: Released on vinyl, cassette, and CD in 1994. Reissued on LP in November 1998 by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Produced and remixed by Scott Litt. It contains two-songs which were cut from the original television broadcast. All songs were done in one take. Although the official release is technically complete at 46 minutes (containing all the songs that were recorded), the show was actually about 69 minutes long, with all breaks between songs, jamming, tuning, and interaction with the crowd cut from this release. Conceived originally as disc one of a two-CD release, the second CD containing other live tracks spanning the band’s life. However, the band was unable to complete the project, feeling it was too close to Kurt’s death. The ‘second CD’ in effect would appear in 1996 as ‘From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy quality sleeve. Enters the Billboard Chart at #1 and sells more than 300,000 copies in its first week.
Live Albums
FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WHISKAH
Released: 10/01/96 Releases: Released on vinyl (2 LPs, in a single sleeve), cassette and CD.
Additional Information: Nirvana’s third release to enter the Billboard chart at #1 and their fourth #1 album. The liner notes were written by Krist Novoselic. They contain errors, as detailed in the CD guide to this release above. Side four of the vinyl version contains additional stage banter which is transcribed in the vinyl guide above.
About this release, Dave Grohl, in an interview (from the interview CD ‘Foo Fighters In Conversation’ on Chatback) said: Interviewer: What do you think of the live album, the Nirvana live album that came out? Were you happy with the result? Dave Grohl: Yeah I thought it was cool, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean there were so many songs, like … so many tapes … and so many songs, just so much stuff we could have released and we released one thing … the just live thing. Yeah I thought it was good … I mean I have live tapes at home that are better than that, but those are mine! (Laughs). Interviewer: Did you have much input in so far as what songs are going on the album? Dave Grohl: Yeah, Krist … Krist and I … Krist actually did most of the pick and choose and I think he did a really great job, but yeah, ultimately we had like total control over what was happening.
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT
DGC RECORDS,18 VERSIONS (2011)
LIVE AND LOUD
DGC RECORDS,13 VERSIONS (2013)
Live Albums
LIVE IN READING
Released: 3rd November 2009 Releases: CD-only, DVD-only, and CD+DVD set
Additional Information: Official release of NIRVANA’s legendary performance at the 1992 Reading Festival which was circulating amongst traders in various forms prior to this official release. Unfortunately, the CD-only version is incomplete: it is missing ‘Love Buzz’, various jams and between-song banter as well as most of the destruction. The DVD is complete and also features a short clip after the credits of Cobain interacting with a fan after the show. It features camera angles not present on any trading circle version. More information can be found here. Song: Intro Breed Drain You Aneurysm School Silver Sliver In Bloom Come As You Are Lithium About A Girl Tourette’s Polly Lounge Act Smells Like Teen Spirit On A Plain Negative Creep Been A Son All Apologies Blew Dumb Stay Away Spank Thru Love Buzz The Money Will Roll Right In D-7 Territorial Pissings Credits
Anniversary/Deluxe Edition Reissues
20TH ANNIVERSARY BLEACH
Released: 3rd November 2009
Releases: CD, regular vinyl (black) and limited-edition vinyl (white) Additional Information: Reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Bleach’. Features a 13-track remaster of the ‘Bleach’ album (remastered from the original tapes by ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino) as well as NIRVANA’s live performance at the Pine Street Theatre recorded on 9th February 1990. Both the CD and vinyl releases include a booklet with never before seen photographs of the band plus other pertinent images from NIRVANA Sub Pop years (for example, the original session tapes, a scan of NIRVANA’s Sub Pop contract, etc.).
In relation to the vinyl release, it is not known precisely how many copies of the limited-edition white version were produced. NOTE: the live show included on this release was circulating amongst traders prior to this release from an alternate soundboard source and whilst the version on this official release does sound better, unfortunately, the between-song banter has been cut.
CD ONE/SIDE A Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Blew December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Floyd the Barber January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
School December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Paper Cuts January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Negative Creep December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Scoff December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Swap Meet December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Mr Moustache December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Sifting December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Downer January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
CD TWO/SIDE B Song: Date Recorded/Venue: Intro 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
School 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Floyd The Barber 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Dive 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Love Buzz 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Spank Thru 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Molly’s Lips 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Sappy 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Scoff 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
About A Girl 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Been A Son 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Blew 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
SLIVER
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI
About A Girl (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR
Spank Thru (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland OR
Released: 09/??/90 (US), 01/??/91 (UK) Releases: First 3,000 7″ American releases were on blue vinyl in fold-over sleeves and was subsequently reissued in many colours in solid sleeves, being the only Nirvana single on Sub Pop still in print. British releases on Tupelo were originally on 7″ vinyl (with the first 2,000 on green vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve. The 12″ vinyl features ‘About A Girl’, live from 02/09/90. The CD-version had included ‘About A Girl’ and also ‘Spank Thru’, again from 02/09/90. Additional Information: ‘Spank Thru’ on the CD versions is incorrectly spelled ‘Spank Through’. The A-side of the 7″, after ‘Sliver’, also features a 45-second phone conversation outro, between a very hung-over Krist Novoselic and Jonathon Poneman, which Krist accidentally recorded on his answerphone. This was excluded when this version of ‘Sliver’ appeared on ‘Incesticide’, rather like the intro to ‘Love Buzz’ was culled from vinyl versions when it made its transition to a CD. An incomplete soundboard version of the 02/09/90 show featured on this release is available in trading circles. A complete session tape of all the finalized versions of songs from the April 1990 studio appearance is also circulating.
TEEN SPIRIT
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Drain You May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Even In His Youth January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 09/09/91 (UK), 09/10/91 (US) Releases: American 7″ vinyl and cassette releases included ‘Even In His Youth’. The American 12″, a second cassette and CD also featured ‘Aneurysm’. UK 7″ and cassette releases included ‘Drain You’, 12″ versions ‘Even In His Youth’ and the CD all four songs. Whilst all American versions lack ‘Drain You’ it was included on some European releases. Additional Information: The back cover shot was taken by Charles Petersen at Nirvana’s 03/08/91 appearance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
COME AS YOU ARE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Endless, Nameless May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
The school (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Drain You (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA Released: 03/02/92 (UK), 03/03/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ was backed with a live ‘Drain You’, whilst US cassettes, 12″‘s and CD’s also had a live version of ‘School’ from the same show. In the UK the 7″ featured ‘Endless Nameless’, the 12″ also included the live version of ‘School’. CDs had a fourth track, a live ‘Drain You’. German 12″ picture discs contain ‘Endless Nameless’ and a live version of ‘Drain You’. Additional information: A complete soundboard version of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles.
LITHIUM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Been A Son (live) October 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Curmudgeon April, 1992 Laundry Room Studios, Seattle, WA
D-7 October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK Released: 07/20/92 (UK), 07/21/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ and cassette was backed with a live version of ‘Been A Son’, whilst the 12″ and CD also included ‘Curmudgeon’. In the UK the 7″ was backed with ‘Curmudgeon’, the 12″ added the live version of ‘Been A Son’ and CDs included a fourth track, ‘D-7’. Additional Information: The cover was designed by Kurt and the single includes a sonogram of Frances Bean Cobain. Contains all the lyrics to ‘Nevermind’. A complete soundboard of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles. The complete 10/21/90 radio session is also circulating amongst traders.
IN BLOOM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Sliver (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA
Polly (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA Released: 11/30/92 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. The 7″ and cassette included a live version of ‘Polly’. The 12″ and CD had a third track, a live version of ‘Sliver’. Additional Information: A complete soundboard of the 12/28/91 performance is available in trading circles
HEART-SHAPED BOX
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Marigold February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN Released: 08/30/93 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. 7″ and cassette featured ‘Marigold’ and the 12″ and CD also included ‘Milk It’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
LOVE BUZZ
| test pressing |
|---|
| numbered |
| red slash |
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 11/88 Releases: This single launched the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’. Limited to 1000 hand-numbered (in red ink) copies, in a fold-over sleeve, on black vinyl.
Additional Information: On this release, only ‘Love Buzz’ features a 10-second sound collage intro made by Kurt from various children’s records spliced together and a similar collage dubbed into the instrumental break. This comes from a much longer collage made by Kurt, which is 34-minutes long, known as ‘The Montage of Heck’, which is available in trading circles. ‘Love Buzz’ was originally performed by ‘Shocking Blue’. The version of ‘Love Buzz’ on this single is a different mix to those on all ‘Bleach’ and ‘Blew EP’ releases, being remixed for other releases and lacking the aforementioned collages. It was remixed to increase its collectibility and lacked the collages because Kurt forgot to bring the home-made tape with it on to the remixing session! Alice Wheeler took the photo on the front of the album in Tacoma’s ‘Never Never Land’ (a park) close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kurt’s name is given as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ on the credits and on the ‘Love Buzz’ side is etched ‘Why don’t you trade those guitars for shovels?’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
Sliver (1990)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Come As You Are (1992)
Lithium (1992)
In Bloom (1992)
Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
All Apologies (1993)
Pennyroyal Tea (1994 but withdrawn)
About A Girl (1994)
.Split Singles:
Candy/Molly’s Lips (1991)
Here She Comes Now/Venus In Furs (1991)
BOXSETS
Puss/Oh, The Guilt (1992)Singles
(1995) With The Lights Out (2004)
EP`S
Blew EP (1989)
Hormoaning EP (1992)
COMPLAMATION APP,
HE LIVE NIRVANA COMPANION TO OFFICIAL RELEASES:
COMPILATION APPEARANCES
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop Rock City
Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. 1
/Teriyaki Asthma, Vols. 1-5
Hard To Believe Heaven And Hell: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground
, Volume 1 The Grunge Years Kill Rock Stars
Eight/Fourteen Songs For Greg Sage and the Wipers
No Alternative
The Beavis and Butthead Experience
Geffen Rarities Vol. 1
Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defence
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack/Hype!
Fender 50th Anniversary Guitar Legends Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Volume 1
.Music Videos:
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Come As You Are
Lithium (Sub Pop) [1200 Seconds]
Lithium (Geffen)
In Bloom (Sub Pop)
[Sub Pop Video Network Program 1]
In Bloom (Geffen)
Sliver
Heart-Shaped Box
Unplugged Videos
Aneurysm
You Know You’re Right
Video Releases:
Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!
With The Lights Out Classic Albums:
Nirvana – Nevermind
Unplugged In New York
They had already made some waves on Sub Pop with their debut, “Bleach”.
But it wasn’t until their major-label debut for DGC/Geffen Records, 1991’s “Nevermind” – perhaps, more specifically, the first 30 seconds of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – that they broke into the mainstream of America.
1. Bleach (1989)
Nirvana recorded Bleach in December 1988 and January 1989, during several sessions.
Nirvana consisted of Kurt Cobain (guitar and vocals),
Krist Novoselic (bass),
and Chad Channing (drums).
Although he never actually played on the album, Jason Everman, who had previously played guitar in another band with Channing, paid the $616 for recording costs. Everman later joined Nirvana in February 1989 for the band’s west coast tour.
The photograph of Nirvana performing at the Reko/Muse art gallery in Olympia, WA on April 1st, 1989, was taken by Cobain’s girlfriend, Tracy Marander.
2. Nevermind (1991)
One of the most recognized albums covers in alt-rock music, Nevermind with new drummer Dave Grohl) came up with the concept. Available stock images of water births were too graphic, stock photos of swimming babies were expensive, so art director Robert Fisher hired photographer Kirk Weddle to do a photo shoot at a pool. The image of three-month-old Spencer Elden, the son of Weddle’s friend, was selected by Nirvana. DGC Records art department later added the dollar bill and fishhook. The Onyx logo was reused, using a wave-like effect to accompany the water theme. To avoid controversy, DGC Records wanted to cover up the image, but Cobain objected. The cover is often included on lists of “shocking” album artwork, and it was even banned by Facebook in 2011 (a decision they quickly reversed). The image has often been parodied, most notably by “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 1992 album, Off the Deep End
3. Insecticide (1992)
Kurt Cobain agreed to officially release this material on a compilation, since Nirvana fans were now taping and trading low-quality recordings of live radio shows, demos, and B-sides. He insisted on retaining complete artistic control over the cover artwork. This oil-on-canvas painting made entirely by Cobain, was the result, including lettering which didn’t have their usual logo. The poppy flower symbolized Cobain’s increasing use of heroin. The cover, while unusual, wasn’t considered too controversial to be used.
4. In Utero (1993)
On the other hand, In Utero was anything but uncontroversial.
Robert Fisher, the art director for DGC Records again designed the front cover, using ideas from Kurt Cobain. An anatomical teaching aid – a mannequin with transparent “skin” to display the organs inside – had angel wings added. The tour in support of the album used similar mannequins as props, which were then abused and destroyed on stage. The familiar Onyx logo was used, with a typewritten font for the album title. Cobain created the back cover collage, photographed by Charles Peterson, who was familiar to the local music scene. Objects related to birth and death, including several plastic fetuses, were used.
It was decided by Kmart and Wal-Mart that this artwork, as well as the accompanying text, wasn’t suitable for store displays. DGC Records employed alternate images and text, along with strategically-placed stickers to sell the album at major retailers.
https://rockwaresusa.com/search?q=nirvana
DISCOGRAPHY
NEVERMIND
Studio Albums
Released: 09/23/91 (Europe), 09/24/91 (US), 04/96, 07/98 Releases:
Released on vinyl, cassette and CD in 1991
. Reissued in April 1996 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as a 24-carat gold CD and on 200g high-definition vinyl
. Reissued in July 1998 by Simply Vinyl on high-quality vinyl
Additional Information:
Recoded and produced by Butch Vig. Mixed by Andy Wallace.
Dave plays all the drums on the album. ‘Polly’ was taken from Nirvana’s April 1990 Smart Studios session (also with Butch Vig) when the drummer was Chad Channing, but at the ‘Nevermind’ session the drums for ‘Polly’ were re-recorded. The first batch of American pressings (46,251) on CD and cassette lacked ‘Endless Nameless’, the uncredited secret track which appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once ‘Something in the Way’ has ended, because of a pressing error.
The band put the ‘secret track’ on the album as a way of playing with the CD format, just as the Beatles, for example, put indecipherable messages in the runout grooves of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover shot was inspired by Kurt and Dave having seen a documentary on underwater birth during recording sessions. They investigated pictures of babies being born underwater, but they were too graphic. Therefore, they chose a stock graphic of a baby swimming, but it was too expensive. As a result, the art director, Robert Fisher, got Kirk Weddle, an underwater photographer to take some shots himself of a baby underwater. The baby in the final picture chosen was Spencer Elden. Kurt recommended the adding of a dollar on a fish-hook and thus a famous album cover was born.
Inside the inlay is a page of random lyrics from the songs on ‘Nevermind’ mashed together in no particular order. Two of the lines amongst them were made up by Kurt and do not feature in the lyrics of any of the songs (“The second coming came in last and out of the closet” and “At the end of the rainbow and your rope”). The back-cover features a meat-and-diseased vagina collage by Cobain behind the Chim (above the head of which is a picture of Kiss). Cobain’s name appears on photo credits as ‘Kurdt Kobain’. Later reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were both taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1996 CD and vinyl releases by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold of the CD is less susceptible to corrosion than the aluminium used on regular CDs. The MFSL LP booklet for this release misspelled Nirvana (‘Nirvana’) and CD releases do contain ‘Endless Nameless’ although, as with ordinary releases, this is not credited on the cover.
The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy card (300g) sleeve. The song credits on this vinyl release are different to those on the regular CD
INSECTICIDE
(1992)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Stain September 1989 Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Been A Son November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK
Turnaround October 21, 1990, Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Molly’s Lips October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London,
UK Son Of A Gun October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
(New Wave) Polly November 9, 1991 BBC Studios, London, UK
Beeswax January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle,
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Mexican Seafood
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Hairspray Queen
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Aero Zeppelin
January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Big Long Now
December, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK Three of the fifteen songs on ‘Insecticide’ cover.
The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On: Turnaround Devo We Are Not Men, We Are Devo Molly’s Lips Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Son of a Gun Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Released: 12/14/92 (Europe), 12/15/92 (US) Releases: Released on vinyl (with a limited edition of 15,000 on blue vinyl), cassette and CD. Additional Information: A collaborative enterprise by ‘Sub Pop’ and ‘Geffen’ (originally planned as two separate releases, one by each label), partly as an attempt to beat the bootleggers. The collaboration was intended to ensure a definite compilation, as well as give the band more control over it and ensure greater distribution than ‘Sub Pop’ could muster. The cover art is a painting by Cobain.
The sticker on it reads “Inside Insecticide: Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Stuff Never Before Available”, and six of the fifteen tracks were unreleased at the time (‘Hairspray Queen’, ‘Aero Zeppelin’, ‘Big Long Now’, ‘Been A Son’, ‘(New Wave) Polly’ and ‘Aneurysm’). ‘Mexican Seafood’ was previously made available on ‘Teriyaki Asthma’, ‘Beeswax’ on ‘Kill Rock Stars’, ‘Downer’ on CD versions of ‘Bleach’, ‘Stain’ on the ‘Blew’ EP, ‘Dive’ and ‘Sliver’ on the ‘Dive/Sliver’ single (note: the phone call outro to ‘Sliver’ between Krist and Jonathon Poneman on the single was omitted for its appearance on CD) and ‘Turnaround’, ‘Molly’s Lips’ and ‘Son Of A Gun’ appeared on the ‘Hormoaning’ EP. ‘Been A Son’ on ‘Insecticide is a different version to that on the ‘Blew’ EP, as are the versions ‘Aneurysm’ from their respective previous releases. According to Endino ‘Hairspray Queen’ and ‘Aero Zeppelin’ were not remastered for their release on this CD, virtually being the one-hour mix versions, he did on the day of their recording. Some American copies include liner notes written by Kurt. In trading circles complete versions of the October 21, 1990 and the November 9, 1991 radio sessions are available. Complete session tapes also exist for the January 23, 1989 and April 1990 sessions. Other outtakes from the September 1989 Music Source and December 1989 Reciprocal studio sessions have also surfaced.
(1993)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
Serve The Servants February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Scentless Apprentice February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Very Ape February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
Tourette’s February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
All Apologies February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip January 22, 1993, Ariola Ltda BMG,
Rio de Janeiro Released:
09/14/93 (Europe), 09/21/93 (US), 01/97, 11/98 Releases: Issued on vinyl (including a 15,000 limited edition on clear vinyl), cassette and CD in 1993. Reissued by MFSL in January 1997 on 24-carat gold CD and high-quality vinyl.
In November 1998 it was reissued on high-quality vinyl by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Steve Albini, who was paid $100,000 on top of $24,000 recording costs. ‘All Apologies’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ were remixed again in May by Scott Litt. ‘Sappy’ was also re-recorded at this session and this is the version that features on the ‘No Alternative’ compilation. European releases included a bonus track (‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip’), referred to on releases as ‘Devalued American Dollar Purchase Incentive Track’, which appears 25 minutes after the end of ‘All Apologies’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, except for ‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol’ (stating ‘whatever’ in its place) and Tourette’s (with the lyrics being given as ‘Cuff, Tish, Sips’). The disc features Michael DeWitt in drag, a former nanny employed by Kurt and Courtney.
Wal-Mart and K-Mart versions of the artwork were altered with Cobain’s acceptance (given that to refuse the changes would mean the album would be more difficult to get hold of) when these outlets refused to sell them, deeming them ‘offensive’. They also changed the title of ‘Rape Me’ to ‘Waif Me’. A remixed version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ (also available on the ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ single), different from on ordinary versions of ‘In Utero’, was used on these re-issued copies and ‘Gallons’ was omitted. Both the reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1997 release by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold is less susceptible to corrosion. These releases do not contain ‘Gallons’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy (300g) card sleeve. The guitar solo intro on ‘Very Ape’ on this vinyl release is longer than on other versions. ‘In Utero’ enters the Billboard chart at #1 with first week sales of 180,000 units.
Compilation Albums
NIRVANA
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
Previously unreleased About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Bleach Been a Son September 1989 Music Source Studios – Seattle, WA
Blew EP Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Insecticide Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come as You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea (remix version) February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero (K-Mart/Wal-Mart version) Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero All Apologies November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Something In The Way (vinyl & Japanese CD releases only) November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Released: 10/28/02 (outside US), 10/29/02 (US) Releases: CD, Vinyl (2 LPs). Additional Information: Features the previously unreleased song ‘You Know You’re Right’. All the other tracks, taken from the NIRVANA back catalog, have been “newly mastered” for this release. Includes a forward by David Fricke.
The vinyl version is a double LP release. Only the vinyl release and Japanese versions of the CD contain ‘Something in the Way’.
Review:
Almost six years to the day since the last NIRVANA album came the release of the greatest hits package, simply titled ‘Nirvana’. Fans had long believed the next album would be a box set of unreleased songs and demo versions, indeed a 45-track two-disc set was reportedly assembled for launch to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of the band’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’. Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, was displeased by her lack of input on the box set, and made a legal challenge to block the release. Coincidentally, she was also in court trying to extricate herself from her legal obligations to her record label with her former band ‘Hole’. Love threatened to withhold Cobain’s last known song, an unreleased anthem titled “You Know You’re Right” from any future releases, which would be the one and only unique selling point of any future release. Deadlock ensued as wild accusations concerning sanity and precise contributions to the band were presented in court. However, Love’s position of power was effectively undermined by two factors. First, Universal decided they would release a ‘greatest hits’ album with or without the new song, and secondly on May 10th a Spanish fan shocked the online fan community by claiming and then proving he had a copy of the song. Jim Barber, Courtney’s lawyer and boyfriend, responded by firing off emails to all online fans concerned threatening legal action, but it proved impossible to force the genie back into the bottle, and the song leaked on the internet in mid-September. Radio stations across the world started airing the track, and once again the band’s lawyers faxed legal threats to the stations demanding they cease and desist playing the song. Some radio stations were undeterred, and continued playing the track anyway. Fearing a public relations disaster on an unprecedented scale, the record company executives realised their position was hopeless, and shipped out promotional CD-Rs of the song.
Love was thus forced to negotiate, and was able to force the delay of the box set (which was finally released in 2004 – see our comprehensive guide to ‘With The Lights Out’) to be overtaken by a greatest hits package. The date originally suggested was October 22nd 2002, but Love feared her own new material would receive little attention and demanded the CD be held back until 2003. However, with all concerned realising the need to capitalize quickly on the media uproar over the new song, the release date was pushed forward to November 12th and incredibly then again to October 29th. The track list was published at online retailer Amazon, but was quickly removed as the band realised that bootleggers would be able to assemble the album themselves and release counterfeits early. Jim Barber proclaimed that the track listing was incorrect, but of course this turned out to be obfuscation. The first track, “You Know You’re Right” (recorded by Adam Kasper) is the sole previously unreleased song, recorded at NIRVANA’s last studio session in January 1994 just before the start of their final tour. The song is clearly one of the very best ones in the band’s oeuvre, and is hoped to propel album sales into the tens of millions.
“About A Girl” (recorded by Jack Endino) is the one representative of NIRVANA’s debut album, the 1989 release ‘Bleach’.
Next up is “Been A Son” (recorded by Steve Fisk), but the rendition selected is the one from the very rare ‘Blew EP’, and not the common Goodier Session version from ‘Insecticide’.
Following this is “Sliver” (recorded by Jack Endino), a Sub Pop single did a feature on ‘Insecticide’. Next are the four ‘Nevermind’ singles (all recorded by Butch Vig) in order of release, followed by four songs from the band’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ (recorded by Steve Albini), and concluding with three songs from NIRVANA’s November 1993 appearance on ‘MTV’s Unplugged’.
The track list has been much debated on the internet and in some quarters much-derided: just as anyone with a passing knowledge of English football (soccer) thinks he/she could select a better national team than the current manager, any fan with all the albums could select his/her dozen favorite songs. It is clear, however, that the songs chosen are the result of politics and commercial considerations.
The ‘Bleach’ rendition of “About A Girl” is unsteady and inferior to the acoustic version released on the ‘Unplugged In New York’ album, but was presumably included so that there would be some representative of the band’s debut. Had this release ignored ‘Bleach’ entirely, accusations would undoubtedly have surfaced accusing the band of ignoring its roots and the contribution of Chad Channing (the drummer on most early releases).
“Been A Son” was selected for those collectors who cannot afford to pay $100 to track down a copy of the scarce ‘Blew EP’, and is an extra purchase incentive for fans who have not heard this rendition. However, it sounds very uncouth and raw nestling beside the band’s genuine hits, and is probably the weakest song on the album, and so those collectors who were supposed to benefit from the addition of this song have ended up criticising its inclusion.
The next six songs are those for which NIRVANA produced music videos, and are uncontroversial choices. Indeed, only the four singles from ‘Nevermind’ are included, which surprised many: this album is widely considered their best work. The reasoning is easy to divine. The record label do not want to cannibalise new sales of ‘Nevermind’ by including too much on this album.
The Scott Litt remix of “Pennyroyal Tea” neuters the bass roar present in the choruses of the ‘In Utero’ album track, but is otherwise unspectacular. The liner notes claim this version to be “previously unreleased”, but it has actually been available for many years on the censored Wal-Mart version of ‘In Utero’. Next follow two further album tracks from ‘In Utero’, bringing the total up to four.
This CD then rounds off with two or three songs (depending on where you live) from the band’s fabulous quasi-acoustic concert recorded for MTV Unplugged. The pre-and post-song applause is muted as much as possible between the songs to allow this release to flow better. All three of the songs were aired extensively by radio stations on account of being pressed on promotional CDs. All songs selected, bar “Been A Son” and “Dumb”, are the standard NIRVANA songs played on the radio, and were therefore obvious candidates for inclusion on this record: that is precisely what a greatest hits CD should contain, by definition. The fact that none of the band’s less commercial / pop-influenced, more punk/metal-style songs have been included should not be a surprise either: they do not belong on a commercial CD such as this one. Those who bemoan the lack of rare song “Oh, The Guilt” or the popular “Sappy” similarly miss the point of a greatest hits compilation: with a new rareties release planned for next year, these songs have rightly been retained for that. Those who criticise the CD as being too short are also wide of the mark. Songs such as “Aneurysm” may be fine songs, but would seem out of place on such a pop-oriented compilation. A strong case could be made for making this release even shorter still, removing perhaps tracks 2, 3 and 4 to leave an even more definitive selection. The author is ambivalent on the subject of the remastering of the songs for this release: the pre-‘Nevermind’ songs now feature much greater separation between instruments and do sound clearer, but this causes their jagged edges (especially on “Been A Son”) to be more prominent. The stark contrast with the following Butch Vig produced numbers makes one wonder if the effort was wasted. The packaging of the CD is, as usual, excellent: Robert Fisher always seemed to be able to guide the band into selecting beautiful images and stunning photos, which were arguably one factor in the band’s success. This time the release is monochrome, but this is in keeping with the reverential tone of the release. This is not to say ‘Nirvana’ is faultless:
the editing of the CD is atrocious, with “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” starting over two seconds before the track marker, and the gaps between songs seeming in some cases too short and others too ponderous. Those responsible for this should be roundly condemned for their sloppiness. The liner notes are also egregious: the author David Fricke lacks both eloquence and erudition on the subject of NIRVANA. He misquotes the lyrics to “You Know You’re Right” (using instead those sung by Ms Love during her rendition) and astounded the online fan community by referring to the song as “Autopilot” and “On The Mountain”, both of which were bootleggers’ titles resulting from them mishearing Dave Grohl’s muffled introduction to the previously known live version, “This is our last song. It’s called ‘All Apologies’.� Cobain changed his mind and played “You Know You’re Right” instead. These quibbles do not detract from the album as a whole, which remains an excellent introduction to the band, surely the main purpose of this CD. Complaints from hardcore fans about the lack of rare material selected for their delectation are utterly ridiculous in the context of a greatest hits release.
Compilation Albums
Sliver – The Best of the Box Released:
1st November 2005 Releases: CD only Additional Information
: This is a compilation of tracks taken from NIRVANA’s 2004 boxset release With The Lights Out. To maximize sales and tempt owners of the boxset to buy it this compilation also includes 3 exclusive tracks that do not feature on the boxset itself which are indicated below.
Track: Date / Location: Exclusive To Sliver – Best of the Box?
Comments Spank Thru (home demo) December 1985 – Music room, Earl residence, Burien, WA, US Yes Sourced from the infamous ‘Fecal Matter’ demo!
Heartbreaker (live) 03/xx/87 – 17 Nussbaum Road (house party), Raymond, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Unknown (home demo) Summer, 1987 – Cobain residence, Aberdeen, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Floyd The Barber (Live) 01/23/88 – Community World Theater, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
About A Girl (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Blandest (studio) June�September 1988 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Ain’t It A Shame (studio) August 20 & 28, 1989 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track
. Sappy January 2�3, 1990 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US Yes This track was produced by Jack Endino and took a whopping 10 hours to record what is paradoxically one of the worst renditions of this song!
Opinion (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Lithium (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Sliver (home demo) Summer, 1990 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Come As You Are (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US Yes This is a boom box demo which was recorded at the same time as the SLTS demo above. Old Age (studio) May�June 1991 – Sound City Studios, Van Nuys & Devonshire Studios, Burbank, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Oh, The Guilt April 7, 1992 – Laundry Room Studio, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (home demo) May 1991 – Oakwood Apartment, Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (studio) 25�26 October 1992 – Word Of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Heart-Shaped Box (studio) January 19�21, 1993 – Studio B, BMG Ariola Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, BR No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Do Re Mi (home demo) Early 1994 – Bedroom, Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
You Know You’re Right (home demo) Mid 1993�Early 1994 – Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
All Apologies (home demo) 1991�1992 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US/Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this tr
Compilation Albums
ICON
.Released: 31st August 2010 Releases: CD only Additional Information:
NIRVANA’s second “greatest hits” compilation. Part of the Icon series by Universal Music Enterprises which featured greatest hits releases “from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B, and country”. Interestingly it does not include any tracks from NIRVANA’s first album ‘Bleach’ which may have been done to avoid having to pay fees to Sub Pop
. Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Album:
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY Unplugged In New York
Live Albums
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Come As You Are November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Pennyroyal Tea November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Dumb November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Polly November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
On A Plain on November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Something In The Way November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Plateau November 18, 1993 Sony Studios, New York, NY
Oh Me November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Lake Of Fire November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie The Man Who Sold The World (Ryko)
Six of the fourteen songs performed covered. The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Vaselines Way Of The Vaselines (Sub Pop)
Plateau Meat Puppets II (SST) Oh Me Meat Puppets II (SST) Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets II (SST)
Where Did You Sleep Last Night ‘Leadbelly’ Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Released: 11/01/94, 11/98 Releases: Released on vinyl, cassette, and CD in 1994. Reissued on LP in November 1998 by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Produced and remixed by Scott Litt. It contains two-songs which were cut from the original television broadcast. All songs were done in one take. Although the official release is technically complete at 46 minutes (containing all the songs that were recorded), the show was actually about 69 minutes long, with all breaks between songs, jamming, tuning, and interaction with the crowd cut from this release. Conceived originally as disc one of a two-CD release, the second CD containing other live tracks spanning the band’s life. However, the band was unable to complete the project, feeling it was too close to Kurt’s death. The ‘second CD’ in effect would appear in 1996 as ‘From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy quality sleeve. Enters the Billboard Chart at #1 and sells more than 300,000 copies in its first week.
Live Albums
FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WHISKAH
Released: 10/01/96 Releases: Released on vinyl (2 LPs, in a single sleeve), cassette and CD.
Additional Information: Nirvana’s third release to enter the Billboard chart at #1 and their fourth #1 album. The liner notes were written by Krist Novoselic. They contain errors, as detailed in the CD guide to this release above. Side four of the vinyl version contains additional stage banter which is transcribed in the vinyl guide above.
About this release, Dave Grohl, in an interview (from the interview CD ‘Foo Fighters In Conversation’ on Chatback) said: Interviewer: What do you think of the live album, the Nirvana live album that came out? Were you happy with the result? Dave Grohl: Yeah I thought it was cool, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean there were so many songs, like … so many tapes … and so many songs, just so much stuff we could have released and we released one thing … the just live thing. Yeah I thought it was good … I mean I have live tapes at home that are better than that, but those are mine! (Laughs). Interviewer: Did you have much input in so far as what songs are going on the album? Dave Grohl: Yeah, Krist … Krist and I … Krist actually did most of the pick and choose and I think he did a really great job, but yeah, ultimately we had like total control over what was happening.
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT
DGC RECORDS,18 VERSIONS (2011)
LIVE AND LOUD
DGC RECORDS,13 VERSIONS (2013)
Live Albums
LIVE IN READING
Released: 3rd November 2009 Releases: CD-only, DVD-only, and CD+DVD set
Additional Information: Official release of NIRVANA’s legendary performance at the 1992 Reading Festival which was circulating amongst traders in various forms prior to this official release. Unfortunately, the CD-only version is incomplete: it is missing ‘Love Buzz’, various jams and between-song banter as well as most of the destruction. The DVD is complete and also features a short clip after the credits of Cobain interacting with a fan after the show. It features camera angles not present on any trading circle version. More information can be found here. Song: Intro Breed Drain You Aneurysm School Silver Sliver In Bloom Come As You Are Lithium About A Girl Tourette’s Polly Lounge Act Smells Like Teen Spirit On A Plain Negative Creep Been A Son All Apologies Blew Dumb Stay Away Spank Thru Love Buzz The Money Will Roll Right In D-7 Territorial Pissings Credits
Anniversary/Deluxe Edition Reissues
20TH ANNIVERSARY BLEACH
Released: 3rd November 2009
Releases: CD, regular vinyl (black) and limited-edition vinyl (white) Additional Information: Reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Bleach’. Features a 13-track remaster of the ‘Bleach’ album (remastered from the original tapes by ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino) as well as NIRVANA’s live performance at the Pine Street Theatre recorded on 9th February 1990. Both the CD and vinyl releases include a booklet with never before seen photographs of the band plus other pertinent images from NIRVANA Sub Pop years (for example, the original session tapes, a scan of NIRVANA’s Sub Pop contract, etc.).
In relation to the vinyl release, it is not known precisely how many copies of the limited-edition white version were produced. NOTE: the live show included on this release was circulating amongst traders prior to this release from an alternate soundboard source and whilst the version on this official release does sound better, unfortunately, the between-song banter has been cut.
CD ONE/SIDE A Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Blew December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Floyd the Barber January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
School December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Paper Cuts January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Negative Creep December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Scoff December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Swap Meet December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Mr Moustache December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Sifting December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Downer January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
CD TWO/SIDE B Song: Date Recorded/Venue: Intro 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
School 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Floyd The Barber 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Dive 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Love Buzz 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Spank Thru 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Molly’s Lips 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Sappy 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Scoff 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
About A Girl 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Been A Son 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Blew 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
SLIVER
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI
About A Girl (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR
Spank Thru (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland OR
Released: 09/??/90 (US), 01/??/91 (UK) Releases: First 3,000 7″ American releases were on blue vinyl in fold-over sleeves and was subsequently reissued in many colours in solid sleeves, being the only Nirvana single on Sub Pop still in print. British releases on Tupelo were originally on 7″ vinyl (with the first 2,000 on green vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve. The 12″ vinyl features ‘About A Girl’, live from 02/09/90. The CD-version had included ‘About A Girl’ and also ‘Spank Thru’, again from 02/09/90. Additional Information: ‘Spank Thru’ on the CD versions is incorrectly spelled ‘Spank Through’. The A-side of the 7″, after ‘Sliver’, also features a 45-second phone conversation outro, between a very hung-over Krist Novoselic and Jonathon Poneman, which Krist accidentally recorded on his answerphone. This was excluded when this version of ‘Sliver’ appeared on ‘Incesticide’, rather like the intro to ‘Love Buzz’ was culled from vinyl versions when it made its transition to a CD. An incomplete soundboard version of the 02/09/90 show featured on this release is available in trading circles. A complete session tape of all the finalized versions of songs from the April 1990 studio appearance is also circulating.
TEEN SPIRIT
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Drain You May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Even In His Youth January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 09/09/91 (UK), 09/10/91 (US) Releases: American 7″ vinyl and cassette releases included ‘Even In His Youth’. The American 12″, a second cassette and CD also featured ‘Aneurysm’. UK 7″ and cassette releases included ‘Drain You’, 12″ versions ‘Even In His Youth’ and the CD all four songs. Whilst all American versions lack ‘Drain You’ it was included on some European releases. Additional Information: The back cover shot was taken by Charles Petersen at Nirvana’s 03/08/91 appearance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
COME AS YOU ARE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Endless, Nameless May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
The school (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Drain You (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA Released: 03/02/92 (UK), 03/03/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ was backed with a live ‘Drain You’, whilst US cassettes, 12″‘s and CD’s also had a live version of ‘School’ from the same show. In the UK the 7″ featured ‘Endless Nameless’, the 12″ also included the live version of ‘School’. CDs had a fourth track, a live ‘Drain You’. German 12″ picture discs contain ‘Endless Nameless’ and a live version of ‘Drain You’. Additional information: A complete soundboard version of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles.
LITHIUM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Been A Son (live) October 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Curmudgeon April, 1992 Laundry Room Studios, Seattle, WA
D-7 October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK Released: 07/20/92 (UK), 07/21/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ and cassette was backed with a live version of ‘Been A Son’, whilst the 12″ and CD also included ‘Curmudgeon’. In the UK the 7″ was backed with ‘Curmudgeon’, the 12″ added the live version of ‘Been A Son’ and CDs included a fourth track, ‘D-7’. Additional Information: The cover was designed by Kurt and the single includes a sonogram of Frances Bean Cobain. Contains all the lyrics to ‘Nevermind’. A complete soundboard of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles. The complete 10/21/90 radio session is also circulating amongst traders.
IN BLOOM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Sliver (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA
Polly (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA Released: 11/30/92 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. The 7″ and cassette included a live version of ‘Polly’. The 12″ and CD had a third track, a live version of ‘Sliver’. Additional Information: A complete soundboard of the 12/28/91 performance is available in trading circles
HEART-SHAPED BOX
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Marigold February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN Released: 08/30/93 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. 7″ and cassette featured ‘Marigold’ and the 12″ and CD also included ‘Milk It’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
LOVE BUZZ
| test pressing |
|---|
| numbered |
| red slash |
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 11/88 Releases: This single launched the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’. Limited to 1000 hand-numbered (in red ink) copies, in a fold-over sleeve, on black vinyl.
Additional Information: On this release, only ‘Love Buzz’ features a 10-second sound collage intro made by Kurt from various children’s records spliced together and a similar collage dubbed into the instrumental break. This comes from a much longer collage made by Kurt, which is 34-minutes long, known as ‘The Montage of Heck’, which is available in trading circles. ‘Love Buzz’ was originally performed by ‘Shocking Blue’. The version of ‘Love Buzz’ on this single is a different mix to those on all ‘Bleach’ and ‘Blew EP’ releases, being remixed for other releases and lacking the aforementioned collages. It was remixed to increase its collectibility and lacked the collages because Kurt forgot to bring the home-made tape with it on to the remixing session! Alice Wheeler took the photo on the front of the album in Tacoma’s ‘Never Never Land’ (a park) close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kurt’s name is given as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ on the credits and on the ‘Love Buzz’ side is etched ‘Why don’t you trade those guitars for shovels?’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
Sliver (1990)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Come As You Are (1992)
Lithium (1992)
In Bloom (1992)
Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
All Apologies (1993)
Pennyroyal Tea (1994 but withdrawn)
About A Girl (1994)
.Split Singles:
Candy/Molly’s Lips (1991)
Here She Comes Now/Venus In Furs (1991)
BOXSETS
Puss/Oh, The Guilt (1992)Singles
(1995) With The Lights Out (2004)
EP`S
Blew EP (1989)
Hormoaning EP (1992)
COMPLAMATION APP,
HE LIVE NIRVANA COMPANION TO OFFICIAL RELEASES:
COMPILATION APPEARANCES
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop Rock City
Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. 1
/Teriyaki Asthma, Vols. 1-5
Hard To Believe Heaven And Hell: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground
, Volume 1 The Grunge Years Kill Rock Stars
Eight/Fourteen Songs For Greg Sage and the Wipers
No Alternative
The Beavis and Butthead Experience
Geffen Rarities Vol. 1
Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defence
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack/Hype!
Fender 50th Anniversary Guitar Legends Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Volume 1
.Music Videos:
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Come As You Are
Lithium (Sub Pop) [1200 Seconds]
Lithium (Geffen)
In Bloom (Sub Pop)
[Sub Pop Video Network Program 1]
In Bloom (Geffen)
Sliver
Heart-Shaped Box
Unplugged Videos
Aneurysm
You Know You’re Right
Video Releases:
Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!
With The Lights Out Classic Albums:
Nirvana – Nevermind
Unplugged In New York
Live at Reading Releases NIRVANA Feature On 1991: The Year Punk Broke Hype! Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances Volume 4
Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) met Chris Novoselic (born Krist Novoselic) (bass) in 1985 in Aberdeen, WA, a small logging town 100 miles away from Seattle. While Novoselic came from a relatively stable background, Cobain’s childhood had been thrown into a turmoil when his parents divorced when he was eight. Following the divorce, he lived at the homes of various relatives, developing a love for the Beatles and then heavy metal in the process. Eventually, American hardcore punk worked its way into dominating his listening habits and he met the Melvins, an Olympia-based underground heavy punk band. Cobain began playing in punk bands like Fecal Matter, often with the Melvins’ bassist Dale Crover. Through the Melvins’ leader Buzz Osborne, Cobain met Novoselic, who also had an intense interest in punk, which meant that he, like Cobain, felt alienated from the macho, redneck population of Aberdeen. The duo decided to form a band called the Stiff Woodies, with Cobain on drums, Novoselic on bass, and a rotating cast of guitarists and vocalists. The group went through name changes as quickly as guitarists, before deciding that Cobain would play guitar and sing. Renamed Skid Row, the new trio featured drummer Aaron Burkhart, who left the band by the end of 1986 and was replaced by Chad Channing. By 1987, the band was called Nirvana.
Timeline
Nirvana timeline
05-16-65 Krist Anthony Novoselic born to Krist and Maria Novoselic
01-31-67 Chad Channing born to Wayne and Burnyce Channing
02-20-67 Kurt Donald Cobain born to Wendy and Donald Cobain
01-14-69 David Eric Grohl born to James and Virginia Grohl
01-23-88 Nirvana records demo with Dale Crover
11-??-88 First single: Love Buzz/Big Cheese released 06-??-89
Bleach – CD-Album released 10-23-89
Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England 12-30-89
Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma on 04-17-91
Nirvana first plays Smell Like Teen Spirit 04-30-91
Smells Like Teen Spirit – CD-Single Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records 08-?? -91
The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made 09-20-91
Tour for Nevermind – Japan – Vinyl- Album Nevermind – CD- Album Nevermind – Vinyl-Album begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-12-91 Nevermind goes Gold
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live,
Nevermind hits #1 01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
08-18-92 Francis Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana headlines Reading Festival
09-08-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
12-15-92 Insecticide Insecticide – Japan – Vinyl- Album Insecticide – CD-Album released
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
11-18-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero in Utero – Vinyl-Album In Utero – CD-Album released in US
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
03-01-94 The Final Nirvana show is played in Munich
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from a coma, asks for a milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power the body of Kurt Cobain is found, he committed suicide 3 days ago.
04-10-94 Memorial Service held in Seattle, Courtney reads from a suicide note.
09-??-94 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video for Heart-Shaped Box
11-01-94 Nirvana: Unplugged in New York Unplugged in New York – Vinyl-Album Unplugged in New York – CD-Album is released in the US
11-15-94 Nirvana: Live! Tonite! Sold Out! is released in US
07-04-95 Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighter’s Album released 10-01-96 From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Japan – Vinyl-Album from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album released
During the summer, Nirvana released “Sliver”/”Dive,” which was recorded with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums and produced by Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. By the end of the summer, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, had become Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in the summer. Following a European tour supporting Sonic Youth in the late summer, Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson’s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Story of the band from there sub pop days right through to that day in apriI 94
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. It soon become apparent that the band wasn’t quite sure how to handle their success. Around the time of Nevermind’s release, the band was into baiting their audience — Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in drag, the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops by Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis, and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss — but by the spring, questions had begun to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child in the fall. Shortly after the marriage, rumors that the couple were heavy heroin users began to circulate and the strength of the rumors only increased when Nirvana canceled several summer concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. But, heroin rumors continued to surface, especially in the form of a late-summer Vanity Fair article which implied that Love was using during her pregnancy. Both Love and Cobain denied the article’s allegations, and publicly harassed and threatened the article’s author. Love delivered Frances Bean Cobain, a healthy baby girl, on August 18, 1992, but the couple soon battled with Los Angeles’ children’s services, who claimed they were unfit parents on the basis of the Vanity Fair article. The couple was granted custody of their child by the beginning of 1993.
Since Cobain was going through such well-documented personal problems, Nirvana was unable to record a follow-up to Nevermind until the spring of 1993. In the meantime, DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 in the U.S. and number 14 U.K. As the group prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split-single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, Nirvana recorded their third album, In Utero, in two weeks during the spring of 1993. Following its completion, controversy began to surround Nirvana again. Cobain suffered a heroin overdose on May 2, but the event was hidden from the press. The following month, Love called police to their Seattle home after Cobain locked himself in the bathroom, threatening suicide. Prior to debuting In Utero material during the New Music Seminar at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, Cobain had another covered-up overdose. By that time, reports began to circulate, including an article in Newsweek, that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, accusing that the band deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini’s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt.
In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with a fall American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up the U.S. tour on January 8, 1994, with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Rohypnol and drinking champagne. While the attempt was initially reported as an accidental overdose, it was known within the Nirvana camp that the vocalist had left behind a suicide note.
Cobain returned to Seattle within a week of his hospitalization and his mental illness began to grow. On March 18, the police had to again talk the singer out of suicide after he locked himself in a room threatening to kill himself. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain’s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he escaped from the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. The following day, Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle home. His body wasn’t discovered until April 8, when an electrician contracted to install an alarm system at the Cobain house stumbled upon the body. After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
Novoselic and Grohl planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band’s Nevermind-era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to Cobain’s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers).
In 1996, its electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters (early rumors that Novoselic would also be a member of the band ultimately proved to be false) — releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. Novoselic formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra and former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live From the Battle in Seattle under the name the No W.T.O. Combo.
By the late ’90s, research began by Novoselic for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal problems began to surface. In 1997, Grohl and Novoselic formed the Nirvana L.L.C. partnership with Courtney Love (who manages Cobain’s estate) — a company that required a unanimous vote by all three regarding future albums, photos, and anything else Nirvana-related. When all three couldn’t agree on the songs to be included on the box set, the matter was taken to court as Love attempted to dissolve the partnership. The project was ultimately shelved indefinitely as any legal decision was tied up in court. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
NIRVANA LINE UP !(1985-1994)
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar (1985-1994)
Krist (Chris) Novoselic (1985-1994)
Aaron Burckhard (1985-1986)
Dale Crover: drums (1988)
Chad Channing (1986-1990)
Jason Everman: guitar (1989)
Dave Foster: drums (1988)
Dan Peters: drums (1990)
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals (1990-1994)
John Duncan: guitar (1993)
Pat Smear: guitar (1993-1994)
Early releases (1988–1990)
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz”, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first-ever interview with John Robb in Sounds who also made the release single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins and Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman, who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they “wanted to make him feel more at home in the band”. Just prior to the album’s release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Following the release of Bleach in June 1989, Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, and the album became a favourite of college radio stations. Due to increasing differences between Everman over the course of the tour, Nirvana cancelled the last few dates and drove back to Washington. No one told Everman he was fired, while Everman later said he had actually quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it was a steady seller and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label’s lack of promotion and distribution for the album. In late 1989, the band recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. In a late 1989 interview with John Robb in Sounds, Cobain noted that the band’s music was changing. He said, “The early songs were really angry… But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings”. Grohl performing in 1989 In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing’s drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana” demos with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana’s seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl, whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”
Grohl told Q: “I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks… I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You’re kidding me’.”
Mainstream breakthrough (1991–1992)
Disenchanted with Sub Pop and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana decided to look for a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy the group out of its contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana’s demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon,
Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990.
Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth’s Goo. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide
In Utero, final months, and Cobain’s death (1993–1994)
In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 1993.Time’s Christopher John Farley wrote in his review of the album, “Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn’t gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana”. In Utero went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as a second guitarist. In November, they recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the band broke convention for the show by choosing not to play their most recognizable songs. Instead, they performed several covers and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Nirvana’s final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1
The tour is cancelled when Kurt gets ill and checks into rehab where he leaves couple of days after, he is missing and reported missing by wife Courtney love using kurts mothers name suspiciously? His body is found April 8th dead by self-inflicted gunshot wound according to police. Nirvana fans dispute this and with good evidence to back them up also.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtWkahNquWc?wmode=transparent
NIRVANA SMILEY FACE STORY
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about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong
resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.
The Nirvana Logo Font The font
style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.
The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring
Legacy Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.
(Story here)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr8lCTs4yCylx8XBW2KO-OBq5n8y4Kx09SMILEY LOGONIRVANA’S SMILEY FACE
SMILEY LOGONIRVANA’S SMILEY FACE
(Nirvana.com)
NIRVANA THE STORY & THE SONGS
Nirvana documentaries/movies
(Nirvana.com)
Nirvana documentaries/movies
NIRVANA THE STORY & THE SONGS
Hear how the band came from no where to change the face of music!!https://www.youtube.com/embed/y2ZmM6btwjM?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/m9903WwsvAE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/s4tcsQJ4bQ0?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/yOYWX1uQMW8?wmode=transparent
Behind the album.. “incesticide”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-rDihTILjA?wmode=transparent
Behind the album..”in-utero”https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxPFNMMWYvE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yCrVWXNSw?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/kuYfAwwgCjI?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YBODze-zhbE?wmode=transparent
Nirvana get kicked out of own party !https://www.youtube.com/embed/iBKeI81fXiI?wmode=transparent
Reading festival ’92https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RmlOAjYmCo?wmode=transparent
KURT
KURT COBAIN EARLY LIFE
Kurt Donald Cobain February 20, 1967, Aberdeen, Washington, U.S. Died April 5, 1994 (Aged 27) Seattle, Washington, U.S. Cause Of Death By Gunshot, (Police Call It Suicide)
Singer-Songwriter Musician, Married To Courtney Love. With One Child Francis Cobain Was Born At Grays Harbor Hospital In Aberdeen, Washington On February 20, 1967,
the son of waitress Wendy and automotive mechanic Donald Leland Cobain). His parents were married on July 31, 1965, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. His ancestry included Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, and Scottish. His Irish ancestors emigrated from Carrickmore, County Tyrone in 1875. Researchers found that they were shoemakers, originally named “Cobane”, who came from Initiative, a townland within Carrickmore. They first settled in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, and then in Washington. Cobain himself believed his family came from County Cork.
Family History
His Younger Sister, Kimberly, Was Born On April 24, 1970. Cobain’s Family Had A Musical Background. His Maternal Uncle, Chuck Fradenburg, Played In A Band Called The Beachcombers; His Aunt, Mari Earle, Played The Guitar And Performed In Bands Throughout Grays Harbor County; And His Great-Uncle, Delbert, Had A Career As An Irish Tenor, Making An Appearance In The 1930 Film King Of Jazz. Kurt Was Described As Being A Happy And Excitable Child, Who Also Exhibited Sensitivity And Care. His Talent As An Artist Was Evident From An Early Age, As He Would Draw His Favourite Characters From Films And Cartoons, Such As The Creature From The Black Lagoon And Donald Duck, In His Bedroom. This Enthusiasm Was Encouraged By His Grandmother, Iris Cobain, Who Was A Professional Artist. Cobain Began Developing An Interest In Music At A Young Age. According To His Aunt Mari, He Began Singing At The Age Of Two. At Age Four, He Started Playing The Piano And Singing, Writing A Song About A Trip To A Local Park. He Listened To Artists Like The Ramones And Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), And, From A Young Age, Would Sing Songs Like Arlo Guthrie’s “Motorcycle Song”, The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, Terry Jacks’ “Seasons In The Sun”, And The Theme Song To The Television Show Of The Band The Monkes.
School Award
Hosptial Bracelet
Birth Cert
Family History- School Award
- Hosptial Bracelet
Throughout most of his life, Cobain suffered from chronic bronchitis and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition. His first drug experience was with cannabis in 1980, at age 13. He regularly used the drug during adulthood. Cobain also had a period of consuming “notable” amounts of LSD, as observed by Marander, and was “really into getting fucked up: drugs, acid, any kind of drug”,
When Cobain was nine years old, his parents divorced. He later said the divorce had a profound effect on his life, and his mother noted that his personality changed dramatically; Cobain became defiant and withdrawn. In a 1993 interview, he said he felt “ashamed” of his parents as a child, and had desperately wanted to have a “typical family … I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that.”
Baby Kurt
Kurt & Xmas
Young Kurt
Kurt & Santa
Kurt 93- Baby Kurt
- Kurt & Xmas
Kurt 93
Cobain’s parents found new partners after the divorce. Although his father had promised not to remarry, he married Jenny Westaby, to Kurt’s dismay. Cobain, his father, Westby, and her two children, Mindy and James, moved into a new household. Cobain liked Westby at first, as she gave him the maternal attention he desired. In January 1979, Westeby gave birth to a boy, Chad Cobain. This new family, which Cobain insisted was not his real one, was in stark contrast to the attention Cobain was used to receiving as an only boy, and he became resentful of his stepmother. Cobain’s mother dated a man who was abusive; Cobain witnessed the domestic violence inflicted upon her, with one incident resulting in her being hospitalized with a broken arm. Wendy refused to press charges, remaining committed to the relationship.
During High School, Cobain Rarely Found Anyone With Whom He Could Play Music. While Hanging Out At The Melvins’ Practise Space, He Met Krist Novoselic, A Fellow Devotee Of Punk Rock. Novoselic’s Mother Owned A Hair Salon, And The Pair Occasionally Practised In The Upstairs Room Of The Salon. A Few Years Later, Cobain Tried To Convince Novoselic To Form A Band With Him By Lending Him A Copy Of A Home Demo Recorded By Cobain’s Earlier Band, Fecal Matter. After Months Of Asking, Novoselic Finally Agreed To Join Cobain, Forming The Beginnings Of Nirvana Cobain Was Disenchanted After Early Touring, Due To The Band’s Inability To Draw Substantial Crowds And The Difficulty Of Sustaining Themselves.
In Late 1986, Cobain Moved Into An Apartment, Paying His Rent By Working At The Polynesian Resort, A Themed Resort On The Pacific Coast At Ocean Shores, Washington Approximately 20 Mi Aberdeen. Duri Aberdeen. During This Period, He Traveled Frequently To Olympia, Washington, To Go To Rock Concerts During His Visits To Olympia, Cobain Formed A Relationship With Tracy Marander. Their Relationship Was Close, But Strained By Financial Problems And Cobain’s Absence When Touring. Marander Supported The Couple By Working At The Cafeteria Of The Boeing Plant In Auburn, Washington, Often Stealing Food. Cobain Spent Most Of His Time Sleeping Into The Late Evening, Watching Television, And Concentrating On Art Projects. Marander’s Insistence That He Get A Job Caused Arguments That Influenced Cobain To Write The Song “About A Girl“, Which Appeared On The Nirvana Album Bleach; Marander Is Credited With Having Taken The Cover Photo For The Album. She Did Not Become Aware That Cobain Wrote “About A Girl” About Her Until Years After His Death.
In Late 1986, Cobain Moved Into An Apartment, Paying His Rent By Working At The Polynesian Resort, A Themed Resort On The Pacific Coast At Ocean Shores, Washington Approximately 20 Mi Aberdeen. Duri Aberdeen. During This Period, He Traveled Frequently To Olympia, Washington, To Go To Rock Concerts During His Visits To Olympia, Cobain Formed A Relationship With Tracy Marander. Their Relationship Was Close, But Strained By Financial Problems And Cobain’s Absence When Touring. Marander Supported The Couple By Working At The Cafeteria Of The Boeing Plant In Auburn, Washington, Often Stealing Food. Cobain Spent Most Of His Time Sleeping Into The Late Evening, Watching Television, And Concentrating On Art Projects. Marander’s Insistence That He Get A Job Caused Arguments That Influenced Cobain To Write The Song “About A Girl“, Which Appeared On The Nirvana Album Bleach; Marander Is Credited With Having Taken The Cover Photo For The Album. She Did Not Become Aware That Cobain Wrote “About A Girl” About Her Until Years After His Death.
THE REACTIONS OF KURTS FRIENDS.
Several Of Cobain’s Friends Have Accepted That It Was Suicide But Were Surprised When It Happened. Mark Lanegan, A Long-Time Friend Of Cobain, Told Rolling Stone:
“I Never Knew [Cobain] To Be Suicidal. I Just Knew He Was Going Through A Tough Time.” In The Same Article, Carlson Stated That He Wished Cobain Or Someone Close To Him Had Told Him That Rome Was A Suicide Attempt.
Goldberg, The Husband Of Carroll And Founder Of Gold Mountain Records, Refers In His Book Dispatches From The Culture Wars: How The Left Lost Teen Spirit To “The Crazy Internet Rumors That Kurt Cobain Had Not Committed Suicide But Had Been Murdered,” Stating That Cobain’s Suicide “Haunts [Him] Every Day”.
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(1994) Music Stars Quotes About Kurt
He really, really inspired me. He was so great. Wonderful. One of the best, but more than that, Kurt was one of the absolute best of all time for me. Neil Young I mourn for Kurt. A once beautiful, then pathetic, lost and heroically stupid boy. Pete Townshend (The Who)
That kid had heart. Bob Dylan, I don’t know why everyone on earth felt so close to that guy; he was beloved and endearing and inoffensive in some weird way. For all his screaming and all of his darkness, he was just lovable.
FLEA FROM THE CHILI’S
Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) Rage and aggression were elements for Kurt to play with as an artist, but he was profoundly gentle and intelligent.
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) I think Kurt was one of the deepest thinkers we’ve had in popular music over the last 20 years and if anyone deserves to have his songs dwelled upon it’s him.
Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds) The only person I have any respect for as a songwriter over the last 10 years is Kurt Cobain. He was the perfect cross between Lennon and McCartney…but he was a miserable f*ck at the same time.
Noel Gallagher (Oasis) I only met Kurt once…I was touched by him. He seemed a little shell shocked as though he felt yet another show might drop at any time.
Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) He had a touch most guitarists would kill for.
Chuck Berry, I think one of Kurt’s strengths was his simplicity. He knew how to write really catchy songs that said a lot without doing too much.
Steve Diggle (Buzz Cocks) He had a wonderful balance of raw, dangerous anger, but also, he was this delicate, fun person…He was brilliant, but he played dumb. And you know, Kurt was funny as shit.
Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters; ex-Nirvana drummer) He had an amazing ear for melody.
27. https://www.youtube.com/embed/gPiGZgCRurQ?wmode=transparent
(1992) Yeah, I was run out of town. They chased me up to the castle of Aberdeen with torches. Just like the Frankenstein monster. And I got away in a hot air balloon. And I came here to Seattle.
(1992) If you’re a really mean person you’re going to come back as a fly and eat poop.
(1992) I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.
(1993) I can’t play [guitar] like Segovia. The flip side of that is that Segovia could probably never have played like me.
(1994) I just think there’s a breed of people who honestly like music. And there aren’t very many of ’em, really. Those are the people who usually become musicians. It doesn’t really matter what environment you grow up in. It’s just some environments are more restrictive than other
KURT`S LAST INTERVIEW…
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KRIST/DAVE
Chris
Nirvana changed the music industry forever back in 1991. From Nirvana, came two of the most well-known names of the grunge-era, Kurt Cobain and David Grohl. Wait a minute, wasn’t there three people in Nirvana? Oh yes, the bass player, Krist. Most Nirvana fans agree that Krist was by far the loudest of the three, but also, the least known. I’m sure some of you will say that it’s his fault because he waited so long before he became involved in music again. Well, you’re wrong, Dave’s new band,The Foo Fighters played a gig on March 3, 1995 which would be their first, but, what most of you don’t know is that Krist’s new band, Sweet 75 played a gig only 2 weeks after The Foo Fighter’s first,on March 17, 1995. The sad thing is that The Foo Fighters released a single and an album almost immediately, while Krist took a deeper dive into politics, and Sweet 75 didn’t release their first album till late 1997. What does all this have to do with Krist in Nirvana? Actually, nothing… I was just blabbering I guess. While in Nirvana, Krist took up the more important role of being the spokes-person for the band. While Kurt and Dave were clearly the more well-known of the 3, Krist took every chance he got to step into the spotlight. Remember the MTV Awards? Krist was always there to stick up for Kurt, as demonstrated in the infamous bouncer fight at The Trees Club in Dallas. Krist would also help Kurt with just about anything. I forget who said this, but during the recordings of Nevermind and In Utero, if Kurt didn’t know how to work something, Krist would jump right in, lend a helping hand, and say “here, this is how you do it.” Krist was also, by far, the funniest of the three. Everybody loves to hear Krist say something stupid during a concert. Dave was quoted as saying that Krist has brain spasms, which in turn, impairs Krist’s ability to make sense…ha. Nirvana concerts were great, you get to go see an awesome band play, and listen to some huge guy make an ass of himself. I myself went to a concert, and one of the things I can remember is one-word Krist said, “Boo!” Many people complain that Krist is going into hiding, and that he doesn’t want anything to do with Nirvana. Hmm, well that’s because he’s got better things to do then answer some of those stupid Nirvana questions. Krist is trying now though, his Murky Slough Home Page now have a Nirvana page on it. The page isn’t much, but atleast it shows that he still cares for the band. I know all of you came to Krist in Nirvana to see all these cool pictures of him playing, go look in the pictures section, and you all hoped that you would learn some cool unknown information…forget it
Chris Was Into Bands Like Led Zeppelin, Devo, Black Sabbath, And Aerosmith While His Peers Were Into Top Forty, Perhaps Because That Was All The Local Radio Station Played. By June Of L980, Chris’s Parents Got So Worried About His Depression That They Sent Him To Live With Relatives In Croatia, Chris. Had Picked Up Croatian “Around The House,” And Is Still Fluent In It. He Loved Living, There–He Made Lots Of Friends And The Schools Were, Excellent. He Even Heard Something There Called “Punk Rock,” And Discovered The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, And Even Some Yugoslavian Punk Bands. It Didn’t Make Too Much Of A Dent, However. “It Was Just Music To Me.” Chris Recalls. “It Didn’t Really Mean Anything” To Me–It Was Just Music That I Liked.” After A Year, His Parents Called Him Back Home. “I Was Just In A Weird Limbo.” Chris Says. He Began Drinking And Smoking Pot Heavily. “I’ve Always Been A Big Drinker.” Says Chris, “When I Drink, I Just Don’t Stop. I Like To Drink Because You’re In Some Weird Cartoon Land Where Anything Goes. Your Vision Is Blurry And Nothing And Everything Makes Sense. It’s Crazy. It’s A Different Reality And A Different World Of Consciousness.” Chris Became Well Known On The Party Circuit. “You’d Go To Parties And People Would Be Like ‘Hey, Novie!’” Says Matt Lukin. “They Always Knew Him As The Big, Wacky Guy Because He, Was Always Doing Weird Things. They Just Thought He Was Kind Of Weird. He’d Go To Parties And Jump Around.” He Had Some People To Hang Out With, But He Was Hard Pressed To Call Them Friends. “I Hung Out With Them Because I Had No Where Else To Go,” Says Chris. “It Was Kind Of Odd And And Uncomfortable.”
He Finally Got A Job At The Local Taco Bell And Threw Himself Into Work, Working Every Night And Not Socializing, Just Saving Money. By Senior Year Of High School, He Had Bought A Car, Some Stereo Speakers, And A Guitar. He Look Some Lessons Along With His Brother Robert And Told His Teacher, Warren Mason–The Same Guy Who Taught Kurt That He Really Wanted To Play The Blues. He Quit After A Few Months And Then Woodshedded Intensively In His Bedroom, Patiently Working Out The Licks To Old B.B. King Records With Bis Brother. Around This Time Chris’s Brother Robert Brought His Friend Kurt Cobain Over To The Novoselic House. When Kurt Asked About The Racket Emanating From The Upstairs Stereo, Robert Replied, “Oh, Thats My Brother Chris, He Listens To Punk Rock.” Kurt Thought That Was Very Cool And Filed The Information Away. Chris Graduated From High School In 1983. Soon After, His Parents Got Divorced. It Was A Rough Enough Time As It Was, But He Also Had Some Plastic Surgery Done On His Face–Doctor’s Cut A Small Section Of Bone Out Of Chris’s Jaw And Moved Some Teeth Forward To Correct A Severe Underbite (“I Looked Like ‘Jay Leno,” He Says). Chris’s Jaw Was Wired Shut For Six Weeks. He Still Went Out To Parties, Except He Had To Carry A Pair Of Wire Cutters With Him In Case He Threw Up Or Something Got Caught In His Throat. “He’d Go Out And Get All Fucked Up.” Lukin Recalls. “And He’d Be Puking And It Would Be Draining Through His Wires. He Said He Never Did Have To Cut Them, But All The Food Was Like Milkshakes Anyway, No Solid Food. Still, It Was Somewhat Reckless Of Him.” “Then The Swelling, Went Down.” Says Chris, “And I Had A New Face.” One Day During His Senior Year In High School, He Had Been Walking Behind Two Junior Girls In The Hall Hall Who Were Raving About The Album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols. “Yeah, They’re Really Great!” He Piped Up.Shelli Remembered Him As A “Class Clown-Type Guy, Always Joking.” They Talked A Little And Made Friends. Shelli Dropped Out Her Senior Year And Took A Job At McDonald’s And Got Her Own Apartment On Market Street, Across From The Fire Department. On Her Way To Work, She Would Walk Past The Foster Painting Company Where Chris Worked And She Would Talk To Him. She Got His Phone Number And Started Calling Him Up. They Had A Lot In Common–Shelli Had Been An Odd-Ball In School, Too–And By March 1985, They Had Started Hanging Out As Friends At Shelli’s Apartment, Listening To Punk Rock Records And Going To Shows. Soon They Started Going Out.
The Matter Of When Kurt And Krist Finally Met And Started Nirvana Has Been Debated For Quite Some Time Now. I Will Tell You Right Away That I Do Not Have A Definite Answer. What We Do Know Is That Kurt And Krist Were Playing Together Sometime During 1985. We Also Know That It Took Some Time After Kurt Gave Krist A Demo Tape Before They Finally Got Together. This Demo Tape Is Known As The Fecal Matter Demo. In The Book Come As You Are It Says That Kurt Gave Krist The Fecal Matter Demo, But It Took Almost A Year Before Krist Actually Listened To It. If They Did Get Together In 1985 Which Is Most Likely True, That Would Mean The Kurt Made The Fecal Matter Demo In 1984. Most Nirvana Fans Claim That It Was Made In 1985, Which Could Not Work If They In Fact Played In 1985. My Theory Is That They Met Sometime In 1983, At The Time Krist Was A Senior In High School. Kurt’s Aunt Mari Clearly States That Kurt Made A Demo At Her House In 1982 Which She Calls “Organized Confusion.” I Would Rather Believe Kurt’s Aunt Then A Nirvana Fan As To When A Demo Was Produced. In Picture In People Magazine, Kurt Is Actually Playing A Bass Guitar. Mari Says That The Photo Was Taken In 1982. So Whoever Says That Someone Else Must’ve Played Bass Because Kurt Didn’t Know How To Is Wrong. Kurt Did Know How To Play Bass. As A Matter Of Fact, He Played Guitar, Drums, And Bass. So That Means With The Proper Equipment, Which Mari Had At Her House, He Could’ve Easily Mixed All 3 Instruments Together To Come Up With A Demo. Kurt And Krist Both Hung Out With Buzz Osborne During This Time, So They Could’ve Easily Met. The Only Person Who Would Know The Answer To This Question Of When They Met Would Be Krist. And Unfortunately That’s Not At The Top Of The List Of His Things-To-Do Now.
Nirvana Changed The Music Industry Forever Back In 1991. From Nirvana, Came Two Of The Most Well-Known Names Of The Grunge-Era, Kurt Cobain And David Grohl. Wait A Minute, Wasn’t There Three People In Nirvana? Oh Yes, The Bass Player, Krist. Most Nirvana Fans Agree That Krist Was By Far The Loudest Of The Three, But Also, The Least Known. I’m Sure Some Of You Will Say That It’s His Fault Because He Waited So Long Before He Became Involved In Music Again. Well, You’re Wrong, Dave’s New Band,The Foo Fighters Played A Gig On March 3, 1995 Which Would Be Their First, But, What Most Of You Don’t Know Is That Krist’s New Band, Sweet 75 Played A Gig Only 2 Weeks After The Foo Fighter’s First,On March 17, 1995. The Sad Thing Is That The Foo Fighters Released A Single And An Album Almost Immediately, While Krist Took A Deeper Dive Into Politics, And Sweet 75 Didn’t Release Their First Album Till Late 1997. What Does All This Have To Do With Krist In Nirvana? Actually, Nothing… I Was Just Blabbering I Guess. While In Nirvana, Krist Took Up The More Important Role Of Being The Spokes-Person For The Band. While Kurt And Dave Were Clearly The More Well-Known Of The 3, Krist Took Every Chance He Got To Step Into The Spotlight. Remember The MTV Awards? Krist Was Always There To Stick Up For Kurt, As Demonstrated In The Infamous Bouncer Fight At The Trees Club In Dallas. Krist Would Also Help Kurt With Just About Anything. I Forget Who Said This, But During The Recordings Of Nevermind And In Utero, If Kurt Didn’t Know How To Work Something, Krist Would Jump Right In, Lend A Helping Hand, And Say “Here, This Is How You Do It.” Krist Was Also, By Far, The Funniest Of The Three. Everybody Loves To Hear Krist Say Something Stupid During A Concert. Dave Was Quoted As Saying That Krist Has Brain Spasms, Which In Turn, Impairs Krist’s Ability To Make Sense…Ha. Nirvana Concerts Were Great, You Get To Go See An Awesome Band Play, And Listen To Some Huge Guy Make An Ass Of Himself. I Myself Went To A Concert, And One Of The Things I Can Remember Is One-Word Krist Said, “Boo!” Many People Complain That Krist Is Going Into Hiding, And That He Doesn’t Want Anything To Do With Nirvana. Hmm, Well That’s Because He’s Got Better Things To Do Then Answer Some Of Those Stupid Nirvana Questions. Krist Is Trying Now Though, His Murky Slough Home Page Now Have A Nirvana Page On It. The Page Isn’t Much, But Atleast It Shows That He Still Cares For The Band. I Know All Of You Came To Krist In Nirvana To See All These Cool Pictures Of Him Playing, Go Look In The Pictures Section, And You All Hoped That You Would Learn Some Cool Unknown Information…Forget It
Dave
Dave
Born To James And Virginia Grohl, Along With 3-Year Older Sister Lisa, Dave Was Brought Up In A Divorced Home. While Living In Springfield VA, His Parents Separated And He Was Raised From Then On By His Mother, A High School English Teacher.
Dave, Much Like Kurt And Chris, Took To Music At A Very Young Age. He Spent A Few Years Taking Guitar Lessons, But Lost Interest In Them And Decided To Play With Local Bands Doing Cover Songs Instead Of Formally Learning. Seeing A Performance By The New-Wave 80s Group The B52’S, He Got Drawn Towards The Genre And Away From The Classic Rock Style He Was Commonly Covering In The Bands He Played With.
Taking To Punk Rock In The Summer Of 1982 Following His Cousin’s Lead, Dave Found Himself Enjoying Music More Than Before. The Entire Lifestyle That Was Punk, And The High Energy Music Was An Instant Attraction And Luckily For All Of Us, It Kept Its Hold On Him.
With The Band He Played In, Freaky Baby, Going Through The Removal Of Their Drummer And A Subsequent Shift Of The Lineup, Dave Ended Up Behind The Drum Set And They Began To Play Fast Hardcore Punk. The Name Of The Band Eventually Even Became Simply, Fast. After They Disbanded In 1986 Dave Went On To Play In Another Band Called Dain Bramage, Which He Was Still In When He Auditioned To Be The New Drummer For A Favorite Band Of His, Scream. After A Few Months Of Playing With His Band After That Audition, Dave Landed Behind The Drum Set Of Scream.
Touring With Scream Around The US Landed Dave In Many Situations, Including Playing Shows With The Melvins, And Even Crossing Paths With Kurt And Chris A Few Times. After The Abrupt Parting Of Scream’s Bass Player From The Tour, Dave Found Himself Stranded In L.A. And Called Buzz Osborne, Who Put Him In Touch With The Pair In Seattle After They Remarked About Liking The Drummer At The Scream Show. A Few Days And A Flight Later, Dave Was Picked Up In Seattle By The Two.
Moving In With Chris And Shelli, Dave Spent Time Seeing Shows In The Seattle And Tacoma Areas, And Eventually Replaced The Then Current Drummer Of The Band, Dan Peters.
Today, Dave Is Playing For Foo Fighters.
COBAINS
COBAINS
The Cobain Family
THE STORY OF KURT & COURTNEY MEETING
Courtney Love And Cobain Met On January 12, 1990, In Portland’s Satyricon Nightclub, When They Both Still Led Ardent Underground Rock Bands. Love Made Advances, But Cobain Was Evasive Early In Their Interactions, Cobain Broke Off Dates And Ignored Love’s Advances Because He Was Unsure If He Wanted A Relationship. Cobain Noted, “I Was Determined To Be A Bachelor For A Few Months But I Knew That I Liked Courtney So Much Right Away That It Was A Really Hard Struggle To Stay Away From Her For So Many Months.
“Love first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in Portland, Oregon. They talked briefly after the show and Love developed a crush on him. Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 film Straight to Hell. According to True, the pair were formally introduced at an L7 and Butthole Surfers concert in Los Angeles in May 1991. In the weeks that followed, after learning from Grohl that Cobain shared mutual interests with her, Love began pursuing Cobain. In late 1991, the two were often together and bonded through drug use. On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana’s “Pacific Rim” tour, Cobain and Love were married on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by Frances Farmer, and Cobain donned a Guatemalan purse and wore green pajamas, because he had been “too lazy to put on a tux.” Eight people were in attendance at the ceremony, including Grohl.
In an interview with The Guardian, Love revealed the opposition to their marriage from various people: Kim Gordon [of Sonic Youth] sits me down and says, “If you marry him your life is not going”Love first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in Portland, Oregon. They talked briefly after the show and Love developed a crush on him. Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 film Straight to Hell. According to True, the pair were formally introduced at an L7 and Butthole Surfers concert in Los Angeles in May 1991. In the weeks that followed, after learning from Grohl that Cobain shared mutual interests with her, Love began pursuing Cobain. In late 1991, the two were often together and bonded through drug use. On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana’s “Pacific Rim” tour, Cobain and Love were married on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by Frances Farmer, and Cobain donned a Guatemalan purse and wore green pajamas, because he had been “too lazy to put on a tux.” Eight people were in attendance at the ceremony, including Grohl. to happen, it will destroy your life.” But I said, “Whatever! I love him, and I want to be with him!” …
It wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t trying to do that. Love was already pregnant, and the couple’s daughter Frances Bean Cobain was born August 18, 1992. A sonogram of the couple’s as-yet-unborn baby was included in the artwork for Nirvana’s single, “Lithium”.In a 1992 article in Vanity Fair, Love admitted to using heroin, not knowing that she was pregnant; however, Love claimed that Vanity Fair had misquoted her, but the event created a media controversy for the couple. While Cobain and Love’s romance had always been a media attraction, they found themselves hounded by tabloid reporters after the article was published, many wanting to know if Frances was addicted to drugs at birth.
The Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services took the Cobains to court, stating that the couple’s drug usage made them unfit parents Love later claimed to have ceased heroin use upon learning of her pregnancy.
Courtnry Love E True Hollywood Story
COURTNEY TRIBUTE TO KURT ON ANNIVERSARY
THE HAPPY COUPLE!!
C//www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8551859/courtney-love kurt-cobain-wedding-anniversary-tributeCOURTNEY, DAVE & KURTdave was best man at wedding.
Kurt looking good in his pyjamas
THE VANITY FAIR STORY THAT CLAMIED COURTNEY WAS USING DRUGS WHILE PREGNANT.
https://whttps://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/love-story-of-kurt-cobain-courtney-loveww.vanityfair.comVANITY FAIR ARTICLE
KURT & COURTNEY
FRANCIS BEAN COBAIN
Frances Bean Cobain was famous before she was even born. That’s what happens when you’re the progeny of two of the most famous rock stars in the world: Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
But unlike the arrival of many celebrity babies, Frances’s birth wasn’t anticipated with just excitement and fascination, but also concern and dismay. That’s because Kurt and Courtney’s relationship had been plagued with rumors, even admissions, of bad behavior. Many of the couple’s friends and fans worried that Cobain and Love’s heroin use would result in pregnancy complications or, worse, a drug-addicted baby. The pair’s drug use had already caused friction among their friends and bandmates.
Cobain And Love Became A Couple In The Fall Of 1991, Just As Nirvana And The Band’s Nevermind Was Beginning To Explode. Some Of Those Close To Kurt Suspected Courtney Was Hitching Her Star To His, While Accusing Her Of Getting Cobain Hooked On Heroin. Nirvana Bassist Krist Novoselic Even Refused To Attend The Couple’s Wedding In February 1992, Reportedly Because He Was Disturbed By Their Drug Intake.
25 Years Ago: Frances Bean Cobain Born To Kurt Cobain And Courtney Lovehttps://Www.Youtube.Com/Embed/Vlw7YcxiNvw?Wmode=Transparent
Many more friends and acquaintances became upset about the newlyweds’ heroin habit when they learned that Love had gotten pregnant in January – the same month that she later described going on a heroin binge with Kurt in New York City when Nirvana played Saturday Night Live. “We did a lot of drugs,” Love told Vanity Fair in an article that she later tried to dismiss. “We got pills and then we went down to Alphabet City and Kurt wore a hat, I wore a hat, and we copped some dope. Then we got high and went to SNL.
After That, I Did Heroin For A Couple Of Months.” Although Love Was Known To Be Prone To Exaggeration, Those Around Her Took These Claims Seriously (And Others Came Forward To Lend Credence To Her Claims). Some Friends Encouraged Her To Have An Abortion To Prevent Any Drug-Related Pregnancy Issues, But Courtney And Kurt Were Adamant About Keeping The Baby. Supposedly, Love Underwent Rounds Of Testing To Make Sure That The Fetus Hadn’t Been Harmed. “Kurt’s The Right Person To Have A Baby With,” Love Said. “We Have Money. I Can Have A Nanny. The Whole Feminine Experience Of Pregnancy And Birth – I’m Not Into It On That Level. But It Was A Bad Time To Get Pregnant And That Appealed To Me. Besides, We Need New Friends.”
But It Was The Couple’s Old Friends That Stepped In To Keep Love And Her Unborn Child Healthy. When The Couple Entered, And Quickly Ditched, Rehab Facilities, Industry Pals Like Jimmy Boyle (Then Working For Def American) Tried To Keep Courtney And Kurt Clean. Some Of Them Complained About How Difficult That Task Was, Describing Their Apartment As A “Sick Scene.” Even Love Took A Swipe At Her New Husband In The Press For Tempting Her With Drugs. “She Wanted To Get Off Drugs,” Boyle Said. “I Brought Her Herbs To Ease The Kick, So She Wouldn’t Freak Out So Badly. I Was Bringing Stuff Over To Her House Every Day Because It’s A Whacked-Out Thing To Do To A Kid.” Amidst The Chaos, The Couple Remained Excited About The Forthcoming Addition To Their Family. After Learning The Baby Would Be A Girl, Kurt Named Her Frances After Frances McKee Of The Vaselines. Her Middle Name Became Bean After The Nirvana Singer Decided That She Looked Like A Kidney Bean In A Sonogram. He Also Made Paintings Of Those Ultrasound Images In Anticipation Of Frances Bean’s Arrival.
Although She Wasn’t Due Until September, Frances Bean Cobain Was Born With Little Incident On Aug. 18, 1992 At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center In Los Angeles. To The Relief Of Fans And Friends Alike, The Baby Was Healthy. R.E.M.’S Michael Stipe And Actress Drew Barrymore Were Chosen As Her Godparents. That Initial Sense Of Security Would Be Short-Lived. Within Weeks Of The Birth, Frances Was Taken Away From Love And Cobain By Child Services Based On Media Reports Of An Inappropriate Home Life For A Newborn. The Case Was Eventually Dropped, With The Little Girl Returned To Her Parents. And Then, When Frances Was Only A Year And A Half, Kurt Took His Own Life. In His Suicide Note, He Pleaded, “Please Keep Going Courtney For Frances. For Her Life Will Be So Much Happier Without Me.” Frances’s Childhood Struggles Didn’t End There, Speckled With Incidents That Placed Her In The Care Of Her Grandmother (Kurt’s Mom, Wendy O’Connor) When Love Was Seen As An Unfit Parent. They Were Later Reunited And, Reportedly, Mother And Daughter Have Maintained A Close Relationship As The Latter Became An Adult. Mostly Raised Out Of The Spotlight, Frances Has Slowly Entered The Public Eye In Recent Years, Working As A Model, An Artist And An Executive Producer Of A 2015 Documentary About Her Dad, Montage Of Heck.
But To Many Nirvana Fans, She’ll Always Be Kurt’s Baby Girl, Who Somehow Arrived Healthy Into A Situation That Was Anything Bu Read More:
KURT & FRANCIS
FRANCIS BEAN COBAIN
Before Cobain’s Birth, There Were Rumors Suggesting That Her Mother Used Heroin During The Pregnancy. This Scandal Intensified When Vanity Fair Published Lynn Hirschberg’s Article “Strange Love,” Which Alleged That Love Admitted To Using Heroin Even After Learning Of Her Pregnancy.
Love And Kurt Cobain Maintained That Vanity Fair Took Her Words Out Of Context.Eventually, Child Welfare Services Launched An Investigation Into Their Parenting Abilities.The Investigation Was Ultimately Dismissed, But Not Without A Significant Amount Of Legal Wrangling And Frances Being Removed From Her Parents’ Custody For A Short Time, Beginning When She Was Two Weeks Old.
On April 1, 1994, Frances Visited Her Father At The Exodus Recovery Center, A Rehab Center In Marina Del Rey, California, Where They Played Together. This Was The Last Time She Saw Her Father Alive.
On The Morning Of April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain Was Found Dead At His Home In Seattle.
A Final Ceremony Was Arranged For Him By His Mother On May 31, 1999, Attended By Both Love And Tracy Marander. Frances Was Subsequently Raised By Her Mother, Aunts, And Paternal Grandmother.
She Spent Her Early Years In Seattle And Los Angeles, And Was Placed In Her Grandmother’s Care For A Time After Her Mother’s Drug-Related Arrest In October 2003. Hours After The Arrest, Love Overdosed On Painkillers. Love Regained Custody Of Frances In 2005.
Modeling
In August 2006, She Was Photographed For Elle Magazine In Her Father’s Famous Brown Cardigan And Pajama Pants As Part Of An Article Featuring Children Of Rock Stars In Their Parents’ Clothing. She Explained, “I Wore His Pajamas Because He Got Married In Them To My Mom In 1992 In Hawaii So I Thought They Would Be Cute If I Wore Them Today. He Was Too Lazy To Put On A Tux So He Got Married In Pajamas!” In February 2008, She Appeared In A Photo Spread For Harper’s Bazaar Dressed As Evita.
Cobain Modeled For Hedi Slimane For A Web Photo Series Released August 2, 2011.
In 2016, She Modeled Alongside Alice Glass In A Spread For Schön! Magazine Shot By Floria Sigismondi.
In 2017, She Was Announced As The Face Of Marc Jacobs’s Spring/Summer 2017 Campaign, Shot By David Sims.
In September 2005, 13-Year-Old Cobain Gave Her First Interview, To Teen Vogue, In Which She Discussed Her Personal Style And Mentioned Her Parents.
Another Appeared In The January 2006 Issue Of I-D, In Which She Lamented Tabloid Portrayals Of Her Mother: “When You See A Lot Of Lies About Her In The Tabloids … It Can Be Hurtful.”
On December 11, 2009, A California Superior Court In Los Angeles Appointed Wendy O’Connor, Her Paternal Grandmother, And Kimberly Cobain, Her Father’s Sister, As Cobain’s Temporary Co-Guardians.
On December 16, 2009, A Judge Had Issued A Related Temporary Restraining Order Prohibiting Love From Having Any Direct Or Indirect Contact With Her Daughter.
The Papers Were Filed Under The Heading “Motion To Seal All Documents… Relating To A Minor And Allegations Of Domestic Violence”. Among Those Documents Are Frances Cobain’s Medical Records, According To The Filing.
On August 18, 2010, Cobain Inherited 37% Of Her Late Father’s Estate.Cobain, Not Love, Now Controls The Publicity Rights To Her Father’s Name And Image.
In 2011, Cobain Bought Her First Home, A $1.8 Million Spanish-Style Villa In West Hollywood, A Few Blocks From Sunset Strip.
Cobain Has Said She Is Not A Fan Of Nirvana Or Other Grunge Bands, Instead Preferring Their Contemporaries Oasis, The Brian Jonestown Massacre And Mercury Rev, But She Has Said She Likes The Songs “Territorial Pissings” And “Dumb”
Cobain And Musician Isaiah Silva Married On June 29, 2014,Though The Wedding Date Was Widely Misreported As Around September 2015.
By March 23, 2016, Cobain Had Filed For Divorce.By November 30, 2017, The Couple Had Divorced.Https://Www.Youtube.Com/Embed/_W62_Z1TfDc?Wmode=Transparent
Kurt Had 2 Years With Francis, But Looking At Pictures He Adored Herhttps://Www.Youtube.Com/Embed/ALtFt4xyMTM?Wmode=Transparent
Kurt With Francis At MTV Awards Fighting Over Cookie..
KURT & FRANCIS
Kurt & Francis playing after bathtime
MTV awards
RU PAUL & FRANCIS
kurt & Francis swimming
GROWING UP KURT COBAIN
‘Who Courtney Knew Was A Very Different Person To Who They Intimately Knew’
– Frances Bean On Kurt Cobain Exhibition Curated By His Mother And Sister
Kurt Cobain’s Mother Wendy O’Connor Is Recounting A Story About Her Son To Illustrate What He Was Like As A Child;
‘The Sweetest, Funniest Little Devil’. “He’d Come In The Kitchen And Say, ‘Hey Mom!’ And He Got Me Every Time With This – He’d Take Thread And Thread It Through His Fingers And Pull The String And Make His Hand Go Back And Forth, And I’d Turn Around And Go, ‘Aaargh!’ And It Would Make Me Sick To My Stomach. He Just Loved Doing It!” She Laughs. Kurt’s Younger Sister Kim Remembers All The Kids Doing It, “We’d Take The Rough Skin, Just The First Layer. I Don’t Know What Our Deal Was In The Seventies, Stringing Our Fingers Together,” She Laughs. Wendy, Kim, And Kurt And Frances Bean Cobain, Kurt’s Daughter With Courtney Love, Are In Conversation With RTE Broadcaster Dave Fanning At The Museum Of Style Icons In Newbridge To Launch Growing Up Kurt Cobain, An Exhibition Of His Personal Belongings Including Hand-Written Lyrics, His 1965 Dodge Dart, Clothes, Awards, But Mostly Items From His Childhood – Photos, Sketches, Notes And Stories, Toys, And Some Home Video. Brett Morgan’s 2015 Documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck Touched On His Childhood And His Burgeoning Creative Genius And The Exhibition Builds On That, Painting A Picture Of Him As A Fun-Loving, Talented Kid. The Items Have Been Lovingly Selected By Kim And Wendy In The Hope Of Providing Some Balance In The Narrative Of His Life, Which, Having Ended Abruptly With His Tragic Suicide On April 5, 1994, At The Height Of Nirvana’s Success, Has Been Viewed Through That Dark Prism In The Intervening Years. “This Was Really Beautiful, To Go And See Our Childhood That We Had Together,” Says Kim. Although Frances (25) Had No Part In Curating The Items For The Exhibition, She Wanted To Support Her Grandmother And Her Aunt On Their Trip To Ireland, As She Says She Found It A “Healing Place” To Visit As A Child. “This Is The First Time They’ve Ever Really Extended Themselves In Such A Way That They Curated It And Creatively Informed Their Idea Of Kurt And Who They Knew Him To Be And That To Me Is The Purest Form Of Him, Because Everything We’ve Heard Or Seen Is A Saturated Version Because It’s A Part Of Mythology,” She Says. “We Love To Think Of Him As This Mysterious, Dark Poet Laureate And He Was But He Was Also Quite Funny And Warm And A Brother And Son And I Think This Is More Reflective Of That. And I Think It’s Important To The Narrative To Recognise That Those Were Equally As Important Aspects Of His Personality As The Darker Serious Poet Laureate We Know Him To Be.” Having The Exhibition Open In Ireland (It’s At The Museum Of Style Icons Until September 30 Before Heading To Santiago, Chile) Was Important To The Family. “I Think That It Was Important For All Of Us Three To Come To Ireland. This Is Where Our Roots Are. It’s A Very Healing Place,” She Says. “I’ve Been Here Before And It Was Super Healing For Me As A Child And I Wanted To Come And Be A Part Of This Experience With Them. I Don’t Know If We Could Recreate The Energy Of This Specific Trip Again. The Reason That This Is So Healing Is Because It’s In Ireland. That’s A Huge Component Of It I Believe.” Kurt Believed His Ancestors Had Come To The United States From Cork, But In Recent Years Courtney Traced The Family’s Irish Roots To Tyrone And A Man Called Samuel Cobain Who Emigrated On A ‘Graveyard Ship’ With His Wife Letitia And Brother Kevin In The Late 1800s. As Frances Reads A Text Message From Courtney With This Information She Laughs,
Growing up Kurt Cobain
As The Child Of Famous Parents, Frances Was Famous Even Before She Was Born. She Does Not Remember Her Father As She Was Just 20 Months Old When He Died. She Has Lived A Nomadic Life – Living In 27 Houses In 25 Years And Dropping Out Of High School In Tenth Grade ‘Because Standardised Curriculum Just Didn’t Mesh With My Brain’. “I Really Reverted Into Myself And Really Became Obsessed With Horror Movies And Comic Books And Drawing, “ She Reveals Of That Time. “I Defaced My Room, All The Walls And Doors And Ceiling. I Defaced It. “That Was Kind Of Me Attempting To Take Back A Sense Of Self, By Creating My Own Environment I Could Go Into Every Day And Feel As Though I Was Like In My Own World, Because Oftentimes For Me Fantasy Has Felt More Like Reality. Escaping Into My Own Head Space Has Been More Comforting Than Having To Deal With My Reality At Times.” She Has Battled Her Own Addiction Issues And In An Instagram Post Earlier This Year She Revealed That She Has Been Sober For Two Years. “The Most Gratifying Thing About Making That Post Was Getting Messages From People Not Only Saying They Understood And Related To What I Was Going Through, Or They Themselves Were Dealing With It, But The Most Powerful Thing Was People Telling Me That Via That Post And Via Me Expressing That And Having The Capacity To Share That With The World, That That Had Encouraged Them To Face Their Own Addiction Issues,” She Says. “That Is Super. I Don’t Think There’s Anything More Powerful Than That, Somebody Saying, ‘You Helped Me Reclaim My Life’. It’s An Amazing Superpower.” She Says She Always Take Accountability For Her Actions, Because She “Grew Up In A Circumstance Where Accountability Wasn’t Really A Thing, Like It Was Always Really Disregarded As Somebody Else’s Fault Even Though It Wasn’t Always Somebody Else’s Fault.” Of Her Struggles, She Adds, “It’s Given Me A Sense Of Empathy And Compassion That I Would Never Have Had Any Other Way, And It’s One Thing To Observe That Kind Of Behaviour But It’s Another Thing To Live A Similar Kind Of Behaviour Because You Have A Different Kind Of Understanding Of What It Is That Informed Other People’s Behaviour. “It’s Given Me Connectivity To People In My Life That I Didn’t Think I Would Connect To Again. It’s Given Me A Sense Of Empathy I Didn’t Know I Had.” She Says She Uses The Phrase, ‘Peace, Love, Empathy’, Which Her Father Used In His Suicide Note, “Often, Because I Want To Reclaim The Peace, Love, Empathy Thing As Something That’s Meant For Health And For Compassion And For True Peace, Love, And Empathy. “Yeah, The Association Comes From A Super Dark Place. Referencing That Is Kind Of Screwed Up But At The Same Time Taking The Power Back Is My Way Of Dealing With It.”
Growing up Kurt Cobain
It’s Clear That Her Grandmother Wendy Has Been A Hugely Positive And Stable Influence In Frances’ Life. Wendy Becomes Emotional When Speaking About How Frances Never Knew Her Father And How Important It Was For Her To Let Her Know Who He Was. As A Child Frances Would Visit The Farm In Olympia Where Wendy Lived And “Healed” Following Kurt’s Death, Working In The Garden. “Nothing Was Consistent In My Day To Day Life At All But When I Would Go To The Farm In Olympia It Was Like The Most Grounding Experience,” Says Frances, Who Reveals That When People Now Comment On How Well Adjusted She Is She Puts It Down To The Stability Wendy And Kim Provided For Her Throughout Her Childhood. “The Reason I Got To The Point Of Being Well-Adjusted Is Because I Had Roots In Something Normal And Healthy,” She Says. “It’s Given Me A Sense Of What I Want My Day To Day Life To Look Like Outside All The Hubbub And BS, How I Want My Day To Day Life To Look Like With Normalcy With Consistency And Love. That Is Super Important. I Don’t Think I Would Know What That Looks Like Without Them.” Wendy Admits It Was Hugely Difficult To Take A Step Back When Frances Was Going Through Her Self-Destructive Phase, But Says She Had Learned From Her Previous Experiences With Kurt And Courtney. “Absolutely I Knew She Would Make It, But It Was Very Hard Not To Over Insert Myself Into The Whole… When It Was Not Good. That Was The Hardest Part,” She Says. “I Knew That I Had To Do That, I Had To Step Back And Kind Of Let It Run Its Course.” She Adds, “It Was Really Hard For Me Because I Can Be Really Pushy. It Was So Hard For Me To Keep My Peace And Not Start Pounding On Her, ‘This Is What You Have To Do, This Is What You Have To Do’. Everybody Was Mad At Me Because I Wasn’t Doing What They Thought I Should Be Doing. I Said, ‘No, She Will Come To Me. I Know Who’s Inside.” Frances Did Come To Her. She Says, “I Think That She Learned With Kurt And Courtney, When She Tried To Insert Herself It Made Them Isolate More And As A Reaction Of Her Not Inserting Herself And Kind Of Letting Me Do My Self-Destructive Thing And Be An Asshole She Allowed Me The Room To Come To Her When I Needed Her And That Means That I Felt Comfortable Expressing What I Had Been Through And What I Was Going Through Outside Of That At That Point. I’m Really Appreciative That She Allowed Me To Heal Myself First.”
Frances Says Courtney Is “Supportive” Of The Exhibition As She “Recognises That It’s Their Version Of Kurt And This Is Not Reflective Of Her Husband – It’s Reflective Of Her Son And Her Brother. Who She Knew Was A Very Different Person Than Who They Intimately Knew.” She Adds, “I Also Think Kurt Tended To Put On A Facade With Courtney A Little Bit. He Tended To Play Up Certain Aspects Of His Mystery And His Darkness Because It Was Trying To Match Her Mystery And Her Darkness, And That’s Awesome And That’s What They Had.” However, She Says “He Didn’t Get To Choose” Which Kurt His Mother And Sister Saw, “With My Grandmother And My Aunt That Was Just Who He Was And Who They Knew Him To Be. It’s Important This Exhibition Is Reflective Of That. This Is His Childhood And It’s Coming From A Pure Place.”
Growing up Kurt Cobain
Https://Www.Youtube.Com/Embed/XuHqXpkPWQY?Wmode=TransparentFRANCIS & WENDY COBAINIreland 2018
FRANCIS WITH GRANNY
WENDY, KIM & FRANCIS
WENDY & KIM COBAIN Kurts Mother & Sister
looking over Kurts drawings
FRANCIS BEAN COBAIN
growing up KURT COBAIN
KURTS SUNGLASSES
childhood drawings
young kurt
Kurt Cobain’s Irish Roots
Little Was Known About Cobain’s Heritage Until July 1993, When Guitar World’s Jon Savage Interviewed The Musician On His World Tour. When The Question Of Identity Arose, The Musician Said That He Had Recently Found Out That His Surname Was Irish. “My Parents Have Never Bothered To Find That Stuff Out,” He Said, “I Found Out By Looking Through Phone Books Throughout America For Names That Were Similar To Mine. I Couldn’t Find Any Cobain’s At All, So I Started Calling Coburns. I Found This One Lady In San Francisco Who Had Been Researching Our Family History For Years.”He Later Discovered That ‘Coburn’ Had Originally Been ‘Cobain’, But The Family Name Changed When They Emigrated From Co. Cork.
The Cork Connection Was “A Weird Coincidence” He Said, “Because When We Toured Ireland, We Played In Cork And The Entire Day I Walked Around In A Daze. I’d Never Felt More Spiritual In My Life.” Cobain Was Referring To Their 1991 Tour With Sonic Youth When Nirvana Played Support In Cork And Dublin. The Gig Took Place Weeks Before The Release Of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ Catapulted The Band To International Attention. He Said The Experience Had Left Him Feeling “More Spiritual” Than Ever Before, “It Was The Weirdest Feeling And I Have A Friend Who Was With Me Who Could Testify To This. I Was Almost In Tears The Whole Day. Since That Tour, Which Was About Two Years Ago, I’ve Had A Sense That I Was From Ireland.
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Nirvana Discography
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BLEACH
The Band’s Debut album Released 15 June 1989. This was the band’s only album to feature Chad Channing on drums.
Released: 06/15/89 (US), 08/89 (Europe), 09/01/92 Releases:
The first 1000 American copies were on white vinyl and the next 2000 copies on black vinyl included a limited-edition poster. Subsequent pressings can be found in many colours.
The album was released in the UK on Tupelo, with the first 300 copies on white viny, the next 2000 on green and an unknown quantity on black vinyl. After that various colour were used for reissues as for the American releases.
In Australia it was released by Waterfrontss, with the first 500 copies on blue vinyl. The American vinyl release had 11 tracks, including ‘Love Buzz’, but omitting ‘Big Cheese’ (because it was the ‘Love Buzz’ B-side).
The 11-track British vinyl, however, contained ‘Big Cheese’ rather than ‘Love Buzz’ because this was exclusive to the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’.
‘Love Buzz’ was then added to the ‘Blew EP’ as NIRVANA got bigger but the single was not easily available.
The 13-track American CD release, however, has ‘Big Cheese’ and ‘Love Buzz’, as well as the CD incentive bonus track ‘Downer’.
The first British CD release (with 11 tracks) contained ‘Big Cheese’, but lacked ‘Love Buzz’ and ‘Downer’. Future British releases contained all 13 tracks.
September 1992 saw Geffen re-release ‘Bleach’ on CD and cassette (with the 7″ version of ‘Big Cheese’), containing all the tracks. All tracks were remastered. Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Jack Endino. The limited-edition poster included with the vinyl release features a photo of ‘Nirvana’ taken by Charles Peterson at their 02/25/89 show at the HUB Ballroom at the University of Washington, which features Jason Everman. Jason was credited in the linear notes of the album as second guitarist, but did not in fact play on the album. It was a good-will gesture as he paid the $606.17 recording costs (the bill for 30 hours of studio time). The cover-shot of the album, of Nirvana at the Recko-Muse gallery in Olympia, was taken by Tracy Marander.
CD versions included another of Peterson’s photos from 02/25/89 in the insert, as well as one of his pictures from Nirvana’s 02/15/90 show at Raji’s in Los Angeles on the back inner sleave.
‘Floyd The Barber’ and ‘Paper Cuts’ were taken from the 01/23/88 session with Dale Crover due to dissatisfaction with the Chad Channing versions. Both were remastered for the album release, and backing vocals added to ‘Paper Cuts’. Endino can’t remember if ‘Downer’ was also remixed for CD releases. Kurt spelled his name ‘Kurdt Kobain’ as on the ‘Love Buzz/Big Cheese’ single. The album was completely re-sequenced at Pavitt’s demand.
This release saw the first appearance of the ‘NIRVANA’ logo (Bodoni Extra Bold Condensed type). The typesetter was rushed which explains why the spacing is not graphically correct k
https://sl.bing.net/iKh4k0X41p6
They had already made some waves on Sub Pop with their debut, “Bleach”.
But it wasn’t until their major-label debut for DGC/Geffen Records, 1991’s “Nevermind” – perhaps, more specifically, the first 30 seconds of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – that they broke into the mainstream of America.
1. Bleach (1989)
Nirvana recorded Bleach in December 1988 and January 1989, during several sessions.
Nirvana consisted of Kurt Cobain (guitar and vocals),
Krist Novoselic (bass),
and Chad Channing (drums).
Although he never actually played on the album, Jason Everman, who had previously played guitar in another band with Channing, paid the $616 for recording costs. Everman later joined Nirvana in February 1989 for the band’s west coast tour.
The photograph of Nirvana performing at the Reko/Muse art gallery in Olympia, WA on April 1st, 1989, was taken by Cobain’s girlfriend, Tracy Marander.
2. Nevermind (1991)
One of the most recognized albums covers in alt-rock music, Nevermind with new drummer Dave Grohl) came up with the concept. Available stock images of water births were too graphic, stock photos of swimming babies were expensive, so art director Robert Fisher hired photographer Kirk Weddle to do a photo shoot at a pool. The image of three-month-old Spencer Elden, the son of Weddle’s friend, was selected by Nirvana. DGC Records art department later added the dollar bill and fishhook. The Onyx logo was reused, using a wave-like effect to accompany the water theme. To avoid controversy, DGC Records wanted to cover up the image, but Cobain objected. The cover is often included on lists of “shocking” album artwork, and it was even banned by Facebook in 2011 (a decision they quickly reversed). The image has often been parodied, most notably by “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 1992 album, Off the Deep End
3. Insecticide (1992)
Kurt Cobain agreed to officially release this material on a compilation, since Nirvana fans were now taping and trading low-quality recordings of live radio shows, demos, and B-sides. He insisted on retaining complete artistic control over the cover artwork. This oil-on-canvas painting made entirely by Cobain, was the result, including lettering which didn’t have their usual logo. The poppy flower symbolized Cobain’s increasing use of heroin. The cover, while unusual, wasn’t considered too controversial to be used.
4. In Utero (1993)
On the other hand, In Utero was anything but uncontroversial.
Robert Fisher, the art director for DGC Records again designed the front cover, using ideas from Kurt Cobain. An anatomical teaching aid – a mannequin with transparent “skin” to display the organs inside – had angel wings added. The tour in support of the album used similar mannequins as props, which were then abused and destroyed on stage. The familiar Onyx logo was used, with a typewritten font for the album title. Cobain created the back cover collage, photographed by Charles Peterson, who was familiar to the local music scene. Objects related to birth and death, including several plastic fetuses, were used.
It was decided by Kmart and Wal-Mart that this artwork, as well as the accompanying text, wasn’t suitable for store displays. DGC Records employed alternate images and text, along with strategically-placed stickers to sell the album at major retailers.
DISCOGRAPHY
NEVERMIND
Studio Albums
Released: 09/23/91 (Europe), 09/24/91 (US), 04/96, 07/98 Releases:
Released on vinyl, cassette and CD in 1991
. Reissued in April 1996 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as a 24-carat gold CD and on 200g high-definition vinyl
. Reissued in July 1998 by Simply Vinyl on high-quality vinyl
Additional Information:
Recoded and produced by Butch Vig. Mixed by Andy Wallace.
Dave plays all the drums on the album. ‘Polly’ was taken from Nirvana’s April 1990 Smart Studios session (also with Butch Vig) when the drummer was Chad Channing, but at the ‘Nevermind’ session the drums for ‘Polly’ were re-recorded. The first batch of American pressings (46,251) on CD and cassette lacked ‘Endless Nameless’, the uncredited secret track which appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once ‘Something in the Way’ has ended, because of a pressing error.
The band put the ‘secret track’ on the album as a way of playing with the CD format, just as the Beatles, for example, put indecipherable messages in the runout grooves of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover shot was inspired by Kurt and Dave having seen a documentary on underwater birth during recording sessions. They investigated pictures of babies being born underwater, but they were too graphic. Therefore, they chose a stock graphic of a baby swimming, but it was too expensive. As a result, the art director, Robert Fisher, got Kirk Weddle, an underwater photographer to take some shots himself of a baby underwater. The baby in the final picture chosen was Spencer Elden. Kurt recommended the adding of a dollar on a fish-hook and thus a famous album cover was born.
Inside the inlay is a page of random lyrics from the songs on ‘Nevermind’ mashed together in no particular order. Two of the lines amongst them were made up by Kurt and do not feature in the lyrics of any of the songs (“The second coming came in last and out of the closet” and “At the end of the rainbow and your rope”). The back-cover features a meat-and-diseased vagina collage by Cobain behind the Chim (above the head of which is a picture of Kiss). Cobain’s name appears on photo credits as ‘Kurdt Kobain’. Later reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were both taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1996 CD and vinyl releases by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold of the CD is less susceptible to corrosion than the aluminium used on regular CDs. The MFSL LP booklet for this release misspelled Nirvana (‘Nirvana’) and CD releases do contain ‘Endless Nameless’ although, as with ordinary releases, this is not credited on the cover.
The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy card (300g) sleeve. The song credits on this vinyl release are different to those on the regular CD
INSECTICIDE
(1992)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Stain September 1989 Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Been A Son November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK
Turnaround October 21, 1990, Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Molly’s Lips October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London,
UK Son Of A Gun October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
(New Wave) Polly November 9, 1991 BBC Studios, London, UK
Beeswax January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle,
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Mexican Seafood
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Hairspray Queen
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Aero Zeppelin
January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Big Long Now
December, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK Three of the fifteen songs on ‘Insecticide’ cover.
The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On: Turnaround Devo We Are Not Men, We Are Devo Molly’s Lips Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Son of a Gun Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Released: 12/14/92 (Europe), 12/15/92 (US) Releases: Released on vinyl (with a limited edition of 15,000 on blue vinyl), cassette and CD. Additional Information: A collaborative enterprise by ‘Sub Pop’ and ‘Geffen’ (originally planned as two separate releases, one by each label), partly as an attempt to beat the bootleggers. The collaboration was intended to ensure a definite compilation, as well as give the band more control over it and ensure greater distribution than ‘Sub Pop’ could muster. The cover art is a painting by Cobain.
The sticker on it reads “Inside Insecticide: Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Stuff Never Before Available”, and six of the fifteen tracks were unreleased at the time (‘Hairspray Queen’, ‘Aero Zeppelin’, ‘Big Long Now’, ‘Been A Son’, ‘(New Wave) Polly’ and ‘Aneurysm’). ‘Mexican Seafood’ was previously made available on ‘Teriyaki Asthma’, ‘Beeswax’ on ‘Kill Rock Stars’, ‘Downer’ on CD versions of ‘Bleach’, ‘Stain’ on the ‘Blew’ EP, ‘Dive’ and ‘Sliver’ on the ‘Dive/Sliver’ single (note: the phone call outro to ‘Sliver’ between Krist and Jonathon Poneman on the single was omitted for its appearance on CD) and ‘Turnaround’, ‘Molly’s Lips’ and ‘Son Of A Gun’ appeared on the ‘Hormoaning’ EP. ‘Been A Son’ on ‘Insecticide is a different version to that on the ‘Blew’ EP, as are the versions ‘Aneurysm’ from their respective previous releases. According to Endino ‘Hairspray Queen’ and ‘Aero Zeppelin’ were not remastered for their release on this CD, virtually being the one-hour mix versions, he did on the day of their recording. Some American copies include liner notes written by Kurt. In trading circles complete versions of the October 21, 1990 and the November 9, 1991 radio sessions are available. Complete session tapes also exist for the January 23, 1989 and April 1990 sessions. Other outtakes from the September 1989 Music Source and December 1989 Reciprocal studio sessions have also surfaced.
(1993)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
Serve The Servants February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Scentless Apprentice February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Very Ape February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
Tourette’s February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
All Apologies February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip January 22, 1993, Ariola Ltda BMG,
Rio de Janeiro Released:
09/14/93 (Europe), 09/21/93 (US), 01/97, 11/98 Releases: Issued on vinyl (including a 15,000 limited edition on clear vinyl), cassette and CD in 1993. Reissued by MFSL in January 1997 on 24-carat gold CD and high-quality vinyl.
In November 1998 it was reissued on high-quality vinyl by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Steve Albini, who was paid $100,000 on top of $24,000 recording costs. ‘All Apologies’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ were remixed again in May by Scott Litt. ‘Sappy’ was also re-recorded at this session and this is the version that features on the ‘No Alternative’ compilation. European releases included a bonus track (‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip’), referred to on releases as ‘Devalued American Dollar Purchase Incentive Track’, which appears 25 minutes after the end of ‘All Apologies’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, except for ‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol’ (stating ‘whatever’ in its place) and Tourette’s (with the lyrics being given as ‘Cuff, Tish, Sips’). The disc features Michael DeWitt in drag, a former nanny employed by Kurt and Courtney.
Wal-Mart and K-Mart versions of the artwork were altered with Cobain’s acceptance (given that to refuse the changes would mean the album would be more difficult to get hold of) when these outlets refused to sell them, deeming them ‘offensive’. They also changed the title of ‘Rape Me’ to ‘Waif Me’. A remixed version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ (also available on the ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ single), different from on ordinary versions of ‘In Utero’, was used on these re-issued copies and ‘Gallons’ was omitted. Both the reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1997 release by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold is less susceptible to corrosion. These releases do not contain ‘Gallons’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy (300g) card sleeve. The guitar solo intro on ‘Very Ape’ on this vinyl release is longer than on other versions. ‘In Utero’ enters the Billboard chart at #1 with first week sales of 180,000 units.
Compilation Albums
NIRVANA
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
Previously unreleased About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Bleach Been a Son September 1989 Music Source Studios – Seattle, WA
Blew EP Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Insecticide Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come as You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea (remix version) February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero (K-Mart/Wal-Mart version) Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero All Apologies November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Something In The Way (vinyl & Japanese CD releases only) November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Released: 10/28/02 (outside US), 10/29/02 (US) Releases: CD, Vinyl (2 LPs). Additional Information: Features the previously unreleased song ‘You Know You’re Right’. All the other tracks, taken from the NIRVANA back catalog, have been “newly mastered” for this release. Includes a forward by David Fricke.
The vinyl version is a double LP release. Only the vinyl release and Japanese versions of the CD contain ‘Something in the Way’.
Review:
Almost six years to the day since the last NIRVANA album came the release of the greatest hits package, simply titled ‘Nirvana’. Fans had long believed the next album would be a box set of unreleased songs and demo versions, indeed a 45-track two-disc set was reportedly assembled for launch to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of the band’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’. Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, was displeased by her lack of input on the box set, and made a legal challenge to block the release. Coincidentally, she was also in court trying to extricate herself from her legal obligations to her record label with her former band ‘Hole’. Love threatened to withhold Cobain’s last known song, an unreleased anthem titled “You Know You’re Right” from any future releases, which would be the one and only unique selling point of any future release. Deadlock ensued as wild accusations concerning sanity and precise contributions to the band were presented in court. However, Love’s position of power was effectively undermined by two factors. First, Universal decided they would release a ‘greatest hits’ album with or without the new song, and secondly on May 10th a Spanish fan shocked the online fan community by claiming and then proving he had a copy of the song. Jim Barber, Courtney’s lawyer and boyfriend, responded by firing off emails to all online fans concerned threatening legal action, but it proved impossible to force the genie back into the bottle, and the song leaked on the internet in mid-September. Radio stations across the world started airing the track, and once again the band’s lawyers faxed legal threats to the stations demanding they cease and desist playing the song. Some radio stations were undeterred, and continued playing the track anyway. Fearing a public relations disaster on an unprecedented scale, the record company executives realised their position was hopeless, and shipped out promotional CD-Rs of the song.
Love was thus forced to negotiate, and was able to force the delay of the box set (which was finally released in 2004 – see our comprehensive guide to ‘With The Lights Out’) to be overtaken by a greatest hits package. The date originally suggested was October 22nd 2002, but Love feared her own new material would receive little attention and demanded the CD be held back until 2003. However, with all concerned realising the need to capitalize quickly on the media uproar over the new song, the release date was pushed forward to November 12th and incredibly then again to October 29th. The track list was published at online retailer Amazon, but was quickly removed as the band realised that bootleggers would be able to assemble the album themselves and release counterfeits early. Jim Barber proclaimed that the track listing was incorrect, but of course this turned out to be obfuscation. The first track, “You Know You’re Right” (recorded by Adam Kasper) is the sole previously unreleased song, recorded at NIRVANA’s last studio session in January 1994 just before the start of their final tour. The song is clearly one of the very best ones in the band’s oeuvre, and is hoped to propel album sales into the tens of millions.
“About A Girl” (recorded by Jack Endino) is the one representative of NIRVANA’s debut album, the 1989 release ‘Bleach’.
Next up is “Been A Son” (recorded by Steve Fisk), but the rendition selected is the one from the very rare ‘Blew EP’, and not the common Goodier Session version from ‘Insecticide’.
Following this is “Sliver” (recorded by Jack Endino), a Sub Pop single did a feature on ‘Insecticide’. Next are the four ‘Nevermind’ singles (all recorded by Butch Vig) in order of release, followed by four songs from the band’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ (recorded by Steve Albini), and concluding with three songs from NIRVANA’s November 1993 appearance on ‘MTV’s Unplugged’.
The track list has been much debated on the internet and in some quarters much-derided: just as anyone with a passing knowledge of English football (soccer) thinks he/she could select a better national team than the current manager, any fan with all the albums could select his/her dozen favorite songs. It is clear, however, that the songs chosen are the result of politics and commercial considerations.
The ‘Bleach’ rendition of “About A Girl” is unsteady and inferior to the acoustic version released on the ‘Unplugged In New York’ album, but was presumably included so that there would be some representative of the band’s debut. Had this release ignored ‘Bleach’ entirely, accusations would undoubtedly have surfaced accusing the band of ignoring its roots and the contribution of Chad Channing (the drummer on most early releases).
“Been A Son” was selected for those collectors who cannot afford to pay $100 to track down a copy of the scarce ‘Blew EP’, and is an extra purchase incentive for fans who have not heard this rendition. However, it sounds very uncouth and raw nestling beside the band’s genuine hits, and is probably the weakest song on the album, and so those collectors who were supposed to benefit from the addition of this song have ended up criticising its inclusion.
The next six songs are those for which NIRVANA produced music videos, and are uncontroversial choices. Indeed, only the four singles from ‘Nevermind’ are included, which surprised many: this album is widely considered their best work. The reasoning is easy to divine. The record label do not want to cannibalise new sales of ‘Nevermind’ by including too much on this album.
The Scott Litt remix of “Pennyroyal Tea” neuters the bass roar present in the choruses of the ‘In Utero’ album track, but is otherwise unspectacular. The liner notes claim this version to be “previously unreleased”, but it has actually been available for many years on the censored Wal-Mart version of ‘In Utero’. Next follow two further album tracks from ‘In Utero’, bringing the total up to four.
This CD then rounds off with two or three songs (depending on where you live) from the band’s fabulous quasi-acoustic concert recorded for MTV Unplugged. The pre-and post-song applause is muted as much as possible between the songs to allow this release to flow better. All three of the songs were aired extensively by radio stations on account of being pressed on promotional CDs. All songs selected, bar “Been A Son” and “Dumb”, are the standard NIRVANA songs played on the radio, and were therefore obvious candidates for inclusion on this record: that is precisely what a greatest hits CD should contain, by definition. The fact that none of the band’s less commercial / pop-influenced, more punk/metal-style songs have been included should not be a surprise either: they do not belong on a commercial CD such as this one. Those who bemoan the lack of rare song “Oh, The Guilt” or the popular “Sappy” similarly miss the point of a greatest hits compilation: with a new rareties release planned for next year, these songs have rightly been retained for that. Those who criticise the CD as being too short are also wide of the mark. Songs such as “Aneurysm” may be fine songs, but would seem out of place on such a pop-oriented compilation. A strong case could be made for making this release even shorter still, removing perhaps tracks 2, 3 and 4 to leave an even more definitive selection. The author is ambivalent on the subject of the remastering of the songs for this release: the pre-‘Nevermind’ songs now feature much greater separation between instruments and do sound clearer, but this causes their jagged edges (especially on “Been A Son”) to be more prominent. The stark contrast with the following Butch Vig produced numbers makes one wonder if the effort was wasted. The packaging of the CD is, as usual, excellent: Robert Fisher always seemed to be able to guide the band into selecting beautiful images and stunning photos, which were arguably one factor in the band’s success. This time the release is monochrome, but this is in keeping with the reverential tone of the release. This is not to say ‘Nirvana’ is faultless:
the editing of the CD is atrocious, with “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” starting over two seconds before the track marker, and the gaps between songs seeming in some cases too short and others too ponderous. Those responsible for this should be roundly condemned for their sloppiness. The liner notes are also egregious: the author David Fricke lacks both eloquence and erudition on the subject of NIRVANA. He misquotes the lyrics to “You Know You’re Right” (using instead those sung by Ms Love during her rendition) and astounded the online fan community by referring to the song as “Autopilot” and “On The Mountain”, both of which were bootleggers’ titles resulting from them mishearing Dave Grohl’s muffled introduction to the previously known live version, “This is our last song. It’s called ‘All Apologies’.� Cobain changed his mind and played “You Know You’re Right” instead. These quibbles do not detract from the album as a whole, which remains an excellent introduction to the band, surely the main purpose of this CD. Complaints from hardcore fans about the lack of rare material selected for their delectation are utterly ridiculous in the context of a greatest hits release.
Compilation Albums
Sliver – The Best of the Box Released:
1st November 2005 Releases: CD only Additional Information
: This is a compilation of tracks taken from NIRVANA’s 2004 boxset release With The Lights Out. To maximize sales and tempt owners of the boxset to buy it this compilation also includes 3 exclusive tracks that do not feature on the boxset itself which are indicated below.
Track: Date / Location: Exclusive To Sliver – Best of the Box?
Comments Spank Thru (home demo) December 1985 – Music room, Earl residence, Burien, WA, US Yes Sourced from the infamous ‘Fecal Matter’ demo!
Heartbreaker (live) 03/xx/87 – 17 Nussbaum Road (house party), Raymond, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Unknown (home demo) Summer, 1987 – Cobain residence, Aberdeen, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Floyd The Barber (Live) 01/23/88 – Community World Theater, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
About A Girl (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Blandest (studio) June�September 1988 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Ain’t It A Shame (studio) August 20 & 28, 1989 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track
. Sappy January 2�3, 1990 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US Yes This track was produced by Jack Endino and took a whopping 10 hours to record what is paradoxically one of the worst renditions of this song!
Opinion (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Lithium (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Sliver (home demo) Summer, 1990 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Come As You Are (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US Yes This is a boom box demo which was recorded at the same time as the SLTS demo above. Old Age (studio) May�June 1991 – Sound City Studios, Van Nuys & Devonshire Studios, Burbank, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Oh, The Guilt April 7, 1992 – Laundry Room Studio, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (home demo) May 1991 – Oakwood Apartment, Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (studio) 25�26 October 1992 – Word Of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Heart-Shaped Box (studio) January 19�21, 1993 – Studio B, BMG Ariola Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, BR No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Do Re Mi (home demo) Early 1994 – Bedroom, Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
You Know You’re Right (home demo) Mid 1993�Early 1994 – Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
All Apologies (home demo) 1991�1992 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US/Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this tr
Compilation Albums
ICON
.Released: 31st August 2010 Releases: CD only Additional Information:
NIRVANA’s second “greatest hits” compilation. Part of the Icon series by Universal Music Enterprises which featured greatest hits releases “from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B, and country”. Interestingly it does not include any tracks from NIRVANA’s first album ‘Bleach’ which may have been done to avoid having to pay fees to Sub Pop
. Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Album:
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY Unplugged In New York
Live Albums
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Come As You Are November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Pennyroyal Tea November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Dumb November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Polly November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
On A Plain on November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Something In The Way November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Plateau November 18, 1993 Sony Studios, New York, NY
Oh Me November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Lake Of Fire November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie The Man Who Sold The World (Ryko)
Six of the fourteen songs performed covered. The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Vaselines Way Of The Vaselines (Sub Pop)
Plateau Meat Puppets II (SST) Oh Me Meat Puppets II (SST) Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets II (SST)
Where Did You Sleep Last Night ‘Leadbelly’ Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Released: 11/01/94, 11/98 Releases: Released on vinyl, cassette, and CD in 1994. Reissued on LP in November 1998 by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Produced and remixed by Scott Litt. It contains two-songs which were cut from the original television broadcast. All songs were done in one take. Although the official release is technically complete at 46 minutes (containing all the songs that were recorded), the show was actually about 69 minutes long, with all breaks between songs, jamming, tuning, and interaction with the crowd cut from this release. Conceived originally as disc one of a two-CD release, the second CD containing other live tracks spanning the band’s life. However, the band was unable to complete the project, feeling it was too close to Kurt’s death. The ‘second CD’ in effect would appear in 1996 as ‘From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy quality sleeve. Enters the Billboard Chart at #1 and sells more than 300,000 copies in its first week.
Live Albums
FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WHISKAH
Released: 10/01/96 Releases: Released on vinyl (2 LPs, in a single sleeve), cassette and CD.
Additional Information: Nirvana’s third release to enter the Billboard chart at #1 and their fourth #1 album. The liner notes were written by Krist Novoselic. They contain errors, as detailed in the CD guide to this release above. Side four of the vinyl version contains additional stage banter which is transcribed in the vinyl guide above.
About this release, Dave Grohl, in an interview (from the interview CD ‘Foo Fighters In Conversation’ on Chatback) said: Interviewer: What do you think of the live album, the Nirvana live album that came out? Were you happy with the result? Dave Grohl: Yeah I thought it was cool, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean there were so many songs, like … so many tapes … and so many songs, just so much stuff we could have released and we released one thing … the just live thing. Yeah I thought it was good … I mean I have live tapes at home that are better than that, but those are mine! (Laughs). Interviewer: Did you have much input in so far as what songs are going on the album? Dave Grohl: Yeah, Krist … Krist and I … Krist actually did most of the pick and choose and I think he did a really great job, but yeah, ultimately we had like total control over what was happening.
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT
DGC RECORDS,18 VERSIONS (2011)
LIVE AND LOUD
DGC RECORDS,13 VERSIONS (2013)
Live Albums
LIVE IN READING
Released: 3rd November 2009 Releases: CD-only, DVD-only, and CD+DVD set
Additional Information: Official release of NIRVANA’s legendary performance at the 1992 Reading Festival which was circulating amongst traders in various forms prior to this official release. Unfortunately, the CD-only version is incomplete: it is missing ‘Love Buzz’, various jams and between-song banter as well as most of the destruction. The DVD is complete and also features a short clip after the credits of Cobain interacting with a fan after the show. It features camera angles not present on any trading circle version. More information can be found here. Song: Intro Breed Drain You Aneurysm School Silver Sliver In Bloom Come As You Are Lithium About A Girl Tourette’s Polly Lounge Act Smells Like Teen Spirit On A Plain Negative Creep Been A Son All Apologies Blew Dumb Stay Away Spank Thru Love Buzz The Money Will Roll Right In D-7 Territorial Pissings Credits
Anniversary/Deluxe Edition Reissues
20TH ANNIVERSARY BLEACH
Released: 3rd November 2009
Releases: CD, regular vinyl (black) and limited-edition vinyl (white) Additional Information: Reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Bleach’. Features a 13-track remaster of the ‘Bleach’ album (remastered from the original tapes by ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino) as well as NIRVANA’s live performance at the Pine Street Theatre recorded on 9th February 1990. Both the CD and vinyl releases include a booklet with never before seen photographs of the band plus other pertinent images from NIRVANA Sub Pop years (for example, the original session tapes, a scan of NIRVANA’s Sub Pop contract, etc.).
In relation to the vinyl release, it is not known precisely how many copies of the limited-edition white version were produced. NOTE: the live show included on this release was circulating amongst traders prior to this release from an alternate soundboard source and whilst the version on this official release does sound better, unfortunately, the between-song banter has been cut.
CD ONE/SIDE A Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Blew December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Floyd the Barber January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
School December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Paper Cuts January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Negative Creep December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Scoff December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Swap Meet December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Mr Moustache December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Sifting December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Downer January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
CD TWO/SIDE B Song: Date Recorded/Venue: Intro 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
School 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Floyd The Barber 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Dive 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Love Buzz 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Spank Thru 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Molly’s Lips 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Sappy 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Scoff 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
About A Girl 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Been A Son 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Blew 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
SLIVER
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI
About A Girl (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR
Spank Thru (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland OR
Released: 09/??/90 (US), 01/??/91 (UK) Releases: First 3,000 7″ American releases were on blue vinyl in fold-over sleeves and was subsequently reissued in many colours in solid sleeves, being the only Nirvana single on Sub Pop still in print. British releases on Tupelo were originally on 7″ vinyl (with the first 2,000 on green vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve. The 12″ vinyl features ‘About A Girl’, live from 02/09/90. The CD-version had included ‘About A Girl’ and also ‘Spank Thru’, again from 02/09/90. Additional Information: ‘Spank Thru’ on the CD versions is incorrectly spelled ‘Spank Through’. The A-side of the 7″, after ‘Sliver’, also features a 45-second phone conversation outro, between a very hung-over Krist Novoselic and Jonathon Poneman, which Krist accidentally recorded on his answerphone. This was excluded when this version of ‘Sliver’ appeared on ‘Incesticide’, rather like the intro to ‘Love Buzz’ was culled from vinyl versions when it made its transition to a CD. An incomplete soundboard version of the 02/09/90 show featured on this release is available in trading circles. A complete session tape of all the finalized versions of songs from the April 1990 studio appearance is also circulating.
TEEN SPIRIT
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Drain You May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Even In His Youth January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 09/09/91 (UK), 09/10/91 (US) Releases: American 7″ vinyl and cassette releases included ‘Even In His Youth’. The American 12″, a second cassette and CD also featured ‘Aneurysm’. UK 7″ and cassette releases included ‘Drain You’, 12″ versions ‘Even In His Youth’ and the CD all four songs. Whilst all American versions lack ‘Drain You’ it was included on some European releases. Additional Information: The back cover shot was taken by Charles Petersen at Nirvana’s 03/08/91 appearance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
COME AS YOU ARE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Endless, Nameless May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
The school (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Drain You (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA Released: 03/02/92 (UK), 03/03/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ was backed with a live ‘Drain You’, whilst US cassettes, 12″‘s and CD’s also had a live version of ‘School’ from the same show. In the UK the 7″ featured ‘Endless Nameless’, the 12″ also included the live version of ‘School’. CDs had a fourth track, a live ‘Drain You’. German 12″ picture discs contain ‘Endless Nameless’ and a live version of ‘Drain You’. Additional information: A complete soundboard version of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles.
LITHIUM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Been A Son (live) October 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Curmudgeon April, 1992 Laundry Room Studios, Seattle, WA
D-7 October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK Released: 07/20/92 (UK), 07/21/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ and cassette was backed with a live version of ‘Been A Son’, whilst the 12″ and CD also included ‘Curmudgeon’. In the UK the 7″ was backed with ‘Curmudgeon’, the 12″ added the live version of ‘Been A Son’ and CDs included a fourth track, ‘D-7’. Additional Information: The cover was designed by Kurt and the single includes a sonogram of Frances Bean Cobain. Contains all the lyrics to ‘Nevermind’. A complete soundboard of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles. The complete 10/21/90 radio session is also circulating amongst traders.
IN BLOOM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Sliver (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA
Polly (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA Released: 11/30/92 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. The 7″ and cassette included a live version of ‘Polly’. The 12″ and CD had a third track, a live version of ‘Sliver’. Additional Information: A complete soundboard of the 12/28/91 performance is available in trading circles
HEART-SHAPED BOX
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Marigold February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN Released: 08/30/93 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. 7″ and cassette featured ‘Marigold’ and the 12″ and CD also included ‘Milk It’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
LOVE BUZZ
| test pressing |
|---|
| numbered |
| red slash |
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 11/88 Releases: This single launched the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’. Limited to 1000 hand-numbered (in red ink) copies, in a fold-over sleeve, on black vinyl.
Additional Information: On this release, only ‘Love Buzz’ features a 10-second sound collage intro made by Kurt from various children’s records spliced together and a similar collage dubbed into the instrumental break. This comes from a much longer collage made by Kurt, which is 34-minutes long, known as ‘The Montage of Heck’, which is available in trading circles. ‘Love Buzz’ was originally performed by ‘Shocking Blue’. The version of ‘Love Buzz’ on this single is a different mix to those on all ‘Bleach’ and ‘Blew EP’ releases, being remixed for other releases and lacking the aforementioned collages. It was remixed to increase its collectibility and lacked the collages because Kurt forgot to bring the home-made tape with it on to the remixing session! Alice Wheeler took the photo on the front of the album in Tacoma’s ‘Never Never Land’ (a park) close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kurt’s name is given as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ on the credits and on the ‘Love Buzz’ side is etched ‘Why don’t you trade those guitars for shovels?’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
Sliver (1990)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Come As You Are (1992)
Lithium (1992)
In Bloom (1992)
Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
All Apologies (1993)
Pennyroyal Tea (1994 but withdrawn)
About A Girl (1994)
.Split Singles:
Candy/Molly’s Lips (1991)
Here She Comes Now/Venus In Furs (1991)
BOXSETS
Puss/Oh, The Guilt (1992)Singles
(1995) With The Lights Out (2004)
EP`S
Blew EP (1989)
Hormoaning EP (1992)
COMPLAMATION APP,
HE LIVE NIRVANA COMPANION TO OFFICIAL RELEASES:
COMPILATION APPEARANCES
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop Rock City
Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. 1
/Teriyaki Asthma, Vols. 1-5
Hard To Believe Heaven And Hell: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground
, Volume 1 The Grunge Years Kill Rock Stars
Eight/Fourteen Songs For Greg Sage and the Wipers
No Alternative
The Beavis and Butthead Experience
Geffen Rarities Vol. 1
Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defence
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack/Hype!
Fender 50th Anniversary Guitar Legends Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Volume 1
.Music Videos:
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Come As You Are
Lithium (Sub Pop) [1200 Seconds]
Lithium (Geffen)
In Bloom (Sub Pop)
[Sub Pop Video Network Program 1]
In Bloom (Geffen)
Sliver
Heart-Shaped Box
Unplugged Videos
Aneurysm
You Know You’re Right
Video Releases:
Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!
With The Lights Out Classic Albums:
Nirvana – Nevermind
Unplugged In New York
Live at Reading Releases NIRVANA Feature On 1991: The Year Punk Broke Hype! Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances Volume 4
COBAINFILES 
