Essential Nirvana

Always feeling an outsider, Kurt Cobain deliberately tried to separate himself, or at the very least insulate himself, from the rest of the world. He took up drums but his first musical contribution was hauling gear for the Melvins. That gig led to meeting Krist Novoselic. Their initial effort had Cobain on drums and Novoselic playing guitar. When Melvins’ drummer Dale Crover joined, Cobain moved to guitar and Novoselic to bass. Starting out as Ed, Ted, Fred and later, the Fecal Matter, they finally settled on Nirvana.

When drummer Dave Grohl joined the band was ready to roll.

Here’s the best from the Nirvana’s short-lived, but highly influential, career,

#10. You Know You’re Right

It is the final song the band recorded before vocalist/guitarist Kurt Cobain committed suicide in April, 1994. 

Surviving Nirvana members, drummer Dave Grohl and bassist Kirst Novoselic,  intended to release the studio version on a box set but Cobain’s widow and leader of Hole, Courtney Love, blocked the release in 2001, asserting that a recording of such “extraordinary artistic and commercial value” belonged on a cheaper, single disc compilation instead. An associated lawsuit was settled in 2002 with the song included on a greatest hits album later that year.

#9. All Apologies

It became the third Nirvana song to top Billboard’s Modern Rock chart. was nominated for two Grammy Awards and won a BMI award for most played song on American College radio during the eligible period from 1994 to 1995.

No music video was made. Cobain explained that he “hadn’t bothered to come up with any ideas lately” because he had been “concentrating on touring..

#8. In Bloom

Cobain’s impatience with recording multiple vocal takes made it difficult to acquire a master vocal take. The varying intensity of Cobain’s vocals from one take to the next, and from the verses to the choruses, also presented a problem for producer Butch Vig, who had to adjust the input levels “on the fly.” In the end, Vig was able to edit several takes together into a single master.

#7. Lithium

The song’s final version was recorded at Sound City Studio in Van Nuys, CA in 1991. Preliminary attempts at recording the song’s instruments were unsuccessful, in part because the band was having a difficult time maintaining a steady tempo, and kept speeding up.

Even before the song was recorded it impressed members of Soundgarden. Guitarist Kim Thayl heard the song for the first time during a ’90 Nirvana show at the Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle. saying that “when I heard ‘Lithium,’ it stuck in my mind. Ben (Shepherd), our bass player, came up to me and said, ‘That’s the hit. That’s the Top 40 hit right there.”

#6. Dumb

Written by Cobain in the summer of 1990 as the band began to move away from their Grunge sound towards more openly melodic, pop influenced material.

The cello part was written and performed by Chicago musician Kera Schaley, a friend of the album’s producer, Steve Albini.

#5. Heart Shaped Box

It was one of two songs on “In Utero” remixed by Scott Litt prior to the album’s release, due to the band’s dissatisfaction with the original mixing by producer Steve Albini. The Litt remix also featured additional vocal harmonies and guitar provided by Cobain. 

#4. The Man Who Sold The World

Cobain and Novoselic were introduced to the song by their then-drummer Chad Channing, who bought a used LP version and converted it to cassette. Cobain liked the song and was surprised to learn it was by David Bowie.

#3. Come As You Are

It was the band’s second and final American top 40 hit (#32 on the Billboard Hot 100).

The band and its management company debated whether to release “Come as You Are” or “In Bloom” as a single due to Cobain’s concerns over similarity of the former to Killing Joke’s “Eighties.” After some persuasion by the management company, Cobain agreed to release “Come as You Are” as the second single because of its commercial potential. 

#2. Smells Like Teen Spirit

The unexpected success of the song propelled “Nevermind” to the top of several album charts at the beginning of 1992.

Amy Finnerty, formerly of MTV’s programming department, claimed the video “changed the entire look of MTV” by giving the channel “a whole new generation to sell to.” 

#1. Aneurysm (Live)

The studio version of the song first appeared as the B-side of the band’s breakthrough “Smells Like Teen Spirit” single in 1991.

A live version, recorded 1991 at Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, CA was released as the first promo single from the live ’96 compilation “From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah.” 

Nirvana:

Kurt Cobain – Vocals/Guitar

Krist Novoselic – Bass

Dave Grohl – Drums

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