This Day In Rock History: November 18th – Nirvana Tapes MTV Set
On this day thirty-one years ago… Nirvana taped their MTV Unplugged segment in New York City. It was not really unplugged since frontman Kurt Cobain insisted on feeding his acoustic guitar through effects pedals and amplifiers. Brilliant, though it initially displeased the MTV execs. That was one of many issues.
Cobain’s decision to play “MTV Unplugged” was motivated by a desire maintain the connection between the band and MTV because he felt it was the top connector between Nirvana and their North American fan base.
Nirvana rehearsed for two days, at SST Rehearsal Facility in New Jersey. The sessions were difficult with the band running into problems performing various songs. MTV execs were upset about the lack of Nirvana hits.
“We’d seen the other ‘Unpluggeds’ and didn’t like many of them, because most bands would treat them like Rock shows—play their hits like it was Madison Square Garden, except with acoustic guitars,” noted drummer Dave Drohl.
During their performance Nirvana performed a handful of covers including David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World.”
The day before filming, Cobain, going through drug withdrawal, was not happy or confident with everyone worried about his performance. Regardless, it became a legendary concert in the “Unplugged” series.
The subsequent album (“Unplugged In New York”) debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and won the Best Alternative Music Performance at the1996 Grammy Awards.
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