With the release of the long-awaited Nirvana ‘With The Lights Out’ CD/DVD Box Set almost upon us, I thought it was about time I wrote a piece on my favourite band, chronicling everything from the band to the albums, the success to the failure ……. And of course, the final moments !
What Nirvana gave me was the unrivalled joy of their music, the unrivalled adoration for their front man, the unrivalled attention to rock music, and then the unrivalled sadness of ’that’ day in 1994. Every year it comes round, that day when Cobain put that shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Despite that not being my beliefs as to what happened, I wish to steer clear of that topic because I simple can’t handle it right now. Whether you like the punk edge ‘Bleach’, the epic ‘Nevermind’ or the raw ‘In Utero’, Nirvana catered for all tastes, and even the people that believe them to be over-rated, can do nothing but respect what the band did for rock music in the 90’s. As leaders of the grunge movement with the likes of Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains, Nirvana were always at the front of the pack, whether that be for their image, their music or whatever, simply put …. Nirvana are the greatest rock band of all time, and I’m proud to say that.
Dave Grohl, without doubt one of the finest drummers to ever grace the music world, had his moments with Nirvana, yet has shown his true calibre as part of the Foo Fighters. Having joined the band after a succession of other drummers had failed to meet the ‘Cobain criteria’, these including one Chad Channing, Grohl made the sticks his own, and went on to hammer out tunes from the legendary ‘Nevermind’ and ‘In Utero’ in the process. With it being a near impossibility to, at one time or another, fall out with Cobain, Grohl was threatened on more than one occasion with exclusion from the band, something that in hindsight may not have hurt him as much as it seemed. Since the ‘end’ of Nirvana, Grohl has gone on to, in his own right, be as big as Cobain, proving that not only can he hammer the skins, but is a well respected figure within the business. Hell, as much as it pains me to say it, if you discount Cobain’s media attention, then some will see Grohl as a bigger name, and one that’s gone about his business in the most professional manner possible since 1994, and that fateful day.
Aside from Grohl and Cobain, stood a huge figure of a man, and one that didn’t, as far as I’m concerned, receive half as much attention as he should have done. Krist Novoselic, now a political book writer, was by far the personality of the band, cracking jokes at
house party’s they played, bringing humour to the gigs, and all round lightening the mood from all the bad press surrounding Kurt. If ever a band were to have an unsung hero, then Novoselic was without doubt that such person. Playing as pivotal part in the success as either Cobain or Grohl, yet getting little to no attention for it, was something that he came to live with by the final years. Since the downfall of the band in 94, Novoselic has gone on to rather fall flat with attempts at starting other bands, and has decided to turn his hand to politics, with a book release due very soon.
What can I say eh, the icon for generation X, the greatest front man to ever live, the finest songwriter ever seen, the greatest man in living memory. Kurt Donald Cobain, born in to a very dysfunctional family, had to endure everything from beatings, hatred, family divorce and a hat full of other things, and that was all before his tenth birthday. A man that would write the most incredible songs ever, and give them an edge that no one else could get close too, the mother of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’….. says it all really. Marriage to that (personal opinion here) hateful b*tch Courtney Love, undoubtedly the final nail in the Cobain coffin, leaving behind a child with a dead father and a mother that is so far off the rails, its untrue. And without saying any more I will end with …………… R.I.P.
Bleach (1989) ….. Undoubtedly the most under-rated of all Nirvana’s work, Bleach fused Kurt’s influences with the first signs of his song writing talent, producing songs like the incredible ‘Sliver’. On a personal note, this is probably my least favoured Nirvana work, simple because of the punk edge it holds, not being a preference of mine. Of course many, including myself, will say that had it not been for the breakthrough that Bleach gave the band, would there have ever been the mighty success that was to follow over the next five years. Sighting bands such as the Beatles and Sonic Youth as idols, Cobain tried his hardest to convey those bands through his own work, writing to bands like Sonic Youth to ask for input into his writing. The book ‘Journals’ clearly shows Cobain’s interest in other bands, with numerous unsent letters being reported through its pages.
Nevermind (1991) ….. After 13 years I find that I’ve run out of words to describe the beauty of this, Nirvana’s second, and greatest album. Everything Cobain wanted to convey, the anger, the hate, the frustration for the world around him, comes out through the twelve tracks here. ‘Something In The Way’, the tale of Cobain’s ‘time’ living under the Wishkah river bridge, is a soothing acoustic message of frustration at not being part of a settled household, whilst watching the world simply pass him by. Reports do suggest however, that Cobain’s gave preference to In Utero over Nevermind, simply due to In Utero’s rawer production, something Cobain always favoured with his music.
Incesticide (1992) ….. Having thrown Nevermind at the world, as well as its subsequent millions upon millions of sales, Nirvana came straight back at us with Incesticide, a collection of rarities and B-sides. Without doubt there are a couple of great tunes to be found here (Sliver, Been A Son), but the majority just come across as a rush release to cash in on the previous years success. Geffen, renowned for watering Kurt for everything he was worth, seem to have just lost the plot with the pure idea of this release, one that I believe should have waited a while.
In Utero (1993) …….. If you believe reports then this is Cobain’s baby, the record he wanted, raw and in you face rock. Personal preference will always lean to Nevermind, but if this is what the mad scientist wanted, he sure got it. Of course the obvious reference will be to the epic ‘Heart Shaped Box’ and rightly so, yet there are great tracks left, right and centre. Serve The Servants and Scentless Apprentice, just to name a couple, as well as the brilliant Rape Me. Rape Me, a track that was banned in US chain ‘Wall Mart’, talks of the rape of Cobain as a person, being shed of all his thoughts and feelings by the music business.
MTV Unplugged (1994)….. Personally, the greatest single performance ever done in the history of rock. I don’t care for your Hendrix, your Beatles or your Rolling Stones, this is all about Nirvana, and more precisely, Kurt Cobain. Sat there, a real picture in his cardie perched on his rotating chair, he ran through tracks both by Nirvana and also a couple of covers by Leadbelly and Bowie. Odd thing being that the most memorably here are in fact the two covers, particularly ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night’ with it’s wailing Cobain scream, as if sucking the final life from him. Words simply loose me to describe this, with any positive word under the sun being of reasonable reference, and simply it should be the music that does the talking …. Not me.
From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah (1996) ….. With Cobain now a distant memory, the intended second part of the MTV/Muddy Banks double pack was released. A collection chosen solely by surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, undoubtedly the two best men for the job. The production is so sound that you can barely tell that the recordings are
Pictures of Nirvana
NIRVANA
in fact from differing performances, something that makes the record that bit more perfect. Where ‘MTV Unplugged’ is the emotional side of Kurt coming to play, ‘Muddy Banks’ is every bit of passion, anger and fury being thrown at you in the best way, through their music.Nirvana (2002)….. The ‘greatest hits’ package, released after a long court battle with Courtney Love, brings together the hits, along with a new, and fantastic surprise. ‘You Know You’re Right’, eventually to become one of their most talked about tunes, is another dose of Cobain anger, recorded during the final studio session that Nirvana would ever have, and also the final ‘new’ song they would ever record. The simple black cover with silver lettering, shows if you like, the man that Cobain was, simple yet effective !
Despite the drugs, the dissent and the self loathing, what Kurt Cobain was, was a lyrical genius who always got his message across, even if at first glance it made little sense. Songs like ‘Serve The Servants’, with it’s clear message that as hard as he tried to have a father, all he ever got was a dad. Wanting the father that would love him and give him the attention he so badly needed, and instead getting an abusive wreck that played more than his part in destroying Cobain’s self-thought, his mind and his soul ……..
“I tried hard to have a father, but instead I had a dad”
Quite why is still beyond me, but Cobain’s love for Courtney ‘I’ll ruin your life’ Love, made him write a song, one that would become one of the most talked about in history, Heart Shaped Box. The song is based almost exclusively around Cobain and his feelings for Love. One line says everything about how much he loved her and what length he would have gone to for her …..
“I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black”
What Nirvana were, was a band that didn’t give a f*ck if you liked them, didn’t give a f*ck if you hated them, and quite frankly didn’t give a f*ck about you. All Cobain set out to do was to get his message across, whether to a club full of 10 people, or a stadium filled with 10,000, he got it across and that’s all that mattered to him. Forgetting the odd moment of unrivalled joy, Cobain’s life was a mess, a nightmare, and one with which he made good for himself. Family abandonment, fall out with friends or arguments with Courtney, it was part and parcel of Kurt’s life, and without it that simply wouldn’t feel right. Undoubtedly two of the finest studio albums ever made in ‘Nevermind’ and ‘In Utero’, who knows what the future may have brought had it not been for the ‘incident’ in 94, but we will never know, but there’s still the memories !
Advantages: The digitally-remastered sound of Cobain's Grunge-Coda Is pure Nirvana Disadvantages: The Demons Cobain Left Behind Maintain His Estate, But Not His Vision.
29th_Candidate 06.01.2003 (07.01.2003)
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Review of Nirvana
Advantages: To suggest that "advantages" or "disadvantages" can exist for a particular band is inappropriate Disadvantages: To suggest that "advantages" or "disadvantages" can exist for a particular band is inappropriate
Ragnarok96 18.08.2004 (18.08.2004)
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Review of Nirvana
Advantages: From Savage Garden, to nirvana, a look at some of the most difinative work of our times. Somthing for everyoe here. From powerfull meaning to blaitent comedy, if you don't like at least one of these albums, then what can i do?! Disadvantages: Dispite the difinity of the work, many of the bands have had little recognition, i guess they are destined for the closet, either that or commit suicide like Nirvana's Curt Cobain.
Desolate_Cash 10.10.2002 ·
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Review of Top 10 Albums
Nov 1st, 2004
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