Nirvana vs. Killing Joke

Wary of the similarity between "Come as You Are" and English post-punk band Killing Joke's 1984 single Eighties, Nirvana and its management were unsure about releasing the song as the second single from Nevermind. Danny Goldberg, head of Nirvana's management Gold Mountain, later revealed that "[w]e couldn't decide between 'Come as You Are' and 'In Bloom.' Kurt was nervous about 'Come as You Are' because it was too similar to a Killing Joke song . . . but we all thought it was still the better song to go with. And, he was right, Killing Joke later did complain about it."[6] Nirvana biographer Everett True writes that "Come as You Are" was eventually chosen for release as a single because "Goldberg favoured the more obviously commercial song".[7]

Although members of Killing Joke claimed the main guitar riff of "Come As You Are" plagiarized the riff of "Eighties", the band did not file a copyright infringement lawsuit, which Rolling Stone magazine attributes to "personal and financial reasons".[6] However, conflicting reports state that Killing Joke did file a lawsuit but that it was thrown out of court,[8] or that it was dropped following Cobain's death.[9] Geordie Walker, Killing Joke's guitar player, said that the band was "very pissed off about that, but it's obvious to everyone. We had two separate musicologists' reports saying it was. Our publisher sent their publisher a letter saying it was and they went 'Boo, never heard of ya!', but the hysterical thing about Nirvana saying they'd never heard of us was that they'd already sent us a Christmas card!"[10]

shouldve added the damned to the poll :(

It has since been pointed out by The Big Takeover magazine's Jack Rabid that Captain Sensible's "Life Goes On", recorded by The Damned for the 1982 Strawberries album, features the "exact same, extremely unique riff" as both "Eighties" and "Come as You Are".[11]

lol corky

n e way nirvana > killing joke

WHY DO PEOPLE REQUEST FOR EMBEDDING TO BE DISABLED FFS

Because they are stupid assholes.

the cure, "the holy hour"

I've often wondered if there is any kind of story involving Young Fresh Fellows covering "Life Goes On" for Another Damned Seattle Compilation shortly after Nevermind came out.

Influencing each other or commenting, or coincidence.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

nirvana > killing joke
eighties > CAYA

"Come As You Are". Alex In NYC will not agree though ;)

I like Killing Joke better than Nirvana but "Eighties" is nowhere near as good as "Come As You Are"

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Now that's just silly.

Rarity: Geir acknowledges the existance of another ILX name!

"Come as You Are" is, was and e're shall be: UTTER CRAP. Nirvana had their moments, but they are slavishly overrated beyond all semblance of reason. They're not even fit to be mentioned in the same sentence as Killing Joke. You know it. I know it. Kurt knew it. Dave Grohl certainly knows it.

:B

oh man that post before the bump is probably my favorite AlexinNYC rage post ever

He's right, of course.