Teenage angst has paid off well / Now I'm bored and POLLed: The ILM Nirvana poll results thread (Poll #69)

Now this one I actually like better than I used to. Kurt's performance of it on "Unplugged" is almost unbearably raw - unexpectedly made me cry the other night when I listened for the first time in years.

Come as You Are is the one Nevermind single I haven't ever gone through a phase of being fed up of.

xxxpost:

Yeah, 'Drain You' just hasn't withstood repeated listens for me in the same way as a lot of other Nirvana tracks have. I've quite possibly, at this stage, listened to In Utero far more than I ever have Nevermind, but I still don't feel tired of the majority of the material on there, there's really only 'Heart-Shaped Box' that I find myself getting a bit "meh" over, but I can listen to it just fine in the context of the album while never ever feeling like listening to it in isolation.

On Nevermind stuff like 'Breed', 'Lounge Act' and 'On a Plain' have withstood repeated listens for me, but 'Drain You' is definitely one of those that I feel like skipping these days.

I'm actually kinda glad that 'Come As You Are' hasn't placed in the Top 10. Don't get me wrong, I liked it as much as anyone else did when I first heard it - same with all of the Nevermind singles - and I think the bass sound on it in particular is wonderful, but it's got to the point now with those tracks where I'm like "oh great, this song again..."

i can't believe anyone would vote for smells like teen spirit

I think it was #15 on my ballot

Another recap:

TIE 40. Floyd the Barber
TIE 40. Molly's Lips
TIE 38. Sifting
TIE 38. I Hate Myself and Want to Die
37. tourette's
36. The Man Who Sold the World
35. Stay Away
34. Territorial Pissings
33. Swap Meet
32. Rape Me
31. Blew

30. Love Buzz
29. Polly
28. Something in the Way
27. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
26. Milk It
25. Negative Creep
24. Sappy
23. Been a Son
22. Very Ape
21. Dive

20. Scentless Apprentice
19. Pennyroyal Tea
18. Where Did You Sleep Last Night
17. Lounge Act
16. Come as You Are

Will pick things up again tomorrow for the top 15, hoping to start a bit earlier.

xpost:

I didn't vote for it, obvs.

Gonna change the 'sifting' pic?

Would love to but have no mod powers!

XP to Turrican - Nevermind foregrounds its hooks so effectively that it's easier to wear out than some of their other records. In Utero camouflages its hooks almost as well, which is why it's a lot harder to hear as the difficult follow up/the noise record 20 years after the fact. Its tunes sneak up on you.

I agree there - apart from maybe three tracks it's just as tuneful as Nevermind.

I haven't read as much about its creation as I should. were the hooks in the demos? How much help did Butch Vig provide?

'Even In His Youth' isn't gonna place I guess. Same goes for 'Do Re Mi' and 'Marigold'

Yeah, In Utero is definitely a very tuneful record, IMO... 'Milk It' is probably the most "difficult" thing on there.

Shit, I missed Dive getting rolled out. I was another #2 for that one. Came across this post on a courtney love fan tumblr not long ago. I can't find it's source anywhere, but it sure as hell scans like real Courtney.

http://fuckyeahcourtneylove.com/post/132194489676/little-known-fact-kurt-loathed-dive-listen-to

lol Drain You is my #2, never got sick of it. Smells Like Teen Spirit #3 too.
all this knee-jerk hate for the Nevermind tracks feels too cool for school.

Dive was my #3; incredible tune

Come as You Are is the one Nevermind single I haven't ever gone through a phase of being fed up of.

Agreed

not voting for the hits = NOT POPULIST

Spirit of ILX weeps

I didn't vote. I should've voted. Negative Creep is way too low.

"Negative Creep" is one of the 2 Bleach songs I voted for, definitely works for me as the apex of their early aggro side.

"Sappy" was in my top 5 and is the one I'm not disappointed didn't place higher here. i remember hearing it on the radio and being so bowled over, like holy shit, they just put out an album and they didn't put this on it, what the hell is this?

the one i'm MOST disapppointed etc

I didn't vote. I should've voted.

I'm backing Aneurysm to win this.

x-post....Yes, the Nevermind contempt is kinda goofy.

Lounge Act was my #4. When the album first came out, it was the one that made me realize that this was an alltime great rock album. How many records have songs this great buried in the middle of side 2? It's catchier than 99.9% of most people's best.

"Dive" my #2, had "Milk It" at #4 and kinda surprised it didn't place higher. It's always been my In Utero deep cut of choice - the way he screams "your place is still here/in my place of recovery" at the end is blood-curdling

"your scent is still here" that is

'Negative Creep' was my #1, and I'm just happy it's in the top 25.

Never understood the love for "Negative Creep," it's maybe the worst song on the three studio albums IMO

Sounds like a meth trucker fart

Didn't vote in this, I don't know the catalog well enough past Nevermind/In Utero and the covers, but super-happy "Sappy" placed high, I have loved this one forever (and only just now learned it was not called "Verse Chorus Verse")

"Milk It" for me, probably along with "Scentless", is where the Jesus Lizard/Albini influenced dynamics really come off for me, as a way for the band to 'rock' in a less straightahead way from Nevermind. Basically a greater emphasis on the rhythm section + stratchy guitar

What I don't like so much = Tourette's, Rape Me etc - filler to me. Dare I say more filler than Nevermind.

At this point, "School" is the only remaining random wildcard choice. If it somehow didn't make it, "Do Re Mi" might still have a shot.

This is kind of great - apparently the kids didn't hear "difficult follow-up" or "noise record" in '93 either:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlNVrggW4A4

Nah, only the suits heard noise. The fans loved it.

"Lounge Act" my #1. their closest attempt to a dance song? I feel myself kicker dancing to it, it's a country dance song. at the time the line was that Nevermind was "Beatlesque" and this was the song where I heard that the clearest, until it's fucking gone.

Nah, only the suits heard noise. The fans loved it.

I mean, it sold less than half of what Nevermind sold, right?

Fans and critics loved it, sure, but something wasn't clicking the same way with the general public, surely.

15 million sold is not at all bad otoh.

It's not, and I might have overstated things earlier, but it was a definite drop for them. I think that it did strike me as having more in common with a lot of the other noisy punkish stuff I was listening to than it did with most rock albums that were selling on that scale at the time. I didn't mean to suggest that they put out a Cecil Taylor record or anything.

Was also curious about what other tracks from In Utero would have been singles and had videos - I always assumed 'Dumb' was a definite contender.

According to Wikipedia, other than 'Heart-Shaped Box,' these indeed were released:

"All Apologies" / "Rape Me"
Released: December 6, 1993
"Pennyroyal Tea"
Released: April 1994 (cancelled)
April 19, 2014 (re-released)

Discogs only lists the 'Pennyroyal Tea', however. I wonder if videos were planned, and then maybe cancelled?

Really enjoying this countdown, wish I'd known about it to vote

which are the 4 different versions of Sappy referred to upthread plz?

I know, I only know of two.

1986 - 1988 Cobain residence Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings (2015)
January, 1990 Reciprocal Recording Jack Endino Sliver: The Best of the Box (2005)
April, 1990 Smart Studios Butch Vig Nevermind (deluxe) (2011)
May, 1991 Sound City Studios Butch Vig Unreleased
February, 1993 Pachyderm Studio Steve Albini No Alternative (1993), With the Lights Out (2004), In Utero (deluxe) (2013)

I think it was understood that the unplugged "All Apologies" was In Utero's 2nd video, and they had no plans to shoot another.

I mean, it sold less than half of what Nevermind sold, right?

Makes sense to me. About half of Nevermind's sales were bought by people who probably only listened to the singles. aka not really fans.

was it a New Jersey then? i'm sure someone's asked this already on the NJ thread.

no. everyone remembers "Heart-Shaped Box"

http://i.imgur.com/30rTHJM.jpg

15. School
474 points, 23 votes