The sound of Nirvana

This was *really* good, aside from the occasional div talking about ‘rock bands today’ and rolling his eyes. Had no idea about the gig in a pub in Edinburgh

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000zx9h

nice home video footage of the row of shops near Brook Green W6 as well, and the old Dome Cafe that i used to walk past. also mention of...

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kebab+Machine/@51.4979246,-0.2225199,3a,75y,242.29h,91.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sD3LEZXQKB0VT0iHPOUYOog!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x48760fc618c8cb97:0x506c69141f3c6063!8m2!3d51.4978686!4d-0.2227072

i was at the Reading festival that first year but remember nothing about it. Babes in Toyland i remember and Chapterhead who played immediately after and i sure i would've remembered them doing Kiss Molly's Lips at the very least but nothing...

Chapterhouse, surely.

happy birthday to "drain you" the best song on nevermind :)

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

on the same note, also happy 25th anniversary to 1991 dave grohl!

Listening to lots of live Nirvana today has reaffirmed that “School” absolutely f-ing destroys every time.

NO RECESS

That Azzerad article is the first I've heard of Kurt having any problems with Grohl's drumming, that's kind of fascinating.

Krist is such a cringey prick in old interviews, such a try hard and not remotely funny

Kurt's dissatisfaction started when he realized all Grohl's fills were stolen from the Gap Band.

lol
Chicka chicka chicka

Kurt more of a Brick man.

That Azzerad article is really sad. His book on Nirvana is a pretty bad, record-company-approved version of everything, and he pretty much admits that in the New Yorker piece. Sounds like he could write a great book about it all now, though.

That Azzerad article is the first I've heard of Kurt having any problems with Grohl's drumming, that's kind of fascinating.

From Grohl and others, Cobain whiplashed back and forth between praising and shitting all over Grohl's drumming. In the beginning he was thrilled, but eventually Cobain started complaining and I think Grohl himself recalled Cobain asking him directly to play more like Dale Crover or at least bringing Crover up as an example of what he wanted to hear. (I don't think Crover ever got complaints from Cobain because he was with them for a very short time.) But I think Grohl also said that before he died, Cobain told Grohl to his face that he was great.

Would imagine Kurt would have deferred to Crover being he was such a fan of the Melvins

Also '91 Crover was sick

Yeah, what little I've heard (or rather what exists) of the Crover "era" is pretty awesome.

I believe Kurt was particularly upset with Grohl’s inability to play quietly when they were getting ready for the unplugged thing. Grohl had never had any reason to play quietly before, and ultimately had to use Hot Rods* instead of regular sticks for the performance/filming.

*Hot Rods are thin wooden dowels bundled together, sort of a happy medium between sticks and brushes. And watching Unplugged, Grohl looks a little stiff and uncomfortable, struggling to keep his volume down even with the Hot Rods.

Indeed I’m surprised to learn KC was dissatisfied with DG’s drumming.

The story as I remember it (from some oral history?) was that the *producer* wanted Grohl to play quieter, and he/she was worried he would bristle at the Hot Rods. But supposedly Grohl was totally cool with them.

I think any problem Cobain had with Grohl was perhaps reflective of his own ambiguous/contradictory feelings toward fame and being slick. That is, I can totally imagine Cobain thinking Grohl was *too good*, the same way Pearl Jam more or less axed Dave Abruzzese for the same reason, replacing him with the conspicuously less slick Jack Irons (before of course eventually making their way back to the most obvious choice, Chamberlain, who is a killer drummer with chops). Cobain probably recognized Grohl as the one keeping it all together, which on any given night/mood could be good or bad, depending on what degree of self destruction Cobain was tilting toward.

Coletti: The week of the show, (Grohl’s powerful style) was still in my mind. And I ran to Sam Ash and got him some Hot Rods, Sizzle Sticks, and brushes. You know, little things that would lighten his touch. And it was close enough to Christmas that I put Christmas paper on it and I walked in. I didn’t know Dave well at all. I just handed them to him sheepishly because, you know, I’m gonna be an asshole. I said, “Merry Christmas,” and he opens it up and he’s like, “Cool, I’ve never had these before.” That was it. He walked away.

https://www.theringer.com/music/2018/11/14/18087878/nirvana-unplugged-oral-history-kurt-cobain

Huh, I thought I’d read that Kurt insisted on the Hot Rods. But I think (and this is just pure conjecture on my part) that Kurt was heading to a similar place that Paul Westerberg had been; that is, the new stuff he was writing may not have been particularly suited to his drummer’s strengths/abilities.

If grohl wouldn’t have used those sticks ( or brushes or bongos or whatever) he would have sounded hilarious banging out everything at max volume

If grohl wouldn’t have used those sticks ( or brushes or bongos or whatever) he would have sounded hilarious banging out everything at max volume

LMAO

just wanna chime in and say ums otm, it is hard to watch Kris in old interviews.

all 3 of them, really, but especially him. it's kind of a bummer now that there are so many goofy interviews (often instigated by Kris) when it'd be nice to have more thoughtful answers from Kurt.

Grohl says Kurt had a bit of a gripe with him about the drums being too loud, in the doc that comes with the Unplugged BluRay. He was in a bad mood all told; there had been some altercation with a fan outside beforehand or something. Still in the actual gig he’s pretty upbeat; I love the grin when someone shouts out ‘Kumbaya’ and the good-natured “I was *waiting* for that..” when the obligatory shout goes up for ‘Freebird’, plus his light ribbing of Pat Smear for his love of Queen. Jolly good bants all round.

So.. book-wise neither Heavier Than Heaven nor Come As You Are is much good? I know the Everett True book generally gets the side-eye from fans.

all 3 of them, really, but especially him. it's kind of a bummer now that there are so many goofy interviews (often instigated by Kris) when it'd be nice to have more thoughtful answers from Kurt.

― alpine static, Friday, September 24, 2021 5:57 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah the group interviews always devolve into sarcastic nonsense, he was better by himself in interviews

I mean Krist was dumb enough to turn into a libertarian so

As far as the sound of Nirvana tho the overdriven bass sound on Breed is so phat

i rewatched the unplugged episode on youtube bc of this discussion and idk i feel like grohl is visibly playing with a light touch even with the hot rods, at least until "where did you sleep last night" where he is suddenly hitting the snare mega hard but i imagine he's responding to the immensity of the vibe in that room during that song

idk maybe he got it together last minute, i really enjoy all the "the rehearsals were disasters but the taping was perfect" stories about this moment

"where did you sleep last night" is doom metal btw

Kind of interesting - Butch Vig is answering questions on the Nirvana twitter account now.

If I listen to Nevermind at all, it's the second side. "On a Plain" is a world-historic jam. American singers don't often flirt with camp as well as Cobain does with his lyrics and vocal approach here: I love myself better than you/I know it's hard but when can I dooooo.

Of the three books I thought ET did by far the best one, but that’s probably just me.

krist is one of the ultimate right place right time guys

I know the Everett True book generally gets the side-eye from fans.

I really, really loved ET's book. Easily my favourite Nirvana book.

I really enjoyed True's book as well. The only other Cobain biog I (half) read was by Christopher Sandford, and that was awful.

Reading that New Yorker piece reminds me that I was at that Roseland show.

I was taking notes, the wall of the raised former stage and now VIP section (the first time I saw a show there was Sonic Youth and they played on that stage) was at my back, as I reviewed the show and suddenly I was getting wet. I looked up and there was Courtney Love spilling beer on me.

I asked why and she said "I hate writers."

Then while kneeling down to talk to me, she introduced me to "a writer I don't hate," Everett True for reasons I cannot fathom.

I actually met him a night or two before at another CMJ Convention show. It was at Brownie's, maybe. I was near the front and there was a table there that was very wobbly. For some reason I decided to put my bag of CMJ goodies on it. That act alone shifted the weight of the table so dramatically that it caused a beer someone placed on it to slide off and break against the wooden floor.

The owner of the beer was Everett True. And he was pissed (not British pissed, drunk; he evidently wanted to get British pissed and wasn't yet, so he was instead angry pissed) and demanded I purchase him a replacement. This would have been the correct protocol but I was a broke-ass metal "critic" and I literally had a Subway token to get me back to Brooklyn after the show. I literally showed him my empty wallet but he was unrelenting. Fortunately for me Steve Holtje, a friend and copy-editor at Creem who I wrote for at the time, took pity on my and bought the lush a beer for me.

So anyway, I shake his hand while Courtney Love smiles down on me.

"We've met."

hahahahah

Well, it’s a stark memory, if not a pleasant one.

speaking of their behavior in interviews, here's one i haven't seen before, from way back in January of 1990, when they still were excited to be interviewed / took interviews somewhat seriously / weren't tired of doing interviews, etc. both Kurt and Krist actually answer the questions, though you can see Future Interview Krist bubbling under the surface:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__8UDylv7WU

awesome video
it's amazing how much changed, so quickly. they seem excited to be asked

Omg

Interesting to hear Kurt unironically refer Nirvana as a "grunge rock band"

somehow I don't even remember where I saw this 12 hours ago, but wherever it was said it was the band's first-ever recorded interview. doubly cool, if so.

Interesting to hear Chad describe their sound (and future direction) as “heavy pop”

thread inspired to dig into the non-singles from in utero, what a good band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-AtW4wfnDE

*inspired me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0d2f_EqXNc

just heavy as fuck, its crazy that this is like the most popular rock band from the last 30 years

I love In Utero and the non-singles are crucial - they provide so much of the catharsis that made that album a singular achievement. (For the same reason, there's no way they'd ever become radio hits.)

I love those two songs so much. That was actually the Nirvana album that I really connected with. I liked Nevermind but not as much as Badmotorfinger and actually tired of it after a while at the time (to buy it again years later). In Utero fit right in with the noise-rock and post-hardcore stuff I was listening to by 94-95. Re popularity, iirc, it sold less than half of what Nevermind did? I didn't think Nirvana were as popular as Pearl Jam at the time - have they overtaken them retrospectively? (Green Day?) It certainly sold more than most other records with tracks like those, though, many times what the best-selling Sonic Youth album sold even.