Week 13: NIRVANA (420 to 30: A Music Retrospective)
One of the most visible and talked about bands of my youngest years in the early 90s was definitely Nirvana. My parents had their cassettes and t-shirts and even as a little kid I knew it was atypical for a naked baby to be on the front of one of those. And In Utero, well, I was not sure what to think of that one at five years-old. More than the artwork though, the music has stuck with me over the years and Nirvana continues to be one of the most celebrated groups of their era of grunge, despite how short singer/songwriter Kurt Cobain's life was cut.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Here's 7 of my favorites from Nirvana.
Week 13: NIRVANA
#085/420 - Nirvana, “Heart-Shaped Box”
“She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnet tar-pit trap
I wish I could eat your Cancer when you turn black”
Kurt Cobain’s lyrics express a good deal of seemingly inescapable sadness and within a year of completing this song, he killed himself. Why?
He called himself an “emasculated, infantile complainer” in his final letter, but what made him feel that way? What permeated his core to make that feeling of worthlessness unbearable?
Maybe a box is heart-shaped, but a box is a box, trapped is trapped. People kill themselves when there’s no way out. That's their call, not ours. People are falling all around us everyday, trapped in their own boxes. Lonely people, but husbands and wives too, children and friends. Are you adorning their boxes into coffins, or are you helping them smash their way out? Whose hand will you grab before they fall?
If they want to get away with it, they’re not going to announce it ahead of time.
We ask people contemplating suicide to ask for help, call this number, message this group, but how often is it too late by then? And isn’t that a bit audacious? “You do it. Help yourself. You belong in this category.”
How about — have compassion in the first place. There are many sad people with sad lives full of sad outcomes like you can’t even imagine. A momentary lack of compassion in their life, whether you realize it or not, could be the edge for them. What are you projecting to the world and those in your life? Have compassion towards everyone and help those who are trapped. You have to pay attention, and you may get tricked or rejected sometimes, but sometimes that’s what it takes to save a life. Like it or not, acknowledge it or not, we are very much responsible for the happiness of those around us. Our behavior and attitudes towards each other can genuinely be life and death for some. A person is not born wanting to die, we’re programmed very specifically not to. Only experience can take you there. Make life a good experience for those in your life, especially the ones you love. Isolate even the otherwise luckiest person in the world in a cage for long enough, and eventually they’ll find a way to snap their neck between the bars.
If you’re reading this as someone who may be considering suicide or have considered it before, let me say in no uncertain terms that there is nothing wrong with you. Most of us are unlucky, many of us feel sad, many of us are lost. If you think death sounds better than your miserable life, who can blame you? It’s bullshit and feeling like shit all the time sucks. Overall, it won’t get better. Sure, there will be joy, but you already know that. Your issue is that waiting around for that joy is not worth the overwhelming hurt that comes in all the meantime. Someone may come along to change that for you. They may be someone just like you. You may be the only one alive who can understand what they’ve been through. When they arrive in your life, will you be there to meet them? Maybe give them a chance by giving yourself that chance. It might not come, but this is what you got. A better love may find you. See what happens.
You have nothing to prove, only curiosity to fulfill. Overcoming this may be what it takes.
Rest in peace, Kurt.
#086/420 - Nirvana, “Lake of Fire”
“MTV Unplugged” apparently does still exist, but most of us will remember it best from the 90s when a lot of big musicians at the time were part of it, playing acoustic/stripped-down sets of their songs. Nirvana’s show happened not long before Kurt’s death and this became his and Nirvana’s first posthumous album. As such, it also spawned several hit singles, this being one of five.
It’s a cover of a song by the Meat Puppets, who in-part join Nirvana on this track and two others.
Nowadays, I know some of you think I am headed for a lake of fire as well. Well, I think it’s about as likely that I am headed for Hogwarts. So I guess I’ll just see you again on the 4th of July.
#087/420 - Nirvana, “Lounge Act”
Not one of their big hits from their biggest album, but one of my favorites from Nevermind to play.
#088/420 - Nirvana, “Lithium”
There are many contenders for Nevermind’s greatest song. The start of this album is like a "Best of" from the group. “Come As You Are”, “In Bloom”, and, of course, one of the 90s’ most identifiable songs, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, all make a strong case, but this song about (imaginary) friends is the winner for me. “I’m so happy because today I’ve found my friends. They’re in my head.” is my favorite opening line from Nirvana.
One criticism of this album and Nirvana in general is that they could be a little formulaic with their composition construction, and that does make some of these songs, like “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, wear on you a bit when you hear them two-thousand times, but as a united piece, it really is one of the best of its time and is well worth coming back to after all these years.
#089/420 - Nirvana, “The Man Who Sold the World”
Last week we had Jimi Hendrix doing Bob Dylan; this week it’s Kurt Cobain doing David Bowie. And here again, I prefer the cover.
The type of energy Nirvana adds to this song is similar to what The Jimi Hendrix Experience added to “All Along the Watchtower”. Though not as bombastic, it is heavier. The vocals are harsher, the guitars are harsher, and the result is something that cuts into you and sticks with you more.
Always one of my favorite Nirvana songs, even before I knew it was a cover of David Bowie, it’s another great union of the talents of two rock legends.
(The music wrote for the ending montage of The Amateur Monster Movie is partially inspired by this song too.)
#090/420 - Nirvana, “About a Girl”
One of Nirvana’s earliest songs appearing on their first album is a little less grunge and a little more R.E.M./Beatles, as described by Cobain. The result is one of their best, the kind of song you could bob your head to with a can of cheap beer outside of the garage where it’s being performed live by that band you really think could make it big one day.
Of course, I think this is a little more Flaming Lips than either R.E.M. or The Beatles. (cough it sounds exactly like the beginning of “Bag Full of Thoughts” from 5 years earlier cough)
But even if Nirvana did borrow a lot of their sound from pre-existing 80s bands like The Flaming Lips, The Pixies, etc. Sometimes, you’re just the right band at the right time to become huge, and it’s hardly a knock at the group’s talent. At the end of the day, there’s no such thing as true originality, so you may as well be bold with what inspires you. Even as a huge Flaming Lips fan, I do think “About a Girl” is the better song. Just like I prefer “Fight Test” to “Father and Son”, but we could go down an endless rabbit hole of who copied who and probably find the dawn of music was just some neolithic human copying from a canary.
This is also one of the best songs from the year I was born. So thank you Kurt Cobain and Nirvana for contributing to making the 80s a little less cheesy.
#091/420 - Nirvana, “All Apologies”
“What else can I be? All apologies…”
My favorite from Nirvana is a song that really showcases their ability at its peak in my opinion. I think this is Kurt Cobain’s best composition. It jumps between low key grooving and a crashing force, mirroring the words and emotion behind it. The cello is a nice touch and I think Krist Novoselic kills it on the bass too. The crunchy grind at the end is one of my favorite basslines in any rock song. Also, Dave Grohl, gotta mention him, haven’t mentioned him yet. Great drummer.
This may be the best song to come out of the grunge era and is a fitting swan song for Kurt Cobain before his untimely death as the final track on Nirvana’s last release in his lifetime.
Sometimes there’s nothing to apologize for, but the world can make you feel that way.
Shine on.
Next week, 27 month continues and so does the tragedy. For a period of time, this was my favorite band. Untold hours of my life have been spent listening to Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Jim Morrison and what a damn shame Jim died so young. Six of the best psychedelic rock albums of all time in only 5 years, it’s The Doors.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Week 2: The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
Week 3: A Tribe Called Quest
Week 4: Weezer
Week 5: Bob Dylan
Week 6: Led Zeppelin
Week 7: 2Pac/Makaveli
Week 8: Billy Joel
Week 9: Electric Light Orchestra
Week 10: Elvis Presley
Week 11: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band
Week 12: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
View the full list of "420 Songs" here: https://tinyurl.com/y8fboudu (Google spreadsheet link)
Aaah, finally, i’ve been waiting for this post since you wrote about Weezer. Great post dude! Really made my day! Makes me want to play Nirvana unplugged over and over again
Excellent, very glad for that! I love to hear the feedback.
Oh you sly dog you! Nice link to the new vimeo for Amateur Monster Movie! When are you going to post about some of that awesome material we worked so hard on over the years?
I hooked up to Vimeo with my gmail account, and I was wondering if we might consider doing a special promotion on Steem for TAMM coming up in October, I know that I want to watch again, its been a few years. So how about it, we could sell access for steem or SBD, then maybe give them an access code?
What do you think?!
Yeah, we can definitely do a Steem promotion, sounds like a good idea.
Dude, awesome picks, I have most, some even on vinyl...
Right in the middle of all the rocking out you truly hit on something that everyone needs to hear and pay attention too
That is a tidbit that especially parents need to pick up on, don't wait to reach out. Because when they really need the help, they may not ask. So don't wait until it's too late.
Sorry dude, it was an awesome post that just struck a chord with me for some reason.
Thank you very much. And I appreciate you drawing attention to that part of what I wrote as well. Even as seemingly innocuous a thought or expression as "ugh just kill me" or "I wish I was dead!" over the years I have gotten introspective on. Why did I think that? What triggered that response within me and what could make it worsen? I realize that by the time those thoughts could build into action I have probably had so many "I wish I was dead" moments that as a true desire it would be hard to stop me, or anyone. And if I were to threaten to take my life and perhaps not mean it and hope to be discovered and helped instead, why would I want that? I think in that case it's a want for love and attention. And perhaps actually doing it is when you give up on that possibility, true or not.
These may be selfish, unhealthy thoughts, but a lot of people fall victim to them. I think they are natural responses to repeated bad luck and/or misfortune/negativity that is often beyond one's control. To some degree it may be impossible to eliminate suicide, and wanting to stop everyone from doing it may be as selfish as wanting to do it yourself, but I think I decided that no one thinks to kill themselves in a moment when they feel truly loved, and so perhaps it is as simple as everyone being more loving to one another. We don't need an escape from love. By then perhaps incurable suffering from disease would be the only reason to wish death. Life is very short, but beauty exists to remind each other of! Enjoy the gift.
Cheers, friend!
Even more beautiful words, and I agree, we never want to escape from love. Much is a cry for help or the need for attention, I really see both as the same desire. The desire to be loved, appreciated, needed or the lack of it drive much of the human condition.
Have a wonderful day my friend.
Hi jozefkrichards,
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