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NEVERMIND
Spring is here again, tender age in bloom, he knows not what it means, sell the kids for food, we can have some more The water is so yellow, I'm a healthy student, you're my vitamins Take your time, hurry up, the choice is yours, don't be late And just maybe I'm to blame for all I've heard but I'm not sure, I'm so excited I can't wait to meet you there but I don't care I don't care if it's old, I don't mind if I don't have a mind, get away from your home Have to have poison skin, give an inch take a smile Never met a wise man, if so it's a woman, gotta find a way to find a way, I had better wait One more special message to go, as defense I'm neutered and spayed, what the hell am I trying to say? I got so high that I scratched till I bled The second coming came in last and out of the closet At the end of the rainbow and your rope Don't hurt yourself, I want some help to help myself, she's just as bored as me I've got this friend you see, who makes me feel, I don't regret a thing And the animals I've trapped have all become my pets Our little group has always been and always will until the end, with the lights out it's less dangerous, here we are now, entertain us, I feel stupid and contagious, here we are now entertain us, a mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido, yay, yay, a denial, I'm worse at what I do best and for this gift I feel blessed, I found it hard, it was hard to find, oh well, whatever, nevermind
Kurt's note inside Incesticide
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A while ago, I found myself in bloody exhaust grease London again with an all-consuming urge to hunt for two rare things: back issues of NME rumored to be secretly hidden in glass casings and submerged in the fry vats of every kebab machine in the U.K. and the very-out-of-print first Raincoats LP.
The NME search was a clever, saucy upstart of an attempt to be, uh, nasty. However, the Lord and Julian Cope himself know how we need, need, need the NME to embrace the unifying hands of our children across this big blue marble and NIRVANA's tarty musical career. So please bless us again - we'll forever feed off of your high-calorie boggy turbinates.
In an attempt to satisfy the second part of my quest, I went to the Rough Trade shop and of course, found no Raincoats record in the bin. I then asked the woman behind the counter about it and she said "well, it happens that I'm neighbors with Anna (member of the Raincoats) and she works at an antique shop just a few miles from here." So she drew me a map and I started on my way to Anna's.
Sometime later, I arrived at this elfin shop filled with something else I've compulsively searched for over the past few years - really old fucked up marionette-like wood carved dolls (quite a few hundred years old). Lots of them... I've fantasized about finding a ship filled with so many. They wouldn't accept my credit card but the dolls were way too expensive anyway. Anna was there, however, so I politely introduced myself with a fever- red face and explained the reason for my intrusion. I can remember her boss almost setting me on fire with his glares. She said "well, I may have a few lying around so, if I find one, I'll send it to you (very polite, very English)." I left feeling like a dork, like I had violated her space, like she probably thought my band was tacky.
A few weeks later I received a vinyl copy of that wonderfully classic scripture with a personalized dust sleeve covered with xeroxed lyrics, pictures, and all the member's signatures. There was also a touching letter from Anna. It made me happier than playing in front of thousands of people each night, rock-god idolization from fans, music industry plankton kissing my ass, and the million dollars I made last year. It was one of the few really important things that I've been blessed with since becoming an untouchable boy genius.
It was as rewarding as touring with Shonen Knife and watching people practically cry with joy at their honesty. It made people happy and it made me happy knowing that I had helped bring them to the U.K.
It was as rewarding as the last Vaselines show in Edinburgh. They reformed just to play with us in their home town, probably having no idea how exciting and flattering it was for us (and how nervous we were to meet them).
It was as rewarding as being asked to support Sonic Youth on two tours, totally being taken under their wing and being showed what dignity really means.
It was as rewarding as the drawings Daniel Johnson sent me, or the Stinky Puffs single from Jad Fair's son, or playing on the same bill as Greg Sage in L.A., or being asked to help produce the next Melvins record, or being on the Wipers' compilation, or Thor from T.K. giving me a signed first edition of Naked Lunch, or making a friend like Stephen Pavlovic - our Australian tour promoter who sent me a Mazzy Star LP on vinyl, or playing "The Money Will Roll Right In" with Mudhoney, or having the power to insist on bringing Bjorn Again to the Reading Festival, or being able to afford to bring my friend Ian along on tour just to have a good time, or paying Calamity Jane five-thousand dollars to be heckled by twenty thousand macho boys in Argentina, or asking my friends Fits of Depression to play with us at the Seattle Coliseum, or playing with Poison Idea at a No On Nine benefit in Portland organized by Gus Van Zandt, or being a part of one of L7's pro- choice benefits in L.A., or kissing Chris and Dave on Saturday Night Live just to spite homophobes, or meeting Iggy Pop, or playing with The Breeders, Urge Overkill, the T.V. Personalities, The Jesus Lizard, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., etc.
While all these things are very special, none were half as rewarding as having a baby with a person who is the supreme example of dignity, ethics and honesty. My wife challenges injustice and the reason her character has been so severely attacked is because she chooses not to function the way the white corporate man insists. His rules for women involve her being submissive, quiet, and non-challenging. When she doesn't follow his rules, the threatened man (who, incidentally, owns an army of devoted traitor women) gets scared.
A big "fuck you" to those of you who have the audacity to claim that I'm so naive and stupid that I would allow myself to be taken advantage of and manipulated.
I don't feel the least bit guilty for commercially exploiting a completely exhausted Rock youth Culture because, at this point in rock history, Punk Rock (while still sacred to some) is, to me, dead and gone. We just wanted to pay tribute to something that helped us to feel as though we had crawled out of the dung heap of conformity. To pay tribute like an Elvis or Jimi Hendrix impersonator in the tradition of a bar band. I'll be the first to admit that we're the 90's version of Cheap Trick or the Knack but the last to admit that it hasn't been rewarding.
At this point I have a request for our fans. If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of different color, or woman, please do this one favor for us - leave us the fuck alone! Don't come to our shows and don't buy our records.
Last year, a girl was raped by two wastes of sperm and eggs while they sang the lyrics to our song "Polly". I have a hard time carrying on knowing there are plankton like that in our audience. Sorry to be so anally P.C. but that's the way I feel.
love,
Kurdt (the blond one)
Hormoaning Liner Notes
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Note: As you may or may not know, the liner notes to Hormoaning are in Japanese (or some form of it).
This was posted to the HSMB and it was translated by someone named Nate.
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In Billboard, the magazine published December 14, 1991, Nevermind was #6 in the CD hit ranking and the single Smells Like Teen Spirit was #23 in the single ranking. Nirvana used to be described as the hopeful band from Seattle before they produced the first record. However, Nirvana is now one of the most popular bands in the US. The music they play doesn't stick to any formalities and leads heavy metal in the new generation, therefore it is called Alternative Heavy Rock. I will neither write more details about Alternative Heavy Rock, nor investigate their music from professional eyes. Anyway, all I can say is that the music of Nirvana influences a lot of teenagers today.
Nirvana's commercial success is the biggest mystery in the music scene. I don't want you to misunderstand. I didn't say Nirvana did not have enough ability to get "Platinum Disk prize", but nobody could expect they would be such a famous band. The reason people think Nirvana's success is a mystery is that Geffen (the record label that Nirvana and some other popular bands - such as Guns N' Roses - belong to), sold only a few Nevermind at first but a lot of young people bought it and Nirvana got big money even then. But I think Nirvana themselves are very surprised about this incident. Actually,I had a chance to interview Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) during English concert tours (their supporting acts were their favorite groups, Shonen Knife and Captain America, by the way). He said the following:
"I didn't expect we would be so famous. I didn't even expect that our CD would be in the top 100 ranking in Billboard. You see, we had been in Europe before the great fuss. I don't want to relate with this fuss because I hate that a lot of fans are waiting for us at the airport."
Kurt Cobain seemed like he was saying "Don't lose your mind" to himself during the interview. (personal opinion) Maybe they know a lot of musicians who lost their thoughts and became the toy of mass media. So Kurt Cobain is protecting himself before he goes the same way. Nirvana will come to Japan pretty soon so that you will be able to understand what I am trying to say. Because they will come to Japan, I will advise you about their concert. First thing I have to tell is that the concert is always unsociable. And also they are easily influenced by the environment so it depends on your luck whether the concert is very nice or boring.
This CD is released just for Japan. I'd like to introduce each song on this mini-album, but we don't even know what songs will be on the CD. By one Japanese record company's information, two of the songs from the Smells Like Teen Spirit CD single, which are Even In His Youth and Aneurysm. It may also include some songs which were broadcast by BBC Radio-1 in England. It may be just a rumor, but one of them may be their favorite song by the Vaselines.
I think that most of the people who bought this mini-CD have Nevermind too. But if it is the first time to buy Nirvana's CD for you, I recommend you to experience Nevermind. I'm sure you'll like it too.
From The Muddy Banks Of Wishkah
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Nirvana started as a live band (Don't all bands?). We played around for two years before the release of Bleach in June, 1989. At the time, Live shows were our bread and butter (this being prior to the release of Nevermind in September of 1991). We'd hit the road for months at a time... coming back with one or two grand... to be split three ways. In those days, that was as much "success" as we thought possible.
The earliest performances on this album are brought to you courtesy of a sound board cassette recording of a December, 1989 show at London's Astoria. "Breed" (then called "Immodium") and "Polly" (the big rock version) are taken from this show, the last date of a European tour supporting fellow Sub-Poppers, Tad.
Early in 1991, the band signed with Geffen Records and acquired professional management. D.I.Y. fefll to the wayside.
Nevermind was recorded in the spring of 1991. Following summer tours with Dinosaur Jr. and The Jesus Lizard, Nevermind was released in the fall. Immediately following the release, we went on a tour headlining small venues that culminated with a Halloween Homecoming Show at Seattle's Paramount Theater. This show was filmed and recorded onto multi-track... yielding the version of Negative Creep, used in compliling this record.
Two days later, the band left for another European tour. "School," "Been A Son," "Lithium" and "Blew" were all taken from a show at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on November 25, 1991. The show was filmed and recorded on multi-track for Dutch TV. "Spank Thru," this version having been recorded on November 19, 1991 in Rome, was actually the first Nirvana song.
While we were touring Europe, Nevermind was becoming all the rage back home. Though we were kept informed of the momentum, being so far away made us pretty oblivious to the extent of what was happening.
We ended the year with a brief West Coast Tour. The bill included Pearl Jam and Nirvana and was headlined by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The second show of this tour was on December 28, 1991 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds (just outside San Diego). For whatever reason, our set was particularly aggressive that night - "Drain You," "Aneurysm" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" were all taken from this recording.
Early in 1992, the band toured Australia and Japan. Later in the summer, we traveled to Europe to make up some Scandinavian shows we had to cancel on the previous tour. The touring highlight of the year, however, was a headlining slot on England's Reading Festival. I have to say that hearing tens of thousands of people sing along with "Lithium" was a very cool moment in the history of the band. We were having fun playing and deciding to stretch the set out a bit - enter "Tourettes," a song which had been around for a few years (and eventually found it's way onto In Utero.)
Following the release of In Utero in 1993, we once again hit the road. Using left over props from the "Heart-Shaped Box" video shoot as set dressing (our first foray into the world of stage props), we concentrated on working up a set that spanned the band's entire career and gave the audience a longer show than we had done on past tours. In that we were playing the "big" halls on this tour, it felt like we needed to bring along a "big" sound... ladies and gentleman, please welcome Pat Smear.
"Scentless Apprentice" was filmed and recorded by MTV for their 1993 New Year's special... recorded at a show at a pier in Seattle. "Heart-Shaped Box" comes from a sound board DAT recording from a show at The Forum in Los Angeles in December, 1993. We took "Milk It" from a sound board recording from the Seattle Center Arena. "Sliver" is taken from a board tape from the Springfiled Civic Center (in Massachusettes)
In presenting this record, we hope that the ultimate allure of Nirvana (and especially Kurt) as well as the passion that we had - and have - for the music we made is once again brought to the forefront. Let all the analysis fall away like yellow, aged newsprint. Crank this record up and realize the bliss, power and passion...
TOTAL NIRVANA!
Krist Novoselic
Into the Black
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In the end there remained nothing but a note, written in a child like scrawl in red ink. A page of crumpled paper, placed in a potted plant, encapsulating all the pain, the frustration, and the absolute brilliance of a life that lasted a mere 27 years and ended by choice, far too early....
In the summer of 1987 the face of rock music was void, and the sound was overproduced and studio inspired. Many thought that rock music had run its course and there was little evidence to prove otherwise.
But there was a strange sound coming out of a tiny logging town in Washington. A sound somewhat akin to chainsaws on broken glass. It was music so completely raw and unrefined, that many of us lucky enough to see one of those early shows walked away shaking our heads and wondering what the fuck it was we'd just heard. It was loud and nasty, and if you were lucky it made your ears bleed.
Kurt Cobain met Chris Novaselic while attending Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Wa.. They quickly became friends after meeting again at a studio rehearsal for Seattle Punk band The Melvins. Together they formed a sort of "anti-social" alliance that would help them survive their early years. The rest of the world became an inside joke. Aberdeen was a redneck town that wasn't kind to sensitive artistic types. The town was a beautiful place to live, if you could avoid being bored to death.
Kurt embarked upon his first musical project and formed a band called Brown Towel with fellow musicians Dale Crover (on drums) and Buzz Osbourne (on bass). They played their first gig in Olympia, Wa. at Evergreen State College in late 1985. Meanwhile Chris became the lead singer for a Melvins side band called The Stiff Woodies. Thankfully Chris sang only a few local frat parties and soon the project fell apart, the collective world of rock music has been breathing a sigh of relief ever since.
About this time Kurt began sending a tape of his original songs entitled "Fecal Matter" around to any record company that would listen. Unfortunately few would listen and Kurt never received a call from anyone. It seemed his material was too rough edged for the industry powerbrokers who had been weaned on the sound of Whitney Houston and Billy Joel. Kurt decided, if he never signed a record deal he would have no regrets. He asked Chris to form a band with him. They had no specific name, performing under the moniker of Ted, Ed, & Fred, Bliss and Skid Row among others. They played parties and small shows at clubs like the Hollywood Underground in Seattle and Community World Theater in nearby Tacoma. Unforgettable shows at which it seemed they would play new songs each night. Kurt was becoming more prolific as a songwriter and he was finding his direction as a musician. They went through a variety of drummers never finding the sound, that Kurt "heard in his head". In early 1988 they decided to keep Dale Crover, for better or worse. Together they went to record a demo tape at Reciprocal Studios in Seattle.
On January 23, 1988 the band, now calling themselves Nirvana, recorded the demos for what would eventually become their first official release "Bleach". The entire set of demos was recorded in six hours. Jack Endino, who had engineered the session, gave a mixed version to Jonathan Poneman of Seattle's fledling "Sub Pop" records who was immediately interested. On December 24, 1988, after replacing drummers with Chad Channing and adding guitarist Jason Everman, Nirvana recorded their first album at Reciprocal in Seattle. The recording time was five hours and the entire project was completed for the grand sum of $606.17. "Bleach" hit record stores in June of 1989. The sales weren't spectacular, but the "buzz" about this new punk band from Seattle started to spread. The band toured the U.S. for the first time, playing erratic yet inspired concerts.
In August of 1989 the band released and EP entitled "Blew" on Sub Pop and began an extensive European tour schedule opening for Seattle "grunge" band TAD. They played thirty six shows in forty two days, and were greeted by adoring crowds. Unfortunately the band, especially Kurt were not prepared to handle the tour. The equipment problems, lack of sleep and Kurt's increasingly nauseous stomach began to push him towards more dangerous methods of escape. The seriousness of his situation would not become apparent for a long time, but the seeds of destruction had been planted.
After the "Bleach" tour, Nirvana split company with Sub Pop and began searching for a new Record label. In the meantime, they recorded a demo tape of new songs in April of 1990 at Smart Studios in Madison, WI. Shortly thereafter, the band fired Chad Channing and found a permanent replacement in Dave Grohl, an incredibly powerful drummer with undeniable sense of melody and a beautiful tenor voice. With Dave on board Nirvana entered the studio to began work on their second album. Kurt insisted on using engineer Butch Vig, a producer who was known for his raw and straight forward approach.
In May and June of 1991 Nirvana laid down the basic tracks for "Nevermind". No one had any idea how successful the album was going to be, but the band knew it was very good. Kurt had finally found the sound he'd been looking for, thanks to the addition of Grohl's drumming and Vig's production production skill. The tracks to "Nevermind" were about teen angst, alienation and anger of convention. Together with "Bleach", it would come to define the "Seattle Sound", and would be responsible for the term "grunge" being added to the vocabularies of teenagers and music fans.
Immediately after completing "Nevermind" the band embarked on a short west coast tour. In August they joined Sonic Youth for a European festival tour. After playing a string of sellout shows, the band returned how and began working on the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
On September 29, 1991, while the band was touring the U.S. again "Nevermind" was released. Immediately following its release the album began climbing the charts. The band being on tour had no idea as to its success, but they knew something was happening because every show began to sell out. By the time Nirvana returned Seattle's Paramount Theater in October for their landmark homecoming gig, the album was entering the top ten. The music industry had now become aware of this new "Seattle Sound".
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" rocketed to number one with MTV's constant air play, followed by "Come As You Are", "Lithium", and "In Bloom". Over night Nirvana had become famous all over the world. Unfortunately all was not what it seemed. Kurt had wanted to be in a band and have his songs heard, but he had no idea what the success of "Nevermind" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" would spawn. His life became a fishbowl and rumors ran rampant about drug abuse by Kurt and his then girlfriend Courtney Love of the punk band Hole. Although these rumors were denied by Nirvana's management, they eventually turned out to be true. Kurt was heavily using heroin and had undergone several rehabs with mixed success. His stomach problems were worsening. Socially and emotionally he was a wreck.
Kurt Cobain and a pregnant Courtney Love were married in Waikiki, Hawaii, on February 24, 1992. Frances Bean Cobain was born on August 19, 1992. For awhile things got better, with the exception of vicious stories circulating about Courtney that made Kurt furious.
To quell rumors of the bands early demise, Nirvana flew to England in August 1992 and performed at the Reading Festival. Their performance was absolutely brilliant, and showed them to have lost nothing artistically. If anything, this may have been their best concert performance of the entire "Nevermind" tour.
The band took the rest of 1992 off, and Kurt concentrated on being a father to Frances and husband to Courtney.
On February 24, 1993 Nirvana began recording their third studio album with ex Pixies and Breeders producer Steve Albini. Kurt had written a variety of new songs on the Nevermind tour and was anxious to see what Albini's abrasive minimalistic techniques could bring to them. With more studio time and a larger budget, Geffen Records was expecting a bigger and better version of "Nevermind". What they got was a stripped down wiry recording, more reminiscent of "Bleach". Geffen was not happy. So they re-worked certain tracks and changed the title several times. "In Utero" was released on Sept. 14, 1993. It went straight to number one on the Billboard charts, despite MTV's ridiculous refusal to play "Rape Me". This was an album of deep introspection, incredibly personal lyrics on Kurt's part and in retrospect a predictor of things to come.
Nirvana once again began a world tour that would cover the U.S. and Europe. They added former Germ's gutarist Pat Smear. The new guitarist helped to take some of the weight off Kurt and made their live performances better than ever. Along the way they agreed to appear on MTV's Unplugged. Their performance included stunning covers of "The Man Who Sold The World", "Plateau" and Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". This may have been the most stirring show in the history of MTV's Unplugged. The band continued the tour, but it was taking its toll on Kurt. He had sworn never to do another stadium tour and his fragile little body began to feel the strain of this tour more than ever. He was in constant pain from his stomach and the scoliosis that had plagued him since childhood was making it difficult for him to even hold his guitar.
On January 7th and 8th of 1994, Nirvana played their last American shows in Seattle at the Seattle Center Arena. The shows were the pinnacle of punk perfection. They appeared as a fire raging out of control before consuming itself. Kurt was animated and his voice was perfect. But the lyrics from the "In Utero" songs gave away much of what he was feeling. "Teenage angst has paid off well... now I'm bored and old" "Out of the ground, into the sky, out of the sky, into the dirt" "On the bright side is suicide". Kurt's drug addiction, his inability to deal with fame and the carrying of the mantle as spokesman for "Generation X" was becoming unbearable.
On February 2, 1994, Nirvana flew to Europe. They performed another set of amazing shows in Paris. By the time they got to Rome, the band had become suddenly listless, performing songs as if they were studio sessions. Kurt hardly spoke between songs and he was becoming more and more withdrawn. Nirvana played their last concert in Offenbach, Germany on April 13, 1994.
On March 5, 1994, while staying in Rome's Excelsior Hotel with Courtney, Kurt attempted suicide by taking more than fifty pills. He was rushed to Rome's Umberto Polyclinic, where his stomach was pumped and he entered a coma. Geffen and Gold Mountain once again denied there was anything wrong and stated that Kurt had taken an accidental overdose. Kurt came out of the coma, and together with Courtney he returned to the U.S.
On April 8, 1994, police were called to Kurt and Courtney's home by an electrician who had been hired to install a burglar alarm in the couples home. They found Kurt dead of a shotgun blast to the head. Next to him was a suicide note written to Frances and Courtney, and all of us.
Kurt Donald Cobain was, in almost every way the unlikeliest of heros, but his songs changed the face of music. Kurt and Nirvana paved the way by kicking down doors and preconceptions that had kept alternative music underground for years.
A candlelight memorial was held for Kurt two days after his death at the Seattle Center. It started out as a dark somber mass for a dead rock star, but quickly turned into a celebration of the life and music of a man. Nirvana's music played while kids danced in a fountain in defiance of security and police, they were not hurting anyone, but there were not letting anyone hold they back. It was kind of the way Kurt would have acted, what the hell, he inspired it. I'm sure he was watching it all through those brilliant blue eyes and finally smiling.
This is a small history of the music of Nirvana. Listen and enjoy....
The Eternal Legacy
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They came, they saw, they conquered. Nirvana gave us seven short years of glorius chaos, the likes of which will never be seen again. The group had split up at the begining of April '94 after their long awaited European tour collapsed around them and any thoughts of reconciliations were soon dashed when the body of tragic singer-songwriter Kurt Cobain was found at his home in Seattle on the morning of Friday the 8th of April. Months and months of mounting pressure had taken its toll leaving Kurt seeking a final solution to end his pain and suffering through suicide. The reluctant superstar, with one quick pull of the trigger, had cemented both himself, and Nirvana, into the rock and roll hall of fame for eternity, something he had always been at pains to avoid. Nirvana were the underdog's band, the revenge of street punks, a spanner in the works of the corporate machine and the last great band of the nineties. They will be a very hard act to follow. The untimely demise of Kurt Cobain was the full stop to complete the final chapter in the book of the punk revolution. Control was now regained in America, as well as the rest of Europe, the final heavy tour schedule had broken Kurt and knocked the guts out of the group. Half way through a grueling ten month schedule was to become the straw the broke the camel's back. Kurt could no longer go on with the endless cycle of depression and pain and, to him, there was only one way out. There are lessons to be learnt from the rise and fall of Nirvana. Enter the machine at your own risk because today it is more stronger than it has ever been, it'll eat you up and spit you out as soon as you have out stayed your use. Rock and Roll used to be fun, but in the nineties it's no different to joining the army. Cherish the memories of Kurt Cobain and the legacy of Nirvana. Support Courtney Love and support the true underground. It's time for change. Ignore the machine. Kurt Cobain rest in peace.
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