They planned a fourteen-song set where they played six covers, three by the Meat Puppets, one by the Scottish band the Vaselines, one by David Bowie, and probably the most famous, by Lead Belly. Nirvana, and Kurt, got their way in most things. MTV wanted “big stars” to make an appearance in the performance. Everything down to the stage setting was influenced by the band. MTV appeared to want a “greatest hits” performance by the band. The lead up to the performance did not go smoothly. Whatever the reason, or despite the reason, they agreed to work together on an episode of MTV Unplugged.Īccording to Cobain biographer Danny Goldberg, Cobain saw the Unplugged performance as “his show.” Goldberg went on to say, “Kurt saw it as art, not as promo, and no one was going to tell him what to do with his art.”
It might have begun at the 1992 MTV Video Awards, or because Cobain didn’t think that Nirvana was in enough rotation on the video channel. This guitar was used to perform on MTV Unplugged in 1993.Īt that time, Nirvana and MTV had some tension – or more specifically, Kurt Cobain and MTV had a lot of tension. On June 19, 2020, Julien’s Auctions will sell Kurt Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E. His voice throughout the track becomes haunting, as each tune screams his flaws.On June 19, 2020, Julien’s Auctions will sell Kurt Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E. The sad, weary tone of the song is the result of a hidden apology between his daughter Frances Bean Cobain, and his wife Courtney Love. A key difference between the studio version and the Unplugged version, is the use of a cello. You want to be sad, but instead you find yourself strolling along with the overloaded snares.Īll Apologies, the thirteenth track off the album, is a familiar tune amongst the listeners of Nirvana. Pat Smear’s guitar oozes into your brain with a sense of confidence and acceptance. Originally written by Meat Puppets, the guitar chords and plucks develop into an intense story around, much like one that would be told at a campfire. The twelfth track Lake Of Fire shows the controversy behind heaven and angels. It should also be noted that this bridge exists across the Wishkah River, in Washington and has been decorated as a result of the band’s song.
The track itself shows Cobain to be hopeless and accepting of his fate under a bridge, and through repetion and emotion describing the perspective of Cobain during this experience. The sixth track Something In The Way describes Cobain’s time of homelessness and vulnerability, to which his friends and family deny ever happening. The unnerving whine of Cobain’s vocals and cries throughout the track prove it to show to self-loathing take on drinking pennyroyal tea. The fifth track Pennyroyal Tea gives off slow moody vocals while keeping the band’s definitive grunge sound. This cover is so well done, it is seen as the superior version of the song. The bass guitar sounds crisp, Pat Smear, who was touring with the band at the time, backs up Cobain with an electric guitar played so precisely, you could practically hear the crowd’s jaws drop. The fourth track the Man Who Sold the World is an amazing cover of David Bowie’s song of the same name and is definitely a standout in the track list. The scratchy electric guitar and manic drumming is easily exchanged for tame a acoustic guitar and almost blues type drumming. This acoustic rendition of the normally explosive song was surprisingly pulled off very well. The second track Come as You Are is another crowd pleaser, with it’s instantly recognizable soothing, yet eerie bass guitar opening. A lot of people don’t know it,” but after Cobain strums the guitar for the first time, the crowd instantly recognizes the song. The album opens with the crowd cheering on the song About a girl, with Cobain stating “This is off our first record. Pitchfork even gave it a 9.5/10 which is a very rare occurrence. Nirvana was at their peak in those years, and this unplugged performance had only boosted their relevance even further, as this performance has been widely been cited to being among some of the best live performances of all time. Even before the performance, Kurt Cobain, the groups front man, was very close to canceling the appearance because the set list didn’t contain any smash hits from the group, and six of them were covers.
In November of 1993, MTV hosted the grunge band Nirvana on their show MTV: Unplugged in a special striped back acoustic set in New York City.
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