Active Member
For Nevermind do you prefer the original or the Devonshire mix? I know Cobain thought that the original sounded more like "Motley Crue" than indie punk. I prefer the original, more polished one. With Pearl Jam's Ten, I prefer the rawer, O'Brien 2009 mix.Originally Posted by BRoswell
Active Member
I prefer the original. I know it's a more polished sound, but I have a feeling that's what Cobain wanted. I think it's only after Nevermind started to become Nevermind that he changed his tune, because obviously that sound is not very punk rock. I'm sure he felt pigeonholed after the album became a huge hit, which is why he wanted to move away from that with In Utero. Then he got what he wanted with that album and had to turn around and say "nope, that's not right either". As much as he wanted to pretend to be this punk rocker who only wanted everything to be down and dirty, his taste in music suggests otherwise. Some of the stuff he listened to was very pop and very polished, and you can hear those influences on all three albums in certain spots.
Active Member
He was a huge fan of The Beatles.
Active Member
Exactly. I'm sure that was part of the struggle for him, wanting to be influenced by those bands, but having to downplay that influence.
Active Member
I always thought it was funny that the first concert he attended was Sammy Hagar.
Active Member
Speaking of In Utero, Conan O'Brien sat down with Steve Albini, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic to talk about the 30th anniversary, some really interesting anecdotes from that era, Conan is a great interviewer. Below are some clips they posted on YouTube, you can find the whole thing wherever you listen to your podcasts, in the show 'Conan O'Brien needs a friend', really worth your time.
Throbbing Member
https://pitchfork.com/news/nevermind...appeals-court/
"They'll HAVE to give me an out-of-court settlement sometime soon!"
Active Member
Jesus, give it up already!
Throbbing Member
If he (ever) wins, there should be a caveat that says some of that cash goes to the tattoo removal, seeing as it has ruined his life...
nindivinedebris
That has to be what he wants, for them to settle to make him go away. I just don't see how he can argue all this with a straight face. I feel like most people wouldn't know his name if HE hadn't tried to cash in on it over the years. And why would he get royalties? I can't think of anyone who's getting royalties from an album cover. It's been 30 years, and it's all over the globe, there's no taking that back. Lastly, I get that it may technically fall into the category of child pornography, but I bet if you polled people, you'd get 90% or more that would say it's not sexualized in any way. It may cost Nirvana some money, but I bet they'd win at a trial if it ever gets to that point.
Stubby Member
I despise child pornography, and having a naked baby on the cover has gotta seem like a bad idea in retrospect. Also, I get making a dollar is hard isn't easy in this world, and people who get into a bind will generally do anything they can. But still. You don't see the people on Houses of the Holy cover making a similar fuss.
If he really wanted to monetize being on the Nirvana cover he could learn to play guitar.
Active Member
Not that it matters but I think those were Robert Plant's kids on Houses of the Holy. The original Blind Faith cover was pretty bad.
Active Member
The intentions of the cover art are clear, and Eldon is simply choosing to ignore those intentions while simultaneously making them even clearer.
I was nobody. Nothing.
Damn, i meant to post this on 3-4th, but i've kind of been down in it, if you will. It's a slightly eerie tale. Here goes:
I had a best friend, C, who was like a brother, WAY back in the day. We got into NIN together in '92. We ALSO, of course, got big into nirvana when, you know, everyone else did. We're still tight, but we're too many miles apart.
SO. Here's the thing. We immediately noticed certain (very) thinly veiled dark themes on In Utero.
We often spoke of Kurt killing himself, after hearing the album a couple of times, and studying the lyrics.
Here are a few examples:
"throw down your umbilical noose so i can climb right back"- into non-existence?
"i ... wanted you to know that i don't hate you anymore"- this, we thought, was making amends/saying goodbye to his parents
"look on the bright side-suicide"- i mean, you know...fuck.
"Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge..."-yes, i know it has another meaning, but it COULD be about living on through his daughter
"Rape Me"-i will NEVER believe this was an anti-rape song. We both felt like it was about KURT feeling raped by the media, and being done with it
"Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld so i can sigh eternally." ALSO, "i'm on my time with everyone."- please let me rest and give me a comfortable landing when i'm gone/ i'm gonna be gone soon.
"Coulda had a heart attack", -obvious
"what is wrong with me?"- again, self explanatory
"Just use once and destroy"- i'm just here for you to use, and you aren't using me anymore
"distill the life that's inside of me"-we took it as bleeding out or something.
And then, we thought All Apologies sounded like a suicide note, just, straight up.
i could keep going, but i'm sure you get the idea.
We quickly saw it as an album that began and ended with suicide notes, more or less, with lyrical pieces of suicidal ideation throughout, and themes of confusion, trouble with mental health, being sick of it all, and...well, a whole big ass helping of "what in the FUCK do you WANT from me?"
We began to believe that Kurt was on the verge of killing himself- not quitting music, not leaving Courtney.
Suicide.
We started having like, NO SHIT, borderline, idk, PREMONITIONS about it and how it would affect the world. Obviously these incessant thoughts could have come from the conversations, and there were a LOT, but i'm not sure.
Then, in early December of '93, Unplugged premiered on MTV.
It looked like a fucking funeral, but that wasn't the main thing. It was that C-Lo looked at me and said
"T. He's trying pretend like he's having fun and WANTS to be there, but he doesn't. He doesn't care anymore. He'll be gone soon."
When it was over, we were like "well, Nirvana's Swan Song was badass."
SO HERE'S THE FUCKING CRAZY PART.
As i'm sure most of you know, Kurt MOST LIKELY tried to kill himself in Rome, on March 3rd or 4th of '94, by eating 30-50 Roche 2s, aka Rohypnol, and drinking champagne.
The rock station in Dallas got the news, somehow. They said he was in a coma and wasn't coming out of it, Krist alledgedly said he had fatal brain damage...
they said he was gone: no chance of waking up.
I was SO FUCKING SURE that Kurt was going to kill himself, and soon, that i went to the principal's office at my middle school, and insisted that she announce his death (edit: SUICIDE) over the PA.
And she did. Everyone at Austin Academy for Excellence in Garland, TX, got the news of Kurt's death a few weeks early.
Iirc, management and such tried to make it seem to be an accident, but i've eaten those fuckers, and you don't "accidentally" eat 50 of them.
Obviously, the man died on April 5th.
So i say all this to say, my friend and i KNEW Kurt was going to commit suicide, and we were HONESTLY surprised he didn't do it in, say, Feb. And when i say knew, i mean, it was a FACT we discussed.
We just knew.
Yes, some of it could be deduced by the lyrical interpretations of a pair of 13 year olds i listed above, and watching his behavior changing in interviews and such, but i think it was more than that.
It was one of the strangest feelings i've ever experienced, seeing this cat and loving his music, but KNOWING he'd be dead soon.
Anyway, that's my weird Nirvana story i meant to post ten days ago or so.
And damnit, Kurt. We were supposed to get two nights in August '94 at the ole' Coca Cola Starplex.
Last edited by elevenism; 03-22-2024 at 06:23 AM.
Active Member
April 5, 1994
It's been 30 years. Shocking and sad. Those albums still really hold up.
Active Member
Stubby Member
Despite radio playing a handful of songs to death, when you get past those you remember how awesome the band really was. "Drain You" came on my mix the other day and I was like eff yeahhhh.
Active Member
I liked Bleach and really liked In Utero and Unplugged, but Nevermind will always be my favorite Nirvana album. And I like the original 1991 CD the best. I don't think it ever sounded better.
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