My Favorite Nirvana Songs
It is hard to know where to begin with Nirvana. Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl fit together so seamlessly and with such mastery, that it is hard to believe at times that there was a three-person outfit like them that you could actually go see play live music. In the 26 years since his death, there has been an endless amount of analysis of Kurt Cobain and his complexities. I will leave that for another post. Nirvana’s fusion on punk and fuzz and sludge and just about whatever word you’d like to use for it was unbelievably innovative. As a huge fan of three-piece bands, I have always admired Nirvana’s ability to inhabit the room with sound. Novoselic, Grohl, and Cobain were so complimentary in the way that they played, and the band was essentially the musical equivalent of a thousand year comet. Here are my five favorite Nirvana songs.
‘All Apologies’ - I’ve always been a fan of how Nirvana flipped the script with In Utero, and ‘All Apologies’ has always stuck out to me. Though certainly not the most out-of-the-box song on the record, this song feels like a gateway between Nevermind Nirvana and In Utero Nirvana. I am admittedly biased to employment of the acoustic guitar, so I hold this song in high regard. Kurt Cobain had such a unique way of communicating rather evocative thoughts with such simple language, kind of like how Neil Young is able to, and this song has two of my favorite: “I wish I was like you - easily amused.” and “All in all is all we are.” Whether or not Kurt approached songwriting as an inherently meaningful medium, he’s had such an impact with his words, and this song has always headlined that part of his impact to me.
‘Territorial Pissings’ - Nirvana was not a grunge band (the only grunge band is Mudhoney, anyways!). Nirvana was a punk band. If you disagree, I present to you this song. This is what I am talking about when I revere Nirvana’s ability to fill up the room with their sound with three people. I think they were at their best when the ‘gloves were off’ and they could make music as loudly as they wanted, scream as much as they wanted, and play as urgently as they wanted. That is why I love this song.
‘Blew’ - This is the first song off of Nirvana’s first album, Bleach. So in a way, it was Nirvana’s introduction to the world (the single ‘Love Buzz’ was the only Nirvana release to predate Bleach). The production and mix of this song (shoutout to Jack Endino) is sooo hallmark of what the musical rebuttal to hair bands were, Kurt Cobain has regaled Mark Arm of Mudhoney, and Mudhoney itself as being seminal influences on him and Nirvana, and that comes through so clearly here. What a great song, from an era where grunge wasn’t even a thing.
‘Serve The Servants’ - “Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old.” This is the epitome of Kurt quotes. I think it captured the temperature of Cobain’s dissatisfaction and rebellion against the expectations and desires of the music industry at the time. Everyone was begging for Teen Spirit 2.0, and the band went in a completely different direction. They were bored with their old sound. Artists should always be encouraged to venture into creative areas that are stimulating to them, and I wish that the music industry had felt that way, rather than remaining singularly focused on how many records could be sold. Cash was and is king, and Kurt Cobain did and would cast aspersions at them for it.
‘Been a Son’ - This is a song that comes from the very early days of Nirvana, from Cobain’s demos of the late 80s. I love this song for its punk influence. Kurt was such an effective guitarist, and was the perfect guitarist for his own band. I’ll always love Nirvana for fighting for causes they believe in, and this song is one of my favorites as it serves as a commentary (with some satire, which Kurt was so good at) on gender inequity.
Honorable Mentions: ‘Something In The Way’, ‘Dumb’, ‘Breed’, ‘Stay Away’, ‘Paper Cuts’
Let’s hear your Top Five Nirvana songs in the comments below!
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