Saturday, November 4, 2017

Song Of The Week: 11/5/17







Song: "I Hate Myself And Want To Die"

Artist: Nirvana

Album: "Pennyroyal Tea" single

Year: 1994

Place Of Origin: Aberdeen, Washington

Years Active: 1987 - 1994



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

In retrospect, looking at a song called "I Hate Myself And Want To Die" and knowing that the song's writer, Kurt Cobain, committed suicide about a year after writing the song, you would think it would be foreshadowing events that were about to happen. Not so. Forget my interpretation of the song, here is the story behind the song straight from Cobain himself. "Kurt Cobain's last interview was with Rolling Stone magazine on January 27,1994. When the writer asked him, "One of your songs that you cut from In Utero at the last minute was I hate myself and I want to die. How literally did you mean it?" Cobain responded: "As literal as a joke can be. Nothing more than a joke. And that had a bit to do with why we decided to take it off. We knew people wouldn't get it; they'd take it too seriously. It was totally satirical, making fun of ourselves. I'm thought of as this pissy, complaining, freaked out, schizophrenic who wants to kill himself all the time: 'He isn't satisfied with anything.' And I thought it was a funny title. I wanted it to be the title for the album for along time. but I knew the majority wouldn't get it."

NIRVANA DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1989 - Bleach (Sub Pop Records)
1991 - Nevermind (DGC Records)
1992 - Incesticide (Sub Pop Records)
1993 - In Utero (DGC Records)
1994 - MTV Unplugged In New York (DGC Records)
1996 - From The Muddy Banks Of Wishkah (DGC Records)
2009 - Live At Reading (Geffen Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF NIRVANA:

Nirvana got it's start as a band back in 1987 when guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic were in high school in Aberdeen, Washington. After using such bands names as Skid Row and Fecal Matter, they decided upon the name Nirvana. The Melvins were an important band to Nirvana in the early years in fact, Melvins drummer Dale Crover actually played on some of Nirvana's early material and toured with them sometimes as well. In 1989, Nirvana released their debut full length album "Bleach" on Seattle underground label Sub Pop. Cobain didn't feel Nirvana was a "grunge" band however. When the band began working on new material, Cobain's songs were getting much more melodic and definitely had pop sensibilities. In 1990, the band finally settled on a drummer with Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C. hardcore band Scream, joining Nirvana. With the line-up settled, Nirvana turned to Butch Vig to produce their next album. 1991 was the year. "Nevermind" was the album. The music world changed on that day! Radio stations and MTV began rotating the single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" heavily. The band didn't even know they were blowing up as they were on tour in Europe. They did start to notice that the clubs they were playing couldn't fit the demand as venues were overpacked with fans to see them live. "Nevermind" has sold over 30 million units worldwide. The singles "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "In Bloom", "Come As You Are" and "Lithium" became anthems for the youth. Kids that became labled "Generation X" and Kurt Cobain was unwillingly thrust in the position to be their spokesman. Overwhelmed and exhausted, Nirvana had to cancel part of their tour in support of "Nevermind". When it came time to start writing their next album, Cobain was again ready to shift the band's sound a bit. He wanted the songs a little more abrasive and less radio friendly. The band selected Steve Albini to produce their next effort, 1993's "In Utero". Featuring the dark single "Heart Shaped Box" and the harsh "Rape Me", "In Utero" solidified Nirvana's place in the music world. In my opinion, the band's best album. The Pacific Northwest ruled the musical landscape at this time. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains ruled the charts and were selling out venues all around the world. On November 18, 1993, Nirvana had a live acoustic performance in New York taped for MTV's "Unplugged" series. This was an epic performance by a band who was more known for their distorted guitars and screaming vocals than they were for stripping down acoustically. Stand out tracks were the Bowie cover "The Man Who Sold The World", "All Apologies" and the Leadbelly classic "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". Even while Nirvana was riding high, Cobain was struggling both with unwanted fame and what was becoming a crippling addiction to heroin. On March 4, 1994, Cobain's wife, Courtney Love, found the singer unconscious in their Rome hotel room. He was rushed to the hospital where they said he had a bad reaction to a mix of sleeping pills and alcohol. It was much deeper than that however. After having an intervention with him, family, friends and bandmates convinced Kurt to get treatment which he agreed to. After one week in the facility however, he escaped and returned to Seattle. After mixing heroin and cocaine, Kurt Cobain committed suicide by self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. His body was found on April 8, 1994. The music world was shocked. Cobain was just 27 years old with so much ahead of him. His death really signafied the beginning of the end of sorts to the Seattle sound. Soundgarden would break up a few years later. Pearl Jam totally pulled back from the mainstream and Alice In Chains were going through their own addiction problems, most notably with lead singer Layne Staley. Generation X lost their voice. "MTV Unplugged Live In New York" would be released in November of 1994. A haunting performance by a band that appeared to have so much more to offer. Nirvana as a performing and recording band ended with Cobain's suicide though the remaining members, including guitarist Pat Smear who joined the band on the "In Utero" tour, would perform at Nirvana's 2014 induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In my mind, the Seattle sound of the early 90's was the last great music to come out. Not saying there isn't good new music coming out, but Nirvana was a gamechanger. The same way that the Beatles changed the musical landscape in the 60's or the punk movement of 1977 really changed the rules. Nirvana came at a time when rock music really needed a kick in the ass. Much like the punks of the 70's, it was music for the underdogs and the unpopular. It was most definitely the music of my generation. It's amazing to me that here in 2017, Kurt Cobain has now been dead for 23 years. Layne Staley has been dead for 15 years and we just lost Chris Cornell in May of this year. Here's hoping that Eddie Vedder is taking good care of himself cuz he's the last man standing.

TEN NIRVANA SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Heart Shaped Box
2. Drain You
3. School
4. You Know You're Right
5. Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Leadbelly cover)
6. Lithium
7. Polly
8. Aneurysm
9. About A Girl
10. Serve The Servants

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