Unplugged
February 12, 2008I’ve never been particularly fond of Nirvana’s albums. They’re nice, but to me, they are way overrated. Cobain’s untimely death of course only contributed to the hype. Still, Nirvana has a very special place in my heart, for reasons that are really none of your business.
There is an exception. Nirvana’s unprecedented Unplugged album. It is by far the best unplugged album out there, and it shows a completely different Nirvana. Instead of the fairly repetitive songs on their albums, we get to see and listen to a much different Nirvana - emotional, introvert, sensitive; filled with blues and folk. It is a landmark in music history, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s an album any self-respecting music lover should have listened to at least ten times.
Nirvana’s unplugged sessions were never meant to reach a wider audience, but after Cobain’s death, it only made sense to release the sessions - they were Cobain’s public suicide notes, especially the final song, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night“. Cobain’s interpretation of this 1870’s classic folk song is such an eery experience, it makes you twitch, shiver, and generally make you feel very, very uncomfortable. Every possible human emotion will travel through your body, and regularly, I can barely contain these emotions, forcing me to stand up, walk around, to start doing something. The singing is subdued, contained - only to lash out at the final verses and lines, completely unexpected, but therefore, ever more effective.
Right before he sings the final few words, a silence breaks the song. You hear a deep, frustrated, but at the same time relieving sigh from Cobain - to me, it always appears as if during that exact moment, Cobain decided to end it all. And that makes this song one of the most important songs in human history. Cobain and Nirvana had still so much potential in them left, and it is a very, very, very sad thing that we never got to see them rise to their fullest potential.
On the other hand, we’d have had to do without Unplugged. And as cruel as it may sound, Unplugged alone almost makes you understand Cobain’s death.
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Speaking as a musician who plays several instruments, an AVID follower of many types of music, and someone who was in the specific generation that discovered and embraced Nirvana, I can tell you that I think you’re giving far too little credit to Nirvana’s other efforts.
I remember hearing “Nevermind” for the first time in 1991 and actually having a musical awakening. Music needed something new to wake us up from the hair metal scene, and that was the album that did it. It’s just simple power chords and mostly nonsense lyrics, but it did it. Their follow ups, including not only In Utero but also Incesticide and several B-sides and unreleased songs, delivered the same punch-you-in-the-eye grunge punk that everyone came to expect from Nirvana.
While Unplugged was released, Nirvana was already well established. I actually found the album to be a major departure for the band and it’s my least favorite of their albums, and actually still is. No doubt that some of the songs are very pretty, but ultimately, it’s not much of a showcase of musical talent and most of the songs are less interesting acoustic than electric, with a few exceptions. But in retrospect, there are some haunting moments that are all the more poignant given what we know today.
Anyway, what I’m saying is that you can’t suggest that Nevermind is not a “change the landscape” album. It was, just as was Thriller and Sgt. Pepper’s. This much was already true by the time Cobain died.
As to what Nirvana would have done, well, I think of it the same way I think of the Beatles. Inevitably, they would have begun to falter - fans would have longed for the old days, and maybe, hopefully, they would have delivered again (like, say, Aerosmith or Green Day, both of whom came back strong after some missteps). But nothing lasts forever, and certain things are as good as they are in our memories because they ended early, because we’re stuck with only a sample of how good it was. Perhaps by only getting a glimpse of what Nirvana and Kurt Cobain were, they sealed their place in history.
Comment by Adam — February 12, 2008 @ 10:41 pm
It’s difficult for me to properly categorise Nirvana, Adam, as I have a very personal history with it; it’s part of my family’s life in a way it really shouldn’t be. That’s what makes it very hard for me to judge the albums based on their own merits, without me attaching all sorts of emotional charges to it.
But yes, you are right in that Nevermind (produced by one of my music heroes by the way, Butch Vig) is a very, very important album. Yes, back then, I may have been only 6-7, but I already listened to music like this, and despite my memory being blurry (seeing I was so young), I do remember its impact, its implications - as well as the impact Nirvana’s music had on a certain family member of mine.
However, to me, that does not make an album exceptionally good. To put it in a tired old internet meme way: lots of impact != good music. Oh sure, I like the music that’s on it, but to me, it just doesn’t shout “exceptional” - something a good album really should. It kind of seemed as if Nirvana’s follow-up material relied on the same tricks to reach the same effects - which is sad.
That’s why I see the unplugged sessions as Nirvana trying out new styles, new directions, a move away from those tricks I just mentioned. They sure haven’t found it entirely yet on Unplugged (which might explain your feelings about the album), but you can see where they were trying to go, and this ‘wandering’ element of Unplugged is what I like so much, it’s something you don’t see very often on albums, because an album is supposed to be finished, done, stylised. Unplugged gives you a glimpse into the world of band trying to re-invent itself, and let’s face it, how many times do we get to experience that re-invention in such a close fashion?
I can’t listen to Unplugged too often, it hurts too much, and brings back too many memories I’d rather keep buried. But it is exactly this that makes the album so special for me.
Comment by Administrator — February 12, 2008 @ 11:00 pm