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Rating:
Audience: "MTV SUUUUCKS!"
Cobain: "Then why are u here?" (with a heavily sarcastic tone and expression).
Cobain had said it: Nirvana had essentially completed their journey with the release of "In Utero" (of which I got the splendid super deluxe edition of the twentieth anniversary released last week, thankfully I had a coupon from the record store) and they would do one last acoustic album (which I like to think they did and that it is "Unplugged In New York"). The first time I saw this live show indeed (found somewhere on the net, even if the version circulating was incomplete) the thing that struck me the most was the fabulous impact of the sound: the two guitars (Pat Smear, former Germs, had to choose whether to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Nirvana; his choice was obvious and natural) allowing Kurt to focus more on the vocals (by his statement) brought the band to the highest and thus concluding point of its evolution.
This is the splendid concert that documents that unrepeatable moment in their history ("Unplugged In New York" will document it in an acoustic version with the same lineup; it makes sense to somehow pair them), where great space is obviously dedicated to the (then) new tracks from "In Utero" without forgetting "Nevermind" and "Bleach" from which a lot of material is still extracted (from "Incesticide" only "Sliver" will be proposed). There is only one cover in the setlist: that "The Man Who Sold The World" (Bowie) which while in the Unplugged will shine, acoustically, with its own light, here it explodes electrically.
It is the long self-destructive jam "Endless, Nameless" that closes, and at this point, the show takes on a decidedly hallucinatory drift: the wild destruction of the instruments, the captivating atmosphere of the stage created by the two transparent and winged women from the cover of "In Utero" and by part of the set of that masterpiece of the video for "Heart-shaped Box", the spits on the cameras, Novoselic kneeling attacking the jam with a riff, slamming the bass repeatedly on the ground only to embed it in the amplifiers and Cobain first breaking the guitar and jumping on it, then wandering the stage playing the destroyed instrument and knocking down some speakers, then kneeling in front of the audience and explicitly, theatrically inviting the guys to come on stage (pulling one up, for that matter) and finally decapitating one of the mannequins with the guitar. It's a kind of anti-celebration. You might say: "That seems like enough," true. But that applause that Cobain, after definitively abandoning the guitar (or what was left of it), gives to the crowd that was enthusiastically cheering him at the end of the concert, with that grotesque grimace on his face, full of sarcasm, anger, and who knows what else (Novoselic declared that Kurt didn't want the audience to sing in chorus with them at concerts because he saw it as a sort of submission of the spectators' individualism), is hard to forget; because it's further demonstration and symbol of the profound unease towards all those people who, out there, exalted him and hung on his every word.
"He wasn't a hero or a guru, but simply one of them" Chris Mundy
"Cobain tore apart the image of the rockstar: rockstars are fake and posturing, he had unruly behavior and rarely combed his hair" Lorraine Ali
"There's a bunch of people paying attention to what I say and it's terrifying... Terrifying... Because I'm as confused as they are" Kurt Donald Cobain
Tracklist and Lyrics
03 Breed (03:17)
I don't care
I don't care
I don't care
I don't care
I don't care
Care if it's old
I don't mind
I don't mind
I don't mind
I don't mind
I don't mind
Mind, don't have a mind
Get away
Get away
Get away
Get away
Away, away from your home
I'm afraid
I'm afraid
I'm afraid
I'm afraid
I'm afraid
Afraid, afraid of a ghost
Even if you have
Even if you need
I don't mean to stare
We don't have to breed
We could plant a house
We could build a tree
I don't even care
We could have all three
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
I don't care
I don't care
I don't care
I don't care
I don't care
Care if it's old
I don't mind
I don't mind
I don't mind
I don't mind
I don't mind
Mind, I don't have a mind
Get away
Get away
Get away
Get away
Away, away from your home
I'm afraid
I'm afraid
I'm afraid
I'm afraid
Afraid, afraid of a ghost
Even if you have
Even if you need
I don't mean to stare
We don't have to breed
We can plant a house
We can build a tree
I don't even care
We could have all three
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
Even if you have
Even if you need
I don't mean to stare
We don't have to breed
We can plant a house
We can build a tree
I don't even care
We could have all three
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said
She said .. good!
04 The Man Who Sold the World (06:34)
We passed upon the stair
We spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there
He said I was his friend
Which came as a surprise
I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone
A long long time ago
Oh no, not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With The Man Who Sold The World
I laughed and shook his hand
And made my way back home
I searched for form and land
For years and years I roamed
I gazed a gazeless stare
We walked a million hills
I must have died alone
A long, long time ago
Who knows?
Not me
I never lost control
You're face to face
With the Man who Sold the World
Who knows?
Not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the Man who Sold the World
06 Rape Me (02:39)
Rape me
Rape me my friend
Rape me
Rape me again
I'm not the only one
I'm not the only one
I'm not the only one
I'm not the only one
Hate me
Do it and do it again
Waste me
Rape me my friend
Am I the only one?
Am I the only one?
Am I the only one?
Am I the only one?
My favorite inside source
I'll kiss your open sores
Appreciate your concern
You'll always stink and burn
Rape me
Rape me my friend
Rape me
Rape me again
I'm not the only one
I'm not the only one
I'm not the only one
I'm not the only one
Rape me!
Rape me!
Rape me!
Rape me!
Rape me!
Rape me!
Rape me!
Rape me!
Rape me!
08 School (02:51)
Won't you believe, it's just my luck
Won't you believe, it's just my luck
Won't you believe, it's just my luck
Won't you believe, it's just my luck
No recess
No recess
No recess
No recess
Won't you believe, it's just my luck
Won't you believe, it's just my luck
Won't you believe, it's just my luck
Won't you believe, it's just my luck
No recess
No recess
No recess
No recess
You're in high school again
You're in high school again
You're in high school again
You're in high school again
You're in high school again
You're in high school again
You're in high school again
You're in high school again
No recess
No recess
No recess
No recess
No recess
No recess
No recess
09 Blew (04:11)
If you wouldn't mind, I would like it blew
If you wouldn't mind, I would like to lose
If you wouldn't care, I would like to leave
If you wouldn't mind, I would like to breathe
Is there another reason for your stain?
Could you believe who we knew was stress or strain?
Here is another word that rhymes with shame
If you wouldn't mind, I would like it blew
If you wouldn't mind, I would like to lose
If you wouldn't care, I would like to leave
If you wouldn't mind, I would like to breathe
Is there another reason for your stain
Could you believe who we knew was stress or strain?
Here is another word that rhymes with shame
Is there another reason for your stain
Could you believe who we knew was stress or strain?
Here is another word that rhymes with shame
You could do anything
You could do anything
You could do anything
You could do anything
You could do anything
You could do anything
You could do anything
You could do anything
11 Drain You (03:37)
One baby to another says -
I'm lucky to've met you
I don't care what you think
Unless it is about me
It is now my duty to completely drain you
I travel through a tube
And end up in your infection
Chew your meat for you
Pass it back and forth
In a passionate kiss
From my mouth to yours
I like you
With eyes so dilated,
I've become your pupil
You've taught me everything
Without a poison apple
The water is so yellow, I'm a healthy student
Indebted and so grateful -
Vacuum out the fluids
Chew your meat for you
Pass it back and forth
In a passionate kiss
From my mouth to yours
I like you
One baby to another says -
I'm lucky to have met you
I don't care what you think
Unless it is about me
It is now my duty to completely drain you
I travel through a tube
And end up in your infection
Chew your meat for you
Pass it back and forth
In a passionate kiss
From my mouth to yours
Sloppy lips to lips
You're my vitamins
I like you
12 Sliver (02:20)
Mom and dad went to a show
They dropped me off at Grandpa Joe's
I kicked and screamed, said please don't go
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Had to eat my dinner there
Mashed potatos and stuff like that
I couldn't chew my meats too good
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
She said, well, don't you start your crying
Go outside and ride your bike
That's what I did, I killed my toe
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
After dinner, I had ice cream
I fell asleep and watched TV
I woke up in my mother's arms
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
Grandma take me home
I wanna be alone
15 Pennyroyal Tea (04:37)
I'm on my time with everyone
I have very bad posture
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that's inside of me
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
I'm anemic royalty
Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld
So I can sigh eternally
I'm so tired I can't sleep
I'm anemic royalty
I'm a liar and a thief
I'm anemic royalty
I'm on warm milk and laxatives
Cherry-flavored antacids
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that's inside of me
I'm anemic royalty
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that's inside of me
I'm anemic royalty
20 All Apologies (03:57)
What else should I be
All apologies
What else could I say
Everyone is gay
What else could I write
I don't have the right
What else should I be
All apologies
In the sun
In the sun I feel as one
In the sun
In the sun
I'm married
Buried
I wish I was like you
Easily amused
Find my nest of salt
Everything is my fault
I'll take all the blame
Aqua Sea Foam shame
Sunburn with freezeburn
Choking on the ashes of her enemy
In the sun
In the sun I feel as one
In the sun
In the sun
Married, Maried, Maried!
Buried!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
All in all is all we are
21 Radio Friendly Unit Shifter (04:48)
- Hmmmmmm ... I just wanna know ... do you like me? - [Whisper]
Use just once and destroy
Invasion of our piracy
Afterbirth of a nation
Starve without your skeleton key
I love you for what I am not
I do not want what I have got
A blanket acne'ed with ciggarette burns
Speak at once while taking turns
What is wrong with me
What is wrong with me
What is what i need?
I'm gonna do with what you think
If you ever think at all
Bi-polar opposites attract
All of a sudden my water broke
I love you for what I am not
I do not want what I have got
A blanket acne'ed with ciggarette burns
Second-rate third degree burns
What is wrong with me
What is wrong with me
What do I think i think?
Hate, hate your enemies
Save, save your friends
Find, find your place
Speak, speak the truth
What is wrong with me
What is wrong with me
What is wrong with me
What do I think of me ?
Use just once and destroy
Invasion of our piracy
Afterbirth of a nation
Starve without your skeleton key
What is wrong with me
What is wrong with me
What is wrong with me
What do I think of me ?
What is wrong with me
What is wrong with me
What is wrong with me
What do I think of me ?
22 Lithium (04:58)
I'm so happy 'cause today
I found my friends...
They're in my head
I'm so ugly, that's okay, 'cause so are you...
We broke our mirrors
Sunday morning is everyday for all I care...
And I'm not scared
Light my candles, in a daze
'Cause I've found god
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah
I'm so lonely, that's okay, I shaved my head...
And I'm not sad
And just maybe I'm to blame for all I've heard...
But I'm not sure
I'm so excited, I can't wait to meet you there...
But I don't care
I'm so horny, that's okay...
My will is good
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah
I like it - I'm not gonna crack
I miss you - I'm not gonna crack
I love you - I'm not gonna crack
I killed you - I'm not gonna crack
I like it - I'm not gonna crack
I miss you - I'm not gonna crack
I love you - I'm not gonna crack
I killed you - I'm not gonna crack
I'm so happy 'cause today
I've found my friends...
They're in my head
I'm so ugly, that's okay, 'cause so are you ...
We broke our mirrors
Sunday morning is everyday for all I care...
And I'm not scared
Light my candles, in a daze
'Cause I've found god
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah
I like it - I'm not gonna crack
I miss you - I'm not gonna crack
I love you - I'm not gonna crack
I killed you - I'm not gonna crack
I like it - I'm not gonna crack
I miss you - I'm not gonna crack
I love you - I'm not gonna crack
I killed you - I'm not gonna crack
23 Scentless Apprentice (03:55)
Like most babies smell like butter
His smell smelled like no other
He was born scentless and senseless
He was born a scentless apprentice
Go away - get away, get a-way
Every wet nurse refused to feed him
Electrolytes smell like semen
I promise not to sell your perfumed secrets
There are countless formulas for pressing flowers
Go away - get away, get a-way
I lie in the soll and fertilize mushrooms
Leaking out gas fumes are made into perfume
You can't fire me because I quit!
Throw me in the fire and I won't throw a fit
Go away - get away, get away, get away, get away, get away, get away, get a-way
26 About a Girl (02:49)
I need an easy friend.
I do, with an ear to lend
I do, think you fit this shoe
I do, but you have a clue
I'll take advantage
While you hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night for free
I do
I'm standing in your line
I do, hope you have the time
I do, pick a number two
I do, keep a date with you
I'll take advantage
While you hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night for free
I do
I need an easy friend
I do, with an ear to lend
I do, think you fit this shoe
I do, but you have a clue
I'll take advantage
While you hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night
No, I can't see you every night for free
I do, I do, I do, I do
27 Endless, Nameless (13:09)
Silence, here I am.
Here I am, silent.
Bright and clear, it's what I am.
I have died.
Mother,
Mother,
Mother,
Mother.
Death with violence,
Excitement right here.
Died, go to hell.
Here I am right here.
No mas,
No mas,
No mas,
No mas.
Death is what I am.
Go to hell, go to jail,
In back of that crime.
Here I am, take a chance.
Dead!
Die!
29 Serve the Servants (03:23)
Teenage angst has paid off well
Now I'm bored and old
Self-appointed judges judge
More than they have sold
If she floats than she is not
A witch like we had thought
A down payment on another
One at Salem's lot
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
That legendary divorce is such a bore
As my bones grew they did hurt
They hurt really bad
I tried hard to have a father
But instead I had a Dad
I just want you to know that I
Don't hate you anymore
There is nothing I could say
That I haven't thought before
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
That legendary divorce is such a bore
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
Serve the servants - Oh no
That legendary divorce is such a bore
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