#10 In Utero: Nirvana. For all of the talk about how great Nirvana was (and they were), their greatness is really only reflected in 2 albums, this one and that other one. It is quite a reflection of the greatness of both of them that they are considered so good with just these two. Its like hearing that Gilligans Island was only on for 3 seasons, or that Farrah Fawcett was only Charlie's Angel for one.
In Utero is really the one that cements their greatness, since it came after they achieved super-mega-stardom, and everyone wanted to see how they would follow up Nevermind. What they did, was come out with something harder, raw-er, less accessible, but with the same power as its predecessor. Its angrier, and more mature than Nevermind, but the songs on here are are at least as good as the best ones there - the singles Heart Shaped Box and All Apologies are all time greats. Other songs like Dumb and Frances Farmer... and Serve the Servants and all the others - they all seem much more personal and soul-ripping, hinting at Kurt's inner turmoil. In many ways, I am more likely to reach for this one off of the CD shelf than the other one if I want to hear some Nirvana, and that is saying something - except for the fact that I never take CDs off the shelf anyore, oh whatever nevermind.
1 comment:
I had a friend that "always" put this on just before we headed out to the bars in San Diego. It wasn't until I did the EMP that I bought a Nirvana album, and (horror of horrors) it was a "best of" (just titled "Nirvana". I did end up buying Nevermind later.) I think this instilled the Pavlovian response of "oh goody, it's drinkin' time!", when I hear Nirvana.
Hell, if you just need to pile on the sadness, just listen to Peter Gabriel (Us)...
Post a Comment