Recently, I've been listening to a lot of Nirvana Unplugged. It's becoming my favorite material to listen to from them. For me, this album is what defines Nirvana. This band was very in tune with the definition of the word 'spontaneous'. Just by listening to various bootleg cd's of concerts and recordings over the years, the song title might have been the same, but I can't recall any performances of any given song that sound exactly the same. But to further this regarding the Unplugged show, according to the band, this show was supposed to be a disaster.
Grohl explained, “That show was supposed to be a disaster. We hadn’t rehearsed. We weren’t used to playing acoustic. We did a few rehearsals and they were terrible. Everyone thought it was horrible. Even the people from MTV thought it was horrible. Then we sat down and the cameras started rolling and something clicked. It became one of the band’s most memorable performances.”
The thing with Unplugged is that six of the 14 songs they did, were cover songs. One thing that isn't necessarily the first thing you think of when the band Nirvana is brought up is how good of a cover band they were. They didn't just play someone else's song, they did it to the point of making the song sort of their own. Kurts voice I'm sure is a big factor in this, but also I think the bands they chose to cover is a factor. With the exception of David Bowie, The Vaselines, Leadbelly, The Meat Puppets....not necessarily big time names, at least from a commercial standpoint. If you listen to the actual rehearsals of this show, they sound not awful but not really that good either, and yet it's hard to imagine that the songs they chose to perform weren't well thought out. I think its moments like these that Cobain deserves an enormous amount of credit, I mean you don't just play "The Man Who Sold The World" just for shits and giggles right?
So, let me get to the original reason I'm discussing Unplugged. The last song on unplugged was written by Lead Belly. This was an artist who covered just about any subject a human can think of, from racism, to slavery, to picking cotton, and a lot of gospel type songs. We've all heard Nirvana do "where did you sleep last night,"
but have you heard the original Lead Belly version?
I'm so used to hearing Kurts voice that I forget it's not his song, but furthermore, it's a song that was probably at least 50 years old when Nirvana performed it. The first CD of the box set contains two performances by Cobain of Lead Belly songs which was a collaboration album with Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees. One of which is "Ain't it a shame"
They kind of turned this into a rock song....
And here is Lead Belly doing the song:
I don't know why, but after listening to this song, I just had this gut feeling that Lead Belly was the type of person who no matter what was going through his head, he was going to express it in music. This particular performance, he doesn't even play the guitar, just his foot, or perhaps knocking on his guitar, keeping a beat and he's singing. Just pure awesomeness...although, I am very curious about the lyric "Ain't it a shame to beat your wife on a Sunday.." what exactly is he insinuating with those lyrics?
And now it gets pretty haunting and fascinating at the same time for me
You can find a couple of versions of this song on the internet. I know in some of my previous blogs, I've shit on Jesus Christ and all, and I'll probably continue to do so in the future, but I also acknowledge that there quite a few positive ideas that I like about Christianity. Love, peace, salvation......But there's one phrase that is used over and over in this song that has my attention: "One day when I was lost..." This would have had no meaning to me a few years ago, but it has great meaning to me now. I can now say that I know the experience of 'being lost', but also, I can now say that I'm able to recognize whenever I am lost. So all in all, this song is about how Jesus died for our sins and how whenever we go through a time when we are 'lost' we can find him and ourselves by turning to Jesus...............*cough* ya...ummm, so back to Cobain:
Again, this isn't Nirvana performing, it's a collaboration, but that's definitely Cobain's voice. My immediate reaction to this (and I'm talking at least ten years ago when I first heard it from the box set) was...what the fuck? He's singing about Jesus Christ? I'm not 100% certain of this, but I'm pretty sure Cobain was anti-Jesus, or at least, anti-Christianity, and here he is singing a gospel song. Recently however, when I listen to this, a couple things come to mind: 1) the level of admiration and respect Cobain had for Lead Belly, that it didn't matter what the subject matter of the song was, he was more than happy to sing it and 2) The maturity level and intelligence Cobain had for someone who was in their twenties, and I say maturity both in good and bad terms. I often view Cobain as someone who was highly intelligent about the world and how it operates, but don't forget, this person was an addict. He had gone through a lot of emotional pain throughout his life and unfortunately, he chose the wrong way to deal with that pain. So when I hear him singing "one day when I was lost.." I wonder, did he actually feel that way or was he simply singing the song? Was this a song he chose to do or did someone else assign it for him? What meaning did this song have for him?
While looking for reading material on Nirvana's Unplugged performance, I came across this website or story link which perfectly described my feelings about Cobain now,
TIL David Bowies response to Nirvana's cover of Man Who Sold the World was "it would have been nice to have worked with him but just talking with him would have been real cool".
Geez, exactly! Many of us wish we could see certain deceased artists play live, and I am definitely with that, but with Cobain, all I'd wish for is just a short conversation, just like five minutes. I'm also reminded of an episode of "The New Twilight Zone" (1980s) called "Profile In Silver" which is about a time traveler/historian who had so much admiration for John F. Kennedy, that when he went to Dallas to witness the assassination, he didn't have the heart to actually see it, and ended up saving the president and changed a lot of details of world events (for the worse). Then I think to myself, if I was able to talk to Cobain, would I have as a result changed something that was supposed to happen? hmmmmm....
Part II
This is @arielscout and her set Morning Warmth. Every little detail from the color of the wall, to the color of her skin, her hair, the poses, the ink, it all matches perfectly!! Just WOW!!!!!! Please check it out if you haven't!
and this is @ailura and her set My Confession. Just absolutely perfect. Everything goes in sync in this photo set, her hair, the background, pure awesomeness!!! But it's this particular photo that has me mesmerized. I just look into those eyes, and it's as if she's telling me to join her on a journey somewhere. I don't know where the journey is headed, but it's definitely somewhere I want to be. LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!
Part III
Let me share the following two videos:
I really wish both of these men would be castrated already. Seriously. The one guy is full of shit, but doesn't want you to believe it *ahem Mr. I smoked but did not inhale* and the other guy wants you to eat his shit.........
I haven't followed up that closely on Hillary Clinton, but I know there's been some dirt on her as well. But I would like to take this opportunity to lash out on the American public...............SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE FUCK PEOPLE? How can an election get to the point of picking between two candidates who both should in my opinion, be in prison? You know, a lot of things in our society is automated these days, choosing your government is not one of them. These are people voted in. Millions of people actually believe that one of these two or perhaps both, are capable, qualified people to represent an entire nation. You know, there isn't a country in the world whose media isn't affected by third parties, I get that, but you know what? I went to school to learn that "politicians can lie" and therefore, whenever I do vote, that always comes into play. The thing is, I know that millions of Americans also went to school and learned the same thing I did, so again I ask, why did it get to this?
The only time I ever voted as an American was in the 2004 elections. You could have put in a goat to go against George Bush and I would have voted for the goat. I was seriously shocked that he won the next day, and ever since then, I've been asking myself this one question: "Can the American public really be that stupid?" To this day I refuse to believe that the American public is stupid. No. Instead I believe the American public doesn't give a shit. It seems as if people are satisfied with their job and TV and Cheetos and that's it. The thing is, we live in a world today where we are not really citizens of any given nation, but rather we are consumers of any given nation. Have you ever stopped to think what compromises your trash? Have you ever stopped to think about what your schedule looks like? How much of your time is devoted to shopping? How much satisfaction do we get out of shopping? And yes, I'm absolutely 100% including myself in all this. I want an Iphone, but do I really need one? What positives do I get out of having a cellphone in the first place? You see, many times throughout the day, I like to think about stuff...sometimes it's Suicidegirls, sometimes it's smoking, sometimes it's when the fuck am I going to get my shit together and leave this rotten country, and sometimes, I like to think about the true power and grand design of nature. Have you ever asked yourself why you have a liver? Have you ever asked yourself why the human brain is shaped the way it is? Or maybe you've asked yourself why dolphins and whales are mammals, how did evolution allow that? Or maybe you've asked the question of, maybe there was a big bang, but what was there before it? The answer to any or all of these questions, in my opinion, holds a far greater value than the worth an Iphone has. Yet, I still hope to get one someday....why is this? Has marketing had that drastic of an effect on my brain?..................my bottom line with this, if people cared a bit more about politics, it wouldn't be this bad of a situation.
Part IV
Just WOW...Amazing...Incredible..this is @forestgirl intimate&natural soul. I really really REALLY hope we get to see some more sets from her...LOVE!!!!!!
This is @chalk , I am so in love with ALL of her sets, the latest playtime. Awesome stuff!!!
Part V
I recently came across this blog about Layne Staley. This is from someone called theburningblogger, and while I agree with a lot of what he/she (I'm assuming this person is male) says, especially about the media coverage regarding Kurt Cobain's death vs. Layne Staley's death, I was absolutely incensed by the following:
Alice in Chains has always been about the vocals, whether it was Staley’s solo vocals or the famous Staley/Cantrell harmonisation, that was always the magic element that set that band apart and that the band’s music was raised up by.
I'm really going to try to not sound like a total asshole here because maybe this individual is somebody I'd enjoy a conversation with, maybe I'm just way out of line myself, maybe........whatever........NO GODAMN MOTHERFUCKING WAY that there is any truth, like not even bread crumb size truth to the above quote.......jesusfuckinggodawfulchrist, why would anyone even make such a statement? You know, I still have quite a lot of listening and discovering to do with AIC, but in no way shape or form would I ever even consider separating Layne's voice/lyric style from Jerry Cantrell's style. They were such an awesome band, I don't understand how anyone could believe that AIC was just about the vocals...
no....sorry, Layne was not the band...talented was Layne? Fuck yea! Could Layne hold his own, without Cantrell, yea, well, at least up until his addiction literally took over his life. But the same can be said for Cantrell.....ugh...so disgusted with that...AIC was all about the vocals...puuhhhleeeaaasse........
Part VI
This is the incredibly beautiful @berenice and the set is called fireproof. There is so much beauty in these photos. Incredible!
And here is @fenek Black & White. This set is sooooooooooooooooooo amazing!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is @atm0sphere and her set pinapple express. So gorgeous! LOVE!!!
and here is @antiverse to catch a dream.
You know what I did after I looked at the last picture? I immediately went back to the start and looked through all the pictures again. Incredible stuff!!! LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Part VII
I honestly can't recall how I came across this, but it's growing on me more and more and more. You know, I know its very weird of me to think this, but it sounds normal to say "you will suck my cock," but it just sounds weird saying "my cock you will suck." You know what else is weird? Dave Grohl not only plays the devil in the video/movie, but he is also the voice of the devil in the song. I can sort of hear Grohl voice, but I just have to think that he's using some kind of special effect. Its just hard to believe that the growling is Grohl.....so let me leave you with this final thought: What do you think Satan's cock looks like? I have sort of an idea, it looks like Donald Trump.
