Nirvana :: I Hate Myself and I Want to Die
I decided to bring this post back to life in honor of the new Montage of Heck documentary and album that just came out. Nirvana had quite a few good rarities, but none of them have ever been made into a faithful collection. The documentary is an interesting piece, because it doesn't portray Kurt Cobain favorably and it seems that his public image has changed quite a bit since he passed.
It seems that in a lot of ways Nirvana has become a cultural product with the meaning stripped from it just like Kurt always feared. Nirvana shirts are still being sold as fashion items and can hang on racks directly beside Guns and Roses shirts, when the bands stood for polar opposite things. Axel Rose penned some racist and homophobic songs like "One in a Million," with the lyrics, "immigrants and faggots, they make no sense to me. They come to our country and think they'll do as they please." In contrast, Kurt was a feminist and outspoken about LGBTQ rights and a very outspoken anti-consumerist and anti-authoritarian. He was trapped in a misogynist, capitalist industry that he was fighting publicly and this side of him often gets overlooked.
It's a shame that Kurt isn't around to defend himself and his music anymore and that their image can be warped. Imagine what we would think of him if he had actually recorded the acoustic folk album he was talking about doing with R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe before he died. If he kept making incendiary comments into his old age that pissed off the right people to keep his music on the blacklist as he faded away, instead of burning out.
From 2011:
The 20 year reissue of Nevermind inspired this collection of Nirvana b-sides and unreleased songs. So, if the With the Lights Out collection was too dense and at times impossible to listen to, try this on. The title of the mix is the title that Kurt Cobain initially wanted to give In Utero. It was meant as a joke in response to the critics and the music industry, and wasn't meant to be taken literally.
Nirvana :: I Hate Myself and I Want to Die
Get the tracks here
Download Mirror
- Tracklist:
01. I Hate Myself and I Want to Die (B-Side, 1993)
02. You Know You're Right
03. Sappy (Steve Albini Version)
04. Sliver (Single Version)
05. Been a Son (Blew EP 1989)
06. (New Wave) Polly (Incesticide)
07. Even in His Youth (Music Source 1991)
08. Old Age (Outtake, 1991)
09. Opinion (Solo Acoustic, 1990)
10. Aneurysm (Music Source 1991)
11. Oh, the Guilt (B-Side, 1992)
12. Curmudgeon (B-Side, 1992)
13. Endless, Nameless (1991)
14. Spank Thru (Sub Pop 200)
15. Aero Zeppelin (Incesticide)
16. Pen Cap Chew (Reciprocal 1988)
17. Token Eastern Song (Music Source 1989)
18. If You Must (Reciprocal 1988)
19. Blandest (Reciprocal 1988)
20. Return of the Rat (Outtake, 1992)
21. Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip (In Utero)
Check out other posts about Nirvana:
