Good Morning! Today we’re taking a quick look at Nirvana’s In Utero record as it turns 30 By the time Nirvana released In Utero, I was kind of over them. It was (relatively) inescapable, but I only paid attention when it was unavoidable. I’d decided that I wouldn’t (shouldn’t?) like it, and that was that. I didn’t own a copy until almost ten years later, and even that comes with an asterisk– it was my wife who brought her copy to the party. A party turning 22 today, by the way.
I bought the CD on day one and it calmed me and my anxiety. It signaled, through the lyrics and the Albini rawness, that I was ok. I'll always love Kurt for that.
I never got into this record. I discovered Bleach after Nevermind and it pretty much ruined all things Nirvana for me. I listened to Negative Creep in my car over and over and over again.
I think I had a similar reaction against Rage Against The Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers who were both very popular with a certain type of guy in my school. I still don't like the records (especially RHCP; I've softened on Rage) but it probably started as an identity thing rather have a musical thing. It's weird how our tastes are guided by these abstract internal biases.
I'm in my nostalgic era so everything from the 90s (well, mostly) is looked at with rose glasses. Admittedly, I wasn't at all into Nirvana then but appreciate them so much more now. My 11 year old niece bought a Nirvana tshirt from Target and it made me feel oddly proud. Nostalgia is strange. Great take here Kevin!
Oh my God, same. I used to be tempted to ask for a full report on which songs, if any, they knew. I’ve mellowed out and am now just happy that they’re repping our old music in any way at all. Any nod of respect to the past is a good thing.
One of son’s friends showed up in a Sonic Youth “Goo” shirt, and it threw me a bit. Felt like I was back in school. Lol. Turns out he’s been mining his moms’ record collections.
I had pretty much the same experience: I was over Nirvana by the time this record came out, but in that interim between when I first heard them (introduced with the "world premiere" of Smells Like Teen Spirit) and when I dumped them 2 years later, they were THE band in my life. I sought after their music. My reasons for rejecting were slightly different (too punk), but I obviously remember all the "sellout' conversations around this time.
I still don't love In utero compared to their other stuff, but there are a few songs I really enjoy. Still, I can listen to Nevermind or Bleach from cover to cover without missing a beat.
I was most definitely not over Nirvana when In Utero came out and I got it as quickly as possible. Loved the brute force of the sound married to Cobain’s classic and complex songwriting - and still think it sounds fab!
I was a bit more incurious than I am now. Too wrapped up in all the weird orthodoxy about what it meant to "sell out" or not. It has definitely aged well.
Happy Anniversary! Music like this takes me back to high school - 'Heart-Shaped Box' was a song (and a video) that was just in the air and impossible to escape from. It's been ages since I heard it and I wonder what I would make me feel to hear it again. The album too was highly anticipated.
Always great to get a glimpse of this era I didn’t experience but wish I could have. And don’t be too hard on yourself about your attitude, I’m absolutely positive I would have had the same one if I’d been in your shoes hah!
Yes, it absolutely holds up!! Rape Me, All Apologies, and Heart Shaped Box which you mentioned, plus Pennyroyal Tea are the best trax. The first one featured rather prominently in either the second or third season of Succession, I can't remember but it was very well placed and got me back on a Nirvana kick. Never got to see them live and never will 😭
I feel very lucky that I was able to see them at the shows I did. Can't remember hearing it in Succession, but that's a good excuse for me to go back and look.
It was in reference to the Waystar Royco cruise ships coverup, and Shiv was speaking while Kendall had it blared over her the whole time. The whole Succession OST is awesome! Btw, #TeamRoman4Life 😄
It varies! Some days I am even #TeamTom if you can believe it. But if I had to pick one, Rome! Kieran is simply amazing. Maybe with any other actor, I wouldn't be this way, but I can't help but get suckered in.
So my new boyfriend/celebrity hall pass these days, which my hubs fully condones, is Damian Lewis! I read that if you are in the seven stages of grief about Succession ending, then give Billions a try. And now I'm obsessed 😍 Late to the party as usual, but better late than never is what I say!
We love this album, though it admittedly took longer to fully appreciate. It hosts some of our favorite Nirvana songs and was about as defiant of a follow-up to Nevermind as one could release. It does have this indelible darkness throughout that is, at times, just punishing. I love your description of Nevermind’s sound as “white heat & fury with a glaze of polish.” In Utero, to me, is a tub of acetone meant to erase any trace of that previous sound. It’s a tormented, but incredible album that we can listen to once in a blue moon.
I listened to again for the first time in a while for my newsletter write-up and I found it a difficult listen. You can hear how much Kurt is working through and I don’t know if I love it, but I appreciate the hell out of this record.
This nailed it: "it deliberately strips away all of the gloss and radio-ready polish that made its predecessor so accessible and, to a degree, easily marketable. It doesn’t just defy expectations—it lights them on fire and, with a contented smile on its face, watches it burn."
Bought it day of release and listened to it a ton for the next few months, at least. These days it's the one I'm least likely to listen to. Lots of good songs, for sure. "Pennyroyal Tea" is my fave.
Kurt had what I now call "beatitude." This is a new thought to me I am born in the same year as Kurt and like him came up up i the snarling atheist punk subculture. I like to think had he survived his self destructive period he would have become a wise saint like figure and perhaps even a Christian mystic. But of course we will never know. R.I.P. Kurt.
I bought the CD on day one and it calmed me and my anxiety. It signaled, through the lyrics and the Albini rawness, that I was ok. I'll always love Kurt for that.
I never got into this record. I discovered Bleach after Nevermind and it pretty much ruined all things Nirvana for me. I listened to Negative Creep in my car over and over and over again.
Same here. Negative Creep rules.
I think I had a similar reaction against Rage Against The Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers who were both very popular with a certain type of guy in my school. I still don't like the records (especially RHCP; I've softened on Rage) but it probably started as an identity thing rather have a musical thing. It's weird how our tastes are guided by these abstract internal biases.
Right?
I'm in my nostalgic era so everything from the 90s (well, mostly) is looked at with rose glasses. Admittedly, I wasn't at all into Nirvana then but appreciate them so much more now. My 11 year old niece bought a Nirvana tshirt from Target and it made me feel oddly proud. Nostalgia is strange. Great take here Kevin!
Thank you! Kids in Nirvana shirts used to irk me a bit, but anymore I'm happy for 'em, and hope they like the music as much as we did.
Oh my God, same. I used to be tempted to ask for a full report on which songs, if any, they knew. I’ve mellowed out and am now just happy that they’re repping our old music in any way at all. Any nod of respect to the past is a good thing.
One of son’s friends showed up in a Sonic Youth “Goo” shirt, and it threw me a bit. Felt like I was back in school. Lol. Turns out he’s been mining his moms’ record collections.
I had pretty much the same experience: I was over Nirvana by the time this record came out, but in that interim between when I first heard them (introduced with the "world premiere" of Smells Like Teen Spirit) and when I dumped them 2 years later, they were THE band in my life. I sought after their music. My reasons for rejecting were slightly different (too punk), but I obviously remember all the "sellout' conversations around this time.
I still don't love In utero compared to their other stuff, but there are a few songs I really enjoy. Still, I can listen to Nevermind or Bleach from cover to cover without missing a beat.
Yes!
“More and more backwards hats...” loved that.
Hilariously, I lived in the middle of Grunge Land (Seattle in the 90s) but had no clue.
And Happy Anniversary!
Thank you! I hope your birthday was awesome.
I was hoping someone would catch that! :)
If they had released it as "I Hate Myself And I Want To Die", it might have been seen now as foretelling Cobain's death.
Exactly!
It's ironic that Scott Litt, who produced R.E.M. albums, came in to "remix" In Utero.
I was most definitely not over Nirvana when In Utero came out and I got it as quickly as possible. Loved the brute force of the sound married to Cobain’s classic and complex songwriting - and still think it sounds fab!
I was a bit more incurious than I am now. Too wrapped up in all the weird orthodoxy about what it meant to "sell out" or not. It has definitely aged well.
Happy Anniversary! Music like this takes me back to high school - 'Heart-Shaped Box' was a song (and a video) that was just in the air and impossible to escape from. It's been ages since I heard it and I wonder what I would make me feel to hear it again. The album too was highly anticipated.
Thank you!
Always great to get a glimpse of this era I didn’t experience but wish I could have. And don’t be too hard on yourself about your attitude, I’m absolutely positive I would have had the same one if I’d been in your shoes hah!
Thanks! I was thinking about that while reading your most recent article on Paramore. Looking back, I was insufferable.
Yes, it absolutely holds up!! Rape Me, All Apologies, and Heart Shaped Box which you mentioned, plus Pennyroyal Tea are the best trax. The first one featured rather prominently in either the second or third season of Succession, I can't remember but it was very well placed and got me back on a Nirvana kick. Never got to see them live and never will 😭
I feel very lucky that I was able to see them at the shows I did. Can't remember hearing it in Succession, but that's a good excuse for me to go back and look.
#TeamShiv4Life
It was in reference to the Waystar Royco cruise ships coverup, and Shiv was speaking while Kendall had it blared over her the whole time. The whole Succession OST is awesome! Btw, #TeamRoman4Life 😄
Roman! I wouldn’t have guessed that one. 😀
It varies! Some days I am even #TeamTom if you can believe it. But if I had to pick one, Rome! Kieran is simply amazing. Maybe with any other actor, I wouldn't be this way, but I can't help but get suckered in.
So my new boyfriend/celebrity hall pass these days, which my hubs fully condones, is Damian Lewis! I read that if you are in the seven stages of grief about Succession ending, then give Billions a try. And now I'm obsessed 😍 Late to the party as usual, but better late than never is what I say!
I haven't watched Billions, but loved Lewis' character in Homeland.
Am planning to binge both Homeland and Band of Brothers at some point!
We love this album, though it admittedly took longer to fully appreciate. It hosts some of our favorite Nirvana songs and was about as defiant of a follow-up to Nevermind as one could release. It does have this indelible darkness throughout that is, at times, just punishing. I love your description of Nevermind’s sound as “white heat & fury with a glaze of polish.” In Utero, to me, is a tub of acetone meant to erase any trace of that previous sound. It’s a tormented, but incredible album that we can listen to once in a blue moon.
That is an awesome (and accurate) description!
I listened to again for the first time in a while for my newsletter write-up and I found it a difficult listen. You can hear how much Kurt is working through and I don’t know if I love it, but I appreciate the hell out of this record.
https://open.substack.com/pub/dailymusic/p/in-utero-by-nirvana?r=hhm2o&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
This nailed it: "it deliberately strips away all of the gloss and radio-ready polish that made its predecessor so accessible and, to a degree, easily marketable. It doesn’t just defy expectations—it lights them on fire and, with a contented smile on its face, watches it burn."
Thanks!!
🤘🤘
Happy Anniversary, Kevin!
Bought it day of release and listened to it a ton for the next few months, at least. These days it's the one I'm least likely to listen to. Lots of good songs, for sure. "Pennyroyal Tea" is my fave.
Thank you!
Kurt had what I now call "beatitude." This is a new thought to me I am born in the same year as Kurt and like him came up up i the snarling atheist punk subculture. I like to think had he survived his self destructive period he would have become a wise saint like figure and perhaps even a Christian mystic. But of course we will never know. R.I.P. Kurt.