- Kurt Cobain's suicide left us with a gaping hole that can never be
shut up. But now "Details" is proud to honor his memory with
a special collector's CD..."And I Swear That I Don't Have A Gun: Songs
Inspired by the Suicide od Kurt Cobain."For some musicians, Cobain's
suicide was a chance to write about somebody else's depression for a change.
- Julian Cope, "Queen/Mother" from the CD "20 Mothers."
The former Courtney Love consort turned New Age dungeon master places himself
in Cobaiin's heroin-dusted shoes for this tuneless and sarcastic romp.
"For all thge orphan punkies I just feel alone," Cope sqwaks,
"Wasting my time up here on the throne."
- Message: Fame is a prison.
- How we know it's about Kurt: Cope says so in the album's sleeve notes
- .
- R.E.M. , "Let Me In," from "Monster." A typically
oblique open letter to K.C. musing on th ecarnivorous nature of celebrity.
"Yeah, all those stars drip down like butter/ ...we eat them up."
Stipe notes.
- Message: This tragedy could've been averted.
- How we know it's about Kurt: Stipe said so in interviews.
- For Squirells, "Mighty K.C.," from "Example." Promising
R.E.M.-esque janglers drag something optimistic from the misery.: "And
if we gather/If we fall/Over the great unknown/ Things are gonna change
in our favor." Sadly, for Squirells' singer and bass player both died
themselves when the band's tour bus crashed last year.
- Message: Kurt's death may have acheived something positive.
- How we know it';s about Kurt: "K.C." could refer to the late
King Charles I of England, but that's unlikely.
- Neil Young, "Sleeps With Angels," from "Sleeps With
Angels." A minor-key unsentimental "Ballad of Kurt & Courtney"
crammed with feedback--Young was hit hard when Cobain's suicide note quoted
him (It's better to burn out than to fade away).
- Message: He was too good for this world.
- How we know it's about Kurt: Neil said so.
- Catherine Wheel, "Hole," from "Happy Days." Scolding
the fans, the overzealous media, and possibly Courtney Love, the generically
alternative band wails " What does it take?/When will you listen?"
- Message:Suicide is bad.
- How we Know it's about Kurt: What do you think it's about--golf?
- SONGS OFTEN MISTAKEN FOR BEING ABOUT COBAIN"S SUICIDE:
- Oasis, "Cast No Shadow," from "What's the story Morning
Glory?"
- Silverchair, "Suicidal Dream," from "Frogstomp."
- Filter, "Hey Man Nice Shot," from "Short Bus."
- SONGS THAT COULD HAVE INSPIRED THE SUICIDE OF COBAIN:
- Sinead O'Connor, "All Apologies," from "Universal Mother."
The scourge of popery wrings all the slinkiness out of the riff, and leaves
you wondering if everyone IS gay.
- Tori Amos, "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nirvana used to come
onstage to this piano version of the Nirvana hit.
Covers Of Nirvana By Other Groups
Compiled by, and copyright 1994 by Ralph Smith ([email protected]
or [email protected]).
Anyone with more information can contact me at the above addresses.
If you do, please list the artist and the record (including record company
and catalog number) if you know it. Thanks.
This document is posted to alt.music.nirvana, alt.music.alternative,
and the data library of the Rocknet forum on CompuServe.
I. COVERS OF NIRVANA'S SONGS
All Apologies
Sinead O'Connor, 'Universal Mother', LP, (Chrysalis/EMI, 7243-8-30549-2-3)
1994
Lithium
Duran Duran, rumored to have covered this on an as-yet-to-be- released
album of all cover versions.
Negative Creep
Instrumental version, unknown artist. The hidden song on a 7" compilation
Pennyroyal Tea
Hole, live performances (e.g. 11-Oct-94 at the 'Marquee at the Tralf'
Club, Buffalo, NY) Manic Street Preachers, live performances (e.g. Reading
Festival, U.K., August 1994)
School
Folk Implosion, 'Take A Walk With The Folk Implosion,' 7", (Drunken
Fish) 199?
Smells Like Teen Spirit
- Piano arrangement: Tori Amos, 'Crucify', EP, (Atlantic, 7 82399-4)
1992
- Parody: "Smells Like Nirvana", Weird Al Yankovic, 'Off The
Deep End', LP, (Scotti Bros., 72392-75256-2) 1992.
- "Musak" version: Sara DeBell, 'Grunge Lite: A Whole Big Butt-
Load of Easy Listening Favorites', LP, (C/Z, CZ064) 1993. Intentionally
hilarious.
- Unknown style: Xorcist, 'Shut Up Kitty', compilation LP, (?, REC00009)
199?
- Unknown style: an unknown band on ZYX records, from Germany
- Dance version: Abigail (Klone, CDKLONE25). Cover by an English artist
who does techno/dance versions of hits. By all accounts pretty bad. Parody:
"Smells Like Queer Spirit", Pansy Division, '?', (prob. Lookout
Records, ?) 199?.
- Parody by SF gay group.
- Parody: The Benzadrene Monks of Santo Domonica, 'Chantmania', LP, (Rhino)
1994. Parody of the Gregorian chant album 'Chant.'
- Acoustic guitar arrangement: Mary Lou Lord, 'Deep Music' (,) 199?
- Unknown style: Cheerleader Mom, "Smells Like Beefy Roll",
7" single, song is both A and B side
- Sampled riff: Credit to the Nation, "Call It What You Want".
An English rap group using the sampled main riff from SLTS
- Instrumental version: Bjorn Again, 'Flashback/Live Album' (M&G
Records, MAGCD1050) 199?
- Parody: video on the UK television show 'The Day Today' [1] 1993
- Sampled riff: Tinman, "Eighteen Strings" (the original version,
not the commercially released version)
- Bill Nye the Science Guy's "Smell's Like Air Pressure" by
Nyevana it's on the TV show
Territorial Pissings
Hardcore version, S.O.D. (Stormtroopers of Death), 'Live at Budokan',
LP, (MegaForce, 20286-6908-2) 1992
II. "TRIBUTES" TO KURT COBAIN AND NIRVANA
Kyuss [unknown title, subtitled a "song for Krist and Dave"
- German single] 1994
R.E.M., "Let Me In," 'Monster' (Warner Bros, 945740-2) 1994
The Samples, "Weight of the World," 'Autopilot' (What Are Records)
1994 Neil Young, " Sleeps With Angels," 'Sleeps With Angels'
(Reprise, 9 45749-2) 1994
III. THANKS TO...
John Loughney, Sonny Green, and Pete Couperus, Paul O'Brien, Sheila!,
Rebecca, and Mark McLaughlin.
ENDNOTES
1. "...a curious Nirvana parody that appeared on the spoof news
show [in the UK] 'The Day Today' as part of a long MTV send-up, some months
before Cobain died.
"Nirvana were shown doing an advert for the sanitary towel 'Pantysmile'
in the style of the 'Nevermind' album. It's not actually a cover version,
although the chorus borrowed heavily from Smells Like Teen Spirit. The
make-up and direction was astoundingly good, and anyone not listening closely
would quite understandably have mistaken it for a Nirvana video. ('Once
a month you become a slave / To a tidal wave, yeah...')
"The man responsible was one Chris Morris, who has also brought
the world virtually indistinguishable fake records by Michael Nyman, R.E.M.,
the Pixies and the Pet Shop Boys." - Paul O'Brien
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