Amy Winehouse's death got me thinking about Nirvana's Kurt Cobain
Amy Winehouse's death last month got me thinking about another musician who died at 27: Nirvana's Kurt Cobain AMY WINEHOUSE'S DEEP CONTRALTO BELIED HER FRAIL APPEARANCE
Ld t AST MONTH after we'd heard the news of British singer Amy Winehouse's untimely eath at 27, the media quickly zeroed in on that particular number, citing the names of other rock and pop stars who had lost their lives when they were as old as Winehouse was when her body was found at her London residence. Winehouse was probably the most talented of the current crop of British women singers many of whom are, like she was, at the forefront of a revival of soul music. Winehouse's voice a deep contralto belied her frail appearance and her two albums, particularly the second one, Back to Black, are compelling listens. This column is not about Winehouse and her music. Nor is it an obituary. There are dozens of those that have already been written (the best that I read was on New York magazine's culture website, Vulture). After I got the news of Winehouse's death, it was that number 27 that got me thinking about another musician who died (actually took his own life) at the same age: Nirvana's late frontman, Kurt Cobain. Why did I think of Cobain and not the other famous musicians who died at 27? Such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, or the not as famous blues musician Robert Johnson who also died at 27 in 1938 and, when he was alive, didn't get even a small fraction of the recognition or the fame that the other members of what has come to be called the 27 Club did. Well, I thought of Cobain simply because I was alerted to a fact that came as a bit of a surprise: Next month will mark the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind, the Seattle-based band's best studio album (although I also like their mainly acoustic 1994 release, MTV Unplugged in New York). I didn't realise that it's already been 20 years since Nevermind, with its iconic cover showing a naked infant boy and a dollar bill both seemingly under water, was released.
Time certainly flies. Two years after the release of Nevermind, Cobain died, apparently shooting himself in the head. And that was the end of Nirvana, again like Winehouse's death, the premature end for a musician and a band that had held huge promise.
Just as the news of Winehouse's death led to a rekindled interest in her music (sales of Back to Black spiked posthumously) and I re-heard the album, enjoying not just the very popular tracks, Rehab and You Know I'm No Good, but also others, such as Tears Dry On Their Own, Wake Up Alone and the title track, Back to Black, the alert on Nevermind's upcoming 20th anniversary revived my interest in Nirvana's music. I looked for the album at home I know I have a CD but couldn't find it in the disorganised mess that is my collection in conventional format. The mp3 versions, always better organised, were there on my player and, after ages, helped me immerse myself into those 13 songs.
Smells Like Teen Spirit , the first track on Nevermind , hooks you from the very first notes of the chord progression and when the drums enter. I remember when I first heard Smells Like... it woke me up on the very first listen and I knew this was a band I would like. The best thing about Nevermind is that each one of its 13 songs is as great. There is no faff happening on any track. But that isn't what makes it a classic and timeless piece of work. Many people have described Nirvana's music about being dark and depressing and angry and overly influenced by Cobain's own personal problems that led to his subsequent suicide but I find Nevermind to be a great record a curious amalgam of punk, metal and even melodic pop.
That's probably why I was elated when I learnt that SPIN magazine's August issue would pay tribute to the 20th anniversary of Nevermind. Not just that. Before the issue hit the stands, SPIN put online a free download of a tribute, called Newermind, by 13 artists covering their version of each of the album's songs.
The musicians ranged from indie rockers and punk bands to metalheads and pop bands. Two of the bands are among those that Cobain loved Meat Puppets and The Vaselines. Nirvana has covered songs by both those bands and on the SPIN release they've now returned the favour. Meat Puppets do Smells Like Teen Spirit and the Vaselines Lithium, both great songs that are done great justice by their cover versions.
The SPIN download has all the 13 tracks in sequence and, besides Meat Puppets and The Vaselines, has artists including Butch Walker, Titus Andronicus, Amanda Palmer and Telekinesis, covering them. A great tribute to a great album and if you're going to download it, I'd suggest you listen to the original and then this one. Back to back To give feedback, stream or download the music mentioned in this column, go to http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/download-central, follow argus48 on Twitter
Amy Winehouse's death last month got me thinking about another musician who died at 27: Nirvana's Kurt Cobain AMY WINEHOUSE'S DEEP CONTRALTO BELIED HER FRAIL APPEARANCE
Ld t AST MONTH after we'd heard the news of British singer Amy Winehouse's untimely eath at 27, the media quickly zeroed in on that particular number, citing the names of other rock and pop stars who had lost their lives when they were as old as Winehouse was when her body was found at her London residence. Winehouse was probably the most talented of the current crop of British women singers many of whom are, like she was, at the forefront of a revival of soul music. Winehouse's voice a deep contralto belied her frail appearance and her two albums, particularly the second one, Back to Black, are compelling listens. This column is not about Winehouse and her music. Nor is it an obituary. There are dozens of those that have already been written (the best that I read was on New York magazine's culture website, Vulture). After I got the news of Winehouse's death, it was that number 27 that got me thinking about another musician who died (actually took his own life) at the same age: Nirvana's late frontman, Kurt Cobain. Why did I think of Cobain and not the other famous musicians who died at 27? Such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, or the not as famous blues musician Robert Johnson who also died at 27 in 1938 and, when he was alive, didn't get even a small fraction of the recognition or the fame that the other members of what has come to be called the 27 Club did. Well, I thought of Cobain simply because I was alerted to a fact that came as a bit of a surprise: Next month will mark the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind, the Seattle-based band's best studio album (although I also like their mainly acoustic 1994 release, MTV Unplugged in New York). I didn't realise that it's already been 20 years since Nevermind, with its iconic cover showing a naked infant boy and a dollar bill both seemingly under water, was released.
Time certainly flies. Two years after the release of Nevermind, Cobain died, apparently shooting himself in the head. And that was the end of Nirvana, again like Winehouse's death, the premature end for a musician and a band that had held huge promise.
Just as the news of Winehouse's death led to a rekindled interest in her music (sales of Back to Black spiked posthumously) and I re-heard the album, enjoying not just the very popular tracks, Rehab and You Know I'm No Good, but also others, such as Tears Dry On Their Own, Wake Up Alone and the title track, Back to Black, the alert on Nevermind's upcoming 20th anniversary revived my interest in Nirvana's music. I looked for the album at home I know I have a CD but couldn't find it in the disorganised mess that is my collection in conventional format. The mp3 versions, always better organised, were there on my player and, after ages, helped me immerse myself into those 13 songs.
Smells Like Teen Spirit , the first track on Nevermind , hooks you from the very first notes of the chord progression and when the drums enter. I remember when I first heard Smells Like... it woke me up on the very first listen and I knew this was a band I would like. The best thing about Nevermind is that each one of its 13 songs is as great. There is no faff happening on any track. But that isn't what makes it a classic and timeless piece of work. Many people have described Nirvana's music about being dark and depressing and angry and overly influenced by Cobain's own personal problems that led to his subsequent suicide but I find Nevermind to be a great record a curious amalgam of punk, metal and even melodic pop.
That's probably why I was elated when I learnt that SPIN magazine's August issue would pay tribute to the 20th anniversary of Nevermind. Not just that. Before the issue hit the stands, SPIN put online a free download of a tribute, called Newermind, by 13 artists covering their version of each of the album's songs.
The musicians ranged from indie rockers and punk bands to metalheads and pop bands. Two of the bands are among those that Cobain loved Meat Puppets and The Vaselines. Nirvana has covered songs by both those bands and on the SPIN release they've now returned the favour. Meat Puppets do Smells Like Teen Spirit and the Vaselines Lithium, both great songs that are done great justice by their cover versions.
The SPIN download has all the 13 tracks in sequence and, besides Meat Puppets and The Vaselines, has artists including Butch Walker, Titus Andronicus, Amanda Palmer and Telekinesis, covering them. A great tribute to a great album and if you're going to download it, I'd suggest you listen to the original and then this one. Back to back To give feedback, stream or download the music mentioned in this column, go to http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/download-central, follow argus48 on Twitter
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