All you wanted to know about Nirvana
The NIRVANA FAQ
Everything you always wanted to know
and then some...
v1.0
I.a. The Band
1. How it all began
2. Other names/drummers/extras and where they are now
3. Current Sketch
b. A sum-it-all-up time line
II. The Songs
a. What do they all mean?
1. Bleach
2. Nevermind
3. In Utero
III. Trivia and Tidbits (stuff to wow your friends with)
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I. The Band
a.1 How it all began -
The core of Nirvana formed when Kurt Cobain met Krist (then Chris)
Novoselic throught the punk band 'The Melvins'. Since then, they have
gone through many different drummers and different names.
a.2 Who they were, and where are they now -
Band Name Who was in it/what did he play Where now?
========= ============================== ==========
Fecal Matter Kurt Cobain - Guitar/Vocals
Dale Crover - Bass Guitar
Greg Hokanson - Drums
Mike Dillard - Drums
Brown Cow Buzz Osborne - Bass Guitar The Melvins
Dale Crover - Drums The Melvins
Kurt Cobain - Guitar/Vocals
Stiff Woodies Krist - Vocals
Various Guitar and Bass
Kurt - Drums
The Sellouts Steve Newman - Bass Guitar (lost fingers in
chainsaw accident)
Kurt Cobain - Drums
Krist - Guitar/Vocals
Skid Row Aaron Burckhard - Drums
Kurt - Guitar *current
Krist - Bass Guitar *current
Ted Ed Fred }
Bliss }
Throat Oyster }Same as Skid Row
Pen Cap Chew }
Windowpane }
Nirvana Aaron Burckhard - Drums Band - Attica
Dave Foster - Drums ???
Chad Channing - Drums Band - The Fire Ants
Jason Everman - Guitar Band - Mindfunk
Danny Peters - Drum Band - Mudhoney
Dave Grohl - Drums *current
John Duncan - Guitar Band - The Exploited
Pat Smear - Guitar *current
a.3 Current Sketch -
Nirvana is now Kurt/Krist/Dave/Pat and are touring for their third album
'In Utero'. How long will Nirvana last? Kurt says probably 1 to 3 more
albums, unless they discover something that makes them all extremely
happy. The next album will go in the general direction that the last 2
REM albums did (nice, slow, acoustic songs).
b - The sum-it-all-up time line -
05-16-65 Krist Anthony Novoselic born to Krist and Maria Novoselic
01-31-67 Chad Channing born to Wayne and Burnyce Channing
02-20-67 Kurt Donald Cobain born to Wendy and Donald Cobain
01-14-69 David Eric Grohl born to James and Virginia Grohl
??-??-75 Kurt's parents divorce, Kurt lives with mother
02-??-78 Kurt's father remarries
??-??-79 Krist's family moves to Aberdeen
06-??-80 Krist sent to Croatia for a year to live with relatives
02-20-81 Kurt gets his first guitar
??-??-83 Krist graduates from high school
05-??-84 Kurt's mother remarries to Pat O'Connor
05-??-85 Kurt drops out of high school
01-23-88 Nirvana records demo with Dale Crover
10-30-88 Kurt smashes his first guitar
11-??-88 Love Buzz/Big Cheese single released
02-??-89 After recording Bleach, they do a short west coast tour
06-??-89 Bleach released
06-22-89 The tour for Bleach begins in San Francisco
09-??-89 Make up tour dates due to the loss of Jason
??-??-89 Blew EP recorded
10-20-89 Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England
12-30-89 Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma
02-??-90 Nirvana begins another short US tour
03-??-90 After losing Chad, they play a 7 show West Coast tour
04-10-90 Highly bootlegged Blind Pig concert
07-11-90 Sliver single recorded
09-??-90 Sliver single released
09-22-90 The Motor Sports show, Dan Peters only show with Nirvana
01-01-91 Studio session: recorded Anuerysm and Even In His Youth
04-17-91 Nirvana first plays Smells Like Teen Spirit
04-30-91 Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records
05-??-91 Started recording Nevermind
08-??-91 The massive European Tour begins
08-??-91 The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made
09-13-91 The release party for Nevermind
09-20-91 Tour for Nevermind begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-25-91 Kurt and Krist tape interview for Headbangers Ball
11-02-91 European tour for Nevermind begins in Bristol England
11-19-91 Highly bootlegged Rome concert
12-??-91 Short US tour with Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers
01-10-92 Nirvana plays in the MTV studios
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live, Nevermind hits #1
01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
01-24-92 Nirvana begins a world tour
02-??-92 Come As You Are video is made
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
06-22-92 Kurt collapses in Belfast due to stomach problems
07-21-92 Lithium single released with Nevermind lyric sheet
08-18-92 Frances Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana plays Reading Festival
09-??-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
11-??-92 In Bloom Video hits MTV
12-15-92 Incesticide released
03-??-93 In Utero recorded in 2 weeks
04-09-93 Nirvana plays a benefit for Bosnian Rape victims
05-??-93 Sliver video hits MTV
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
09-14-93 In Utero released in UK
09-19-93 Heart Shaped Box video premieres
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero released in US
09-25-93 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live for a second time
10-10-93 Nirvana begins tour supporting In Utero
11-05-93 Nirvana plays Buffalo, NY (I see them there)
11-13-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
12-12-93 All Apologies video hits MTV
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
12-31-93 MTV's New Years Eve special airs, Nirvana headlines
02-??-94 Nirvana begins European Tour
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized comatose
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from coma, asks for milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power
04-??-94 Kurt commits suicide. Kurt Donald Cobain 1967-1994
II. The Songs
a.1 Bleach
Blew - The whole song conveys themes of entrapment
Floyd the Barber - A song about a small town that goes bad, the title is
taken from a character on The Andy Griffith Show. Everyone turns out to
be a mass-murderer. The song also shows Freudian castration fears.
About A Girl - A song written for Kurt's girlfriend Tracy, she threatened
to kick him out if he didn't get a job.
School - A song about the incestous Seattle Scene. The bands seem to resemble
high school cliques.
Love Buzz - A cover song from the group Shocking Blue
Paper Cuts - Part of the lyrics are based on a true story of a family
that Kurt was acquainted with, who locked their children in a room. Other
lyrics have to deal with parents, and neglect.
Negative Creep - the first person narrative from an antisocial person
Scoff - A song that's directed towards the people who didn't believe in
Kurt's musical aspirations
Swap Meet - A battle of the sexes
Mr. Moustache - Speaks out against the stereotypical male macho image
Sifting - seems to take on authority figures
Big Cheese - This song is written about Sub Pop man Jonathan Poneman and
the pressures he put on the band.
Downer - Kurt's attempt at a political song.
a.2 Nevermind -
Smells Like Teen Spirit - An attack on the apathy of our own generation
In Bloom - An attack on people who listen to certain music for the wrong
reason. Imagine the macho, gun toting guy who sings alone to Nirvana, but
has no clue what he's singing about. (This song fits my ex-roommate to a T).
Come As You Are - A song full of contradictions on how we act versus how
we think society thinks we should act.
Breed - A plain and simple song about apathy.
Lithium - A first person narrative of a nervous breakdown, or an update of
the Marxist description of religion as 'Opiate of the masses'.
Polly - Based on the actual kidnapping of a 14 year old girl and her torture.
Territorial Pissings - Multi-themed song that attacks macho men.
Drain You - A song about love. Highly medical theme.
Lounge Act - A song about having a certain vision and being smothered by
a relationship.
Stay Away - An attack on any conformist clique.
On A Plain - Many small lines of poetry having multi themes.
Something in the way - A song about Kurt's experiences living under a bridge
when he was kicked out of home.
a.3 In Utero -
Serve the Servants - An autobiographical song about the whole Nirvana
experience.
Scentless Apprentice - Based on the novel 'Perfume' (Kurt's fave).
Heart Shaped Box - A song about Courtney and dependancy.
Rape me - A song aimed directly at the media. Being raped of your dignity
and pride.
Frances Farmer... - A song about the story of Frances Farmer, who was declared
insane and lobotomized.
Dumb - Ignorance is bliss. There is a certain care-free happiness involved in
being dumb.
Very Ape - An Attack on the stereotypical macho man.
Milk it - A song about co-dependancy, it heavily carries the medical theme.
Pennyroyal Tea - A song about abortion and the difficult choices around it
and the guilt following it.
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter - According to Kurt this song is a throwaway. A
bunch of random poetry lines thrown together.
tourette's - This song has no meaning at all. Kurt just screamed alot.
All Apologies - Contrary to popular belief, this song is not about
Frances and Courtney. He wrote it for them, but none of the lyrics
really apply.
III. Trivia
There have been 2 other bands called Nirvana, one was a group from the early
sixties who had one minor hit, and the other is a Christian band from the early
80's who tried to sue them.
Courtney was married in an old dress of Frances Farmer's
Frances was not named after Frances Farmer, but after a member of the
Vaselines. Kurt says he'd wished he'd thought of naming her after
Farmer.
Frances's middle name comes from the shape she appeared in a sonogram (bean).
Stay Away was originally called 'Pay To Play' and was recorded at that. A last
minute change of taste caused the change.
In Utero went through 2 name changes. It was originally to be called 'I hate
myself and want to die' and then later 'Verse-Chorus-Verse'. Both of these
are songs from the In Utero sessions.
Jeffrey Alan McRae jmcrae@oswego.edu
B308 Lonis Hall Phone: (315) 341-6150
SUNY Oswego
Oswego, NY 13126 Nirvana Bootleg and
Memorabilia trading
InUtero on IRC
I particularly enjoyed the circumference - Nirvana
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