Its wild that kurt couldnt by Leadbelly's guitar for 500k but the very guitar he is playing in this was the most expensive guitar sold at auction for 6 mill.
I suspect he didn't want to drop half a mil on a guitar more so than he couldn't if he wanted to. His sold for 6 mil because we all sadly lost him way to early, and b/c of the band's impact which is huge. RIP someone who I grossly underestimated at the time.
@RusShpion I fully understand why, just thought it was an interesting juxtaposition. Also, I find the post death history of how his daughter lost the ownership to her ex-husband during their divorce sad but interesting.
And Kurt would and does hate that his possessions became so valuable. He was very anti-capitalist and anti-materialist. Yeah, he wanted Nirvana to be huge, but he didn't realize what that actually meant and how that would completely change his life. He loves music and he loves performing, but never gave a crap about the money or fame that came with it.
This is Nirvana's definitive version of this song. For Unplugged they purposefully avoided playing most of their hits. Instead they played 8 songs from their catalogue that Kurt thought best fit the format and 6 covers that most people wouldn't recognise. No one else did that, helping this stand atop many fine performances from that series.
"In the Pines", also known as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?", "My Girl", "Hey Girl", and "Black Girl", is a traditional American folk song originating from two songs, "In the Pines" and "The Longest Train", both of whose authorship is unknown and date back to at least the 1870s. The songs originated in the Southern Appalachian area of the United States in the contiguous areas of East Tennessee and Kentucky, Western North Carolina and Northern Georgia.
thx friend, this is fantastic history. been listening to this song since i was 12. i'm 43 now. and he credited ledbelly, so i listened to his work too. song goes waaaaay back.
Polo, I'm 60 and Nirvana was MY generation's version of the Beatles! Musical but deep - nearly EVERY song a hit! Who else could make a Leadbelly song bring you to tears! Thank you for your platform!! Peace to you
Yeah, incredible. And very spécial as I wasnt a huge fan, like it, but not a big fan but this performance is one of the best i ever expérienced. A moment in history of music, no matter you like the band or not
Hey Polo, thanks for posting these reaction videos. I know you're a young guy, but at 49 years old, when Nirvana first came into lexicon of the masses was in 1991 (I was in high school). The hair bands of the 1980's basically disappeared (thankfully). I honestly don't know how to describe it, it was a sound no one ever heard. It was like Elvis, the Beatles first coming on scene. Then, in '93-'94, snoop came on the scene. As a big fan of the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, et al - When snoop and Ice Cube showed up, it was the exactly same feeling, just a different style of music. PS - you should smile more :)
Kurt was my first death experience… I came home from school and my step dad told me he died when I was in school. I stayed home for three days because I was devastated.. I’m 35… bleach released the year I was born. RIP Kurt
Leadbelly is the most influential musician ever. Nothing I can say would come close to doing the man justice for being the grandfather of ALL modern music. Please do an episode on him!!!
re: Nirvana influence. Walk around public and pay attention to t-shirts young people are wearing. You'll see Nirvana shirts. I was recently in Italy. In a week I saw over a dozen people wearing Nirvana shirts. Their influence is worldwide to this day.
That drummer with the ponytail and turtleneck you mentioned is one of the most badass people on the planet. Dave Grohl, after Cobain's passing, went on to become the lead singer of his newly formed band the Foofighters.
We grew up in the same area & were very close in age & im pretty sure our paths crossed at some point 🤔his life took a different trajectory than mine 😉
Here's why Nirvana is huge. Before they blew up, rock Bands were guys with perms in jumpsuits and pyrotechnics on stage. It was about glam and glitz. As soon as Nirvana got big, rock became something that any kids in flannels and jeans could play with friends in their garage. It took Rock away from the record companies and, for part of the 90s, made it the vernacular of the everyday American teenager
Sounds like the late 70s and the rise of punk. Nothing but glam bands playing stadiums, then one day, a dive called CBGBs opens in a sketch neighborhood in nyc, and instantly the world changed. Forever. Gen X permanently severed itself from their older, boomer siblmgs and cousins. You can draw a direct line between the DIY days of 1978-80 punk and what became the Grunge scene 10=15 years later. And both those movements stood on the shoulders of bands like the velvet underground, whose banana album came out around the same time as sgt pepper and couldn't be more it's opposite
That’s what MTV told you. You forget the rock albums that weren’t grunge that outsold (and still are) a lot of those grunge albums in the early 90s. Metallica, Guns n Roses. Rock and metal never died in the 90s and this grunge stuff was way more than nirvana and Kurt. The “nirvana killed metal in the 90s” cliche is one of the most annoying things on the internet. Chris Cornell arguably had more influence on the grunge scene than Kurt. And a lot of those grunge guys were just metal heads that didn’t care to get as good at their instruments.
@@Huddle_House56 This is true, although most of the grunge guys, including Kurt, were great musicians. However, there was definite desire to get away from the "produced" quality that 80s rock had. A lot of it was intentionally sloppy.
I’ve been saying Tiny Desk is this generation’s Unplugged since 2017, it’s a great vibe and tradition that needs to be kept alive so we can get once in a lifetime performances like this
The two best live acoustic albums ever are Nirvana Unplugged and Alice In Chains Unplugged. The sound quality on both are amazing and they are both snapshots of two stripped down singers that were both in so much pain and dealing with demons that eventually won. I played this cassette on repeat so many times that it eventually broke.
I am of the opinion that Kurt meant this performance as his farewell (even though there were concerts after this). The set decorations give the impression of a funeral. He was done. 30 years later I still weep as I watch this performance.
I remember exactly where I was, too. I think it’s symbolic how Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson off the top of the charts shortly after. Nirvana culturally ended the ‘80s.
It's hard to explain the emotion tied to this recording. Almost three years had passed since Smells Like Teen Spirit broke through. Nirvana was a household name, a generational touchstone. We watched them progress, and watched Kurt's unease with fame and business eat him up. When this song started, it was unknown to most everyone. It was a good song, but they had played a cover already and most of us wanted songs we knew. Then he took in that breath near the end where you can watch his soul shake. We all knew something wasn't right, but we didn't know how wrong it was. The song became huge in retrospect in large part because we could all recognize that moment in the song where he conveyed his hurt and how scared/lost he was. Two bookend songs to Kurt's impact on the world in such a short time. The screaming energy of the introduction, and the scared cry of the goodbye. It was burned into everyone who watched that world premiere, and many who watched after.
I 100% agree. In 1991 my favorite band was Cannibal Corpse but I was open minded enough to know they were changing the landscape. They were the nail in the coffin of corny '80s hair metal and I very much appreciated that. I hear their influence in underground music and noise rock still to this day.
@@shanegoodhew1464 Believe it or not, we could still look things up back then - especially those of us 20 somethings digging up old guitarists. University libraries had not only books, but vinyl LPs and music stores had classic, fragile treasures and reissues in "Blues" sections.
There wasn't much "looking up" back then. If it weren't for Kurt telling us "that was a David Bowie song" or inviting the Meat Puppets on to play their songs, we likely wouldn't have known until almost a decade later. My grandparents got AOL in 96, and I was instantly obsessed with all the info I could find, song lyrics and guitar chords, songwriting info, links to other similar artists or influences. In 94, if there was anything, it wasn't very wide spread yet. You could ask a record store clerk, but so many of us were still KIDS, and a record store often meant Walmart or Target.
I didn’t really get into Nirvana until the day after Kurt Cobain died. The day he died, I was on the road driving long distance alone, and I heard Sinead O’Conner sing All Apologies live acapella- all FM stations played it- it moved me to tears - Nirvana was huge, but I didn’t hear them much- I’d been stuck on all the bands I’d grown up with- Zeppelin, Floyd, the Allman Bros, Stones, etc-, so I picked up a used Nirvana cassette the next in a record store in Athens Georgia, and listened to it over and over again while driving- been a huge fan ever since.
Same here. I was in my 20's during the 90s. Was into Def Leppard, hair band crap and never saw any of the Grunge bands when I had the chance (Regret).Now, all I listen to is Nirvana, Tool (just saw them live, incredible), Alice in Chains and that is all I listen too. The 90s really may have been the last great music decade.
@geobol7603 which album was it that you bought? I’m assuming nevermind but I’m just curious because I remember buying a cassette of bleach on vacation to Georgia when I was in eighth grade. We all drove down from Massachusetts, my parents and siblings, and I wanted to listen to something different for the long ride home and I remember falling in love with them. And it wasn’t too long before they exploded onto mtv. I remember thinking “holy shit this is that same band” when smells like teen spirit was all of a sudden played 5 times every hour. So I was just curious which album you bought to make you become a fan
@@thomass2881I hope you’re listening to SoundGarden, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots and Temple of the Dog(super band) as well. All fit the other bands really well. Even Smashing Pumpkins to a degree.
I'm a Millennial, born in late 80's and he was still very much a huge part of specific cliques in school, like the skaters for example. I was lucky enough that one of my buddies introduced me to Nirvana one day and I was instantly obsessed. I listened to only Nirvana for a solid 3-4 years. With The Lights Out Boxset had so many songs or versions I'd never heard and I listened to that for such a long time.
Nirvana and Kurt in particular was the voice, heart, soul and captured Gen X. I often tell people when they jokingly ask "what's wrong with Gen x?" I will tell them to listen to Nirvana. We were the last feral generation. We had so much angst and had no way to express it...until Nirvana.
I hope you start discovering and listening to the Foo Fighters. I hope you know by now that Nirvana's drummer is the lead of the Foo Fighters. Extremely talented, please look them up and so a video.
It's funny that you commented on Dave Grohl (the drummer with the ponytail and turtleneck sweater), because he's the founder/singer/guitarist/occasional drummer of the "Foo Fighters." Check them out if you haven't already.
I wasn’t there, I watched it on MTV the night it was broadcast. And it was astounding. When Kurt hit that final scream at the end, you felt history was just being made. It was a generational moment, just like I imagine American kids felt watching the Beatles for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show. This show and the MTV Live N Loud concert on New Years Eve were always tied together in my mind, because they happened very closely together. Those two were the last major televised events for Nirvana.
Kurt had severe stomach ulcers which caused him a lot of physical pain when performing.. but he never let it stop him from going all out. Part of the reason he got hooked on heroin was because of the pain. This performance isn't that long before he left us, and you certainly can see and hear how he felt.
@@TheDivayenta Yeah, his childhood was crap and dark... And that what's make the man even more "genius", to be able (for a moment at least), to reach the stars and convey all his emotions within his songs. Music saved him somehow, but his childhood and the "show BUSINESS" killed him... I see some similitude with Syd Barrett... And part of the explanation is in what Waters wrote, beautifully, in "Shine On You Crazy Diamonds"... You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon...
If you're the right age (late GenX, early millennial), absolutely, the most important band ever. Every generation probably has a different one, but for this 47-year-old, they are it.
Nirvana fundamentally changed music when Nevermind was release. That album (thankfully) ended the hairband era of music. This band, and many of the other alternative bands of that era, helped make introspective and socially conscious music relevant and cool again. The grunge bands in particular also gave voice to the uncool, introverted, and artistic people who in previous generations would have been bullied or ostracized.
This is a Leadbelly “cover” (Kurt was a big fan that’s what they were talking about in the opening) but I say “cover” bc if u hear the original the only thing that’s the same is the lyrics..he completely made it his own, it is still amazing to this day
They changed the music industry in one day. I love Nirvana. HUGE fan. They reshaped popular music immediately. They had an impact like few other bands, ever. I live in Seattle, I LOVE Seattle. BUT... they were not formed in Seattle. Yes, they were a "Seattle band" but they were formed in Aberdeen and Montesano, WA. Kurt and Krist were kids of that area. They moved all around that part of the state. They are a "Seattle band" but let's give love to Aberdeen and Monte. And Tacoma and Oly as well.
As a person who hated Nirvana and all grunge music when it came out I would say the article was true. They knocked hair bands out completely. I loved hair bands . I have seen the light since and listen to a lot of grunge. I still listen to hair bands as well 😊
You were right, this song was originally a very old country/folk song. There have been many different adaptations and the origin isn't known other than that it's at least 150 years old. This version is Kurt's adaptation of Lead Belly's version of the song, other versions have significantly different lyrics. Also this was Kurt's final song of his final performance before he passed away, he really put something extra on it at the end there.
Drummer. is DAVE GROHL Lead singer and driving force for the FOO FIGHTERS! he moved to guitar. He is still considered one of the worlds greatest living rock drummers.
I may be wrong, but I vaguely remember, that not knowing any better, when Kurt began playing, he played with a left handed guitar, so got in the habit of playing left handed & just went with it, when he got serious about it. ...Makes me want to look it up. I read up on him, when he died, so it was long ago.
You can see Kurt staring into the abyss at 10:21 in this video, the moment he takes his in-breath in between "the whole" and "night through" at the end of his vocals.
If you watch the whole show, yo can see that look a lot of times. It's very sad. He died a few months after the recording of this show. Sorry for my english
How big was Nirvana? Remember all the hair metal and synth pop from the 80s? Yeah, Nirvana ended ALL of that. When 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' came out, the entire music industry shifted seemingly overnight
Having graduated in 1991 they definitely changed the world with their music. Sad day when Curt died. So much talent. This entire album is awesome, there’s not a bad song on it. Drummer is Dave Grohl who went on to lead the Foo Fighters.
Kurt wailed. He was raw. He was everything. Made us feel even though most of us were numbing ourselves. This performance was recorded about 6 months before he left us. It is one of the best I've ever seen, will ever see. It was his public memorial before we knew we'd already lost him. His pain won. But we remember and his genius lives on. Kurt forever💔
I remember watching this amazing show, with who I was, and where. I have a clear memory picture of that moment. It was the best Christmas gift, a gigantic TV moment, worldwide. Four months later Kurt was dead...
Truth... I still remember that drive to work when "Smells like teen spirit" came thru the radio to my ears for the first time. They absolutely changed everything! I recommend "Aneurysm" live @ the Paramount, Seattle (their hometown) 1991. A great representation of their live energy, with an intro/build that's right up your alley.
agreed. "smells like teen spirit" is the ONLY song when i remember EXACTLY where i was and EXACTLY what day it was the very first time that i heard it. i was on my way to a wedding with my future wife (still married today) and she started babbling about some bullsht. i told her to STFU and turned up the radio on full volume. it was the most amazing song i ever heard. i waited anxiously after the song was over in hopes that the DJ would tell me who the band was so that i could go buy the album the next day. and i did. i drove to the closest record store and bought it within twelve hours.
Fun fact: He talks about buying a guitar from his favorite band in the beginning. Kurts very guitar in this concert is todays world most expensive guitemar ever. It has been sold recently.
Nirvana is embedded in my soul. This song affects me more than any other because it was the last song of the set and it was one of if not the last television appearance of Kurt Cobain. When he hits that note at the end, gets me every time.
Polo - that Nirvana MTV Unplugged album was my favorite all time Nirvana - because the style gives more room for Cobain's incredible voice to dominate and the cool vibe of the instruments. Every song on that album is incredible.
This is my favorite Nirvana song. Only because my Nanie, who turns 90 in December, started singing this one day while I was driving. It was one of her favorites when she was young and listened to Leadbelly singing it. I loved the song for years but hearing her sing it made it the best. And i completely agree with the statement in the beginning. They were huge in the music world of GenX. Leadbelly was born in 1888. He has some amazing music. The Smithsonian released a boxset about 5yrs ago. They have videos available on their folk music TH-cam channel. I'll recommend Alabama Bound just because I'm in Bama 😂But there's so many from him that are amazing. There's also some good documentaries about him on here.
I had a Nanny too, my dad's mom. I had no idea when I was a kid that the songs she'd randomly bust out singing were old country blues songs until I was much older. To me, they were just Nanny's songs. Thank God for Southern grandmothers. 🥰✌️
Leadbelly is the SHIT! Leadbelly's Anthology is LOADED with songs we've come to know from other bands. Im not big into Nirvana, but no denying their success, this is my fav song from them.
You should check out the drummers band. Kind of the biggest band in the world the past 5-10 years. Foo Fighters. Try Best Of You or The Pretender to start. Their videos are always top shelf.
Yes, any fans should watch that documentary. Frances (Kurt's daughter) was a producer on that. Now that she's kicked her Mother to the curb (THANK THE LORD). Courtney wouldn't let her own daughter have her rightful inheritance? How much did she steal from her DAUGHTER? then came after Dave & Krist!
Nirvana really was the most influencial band ever, everyone always said Kurt was lazy and a slacker but he was so prepared always, he would eat breath and sleep his music, was every song a hit? No not to everyone but to his fans, every song is special in their own way. I miss Kurt so much😢 he inspired me to learn guitar and sing 32 years ago. You should watch this whole unplugged concert
The thing about Kurt Cobain as well is, many people including myself thinks he was murdered, staged to look like a suicide😢, Soaked in Bleach tells a good portion of it But... It goes way way deeper than what they depict in the documentary, American spy Fox on YT does a whole series on what happened to Kurt and even has Tom Grant working on some new evidence to hopefully open the case again and finally put those horrible people away for what they did.
i was 20 years old when nevermind came out , it made i big impact on my life , i love it!! fun fact: that acoustic guitar he's playing sold at auction for 6 million dollars
Saw them 3 Dec 93 in New Orleans with my 2 buddies. I think The Breeders opened up. We had a great mosh pit going throughout the night. Besides Metallica, one of the best live concerts ever!!
epic song. epic. the passion is ....epic ...ha ha! I was lucky enough to to see this band at the Hall Holmes Center in Ellensburg Wa. 100 east of Seattle. The band was getting any gig as they needed cash for their Euro trip in just a month or so. I was a jr in HS and was not driving that night. We heard there was a good Seattle band playing. Of course when we showed up it was just 6thgrad to 9 th graders....a couple of other "older" fans. The band was "tight"!!! I kept telling my buddies. I lost the argument as tang was on the head that night. but I was NOT sitting down. I was right next to the speakers rocken out. I DID look at every band member....just a few feet away ...in the eye and shouted words of encouragement .... mostly words not polite in today's world. anyhoo.... LOVE this band.
Really loved listening to your review of this one and overall music musings at the end. Watching this again it's still so hard to believe that just 5 months after this was recorded this honest, funny, humble man was gone. I couldn't listen to their music for a lot of years after that. I was a teenager when Kurt died and I really think an entire generation were scarred by that. Over 30 years later and it still has en effect listening to them and watching him perform.
You are absolutely right. This was the greatest thing ever. This 'unplugged' performance is the best in history. The song choices, the instrumentation, the expression was the pinnacle of the unplugged genre....at a time when MTV was still relevant. Besides the genius of Cobain and Nirvana, the relevance of this performance, and the forces that created it, is the EFFING counterpoint to the corporate pablum in which we find ourselves musically today. We are poorer for the money grab musical banality in which we are submerged currently.
You're spot on with Kurt's voice. Such despair and disregard for the rules, so unique. In case it hasnt been mentioned the drummer is the frontman for Foo Fighters, highly recommend checking them out at some point.
This entire concert was almost entirely covers. There is no studio version. What you witness is a singularity. It happened once and never again.. It is why it's so special.
And it was also all in 1 take lol, I think I just saw on the unplugged 30 years later the producers said they were expecting some screw ups and do overs, not from Kurt😂 I think they used Layne and a few other bands as examples of what they thought would happen. Nirvana ripped thru those songs like they were written by Nirvana themselves, so epic😊
As a teen in HS in the early 90s, yes, everything said in that paragraph was true. Even Dr Dre named Nirvana as his favorite rock group of all time. While Tool is my overall fav band, Nirvana is right behind and was my absolute fav back then. Rock on Polo
Its wild that kurt couldnt by Leadbelly's guitar for 500k but the very guitar he is playing in this was the most expensive guitar sold at auction for 6 mill.
The green sweater he wore was purchased at auction for $330,000.
I suspect he didn't want to drop half a mil on a guitar more so than he couldn't if he wanted to. His sold for 6 mil because we all sadly lost him way to early, and b/c of the band's impact which is huge. RIP someone who I grossly underestimated at the time.
If you've never heard them before, you should have listened to _"Smells Like Teen Spirit."_
{:o:O:}
@RusShpion I fully understand why, just thought it was an interesting juxtaposition. Also, I find the post death history of how his daughter lost the ownership to her ex-husband during their divorce sad but interesting.
And Kurt would and does hate that his possessions became so valuable. He was very anti-capitalist and anti-materialist. Yeah, he wanted Nirvana to be huge, but he didn't realize what that actually meant and how that would completely change his life. He loves music and he loves performing, but never gave a crap about the money or fame that came with it.
10:22…. The look that broke the hearts of an entire generation. RIP Kurt
That look has haunted me for 30 years 😢
Is all...
Watching this song a million times and feel the same @@brianleonard1639
Beautiful inside out..
Several generations. I'm a Boomer, we appreciate good music.
As a 52 year old Brit, it still makes me emotional watching Kurt perform. He broke my heart when he died, things have never quite been the same since.
I hear that, Kurt and me are the same, age.
👍 Agreed. 🥀RIP Kurt And yes Polo, they were THAT IMPORTANT. What a tragic loss. Courtney did it.
My fav Nirvana tune is Oh My. Really heavy words.
Rip Kurt Cobain ❤
They also did a great cover of David Bowie's "Man Who Sold The World" during this performance. Worth checking out.
I second that. "The Man Who Sold the World" is brilliant. If you want one that is never done, try "Oh Me" or "Lake of Fire" from the same show.
He's already reacted to it a while ago. Ever since then I've been waiting patiently for this reaction
Where I live, the homeless population has a camp. It's called The Pines. 😢
Thanks, I'll go look for it. I love those songs!
ABSOLUTELY! 💯
Ledbelly was an amazing archaic blues man from the 30s. You should definitely give a listen. Roots blues gave rise to popular musics today.
That daggone breath makes every hair on my body stand on end to this day 🥹
This is Nirvana's definitive version of this song.
For Unplugged they purposefully avoided playing most of their hits. Instead they played 8 songs from their catalogue that Kurt thought best fit the format and 6 covers that most people wouldn't recognise. No one else did that, helping this stand atop many fine performances from that series.
There is no true "studio" version of this song. Kurt did a cover of this with Mark Lanegan as a solo project, but it is nothing like this performance.
"In the Pines", also known as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?", "My Girl", "Hey Girl", and "Black Girl", is a traditional American folk song originating from two songs, "In the Pines" and "The Longest Train", both of whose authorship is unknown and date back to at least the 1870s. The songs originated in the Southern Appalachian area of the United States in the contiguous areas of East Tennessee and Kentucky, Western North Carolina and Northern Georgia.
My Grandpa was born in Hindman, Kentucky in 1911. He used to sing this to me when I was a baby to put me to sleep. lol
Nice knowledge 👍👍
Thanks man, I appreciate you teaching me new stuff
Thanks... Interesting 👍
thx friend, this is fantastic history. been listening to this song since i was 12. i'm 43 now. and he credited ledbelly, so i listened to his work too. song goes waaaaay back.
That deep breath at the end and that look on his face have given me chills for 30 years.
For real
I honestly believe that's the moment he decided he was done with living. He was finished saying what he had to.
Same, Brian, same. It haunts me.
Yes!!!
Rite 😂
Tom Petty said this is the greatest rock performance of all time. All the icons of rock considered him a peer. Mc Cartney Neil Young etc
Polo, I'm 60 and Nirvana was MY generation's version of the Beatles! Musical but deep - nearly EVERY song a hit! Who else could make a Leadbelly song bring you to tears! Thank you for your platform!! Peace to you
The cello really pulls that melody together. The band was tight and Kurt's voice is just so beautiful.. ✌💚🤘🎵🎤🎶
You should react to the entire Nirvana Unplugged . It's absolutely indescribable.
HEAR, HEAR!!!
Yes!!!
Yeah, incredible. And very spécial as I wasnt a huge fan, like it, but not a big fan but this performance is one of the best i ever expérienced. A moment in history of music, no matter you like the band or not
Alice in Chains Unplugged >>> every other Unplugged
That would be amazing
The whole show is on TH-cam and it's really worth watching from start to finish. It's phenomenal.
I’m sure somebody’s already said it but, that drummer with the ponytail and turtleneck is Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters. Great reaction and share!!👊🏼🤓🤠
Hey Polo, thanks for posting these reaction videos. I know you're a young guy, but at 49 years old, when Nirvana first came into lexicon of the masses was in 1991 (I was in high school). The hair bands of the 1980's basically disappeared (thankfully).
I honestly don't know how to describe it, it was a sound no one ever heard. It was like Elvis, the Beatles first coming on scene. Then, in '93-'94, snoop came on the scene. As a big fan of the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, et al - When snoop and Ice Cube showed up, it was the exactly same feeling, just a different style of music.
PS - you should smile more :)
Kurt was my first death experience… I came home from school and my step dad told me he died when I was in school. I stayed home for three days because I was devastated.. I’m 35… bleach released the year I was born. RIP Kurt
Leadbelly is the most influential musician ever. Nothing I can say would come close to doing the man justice for being the grandfather of ALL modern music.
Please do an episode on him!!!
re: Nirvana influence. Walk around public and pay attention to t-shirts young people are wearing. You'll see Nirvana shirts. I was recently in Italy. In a week I saw over a dozen people wearing Nirvana shirts. Their influence is worldwide to this day.
That drummer with the ponytail and turtleneck you mentioned is one of the most badass people on the planet. Dave Grohl, after Cobain's passing, went on to become the lead singer of his newly formed band the Foofighters.
THIS!
We grew up in the same area & were very close in age & im pretty sure our paths crossed at some point 🤔his life took a different trajectory than mine 😉
@@bigdaddypiggyyou don’t say, bigdaddypiggy
Newly formed? They've been a band for more than 20 years
@@saydowski7685, which is why I said after Cobain's passing.
I sing this song, myself. The blues is for everyone.
Man, just Take a moment and watch the full show, it's one the most iconic live performance ever
Here's why Nirvana is huge. Before they blew up, rock Bands were guys with perms in jumpsuits and pyrotechnics on stage. It was about glam and glitz. As soon as Nirvana got big, rock became something that any kids in flannels and jeans could play with friends in their garage. It took Rock away from the record companies and, for part of the 90s, made it the vernacular of the everyday American teenager
Great breakdown from someone who was there!
Sounds like the late 70s and the rise of punk. Nothing but glam bands playing stadiums, then one day, a dive called CBGBs opens in a sketch neighborhood in nyc, and instantly the world changed. Forever. Gen X permanently severed itself from their older, boomer siblmgs and cousins.
You can draw a direct line between the DIY days of 1978-80 punk and what became the Grunge scene 10=15 years later. And both those movements stood on the shoulders of bands like the velvet underground, whose banana album came out around the same time as sgt pepper and couldn't be more it's opposite
Perfectly said.
That’s what MTV told you. You forget the rock albums that weren’t grunge that outsold (and still are) a lot of those grunge albums in the early 90s. Metallica, Guns n Roses. Rock and metal never died in the 90s and this grunge stuff was way more than nirvana and Kurt. The “nirvana killed metal in the 90s” cliche is one of the most annoying things on the internet. Chris Cornell arguably had more influence on the grunge scene than Kurt. And a lot of those grunge guys were just metal heads that didn’t care to get as good at their instruments.
@@Huddle_House56 This is true, although most of the grunge guys, including Kurt, were great musicians. However, there was definite desire to get away from the "produced" quality that 80s rock had. A lot of it was intentionally sloppy.
Incredible performance. I always get chills w this one. That intake of breath and menacing flash of green eyes at the last bar, omg.
I’ve been saying Tiny Desk is this generation’s Unplugged since 2017, it’s a great vibe and tradition that needs to be kept alive so we can get once in a lifetime performances like this
The two best live acoustic albums ever are Nirvana Unplugged and Alice In Chains Unplugged. The sound quality on both are amazing and they are both snapshots of two stripped down singers that were both in so much pain and dealing with demons that eventually won. I played this cassette on repeat so many times that it eventually broke.
10,000 Maniacs Unplugged was also an amazing album.
Pearl Jam??
Grateful to have existed on this planet at the same time as incredible performances as these.
The Pearl Jam Unplugged performance is amazing too. MTV unplugged left USB with a lot of fantastic performances.
So much pain in his voice. Love Kurt RIP
So glad I got to see them 1 time.
I am of the opinion that Kurt meant this performance as his farewell (even though there were concerts after this). The set decorations give the impression of a funeral. He was done. 30 years later I still weep as I watch this performance.
The drummer is now the lead singer of of the Foo Fighters. They are a great band too.
The cello in this gives me chills every time.
I'm 49 years old now and I still remember where I was and what I was doing when smells like teen spirit played on the radio. Changed everything
48 year old here xx remember it like yesterday x
Me too, moment, friends, place : a shock to the system❤❤❤❤😮
tbh it didnt change anything
I remember exactly where I was, too. I think it’s symbolic how Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson off the top of the charts shortly after. Nirvana culturally ended the ‘80s.
This song hurts. The song is so very powerful.
Ledbelly was an old blues musicians.
Ive been listening to this track gor a long time (since the original airing) and it still gives me chills when he breaks into the final chorus.
It's hard to explain the emotion tied to this recording. Almost three years had passed since Smells Like Teen Spirit broke through. Nirvana was a household name, a generational touchstone. We watched them progress, and watched Kurt's unease with fame and business eat him up. When this song started, it was unknown to most everyone. It was a good song, but they had played a cover already and most of us wanted songs we knew. Then he took in that breath near the end where you can watch his soul shake. We all knew something wasn't right, but we didn't know how wrong it was. The song became huge in retrospect in large part because we could all recognize that moment in the song where he conveyed his hurt and how scared/lost he was. Two bookend songs to Kurt's impact on the world in such a short time. The screaming energy of the introduction, and the scared cry of the goodbye. It was burned into everyone who watched that world premiere, and many who watched after.
So well put!
I 100% agree. In 1991 my favorite band was Cannibal Corpse but I was open minded enough to know they were changing the landscape. They were the nail in the coffin of corny '80s hair metal and I very much appreciated that. I hear their influence in underground music and noise rock still to this day.
This song had millions looking up Lead Belly Leadbetter. Probably still does. It was an injection of unexpected culture into a generation.
Funny thing is that this Unplugged came out a year before the first full text search engine ever came out in Webcrawler.
@@shanegoodhew1464 Believe it or not, we could still look things up back then - especially those of us 20 somethings digging up old guitarists. University libraries had not only books, but vinyl LPs and music stores had classic, fragile treasures and reissues in "Blues" sections.
Not sure the internet was a thing big enough to have millions looking up anything when this came out.
You can count me as one of those millions.
There wasn't much "looking up" back then. If it weren't for Kurt telling us "that was a David Bowie song" or inviting the Meat Puppets on to play their songs, we likely wouldn't have known until almost a decade later. My grandparents got AOL in 96, and I was instantly obsessed with all the info I could find, song lyrics and guitar chords, songwriting info, links to other similar artists or influences. In 94, if there was anything, it wasn't very wide spread yet. You could ask a record store clerk, but so many of us were still KIDS, and a record store often meant Walmart or Target.
I didn’t really get into Nirvana until the day after Kurt Cobain died. The day he died, I was on the road driving long distance alone, and I heard Sinead O’Conner sing All Apologies live acapella- all FM stations played it- it moved me to tears - Nirvana was huge, but I didn’t hear them much- I’d been stuck on all the bands I’d grown up with- Zeppelin, Floyd, the Allman Bros, Stones, etc-, so I picked up a used Nirvana cassette the next in a record store in Athens Georgia, and listened to it over and over again while driving- been a huge fan ever since.
Same here. I was in my 20's during the 90s. Was into Def Leppard, hair band crap and never saw any of the Grunge bands when I had the chance (Regret).Now, all I listen to is Nirvana, Tool (just saw them live, incredible), Alice in Chains and that is all I listen too. The 90s really may have been the last great music decade.
@geobol7603 which album was it that you bought? I’m assuming nevermind but I’m just curious because I remember buying a cassette of bleach on vacation to Georgia when I was in eighth grade. We all drove down from Massachusetts, my parents and siblings, and I wanted to listen to something different for the long ride home and I remember falling in love with them. And it wasn’t too long before they exploded onto mtv. I remember thinking “holy shit this is that same band” when smells like teen spirit was all of a sudden played 5 times every hour. So I was just curious which album you bought to make you become a fan
I remember I only brought like 4 tapes to put in my Walkman and because it was such a long ride I needed something different
@@thomass2881I hope you’re listening to SoundGarden, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots and Temple of the Dog(super band) as well. All fit the other bands really well. Even Smashing Pumpkins to a degree.
Nirvana gave Gen X a voice and taught us the blues.
I'm a Millennial, born in late 80's and he was still very much a huge part of specific cliques in school, like the skaters for example. I was lucky enough that one of my buddies introduced me to Nirvana one day and I was instantly obsessed. I listened to only Nirvana for a solid 3-4 years. With The Lights Out Boxset had so many songs or versions I'd never heard and I listened to that for such a long time.
Nirvana and Kurt in particular was the voice, heart, soul and captured Gen X. I often tell people when they jokingly ask "what's wrong with Gen x?" I will tell them to listen to Nirvana. We were the last feral generation. We had so much angst and had no way to express it...until Nirvana.
And actually credited blues artists (like Ledbelly, his fave)... unlike the Stones.
I hope you start discovering and listening to the Foo Fighters. I hope you know by now that Nirvana's drummer is the lead of the Foo Fighters. Extremely talented, please look them up and so a video.
It's funny that you commented on Dave Grohl (the drummer with the ponytail and turtleneck sweater), because he's the founder/singer/guitarist/occasional drummer of the "Foo Fighters." Check them out if you haven't already.
Led Belly was a ledged & inspiration for many rock folk of the '60's-present.
Kurt had that scream that was so visceral it wasn't like even singing it was like exorcizing some demon inside of himself.
I wasn’t there, I watched it on MTV the night it was broadcast. And it was astounding. When Kurt hit that final scream at the end, you felt history was just being made. It was a generational moment, just like I imagine American kids felt watching the Beatles for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show. This show and the MTV Live N Loud concert on New Years Eve were always tied together in my mind, because they happened very closely together. Those two were the last major televised events for Nirvana.
The ambient, the performace, the vibe, the decorations, the last gasp of air kurt takes before finishing this song, its just priceless and meaningful.
Kurt had severe stomach ulcers which caused him a lot of physical pain when performing.. but he never let it stop him from going all out. Part of the reason he got hooked on heroin was because of the pain. This performance isn't that long before he left us, and you certainly can see and hear how he felt.
To deal with all that, only for your psycho wife to have you killed
I read his biography and was stunned by how narcissistic and negligent his parents were. He was living under a highway overpass as a teen.
@@TheDivayenta Yeah, his childhood was crap and dark... And that what's make the man even more "genius", to be able (for a moment at least), to reach the stars and convey all his emotions within his songs. Music saved him somehow, but his childhood and the "show BUSINESS" killed him...
I see some similitude with Syd Barrett... And part of the explanation is in what Waters wrote, beautifully, in "Shine On You Crazy Diamonds"... You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon...
@@garryiglesias4074 Just lost count of how went too soon xx RESPECT
This entire unplugged performance will go down in history! RIP KURT
If you're the right age (late GenX, early millennial), absolutely, the most important band ever. Every generation probably has a different one, but for this 47-year-old, they are it.
Man I Was in a this era. Makes me cry, had it on repeat 🔁 so long. Thank you for showing the brilliance to new light ❤ big love from Scotland
Nirvana fundamentally changed music when Nevermind was release. That album (thankfully) ended the hairband era of music. This band, and many of the other alternative bands of that era, helped make introspective and socially conscious music relevant and cool again. The grunge bands in particular also gave voice to the uncool, introverted, and artistic people who in previous generations would have been bullied or ostracized.
This is a Leadbelly “cover” (Kurt was a big fan that’s what they were talking about in the opening) but I say “cover” bc if u hear the original the only thing that’s the same is the lyrics..he completely made it his own, it is still amazing to this day
💯 percent! Nirvana spoke to us Gen Xs deeply and 30 years later still do. The whole unplugged album is a jewel! I can listen to again and again!
They changed the music industry in one day. I love Nirvana. HUGE fan. They reshaped popular music immediately. They had an impact like few other bands, ever. I live in Seattle, I LOVE Seattle. BUT... they were not formed in Seattle. Yes, they were a "Seattle band" but they were formed in Aberdeen and Montesano, WA. Kurt and Krist were kids of that area. They moved all around that part of the state. They are a "Seattle band" but let's give love to Aberdeen and Monte. And Tacoma and Oly as well.
As a person who hated Nirvana and all grunge music when it came out I would say the article was true. They knocked hair bands out completely. I loved hair bands . I have seen the light since and listen to a lot of grunge. I still listen to hair bands as well 😊
You were right, this song was originally a very old country/folk song. There have been many different adaptations and the origin isn't known other than that it's at least 150 years old. This version is Kurt's adaptation of Lead Belly's version of the song, other versions have significantly different lyrics. Also this was Kurt's final song of his final performance before he passed away, he really put something extra on it at the end there.
Drummer. is DAVE GROHL Lead singer and driving force for the FOO FIGHTERS!
he moved to guitar.
He is still considered one of the worlds greatest living rock drummers.
Notice Kurt is a left handed guitar player who writes with his right hand.
I’m the exact opposite, right handed guitarist who writes left handed.
I may be wrong, but I vaguely remember, that not knowing any better, when Kurt began playing, he played with a left handed guitar, so got in the habit of playing left handed & just went with it, when he got serious about it. ...Makes me want to look it up. I read up on him, when he died, so it was long ago.
You can see Kurt staring into the abyss at 10:21 in this video, the moment he takes his in-breath in between "the whole" and "night through" at the end of his vocals.
Yep, that gets me every time I see this performance!
If you watch the whole show, yo can see that look a lot of times. It's very sad.
He died a few months after the recording of this show.
Sorry for my english
The moment he decided enough.
@@fedematizyour English is perfect, save for the missing “u” in “you”. Rest easy, you write better than 95% of native speakers.
How big was Nirvana? Remember all the hair metal and synth pop from the 80s? Yeah, Nirvana ended ALL of that. When 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' came out, the entire music industry shifted seemingly overnight
Drummer is THE David Grohl. Of Nirvana, FooFighter, Them Crooked Vultures.
This is an incredible performance. Words dont do it justice.
Having graduated in 1991 they definitely changed the world with their music. Sad day when Curt died. So much talent. This entire album is awesome, there’s not a bad song on it. Drummer is Dave Grohl who went on to lead the Foo Fighters.
Nirvana was certainly the best band to come out of grunge .. They ARE grunge. Iconic
This entire concert is absolutely amazing. They do a couple other outstanding covers as well.
@10:20 of your reaction video, you can see his demons. This point has always made me see this.. So sad. Great reaction Polo.
I would love if you did the whole unplugged album. Its just amazing top to bottom. ❤ your reactions bro, always genuine 🙌 keep being awesome
still love and will always LOVE KURT.....
Kurt wailed. He was raw. He was everything. Made us feel even though most of us were numbing ourselves. This performance was recorded about 6 months before he left us. It is one of the best I've ever seen, will ever see. It was his public memorial before we knew we'd already lost him. His pain won. But we remember and his genius lives on. Kurt forever💔
This statement is absolutely correct. Music would never be the same after NIRVANA broke.
A song they will always be remembered for is All Apologies. It's beautiful and sad and just a classic. I think it's something you would appreciate.
I remember watching this amazing show, with who I was, and where. I have a clear memory picture of that moment. It was the best Christmas gift, a gigantic TV moment, worldwide. Four months later Kurt was dead...
Truth... I still remember that drive to work when "Smells like teen spirit" came thru the radio to my ears for the first time. They absolutely changed everything! I recommend "Aneurysm" live @ the Paramount, Seattle (their hometown) 1991. A great representation of their live energy, with an intro/build that's right up your alley.
agreed. "smells like teen spirit" is the ONLY song when i remember EXACTLY where i was and EXACTLY what day it was the very first time that i heard it. i was on my way to a wedding with my future wife (still married today) and she started babbling about some bullsht. i told her to STFU and turned up the radio on full volume. it was the most amazing song i ever heard. i waited anxiously after the song was over in hopes that the DJ would tell me who the band was so that i could go buy the album the next day. and i did. i drove to the closest record store and bought it within twelve hours.
Nirvana actually formed in my hometown of Aberdeen.
Great recommendation mate 🎶✌️❤️
Seattle was not they're home town. But if it's the only town in Washington you know I guess it works.
Fun fact: He talks about buying a guitar from his favorite band in the beginning. Kurts very guitar in this concert is todays world most expensive guitemar ever. It has been sold recently.
I love the vibe you've got on the channel for this one. This is one of my favorite music videos. You can feel that man's soul in his voice.
Nirvana is embedded in my soul. This song affects me more than any other because it was the last song of the set and it was one of if not the last television appearance of Kurt Cobain. When he hits that note at the end, gets me every time.
SAME!
Polo - that Nirvana MTV Unplugged album was my favorite all time Nirvana - because the style gives more room for Cobain's incredible voice to dominate and the cool vibe of the instruments. Every song on that album is incredible.
This is my favorite Nirvana song. Only because my Nanie, who turns 90 in December, started singing this one day while I was driving. It was one of her favorites when she was young and listened to Leadbelly singing it. I loved the song for years but hearing her sing it made it the best.
And i completely agree with the statement in the beginning. They were huge in the music world of GenX.
Leadbelly was born in 1888. He has some amazing music. The Smithsonian released a boxset about 5yrs ago. They have videos available on their folk music TH-cam channel. I'll recommend Alabama Bound just because I'm in Bama 😂But there's so many from him that are amazing. There's also some good documentaries about him on here.
I had a Nanny too, my dad's mom. I had no idea when I was a kid that the songs she'd randomly bust out singing were old country blues songs until I was much older. To me, they were just Nanny's songs. Thank God for Southern grandmothers. 🥰✌️
Leadbelly is the SHIT! Leadbelly's Anthology is LOADED with songs we've come to know from other bands. Im not big into Nirvana, but no denying their success, this is my fav song from them.
You should check out the drummers band. Kind of the biggest band in the world the past 5-10 years. Foo Fighters. Try Best Of You or The Pretender to start. Their videos are always top shelf.
Montage of Heck is an incredible documentary that really goes into Kurt and his history 🔥🔥🔥
Yes, any fans should watch that documentary. Frances (Kurt's daughter) was a producer on that. Now that she's kicked her Mother to the curb (THANK THE LORD). Courtney wouldn't let her own daughter have her rightful inheritance? How much did she steal from her DAUGHTER? then came after Dave & Krist!
Nirvana really was the most influencial band ever, everyone always said Kurt was lazy and a slacker but he was so prepared always, he would eat breath and sleep his music, was every song a hit? No not to everyone but to his fans, every song is special in their own way. I miss Kurt so much😢 he inspired me to learn guitar and sing 32 years ago. You should watch this whole unplugged concert
The thing about Kurt Cobain as well is, many people including myself thinks he was murdered, staged to look like a suicide😢, Soaked in Bleach tells a good portion of it But... It goes way way deeper than what they depict in the documentary, American spy Fox on YT does a whole series on what happened to Kurt and even has Tom Grant working on some new evidence to hopefully open the case again and finally put those horrible people away for what they did.
i was 20 years old when nevermind came out , it made i big impact on my life , i love it!! fun fact: that acoustic guitar he's playing sold at auction for 6 million dollars
nevermind?
@shadesmarerik4112 the name of the second album is called "Nevermind". Came out in 91
Saw them 3 Dec 93 in New Orleans with my 2 buddies. I think The Breeders opened up. We had a great mosh pit going throughout the night. Besides Metallica, one of the best live concerts ever!!
Seen them on the same tour in Atlanta. Was GREAT!!!!
epic song.
epic. the passion is ....epic ...ha ha!
I was lucky enough to to see this band at the Hall Holmes Center in Ellensburg Wa. 100 east of Seattle.
The band was getting any gig as they needed cash for their Euro trip in just a month or so.
I was a jr in HS and was not driving that night. We heard there was a good Seattle band playing. Of course when we showed up it was just 6thgrad to 9 th graders....a couple of other "older" fans.
The band was "tight"!!! I kept telling my buddies.
I lost the argument as tang was on the head that night. but I was NOT sitting down. I was right next to the speakers rocken out. I DID look at every band member....just a few feet away ...in the eye and shouted words of encouragement .... mostly words not polite in today's world.
anyhoo....
LOVE this band.
Shit dude that drummer has become just as legendary as Kurt ….thats 1 (albeit very young) Mr. David Grohl 🤘🏻🖤
Really loved listening to your review of this one and overall music musings at the end. Watching this again it's still so hard to believe that just 5 months after this was recorded this honest, funny, humble man was gone. I couldn't listen to their music for a lot of years after that. I was a teenager when Kurt died and I really think an entire generation were scarred by that. Over 30 years later and it still has en effect listening to them and watching him perform.
By far my favourite song of the unplugged album. Bought the album in 1994, 24 years old...(Lump in your throat) So many memories...pffff
You are absolutely right. This was the greatest thing ever. This 'unplugged' performance is the best in history. The song choices, the instrumentation, the expression was the pinnacle of the unplugged genre....at a time when MTV was still relevant. Besides the genius of Cobain and Nirvana, the relevance of this performance, and the forces that created it, is the EFFING counterpoint to the corporate pablum in which we find ourselves musically today. We are poorer for the money grab musical banality in which we are submerged currently.
It’s hard to believe this video only has 2.7k views. It’s like Kurt Cobains funeral
You're spot on with Kurt's voice. Such despair and disregard for the rules, so unique. In case it hasnt been mentioned the drummer is the frontman for Foo Fighters, highly recommend checking them out at some point.
This entire concert was almost entirely covers. There is no studio version. What you witness is a singularity. It happened once and never again.. It is why it's so special.
And it was also all in 1 take lol, I think I just saw on the unplugged 30 years later the producers said they were expecting some screw ups and do overs, not from Kurt😂 I think they used Layne and a few other bands as examples of what they thought would happen. Nirvana ripped thru those songs like they were written by Nirvana themselves, so epic😊
This is the greatest band of the genx generation. The impact on the generation will last our lives.
I grew up with nirvana I love plateau it's really awesome I've been listening to them since 1995🤘R.I.P Curt Cobain most best forever ♾️
Absolutely agree and thank God ❤❤❤
7:39 ive watched this countless times and just now realized Kurt mutters some lyrics here. Happy Family (turkey)day Polo.
True bonding involves ‘telling’ someone FU to begin with then everything afterwards only ‘shows’ love & respect & gratitude.
The drummer is Dave Grohl who is now the singer in the Foo Fighters. (Also made a lot of good music)
Came here to say that😂
Eh
The drummer here could certainly pass as the Foo Fighters lead singer, Dave Grohl
@@Tyblubearboy ummm, because it is. If your reply was snark than I apologize 😂
@@mommabird2813 😂
As a teen in HS in the early 90s, yes, everything said in that paragraph was true. Even Dr Dre named Nirvana as his favorite rock group of all time. While Tool is my overall fav band, Nirvana is right behind and was my absolute fav back then. Rock on Polo
❤tool