The classic Nirvana track Kurt Cobain could never get right: “It sucked every time”
Kurt Cobain could be the harshest critic for any of his tunes. For all of the accolades that he got as being one of the biggest voices of his generation, there were just as many times where he seemed to slag off the success of Nevermind, thinking that he had gone far too pop when listening to some of the final mixes. While a tune like ‘Sappy’ never made it onto an official album, part of the reason why the surefire hit never saw the light of day was because Cobain could never get it to sound right.
Then again, Cobain’s final attempt to record the track during the In Utero sessions would always be fraught with tension. Everyone had their eyes on the group to see what they were going to do next, and yet Cobain was the one trying his best to get as far away from their last album as possible because of how polished it sounded.
Enter Steve Albini, who was known then for being one of the most caustic punk rockers of all time. Outside of being the mastermind behind the first Pixies record, Surfer Rosa, Albini was the ideal guy that Cobain wanted to get the sound of Nirvana live in the studio, which included them running through a version of ‘Sappy’.
In an interview conducted later for MTV, Cobain thought that it was better but still not ready for the world to hear yet, saying, “It’s one of those songs we’ve been trying to record ever since we’ve been in a band. Every time we went into the studio, we tried to record the song and it sucked every time. It sucked, and this time it almost didn’t.”
When it comes to the writing, though, this might be one of Cobain’s greatest moments in the studio. There had been great tunes on the last album, like ‘Lithium’ and ‘Come As You Are’, but the main hook of this tune is far catchier than its counterparts. Outside of its pop appeal, this is also one of the more progressive tracks Cobain wrote subject-wise.
Cobain had always been an advocate for women’s rights throughout his life, and this is a sombre caricature of what the modern housewife is supposed to do. Aside from the happy attitude, what Cobain is writing about is one of the most demoralising experiences someone could possibly do, talking about this woman’s husband keeping her confined and the whole song taking place in a laundry room, where she will presumably stay for the rest of her days.
It delivers its message perfectly and even has that In Utero flavour to the production, so why didn’t it see the light of day until their box set, With The Lights Out? Well, maybe the catchiness was the main problem with the tune. Yes, it could have been a great single and had the potential to reach the same heights as other releases like ‘Heart-Shaped Box’, but since Cobain had shunned anything that sounded remotely like Nevermind, it probably got left on the cutting room floor to make way for heavy tunes like ‘Scentless Apprentice’.
When it finally got released, though, ‘Sappy’ was the one reminder of the kind of musician that Cobain always was. No matter if it made sense or not, he would always put out everything he felt, and considering the subject matter, this call for women’s rights suits Nirvana to a tee.
