“This is weird”: The Nirvana song Dave Grohl thought no one would like
It’s impossible to judge what the public is going to think of a record before it comes out. An artist can spend their entire lives trying to follow the trends and cash in on the same styles that people are listening to, but whether that’s going to come off as genuine or pandering is all in the eyes and ears of the beholder. And especially before Nirvana started blowing up in the wake of Nevermind, Dave Grohl thought this tune didn’t have what it took to be a smash hit.
Then again, nothing sounded like Nirvana when they started making alt-rock in the late 1980s. Other bands like Dinosaur Jr and The Replacements had flirted with bringing pop melodies into the indie sphere, but the minute that Bleach was released, fans got their first look at a songwriter with the same melodic sensibilities as The Beatles, only this time playing through BigMuff distortion pedals.
When Grohl first joined the group, though, most of Nevermind had been written. He had been a fan of the group since listening to Bleach, but considering how much of the music scene was still dominated by the kind of leather-clad “badasses” from Sunset Strip, there was no one sitting around thinking that a little upstart band from Seattle was going to take over the world on a whim.
That is, until ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ hit the airwaves. Since every member contributed to making the song epic, Cobain’s cry of agony made the entire world stand up and pay attention, especially with the muscle of Grohl’s drums pushing everything further. But in terms of radio potential, ‘In Bloom’ was a bit of an odd song to release to radio.
Although the melody is phenomenal, the tune’s structure is incredibly odd. Some pieces sound perfect, but the fact that the song throws in odd chords and begins with a virtual drum showcase for Grohl written by former drummer Chad Channing was far from the immediate hit formula that most people expected.
Despite loving playing the tune live, Grohl thought that the track was far too strange to gain any traction with the Guns N’ Roses fans of the world, saying, “When I first heard it, it reminded me of the Bad Brains in a weird way. It reminded me of ‘Re-Ignition.’ I remember thinking, ‘This song is weird. I don’t think anyone is gonna like it.’”
There are certainly pieces that are borrowed from the underground punk scene, but the true magic behind the track comes from Butch Vig’s attention to detail. Nirvana had already sounded slightly ramshackle whenever they performed live, but listening to the take they got in the studio, it structured like any stadium rock song is supposed to, complete with Grohl singing those fantastic harmonies in the background to offset Cobain.
Still, the fact that ‘In Bloom’ managed to become one of their biggest hits is one of the best triumphs for underground music. Nirvana had never quite fit in with the avant-garde rock crowd, but it takes a true punk to write a song about how people are dumb for not listening to the words and have legions of fans singing it back to them.
