The only Nirvana song with Krist Novoselic on vocals
It’s easy to think of Nirvana as Kurt Cobain with a backing band sometimes. When looking at the band’s construction, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl felt more like interpreters of Cobain’s work half the time rather than proper creative partners. While Grohl would eventually enjoy one of the most significant second winds of his career with Foo Fighters, Novoselic only got the urge to step behind the microphone once.
Then again, if Novoselic hadn’t come along, there’s a good chance Nirvana would never have happened at all. When growing up in Aberdeen, Washington, Novoselic was into the underground indie scene when he came across another punk rock kid named Kurt Cobain. Striking up a friendship at the rehearsal space of their local heroes, the Melvins, Novoselic and Cobain eventually hooked up to form a band.
Going through many different drummers, the band initially settled on Chad Channing for their debut album Bleach. Although Channing laid down a decent groove on songs like ‘About A Girl’, it wasn’t long until the group began looking for new blood on the scene. Coming across Grohl after listening to the punk rock outfit Scream, Cobain was convinced they had acquired the best drummer in the world, eventually going into the studio with Butch Vig to create their colossal album Nevermind.
Although the band made soon-to-be classics like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, they also carried a punk rock ethic throughout the recording process. While they may have been working out of the same studio that had birthed classics like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Tom Petty’s Damn the Torpedoes, the band would keep a ramshackle approach to recording, with Cobain only able to record a handful of vocals every day before his voice gave out.
When working on the punk-tinged rave-up ‘Territorial Pissings’, though, the band needed an intro when Novoselic got behind the microphone for the first time. Being an avid fan of psychedelic rock, Novoselic made a half-hearted piss-take of The Youngbloods’ ‘Get Together’ before the song kicks in. While Novoselic claimed to be messing around at the time, the significance of putting a 1960s classic at the top of the song spoke volumes.
Rather than the hippy idealism that was preached back in the days of the Vietnam War, the rise of grunge and alternative music was looking to stomp out any of the baby boomers that were still lingering around. While Cobain may have played with the same energy as acts like Led Zeppelin, no one was willing to be the same posturing rock and roll badass that Robert Plant used to be anymore.
While Novoselic would be one of Cobain’s closest friends throughout their career, he would never step in front of the microphone again, preferring to be the class clown in interviews and playfully go to war with his bandmates when they destroyed their gear every night. Even though Grohl could pick up the pieces after Nirvana ended, Novoselic would get out of the music business altogether, moving into the world of local politics after Nirvana ended.
Despite being one of the most energised members of the band every time they recorded an interview, it seemed like that spirit was deflated the minute that Cobain was found dead in his home. Nirvana may have been fun while it lasted, but that sense of child-like innocence was gone forever.
