When PJ Harvey almost fronted Nirvana
Few figures have transformed the alternative music sphere quite like Kurt Cobain. A formidable frontman, grunge pioneer, and unflinching champion for equal rights, the Nirvana singer remains one of the most referenced and revered rock stars of all time.
Cobain was integral to the overwhelming success of Nirvana. Blending sludgy soundscapes with pop sensibilities, carving out dark lyrics with unparalleled intent, and reinventing the idea of the frontman for a new age, the grunge outfit couldn’t have reached the heights or hearts they did without him.
Expectedly, the sudden death of Cobain in 1994 would essentially mark the end of Nirvana’s activity. Grieving their former frontman, the remaining members would cease work on a live record they had been concocting and focused on other endeavours – Dave Grohl would go on to found the Foo Fighters, while Krist Novoselic meandered between new projects before settling with Flipper for a few years.
Following the frontman’s suicide, his bandmates also vehemently avoided recreating Cobain’s songs without him. Foo Fighters’ live presence was notably absent of Nirvana tracks, with Grohl openly acknowledging this avoidance. However, there was one occasion on which Cobain’s former bandmates considered recruiting PJ Harvey to front a cover of a classic In Utero track.
Harvey has had her own mammoth impact on the alternative scene, infusing her art-rock with punk and politics, even earning the admiration of Cobain. The Nirvana frontman once named Harvey’s debut, Dry, as one of his favourite albums, suggesting she might be a worthy contender to perform with Grohl and Novoselic.
Almost two decades after Cobain’s death, Grohl was organising a London show for him and Novoselic’s supergroup, Sound City Players. With an impressive list of collaborations to their name, ranging from Stevie Nicks to Paul McCartney, Harvey would’ve been in good company had she taken Grohl up on his invitation.
When Grohl learned that Nicks and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty were unavailable for the gig, he was forced to consider alternatives. “Someone came up with the idea of doing a Nirvana song with PJ Harvey,” he recalled to NME, “Kurt loved her and we love her and we thought, ‘Yeah, what would we do?’”
“I said: ‘God, what if we were to do ‘Milk It’ from In Utero, with Polly singing?’ We all looked at each other, like, ‘Whoa, that would be amazing’,” he continued. But Grohl’s hopes were quickly shut down as Harvey couldn’t make the gig either.
Though the collaboration never came to fruition, it’s safe to say that Grohl’s prediction would probably have been correct. It’s easy to imagine Harvey’s voice on ‘Milk It’, bringing a new take to the track with Cobain’s admiration behind her.
