Nirvana covers we'd love to hear

April 6, 2010

Sure, Nirvana covers are nothing new. But we’ve come up with a list of the Top 10 covers we’d like to hear performed by bands in our scene. If one of these ends up actually being done, we won’t take all the credit. But, damn it, we’re taking some. Still, we’d mostly have Kurt Cobain to thank–as per usual.

WRITERS
SH – Scott Heisel
TJK – Tim Karan
RL – Rachel Lux
JP – Jason Pettigrew

“School” (Bleach) by Every Time I Die
Another glorious riff props up Cobain’s stoner-shorthand for God knows what. (Indie-rock clubhouse as school caste system? Abject goofiness?) What we’re positive about is how Every Time I Die could rehaul this nugget with Andy Williams’ gargantuan tone, Jordan Buckley’s carpal-tunnel-inducing phrasing, and the roar of frontman Keith Buckley. Seriously, given his unhinged performances on New Junk Aesthetic, KB would make the refrain of “no recess” sound like an existential tract. Dammit, does anybody have a metaphor for “aural chrome-plating” we can use? [JP]

“Negative Creep” (Bleach) by the Bronx
You would think by now that L.A.’s finest attitude merchants would’ve pulled off a venomous version of this palm-muted dirtbag rant from Bleach during one of their bone-snapping gigs. Imagine frontman Matt Caughthran shearing the lining of his throat during the refrain, “I’m a negative creep when I’m stonedddddd,” as drummer Jorma Vik drives the whole thing like an idling dragster engine and guitarist Joby Ford brings the crunch. We can smell the heat–and the cheap vodka vapors–coming off the stage just thinking about it. [JP]

“Territorial Pissings” (Nevermind) by Rise Against
Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath usually focuses his band's lyrics on problems in society and how people can fix them, but everyone's gotta get a little nihilistic now and then, right? This is why we'd love for Chicago's biggest punk band to tackle this sub-2:30 blast of punk rock fury, sure to incite mosh pits the world over. Plus, to hear McIlrath do his imitation of Kurt's classic, sarcastic whine, “Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one other right now,” would be worth the price of admission alone. [SH]

“On A Plain” (from Nevermind) by Good Old War
If you were to start listening to the original version of “On A Plain,” you’d probably get to the third line –“Love myself better than you”–and say, “Ohhhh, that’s why they’re saying Good Old War should do this.” You’d be right about the harmonies, and even about that part. But to really see why GOW were our choice for this song, you have to go three-quarters through to the, “Somewhere I have heard this before” bit with its sublime two-part harmony. Granted, that’s one part short for Good Old War, but if anyone can find the natural, amazing spot for a third harmony, it’s these guys. They probably already have. [TJK]

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nevermind) by Minus The Bear
How does a band tackle what is easily the most recognizable song in Nirvana's catalog (and without a doubt one of the most well-known and popular rock song on the planet)? Well, if we got Minus The Bear to do it, we're confident they could do a pretty dramatic deconstruction of it into something approximating a slow jam. Cory Murchy could turn Krist Novoselic's bassline into silly putty, and we can't even imagine how much fun guitarist Dave Knudson would have with his foot pedals in the verses. [SH]

“Sliver” (Incesticide) by Never Shout Never
Depending on your reverence for Nirvana, this single track from 1990 is either an irony-steeped indie-rock worldview or a depressing scenario of adolescent abandonment. Two decades later, we can’t help but think that in the capable hands of Christofer Drew, this track could resonate with a new generation of young fans who aren’t fond of their grandparents. The Never Shout Never CEO has a knack for couching anxious sentiments in bright melodies–although he’d probably change the line “I couldn’t chew my meat good” to something a bit more vegan-friendly. [JP]

“Scentless Apprentice” (In Utero) by Norma Jean
Sure, Circa Survive did a hell of a job covering this In Utero track at the Hoodwink California, but that shouldn't dissuade this Georgian progressive metalcore outfit from slaying this rock pig. Really, the sliding barre chords, thumping bass drum and deliberately dirty bass all could've come off NJ's The Anti Mother, and Cory Brandan could easily handle Kurt's vocal calisthenics as well as his powerful “Go away!” screams. [SH]

“Tourette's” (In Utero) by Jaguar Love
This two-minute blast of guitar abuse and frayed nerve endings is one of In Utero’s more listener-jarring moments. Who better to bring that sentiment of bad craziness into the 21st century than vocalist Johnny Whitney and guitarist Cody Votolato? While the former Blood Brothers members have been setting their sights on dancefloor debauchery as of late, anybody who’s ever tasted blood after playing Burn Piano Island, Burn too loud knows how much over-modulated justice the duo could give this track. [JP]

“All Apologies” (MTV Unplugged In New York version) by All Time Low
Nirvana famously performed “All Apologies” from In Utero during their now-inconic MTV Unplugged session. Having recently stripped down for their own Unplugged performance, All Time Low understand the pressure of playing acoustic in front of an intimate audience and a zillion cameras, which should make covering this classic Nirvana tune a little less scary for the young quartet (the guys were about 5 years old when Nirvana released In Utero). No slouch when it comes to the mic, we’d love to hear Alex Gaskgarth ditch his pop sheen to sound borderline desperate/despondent while singing, “What else could I say/Everyone is gay.” (You know they’d wanna make a joke out of that line under normal circumstances…) [RL]

”You Know You’re Right” (Nirvana) by Manchester Orchestra
The easy way out here would be to have Georgia indie behemoth Manchester Orchestra cover “Lithium,” considering that MO’s “In My Teeth” (from Mean Everything To Nothing) has an uncanny (partially intentional) resemblance to that Nevermind classic. But we’d like to see what Andy Hull and Co. would do with the seething “You Know You’re Right,” the last single released by Nirvana on their 2002, eponymous greatest hits compilation. Hull seems like a genetically engineered specimen suited for the gravely, near-mumble verse and we already have chills thinking of what he would do with the massive chorus. [TJK]

While we may never hear these renditions from these artists, there’s no shortage of amazing Nirvana covers already out there (and that’s not even counting Circa Survive’s entire set at the Bamboozle California in late March). Check out some of what we found: