You know what’s great? Compilation albums that are filled with bands you’ve never heard of doing cover versions of songs you know. Most of them suck. Wait — they sa-HUCK. Either the artists make the mistake of hewing too closely to the original version or they veer off in some crazy direction that butchers the song. I love a good cover version, honest.
Given the release of Gus Van Sant’s new movie Last Days — which is based on, or at least inspired by, the death of Kurt Cobain — I’m presenting two cover versions of Nirvana tunes. They are taken from Nearvana, a 2002 compilation of San Francisco indie bands tackling the Cobain songbook. For the most part, the bands perform all the functions of a Dyson, but a few stand out. Curiously, both of these tracks have female vocalists.
“Rape Me” is a tough song. Cobain had a thing about rape. In Come As You Are, Michael Azerrad writes, “Rape is a continuing theme in both Kurt’s interviews and his songs. It’s almost as if he’s apologizing for his entire gender.” However, this song also fit the way he felt about the treatment he and Courtney received in the press, especially the Vanity Fair piece that focused on their drug use. “‘I wrote that before this happened, but it could easily fit in,’ [Cobain] concedes. ‘It was actually about rape. That was what it was initially was supposed to be about, but now I could definitely use it as an example of my life for the past six months or year, easily.’”
Storm Inc. really dig into this one and come up with the goods. However, it’s still weird to listen to this, due entirely to the lyrics. Vocalist Storm Large is a six-foot-tall blonde; I’m sure it must be an amazing sight to see a woman singing “rape me, my friend” over-and-over. Ah, fuck it. The song still rocks. (By the way, Storm has since relocated to Portland, OR.)
Violet Discord plays “Lithium,” another Cobain “I’m fucked up” classic, giving it a girl-group punk aesthetic reminiscent of Shonen Knife. I can’t tell you a damn thing about them, but guitarist Amanda Clements is now in Thee Merry Widows. They kind of look cool: “…the Bay Area’s premiere all-girl psychobilly band.” Here‘s their MySpace profile and an interview.
The photo collage above is made of images taken from the front pages of newspapers from when Cobain died. I’ve kept them all these years. I don’t think he was a genius or a saint, but I liked Nirvana’s music and Cobain’s songs really spoke to me. Every once in a while, I think of Frances Bean and I feel really bad for her.
Storm Inc. – Rape Me — BUY
Violet Discord – Lithium — BUY