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10 Nirvana Songs Written by Kurt Cobain That Never Got the Attention They Deserved

Posted in Essays, Lists with tags Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain, Nirvana on 10/14/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

We all know Nirvana’s hit songs. “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” “Come as You Are.” “Heart-Shaped Box.” “All Apologies.” “Lithium.” “In Bloom.” Those tunes — which, fun fact, appear to be the last-released songs that are played on classic-rock radio — are imprinted indelibly on the minds of not just rock fans but American culture in general. But, as is always the case with any rock band, their hit songs only tell a small part of the group’s story. Another extremely critical aspect of Nirvana’s legacy is that they created at least a couple dozen high-quality tunes that never got their due.

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‘Don’t Have a Gun’: A Definitive Account of Nirvana’s Hit Song ‘Come as You Are”

Posted in Essays with tags Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain, Nirvana on 10/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Last time around, we rolled out a rather comprehensive history of Nirvana’s biggest hit song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” This time, we trace the lineage of the second single from Nirvana’s Nevermind – an aquatic, forlorn song that incorporates guns and early video special effects.

With a dreary mood that put even most major grunge songs to shame, “Come as You Are” is a downbeat tune that doesn’t exactly qualify musically as a ballad but had the sad thematic content to make it one of sorts. Like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” before it, “Come as You Are” also contains unsavory references, some of which are downright eerie decades after Kurt Cobain used a gun to commit suicide.

At the time of his death, Cobain apparently had heroin in his system; bleach, which is used in the injection process of the drug, also makes a (perhaps prescient) appearance in the words he sang on this tune.

Read The Bad Penny‘s full reflection on the song courtesy of AllMusic.

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‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’: A Definitive Account of Nirvana’s Blistering, Biggest Hit

Posted in Essays, Interviews, Videos with tags Chris Novoselic, Dave Grohl, grunge, Kurt Cobain on 10/05/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Despite a litany of posthumous releases – pricey box sets, “super deluxe edition” reissues, unreleased songs and more – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” will always remain Nirvana’s most enduring song. Not only did it reach the top spot on countless charts in dozens of countries, it became so ubiquitous in mainstream culture that it cemented Nirvana as one of the greatest rock bands ever and legitimized alternative music as the quintessential music genre of the 1990s.

Read more of my thesis on Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on AllMusic.

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Queens of the Stone Age’s and Foo Fighters’ New Albums Are Abysmal. The Only Question Is Which One Sucks More.

Posted in Album Reviews, Essays, Reviews with tags Dave Grohl, DAve Gtohl, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, the Jesus Lizard on 09/19/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Breaking the third wall here a bit, if there still is one …

Over the course of my 30 years as a music journalist, Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters are among the top five bands about which I’ve written the most. I still rank QOTSA as my third-favorite band of all time (Nirvana and the Jesus Lizard will probably forever occupy those #1 and #2 spots, respectively). And I continue to regard Dave Grohl as my ultimate rock idol, it gives me no pleasure to report that the new QOTSA record, Perfecth (due October 30), is – from the few spins I’ve given it thus far – not just the worst record in the band’s catalog, by a long shot, it’s utterly perplexing that the band would even put its name on it.

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Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme Owes His Fame, in Part, to His Heavy-Rock Amigos

Posted in Features, Interviews with tags Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Kyuss, Nick Oliveri, Nirvana, QOTSA, Queens of the Stone Age on 06/11/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

As the only remaining original member of Queens of the Stone Age, Josh Homme is synonymous with the band that boasts substantial critical repute, commercial success, and peer respect. But as QOTSA proceeds deeper into their 30th year, they’re preparing for two of their highest-profile tours yet this summer, with Foo Fighters in the U.S. and System of a Down in Europe, respectively. Since QOTSA’s inception, fans of heavy rock have always regarded Homme as the leader of the group, due to his authorship of the vast majority of its songs and his role as the project’s mainstay member as its cast rotated routinely over the years.

Indeed, Homme’s imposing presence and distinct appearance as a 6’4” red-haired front man adds to his band’s singularly striking presence in the rock universe. But not only are there well-founded doubts that QOTSA may not have lasted as long as it were it not for the other musicians who have membership in the band on their resumes, Homme’s ever-growing list of collaborations with the creme de la creme of mainstream music has boosted his prominence even higher than his often unconventional take on rock music alone would have accomplished.

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Killing Joke Album Review by Yours Truly Featured in Treble’s ’50 Best Post-Punk LPs of 21st Century’ Feature

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Andy Gill, Dave Grohl, Jaz Coleman, Killing Joke, post-punk on 05/27/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Killing Joke released a self-titled album in 2003 that drew much well-deserved attention for featuring Dave Grohl behind the kit. But that’s not the only reason it stands as one of the 50 best post-punk records of the 21st century.

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Dave Grohl’s Hardcore-Punk Bonafides Propelled Him – and Nirvana – to Enormous Mainstream Success

Posted in Essays, Features with tags Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain, Lemmy, Nirvana, Scream on 05/08/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

When Nirvana signed to a major label in 1990, they had already established a strong fan base in their hometown of Seattle thanks to the underground success of Bleach, their debut album. But even though the band was just a trio, the consistency of its lineup was tested by a Spinal Tap-esque rotating cast of drummers (the last of which was Dave Grohl). When Nirvana inked a deal with the David Geffen-owned DGC Records, they also faced skepticism from a fan base suspect of artists tied to corporate entities. Whether deliberate or not, Kurt Cobain successfully diffused those concerns while simultaneously strengthening his three-piece by tapping Grohl, a drummer who had already established his punk-rock bona fides by the time he joined the band in his early 20s. Read my full feature on the topic courtesy of Collider.

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10 Best Free Bandcamp Downloads #11: Dave Grohl Side Project’s Full LP, lowsunday, TINO, Post Pulse, Zabus

Posted in MP3s with tags Body Shirt, Dave Grohl, lowsunday, Mike June, Miracle Blood, Post Pulse, Probot, TINO, Tumbleweed Dealer, Zabus on 05/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

The 11th and latest installment of The Bad Penny‘s Bandcamp Freebie series features our strongest offering of free music to date. In addition to pay-what-you-want releases by a handful of artists that the site has featured (and thus recommended) in various posts, there’s only two singles among the bunch. The rest are full-lengths and short-players that the bands we’re featuring deserve hi-fives for posting for no cost on Bandcamp. So, without further ado, let’s dig in.

(Note: If you’re financially capable of supporting any of these artists and/or labels, please consider doing so.)

1. Probot – s/t

In the early ’00s, Dave Grohl started showing more affection toward heavy metal, even though his three most prominent projects – grunge gods Nirvana, hardcore heroes Scream and mainstream-rock darlings Foo Fighters – were never categorized at that sort. In particular, Grohl had developed a close friendship with Lemmy Kilmister, later appearing in a 2010 documentary paying tribute to the Motörhead majordomo.

Grohl confirmed his appreciation for metal with this one-off 2003 release by a project he called Probot. The songs featured Grohl playing along with some of metal’s greatest legends ever: Max Cavalera, Wino, Eric Wagner, King Diamond – and, of course, Lemmy. Our eyes grew wide when we noticed on Bandcamp that this special release is available for release.

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A Very Deep Dive Into Josh Homme’s Collaborations in and Out of Queens of the Stone Age

Posted in Features with tags Billy Gibbons, Dave Grohl, Elton John, Iggy Pop, Josh Homme, Mark Lanegan, Norah Jones, Paul McCartney, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age on 05/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

In my first feature for Collider, I dig deep into Josh Homme’s miles-long list of collaborations with other prominent musicians from a range of genres as part of Queens of the Stone Age and other projects. The 1,200-word article analyzes his work with PJ Harvey, Mark Lanegan, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Iggy Pop, Norah Jones, Rob Halford, Billy Gibbons and Dave Grohl – just to name a few.

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Happy Birthday, Dave Grohl!

Posted in Comedy with tags Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Mondo Generator, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Scream, Sound City Players, Them Crooked Vultures on 01/14/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“Don’t tell me how to make a record. I was in Nirvana. I was in the greatest rock and roll band of the ’90s. We changed the course of rock music. … Give me a carton of Marlboros. Fuck you, man, I was in Nirvana, you asshole. I’m on RCA, dammit. Don’t you know who I am? I’m a millionaire.”
–Dave Grohl of Nirvana (and Foo Fighters, and Queens of the Stone Age, and Them Crooked Vultures, and Mondo Generator, and Sound City Players, and Backbeat Band, and Scream).