Archive for Nirvana

Porch Coffin Frontman and Bad Penny Geek Out Over Nirvana, From the Hits to the Rarities

Posted in Interviews, Videos with tags , , on 12/22/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

At a memorial ceremony for Kurt Cobain held April 12, 1994, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic delivered a brief eulogy that continues to resonate with great potency today.

“No band is special, no player royalty. But if you’ve got a guitar and a lot of soul, just bang something out and mean it. You’re the superstar,” he said. “Heck, use your guitar as a drum, just catch the groove and let it flow out of your heart.”

Not too many years after that, a kid named Evan Blaine in Daytona, Florida, was given his first CD, Nirvana’s In Utero, from his brother. Some of the songs were already familiar to him, as Blaine’s brother and father used a guitar tablature book to learn how to play tunes from Nirvana Unplugged in the family living room.

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The 20 Best ’90s American Grunge Bands of All Time

Posted in Lists, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 12/20/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Disagree if you dare.

1. Nirvana

2. Melvins

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Nirvana’s 10 Best Videos, Ranked

Posted in Lists, Videos with tags on 09/20/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

1. “Heart-Shaped Box”

2. “In Bloom”

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Labyrinth: The History Of Nirvana

Posted in Fun And Games with tags , , , on 02/24/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

If you enjoyed the Jesus Lizard labyrinth we brought you a few light years ago, crack yer knuckles and get to work on this new puzzle revolving around their fallen friends, Nirvana.

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Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’: The Heart-Shaped Album That Married Mainstream and Indie Rock

Posted in Essays with tags , , , on 11/09/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

With Nirvana’s In Utero celebrating its 30-year anniversary, check out my argument — itself three decades in the making — on why the band’s best record changed rock music forever. Read the treatise, accompanied by Anton Corbijn photos, on FLOOD.

Getting To Know Mark Lanegan

Posted in Interviews with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on 02/22/2022 by Kurt Orzeck

Mark Lanegan wears all 40 years of his life on his face. His skin, once puffed in that Tom Waits sort of way, is now ironed out into a smooth sheet. His thin amber eyes pierce his surroundings with a devastating gravity. Even his thick maroon mane, which spikes out beneath a nondescript black hat, seems to be spun by the hands of time, hammered by hard living.

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Revising History: Mike Watt On John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, More

Posted in Features, Revising History with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 10/08/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Now this is quite the honor: Mike Watt, one of the most respected musicians ever to lurk in the underground, has anted up – all jazz-style – for the second installment in the Bad Penny’s brand-new series, Revising History. Continue reading

Revising History: Kathryn Williams On Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter, Björk’s Homogenic, More

Posted in Features, Revising History with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 10/06/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

On her 2004 covers album, Relations, revered British singer/songwriter Kathryn Williams breathed new life into classics such as Nirvana’s “All Apologies,” the Velvet Underground’s “Candy Says” and Pavement’s “Spit on a Stranger.” In commemoration of the release finally reaching U.S. shores on Tuesday (via One Little Indian), the Bad Penny asked the Mercury Prize nominee to christen a new feature: Revising History. Continue reading

Red House Painters’ Mark Kozelek: ‘There’s A Bad Feeling That Comes With Playing Solo Too Much’

Posted in Interview Transcripts, Interviews with tags , , , , , on 10/04/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

With former Red House Painters guitarist Phil Carney recently granting the Bad Penny his first-ever interview (and an MP3 premiere), the time seems right to resurrect my long-lost conversation with Mark Kozelek. Conducted August 14, 2001, it is surfacing online for the first time. And, because interview with the indie demigod are hard to come by, the full piece is presented here – all 4,900-plus words, warts and all. Continue reading

Mark Linkous, Forever Sparkling

Posted in Interviews with tags , , , , , , , , on 03/08/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

On January 9, 2003, I had the honor of speaking with Mark Linkous. While I held Sparklehorse in high regard back then – and still do today – I came away from the interview with even more respect for the man behind the songs. Continue reading