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.
Archive for Nirvana
Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’: The Heart-Shaped Album That Married Mainstream and Indie Rock
Posted in Essays with tags Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Steve Albini on 11/09/2023 by Kurt OrzeckGetting To Know Mark Lanegan
Posted in Interviews with tags Afghan Whigs, Greg Dulli, Johnny Cash, Josh Homme, June Carter Cash, Kurt Cobain, Mark Lanegan, Nick Oliveri, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, the Screaming Trees, Twilight Singers 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.
Revising History: Mike Watt On John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, More
Posted in Features, Revising History with tags Albert Ayler, Anna Waronker, Banyan, Bob Lee, Carla Bozulich, Cibo Matto, Ciccone Youth, Cris Kirkwood, Curt Kirkwood, Dave Grohl, Dos, Dougie Bowne, Eddie Vedder, Evan Dando, Firehose, Floored by Four, Foo Fighters, Hellride, Hellride East, Hovercraft, Iggy Pop, J Mascis, J Mascis and the Fog, John Coltrane, Krist Novoselic, Les McCann, Mike Watt, Miles Davis, Minutemen, Missingmen, Nels Cline, Nirvana, Petra Haden, Porno for Pyros, Rachel Haden, Roland Kirk, Sun Ra, the Stooges, the Unknown Instructors, Thelonious Monk, Wilco, Yuka Honda 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 Björk, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Gillian Welch, John Martyn, Joni Mitchell, Kathryn Williams, Laura Veirs, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Nirvana, Palace, Palace Brothers, Pavement, the Velvet Underground, Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Will Oldham 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 Cameron Crowe, Codeine, Low, Mark Kozelek, Nirvana, Red House Painters 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 Butthole Surfers, Daniel Johnston, Half Japanese, Jad Fair, Mark Linkous, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Sparklehorse, Tom Waits 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
Cover Me: French Miami’s French Miami
Posted in Cover Me, Features, Interviews with tags Brian Eno, Daft Punk, Death, French Miami, Genesis, John Carpenter, Kraftwerk, Minor Threat, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Polvo, the Fucking Champs, the Mae Shi, the Velvet Underground, Trans Am on 01/03/2010 by Kurt Orzeck
An ongoing series in which musicians reveal the artists they’d most like to hear covering their songs. Continue reading
Best Albums Of The 2000s
Posted in Lists with tags 3 Inches of Blood, David Cross, Electric Six, Isis, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Murder City Devils, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Silversun Pickups, Sweep the Leg Johnny, System of a Down, the Mars Volta, Tomahawk on 12/31/2009 by Kurt Orzeck
1. Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf (Interscope)
2. Isis – Oceanic (Ipecac)
• Bad Penny interview: “Isis’ Aaron Turner In ’02: Oceanic Is ‘The Best Material We’ve Ever Written’ ”
• Bad Penny essay: “Isis’ Oceanic: Mystery Revealed?”
Continue reading
Jesus Lizard’s Duane Denison: ‘I Can’t Imagine Ever Doing A Reunion Tour’
Posted in Interviews with tags Beck, Big Black, Brainiac, Cargo Cult, David Sims, David Yow, Denison Kimball Trio, Duane Denison, Firehose, Firewater, Girls Against Boys, Hank Williams III, Iggy Pop, Laughing Hyenas, Mac McNeilly, Melvins, Ministry, Nirvana, Phantom 309, Rage Against the Machine, Scratch Acid, Steve Albini, the Butthole Surfers, the Jesus Lizard, Trans Am, Verbena on 12/30/2009 by Kurt Orzeck
These are three hard-working men. One is bald, diminutive (around 5 feet tall) and brandishes a wrinkled, menacing smirk. This man has been arrested on numerous occasions for public exposure and enjoys his occupation, which involves howling, salivating, urinating and wrestling with complete strangers. Continue reading
Best Albums Of 2000
Posted in Lists with tags At the Drive-In, Blonde Redhead, Bright Eyes, Broadcast, Chicks on Speed, Enon, Grandaddy, Le Tigre, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, Quickspace, Sunny Day Real Estate, Sweep the Leg Johnny, the Black Heart Procession, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Fucking Champs, the Murder City Devils, Unida, Yo La Tengo on 12/30/2009 by Kurt Orzeck
GOLD
1. Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R (Interscope): Heavyweights in their own right, QOTSA are the closest thing we have to Nirvana right now.
2. PJ Harvey – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (Island): If she goes on for as long and as strong as Tina Turner has, I’ll die a happy man. Continue reading
