And was handed to Krist, and he said, “Cool, look at this. We were in a room after the show, probably with 20 people, the band and crew, and there was franks and beans on the table. I remember bringing it backstage, and I’d given it to the tour manager. I think it was the Guild I brought Krist, knowing he didn’t have one. I’d made a friend at Takamine, David Vincent, who was very helpful throughout the course of Unplugged, whenever I needed gear. I brought my acoustic bass with me, which is no small feat.
Places they hadn’t gotten to on the last tour. And I think they were playing secondary markets, on purpose. Just days before the taping, Unplugged producer Alex Coletti visited the band during a stop on the In Utero tour.Īlex Coletti (producer, MTV Unplugged ): We flew into somewhere in Massachusetts, went to a hotel, and dropped our stuff off, and drove for a bit. We didn’t quite know how many songs they had that would work and how well they would translate to the acoustic setting. So when they were invited to do the show, we had some big questions to figure out. And I had experience with it, having done one with R.E.M.ĭave Grohl (drums) : We’d seen the other Unpluggeds and didn’t like many of them, because most bands would treat them like rock shows-play their hits like it was Madison Square Garden, except with acoustic guitars.Įarnie Bailey (guitar tech): It became a running joke. During that time, all the rage was MTV’s Unplugged show. Scott Litt (producer, MTV Unplugged in New York ): The only thing I thought might be tricky was trying to play Nevermind songs in that acoustic vein. His creative mind at that time was going more in a quieter direction. Mark Kates (A&R, Geffen Records): Kurt wanted to prove to himself that he could do this in an artistically successful way.
Everybody was just really excited when they agreed to do it. The story of Nirvana Unplugged began 25 years ago, when MTV’s influence on popular culture was at its peak.Īmy Finnerty (vice president of music and talent, MTV): Everybody wanted to see Nirvana do an Unplugged. Nirvana at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards FilmMagic Part I: “Trust the Artist. You’re lucky if you get to be at something like that once in your lifetime.”
“You knew for sure that history was being made,” said former MTV executive Amy Finnerty, who worked closely with Nirvana. As the show progressed, those in attendance began to realize that what they were watching would become legendary. The room’s haunting vibe later led the event to be described as sorrowful, but despite Cobain’s well-documented struggles at the time, the evening was far from dour. The lead singer even helped design the set, asking for it to be decorated with stargazer lilies and black candles. He also invited two of his musical heroes, Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the little-known Meat Puppets.
Nirvana mtv unplugged in new york series#
Nirvana’s appearance on the acoustic series proved something that close observers already knew: The loudest band on earth had a stunning amount of depth.Ĭobain subtly subverted the format, which usually featured acts playing stripped-down versions of their hits, by filling the set list with cover songs. Wearing a fuzzy cardigan, ratty button-down, Frightwig T-shirt, jeans, and Converse sneakers, Kurt Cobain-with help from drummer Dave Grohl, bassist Krist Novoselic, guitarist Pat Smear, and cellist Lori Goldston-orchestrated a performance that was heartfelt, funny, uncomfortable, and mesmerizing. That night, the biggest group of the decade staged one of the most hypnotically intimate rock concerts ever captured on film. On November 18, 1993, at Sony Music Studios in New York City, Nirvana took on MTV Unplugged. The best television episode of the 1990s starred a short, blond man and his band.
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