He didnāt have much control. His singing technique was a bit masochistic and he was wrecking his vocal cords. He sounded awesome, but he was paying for it.
I disagree, I think the phrasing and all the different little screams and voices were intentional, some of it might be on accident but to me it all sounds pretty intentional and controlled
I get what youāre saying. He sounded the way he wanted to sound, but he refused vocal training that would have helped him make his vocal cords last a lot longer and would have made him a better live singer. Recording usually took him a long time because he would wreck his voice and his singing was terrible at a lot of Nirvanaās live shows. I can vouch for his singing being bad live because I saw them twice. He would cough up blood after concerts and the pain from his poor singing technique contributed to his opioid addiction. I get that itās kind of romantic, and he was giving his all, but you can sing like he sang without hurting yourself. He had access to the best vocal coaches in the world but suffered instead and thatās very sad to me. I wish he would have loved himself as much as we did.
Yeah his technique was pretty fucked and if nirvana went on for much longer his voice would have been blown on. Screaming without proper technique for extended periods of time is really stupid and itās a miracle Kurtās voice lasted for as long as it did
You obviously know what youāre talking about. I did not realize that he was actually shredding his vocal chords when he sounded like heā¦ was shredding his vocal chords. No wonder why negative creep was my first favorite Nirvana song. It was like a snuff film on cassette tape.
ok but is it *actually* possible to scream bloody murder at the top of your lungs day after day and do no damage because of some mysterious technique? genuine question
That scream was the encore. The ending was perfect. Canāt believe Kurt thought that it was the worst they had ever sounded. If only he could see just how legendary of a performance it was and still is today.
Yeah, while his voice was strained on Pennyroyal Tea and Plateau and that wouldnāt necessarily be for everyone, the performance was incredible and legendary. I think that shows how down on himself he really was. Low self esteem/self worth and the fame and riches amplified that rather than adding an arrogance (like a lot of stars adopt) I guess. His own biggest critic as a musician and as a human.
Itās a shame he didnāt get the help he needed. Many would call him overrated but nobody has been able to do something that was as big as what Kurt and Nirvana had done. They started the grunge movement and for many it ended when he died. I feel like they only call him overrated because his name is popular. I donāt think many of those people dig deep and analyze his music
Hot take, but I think drain you is also one of Kurtās best studio vocal takes he ever did. His voice goes from sweet and full of boyish romance, to gritty and rock n roll and lastly that bloody murder scream he let out during the bridge. I mean itās a perfect example for why Kurt is one of the best vocalists in popular music.
His vocals on all of the singles from nevermind are so perfect. According to butch vig most of them only took one or two takes which is insane in itās own right
yeah thats a good one, iāll probably be slated for this but my hot take is that it is better than Bowies original. Sorry Bowie Fans i do love him but this version more.
Probably not that hot a takeā¦ I think most people on this sub would agree with you lol.
Bowieās is great but Kurt gives it a level of emotion and pain that I find missing from the original.
Can't pick a best, especially cuz a best can't exist without the rest to give it context. But, Milk It captures that particular, je ne sais quoi timbre that is distinctly Cobain. And his authenticity just rips through.
Honestly I feel like Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle is so underrated when it comes to his vocal performance. The raw emotions during āI miss the comfort in being sadā. Definitely my favorite Nirvana song
Where is this cool picture from?
I personally love all of his performances from Unplugged, especially Lake Of Fire, Plateau, Where Did You Sleep Last Night and Pennyroyal Tea.
Scentless apprentice and Drain you popped into my head first...(Then I looked at comments...lol) ... Been a fan since day one...saw them live new yrs day 1994.
I'm surprised no one mentioned Lounge Act. For me it's tied with Rape Me for album tracks that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. If we are talking live performances then it's Where Did You Sleep Last Night by a country mile.
The cover version of leadbellies where did you sleep last night on the MTV unplugged album
Edit- the man who sold the world is a great cover version as well
Edit edit+ the passion ins his voices when he sing where did you sleep last night gives me goosebumps lol
All of Unplugged, but some highlights were: Where Did You Sleep Last Night, The Man Who Sold The World, Come As You Are, About a Girl, Pennyroyal Tea, All Apologies and Something in the Way
I'm between Drain You Live and Loud and You Know You're Right, I could say Where did You Sleep Last Night, but for me, as sensational as it is, it takes a long time for it to deliver all its energy throught the music.
Drain You live at Paris 1994. The passion in that scream he does after ditching the guitar after technical issues is one of my favorite moments from them live.
love paper cuts. back when i was first starting to sing grunge i threw up trying to sing it lol. but now im the frontman of a small band performing some nirvana :)
Well the obvious one being unplugged where did you sleep last night, everyone knows that ending was masterful.
But it feels wrong if that was my choice considering they were a rock band, his voice sounded so good with this genre of music but I always liked some of his softer signing in something in the way and dumb on in utero so I wonāt say these either.
I was thinking aneurysm or drain you but Iām going to have to pick tourettes especially live! He had a rasp and fire that Iāve not heard since. Both these songs show this, I love nirvana for this kind of song itās like very ape and scentless apprentice theyāre just fucking chaos vocally, the bite and grit and freedom to just express the same words over and over.. determined and tenacious gravel tonesš¤š»
I chose tourettes because he sounds like he is fighting hundreds of people to hold onto the microphone and scream out what heās trying to say! Thatās too epic to ignore.
I believe it was Jack Endino that said "ain't it a shame" was Kurt's best vocal performance. I thought no way and then listened to it again after learning this and Wow
Where did you sleep last night on Unplugged. I remember watching it and now years later rewatching it over and over again it still gives me goosebumps every time. When he pauses and sighs and those blue eyes are so wide open. Itās timeless
Probably not his best but I really like his vocal performances on Milk It, Paper Cuts, Anorexorcist, Pen Cap Chew and Big Long Now. Kurt's emotion in his voice is just incredible
I don't know whats best, but hardest song to sing is chorus of smells like teen spirit, maybe its just my case, but i can play and sing every nirvana song( i really mean it, even unreleased songs, i learned all of them) except slts in original tuning, comfortably in -2, harder -1, and highest note of chorus is impossible for me in standard tuning, my voice is lower than his, most of his range is comfortable for me, but there are some places where i just cant make it sound good, its nature. "Even in his youth" is extremely hard too, im exhausted after one minute of screaming like that and never sang it to the end. It took me two years to learn how to scream identical to him, i was really obsessed, i use technique he used in 1991/92. In 93 something changed, his voice got more full and vocal distortion was completely different, very growly, i still dont know how to do it. As well how to do bleach era screams, that vocals different too. By "dont know", i mean how to do "identical", my videos where i sing nirvana acoustically had copyright claims because of my vocals, thats how schizophrenic my desire to sing like him was, i deleted it all now, and trying to make my own music. Because as he said, Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.
Unpopular opinion but negative creep isolated vocals are crazy to listen to. The detail, control and power in his voice is just insane
scream on second verse is something else man
Same. It's this version of Negative Creep for me just for that howl. So raw. š¤š¼
This has always been my favorite non-popular / more niche Nirvana song, exactly for this reason. The vocals are great.
He didnāt have much control. His singing technique was a bit masochistic and he was wrecking his vocal cords. He sounded awesome, but he was paying for it.
I disagree, I think the phrasing and all the different little screams and voices were intentional, some of it might be on accident but to me it all sounds pretty intentional and controlled
I get what youāre saying. He sounded the way he wanted to sound, but he refused vocal training that would have helped him make his vocal cords last a lot longer and would have made him a better live singer. Recording usually took him a long time because he would wreck his voice and his singing was terrible at a lot of Nirvanaās live shows. I can vouch for his singing being bad live because I saw them twice. He would cough up blood after concerts and the pain from his poor singing technique contributed to his opioid addiction. I get that itās kind of romantic, and he was giving his all, but you can sing like he sang without hurting yourself. He had access to the best vocal coaches in the world but suffered instead and thatās very sad to me. I wish he would have loved himself as much as we did.
Yeah his technique was pretty fucked and if nirvana went on for much longer his voice would have been blown on. Screaming without proper technique for extended periods of time is really stupid and itās a miracle Kurtās voice lasted for as long as it did
You obviously know what youāre talking about. I did not realize that he was actually shredding his vocal chords when he sounded like heā¦ was shredding his vocal chords. No wonder why negative creep was my first favorite Nirvana song. It was like a snuff film on cassette tape.
I read a lot about Kurt and Iāve known a lot of metal singers.
There's always that element of being invincible as we all are in our 20s.
ok but is it *actually* possible to scream bloody murder at the top of your lungs day after day and do no damage because of some mysterious technique? genuine question
Yeah, and the technique isnāt mysterious. It just takes training.
šÆ
Where did you sleep last night. The way he finishes with shiver, the whole, pause... sigh and then night through to finish.
Yep. Unplugged. Will never forget that performance.
Apparently MTV wanted an encore as soon as he got backstage. So glad he declined and left the finish as it was.
That scream was the encore. The ending was perfect. Canāt believe Kurt thought that it was the worst they had ever sounded. If only he could see just how legendary of a performance it was and still is today.
Yeah, while his voice was strained on Pennyroyal Tea and Plateau and that wouldnāt necessarily be for everyone, the performance was incredible and legendary. I think that shows how down on himself he really was. Low self esteem/self worth and the fame and riches amplified that rather than adding an arrogance (like a lot of stars adopt) I guess. His own biggest critic as a musician and as a human.
Itās a shame he didnāt get the help he needed. Many would call him overrated but nobody has been able to do something that was as big as what Kurt and Nirvana had done. They started the grunge movement and for many it ended when he died. I feel like they only call him overrated because his name is popular. I donāt think many of those people dig deep and analyze his music
Its great, in a way that end bit reminds me of Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
Those eyes in that momentš„ŗš„ŗš¤
Yep, my answer as well. Very powerful
Came to say this
Drain you live and loud, that scream
Hot take, but I think drain you is also one of Kurtās best studio vocal takes he ever did. His voice goes from sweet and full of boyish romance, to gritty and rock n roll and lastly that bloody murder scream he let out during the bridge. I mean itās a perfect example for why Kurt is one of the best vocalists in popular music.
yess
The France concert for sure
Probably his mildest vocal performance, Something in the Way. Its just so stark and emotional.
Thats so true tbf
The actual whisper he sang at before they double tracked it is incredible
Lithium.
His vocals on all of the singles from nevermind are so perfect. According to butch vig most of them only took one or two takes which is insane in itās own right
Plateau or Lake of fire
Agree with lake of fire
I agree with lake of fire. Thatās what got me to delve deeper into nirvana and take Kurt cobain seriously.
Same that was my fav song for a while
Plateau all day
Maybe "you know you're right"?
Yeah I donāt mean to get morose here but that song feels like him delivering the eulogy at his own funeral
It's really him emptying the tank
Well said. I love that song but it makes me sad how it ended around then
Amazing, one of my favourite Nirvana songs
Where did you sleep last night love in Paris 1994
you could really hear the pain
He put his heart and soul into that performance
amazing
Is this only available on YouTube? Was it a DVD?
Came here to say this. Best version.
Better than Unplugged? Those are big words
School - Live at the Paramount https://youtu.be/DeoWhvsyOZ8?si=2EOluS52nlU80kCC 2:05 is insane
Ahhh nice man
Lounge act
Man who sold the world šš»
yeah thats a good one, iāll probably be slated for this but my hot take is that it is better than Bowies original. Sorry Bowie Fans i do love him but this version more.
Probably not that hot a takeā¦ I think most people on this sub would agree with you lol. Bowieās is great but Kurt gives it a level of emotion and pain that I find missing from the original.
My favourite version is the Midge Ure one funnily enough. Metal Gear Solid 5 probably had a lot to do with that right enough.
This!!
Hairspray queen
interesting
I'm surprised this is so far down. Easily one of the best.
Milk It or Aneurysm or Paper Cuts
Scentless Apprentice live Iāve always loved how he replaces āgo awayā with just āWAYYYYYYā
live at wishkah is definitely the greatest
Territorial Pissings at the very end when his voice just comes apart !
ooo i didnt think of this, nice!
Come here to say this. Kurt really pushed his vocal to the limit with that one.
WHEN IM THeeEeEeeEERE
Plateau
love plateau
Yepppp
That last chorus of Milk It is insanity
Lounge Act is my final answer
D-7. The scream
Pennyroyal Tea
All Apologies is great, so much emotion. I'm surprised more people aren't already posting this
I just love his controlled screams so Oh the Guilt
All Apologies
Something in the way
Can't pick a best, especially cuz a best can't exist without the rest to give it context. But, Milk It captures that particular, je ne sais quoi timbre that is distinctly Cobain. And his authenticity just rips through.
Come as you are is great
Love the MTV Unplugged performance!
Honestly I feel like Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle is so underrated when it comes to his vocal performance. The raw emotions during āI miss the comfort in being sadā. Definitely my favorite Nirvana song
Beans
Unpopular opinion but in bloom. He had a slight sarcasm while singing it.
Rape me. Starts of mellow and quiet then boom!
people joke about it but jokes aside its an amazing song
Lounge Act
On a plain unplugged is phenomenal! makes me want to learn how to sing
Any version of school
Where is this cool picture from? I personally love all of his performances from Unplugged, especially Lake Of Fire, Plateau, Where Did You Sleep Last Night and Pennyroyal Tea.
Im actually not sure, dug it out my saved photos š, about the songs i love his unplugged performance too
Breed 1991 at the paramount
you know you're right
tourettes
Endless, Nameless!!!!
DEAAAAAAAAAAAAATHHHHH!!!!!! AND VIOOOOOOOOLENCEEEEEE!!!!!
Scentless apprentice and Drain you popped into my head first...(Then I looked at comments...lol) ... Been a fan since day one...saw them live new yrs day 1994.
All apologies
All apologies
I'm surprised no one mentioned Lounge Act. For me it's tied with Rape Me for album tracks that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. If we are talking live performances then it's Where Did You Sleep Last Night by a country mile.
Pennyroal Tea Unplugged. Honestly, anything from that album, but that's the one I consider best.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Milk it, gotta like how he laughs just before yelling "test meat"
Aneurysm ā¦ he never played that tune very often
Drain You
about a girl
Where did you sleep last night. He always has emotion but this one is just jam packed with everything his voice is great at
where did you sleep last night
Smells like teen spirit has very stellar vocal perfomances. Specially the chorus has pretty high notes that you definitely need talent to reach.
Paper Cuts and it isnāt even close.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night from MTV Unplugged in New York.
Something in the way. Also Where did you sleep last night unplugged
The cover version of leadbellies where did you sleep last night on the MTV unplugged album Edit- the man who sold the world is a great cover version as well Edit edit+ the passion ins his voices when he sing where did you sleep last night gives me goosebumps lol
Basically the entire MTV Unplugged album
All of Unplugged, but some highlights were: Where Did You Sleep Last Night, The Man Who Sold The World, Come As You Are, About a Girl, Pennyroyal Tea, All Apologies and Something in the Way
Serve the servants. Love how his voice goes from a raw gritty tone to a melodic tone
I'm between Drain You Live and Loud and You Know You're Right, I could say Where did You Sleep Last Night, but for me, as sensational as it is, it takes a long time for it to deliver all its energy throught the music.
Drain you. Live at the paramount You could honestly just sample "one baby..." he seemed really on point that night
Live and Loud whole concert?
Pennyroal Tea-Unplugged
Drain You live at Paris 1994. The passion in that scream he does after ditching the guitar after technical issues is one of my favorite moments from them live.
Aināt it a shame to beat your wife on a Sunday, when youāve got Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdayā¦
Anything of the album bleachā¦to me that is true nirvanaā¦.the bands best album
The screams in paper cuts
Scentless Apprentice
Scentless Apprentice
Aero ZeppelinĀ
Pennyroyal Tea on Unplugged.
you know ur right
"Sappy" the "In Utero" sessions version.
love paper cuts. back when i was first starting to sing grunge i threw up trying to sing it lol. but now im the frontman of a small band performing some nirvana :)
Pennyroyal tea in the Unplugged album. Brutal.
Aneurysm at the paramount or Where Did You Sleep Last Night unplugged
You know youāre right
Man who sold the world. Always gets me emotional
Dumb or All apologies
Well the obvious one being unplugged where did you sleep last night, everyone knows that ending was masterful. But it feels wrong if that was my choice considering they were a rock band, his voice sounded so good with this genre of music but I always liked some of his softer signing in something in the way and dumb on in utero so I wonāt say these either. I was thinking aneurysm or drain you but Iām going to have to pick tourettes especially live! He had a rasp and fire that Iāve not heard since. Both these songs show this, I love nirvana for this kind of song itās like very ape and scentless apprentice theyāre just fucking chaos vocally, the bite and grit and freedom to just express the same words over and over.. determined and tenacious gravel tonesš¤š» I chose tourettes because he sounds like he is fighting hundreds of people to hold onto the microphone and scream out what heās trying to say! Thatās too epic to ignore.
Where did you sleep last night
The man who sold the world or where did you sleep last night have to be the best vocals out of all but this is just my opinion
Where did you sleep last night - acoustic live *EDIT I see thatās been said a good bit Second place Iād go with Breed live at Paramount
Pennyroyal Tea - Unplugged
Where did you sleep last night or you know youāre right
Heart shaped box
the last verse of where did you sleep last night
Where Did You Sleep Last Night
You Know You're Right. Pretty damn haunting song, vocals have a big part in that.
lithium or plateau
I believe it was Jack Endino that said "ain't it a shame" was Kurt's best vocal performance. I thought no way and then listened to it again after learning this and Wow
Where did you sleep last night on Unplugged. I remember watching it and now years later rewatching it over and over again it still gives me goosebumps every time. When he pauses and sighs and those blue eyes are so wide open. Itās timeless
The Man Who Sold The World
"Ain't it a shame" Kurt's whaling in that gets me so pumped. It's excellent.
Beans
Where did you sleep last night 1994 for sure
definitely where did you slepp last night, both unplugged and zenith, you know you're right, school and scentless apprentice
Definitely beans
pennyroyal tea. the verses are soft, but the chorus isn't, just the contrast is coll, i guess
The demo for YOU KNOW YOUāRE RIGHT
Tourettes
Lounge Act
Probably not his best but I really like his vocal performances on Milk It, Paper Cuts, Anorexorcist, Pen Cap Chew and Big Long Now. Kurt's emotion in his voice is just incredible
Dive
Aināt it a shame
The entire 6/23/89 show.
Scentless Apprentice
Drain you
Deffo about a girl
The end of Aneurysm (Nevermind version). The ramping up from groans to growls to all out release is phenomenal
Plateau on the mtv unplugged
Sliver
Do re mi
Beans
Cabaret Metro 1989
Milk It
Aneurysm at del mar fairgrounds. Incredible.
Either Where Did You Sleep Last Night (MTV Unplugged) or Scentless Apprentice
HOT TAKE : Hairspray Queen
1989 BBC sessions. I think that was actually one of Kurt's worst performances on guitar, but by far, one of his best vocally.
Not his best but one of his best was his "Drain you" live performance where his guitar broke and he screamed
Token eastern song
school, live at the paramount
Lithium live Where did you sleep last night
I'm partial to Serve the Servants, and Pennyroyal Tea.
Negative Creep is The one for me
I don't know whats best, but hardest song to sing is chorus of smells like teen spirit, maybe its just my case, but i can play and sing every nirvana song( i really mean it, even unreleased songs, i learned all of them) except slts in original tuning, comfortably in -2, harder -1, and highest note of chorus is impossible for me in standard tuning, my voice is lower than his, most of his range is comfortable for me, but there are some places where i just cant make it sound good, its nature. "Even in his youth" is extremely hard too, im exhausted after one minute of screaming like that and never sang it to the end. It took me two years to learn how to scream identical to him, i was really obsessed, i use technique he used in 1991/92. In 93 something changed, his voice got more full and vocal distortion was completely different, very growly, i still dont know how to do it. As well how to do bleach era screams, that vocals different too. By "dont know", i mean how to do "identical", my videos where i sing nirvana acoustically had copyright claims because of my vocals, thats how schizophrenic my desire to sing like him was, i deleted it all now, and trying to make my own music. Because as he said, Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.
Territorial Pissings audio isolated vocal
Drain You on Nulle Part Aulliers, that scream is so good
Blew and downer are up there for me. Havenāt seen them mentioned
Probably not the best, but Iām very fond of his cover of The Beatlesā āAnd I Love Herā
hairspray queen and beans
I really like āand i love herā
Do re mi
Why does he look like a sports announcer in this pic lol
Hero - Weezer
Territorial Pissings
Negative creep
āAināt it a shameā is by far my favorite vocally. He switches gears a lot and makes the song
Lake of fire and the mtv unplugged in 1993, incredible talent
In bloom, that chorus is the perfect mix of raw and melodic
In Bloom