Thursday, September 2, 2010

90s Jams #54: Nirvana "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" (1993)

On page 389 of Michael Azerrad's Come As You Are, the author outrageously labels this one as a "throwaway," quoting Cobain as saying "I think it could have been better." I understand the album was very recent at the time this book was published, but was hindsight really necessary to feel the extreme energy this song produces? The riff is no less a monster than any others from Nirvana (or Black Sabbath for that matter), and the pacing of this song is as perfect as it gets... Oh my God, that noise intro.. The pounding drums take off, and never quit from that point onward.. For the verses, the bass continues the riff while the guitar continues ringing outward for the sole purpose of producing feedback, which then accentuates that 2nd guitar overdub, which isn't even playing chords.. just strumming muted strings, creating an abundance of tension in order to lead into the chorus.. Everyone joining in for monster riff while "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME" is sung on repeat...

During their final year performing live, they almost always opened their sets with this song for a reason. Kick off the party the right way.

This the 2nd time this video has been posted here... Whatever.

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