Global success for many rock bands in the late 80’s and early 90’s was achieved by the release of an acoustic song or ballad. The slow tempo, melodious sound not only made for radio friendly air play but was more compelling to a wider audience and more specifically the female demographic. Therefore, potentially widening their fan base.
There are countless examples of bands doing this including, Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’, Red Hot Chili Peppers ‘Under the Bridge’ etc and so on. The emergence of the Grunge era in 1991 changed the formula of these softer more melodic compositions that were altered in two ways, the subject matter and delivery format. The ballad no longer was solely focused on the theme of romantic love but now encompassed other themes like drug addiction, self-reflection and even in some cases self-loathing like Radiohead’s ‘Creep’. Throughout the early 90’s there was a distinct step away from goodtime party music of the Sunset strip to a more socially conscious commentary with a heavier punk influenced sound from Seattle. Moreover, bands would begin to showcase their softer sound within the format of the television show MTV Unplugged.
MTV Unplugged was part of a cable television series, which gained much notoriety for featuring artists performing an acoustic only set in intimate settings, including everyone from Bob Dylan to Arrested Development. History shows us some artists navigated this unique setting better than others, notably Pearl Jam, 10,000 Maniacs, Neil Young and the hauntingly beautiful 1997 performance by Alice in Chains.
But it is Nirvana’s incredibly revealing, fragile and seemingly deeply personal performance during their MTV Unplugged in New York that is cited the most by fans and critics alike. Over the following decades it is seen as the zenith of this unique performance platform, and with good and many unknown reasons. Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York was an unusual idea from the inception, as the band was not known then for their softer side. Taking the loudest and heaviest three-piece band from the grunge era and asking them to time play acoustic instruments whilst smashing out their greatest hits was almost a comical thought. But the one thing that separated Nirvana from all the other bands of this time was the genius of vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Kurt Cobain. The idea of an unplugged performance appealed to him as his artistic mind was heading in a quieter direction, and he had something totally different in mind for the show. As a viewer don’t let Cobain’s tiny physical frame and shy personality throw you. Cobain oversaw his art with great intelligence and he was very aware of how it sat in the current zeitgeist and possible future musical landscapes, which is evident by reading his journals. He was the artistic leader of Nirvana, and it was his band – make no mistake. So therefore, this was going to be his vision of an MTV Unplugged performance, much to MTV’s chagrin.
The Background
During the year of 1993, Nirvana had been in negotiations with MTV to appear on their Unplugged series for some time. Cobain had been very hesitant at the idea of performing the show for many reasons. He was battling and losing the fight with his addiction to heroin, as well as navigating becoming a father with his recent wife Courtney Love of Hole. This union coincided with Nirvana’s new found global success with the release of the album Nevermind in 1991 that pulled the band out of obscurity and thrusted him and his relationship with Love into the lime light, becoming tabloid fodder and the focus of great scrutiny. The situation culminated in an feature article by Vogue magazine that accused the two of taking drugs during Love’s pregnancy of their child Frances Bean Cobain, deeming the couple unworthy parents. This led to authorities removing their newborn baby daughter from their home for a period of time. Moreover, earlier in the year Nirvana had released their much anticipated third studio album In Utero, which in its brilliance was a deliberate non friendly radio unit shifter that gave a punctuated middle finger to the music industry and any insincere fans. Amongst all the rumours was Cobain’s dissatisfaction of how his art was being perceived by his new found adoring fans and that the band were breaking up. Many of these rumours were instigated by Cobain himself during conversations with friends, management and also the press. So therefore with great hesitation and apprehension, Cobain finally accepted the invitation to play MTV Unplugged whilst on their 1993 In Utero tour with a little known band from Phoenix, Arizona called the Meat Puppets.
The In Utero tour had been fraught with cancellations and huge diversity in performance delivery. According to the band’s insiders, they either witnessed the greatest live shows they had ever seen, or the worst; depending heavily on Cobain’s state of mind and management of his addiction. But despite all this Cobain was a very savvy individual. He had invited cellist Lori Goldston to join them on the tour to add another more mournful dimension to their sound. Goldston reflects “When I first worked with [Nirvana] it was for the In Utero tour. The music was prepared on its own terms but with an eye on Unplugged.” Consistently for months before agreeing to the recording of their MTV Unplugged show, Nirvana had been adding an acoustic set in the middle of their shows in preparation for the event. However, Nirvana was not going to play the by then “typical” appearance on the show. According to drummer Dave Grohl, “We’d seen the other Unplugged (shows) 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”. So with careful and considered planning, Nirvana wanted to do something personal and unique by showcasing the music that inspired them; as well as introducing the masses to another side of the band, not only in sound but also in presentation.
Therefore, Nirvana would retreat for two days before the recording to SST Rehearsal Facility, in Weehawken, New Jersey to begin rehearsals. These rehearsals according to the people who were present were very tense and difficult, with the band having problems performing various songs they were considering to play. During the rehearsal sessions, Cobain disagreed with MTV about many aspects of their expectations of the performance. MTV Producer Alex Coletti recalled that the network was unhappy with the proposed set list and lack of Nirvana’s hit songs. MTV was also perplexed at the choice of the Meat Puppets as guests, Coletti saying: “They wanted to hear the ‘right’ names – Eddie Vedder or Tori Amos or God knows who?”. Originally Cobain wanted Mark Lanegan of fellow Seattle band Screaming Trees to join him for the performance. However, Lanegan had to decline due to his own drug issues at the time. The group had also looked at Lanegan’s 1990 album The Winding Sheet, which Cobain had performed on, for inspiration for the set. Still, the prospect of an entirely acoustic show reportedly made Cobain extremely nervous and he was struggling with the expectations.
Having been recently touring with the Meat Puppets, Cobain invited the founding members brothers Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the band to join them onstage during the unplugged set for their songs that he had chosen to cover. Cobain had struggled to play certain guitar parts on the songs he had chosen from their catalogue, so he invited the brothers to come and play with the band. Cobain often chose to promote and celebrate lesser known musicians that he deemed far superior to the norm or expectation of the supposed popular music of the time. Cobain had unwavering support of female artists and his stance for equality of the sexes, but predominately for no other reason than he genuinely liked the artists music. MTV Unplugged was going to be his platform to showcase his integrity as an artist as well as allowing the more astute audience member to see his authenticity; and all of this would be achieved without an ounce of ego on his part.
Cobain continued to be very nervous about the show and during the rehearsals on the day before filming he refused to play and disappeared, only to reappear at the recording studio the following afternoon hours before the taping. Cobain was suffering with heroin withdrawal and acute anxiety; one observer said, “There was no joking, no smiles, no fun coming from him … everyone was more than a little worried about his performance”. Since Nirvana had never performed without full-on amplification, the rehearsals were tense and Cobain questioned his ability to perform the show to his expectations. Cobain was in withdrawal that morning and it is well documented that eventually “someone” turned up at the studios with what was presumably heroin to help settle Cobain enough to enable him to perform. There were also disputes between the band and network over the stage set. Cobain suggested the stage be decorated with stargazer lillies, black candles, and a crystal chandelier. Coletti asked, “You mean like a funeral?” Cobain replied, “Exactly. Like a funeral.” Much has been made of this comment after the passing of Cobain. But when one looks into his art musically, as well as his drawings and subsequently his writings, it is obvious that Cobain was inspired by and celebrated the macabre.
The afternoon before taping, the band settled in for a few pre-taped recordings that can now be seen as bonus extras on the DVD release. You can see the tension and growing expectation on viewing this material. Cobain is clearly not at ease with the situation and frustrated at the lagging time schedule, and at one point he quips with a slight angst “Can we get on with this… we’re like an hour late already”. Another crucial and often over looked element of Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York performance is the inclusion of former Germs guitarist Pat Smear, now Nirvana’s new touring guitarist and forth member of the band. As Grohl states of the time, “When Pat Smear joined the band, it changed everything. He’s the sweetest person in the world. He became really close with Kurt. There was laughter.”
Smear is the epitome of cool with his soft demeanour and demure smile, playing a reggae striped guitar and swinging his socked feet from his stool on which he is perched, whilst looking supportively down at Cobain. In homage of Smear, Cobain introduces him during the recording by saying “he’s a certified honorary punk rocker… but he likes Queen better”. Alongside Smear is Goldston on cello who said in a subsequent interview; “Now it’s become much more common, but at the time it was extremely unusual to have a cello in a band like that. It was also unusual for a string player to work without written parts, improvising around chord changes and having parts hummed [to them]. I’d grown up playing guitar, so in a sense I was fluent in a few different musical languages. I think Kurt had been hearing/imagining the cello’s function very clearly, so it was maybe more an issue of communication than invention.”.
The major concern from all involved with the sound of the recording was the vigour that drummer Dave Grohl was famous for with his approach to the drum kit. Coletti recalls “The week of the show, [Grohl’s powerful style] was still in my mind. And I ran and got him some Hot Rods, Sizzle Sticks, and brushes. You know, little things that would lighten his touch. And it was close enough to Christmas that I put Christmas paper on it and I walked in. I didn’t know Dave well at all. I just handed them to him sheepishly and said, “Merry Christmas,” and he opens it up and he’s like, “Cool, I’ve never had these before.” That was it. He walked away”. However, Grohl puts in a performance that is a true master class of control and precision. It’s like witnessing a drummer inventing a new version of himself. He showed how skilled he was as a percussionist as well as a musician by singing perfect harmonies throughout the recording and even switching to playing bass and drums simultaneously for one of the songs.
Novoselic stated “The rehearsals didn’t go well at all, so to help prepare myself I invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to my hotel room just to jam out the songs with me to get the details down.”. Earnie Bailey (guitar tech) also recalls, “By the end of the second day I was left thinking at this point it could be a mistake to proceed with the show. The rehearsals were so loose, I don’t remember them making it through a full set.”. In a conversation with Cobain, Amy Finnerty (vice president of music and talent, MTV) said “he was like, “Can you sit up front? Can you make sure [manager] Janet [Billig Rich] and all of our friends are up front so I can just look at you guys so I won’t be nervous?” So I was like, “Sure,” and then I went and set some seats aside.” On further reflection she also stated, “I was in my 20s. I was a kid walking these other kids through this experience. As I’ve gotten older and I’ve learned so much more about addiction, I’m even more in awe of [his] ability to get through it. Because it was very difficult.”
The Recording
The show was recorded at Sony Music Studios in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, NY on November 18, 1993. It was directed by Beth McCarthy and aired on the cable television network MTV on December 16, 1993. As the audience took their seats with fans, celebrities, rock stars (members of Sonic Youth), media and industry types, a prevalent feeling was in the air of mystery. Few had ever heard the band without tinnitus-inducing volume, in fact, just a few days before they had played a loud raucous show at a dreary, sound-deadening concrete slab of a venue, the New York Coliseum. But what would Nirvana “unplugged” be like? Cobain enters the studio, he was wearing a fuzzy green cardigan, a ratty button-down complete with cigarette burn holes, Frightwig t-shirt, jeans, and Converse sneakers. and as a label representative noted “No one knew that he hadn’t washed his hair in more than a week”. He disliked the stool allocated to him, so earlier in rehearsals he went and stole a swivel office chair from one of the offices at the venue. In retrospect it’s these simple choices that add to the magic of his performance. This choice of an office chair adds another dimension to the show, as it allows Cobain to turn around and face the band during the performance, giving a sense of connection as well as a feeling of a conductorly role at the same time. Cobain also subtly subverted the format, which usually featured acts playing stripped-down versions of their hits by filling nearly half the set list with cover songs.
True to form, Nirvana filmed the entire performance of 14 songs in a single take. The band, and in particular Cobain, was not known for his patience when it came to the creation of his art and preferred spontaneity over perfectionism. An example of this is the recording of the album In Utero which is recorded earlier in the year over a two week period with producer Steve Albini. The show opens with a quick “Good evening” from Cobain followed by an almost apologetic “This is a song from a first album, most people don’t know it”, then the opening chords to ‘About a Girl’ begins from their debut Bleach (1989). Cobain plays a 1959 Martin D-18E guitar which later was sold at Julien’s Auctions in June 2020 for US$6 million, making it the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction.
The sound of the band is beautifully mixed by Scott Litt, the long-time producer for R.E.M. (a band that had a big influence on Cobain). Litt was present at the rehearsals and the recording and then later would return to produce the record in 1994. His mix in particular highlights the sonic presence and prowess of Krist Novoselic on acoustic bass which is like sonic glue that remains steadfast for the rest of the show. The performance of the first song is stripped back with no harmonies from Grohl or cello at this point and excels in its simplicity. It’s obvious when watching the performance how nervous Cobain is but by the end of the song a veil of relaxation seems to descend on the band.
The next song is the one and only hit single that gets played that night, ‘Come As You Are’, from their ground breaking sophomore album Nevermind (1991). You can hear the enthusiasm from the audience when Cobain plays the opening chords to the song. His vocal performance adds another dynamic to the song by enhancing a distinct twang to his pronunciation, as if in homage to Neil Young. Cobain then introduces the first cover of the night ‘Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam’; “This was written by the Vaselines. Well, it a rendition of an old Christian song, I think? But we do it the Vaselines way”. The Vaselines are a male, female Scottish duo from Edinburgh, Scotland. It is fair to say not many people were aware of the Vaselines until this moment but they gained notoriety after the release. The band members also change roles, show casing their true versatility, with Novoselic in an unusual twist playing the accordion whilst Grohl switches to playing bass and high-hat duties. The performance of this song is truly mesmerising and for many, introduces us to the genius of the Vaselines’ music.
The following song is another cover which Cobain introduces with self-deprecating trepidation “I guarantee you I will screw this song up…so” before beginning the now legendary cover of David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World’. Novoselic was also nervous about this cover saying; “For David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World’, I sat on the edge of my bed the night before the show and tried to figure out what the hell the bass was doing. I knew I couldn’t touch Tony Visconti’s bass line, so I figured out the basic elements of the song that stand out, which is that bass run and those flourishes that he does. I knew if I could get the bass run down, it would bring it all together. I sat for a half hour and played it over and over again, and I got it locked in.” During rehearsals and in a very controversial move for an unplugged show Coletti had built a fake box in front of the amplifier to disguise it as a monitor wedge. He later said, “It was Kurt’s security blanket. He was used to hearing this guitar through his Fender guitar. He wanted those effects. You can hear it on David Bowie’s, ‘The Man Who Sold the World’. It’s an acoustic guitar, but he’s obviously going through an amp.” Cobain starts to relax and swivels his chair around during his solo to face the band and offers his first smile of the evening at the conclusion. After hearing the recording, David Bowie stated he loved the Nirvana version and was shocked and flattered by its inclusion.
Now the band returns to its catalogue with a song from their latest album In Utero. Another last minute decision is made by the band before beginning the song ‘Pennyroyal Tea’. The band banter begins with Cobain stating, “I didn’t screw it up did I?, Ok, but here’s another one I could screw up, am I gonna do this by myself?”. Grohl inquires “What is it?” showing how loose the set list really was. Then after realising the suggestion he starts to say “Do it by yourself” before then gesturing to Smear with his drum stick “Are you not gonna sing?” This is in relation to the rehearsals of the song earlier in the day where Smear was attempting to assist Cobain on backing vocals. It resulted with a disastrous rendition and the song which never reaches its fruition and therefore left to chance during the performance. Grohl then asserts “Do it by yourself”. Cobain, then showing the most confidence in the evening so far, replies, “Well, I’ll do it in a different key, I’ll try it in the normal key (looking at Smear for reassurance) and if it sounds bad, these people are just gonna have to wait.”. During rehearsal they played the song in a lower key which Smear struggled to sing. Then Grohl asks Smear to bum a smoke and the two go and sit behind the kit, out of sight, allowing Cobain the spotlight. What follows is the only glimpse we ever have of Cobain as a solo acoustic performer, and the result is exquisite, especially with the omission of the guitar solo to tighten the dramatic performance. After the rapturous response from the crowd, Cobain lights his first of many cigarettes and Grohl, upon returning to his mic, says, “That sounded good”, to which Cobain quips “Shut up” with much laughter from the audience.
The In Utero theme continues with the song ‘Dumb’. However, beforehand there is also another issue that is only seen by the live audience. Novoselic stands up and approaches Cobain between songs to have a quiet chat about the setlist. After a quick conversation about tuning for the next song, Cobain says “Let’s just play them back to back, who cares? It will be edited different; this is a television show!” (which is never reedited). ‘Dumb’ is performed beautifully with sincere passion on Cobain’s part that is hard to deny. Then Cobain explains to the audience with a dry sarcastic wit; “The reason we didn’t want to play these two songs in a row is that they’re exactly the same song”, to much laughter from the audience. They follow ‘Dumb” with ‘Polly’, a song with haunting narrative from Nevermind, this rendition does not differ much from the studio version and the inclusion of cello and the drums adds a distinctive dynamic that compliments the original. Coincidently as on Nevermind, ‘Polly’ signals the end of side A on the Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York album.
Side B on the album starts off without any words and a simple count in to the song ‘On A Plain’ off Nevermind. At this point Nirvana as a band are finding their groove and they look more settled into the performance. They might even be humbly aware that something truly magical is being captured. ‘On A Plain’ is quickly followed by other acoustic song from Nevermind, ‘Something In The Way’. This song is the most obvious song choice for the unplugged set, as it is the softest and most achingly beautiful song recorded by Nirvana. On the album it is played on a busted acoustic guitar with Cobain lying on a couch with producer Butch Vig in the control room. Cobain is barely singing into the mic to get the intimacy that he desired. Vig would later describe the recording as surreal as he was mixing the song trying not to breathe. Before playing the song for the show Cobain asks for Grohl’s assistance “I need you to do a little beat, so I can keep time”. Grohl then uses his Sizzle Stick and taps it on his thigh making a barely audible metronomic rhythm and confirms to Cobain, “Can you hear that?”. What follows is the same intimacy of the original version even with inclusion of some drums and Grohl also show cases his yet to be discovered vocal talents during his backing vocals duties.
After ‘Something In The Way’, an audience member screams out something inaudible to which Cobain confirms “Hurry up?, Is that what you said?”, to which the person clarifies was actually “Kumbaya”, which Cobain finds amusing. The band, now clearly relaxed, continue the banter between Novoselic and Cobain. They begin discussing a television program called Davey and Goliath, where a little black bird sings a version of ‘Kumbaya’. Cobain then goes on to recall another episode, “Remember that really evil episode where he was really mad; where this kid had all these visions of how he was going to, (Cobain imitates the characters high pitch voice) ‘First I’m going to take him up a hill and tie him to a tree tar and feather him!’ It was evil, that wasn’t Christian at all?”. Novoselic replies, “That’s quite the interpretation, old testament”. This is a beautiful insight to the long standing friendship between the two original members whom meet as teenagers in high school. Cobain continues in a nonchalant tone, “What’s next… Oh! We’re supposed to play the Meat Puppets songs now, right?”, Novoselic replies “Yeah”. Cobain asserts, “Brothers Meat, come up on stage.” Cobain lights a cigarette and continues with his pervious thought, “That’s an evil show, it scares me, it always did as kid”.
The Kirkwood brothers come on stage to applause from the audience. “These are the brother Meat Puppets, we’re big fans of theirs” says Cobain and then in a southern drawl says to Curt Kirkwood, “Strap on your guitar!” Smear then whispers in Kirkwood’s ear, who then mimes picking up a guitar. Cobain looks confused and Smear confirms that it is “in the back”, still confused Cobain mutters “What does that mean?” to the audience’s amusement. Kirkwood suggests a song and Cobain, swivelling around on his office chair says, “You want us to play Nine Inch Nail songs?” confused. Then someone in the audience shouts “Free Bird!” a Lynyrd Skynyrd song, as they wait for the guitar. “I’ve been waiting for that” mumbles Cobain. Cris Kirkwood who is tuning his bass whilst Novoselic gets his six string interjects to the audience member “I got a free bird for you right here”, as he flips them the finger, much to Cobain’s amusement who is reading a special edition of the Lowest Common Denominator titled ‘ WFMU PROGRAM GUIDE’, which would later be sold at auction for $2560.
Then suddenly the band breaks into a version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ much to the crowd’s delight, which Cobain sings in mumbled mocking tone. While still waiting Novoselic interjects, “Tell them a joke Kurt”, to which Cobain replies instantly, “What are they tuning a Harp?”, too much laughter. He continues sarcastically, “I thought we were a big rich rock band, we should have a whole bunch of extra guitars”, to which Novoselic quips “Tell that to IRS”. The seemingly long pause offers a glimpse at how the dynamic of the band was at the time. It is notable that Grohl is silent the entire time, adding weight to the rumours that he had fallen out of favour with Cobain for unknown reasons, which has since been well documented as fact.
Finally the guitar arrives, Cobain mentions he is big fan of their second album Meat Puppets II, and had chosen three songs from the album; ‘Plateau’, ‘Oh Me’ and the lyrically stunning ‘Lake of Fire’ to play during the set. The Meat Puppet covers are undeniably one of the highlights of the show with Cobain not playing guitar and showcasing his incredibly raw vocal range. “Kurt purposely wanted the Meat Puppets songs to be a struggle for him vocally,” recalls Coletti. “So instead of finding a key he could sing them in comfortably, he chose to strain”. The effect is mesmerising and in conjunction with the exquisitely crafted imagery of the lyrical content the songs leaves an indelible impression on all who are there. On conclusion the band then return to their original instruments and Cobain offers to the audience “Any requests?” to which comes the responses “Slither” and “Lead Belly” to which Cobain nods in agreement, repeating “Lead Belly” then “In Bloom!” to which Cobain inquires “How are we supposed to play ‘In Bloom’ acoustically?’. The requests continue with Novoselic playing the opening of each suggestion on bass as they as arrive on stage. Cobain requests “I need a Plectrum” who is clearly at ease with the situation by this point and they play the final Nirvana song of the set as well as the last song on the In Utero album with ‘All Apologies’. This performance is breath taking and shows the autobiographical mirroring of Cobain’s current predicaments on the most personal levels though the lyrical content especially the line “I’m married”.
After ‘All Apologies’, Grohl inquires if the band wants to play ‘Slither’?, however, Cobain is not enthusiastic. The requests keep coming from the audience and even Grohl interjects with “Jeremy, Jeremy, play Jeremy”, which is clearly a taunt and reference to the well-publicised rift between Pearl Jam and Nirvana to which Cobain smiles back at Grohl. Novoselic adds “You know I don’t even know how to play that f**king song.”, adds Cobain “Neither do I, I mean everything they have been blurting out I don’t know how to play?”. Then suddenly out of nowhere and in a very low voice, a woman shouts ‘Rape Me’, with much laughter from the crowd. Grohl inquires “Was that Kennedy?” and Cobain, clearly amused, says “I don’t think MTV would let us play that” as he draws on his cigarette and then adds, “F**k you all, this is the last song of evening”. “What is it?” inquires Grohl. Cobain continues “This is written by my favourite performer, our favourite performer isn’t it?, all of ours, we like him the best?”, turning to the band for reassurance and nodding sarcastically. Novoselic realising to whom Cobain is referring to adds, “Oh, and there’s a donation basket, Kurt wants to buy Lead Belly’s guitar”. “Oh yeah” Cobain interrupts, “this guy from the Lead Belly’s estate wants to sell me their guitar for $500,000.”, Novoselic continues, “we’re passing a basket if anybody wants to contribute?” to much laughter. Cobain explains, “I even asked David Geffen (owner of DGC Records) personally if he’d buy it for me?” and adds with a smile, “He wouldn’t do it”.
The set ends with a performance of the traditional blues song ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night’, following the arrangement of the aforementioned legendary blues musician Lead Belly. Lanegan had covered this song previously on The Winding Sheet with Cobain on guitar. The band then proceeds with the seminal performance of the night. Cobain sings like a man possessed. The last line of the song sounds like sonic acid pouring from his throat. He then adds a dramatic pause on the last line “The sunshine shivers… the whole night thought”. This is perhaps an insight into the turmoil that is surrounding Cobain at this point. After the band finishes to rapturous applause they leave the stage and Cobain mingles and signs autographs for fans. When returning backstage Cobain argues with the show’s producers, who wanted an encore. McCarthy as director recalls being pressured by MTV executives after the recording had concluded to ask Cobain to play more hits like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, which McCarthy refused to do. She thought they had captured something truly special from the band and then suggested to the executives that they ask him themselves. Cobain refused because he felt he could not top the performance of that song. “You knew for sure that history was being made,” said former MTV executive Amy Finnerty, who worked closely with Nirvana. “No doubt about it. You’re lucky if you get to be at something like that once in your lifetime”.
The Aftermath
Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York was the final official recorded artist statement that Kurt Cobain left for the world before he tragically committed suicide in April 1994. MTV then aired the episode repeatedly to meet demand for new Nirvana material and to counter bootlegging. In August 1994, DGC announced a double album, Verse Chorus Verse comprising of live performances including the entire MTV Unplugged in New York performance. The intended double album would contain one half electric performances and the other half would feature the MTV Unplugged in New York performance. Over time these plans were abandoned by remaining band members Novoselic and Grohl, due to the trauma of Cobain’s death. The task of compiling the album was too emotionally difficult for them, so the project was cancelled a week after the announcement. MTV Unplugged in New York would be the first live album by Nirvana, released by DGC records on the 1st of November, 1994, nearly seven months following Cobain’s death.
