As interesting as it was, I thought most of the commentary by the array of rock critics interviewed wasn't very insightful. They spent too much time speculating about the meaning of the lyrics and not enough time trying to figure out exactly what makes those songs work on a musical level. And while the format of the show was to look at every song individually, for some reason they completely ignored a few of the songs, including probably my favourite on the record, "Milk It."
So I decided to provide my own commentary.
Here's how it's gonna work. I'm going to listen to the whole record and write a few words about each song. I'm not going to overthink things or spend a lot of time trying to come up with brilliant interpretations of these songs. I just want to record my immediate impressions and reactions to these songs.
Serve the Servants
That discordant chord is a totally awesome way to open the album. I've always liked this guitar riff and if I ever played in a Nirvana cover band, this would definitely be one of the songs I would cover. The lyrics seem remarkably straightforward compared to some of the other more collage-y surrealistic nonsense found in later songs on the album. Cobain's voice is also very prominent in the mix, at least during the verses. Going somewhat against what you'd expect, his voice is less audible during the chorus. In fact, now that I think about it, the hook of this song is the verse rather than the chorus. It's much more melodic and catchy.
The guitar solo is also nice. I love how sharp and trebly that guitar is and how you can clearly hear it as an overdub, rather than trying to pretend it was part of the live performance. It's the kind of guitar solos that made this band impossible for my father to enjoy, because from a technical guitar-playing point of view, it's garbage. Which is of course why it's awesome. Also, I think you can hear Kurt Cobain clear his through before he starts singing again.
Scentless Apprentice
The booming drums in the intro of this song are pretty emblematic of the Albini production on this record. When the guitars kicked in, I was surprised by how distant they sound. Very roomy. The bass is also incredibly muddy. I can imagine this was probably part of what the record executives hated about Albini's production. The bridge before each chorus is kind of uncharacteristic of Nirvana. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it just sounds a little bit out of place. Cobain's screaming vocals in the chorus are super hot and distorted, which almost feels like a solution for the lack of presence the guitars have in the mix. It's a good solution, I think. It makes this song one of the harshest and most abrasive on the record, which shows how carefully thought out the song order is in the first half of the record: start with the catchy hook of "Serve the Servants," get ugly with "Scentless Apprentice" and possibly lose some of your audience, then follow it with one of the prettiest songs on the record, "Heart Shaped Box," the hit single.
Heart Shaped Box
This song is a masterpiece. And it's hard to dissociate it from the brilliant music video by Anton Corbjin. The production is really clean, with all the instruments coming through very distinctly. I love the vocal harmonies during the verses. I think Cobain had a real talent for coming up with simple but interesting harmonies and it's something that doesn't often get discussed or recognized about Nirvana. This is the first example of them that we get on this record, but I'll point out some of my other favourite ones as we go along.
One thing I really like about this is how short the guitar solo is. When it launches, it's so epic that you expect it to go on for much longer, but it barely has time to get into a groove before everything suddenly gets really quiet again. It's a great example of restraint.
Rape Me
I think I could stand to never hear this song again. This is the kind of catchy song that would have fit better on Nervermind than on In Utero. It's also the kind of song that probably had the biggest influence on other bands that rode the commercial "alternative" music wave in the wake of Nirvana's success. I don't like it very much. This is the low point of the album for me. The only highlight is those vocal harmonies during the bridge.
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle
Great song. Cool chord progression. Awesome drums (that "thoom-thoom-thoom-paw-thoom" pass in the chorus is classic). Nice quiet/loud dynamic. The lyrics are pretty good, especially the single-line chorus: "I miss the comfort in being sad."
My favourite part of the song is the end of the first verse, when Cobain doesn't turn off the distortion pedal after the loud part and there's all this intrusive screechy feedback. If it wasn't for those few "chug-chug" muted power chords he throws in, I would almost wonder if this wasn't just an accident that they decided to leave in there because it added an interesting and unexpected dynamic to the verse. And what's so great about it is that he doesn't repeat the trick during any of the other verses. I'm a big fan of using this kind of one-off trick that just makes your audience want to listen to the song over and over again to hear that really cool part that never repeats.
The only weak part of the song is probably the guitar solo. Which isn't really a guitar solo so much as a bridgy kind of new riff that they didn't bother to add lyrics to. It's not terrible, but it doesn't really do much for me. I could have just done without it.
Dumb
This is another very Nervermind-sounding song, but unlike "Rape Me," I really like this one. I think the reason it works for me is mostly the chord change into the chorus, which is highlighted by the very pretty cello part. Plus, it's another good example of vocal harmonies. (I wonder if it's Dave Grohl singing the high part or Kurt Cobain.) I also like the contrast between the sadness of the melody and the fact that he's singing about being stupidly happy. Nice little song.
Very Ape
Love this song. Short and sweet. Nice crunchy guitar sound that perfectly fits this almost danceable riff. Cutting the second guitar during the first half of the second verse was such a wise move. It was just about to get annoying and its sudden disappearance is as much a welcome respite as it introduces a sense that something is missing. It illustrates both why it needed to be there in the first place and why it needed to go away. I think it's brilliant, because the conventional thing to do would have been to not include it in the first verse and then add it in the second one, as the traditional way to arrange instrumentation is to build up as the song progresses.
This song also has some of my favourite lyrics on the album: "If you ever need anything, please don't / Hesitate to ask someone else first / I'm too busy acting like I'm not naive / I've seen it all and I was here first"
Milk It
There it is. Best song on the record. I don't even know where to begin explaining everything that is awesome about this song. For one thing, the stop-start dynamic and the way not all the instruments always conform to it, if that makes any sense. The awesome and yet kind of stupid guitar riff. The sheer nonsensical abstraction of the double guitar solo. The way Cobain hesitates or sort of half chuckles before the last time he yells "Test meat." The way he keeps fucking up the lyrics. The absurdity of the line "Ecto-plasma ecto-skeletal." And the way it all ends so abruptly. It's all perfect.
Pennyroyal Tea
This is probably my least favourite song on the record after "Rape Me." I don't know why exactly. It's just kind of boring to me.
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
All the critics in the TV special were kind of baffled by this song. They all seemed to consider it one of the worst songs on the record. One of them struggled to come up with something insightful to say about it and ended up with: "It's very much a one-line song. It's... 'What is wrong with me? What is wrong with me?' And that's... That's a legitimate question that he's asking in that song." Jesus Christ, if you have nothing to say, just shut the fuck up.
For one thing, this is not a one-line song. The verses are packed with (mostly collaged, semi-nonsensical) lyrics. You don't need to think about this song or come up with some clever interpretation in order to enjoy it. I kind of think of it as an attempt to capture some of the noisier and more chaotic performances that famously ended most Nirvana sets, leading to Cobain trashing his guitar on stage. It's chaotic and ugly and loud. And that's the point.
Tourette's
This sounds like a throwback to Bleach. And that's why it's awesome. I can't understand anything Cobain says in it. I guess I could look it up, but whatever. This is like one final burst of aggression before the album's stellar closing statement.
All Apologies
There couldn't possibly have been a more perfect way to end this album. And, as it turns out, Nirvana's career. It's beautiful, poignant, and sad. And in a strange way, kind of unapologetic, despite its title.
(I'm not going to comment on the secret song, because I feel like it's a stupid gimmick and it shouldn't even be there. I don't really consider it part of the album.)
