THE HIT FACTORY
Since "Stay At Home" I found myself in some rabbit holes and one of them has been rediscovering Nirvana. Specifically understanding the relationship with their record label DGC and mediums like MTV.
Their Unplugged performance on MTV was faced with conflict because top executives at the network weren't happy that the band wasn't going to play a lot of their major hits for the performance. Of course what end up happening was one of the most notable sets for the Unplugged series and still to this day carries relevance.
Nirvana's Nevermind was released in September of 1991 and came with an avalanche of singles, with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" being the most famous. In 1993 when they started to record the follow up In Utero, they were met with conflict by the label that the recording session with Steve Albini wasn't up to standard to be released. Questions came up about the vocals and bass lines being inaudible. Even Newsweek got into the drama by publishing a story about the conflict between the band, Albini and the label.
TWO THINGS TO NOTE:
1) Steve Albini is known to specialize in making indie records that don't fit the variables for a major label release. He personally doesn't care for the major label process and refuses to take royalties/points on the albums he produces. Simply, he takes a fee and does the services he's asked to provide. Kurt Cobain wanted to work with Albini because of his production with indie bands like The Pixies and The Breeders.
2) Nevermind is an EPIC album, but also a very polished and clean one. It produced four major singles and it literally turned the rock music industry upside down. So it's not surprising that DGC was expecting and assuming that the band was just going to crank out another Nevermind for their next record.
What makes Nirvana unique is their grungy/fuzz box sound with a punk aesthetic. It's minimalistic but complex at the same time. In 1993 you didn't need to actually own any of their albums because frankly it was all over MTV and radio. So for me, I never ending up getting into In Utero because it seemed like my local radio station played the band every twenty minutes.
Now with Spotify accessing music is much easier and as I began to reintroduce myself to In Utero, I wasn't baffled or annoyed at the record after reading about the internal conflicts leading up to the release.
It's a classic indie rock record from one of the most famous rock bands. The only true radio single is "Heart Shape Box" and you can see how DGC got agitated with the recording session. Tracks like "All Apologies", "Dumb" , and "Pennyroyal Tea" actually carry more weight on their Unplugged album. I appreciate how raw the record sounds and you can try to imagine what Kurt was feeling during the whole recording process.
BOTTOM LINE:
Major labels and mainstream music listeners go with the annoying perspective that a band/artist can just whip up 4 to 5 singles with every record.
It's what happened after Weezer's The Blue Album or Stone Temple Pilots's Core. The fan/label is expecting much of the same.
From the artist's perspective, imagine having a successful record then touring for two years religiously for it. Then going back into the studio to make a new record that doesn't gain a lot positive reviews and then when you start touring again, fans only want to hear your hits and not the new material. This is how bands break up or fall off the radar.
What I've picked up on is that Nirvana was always willing to compromise to a certain point. Kurt & Co. wanted the band to be huge but on their own account. Eventually DGC just let In Utero take it's natural course of demand and not push it more into the mainstream. This was just another great example of when art and commerce collide.
TWO THINGS TO NOTE:
1) Steve Albini is known to specialize in making indie records that don't fit the variables for a major label release. He personally doesn't care for the major label process and refuses to take royalties/points on the albums he produces. Simply, he takes a fee and does the services he's asked to provide. Kurt Cobain wanted to work with Albini because of his production with indie bands like The Pixies and The Breeders.
2) Nevermind is an EPIC album, but also a very polished and clean one. It produced four major singles and it literally turned the rock music industry upside down. So it's not surprising that DGC was expecting and assuming that the band was just going to crank out another Nevermind for their next record.
What makes Nirvana unique is their grungy/fuzz box sound with a punk aesthetic. It's minimalistic but complex at the same time. In 1993 you didn't need to actually own any of their albums because frankly it was all over MTV and radio. So for me, I never ending up getting into In Utero because it seemed like my local radio station played the band every twenty minutes.
Now with Spotify accessing music is much easier and as I began to reintroduce myself to In Utero, I wasn't baffled or annoyed at the record after reading about the internal conflicts leading up to the release.
It's a classic indie rock record from one of the most famous rock bands. The only true radio single is "Heart Shape Box" and you can see how DGC got agitated with the recording session. Tracks like "All Apologies", "Dumb" , and "Pennyroyal Tea" actually carry more weight on their Unplugged album. I appreciate how raw the record sounds and you can try to imagine what Kurt was feeling during the whole recording process.
BOTTOM LINE:
Major labels and mainstream music listeners go with the annoying perspective that a band/artist can just whip up 4 to 5 singles with every record.
It's what happened after Weezer's The Blue Album or Stone Temple Pilots's Core. The fan/label is expecting much of the same.
From the artist's perspective, imagine having a successful record then touring for two years religiously for it. Then going back into the studio to make a new record that doesn't gain a lot positive reviews and then when you start touring again, fans only want to hear your hits and not the new material. This is how bands break up or fall off the radar.
What I've picked up on is that Nirvana was always willing to compromise to a certain point. Kurt & Co. wanted the band to be huge but on their own account. Eventually DGC just let In Utero take it's natural course of demand and not push it more into the mainstream. This was just another great example of when art and commerce collide.
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