I'm a pretty bad Nirvana fan in many ways. One such way is that I very rarely listen to them; the result is that every time I do, I remember that I do really quite like them. Same thing happened when I wrote about Bleach last year. It's nice to consciously focus on an album and be genuinely impressed by it (that's mostly why I started this blog), but it's even nicer when it's band that you don't give that much time to day-to-day.
Another reason I'm a bad Nirvana fan is that I don't own a copy of Nevermind (shocking, I know). In my life I've bought over 2000 records and cds, but only four have ever left my collection - a copy of AC/DC's Highway to Hell (swapped with Hugh for something), a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion album (returned to the shop because I was clearly far too young to understand what the fuck they were doing), a copy of The Better Life by Three Doors Down (because it's crappiness outweighed the fact I was kinda enjoying Kryptonite at the time (it was very popular on nights out in Australia for some reason)). And finally, a copy of Nirvana's Nevermind.
I swapped my copy of Nevermind with my friend Johnny for his copy of Mer De Noms by A Perfect Circle (a band an ex-girlfriend once referred to as "Tool for girls"). I was 16 and I still basically stand by my choice. Even at the age of 16 I felt that I'd listened to Nevermind to a point where I didn't need it in my collection. I'd only been listening to Nirvana for a couple of years at this point, but I already knew those songs so well that I didn't need to hear them that much again. Over the years, I've thought about buying another copy of Nevermind, but I just don't need to - those songs were seared into the minds of teenagers for over a decade (and possibly still now?) to a point where I can hear practically the whole album in my mind. It's funny, really. Of course, none of this is to say that it's a bad album - quite the opposite. The other thing to note is that it is objectionably better than anything A Perfect Circle released - hands down - but I was very glad to have that album as a teenager. I'll probably buy a copy in the future and write about it on here many years from now.
Having got the obligatory mention of Nevermind out of the way, this post is about In Utero (I nearly wrote "Nirvana's final album", but I really doubt that would be news to anyone). In 2003 I found this 180 gram reissue in HMV Southampton whilst shopping with my parents. There were a couple of singles I was buying, so I figured I might as well get this too, since I was already going to the till; it wasn't the first time I'd seen it in a shop, just the first time I'd felt like buying it. In my earlier teen years I hadn't spent much time listening to In Utero - I'd heard it a few times, same as with Bleach and Incesticide, but never spent much time with it. I knew the singles, of course, but I've always enjoyed In Utero more as whole.
The charm of In Utero lies in what it's not - for the most part it isn't the polished, overly-produced album you'd expect the band to release, given they were the biggest band in the world and were following up one of the biggest albums of all-time (obligatory Steve Albini mention). Rape Me and, to a lesser-extent, Heart-Shaped Box are a little more radio-friendly than the rest, but that is a minor complaint (and, ultimately, not the work of Albini). On the other hand, not many bands would have the balls to put Scentless Apprentice or Milk It on such a hotly-anticipated album (Radio Friendly Unit Shifter counts less so because actively calling it out almost makes it ok).
Like I said, I don't listen to Nirvana much. The fact I have none of their (actual) albums on cd means I don't have the mp3s, and I rarely look through the sleeves and think "yes, I'd like to listen to Nirvana", but that almost makes it more fun when I actually do.
Format: 12"
Tracks: 12
Cost: £11.70 new
Bought: HMV Southampton
When: 08/06/03
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
