Aneurysm (song)
"Aneurysm" | ||||
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Promotional single by Nirvana | ||||
from the album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah | ||||
Released | October 8, 1996 | |||
Recorded | Del Mar, California, December 28, 1991 | |||
Genre | Grunge[1][2] | |||
Length | 4:31 4:35 (Incesticide version) 4:47 (b-side version) | |||
Label | DGC | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | ||||
Nirvana singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Aneurysm" on YouTube |
"Aneurysm" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Dave Grohl. It first appeared as a B-side on the band's breakthrough "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single in September 1991. A second studio version was released on the rarities compilation Incesticide in December 1992.
A live version, recorded on December 28, 1991, at
Origin and recording
Early history
Written in 1990, "Aneurysm" is one of the few Nirvana songs credited to all three members. It was first performed live on November 25, 1990, at the Off Ramp Café in
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" single
The first studio version was recorded on January 1, 1991, at Music Source in
According to Montgomery, the band "would play the songs live and then Kurt would either put a vocal on it or he wouldn't. It was all first take."[3] The session tapes were later purchased by DGC, whom the band officially signed with in April 1991, and the two finished songs, "Aneurysm" and "Even in His Youth," were remixed by Andy Wallace and released as b-sides on the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single in September 1991.
Both songs were re-released on the Australian and Japanese tour EP, Hormoaning, in January 1992.
Incesticide
A second studio version of "Aneurysm" was recorded by Miti Adhikari for the
Of the four songs recorded during the session, the band spent the longest working on "Aneurysm", using fade-ins and fade-outs on the backing vocals during the verses to give the recording an "unusual" vocal effect, as described by author Gillian G. Garr, and overall "lighter" feel than the Music Source version.[4]
Post-Incesticide
Despite never being released on a studio album, "Aneurysm" was a regular part of the band's setlist in 1991 and 1992. The song's final live performance was on August 6, 1993, at the King Cat Theatre in Seattle.[5]
Lyrics and composition
Music
"Aneurysm" is a
Lyrics
According to Charles Cross in the 2002 Cobain biography Heavier Than Heaven, "Aneurysm" was the first of "a half dozen" songs written by Cobain following his break-up with American musician Tobi Vail in November 1990.[7] Cross described "Aneurysm" as an attempt to win Vail back, unlike later songs like "Drain You," which instead expressed "his deep level of hurt."[7] Throughout the number, Cobain loudly snarls parodic lyrics insisting listeners to, "Come on over, and do the twist."[2] His lyrics for the song make fun of pop conventions and drug-use rituals ("shoot the shit"), ("beat me out of me").[8] During the chorus, Cobain delivers a rousing round of catchy chants. The song concludes with enigmatic praise for an unidentified woman: "She keeps it pumpin' straight to my heart."[2]
Reception
Reviewing Incesticide for the NME in December 1992, Angela Lewis dismissed the album's side two as "not terribly good" and wrote that "91s ‘Aneurysm’ is lyrically baffling and sounds tired."[9]
Legacy
In his
In 2013, "Aneurysm" was voted the seventh best Nirvana song in a Rolling Stone's reader's poll.[13] In 2015, it was ranked at number 30 on Rolling Stone's "No Apologies: All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked" list.[14] In 2019, The Guardian placed it at number six on their list of Nirvana's 20 greatest songs, with Alex Petridis calling it "every bit the equal of anything on Nevermind."[15]
In 2017, to mark what would have been Cobain's 50th birthday, the Phonographic Performance Limited released a list of the top 20 most played Nirvana songs on television and radio in the UK, in which "Aneurysm" was ranked at number nine.[16]
Covers
On April 10, 2014, "Aneurysm" was performed by surviving Nirvana members Grohl, Novoselic and
Del Mar Fairgrounds version
A live version of "Aneurysm," recorded on December 28, 1991, at
Music video
Footage of the band performing the song from the 1994 home video,
The "Aneurysm" video reached number one on the Canadian
Charts
Weekly charts(From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah version)
|
Year-end charts
|
Accolades
Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Kerrang! | United Kingdom | 20 Great Nirvana Songs Picked by the Stars[40] | 15 |
Other releases
- The original studio version, recorded at Music Source on January 1, 1991, has appeared on several releases since its original appearance on the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single in September 1991. In January 1992, it was re-released in Australia and Japan on the six-song tour EP, Hormoaning. It also appeared on the Nirvana box set With the Lights Out in November 2004, and the 20th anniversary "Deluxe" and "Super Deluxe" editions of Nevermind, released in September 2011.
- A live version, recorded at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington on October 31, 1991, was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on Live at the Paramount in September 2011.
- The full Paradiso version was released in November 2021 on the 30th anniversary "Super Deluxe" version of Nevermind, which featured the complete show on CD and Blu-Ray. This version of Nevermind also featured the full Del Mar Fairgrounds show, as well as the band's complete performances at Tokyo, Japanon February 19, 1992, both of which also featured versions of "Aneurysm."
- A live version, from the band's 1992 Reading, England on August 30, 1992, appeared on Live at Reading, released on CD and DVD in November 2009.
Covers
Nashville songwriter/producer Shane Tutmarc released an all electronic version of the song as a single, and music video, in 2013.[41]
References
- ^ Leas, Ryan (August 1, 2018). "30 Essential Grunge Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Deming, Mark. "Nirvana – Aneurysm Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
- ISBN 978-1842220245.
- ISBN 0-8264-1776-0.
- ^ "Live Nirvana | Concert Chronology | 1993 | August 06, 1993 - King Performance Center (Mia Zapata Fund Benefit), Seattle, WA, US". www.livenirvana.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Cobain, Kurt (March 15, 2010). "Nirvana 'Aneurysm' Sheet Music in B Minor - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. BMG Rights Management. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0340739396.
- ISBN 0-7119-5809-2.
- ^ Lewis, Angela (12 December 1992). "Nirvana : Incesticide – 12/12/92". NME. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Nirvana - Incesticide". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ Pelly, Jenn (July 1, 2018). "Nirvana - Incesticide". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ Larson, Jeremy D. "The 25 Best Grunge Albums of the '90s". Pitchfork. No. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
- ^ "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Nirvana Songs". Rolling Stone. April 10, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ Murray, Nick (9 April 2015). "No Apologies: All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (June 20, 2019). "Nirvana's 20 greatest songs - ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ 20 most-played Nirvana songs revealed to mark Kurt Cobain’s 50th birthday planetrock.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ "10 Best Cover Songs of 2014". Rolling Stone. December 22, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-062-29590-3.
- ^ Nirvana - All Music Guide - Awards allmusic.com. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
- ^
- "Radio". ARIA Report. September 20, 1996. p. 15. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
Aneurism
- "Radio and TV". ARIA Report. October 20, 1996. p. 14. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- "Radio and TV". ARIA Report. November 3, 1996. p. 16. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- "Radio". ARIA Report. November 10, 1996. p. 16. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- "Radio".
- ^ Billboard - Video Monitor, The Clip List (PDF). Billboard. October 12, 1996. p. 104. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ "MUCHMUSIC (CANADA) WEEKLY SINGLE CHARTS FOR 1996". hitsofalldecades.com. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
- ^
- "TV". ARIA Report. October 13, 1996. p. 15. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- "Radio and TV". ARIA Report. October 20, 1996. p. 14. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- "Radio and TV". ARIA Report. November 3, 1996. p. 16. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- "TV".
- ^
- "M & M Airplay - Station Reports" (PDF). Music & Media. November 23, 1996. p. 22. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- "M & M Airplay - Station Reports" (PDF). Music & Media. November 30, 1996. p. 20. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9930." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ^ "Contemporary Album Radio". The Record. October 14, 1996. p. 14. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9847." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ISBN 951-1-21053-X.
- ^ "Archiwum Listy Przebojow - Trojki - Nrivana". www.lp3.pl. Polskie Radio. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
- ^ "Nirvana Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Nirvana Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
- ^ "Nirvana Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
- ^ "Rock Tracks Top 50" (PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. October 18, 1996. p. 84. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ "Alternative Top 50" (PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. October 11, 1996. p. 110. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ "Active Rock Top 50" (PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. October 4, 1996. p. 106. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ "RPM Year End Alternative Top 50". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ "Alternative 96 of 1996" (PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. December 13, 1996. p. 104. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Mainstream Rock Tracks" (PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 53. December 27, 1996. p. 23. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Modern Rock Tracks" (PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 53. December 27, 1996. p. 24. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ "The Hit List: 20 Great Nirvana Songs Picked by the Stars". Kerrang!. No. 709. July 25, 1998. p. 49. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Shane Tutmarc - Aneurysm (Nirvana)". YouTube.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-86369-746-1.
- ISBN 0-312-20663-1.
External links
External videos | |
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Nirvana - Aneurysm (Live at Reading 1992) on YouTube, NirvanaVEVO |