Hardly anyone had a mobile phone in 1993.Īt the time, I was working for Entertainment Weekly, and several colleagues joined me as we were seated in the far corner of the last row of bleachers. But what would Nirvana “unplugged” be? No one had taped rehearsal footage on a cell phone and leaked it. (It was easy to imagine “Dream On” with just a piano, acoustic guitars, and lighter drumming.) But how would Cobain’s songs come across in this format? Few of us 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 now thankfully demolished New York Coliseum. In most of those previous cases, you pretty much knew how the songs would sound before the show aired. Yet as we all settled into our seats - fans, celebrities (Kate Moss), rock stars (members of Sonic Youth), media and industry types - the prevalent feeling in the air was mystery. So most of us also assumed an unamplified Nirvana set would include songs from In Utero, which had dropped a little more than a month before. Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, LL Cool J, Rod Stewart, Neil Young, and Aerosmith, among many, had already taped Unplugged episodes to promote new records. By the fall of 1993, Unplugged wasn’t simply one of MTV’s biggest franchises but practically part of every act’s marketing plan. We knew Cobain didn’t seem all that happy being a rock star and that Nirvana was essentially acquiescing to industry dictates by taping one of these shows. In those pre-social media days, those of us lucky enough to score tickets to the taping thought we knew what to expect as we were escorted into the Sony Studio just north of Times Square. That mood wasn’t reflected simply in the look of the stage - which, with its flowers and candles, eerily evoked the “funeral” scenario Cobain was aiming for - but also in the toned-down performances of “All Apologies,” “Come As You Are,” and versions of songs by the Meat Puppets, the Vaselines, and Lead Belly. By then, Kurt Cobain had been dead nearly seven months, and the appearance of this largely acoustic performance, taped nearly a year before, took on the feel of a memorial service. Twenty-five years ago today, Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York arrived on CD, cassette, and VHS tape. All of these except for "About a Girl" were covers.Everyone remembers the sweater, but I mostly remember the hush.
The singles were " About a Girl", " The Man Who Sold the World", " Where Did You Sleep Last Night", and " Lake of Fire". This was unusual because it was a live album. Most artists on the program played mainly their hits.įour singles were released from the album. It was unusual compared to other artists on the MTV Unplugged series, because Nirvana played mostly their less-famous songs and cover versions of other artists' songs. It was released on November 1, 1994, six months after the band had broken up because of the death of Kurt Cobain, who was the lead singer and guitarist. It was recorded on Novemas a part of the MTV Unplugged television series, which many artists and bands perform on with acoustic instruments instead of electric ones. MTV Unplugged in New York is a live album by the American rock band Nirvana. " Where Did You Sleep Last Night (promo)".
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