Disco de Nirvana: “Incesticide”

....I LOVE Incesticide. And I must be the only Nirvana fan on the planet whose favorite song is Big Long Now. Why is this song so ignored? My god, the words, the haunting melody, the haunting vocals... ....

I won't get into analysing the songs and interpreting them blow-by-blow, but I will say that Kurt Cobain uses at least 7 different voices on this CD, and that each song is melodically and instrumentally genuine and original. The cover songs are also brilliant.

And here's just a little tidbit I have to mention: I became a Nirvana fan only quite recently. I was slightly too young for the whole Nirvana craze of 1991, and the tragedy of 1994.

This is my second favourite Nirvana record (after Bleach). It's a compilation of various outtakes, b-sides, and also BBC radio sessions. The album opens in fantastic style, with the super-rockin' "Dive", followed by (in my opinion) the best ever Nirvana song, "Sliver" (which is totally unlike anything else they did). From then on, the album is split into two distinct halves. The first half is very happy, cheerful stuff, with a whole lot of covers (some from The Vaselines, and a brilliant Devo cover). This is Nirvana at their most happy. The second half is mostly Bleach-outtakes, and so is a lot heavier and not so friendly to the listener. It also sees Kurt messing around a lot with his voice, trying out different stuff. It takes a while to get into the second half of the album, but it's well worth it. There is some great music going down here. "Beeswax", "Mexican Seafood" and "Hairspray Queen" all have killer tunes. Check out the bassline on "Hairspray Queen" - I love that damn bassline! "Downer" is a great song, which is also the last track on the Bleach CD. "Beeswax" has some potentially-very-crazy-and-cool lyrics. All in all, this is a really great grab-bag of stuff. Lots of cool songs - Buy it!

I am going around reviewing Nirvana's obscure records, because I somehow figure Incesticide could use another review more than Nevermind, with its 650+.

LOL, at 5,000-something Amazon.com sales rank, I wonder if there's anyone out there who knows this little corner of Amazon.com even exists, let alone wants to buy the CD, but it doesn't make it any less cool and, in my opinion, HILARIOUS, :o).

I dislike 3 songs on this CD-- Mexican Seafood (which I guess is just not my type of, um, humor); new wave Polly, because while the acoustic and electric versions of this song *rock*, this one seems out of place. It's a serious song, it doesn't sound good at a ridiculous punk speed.

So let me get on with this: Beeswax, Aneurysm, Sliver, Stain, Turnaround, and especially Hairspray Queen with its orgasmic ending (literally), are HILARIOUS songs. I totally agree with the reviewer who said the beginning of Aneurysm and it's pace-changes crack him up. Songs like Dive, Big Long Now, and Aero Zeppelin shouldn't BE on a B-sides album, period.

Oh, and the Rolling Stone dudes don't know what the hell they're talking about.

This was MY Nirvana album I was listenening to in Jr. High... Nevermind was great, but that was the polished up multi-platinum monster that made them famous, everone heard "Come as you are" or "Teen Spirit"... but these were the gems to me "Dive", "Sliver" "Mexican Seafood"... those songs are the ones that take me back... to the good ol' days.

This album never got as much recognition as Nevermind or In Utero, but it can compete with both albums. There are a lot of great songs and it is an important contribution from Nirvana's short but revolutionary career.