Nirvana was pumping out hit after hit during their heyday. Even non-grunge fans know “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Come As You Are”. And there are even more fantastic songs in their discography that casual fans may not know. Let’s dive into a few of Nirvana’s best deep cuts!
Videos by American Songwriter
1. “Even In His Youth”
This is a fascinating deep cut from Nirvana. The song explores Cobain’s difficult relationship with his dad. It’s filled with a lot of anger, feelings of being inadequate, and a lack of acceptance by the people who should accept you the most.
2. “Sliver”
This is a funny sort of track about when Cobain was left at his grandparents’ home as a child. Anyone could relate to the childlike rage in the song.
The music video for the track featured home footage of Cobain’s daughter Frances that Cobain and Courtney Love filmed together.
3. “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter”
Nirvana produced a lot of songs with humorous edges to them. “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” is just one example. In fact, the song was originally titled “Four Month Media Blackout” as a cheeky reference to the chart timeline of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. It’s a screechy track overlaid with poetry that Cobain had just kind of tossed together.
4. “Lounge Act”
This track from Nevermind isn’t exactly a lounge act song. However, the band heard Krist Novoselic’s bass riff for the song and decided that it sounded like the perfect opening for a lounge track.
The song has a Pixies sort of vibe to it. Lyrically, the song is about a man who is struggling to choose between his band and his girlfriend. It was apt, considering Cobain was struggling to balance life with his girlfriend Tracy Marander at the time.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz
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