Vocal ANALYSIS of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" and my heartstrings are pulled with such emotion.
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- Опубліковано 10 бер 2022
- I didn't understand Kurt Cobain's style at first, but it instantly reverberated with me in this acoustic performance that you all begged for me to see. I feel what he feels, and it's chilling. I can't say enough that Nirvana truly speaks to me what the grunge movement was all about.
Join professional opera singer Elizabeth Zharoff, as she listens to Nirvana performing "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" for the first time, acoustically at MTV.
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Performed by Nirvana - Words and Music by Ledbetter Huddie (Lead Belly)
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I definitely recommend watching the original video without interruptions. Here's the link: • Nirvana - Where Did Yo...
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Elizabeth Zharoff is an international opera singer and voice coach, with 3 degrees in voice, opera, and music production. She's performed in 18 languages throughout major venues in Europe, America, and Asia. Currently based somewhere between Los Angeles and Tucson, Arizona, Elizabeth spends her days researching voice, singing, teaching, writing music, and recording TONS. She also plays Diablo and Dungeons & Dragons.
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Check out. Mad Season
@@mikehabursky6775 dude, love mad season. Layne Staley. Forget about it.
@@matthewbretl8451 self pollution radio is better than live at the Moore in my opinion. RIP Layne and Mark
Next on the grunge journey- Mudhoney. Now that is authentic good grunge.
his jaw position definitely affects the sound. Adds to the southern twangy-ness, really exaggerated on the final line on the word "whole" almost sounds like 'hoe ule'
Something about his opening his eyes before the final "night through" gets me every time. It's like you can actually see into his soul for a fleeting second.
That split second has been imprinted in my brain for nearly 30 years now
It’s as if he knows this is the pinnacle of his career- and it’s been a torrid a painful journey but he can finally rest. The exhalation of breath right before he opens his eyes to them scrunch them up again to let out the last note of passion before the end of the show.
I think it was a moment of tension release and anxiety from such an emotional and powerful performance.
Not wanting to see the monsters that are creeping in the dark
This
A vocal teacher told me "In his voice, he carries the whole world's pain and anger". Everytime I hear this song, it's exactly what I feel.
you should listen layne staley...now that's pain!
@@Slashboran @Suicide Gang no that's a gift from a God... took a life of torment to chisel into the mountain of soul that is Layne Staley
It’s just heroine, not that complex.
if you didn't listen to black metal or something like that then yeah, but no not really
@@poopshootyoutoob His real life stomach/abdominal pain got him into heroin in the first place. Pretty sure he was clean at the time of this performance though.
Did you all see it? The moment she finally understood what makes nirvana and Kurt so prevalent, it’s when she says “oh there’s that yodel” and she kind of giggles and then Kurt let’s loose and you can see the shock on her face, completely caught off guard. It was nice to see again, that moment someone discovered Kurt and nirvana again and what made them so good, that first moment his voice makes you shiver. The didn’t play fake music. They were real and they were raw, made you feel something different, something deeper. That’s why nirvana is still relevant. It rips your soul, but, sometimes that’s exactly what your soul needs.
Nirvana sounds so much better live than on album. If you ever watched any of the recording of their shows, that's where Kurt shined. My favorite show is the one where they get into a fight with security during love bug! lol!
the albums are dog shit. only one that's okay is In Utero. Everything is 1000% better live than on their albums and maybe 500% better for In Utero. @@nerdjournal
She fell in love at that very monent
Her reaction choked me up.
Saw it and loved it. Always feel it too
You are a grown accomplished woman, professional singer and voice coach, and have heard thousands of voices singing and screaming at you. Yet this thirty year old recording has you shivering and almost tearing up!
Now imagine people of my age 15 or 16 years old, watching that on MTV!! We couldn't believe our ears!
One of those defining moments for a whole generation.
I still get whole body goose bumps thirty years later.
Absolutely. I don't even need to see the video or hear the song, I only have to think about the memory of watching this song when it aired.
Chills unlike any other. I was only a young preteen/teen at the time, it was a pivotal moment for sure. I had never seen anything that raw before. It's a shame we lost him so young.
I will always be a GrungeBaby
I still remember seeing it for the first time on MTV back in the day. It still brings tears to my eyes
@@PaulWelsh same here. We would meet in friend's houses and watch it on VHS all the time.
I'm right there with you
Same generation. Any time Nirvana comes up on a playlist or the radio, I stop whatever I'm doing and give it my undivided attention.
How can some people call him overrated and phony? The man was/is a legend...RIP Kurt.
The band was good but a legend he wasn't. If he hadn't been going through mental struggles and offed himself, we likely would have seen him grow to legend status. Kurt, for me, will go down for his mumble rock. Heart shaped box is my favorite Nirvana song, but most of their music, I have to be in the right headspace to enjoy.
@@tray22 He's a legend. Period.
??? Some ppl? Well the world knows him. It’s a drop in the bucket. The bigger you are you will get more random morons saying things. He is an icon for a reason. You don’t need a phd in music to see and feel his greatness… underrated in my book… up at the very very top of all time greats. She spoke of him breaking all the rules… he did it and IT WORKED! To make the rules you’ve got to break the rules… that’s the genius of him…
@@tray22 compared to what? You’re just talkin’ shit nuggets until you actually compare it to something then we can unanimously say your opinion is piss water
He IS a LEGEND, period.
Grunge was about raw emotion. It was a snapshot of a changing world. I am so happy I was a teenager in the 90s.
So lucky too
I graduated HS in 1990… 17-27 years old in the 90s was a great time.
@@BadgerBJJ yes it was...who here wore a band tshirt with a flannel back then /raises hand haha
@@geminijoy78 lol i was a punk kid. The shirt was Dead Kennedy’s, Ramones, Descendants… with a flannel shirt, black jeans and Chuck Taylors
I was a teen in the 90's, there were some great bands, but wish I was a teen in the 80's. Sorry, grunge was good, but was a bit much at times.
In my opinion is the whole concert his goodbye letter and him saying farewell to the whole world. Every song says something about Kurt. I think that is why they played just a couple of their own songs and the rest is all about the message. And they end it with this song and his outburst of raw emotion at the end! Thank you Kurt for everthing that you brought us❤
This narrative really bothers me as it romanticizes what happened to Kurt. Everything seems bleak with 20/20 but Kurt was as complex as any other person. He often used birth/death imagery in his art and albums etc.
@@EllawoodBlues that is why i think this is a masterpiece. Like one of his favorite performers David Bowie. He made an album on which he already knew he was about to go to heaven. And in my opinion that was what Kurt also did with the unplugged album. He made an piece of art about his death. And i agree with you that in most of his writings and paintings there is a lot of death and birth. That is what's life is about.
@@Debeers9838 nirvana had so many other concerts after this, this was recorded half a year before that. He wasn’t a mastermind who knew exactly how the media and record labels would react to his death. And if he knew people would romanticize his death so much, he probably wouldn’t have done it.
Absolutely not. Yes, Kurt was in distress and turmoil this night, but it wasn't him issuing fans a rough draft of his suicide letter. He was battling heroin withdrawals that day. In fact, he barely mustered the necessary strength to go onstage and perform for the awaiting audience. Thank God a Nirvana stagehand came through with a couple of Valium to settle his nerves long enough for the show to still go on. Suicide wasn't yet even a thought in his mind at this point in the Nirvana story.
Dave Grohl has talked about that ending. When you hear the band cut out, it's because they were as shocked as you are listening to it. They were genuinely concerned something had happened to Kurt in that moment.
lmao
Do you have a link to that? I would love to watch
Where did he say that
Bro talking out his booty cheeks lmao.
His story is dramatic enough, dont need to add folklore
We were all just sitting back waiting for her jumping on her chair when the screaming starts, weren't we?
Mission accomplished.
Yeah, the look on her face was priceless.
Instant "O" face that just intensified as the song went on.
they tried to get an encore but Kurt said 'I can't top that last song.' he was not wrong. its still one of his defining moments
He's not singing the song. He's living it with every atoms of his body.
She commented on Kurt’s jaw movement while singing. He used his jaw to help with timing like a metronome, you can see him doing it on a heap of footage and Dave grohl confirmed it in his book because he does a similar thing.
Love these vocal breakdowns on the great performances of our time.
Kurt Cobain legend RIP
It's just drugs, it's ok.
Yeah no dude it's the drugs he was on nothing more than that watch videos in his early stages of the band and watch more towards the ends and you see him do it alot more at the end. Kurt is amazing but it has nothing to do with metronome
Um, so dave actually confirmed, that kurt basically "played drums" on his teeth in his biography "the Storyteller".
It might have been drugs that caused him to do it more often or whatever, but also, there is no high quality close up footage of nirvana/ any of its predecessors, especially not of kurts face not during singing so we can hardly tell.
It didnt really serve a purpose, but it was a thing they both did to play drums when they could not play at that moment, and they juet got used to doing it.
They also developed this habit individually, which is interesting.
@@skydog22 100% the cause for it, perhaps not the reason, but yeah the cause. And as you say; it is ok :)
I've been listening to this song for almost 30 years and it still makes the hair on my arms stand up every time I hear it. That whole acoustic set was a magical moment in music history
Absolutely!!
I honestly thought she might have had an orgasm when he started singing loud at the end.
Same!!!
Agreed...still movies me emotionally today as it did then....HEARTBREAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL..
I can see why people might say he isn’t the most vocally talented or even on his guitar but one thing you could never call him is inauthentic. Which can be a rarity in musicians
She mentioned Kurt moving his jaw as he sings. Dave Grohl said in an interview he does that to keep rhythm, the equivalent to tapping your foot as you play your instrument.
He was also in drug withdrawal during this performance, that kind of sideways jaw twitching is a common side effect of some drugs/drug withdrawal
@@TehMegaSnakeFan that's definitely it
@@TehMegaSnakeFan I definitely thought it was drug related.
@@TehMegaSnakeFan thats not it, its very common for musicians to keep time with their jaw and he can be seen doing this in lots of performances. not everything is drug related
@@benji2058 No need to get defensive, I never claimed "It's 100% certain that drug use is the only explanation". If you actually read my comment, I said "He ALSO was in withdrawal". "Also", it was an addition to the first comment. Not an argument against it. But i don't know how "very common" you say it is, i've seen several reactors like elizabeth (vocal coaches and singers) react to people who move their jaw sideways while singing and every single time the reactor has paused and pointed it out as "weird" at the very least, or "poor technique and not advisable" more often. I'm sure singers still do it for the reason you say though, not every successful singer sings with "perfect" technique.
But it's a bit of a weird response for you to go to "Not everything is drug related", as though everyone in this comment section was saying nothing except "kurt was an addict". Or as though i had written a long series of comments about nothing but his drug use. I literally made 1 factual comment: The man WAS an addict, he WAS going through intense withdrawal during this performance (so much so that he had MTV source valium for him to take the edge off), that side to side jaw moving and clenching IS a very well known, and studied, side effect of hard drugs like heroin and cocaine. Hell it's even a side effect of my prescribed ADHD medication. If you felt like I was attacking kurt, throwing shade at him for his addiction, or reducing the man down to nothing but drug use then I apologise but you took it wrong. I have plenty of experience with addiction both in myself and those close to me. There was no judgement coming from me, nor was I trying to imply that an addict was all that he was. But he WAS an addict, and to ignore that and act like it wasn't true or that it isn't important to his story is both a lie and it's a disservice to Kurt. All I was doing was informing people who might not know about that behaviour ALSO being a side effect of drugs. Something can have 2 causes. It is possible for it to be BOTH a result of drug use, AND something he adapted to help him in his performances
The pain in his voice is so raw. The only thing i can compare it to is the cry a mother lets out when she's lost a child. Just heartbreaking. Never in my life have i heard more emotion in a song than this performance right here.
The pain in his voice was real. This was not a good day for him. The performance almost never happened. He was fighting with the band. He was sick and had been throwing up blood. He was having anxiety attacks and they had to rush around to find a drug store for his anti-anxiety drugs. He would live less than a year after this show.
You are so right. An almost murderous intensity, pain, and the anguish of love betrayed, the sound of his voice steps right up to the line where suicide and/or murder seem like the only choice- cold desolation. I still get chills down my spine listening. Brilliant.
Kurt pours his heart and soul into almost every song. It's what made Nirvana so distinctly different in the beginning. ❤
It was the wailing of his imprisoned soul. Sadly the more pain he was in, the better the music was.
Nah. That sound is the lonesome whippoorwill. It's a sound Hank Sr also had, though no one really puts it together. Regardless, he rocks this Lead Belly!
one of the best unplugged performances in history, that song is pure emotion. RIP Kurt
100% the entire set is amazing and I remember when it came out. Just blew me away. Still holds up all these years later.
AIC is better imo, but this was amazing.
@droppin_sik_beets Not everything is a competition. Both were/are phenomenonal bands with incredible lead singers. Why be needlessly devisive?
@@droppin_sik_beetsNo, AIC is not better.
It's THE best
Greatest unplugged ever done. Easily one of the all time top 10 albums ever recorded.
No disagreement here!
I don't know man. I have loved Nirvana since 92, but Alice in Chains' Unplugged is probably the best. I'm not really an AIC fan, but it's a masterpiece
@@RyanKudasik the AiC Unplugged ruined AiC for me! I've listened to it, studied it, and been moved by it so much over the years that normal AiC doesn't sound right anymore.
@@antimatter2380 that's funny. The same has happened for me. I like the Unplugged much more than regular now. (Although they do have some great riffs).
Nah Alice in Chains blows this away.
That moment where he braces himself before the final note, is everything. You can see him steeling himself to leave everything raw in that last belt no matter what is costs him.
Lol I mentioned that too! That exhale like exhaling after holding your breath before getting a joint relocated… it was relief before the end! So powerful.
Yes! I was yellin at my phone lol “WATCH WATCH!!” because that was the 1 part I wanted insight on. She sorta caught part of it the last time. Argh. Mb some other time. Thanks for highlighting that!!
Kurt says-I thought before this song: “I’m gonna fu** this up.” Can you imagine thinking that and giving THIS performance. He was so humble and every cover he did that night was better or brought a new life/unique spin to already great songs.
I remember that that was the Man Who Sold The World by David Bowie he said that. Both great efforts.
That very brief thousand-yard stare near the end, it was like he'd suddenly hit the last stage of grief. Like he just that moment accepted that it was real.
Interesting fact: In Mark Lanegan's book Sing Backwards and Weep he tells the story of how he and Kurt recorded this song for Mark's solo album. Kurt wanted Mark to sing this song that night but Mark didn't feel like he could handle the Nirvana-sized spotlight on "their" show. Kurt said, "fine, I will sing it myself." and gave us this unforgettable recording.
Even more so, according to Lanegan, Kurt said he would sing it in the style Lanegan had sung it for his own record, as a chip of friendship and respect for his friend.
Amen. I’d love to see some Lanegan reactions
So sad that both of them are gone…so many from that scene are gone, especially vocalists. We still have Eddie Vedder and Mark Arm.
@@pillarhood471 That's what I'm saying! I've been suggesting Mark since the news of his passing, great voice, needs a video on him!
@@veru6907 Right on, brother
This whole gig, to me, is the single most incredible performance I've ever had seen and I worked in live music for 25 years, nothing has been able to top this.
My favourite album of all time. Gives me goosebumps, especially All Apologises
Me too, this and Pearl Jam Unplugged were incredible performances. Pure talent and emotion.
Best live album ever
Soda stereo mtv unplugged better
@@maurocalderon2056 No
This has been one of my favourite vocal performances by any artist for three decades. Every ounce of the pain is real. It’s utterly visceral, and hauntingly beautiful. He was dead a few months later. This was Kirt laid bare. That breath he takes right before the final notes…this performance will never leave me.
I just love how you respectfully and enthusiastically treat all kinds of music
The way you jumped when Kurt cranked it up was so reaffirming. Most of us clicked on this because we love the song and know what happens at the end. Seeing someone with a technical understanding of singing react so favorably to a performance we all love makes us feel proud in a way.
I get goosebumps and I catch my breath every single time I see it or hear it.
Absolutely
Same!
It doesn't matter how many times I hear this song, I get head to toe goosebumps every single time during that part at the end. This man was gone too soon. RIP Kurt
@@courtney7142 same
The look in his eyes before the last moment of singing is so powerful. There's so much being said in that one look, a truly great and legendary artist/performer.
This comment appears under every reaction video to this song. I wondered how far I would have to scroll to find it lol
@@BadDubII I was kind of surprised that she didn't mention it, especially with how many times she watched the ending.
@@jesselucero4581 Most of the time she seemed to be looking away from the screen lol
@@jesselucero4581 yeah, I was waiting for her reaction to it as well. It wouldve been another emotional piece alongside the part sung before
It's so symbolic to me, and this unplugged performance was one of his most famous, even though one of his last. When he does that look, and a hard exhale, it feels like his last gasp of oxygen, and he used it to close the show for us. (I know I said that dramatically, but still). Epic performance.
I love Kurt’s voice. It stays with you long after you hear it.
This unplugged performance doesn't get enough credit. It's one of those pivotal performances that thrust grunge into the mainstream from what was at the time a still somewhat niche genre. This and the cover of Man Who Sold the World were such epic vocal performances, and the whole album shattered barriers throughout the industry because of Kurt's raw talent.... And then to think that this is where we got Dave Grohl from as well just makes it that much more meaningful
57 years old and this song, as it did 30 years ago, still brings me to tears and music should always induce emotion either happy or sad that is the joy of it.
RIP Kurt.
I´ve heard this song/watched this video since i was like 9 and to me he´s always been one of the best ones out there!
45 Years old over here. Same emotions. Incredible.
Here's my crowd! I'm 52 and remember my first time hearing teen spirit. Bought the CD and immersed for weeks and weeks. It was as great as discovering Halen, Scorpions, Ozzy, Priest, Crue, Metallica, Slayer etc while growing up.
THEN... the onslaught!
Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, STP, AIC and you know. If you were there.
Our generation was the last to have the best of almost everything.
Unplugged is a good word for what the world needs now. And another folk singer!
I'm going to be 38 in June and I still read the journals and I try to get the same emotion from my saxamaaxe but I always lean towards the same level of experience
It’s doesn’t matter whether it’s happy or sad to me, when it’s special to me I know it because I shed a few tears. Happens all the time actually; the older I got, the more it became unavoidable. … that’s ok when you’re by yourself but it’s kinda embarrassing at a concert!
Nirvana and Alice in Chains are the 2 absolute best unplugged performances of all time! Both Kurt's and Layne's performances were incredible and emotional but so tragically came from a true, deep sadness. God bless both their souls, forever legends🙏🏼
And pearl jam
Add to tgat the one by pearl jam
Pearl Jam Black greatest live performance
Wait until you see Stevie Ray Vaughan's Unplugged
For me it's nirvana and korn
Kurt's voice is so powerful. No good music isn't sung without emotion. This song still brings me to tears and I have heard it a million times. RIP KURT
RIP Kurt
i've been listening to this song for more than 20 years and it still gives me shivers...
One of my favorite songs of all time!
When he opens his eyes at the end.... Hits me EVERY SINGLE TIME.
It seems like he just came to reality from his world.
Pupils dialated...definitely the heron kicked in
In Dave Grohl’s book the Storyteller he says that Kurt and him had a habit of playing the drums by gritting their teeth. “You can see Kurt’s jaw clenching and moving side to side at certain points in the show, because it served as a sort of metronome while he strummed his guitar.” (pg.66)
It was such a great book. I love learning about little details like this
good to know i always tough it was the drugs that did that to him
I thought the same thing.
You could see Kurt doing that even if you watch him performing in concert. I had never noticed it until I watched the MTV unplugged.
Yea. He always did that. There was no thought process in it for him. It was keeping Ty them like tapping his foot… wasn’t intentional though.
I was born in 81, and I was the perfect age to grow up with grunge. I loved how it was a deliberate juxtaposition of the polished studio pop music that was so popular at the time.
Same here. I remember watching this on TV when it first aired. So awesome.
81. Xcennial/youngest of Gen Zs. You were perfectly placed to translate all the new tech stuff to your older peers, and still somewhat able to relate to those that came next. Hope things worked out for you! It's a tough micro-generation, tons of changes.
Like Tom Petty said Kurt came along and all the hairspray bands most of Los Angeles went down permanently out of business.
Nah, 1980 was the perfect age.
1979 here
R I P Kurt. Never forgotten, always rememberd ❤❤❤
Til the day I die I’ll say that this set from Nirvana on Unplugged is one of the greatest performances in music history. They chose to play songs that weren’t their big hits, Kurt was so nervous that they had to find a doctor and drugstore for anti-anxiety medicine and then he went out and delivered a masterpiece.
In my humble opinion.
RIP Kurt- &🖕🏻Courtney.
Kurt was worried that nobody liked his performance because people were so quiet throughout, but everybody was in awe
Agreed. I can listen to it 2 or 3 times a day...and I do. The other song that Kurt sings that has this raw emotion is "You Know You're Right." Love that too. Can listen to it endlessly.
Easily the best
Love ppl who see it for first time . 😢
100% right and I completely agree…🖕Courtney!!
They picked to play most songs that ain't theirs lol
The Kurt performance that deserves a nuclear radiation warning. This is why we love Kurt; he channeled all the pain and torment we were feeling and broadcast it to the world when we could not, in a manner like we would... not polished nor pretentious, just pure and undistilled, shredding our voices as we'd do it. Kurt introduces the song by calling Ledbelly his fave performer, but he sounds more like Howlin' Wolf at the end. Still electrifying after all these years. What a way to slam an exclamation point on a career. Even more amazing, is that Kurt thought the set sucked... tormented to the last...
Nope
@@mountaineerpaultalksfootba4782 What? Maybe some .. context.. or detail ... "Nope" is a bit vague on meaning.
Even more impressive considering how messed up he was for this performance.
@@northof4912 I've heard the show started like an hour late because he was passed out backstage.
@@chuckyhoff Not surprising. Can’t remember the song in this set but he forgets the lyrics and they have to start over. Just watching the very end of this song, when he opens his eyes for half a second, he looks like a cornered animal that is trying to see if the predator is still out there. It’s like he is not sure where he is, then sees the audience and closes off again. Really creepy moment to me.
According to Dave Grohl, the side-to-side shifts you see in Kurt's jaw are him keeping time with the drums by rubbing and clicking his teeth together. It's something I do all the time without realizing it, typically when I'm listening to music. Grohl's dentist actually asked him why his teeth were wearing strangely and it was because he did the same thing as Cobain. Teeth drumming. It's totally a thing.
Fun fact. This was the end of the set. This song did indeed take it toll on Kurt, so much to the point he wouldn’t come out for encore. Even more haunting, this song was his very last recorded live performance
"Fun" fact. ;-(
this was not his very last recorded live performance. Nirvanas last recorded live performance was March 1st 1994 in Munich Germany
Well.. I had fun.
Kurt's 1000-yard stare at the final "...the whole---" is heartwrenching. I can't help but think he realized in that exact moment that his pain was too much for him to bear anymore.
That sounds very neat and tidy, but I don't think there's any relation to reality there. There wasn't any particular descent tied to the Unplugged show.
@@gst013 There actually was. He thought the set went awful. Not to say that it was a direct correlation to his actual demise - but those things add up.
He was almost a blues singer of his time, the pain in his voice was the soundtrack to my adolescence.
Mine as well. So was his scream.
Dude, I never thought of grunge as blues before, but a lot of it fits. Nice take.
WELL...ACKTUALLY hahaha the song IS a blues cover by Leadbelly.
@@sirdawg I was thinking the same thing.
as someone who's struggled with depression and suicide most of my life, that look in his eyes when he opens them just before "night through" was the biggest window into his soul anyone was going to get till kurt died. the pain, the emotion, the desperation all in that split second... cant help but feel it was a call for help.
I agree
This is probably one of the best unplugged sets ever. It definitely makes me wonder what Nirvana would have developed into had Kurt not left this world so soon.
My late father listened to a lot of Leadbelly's music. When he was in his 80s, I played this cover for him, and he LOVED it.
That is says a lot about this performance. ☝🏼
My grandfather was pretty picky about what he liked. He loved Willie Nelson. Didn't listen to rock at all. He stumbled on this performance on TV and LOVED it. He bought the CD
Damn the wholesomeness😌✨🔥🔥🔥
15:20 watch Kurt’s eyes- when he takes that last breath. I literally can feel all the weight on his shoulders , all the pain in his life - it evokes in an instant in that moment. Every time I watch this performance or reaction to this performance, I still get chills at that part & kinda tear up.
It truly sometimes feel like it's his last breath to me. It's so goddamn haunting.
Same here
❤️
yes!!
I couldn't agree more, multiple times during this entire set I always had a thing about his eyes, facial expressions etc. I didn't get it until I realized it wasn't long before Kurt passed. I know someone who was there at this performance, he told me in real life that breath was painful in person
I Never thought I would cry this much over a song. Loved how the Cello had a marching sound throughout the whole song; almost like when people are carrying a dead person to be buried and at the same time is guiding the listener to the amazing painful emotive finale…”Utterly Fantastic” saw him in concert in the early nighties in San Antonio TX
Never fails to give me chills.....I will Never forget where I was when I heard he was gone...so lucky to have seen Nirvana live...I truly love them
Your face when he started belting was perfect. It made me think - "yup, that's how we all took it the first time we heard it." Thats the voice that connected to so many people, like we all have felt the way his voice was portraying.
Kurt Cobain used to just go out to empty places and scream as loud and long as possible to get that roughness to his voice. Im sure if he hadn't died he would've lost his voice completely a long time ago.
Agree , I've watched this song so many times that I kept my eye on the woman's reaction to Kurt and I was satisfied , thinking like yeah now you get the reason why people loved Kurt/Nirvana 👍
Yeah that;s how he connected to a generation.Their music was outside the pop music that was prevalent on the radio at the time. Dave said it perfectly. Music isn't meant to be perfect..
yes maybe…just like John Bon jovi
I fucking love that reaction.It's not perfect. It's imperfect in just the right way.
That moment at the end where he opens his eyes is my favorite moment in music video history. It's almost like a drowning person coming up and catching that first welcome breath of air. Or is it that moment of clarity when he suddenly realized what he had to do to end his suffering? Absolutely spine chilling.
Clarity....exactly what I thought. You can see it in his eyes, like a revelation, it was time. 😢
There’s more to the story than meets the eye
American Spy Fox - I implore you to explore
@@blurry.magnets I absolutely love American Spy Fox!! He not only gives u deep details but he, and his wife, seem like the type of people u could just sit and b.s. with
That's heartbreaking
Probably when he has closed eyes he's looking a true story 😉if you know what I mean cuz my English are 3 year's lessons in jail 😅🤣😂Bad past unfortunately 😕
The vocal imperfections made this song so perfect. It almost hurts
I just watched this again and you made me cry. Your analysis mixed with Kurt's voice just does something. Thank you for your experience.
"Lake of fire" from this performance is also amazing and probably has a ton for you to analyze
god yes
Terrible what happened to the Lady from Duluth
@@godslayer1415 a little too soon :(
One of my all time favorites of Kurt...He was truly 1 of kind
In Dave Grohl's book, He explained how he learn to keep tempo with the drums by chomping his teeth. He went on to say he only met one other person who did the same. It was Kurt Cobain.
Pretty sure he was deep in addiction here. People with opiate addiction do that with their jaw.
Could be keeping tempo though.
@@gabrielgoodman4846 No he actually did grind his teeth to keep tempo. Plus, heroin doesn't make you gurn.
I totally get that...but I actually click my tongue on the back of my front teeth (even to fast double-kick drumming). One of those wierd things I learned growing up listening to awesome drummers I guess -haha.
Yes. That is what I would say, as his friend. But don't tell me you actually buy this, do you. Look, it is a nice gesture from Grohl, but it is only that.
@@gabrielgoodman4846 nah, bruxism is not the tool for keeping time.
Unplugged in NY is my favorite Nirvana album. I remember when I got this CD. I’d just play the whole thing through again and again.
Thanks for reviewing this.
One of the greatest moments in musical history.
I was Born and raised in Washington, and was a homeless drug addict on the streets of Seattle when this song came out at 16 years old. I always felt so deeply that this song represented my life at that moment… still brings tears every time I hear it. PS I’ve been sober now for 17 years!
Thank you for this
shiet that fucking awesome :')
@@stevecolbert9518
Experience the "awesomeness" of the life of a homeless drug addict challenge
Start slow, maybe pop half a xanny bar and wait until the sun comes up before going to your bed
Then work your way up to dragging that bed to the dumpster before you walk away to never see it again.
Bonus points for spending your time looking for that next fix, a place to sleep, a dumpster with food, clean clothes and a place to shower because you want to buy new shoes since the ones you have now are not suited for all the walking you do and you have huge blisters. After you get new shoes (and socks)
Go find a place, away from people stinky, to take off the old shoes, wash and rest your feet before putting on the new shoes and returning to the awesome experience.
Hey, those new shoes feel good, don't they? Did you get some new clothes too? You might use this opportunity to find a job that will hire you without a stable place to live, and that felony possession charge you picked up while you were sitting at that house and the cops kicked in the door and pointed a gun at your head after you got the drugs in your hand but before you get them in your arm because you were helping your friend because he has trouble finding a vein and being a good friend you helped him before yourself..... see your friend there?....... He's overdosing from the injection of heroin and fentanyl you just gave him. You can save him, You're safe and always carry NARCAN incase this happens,... it's right there in your backpack with everything you've managed to hold on to while being homeless, but you
can't get to it because you're in handcuffs. You get an officers attention long enough to inform him that your friend is ODing and you have that NARCAN in your backpack.... it's right over there and he can save your friend if he just goes in there and gives it to your friend, looks at your friend and walks away to talk to another officer because he doesn't care about you, your friend or the fucking NARCAN in your backpack
You watch your friend die and at your trial a few months later, for 3rd degree murder the officer testifies that he witnessed you giving the fatal injection and his defense for not getting the NARCAN is the risk of getting poked by a dirty needle
You are convicted by a jury of your peers.
Enjoy awesome
🤟
Are you off drugs now? If so, how did you get clean?
Music gets us through❤
The pause, breath, and look Kurt gives right before the last "night through." is hauntingly amazing.
I was disappointed she didn't say anything about the look.
@@rome8180 That omision is hard to fathom being she talked about creating an emotion with voice, that deep breath he takes right before going on is the best and most dynamic part of the song, even more than how he uses all other aspect of his voice to set up that very fast but heavy "sigh" to wrap up the feelings behind everything else. However when watching the video, that look with the sigh just emits emotion that is beyond words.
This is the epic grunge masterpiece. The touchstone, especially as far as covers go. The soft/loud dynamic really conveys the emotion better than most can. Thank you for posting this!
Was amazing seeing your reaction to that moment. I still get shivers myself every time I hear this.
Speaking of chills and shivers. Alice in Chains - Nutshell from MTV's Unplugged does it for me every time. Just the way the band comes out one at a time and Layne just sits down and starts singing and the emotion in the song. It gets me every time. That should definitely be a song to go over on the channel.
Agreed incredible
up!
closest you'll ever see to a man singing at his own funeral...
Agreed, though speaking of AiC I´d actually love to see Love Hate Love (Live at the Moore) first - only because she already did one of the unplugged songs. But yeah, I´d love to see Nutshell too.
Nutshell unplugged is the best unplugged song, ever!
“Also known as "In The Pines," this blues number is about a man who finds out his wife has been cheating on him. He goes out into the cold night and is killed, either in an accident or by murder.
The song dates back to the 1800s but was first recorded in 1926 by a banjo player named Dock Walsh. Bill Monroe recorded it in 1941, and Lead Belly in 1944.”
So like Love cheating on him
Great research man
Actually I think a guy named Jimmy Rodgers was the first to record this tune in 1926 In Bristol Tennessee... That period was know as the if bang of country music and where country music started but the song dating back to the 1800s is correct. I'd look id like to hear the original 1800s song
Wasn’t the original “black girl” instead of “my girl”? I always thought this song was about the injustice of the slave south.
@@HasanPikerIsADouche and him being up all night shivering from the heroine or lack thereof. I feel that's why there's so much emotion in this, it's because it's 100% real hes been up all night plenty of times knowing his wife is cheating on him and trying to use to get rid of the pain or not using to try and get away from it all. The girl, the drugs, the lifestyle. Just the way he sings the word shiver hits me right in my soul
Watching his jaw go back and forth from withdrawal kills me every time.
Thank you for your review of this song and understanding what they were all about even after all these years. Many people want to crack on Kurt and his voice saying he wasn't a great singer. And while that might be technically correct, with him it was more about the raw emotion and pain you could hear in his voice and how those of us in Gen-X could relate and how he was singing for us, and expressing in a way what we couldn't. Still remember hearing when Kurt had died, like it was yesterday. He's still missed after all these years.
I impatiently waited almost 13 mins to see your reaction to when Kurt let's loose and it did not disappoint, your face said a thousand words.. It still gives me chills everytime I hear it and remember watching it air on MTV when I was 11yrs old and have listened to it an uncountable amount of times since.
The whole set was great.
It really is / was epic
Same here!!
We were all waiting for that moment to happen!
One of best live performances ever
Absolutely, the Unplugged AIC set was incredible too.
Those goosebumps though. Almost 30 years later I still get them.
Yea, I got 'em, too. And I've listened to it easily hundreds of times.
Same here
Same here, for the past almost 30 years as well
I'm so glad you did this! This is one of my favourite performances!
I’m a loooooong time Nirvana fan. That last breath. I’ve had so many talks with so many people. It’s purely angelic. It puts the entire performance to rest. It almost brings me to tears (nay often does) when I hear it.
This was a very painful song for him that’s why he did it last. 5 months after this concert he took his life. 💔 RIP Kurt forever legend. 😭
Huh? He didn’t take his own life.
@@davidstephan5116 April 5, 1994 he shot himself in his home in Seattle. look it up
@@EmmaHasWrizz993 toxicology reports say he didn’t have the where with all to position the rifle and pull the trigger. Also the spent shell from the rifle was on the opposite side of his body.
Kurt was going to divorce Courtney, and she allegedly set it up to look like a suicide, with the help of her junkie friend Dylan Carlson
@@davidstephan5116 There is always some creep conspiracy nutjob that crawls out of the dregs of the internet, aint there?
This was such an epic choice by Cobain. This whole set list was amazing in that at the height of their popularity, they chose to do a relatively poorly known Bowie hit, this traditional blues standard, and THREE songs by the virtually unknown Meat Puppets. And he did Leadbelly and his blues tradition more justice than any other cover ever has. Epic performance.
Also Curt was just barely out of rehab when this was recorded. The band hadn’t played together for like 6 months. The producers were afraid he would simply break down and walk off stage and they would have night to air. Instead he put on a legendary effort for their last major show before he killer himself. It’s tragic, but also rock and roll as fuuuuuck.
You mean Courtney killed him well had him killed .. listen to some of her speeches and she's tells she did it
Meat puppets inspired kurt,are a bigger band than you think dude
@@markwallace7296 they were absolutely a cult act before Nirvana raised their profile, and they still weren’t very big after that.
It fits, Kurt was rock and roll as fuck
meat puppets are a great show
I dont think alot of people actually grasp the level of kurts vocal talent. It was outstanding.
I absolutely love this performance. So much pain and so brilliant. Loved Kurt. Gone too soon.
I can't listen to this song without crying. When I was a young and deeply unhappy teenager Nirvana and Kurt's voice were like a knife cutting through the facile pop of the early 90s, to hear the pain and anguish in his singing knowing he would take his own life just a few short months later never stops being utterly gut wrenching.
You ask any fan of the time, yet'll say the same. Am I alright.... Not necessarily.
ua-cam.com/video/-_J5Fb2BLPE/v-deo.html
courtney killed him , he wasnt even sucidal, it was a setup by courtney when he said he was dicorcing her.
It’s funny the first time I heard this song, it was with this channel, even though I’ve been listening to nirvana since I was a young teen, I guess I never discovered their full Unplugged album when I was younger…when this video came up on my UA-cam I selected it and played it while showering…BALLED MY EYES OUT at the end…I’ve since become more aquatinted with this song and it’s origins and the fact that they played it during this magical show..It’s even more incredible…Now when I hear Lead Belly’s version I get emotional…I love Lead Belly’s Cajun accent “in the pines” you can hear it clearly. I’ve always loved the Cajun accent….Just a magnificent moment in all music history!
17 year old here. Going through the same situation mentally and socially as Kurt has in his teen years and growing up in an old school family listening to classics I've been a huge fan of Nirvana. Though I've been born way too late before the band ended it makes me so sad to hear Kurt's voice, you can hear the crippling pain. It makes me cry too, he's such an innocent person and he deserved a much better life yet he had so many bad people in his life like Courtney and his parents. RIP Kurt 💔
I'm happy to say that I still have that MTV Unplugged DVD with me and cherish it to this day.
Thats cool)
Same!
White vinyl myself
Same here! Well, it's my dad's but we watch it together
Dont just cherish it. Frame it in an airtight hermetically sealed container, forever! Its gold bro.
This song always makes me cry. I've been loving your analysis of some of my favorite metal and 90's music!
One of the greatest performances of my lifetime. Just chills, even decades later
Kurt Cobain died almost 30 years ago. His music is still inspiring. His voice is amazing. When I first saw the video for Smells Like Teen Spirit I realized that this was a musical group that would leave it's mark on the music world. 30 years later i would still rather listen to Nirvana than most of the crap being produced now.
Kurt sang his physical and mental pain in a way no one else can. He was plagued with stomach pains for years that floored him, he dealt with so much in his life. His music and voice is unrivalled in my own personal opinion. He was and is such a huge part of my life and I will never stop listening to his music and understanding his pain. I have Nirvana tattooed on my back as he was so important to me as I feel he understood the pain I felt in my life. I miss him.
“Nirvana tattooed on back”. Peace hard-on. ✌️
Amen brother 🙏
i miss him too bro
I get the chills every time I hear this song. It’s one of my favorites. Kurt’s voice is next level authentic. I love it.
Just found your channel and I’m so excited to see the reaction you’re having to some of the most beautiful songs I’ve listened to all my life. More! More!
That pause before "the whole night through" he exhales one last time and pushes it out so powerfully..I love it
The look in his eyes too! Chills!
Another good analysis of Kurt’s voice would be Nirvana’s last recorded song before Kurt died, “You Know You’re Right”.
Totally agree on that, for me thats the essential of kurts music and pain in just one song
Fuck yeah. The best chorus, intro, guitar, ending, lyrics..just about everything else a rock song has ever had. Basically, the perfect rock song.
Absolutely!
Man, the lead in to the chorus after that second verse was so powerful....how he went from the mumble to just screaming the pain away......that song has always resonated with me
Agreed. You don't have any idea how much pain he could have in his voice until you hear him just before the pain won.
This was his last recording before passing. This song in particular would put my son to sleep. It's crazy how good it is. It may be painful, but it's still awesome.
After that last scream he expels so much of himself that he has to take a breath before finishing the lyric. That moment always gets me.
YES! He looks like he just realized he is performing. As if he woke up crying and then fell right back into the song.
The crazy thing is Kurt starts the performance talking about how he wants to buy Leadbelly's guitar for $500K meanwhile the guitar he plays sold for $6million and that ugly green sweater sold for $334K - its amazing the impact that Kurt had on the world in the short years he was active and how much people still care for him 20+ years later.
put at least 200 or maybe even 2000 (if humanity and her audio recordings survive) on those 20+ year plus. People will always care because he knew how to share his self. It is impossible to resist and give some empathy to that authentic pain.
Its a great guitar tho
Almost 30 years
Yes and he exaggerated the price. They would sell him leadbellys guitar for 50k
And he'd be disgusted at it. Love the guy, RIP.
A instantly recognisable voice, harsh and gritty. Even a small clip of the voice of Kurt brings me back to the 1990s. Songs were dark and filled with pain. I must have seen the unplugged dozens of times on the late night MTV run. It was an era. Glad I am no longer the quiet teenager I was back then.
The 90s grunge era, when it was fashionable to be a loser and look like sh*t--hey, I could do with a 90s revival about now...
I watch videos like this simply because I appreciate people having a passion for things. It makes me happy.
Same
I saw this live and still get chills through my whole body every time I hear this
@danieldavis-ri7fp you are one lucky bastard and I say this with the utmost respect and jealousy combined.
12:23 Im sure we were all waiting for your reaction to this exact point. This is the emotional crux of the song, and where people can see anger, or loss, or despair, and relate to whatever speaks to them the most.
For me one of the most moving moments is at 15:19 where he looks up and we get a glimpse of his blue eyes for just a moment 💔
This is genius by Kurt. The point of blues has always been to convey pain. Through lyrics, through an instrument, or singing. I think Leadbelly would have been proud of this performance. Because it’s so repetitive and quiet in true beginning, it really highlights the pain at the end of the song. The voice, the scream, the placement of that section. It’s perfect. It’s like saying something and no one is listening and it hurts so much that you start screaming it. Also, the fact that our protagonist is dead, is especially haunting.
The purpose of playing the Blues is not to feel better, but to make the listeners feel as crappy as you.
@@revylokesh1783
WOW!!!
Da Bluez, iz SUPPOSED 2 serve azz a meanz 2 xorcise dmonz u may harbour, n dis robotic world. Da composer, singz sumthin relatable 2 da audience. Thusly, nstead of just carrying these dmonz around, u undastand, dat sumbody else undastandz ur pain.Dis may help a bit, 2 keep u FUNctioning, n da robotic black & white/1 & 0, world.
@@revylokesh1783, we listen to the blues to feel better about ourselves. We play the blues to channel our pent up emotions.
I agree, there is a build-up in the interpretation of the song, they kinda install the mood, set it in a little more when the drums come in, and the screaming at the end seems like it emerges from a gradual crescendo.
I listened to this track a million times before and I really loved your reaction when he started screaming :D. Love the input you give as well. Thank you!
This is so cool, you react exactly like I did when I first heard this. Like the shivers you get or the gasp you make when he finishes. Pfffff
A music professor of mine used to say: “Was played so cleanly it stank of bleach.” The grittiness and vulnerability of Kurt’s voice makes his interpretation very compelling.
Well, Bleach was their debut album, so... 😏
One of the greatest live performances of all time.
absolutely!
An amazing analysis. Thanks very much Elizabeth.
❤❤❤
i always love your way to reaction every music, but in this session. you got me.. God tier for pain sounds
The audible deep breath and the look in his eyes before “night through” at the end…I’ll never forget that.
I love how you unconsciously prolonged the most incredible part of this performance and you lingered on what precedes it that you were not ready for it. It was magical to see
I still get goosebumps every time I listen to it