The performance has been inextricably linked to that tragic context. But it also risks overshadowing what makes MTV Unplugged so potent.<\/p>\n
It’s a raw, remarkable showcase for Cobain’s gripping presence and singular songwriting talents, giving Nirvana’s noisy grunge rock a nuanced acoustic makeover to stellar results.<\/p>\n
Widely hailed as one of the greatest live albums and performances ever, the gig nearly didn’t happen at all.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Released November 1, 1994, MTV Unplugged In New York debuted atop the US charts with the highest first-week sales of Nirvana\u2019s career.\u00a0 (Supplied: Universal Music Group)<\/p>\n
MTV had long courted Nirvana for its Unplugged series, which launched in 1989 and gained notoriety through artists Cobain would hate to be associated with, such as Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey, Sting, and Poison.<\/p>\n
Once Nirvana relinquished, however, Cobain was meticulous about the band’s set list and presentation, including dressing the stage with black candles and stargazer lilies.<\/p>\n
“Like a funeral?” MTV producer Alex Coletti remembers asking. “Yes, exactly,” was Cobain’s reply.<\/p>\n
The network also allowed the frontman to bend the rules, permitting the use of his amplifier (disguised on stage as a faker monitor wedge) and plugging in his Martin D-18E semi-acoustic, which later became the most expensive guitar ever auctioned<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you or anyone you know needs help:Suicide Call Back Service<\/a> on 1300 659 467Lifeline<\/a> on 13 11 14Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN<\/a>\u00a0on 13 92 76Kids Helpline<\/a> on 1800 551 800Beyond Blue<\/a> on 1300 224 636Headspace<\/a> on 1800 650 890ReachOut<\/a> at au.reachout.com<\/a>MensLine Australia<\/a> on 1300 789 978SANE<\/a>\u00a0on 1800 187 263Aussie who paid $9m for Kurt Cobain’s guitar plans to use it to save music industry<\/a><\/p>\n The battered Martin acoustic the Nirvana frontman used at the band’s legendary MTV Unplugged gig has sold for a record sum.<\/p>\n Nirvana had spent a month preparing by working acoustic numbers into their tour, with help from cellist Lori Goldstein and guitarist Pat Smear, but the band was still nervous about exposing its softer side on such a high-profile TV broadcast.<\/p>\n There were concerns it would “be a mistake to proceed with the show”, guitar tech Ernie Bailey told The Ringer in 2018<\/a>. “The rehearsals were so loose, I don’t remember them making it through a full set.”<\/p>\n Then there was Cobain’s ailing health. “He was truly falling apart. Physically, mentally. He hadn’t been sleeping,” noted Cobain biographer Charles R Cross.<\/p>\n “And yet, on stage, once the tape starts running, it’s absolutely mesmerising.”<\/p>\n Miraculously, Nirvana nailed 14 songs in a single take, while Cobain rose to the occasion, lightening the mood with self-deprecating banter and bringing magnetic authenticity to each song.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n MTV was anxious about the band’s insistence \u2014 with the exception of Nevermind single Come As You Are \u2014 on avoiding recognisable hits.<\/p>\n “We knew we didn’t want to do an acoustic version of [Smells Like] Teen Spirit,” drummer Dave Grohl would later remark. “That would’ve been horrendously stupid.”<\/p>\n The band’s caustic volume often obscured Cobain’s natural gift for melody and songcraft. However, when the group did wind down \u2014 as on brooding Nevermind cuts<\/a> Polly or Something In The Way \u2014 it was clear that stripped-down Nirvana could work wonders. And work wonders they did.<\/p>\n Witness Cobain’s sensitive solo rendition of Pennyroyal Tea, or the rare sight of a young, pony-tailed Grohl \u2014 one of rock’s most muscular drummers \u2014 brandishing hot rod sticks (gifted to him by Coletti) on the stirring All Apologies.\u00a0<\/p>\n All your favourite music is on Double J<\/a><\/p>\n Hear the best new music from Australia and overseas, plus the songs and artists that triple j has championed over the past five decades on Double J.<\/p>\n Bassist Krist Novoselic breaks out an accordion \u2014 his first instrument \u2014 on a folksy rendition of Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam by Scottish band The Vaselines, one of several inspired cover choices since made famous by Nirvana’s unplugged outing.<\/p>\n They introduced David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World to a new generation and played three Meat Puppets tunes alongside the country-punk group’s own siblings Curt and Cris Kirkwood, long cited among Cobain’s biggest inspirations.<\/p>\n Best of all is the howling hair-raising conclusion: Where Did You Sleep Last Night, a harrowing take on bluesman Lead Belly’s In The Pines.<\/p>\n Neil Young, whose lyrics Cobain quoted in his suicide note (“it’s better to burn out than fade away”), once described the tortured vocals as “unearthly, like a werewolf, unbelievable”.<\/p>\n It’s an intense, unnerving performance that inked Cobain’s legacy into the history books. But the musician walked away thinking he’d screwed up, unnerved as rapturous applause fell to eerie quiet as he approached fans in the front rows.<\/p>\n “The silence in the room in-between songs [was] a show of respect,” MTV executive Amy Finnerty remembers<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n “That’s what Kurt misinterpreted: that the silence was disapproval. It was just respect.<\/p>\n “Kurt, [I said] they think you are Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n “You knew for sure that history was being made. No doubt about it. You’re lucky if you get to be at something like that once in your lifetime.”<\/p>\n Bringing a countercultural edge to a glossy, mainstream prospect, Nirvana changed the model \u2014 you need only look to MTV Australia’s rebooted Unplugged series with Courtney Barnett<\/a> and Gang of Youths<\/a> for its lingering influence.<\/p>\n As much as it’s been canonised as a poignant epitaph \u2014 gesturing at where Cobain, disillusioned by fame and frustrated by Nirvana’s limitations, could have gone artistically \u2014 MTV Unplugged In New York should be treasured for what it captured: the sound of a generational band transcending their roots and reputation in remarkable fashion.<\/p>\n