A Comparison Between Nirvanas Nevermind With Nirvanas in Utero - Coursework Example

?A Comparison Between Nirvana’s Nevermind with Nirvana’s In Utero Introduction Perhaps no band has had more lasting influence upon the rock scene than Nirvana. They were the harbingers of the so-called “grunge” movement of the early 1990s, the included Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden as the standard bearers. Nirvana broke through to the masses with their sophomore album, Nevermind. As Cohen (2009) notes, this album was deceptively complex, and included not just influences of punk, pop and rock, but some classical influences as well. The album was full of rage, but it also featured innovative chord structures that had not been heard before. In contrast, In Utero was intended to have a much more primal sound than Nevermind. This was the intention from the first, and Cobain and producer Steve Albini made this sound come to life. One of the techniques in making the sound of In Utero more primal and natural than the sounds of Nevermind was that the band put microphones in the recording studios, therefore the sounds of the band performing in the studios were picked up in a natural way. The two albums were different, as well, according to Azzerrad (1993) in that Nevermind blended the influences in their songs – punk, pop and rock. However, in In Utero the songs tended to reflect one influence more than another. From the soft, Beatlesque pop song Dumb, to the pure punk sound of Milk It, the influences that inspired Nirvana were less blended in the third album than they were on the second album. This essay will examine the critical differences between the two albums, and will look at three songs in depth – In Bloom from Nevermind; and Dumb and Heart Shaped Box from In Utero. Nevermind verses In Utero In the album Nevermind, which was Nirvana’s second studio album, the sound featured by the band would be characterized, for the most part, as rageful. As noted by Charles Cross (2001), in this biography of Kurt Cobain, titled Heavier than Heaven, many of the songs were written by Kurt Cobain in a period of despondency and rage after his girlfriend, Tobi, dumped him. Cobain wrote songs, such as “Aneurysm,” “Drain You,” “Lounge Act,” and “Lithium” during this period of despair, and these songs were all about Tobi. This rage was evident in the sound of the music from this album – as Rutherford (1991) puts it, songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” with its stuttering chord progression to the thundering drums, displayed shades of metal, punk and pop at its heart. The song also featured the vocals which were in line with the guitar. Classic Nirvana, according to Rutherford (1991) features heavy bridges, heavy choruses, and heavy drums and bass lines. Cohen (2009) specifically analyzed the song “In Bloom.” He states that the Nirvana sound was marked by distorted guitars with a thunderous sound, and singing that was more like screaming. This is the sound on the surface. The sound was also simplistic because, according to Cohen (2009), the harmonies were repetitive, the instrumental arrangements dogmatic, the rhythmic patterns were fixed, and the songs utilized basic strophic forms. Because of the seemingly simple level of the music, Cohen (2009) states that rock critics have been loathe to study the band, as they have been unable to find the complexity hidden beneath the simplistic surface of the band’s songs on Nevermind. That said, Cohen (2009) states that Nirvana did have complexity, in that they were unique and innovative, with harmonic idioms that hearkened back to traditional rock patterns with new harmonies. The trademarks of Nirvana, and its closely related cousins – Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam – are marked by use of the Phygian mode (minor mode with a lowered second degree), power chords, basic harmonies that blur the definition between minor and major keys, cross relations between sequential chords, and melodies and harmony that clash chromatically. Cohen (2009) chose In Bloom for special analysis, as it has a wider harmonic palette than most of the other songs on Nevermind. The song consists of two major musical sections – a verse and a refrain. There isn’t a bridge on this song, unlike most of the other songs on Nevermind. Each of the song sections follows the archetypal formal for rock bar numbers – each section is divided in phrases of four bars each, which repeat themselves melodically and harmonically, using different text. The song is dominated by the B flat major triad, which is exemplified in the melody of the song’s refrain, and also appear when the guitar enters in the middle of the verse in bar 25. Most of the chords in this song, according to Cohen (2005) use notes which are not a part of the scale, comprising one coherent harmonic system, based upon every step of the natural-minor scale. Most of the chords in this song are major chords, and most of them are flat – B flat major, D flat major, E flat major, G flat major and A flat major are predominant chords. Other chords are C major and F major. The verse in In Bloom has an unusual harmonic succession, according to Cohen (2005). The succession, which is drawn out through the contrapuntal-based bass line, uses descending major chords (B flat, G flat, D, B flat), which is broken up by a descending minor chords between G flat and E flat. The next descending major chords leads into C flat, so it misses the tonic and is resolved when the C flat chord is followed by the A chord, which creates a “double chromatic neighbor, which encircles the tonic before reaching it” (p. 8). Cohen (2005) states that this is a surprisingly resolution, as it is a resolution that is used by classical music. The chromatic nature of this series of chords contrasts with the series of thirds in the bass line, building a harmonic tension as the tonic is resolved. Cohen (2005) states that the logical choice in this series would be the A flat chord, instead of the A chord, and that Cobain’s usage of the A chord was inspired. Cohen (2005) surmises that Cobain’s usage of the A chord was intuitive. The intro’s bass line corresponds with the chromatic ending C flat-A-B flat- both present a chromatic approach to the tonic, and both use the chromatic note unusually. The two also feature an E sharp before an A flat, which makes the bass line sound rough. This, too, was from extensive guitar practice, according to Cohen (2005). Cohen (2005) states that another aspect of In Bloom is that there is a phrase difference between the text and the music. The textual phrases, according to Cohen (2005), appear to have shifted backward – each phrase begins on the last two notes of the previous musical phrase. This means that the over-regularity between the text/music correspondence is broken and is highlighted by strong closures of musical phrases. The refrain begins with different rhythmic discord – its first note begins at the last bar of the verse, and there is a one-bar shift which motivates text/music discord. Cohen (2005) states that the aforementioned musical elements changes this song from something that is hackneyed into something that is fresh and original. The song blends the domatic idioms that are well-recognized from previous rock songs, and blends them with distinctive, innovative musical ideas and structures. Some of these structures are borrowed from classical music. Even though the song has a repetitive harmonic succession and fixed rhythmic patterns, it also has strong, straight-forward momentum that is not weakened by the repetition or the fixation of the patterns. Nirvana’s next effort was entitled In Utero, and, according to the Wikimedia Foundation (2011), the sound for this album was intended as a complete divergence from the more polished sound that marked Nevermind. The sound that the band was shooting for was more abrasive and more natural. The band chose Steve Albini to product the album. Albini had a reputation as somebody who was principled and opinionated – Cobain chose him because he had produced two of Cobain’s favorite records, the Pixies Surfer Room and Pool by the Breeders. Cobain wanted to use in his recordings the ambiance of the room itself by placing microphones in the room, and Albini was willing to try this. Albini’s intention in making the album lined with Cobain. Albini thought that the music of Nevermind was too prosaic, too attuned to popular radio. The sound of the In Utero would be more visceral, natural and primal. Cobain’s vocals weren’t double-tracked on this album – he was captured, singing alone, in a resonant room. The drum sounds were sparse, and this was because several microphones picked up the drum sounds around the room while drummer Dave Grohl performed, which means that the room’s natural reverberations were picked up. Azzerrad (1993) states that the music of In Utero was abrasive and accessible, because the music was inspired by the upheavals in Cobain’s life during the recording of the album. Azzerrad (1993) also states that the album was less blending of the genres than Nevermind. While Nevermind featured songs that blended elements of pop, punk and rock, In Utero featured more songs that were one way or another. For instance, the song Dumb had a Beatlesque feel to it, so this song was more straightforward pop. The song Milk It, on the other hand, was more straightforward punk. Cobain considered that song, Milk It, to be experimental and aggressive, which is in keeping with the band’s overall direction for the album. However, even if the overall sound on In Utero was more chaotic than that of Nevermind, the song lyrics were not – Cobain stated that the songs on the album comprised a theme. Theme was never a large part of the Nevermind album. The themes on In Utero were sickness and disease – for instance, the song Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle was inspired by insane actress Frances Farmer’s biography; the song Scentless Apprentice was based upon a horror novel where the main character kills women and steals their scent (Wikimedia Foundation, 2011). Perhaps one of the most popular songs on this album is Heart Shaped Box. This song, like In Bloom above, and Dumb below, follows the archetypal formal for rock bar numbers – each section is divided in phrases of four bars each, which repeat themselves melodically and harmonically, using different text. The song opens with a five chord bass progression that repeats throughout the song. The song itself has alternating verses that go from melodic harmonies during the first verse that alternates with louder instrumentalities and screaming during the alternating verses. The guitars are soft during the softer verses, and the bass, with its simple progressive riff, is prominent. During the louder verses, the bass is less heard, and the lead guitar takes over. The lead guitar riffs during the louder verses are in harmony with the singing. During the louder verses, the drums are also very prominent, as these verses are marked by very loud beats. The drums are prominent during the softer verses as well, along with the bass riffs that are exactly the same throughout these softer verses. The way that the song is structured is that it goes from soft verse to loud verse to soft verse to loud verse – the soft verses have different lyrics to them, and the loud verses have the same lyrics to them. Then, the song progresses to an instrumental bridge. During this instrumental bridge, the lead guitar is more prominent than the bass, as are the drums. But the instrumental bridge has the same progressive chords that the lead guitar has all throughout the louder verses of the song. After the instrumental bridge, the song picks back up with a softer verses with the prominent bass chords and prominent beats. Therefore, the song picks up with the repetitive structure it had before the instrumental bridge – soft verse and loud verse. However, the loud verse had more repetition at the end of it, as the same lyric - “your advice” is repeated three times at the end of the very last verse. As for the lyrics of this song, the structure of the lyrics is A-B-C-B-A-B. The imagery that is invoked is one of disease and despair, and it is evidently a kind of twisted love song. The lyrics feature such lines as “I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black,” and also talks about “meat-eating orchids,” a “broken hymen” and angel hair and baby’s breath that are sharp enough to cut somebody. The refrain of the song issues a sarcastic rebuke – that the singer is “forever in debt to your priceless advice.” The song is, also, evidently about obsession – there is a reference to a “magnet tar pit” that draws the narrator in, and also a reference to an “umbilical noose.” The narrator also makes reference to being “weak,” and to being locked in somebody’s “heart shaped box for weeks.” The song Dumb, as mentioned before, has a Beatlesque feel to it. The song has a different structure than Heart Shaped Box. It also is different than Heart Shaped Box in that the song does not have the soft verse-loud verse structure of Heart Shaped Box. The structure of the song consists of simple bass chord progressions that repeat throughout the song. The lyrics are different during the musical refrain, which is different than Heart Shaped Box, which had the same lyrics during the refrains. Moreover, this song has a lyrical bridge, not just a musical one, which is also different from Heart Shaped Box. The song relies less on relentless drum beats than the Heart Shaped Box. As far as the lyrics structure goes, the structure is A-B-C-D-E-A-B-F – the “E” lyric is the musical bridge. Therefore, there is considerably less repetition in this song than in Heart Shaped Box. As with the Heart Shaped Box, though, the lyrics are depressing, and reflect a person with a depressed mind – the narrator apparently feels that he is dumb, and he also references a broken heart. Conclusion Nirvana was a short-lived band, because Kurt Cobain, who was the heart and tortured soul of Nirvana, was short-lived. Nevertheless, the band has had a profound influence. The melodies that the band uses are deceptively complex, because they feature innovations that are subtle, but apparent to the trained ear. While the band had influences that include punk, pop and rock, their songs also have subtle intonations of classical music. The music is reminiscent of Cobain’s influences, including The Pixies, The Beatles, and Sonic Youth. The band brought in the grunge movement, and its sound can still be heard today in the rantings of Green Day, Linkin Park, The White Stripes, Weezer, Stone Temples Pilots and Incubus. Nirvana is one of the most influential bands ever, and their innovation, combined with primal allure, is the reason for their success. Bibliography Azerrad, M. (1993) Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. New York: Doubleday. Cohen, G. (2009) Grunge music in bloom: Musical analysis of Nirvana’s hit. Available at: img2.tapuz.co.il/forums/1_125746550.pdf Cross, C. (2001) Heavier than Heaven: The Biography of Kurt Cobain. New York: Hyperion. Rutherford, P. (1991) Nirvana-Nevermind Review. Anti-Music.com. Available at: www.antimusic.com/featurees/05/classics-nivana.shtml Wikimedia Foundation (2011) Nirvana: The Complete Guide, Kindle Version, accessed 30 Jan. 2013 from Google Books. Read More