Really should analyze Nirvana cover of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" from their MTV Unplugged performance.

“I was simply blown away when I found that Kurt Cobain liked my work, and have always wanted to talk to him about his reasons for covering ‘The Man Who Sold the World’” and that it was a good straight forward rendition and sounded somehow very honest. It would have been nice to have worked with him, but just talking with him would have been real cool.” -David Bowie P.S. Kurt does actually technically screw up the solo by one fret as he prophesized, but it just sounds cooler.

YES!!!! This unplugged album is one of my all time favorites!!! Front to back, just amazing!

I've always considered this the greatest of mtv's unplugged, possibly one of the best rock shows on tape.

As a teenager in the 90's this entire set made music so accessible in terms of actually learning. The songbook was everything and gave me a platform to teach myself enough to float a 15yr career as a musician, creating my own style and sound along the way.

This version by Nirvana stirs my emotions and brings me to tears each time I listen to it.

"learn how not to play the guitar" was a quote of Robert Johnson that Kurt hung over his bed. About finding your voice and making it a part of you through not just doing it technically correct...I expect that that thinking carried into everything, as it should, including his singing.

Kurt was never concerned about being "technically perfect" in either his vocals or his guitar playing. That was such a huge part of his charm for us Nirvana fans and what set him and Nirvana apart from so many other bands and artists

Thanks for this great review. This whole performance is legendary of course. As far as your next Nirvana song, I'll put my vote in for Lounge Act. Incredible sound and lyrics on that one! Thank you!

Analyzing “Lithium” would be awesome! Personally, I think it’s the song that best defines what Nirvana was. The soft/loud/soft/loud dynamic fits that track to perfection, while Cobain shows off his side vocal range masterfully. Can’t wait to watch that analysis video.

This song always reminds me of when I was deployed to Mogudishu in '93 and '95. We played this CD over and over again (in '95) on a shitty little boom box. Every time I hear this song I can feel the heat, the hot wind, the smells and sounds of being there. Not the greatest memory, but still a memory.

I love the tone on Cobain's guitar and the solo.

The yodel relayed the pain in his soul. It’s achy and awesome and appropriate

Watching your passion and energy express on your face is really refreshing. You can tell you get up each day and love endeavoring in your vocation. Thanks for sharing your skill and expertise for our entertainment.

With this performance, Dave Grohl made the transformation from caveman to *civilized* caveman (if only for a moment). 😄Nonchalance was really the defining characteristic of the genre and subculture. "No matter what, do NOT look or sound like you're actually trying!" That relaxed "laziness" is something that was heard in Staley's vocals, too - bigtime. It's one of the things I always loved about Kurt's voice. Completely effortless, even when he was screaming. Those barely perceptible voice breaks/"yodels," too - glad you commented on them!

Lithium is an awesome song. You can tell when he is in lithium and when he is off in the vocals. It helps level your emotional state. Keeps you from mantic highs and lows.

This has always been one of my favrotie albums they did - you really need to watch/listen to the last track - Where did you sleep last night. Talk about haunting.

My personal fave from this performance. And you honed in straight away on what is great about it. Very relaxed but with a hint a dark menace.

It’s hard to not think about his mental state when he did this concert. The Man Who Sold the World was a really personal song for him, it was about himself. The day after he died, MTV played this concert again and again. It’s hard not to think that he had already made up his mind and that informed the performance. Many people point to a moment at the end of Where did You Sleep Last Night at the end of this concert that he allowed the enormity and finality of his decision to come through. Watching it now is harrowing but informative. Unplugged is my favorite album of theirs because Kurt is at his most transparent.

Your eyes have mesmerized written all over them the moment he started moving his lips. He had that effect on us.

Unbelievable performance all these years later 🏆🏆❤️❤️

This was the first album I bought with my own money. Picked it up at a small used record shop in ‘94 or ‘95. To this day it is still one of my favorite albums. Love hearing your analysis of this song as well as Pearl Jam.

I love that you take into account the all aspects of the performance when reacting to the singing. The singing is done in context of lyrics, stage presence, the other instruments, etc.

the last song on the Unplugged performance (Where Did You Sleep Last Night) is really good as well, id love if you react to it too

Next we get David Bowie, right?😊😊😊 Bowie's original of this song is of course wonderful, but I always wish a vocal analyst would react to Bowie at the height of his vocal powers: Wild is the Wind from the album Station to Station or maybe the live version of the song Station to Station from 1978. Anything from around that era really. Pretty please?

You HAVE to do "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" from this same performance on MTV Unplugged.

I love when music is not perfect. I love to hear all the imperfections. It makes the music feel real

I Love that you are doing reviews on alternative music. Here is a suggestion that you may or may not have heard but one of my favorite bands of all time is Blind Melon. The song "Change" is a great showcase of Shannon Hoon's abilities. You will love the range that this man had.

There is something vivid about him that "cuts through" in every performance.

Great review Bethany. A good reminder that a great vocalist does not have to hit all the notes. They have a given instrument, of whatever quality, and the manner in which they use it provides the character of their songs. Most of my favorite singers are not pitch perfect superheroes but use their voice to add the rawness, urgency, or emotionality that music requires. Thanks as always.

BINGO and EUREKA!!! Always wondered where Kurt's mind came from and here we are A gorgeous David Bowie song. I heard you say " Great cover" so I'm guessing you heard the original. Nice!! It was said on another channel that it was said,,,, NIRVANA Killed Metal! One of the dumbest statements ever. When Kurt arrived the "Market" was flooded with Glam Jam Pop Metal bands so when NIRVANA showed it was a slaughter house!! Being a Rock Heavy Rock/ METAL HEAD I was fine with that!! The lyrics of BOWIE is SOOOOO damn EL-O-QUENT it's mind blowing. I wish there was a channel like this that also broke down lyrics and started with the first 100 David Bowie songs. Great Stuff Bethany!! Peace 🕊️☮️♾️😎

Kurt being slightly out of tune or off made his voice one of a kind. Was he a singer like Chris Cornell or Layne Staley, absolutely not but somehow his voice was perfect. It seemed to come from pain than resonated that to this day still resonates with me. I was so lucky to be a teenager when grunge was at its peak. A perfect example is ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night’ as others have pointed out. Thank you for your videos.

Another one of my fav bands! As a teenager I didn't have the same appreciation for his music as I do now. However I have always found his voice soothing and a feeling of peace in this song. I also appreciate the body language and the message behind the way he sings the words. Thank you

"Where Did You Sleep Last Night", "All Apologies", and "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam", all from Unplugged. On another unrelated note, have you listened to Portishead ?

The reason we all gravitated to Kurt was because we were tired of slick fake studio creations and he (and others) gave us real genuine emotion. This whole performance was raw emotion. My other favorite Unplugged was The Cure. That's another example of real genuine emotion, but with a smile on your face rather than what Kurt was going through.

Thanks, as always for your insight!!!! Happy Holidays, Bethany!!!

Also, you are so thoughtful and insightful! Most reaction videos are just people saying whether or not they liked it, and that’s about it. No clue why anybody would watch someone watch something and mumble some monosyllabic nothing at the end. I can feel that you are passionate about what you’re doing, and you really weigh every inflection.

THIS song is a great jam! That opening guitar riff is so good!

I love when you review the 90's rock. Have you had may request for STP? Plush would be a good start

Kurt's voice effortlessly slips into falsetto as though he straddles all dimensions at the same time and just appears and disappears between them in a fluid morph. This is one of the absolutely unique hallmarks of his vocals. The man was an enigma. Like Hendrix's guitar personified in voice.

I think "Lithium" could be a fascinating review. I always found the combination of lyrics so poetic, and there are some great moments in the way his voice is supported by the bass line and the drumming around the phrase "I'm not going to crack." For other suggestions, I've always been fascinated by Nirvana's "Sliver," but I think the songs "School" and "Drain You" might also be intriguing to you as well!

What I rally like about you is that you're spontaneous and when you hear something you like is evident looking at your face.

absolutely no complaints hearing that stellar bass line half a dozen times

This is hands down one of my all time favorite songs.. I used to listen to it over and over when I was a kid.. on my walkman portable CD player.. I thought I was so cool lol

Good point about nasal and lazy. The irony is that folks like Kurt and Bob Dylan can convey so much more soul and authenticiy than most other pop singers. This performance showed he was so much more than a screamer and thrasher. Cannot believe 30 years ago, seems like a minute ago.

David Bowie said of Nirvana's cover: "I simply blown away when I found that Kurt Cobain liked my work, and have always wanted to talk to him about his reasons for covering 'The Man Who Sold The World" and that "it was a good straight forward rendition and sounded somehow very honest.

It is such a fantastic rendition. Bowie described his 19 year old (I think) self singing this in a trance like state in the early 70s... and then Nirvana put their brand on a very different version in arrangement and vocals. This whole unplugged set was a gift.

There is a version of this song in the special edition In Utero album that is from one of their concerts. He actually is yelling the guitar/ cello solo you hear in the unplugged version. It sounds phenomenal!

You've done Kurt, you've done Layne and you've done Chris - you've left (arguably) the best to last. Kurt Cobain's good friend and something of a mentor to the young singer - the legendary Mark Lanegan. Mark was the singer with The Screaming Trees - a band with an uncomfortable connection to the grunge scene, by the time it broke, they'd moved on to a much bigger sound. Check out "Shadow of the Season" or "Nearly Lost You" - or Mark's solo version of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" with Kurt on backing vocals (years before Nirvana's unplugged session).

I loved MTV Unplugged. Most bands today couldn't do an acoustic set of their music to save their life. My two favorites were Nirvana and KISS. You should also react to KISS performing their Unplugged version of "I Still Love You". Paul Stanley was at his vocal best for this performance.

David Bowie had not played this song in years, from his 1970 album. Yet, he played it at concerts after Kurt’s death. Read in an interview, that he appreciated the respect given to this overlooked tune - and he wished he knew Kurt. Neil Young, and Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) were musicians Kurt called, and talked with. At the time, Kurt didn’t seek help. I was in college in 1991, when a friend who was at our campus radio, called me in, that I hear this new music. He knew I would “get it” - Smells like Teen Spirit! Yeah, I was an early Nirvana fan. I don’t often play their CD’s these days.

New follower. She's great, the music is amazing!

I wish you would do the entire performance, I can get you a complete no-ads video. It's the performance I adore most as the ultimate Nirvana fan, at 45 years old. I watch it at least twice a year, and anytime I need a boost of emotion. I truly love your channel, thank you for all you're doing, it's great. (EDIT: I agree with other posters, PLEASE if you don't do the entire performance, at least do the final song "Where Did you Sleep Last Night" -- it's the place you can truly feel Kurt's pain and everything about him, truly transformative, and as a true vocalist, I think you'll truly enjoy it.)

I would love a review of ANY of the songs of that unplugged album it is simply FANTASTIC such a shane we didnt get anymore from Kurt because I feel he was really coming into his own as an artist, who knows what rlse he could of and would of done!!😢

Kurt's tone/vocal approach reminds me of Micheal Stipe's (REM's), Losing My Religion for some reason.

Very good job on this, Bethany!

I love Nirvana! But this woman is sooooo wonderful and beautiful! I love this channel.

It's the encapsulation of the hippie times, relaxing and unapologetic, was a sad loss losing kurt Cobain,

Nice reaction this is a legendary concert

All I can say is I grew up listening to Nirvana. I will say the way Kurt Cobain sang, was like that. That was all him and he still to this day even after he died, he is the greatest influencer in the 90s. He brought an entire new genre to the 90s rock. I also know that his favorite performer was a blues singer that went by Led Belly. When you get a chance listen to Led Belly performing the song, "My Girl." Then listen to Nirvana's cover, "My Girl" live, and then you can see how Kurt was influenced as originally a blues player and just made it his own.

In David Bowie's version, he is singing from the perspective of the guy talking about the man who sold the world, in Nirvana's version, Kurt Cobain IS the man who sold the world. A completely different perspective.

The memories that this song congers up in me is surreal, a sublime time when I had such immense happiness in the USA. Listening to this song whilst driving on the country roads of Ohio with my lady next to me. It funny how a single song can provide such visceral feelings . Why is this world so cruel and complex?

also love kurt's "yelps" in his vocals lol i call them yelps instead of yodels

Loved this one! You should do "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" from the same concert. He is definitely "chalant" in that one!

He's pretty much singing and playing it like the way David Bowie wrote and performed it. Back in 1970 Bowie gave it a psychedelic laid back sound and Nirvana is just sticking to the folk acoustic sound, well is Nirvana Unplugged after all.

You WILL enjoy hearing "Ghost" but not the famous "Mary on a cross" but some songs like "Cirice" or "Rats" that showcases more of what they normally make, Recommend A LOT "Cirice" from them

Wowzers.

That jam out at the end always gets me, it was the same watching this live as a 9 year old on mtv here in New Zealand with my older cousin and his band

Спасибо за Нирвану! Курт, вечная память!

You should listen to the unplugged version of all apologies, the emotion is so intenses, sad and beautiful at the same time.

I would characterize Cobain's vocal performance here as "sedate", quite restrained. The relatively focused - or limited - dynamic range does support a dreamier, ethereal, melancholic air to the song. Still, he demonstrates his inimitable breathiness and trademark "cracks" in some of his linguistic transitions. Lithium would be a great one that highlights more of Cobain's range, edge, and assertiveness! Cool track on the whole.

Hey Bethany I love everything you're putting out! I have a suggestion or two and I feel like this is a good rendezvous point. I know you've heard a little bit of tool but there's a song that is by David Bowie, Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A perfect circle & Puscifer) called "Bring me the disco king." It's one of those like incredible surprising song that is also one of David's final acts. I would love to hear what you think about it. Also maybe not appropriate to double suggest but the band "Sleep Token" has become almost instantaneously one of the most beautiful bands that I've ever heard and incredibly unique. I recommend "chokehold" - It's just like Gah vocally so striking and sort of playful. Anyway keep doing what you're doing 😊

Classic!!!

Hey, I got here early enough to read all of the comments. May I recommend LP lost on you (live)

Written by David bowie

Love watching you find music I'm hunting down from my childhood. You should really check out shinedowns older music, especially their simple man cover. Also, if I was your vampire from Marylin Manson.

Hi Bethany, wanted to let you know that I appreciate hearing your perspective on each of the singers/bands that you react to it has been interesting to get a different point of view on some artists As some others I have seen have done, I wanted to ask that you take a minute to listen and react to most anything that Voctave has done. However considering the season I'd like to specifially suggest "Mary, did you know?" featuring Mark Lowry. Ideally you don't have too many videos already in the can so you can put this request into rotation in short order. Thank you!

Love your take

While the quality of the available recordings isn’t great, I’d recommend listening to David Bowie’s 1979 live performance of The Man Who Sold The World on Saturday Night Live when he was backed by Joey Arias and Klaus Nomi. There are these moments when Klaus’ voice rises out of the song like sunshine for a moment.

Hola , muchas gracias por esta reaccion , saludos desde BS AS SRGENTINA , saludos

90s Seattle yarls. I don’t miss it, will never hate it, and will absolutely yarl along with it in the car. It’s its own sort of special.

She is such a beauty 😍

Definitely a great cover. Cobain's hoarse screams concealed a great vocalist and composer. BTW, there was some epic performances of Diana Ankudinova. The last one was Dune (Paul's Dream) from Art of Hans Zimmer show. Also older The Show Must Go on in duo could be interesting for vocal analysis.

Radio Friendly Unit Shifter from Nirvana’s live New Year’s Eve show would be an awesome video to react to. A 180 degree difference in intensity from The Man Who Sold the World.

Kurt was just so tragic but so good

Heart Shaped Box

I enjoi your content , I'm working on getting tool tickets , not cause of you , great review by the way . They play here in a month and a half . This song I would listen to during a period in my life , his voice the instruments . Were deep. Thank you @TheVocalist. Maybe afi morning star anything really off the December album. Then again u may have already . Ok ur video is about to start .shhhh.everyone quiet

Please listen to David Grohl!!!!!!!!! AKA Foo Fighters! I loved watching him on the drums during this live performance!

You need to get the album into the wild written by Eddie vedder it's a movie that was put out and he wrote the music for it and it's beautiful

Your smile is infectious. Love the reactions

Just found your channel. Awesome work. Will you do Coheed and Cambria?

You MUST react to "Where did you sleep last night" from this unplugged show, if you haven't already... Please

It's art. It surely doesn't require any further analysis than, "It is what it is and that Cobain fucker was deft at his craft.......right?". The best of a good crop.

Imagine people listening to this music for the first time in 2023. Well, I guess it's inevitable... considering how time works.

Part II 😁 Man I do this a lot. To clarify basically Pop Metal killed Metal. POISON was the poison! If they hadn't lost their substance they hadn't be lost. 🕊️☮️

he was a major writer for journal and diary entry he wrote all his thoughts and visual arts. not many famous people write anything down for later, which is sad

What really sucks about Kurt.At the end he was moving into another direction musically.We got to see a glimpse during unplugged.He also stated he wanted to go into a more acoustic like Johnny Cash he mentioned.Its like a blend of old blue grass folk and alternative.He wanted to work with Michael from REM.Nso he was on his way creating another new genre of music.This don't sound like anything out there

The term you were looking for at 1:47 was "laid back" maybe?

Scentless apprentice shows another side of his vocals and is absolutely terrifying.

I've always thought that you can hear Kurt's voice develop over years though his albums. In Utero and that MTV Live concert are probably the ones that best show off his vocals. For something popular on In Utero, I'd look at something like Heart-Shaped Box, or All Apologies. All though it would be interesting for you to look at a song from each of the albums starting with Bleach and see what your thoughts are on it.