Throwback Thursday: Nirvana MTV Unplugged
Vampire Weekend’s latest MTV Unplugged performance immediately brought back to memory perhaps the most famous show of the series, Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York for this Throwback Thursday. The show was recorded November 18th, 1993 and was the first Nirvana record released after Kurt Cobain’s death in the spring of 1994. The show is shrouded by an eerie atmosphere, Cobain was going through drug withdrawal and the set is designed much like a funeral.
The performance was reaired many times on MTV after Cobain’s death, and the album sold 5 million copies in 1997. We’ve chosen their cover of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World.” This performance best shows Cobain, and Nirvana’s, range in songwriting and performance, they could thrash or play affected acoustic music. Plus it was my first exposure of Bowie’s song, and like any good cover song, it expands upon the original and creates a new meaning for the song.
How does Vampire Weekend’s performance compare? Is it a good comeback for the series?
- Kevin McCaul
What Do Vampire Weekend And Nirvana Have In Common?
The Columbia University grads Vampire Weekend‘s sophomore album Contra is out today. The guys have given out from MP3 downloads of tracks, released goofy music videos, and hit the late night TV circuit, and now you can finally hear the album for yourself. The new album features maturer lyrics, an enhanced sound palette, some autotune and sampling experimentation (an M.I.A. sample?), and their signature charming pop songs.
What was our favorite promotional stop along the way? It’s gotta be their recent MTV Unplugged Performance. Vampire Weekend nows joins a group of artists that includes R.E.M., Nirvana, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, and Jay-Z to have played Unplugged performances. MTV’s Unplugged was recently revived this summer with performances from Adele, Silversun Pickups, and Katy Perry. Check out their performance of Contra track “White Sky” below (featuring a nice group of strings!).
- Kevin McCaul
New Vampire Weekend
The New York-based indie rockers, Vampire Weekend are set to release a new album called Contra in January! With their first album clearly being a huge hit, I think we are all expecting big things from Contra. They’ve made a video, which you can watch below, for their new single “Cousins.” Seems like VP is back to their old tricks of fusing catchy beats with Afro-pop. Do you think this new album will live up to the hype? We’re sure excited to see!
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