NIRVANA: The Final Kurt?
April 19th, 1997
www.nme.com

FOO FIGHTERS' singer and former NIRVANA drummer DAVE GROHL has said that there will be new releases from the Nirvana vaults. Speaking to Vox magazine about last year's live compilation, 'From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah', he said: "It's not the last thing you're ever gonna see from Nirvana. There are reissues and remasters from The Doors and Led Zeppelin - those are ridiculous examples because those bands are totally legendary - but when a band comes to a halt, and hasn't run its full course, there is a need for more. Look at what The Beatles did with 'Free As A Bird'. You know what, I actually liked the melody of it." However, Grohl dismissed the idea that he and bass player Krist Novoselic would ever play over previously unheard Kurt Cobain demos.

"Fuck no, we wouldn't do that. But there's some stuff that people haven't heard. Someone . asked me that the other day, if there were eight songs that no-one's ever heard. I said, 'No, I don't think so'. I started thinking about it. I don't fucking remember. There could be. It's a bit of a blur." There are at least three unreleased demo versions of Cobain songs made shortly before his death. They are 'Talk To Me', 'Opinion' and one untitled track, described by Courtney Love as sounding "a bit White Album". All three have surfaced on Nirvana bootlegs. They were recorded at Cobain's home, with him playing acoustic guitar. Love has previously said she wanted Cobain's friend and Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan to record 'Opinion', and Iggy Pop to do 'Talk To Me'.

There are also hours of unreleased live material and some studio demos and outtakes which have turned up on bootlegs. While Krist Novoselic chiefly compiled 'From The Muddy Banks...', Grohl, who was touring with the Foo Fighters, was consulted. "For the most part, it's like a diary or a scrapbook," said Grohl. "It's nice to have perspective and nice to have a feeling of growth and progression. Just to listen back to the tape you made when you were 13 years old and to think, 'Wow - I can't believe that I played like this'. Whereas with Nirvana, you look back and think, 'God, I can't believe I had anything to do with this. I can't believe that's me playing the drums'. It's an honour, y'know? And it's something I hold in a very high place. So in that sense, yeah, it's great to listen to it because I feel very proud. But there are certain things that I can't listen to, or things that I can't think about." Grohl did not rule out the possibility of a live album compiled by him, but said he had no immediate plans.

He also said that a track called 'My Hero' from the upcoming Foo Fighters album, 'The Color And The Shape', was inspired by Kurt. "It's about having friends you consider your hero and they're just ordinary people. And sometimes there are people you know and you're connected to what other people consider to be a fucking god, whereas you know this person as a human being. And he can be your hero in that way. There's definitely an element of Kurt in that song. It was probably inspired by him. That was probably my realisation that these people who are normal human beings can be way more than a famous figure."

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