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Blew

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This article is about a rock song and/or an EP. For people with the surname "Blew", see Blew (surname).
Blew
EP by
Nirvana
ReleasedNovember 1989 (1989-11)[1]
RecordedJune/December 1988 (side one)
September 1989 (side two)[2]
Genre
Length11:32
LabelTupelo
Producer
Nirvana chronology
Love Buzz
(1988) 		Blew
(1989) 		Sliver
(1990)
"Blew"
Song by Nirvana
from the album Bleach
ReleasedJune 15, 1989 (1989-06-15)
RecordedDecember 1988
StudioReciprocal Recordings (Seattle, Washington)
Genre
Length2:56
LabelSub Pop
Songwriter(s)Kurt Cobain
Producer(s)Jack Endino
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]

"Blew" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the first song on the band's debut album Bleach, released in June 1989 by Sub Pop.

The song was re-released on Tupelo Records as the title track of a four-song EP in the United Kingdom in November 1989, where it charted at number 15 on the UK Indie Singles chart.[6][7]

Background and recording

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"Blew" was first performed live at the Community World Theatre in Tacoma, Washington, on March 19, 1988. This was also the first show the band played with their name as Nirvana.[8]

The song was first recorded in the studio by Jack Endino at Reciprocal Recording Studios in Seattle, Washington on June 11, 1988,[9] during the recording sessions for what became the band's debut single, "Love Buzz".

Bleach

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A second studio version was recorded by Endino at Reciprocal in December 1988, and was released on Bleach on June 15, 1989.

The Bleach version of "Blew" was accidentally recorded one step lower than the band had intended, which contributed to what Nirvana biographer Michael Azerrad called its "extraordinarily heavy sound".[10] Not realizing that they had already tuned to their favored D Standard tuning, the band tuned further down to Drop C on the first day of the sessions and recorded several songs in that tuning. As bassist Krist Novoselic recalled in a 2009 Seattle Times article, "we came back the next day and decided the idea wasn't so hot, and we recorded over most of it with things tuned back up a little. In fact, 'Blew', with that growly bass, is the only survivor of that experiment."[11]

Blew EP

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The Bleach version of "Blew" was re-released on the Blew EP in November 1989, along with the Bleach mix of "Love Buzz" and the previously-unreleased songs "Been a Son" and "Stain", which had been recorded by Steve Fisk at Music Source in Seattle, Washington in September 1989. The band's original plan had been to release an EP to promote their upcoming European tour, but the EP was delayed and released exclusively in the United Kingdom a few days before the final tourdate in London. However, the EP built on the interest the band had generated in the UK with Bleach, and was promoted by English DJ John Peel, who had also played Bleach on his influential show. The Blew EP eventually peaked at number 15 on the UK Indie chart.[6][7]

Post-Bleach

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"Blew" was one of only three songs from Bleach, along with "About a Girl" and "School", that remained in the bands setlists until the end of their touring career. It was performed live for the final time in Munich, Germany on March 1, 1994, as the second-to-last song preceding "Heart-Shaped Box".

Composition and lyrics

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In his 1993 Nirvana biography Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Azerrad described the song as having a "theme of entrapment and control."[10]

Release and reception

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In 2009, Novoselic said that "Blew" was perhaps his favorite song on Bleach "because it has a groove, and again, it's the sole survivor of the Doom Pop experiment."[11]

In 2015, Rolling Stone listed "Blew" at number 22 on their ranking of 102 Nirvana songs.[12] In 2023, the A.V. Club ranked it at number 29 in their list of Nirvana's "30 greatest songs.[13]

EP

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The Blew EP was released in November 1989 on Tupelo Records on 12-inch vinyl and CD. With a working title of Winnebago,[14] the EP was originally intended as a release to promote an upcoming European tour, but due to production delays, [15] the maxi-single ended up being released exclusively in the United Kingdom a few days before the tour's completion.

Released exclusively in the UK, the EP was difficult to obtain elsewhere, with only 3,000 copies of the maxi-single pressed on 12-inch vinyl and CD. Both vinyl and CD counterfeit copies exist, with the vinyl copies varying in color. The official 12-inch vinyl was pressed only on black vinyl. The cover art was photographed by Cobain's then-girlfriend Tracy Marander at a May 26, 1989 concert at the Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington.[16] Marander shot the back cover photo as well.

"Stain" was re-released by DGC Records in December 1992, on the band's rarities compilation, Incesticide. The Blew version of "Been a Son", hailed by Kurt St. Thomas as the "definitive take" due to its trashy sound and pronounced bass solo,[17] remained a rarity until it was re-released in October 2002 on the band's first best-of compilation, Nirvana.[18]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Kurt Cobain, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Blew" 2:56
2."Love Buzz" (Shocking Blue cover)Robbie van Leeuwen3:36
Total length:6:32
Side two
No.TitleLength
3."Been a Son"2:22
4."Stain"2:38
Total length:5:00 11:32
  • "Blew" and "Love Buzz" were previously released on Nirvana's 1989 debut album Bleach, but "Love Buzz" was not included on the original 1989 UK version. In its place was "Big Cheese", the B-side to the US "Love Buzz" single. Therefore, the Blew EP was the first time that "Love Buzz" was officially released in the UK. However, "Love Buzz" was included on the 1992 UK re-issue of Bleach.
  • "Been a Son" was later released on the 2002 "best-of" compilation, Nirvana. An alternate version appeared on the 1992 compilation, Incesticide.
  • "Stain" was later released on Incesticide.

Charts

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Chart (1989) Peak
position
UK Indie Singles (MRIB)[6][7] 15
UK Indie Singles (NME)[19] 8

Accolades

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Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2023 The A.V. Club United States Essential Nirvana: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked[20] 29

Other releases

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  • A live version, recorded at the Pine Street Theatre in Portland, Oregon on February 9, 1990, was released in November 2009 on the 20th anniversary "Deluxe" version of Bleach, which featured the complete Pine Street show as bonus material.
  • A live version, recorded at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on October 31, 1991, appeared on the live video Live at the Paramount, released in September 2011.
  • A live version, recorded at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands on November 25, 1991, appeared as the final track on the live compilation, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, in November 1996. Video of this version of the song was released in November 2006, when it appeared on the bonus disc of DVD release of Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!. The full Paradiso show was released on CD and Blu Ray on the 30th anniversary "Deluxe" and "Super Deluxe" versions of Nevermind in November 2021.
  • The 30th anniversary "Deluxe" and "Super Deluxe" versions of Nevermind also featured live performances of "Blew" from the band's shows at The Palace in Melbourne, Australia on February 1, 1992, and the Nakano Sunplaza in Tokyo, Japan on February 19, 1992.
  • A live version, from the band's appearance at the 1992 Reading Festival in Reading, England on August 30, 1992, was released on CD and DVD on Live at Reading in November 2009.
  • A live version, from the band's performance on December 13, 1993 at Pier 48 in Seattle, Washington, recorded for MTV, was released on the live video Live and Loud in September 2013.
  • Two live versions of "Blew," from the band's concerts at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California on December 30, 1993, and at the Seattle Center Arena in Seattle on January 7, 1994, appear on the 30th anniversary "Super Deluxe" reissue of Nirvana's final studio album, In Utero, released in October 2023.[21][22]

Personnel

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Nirvana

Production

  • Jack Endino – production for "Blew" and "Love Buzz"
  • Steve Fisk – production for "Stain" and "Been a Son"

Additional Personnel

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Borzillo-Vrenna, Carrie (2003). Nirvana - The Day to Day Illustrated Journals (1st ed.). Barnes & Noble. p. 49. ISBN 0-7607-4893-4.
  2. ^ Gaar, Gillan (2012). Entertain Us (1st ed.). Jawbone. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-906002-89-3.
  3. ^ Danaher, Michael (August 4, 2014). "The 50 Best Grunge Songs". Paste. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  4. ^ Gerard, Chris (April 6, 2021). "The 100 Best Alternative Singles of the 1980s: 80 - 61". PopMatters. p. 2. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  5. ^ "Nirvana: Blew EP". AllMusic.
  6. ^ a b c Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1989. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 978-0-9517206-9-1. OCLC 38292499. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ a b c "Charts - Indie Singles". Melody Maker. MRIB. November 18, 1989. p. 35. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "1988-03-19 Community World Theatre show".
  9. ^ "Love Buzz sessions".
  10. ^ a b Azerrad, Michael (1994). Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday. p. 100. ISBN 0-385-47199-8.
  11. ^ a b Novoselic, Krist (October 27, 2009). "Bleach: Krist Novoselic Interviews Chad Channing". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  12. ^ Bienstock, Richard (April 8, 2015). "No Apologies: All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  13. ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (September 21, 2023). "Essential Nirvana: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  14. ^ "Live Nirvana | Interview Archive | 1989 | August ??, 1989 - Olympia, WA, US".
  15. ^ Borzillo-Vrenna, Carrie (2003). Nirvana - The Day to Day Illustrated Journals (1st ed.). Barnes & Noble. p. 49. ISBN 0-7607-4893-4.
  16. ^ "Live Nirvana | Concert Chronology | 1989 | May 26, 1989 - Lindbloom Student Center, Green River Community College, Auburn, WA, US".
  17. ^ St. Thomas, Kurt (2004). Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects. New York City: St. Martin's Press. p. 54. ISBN 0312206631.
  18. ^ Gaar, Gillian G (March 31, 2020). "A look at Nirvana's collectible recordings". Goldmine. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  19. ^ "Charts". NME. November 18, 1989. p. 60. Retrieved June 15, 2022. Bleu
  20. ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (September 21, 2023). "Essential Nirvana: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  21. ^ Monroe, Jazz. "Nirvana Reissuing In Utero With 2 Unreleased Live Albums for 30th Anniversary". Pitchfork. No. 5 September 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  22. ^ Deaux, John (September 5, 2023). "Nirvana In Utero: 30th anniversary multi-format reissues arrive October 27, 2023". allabouttherock.co.uk. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
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