Blew
"Blew" is a song by the 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 by the Tupelo record label as the title track of a four-song Nirvana EP in the United Kingdom in November 1989 where it charted at number 15 on the UK Indie Singles chart.
Origin and recording
Written in 1988, "Blew" was first performed live at the Community World Theatre in Tacoma, Washington on March 19, 1988. The song was first recorded in the studio by Jack Endino at Reciprocal Recording Studios in Seattle, Washington in June 1988, during the recording sessions for what became the band's debut single, "Love Buzz." It was re-recorded during the Bleach sessions in December 1988 by Endino at Reciprocal.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." Not realizing that they had already tuned to their favored Drop D 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."
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 current European tour, but the EP was delayed and released exclusively in the United Kingdom after the tour was over. 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 #15 on the UK Indie chart.
"Blew" remained one of only three songs from Bleach, along with "About a Girl" and "School," which the band performed until their dissolution in April 1994. It was performed for the final time live at Nirvana's last show, at Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany on March 1, 1994, as the second-to-last song, preceding "Heart-Shaped Box."
Composition and lyrics
In his 1993 Nirvana biography , Azerrad described the song as having a "theme of entrapment and control."Release and reception
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."In 2015, Rolling Stone's listed "Blew" at number 22 on their ranking of 102 Nirvana songs.
The Blew EP
The Blew EP was released in November 1989 on Tupelo Records on 12" vinyl and compact disc. With a working title of Winnebago., the EP was originally intended to be released to promote an upcoming European tour, but this plan was abandoned, and the maxi-single ended up being released exclusively in the United Kingdom shortly after its completion.The Blew EP was released only in the UK and was difficult to obtain elsewhere. Only 3,000 copies of the maxi-single were pressed on 12" vinyl and CD. Both vinyl and CD counterfeit copies exist, with the vinyl copies varying in color. The official 12" vinyl was pressed only on black vinyl.
"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, remained a rarity until it was re-released in October 2002 on the band's first best-of compilation, Nirvana.
Track listing
- "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 of Bleach being replaced by "Big Cheese" instead which was 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. A different version appeared on the 1992 compilation, Incesticide.
- "Stain" was later released on Incesticide.
Charts
Recording and release history
Demo and studio versions
Live versions
| Date recorded | Venue | Releases | Personnel |
| February 9, 1990 | Pine Street Theatre, Portland, Oregon | Bleach |
|
| October 31, 1991 | Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA | Live at the Paramount | |
| November 25, 1991 | Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands | From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! |
|
| August 30, 1992 | Reading Festival, Reading, England | Live at Reading | |
| December 13, 1993 | Pier 48, Seattle, Washington | Live and Loud |
Personnel
Nirvana- Kurt Cobain – guitar, vocals
- Krist Novoselic – bass guitar
- Chad Channing – drums
- Jack Endino – production for "Blew" and "Love Buzz"
- Steve Fisk – production for "Stain" and "Been a Son"
Covers
- Japanese musician Miyavi has covered the song.
- American pop-punk band The Ergs! covered the song on their Blue EP.
- Northern Irish alternative rock band Ash covered the song, releasing it on their Numbskull EP in 1999.
- Istanbul rock band Direc-t's singer Bilge Kosebalaban has covered the song.