Listen to Circa Survive Cover Nirvana

Nirvana made an impact on the music world and no one would deny that, especially the people behind Robotic Empire.

The label previously put out a vinyl of Nirvana covers titled In Utero: In Tribute which according to them sold out when it was released on Record Store Day last year. This Record Store Day, the label will once again be doing the same thing.

This year’s Nirvana compilation will be titled Whatever, Nevermind and will feature bands such as La Dispute, Torche, Touche Amore, and the band whose contribution can be qualified as the first single off the album, Circa Survive.

Circa got the task of covering Nirvana’s “Drain You,” which can be heard below.

In an interview with Alternative Press, Circa guitarist Brendan Ekstrom said the following about getting the chance to cover the iconic band.

“There are different ways to approach covering a band. For us, doing a Nirvana song takes us back to a very raw place that we were in when we were young and just falling in love with music. We didn’t want to say ‘here’s what this song would’ve sounded like if Circa wrote it.’ It was way more fun for us to live in their energy and pay homage to their influence by just rocking the shit out of it and keeping it raw.”

Whatever, Nevermind will be available on April 18 (Record Store Day) while pre-orders of the record are currently available on the label’s website.

Check out the full tracklist below.

WHATEVER NEVERMIND COMPILATION TRACKLIST:

01. Young Widows – Smells Like Teen Spirit
02. Torche – In Bloom
03. Kylesa – Come As You Are
04. Cave In – Breed
05. Boris – Lithium
06. La Dispute – Polly
07. White Reaper – Territorial Pissings
08. Circa Survive – Drain You
09. Touche Amore – Lounge Act
10. Wrong – Stay Away
11. Pygmy Lush – On A Plain
12. Nothing – Something In The Way
13. Thou – Endless, Nameless / Even In His Youth (Bonus Tracks)

Authorized Kurt Cobain Documentary is Happening

We’ve seen it many times before, media companies making unauthorized documentaries about our beloved musicians because the family does not want to give the consent for their loved one’s stories to be told.

But it appears that there might be a change in that at least for one musician.

It was recently announced that HBO has landed the first authorized Kurt Cobain film. Cobain’s family has given the cable network the right to tell Cobain’s story with the assistance of many never-before-seen and heard things the late Nirvana singer had in his archives.

The film will be titled Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck and will be directed by Oscar-nominated director, Brett Morgen. This isn’t Morgen’s first time making a film about a musician; he previously had worked on the Rolling Stones’ documentary, Crossfire Hurricane, also for HBO.

Also confirmed to be lending a hand in the making of the film is Cobain’s own daughter Frances Bean. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Frances Bean will be executive producing the film.

Morgen admits in a statement that the film has been a work in progress for the past eight years, with the family giving him the right to see the side of Cobain that he never showed the media.

“Like most people, when I started, I figured there would be a limited amount of fresh material to unearth,” Morgen said.

“However, once I stepped into Kurt’s archives, I discovered over 200 hours of unreleased music and audio, a vast array of art projects-oil paintings, sculptures countless hours of never-before-seen home movies, and over 400 pages of writings that together help paint an intimate portrait of an artist who rarely revealed himself to the media.”

Considering Cobain’s distaste for the media, it’s a little surprising that the family would give the authorization for a documentary to be made about him. But then again, authorized documentary that is correct is better than a defamatory version.

Kurt Cobain Biopic to Go into Production Next Year

Ever thought you’d see the day where Kurt Cobain’s life story would hit a screen near you? According to Courtney Love, that is in fact going to happen and the biopic on the late Nirvana frontman is slated to go into production next year. 

In a recent interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer, Love revealed that she will be overseeing the film alongside her daughter with Cobain, Frances Bean and Cobain’s former Nirvana band mates, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. 

Though the role of Cobain has not been cast yet, Love revealed that there are many candidtes for the iconic singer’s role. “I won’t name names because I don’t want to jinx it for anyone, but these are 25-year-olds who are blonde, gorgeous and the new Brad Pitts…some are really good actors, not just pretty face.”

However, Love did say that she would leave the decision to the casting directors whose job is to pick the best candidate. 

“I don’t want t be the person who makes that decision. Let’s leave that to the agents; I have great agents now. But, I will have a say in it.”

Naturally. 

As previously reported, Quantum of Solace director, Marc Forster and The Messenger’s Oren Moverman have been attached to the film. Whether or not that still holds true, there’s no definite answer. 

But, apparently there’s a lot of Cobain to go around for Love; the Hole frontwoman has discussed a Cobain-inspired musical as well as a documentary, so just in case one doesn’t work out, there are many other ways to tell the story of Cobain.

Kurt Cobain Biographer Claims Courtney Love Wrote Wallet Letter

Last week, the Seattle Police Department made the full letter that was found in Kurt Cobain’s wallet following his death public. Up until that point, only a partial piece of the letter had been released, but following the new information, almost everyone is starting to wonder if the note had actually been written by the late Nirvana frontman.

The letter, according to Kurt Cobain biographer, Charles R. Cross, was actually written by the frontman’s wife, Courtney Love. Since his death, there has been a lot of speculation and crazy conspiracies that Love had been the one to kill Cobain; not a suicide like it was ruled.

The full letter seems to poke fun at their marriage which included more downs than up with the exception of the couple’s only daughter, Frances Bean. Many shook off the letter as the couple’s dark sense of humor, but according to The Guardian, Cross had confirmed that the letter was penned by Love.

According to Cross, Love herself, emailed him, admitting that she had been the one to write the quickly jotted down statement. Cross’ biography about the late rocker, Heavier Than Heaven was released back in 2001. Love was recently seen with former Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic when the iconic grunge band was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month.

Artists Come Together to Celebrate Nirvana

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have finally been admitted to the museum and how else do you celebrate the honor than to host a big ceremony and then follow it up with an invite-only, intimate show?

That is exactly what went on last night. The remaining members of Nirvana -Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear- reunited at St. Vitus in Brooklyn, New York for an intimate set of Nirvana songs. Though Kurt Cobain left big shoes to fill, Joan Jett, St. Vincent, Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis, and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon all did their best to fill the role, even for one song.

Jett sang “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” St. Vincent performed “Lithium,” Gordon also sat in throughout the jam session while surprise guest Lorde took on “All Apologies.”

As for the ceremony, R.E.M. frontman, Michael Stipe was chosen to honor the band and that he did when he proclaimed that they “tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard.” It also helped that Stipe was the godfather to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s daughter, Frances Bean.

Watch all the videos from the show here:

LORDE, “ALL APOLOGIES”:

JOAN JETT, “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”:

ST. VINCENT, “HEART SHAPED BOX”:

ST. VINCENT, “LITHIUM”:

Also included in this year’s induction class were  Peter Gabriel, Cat Stevens, KISS, The E Street Band and many, many more.

 

Small Washington Town Declares ‘Nirvana Day’

Hoquiam, Washington has officially declared April 10th as Nirvana Day!

The town decided to dedicate the date to the band to celebrate the short period of time that their late frontman, Kurt Cobain spent in the town. Hoquiam is located in the same county as Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, just about four miles east of the city.

“Nirvana bring great honor… to our entire community. And I think that it’s good Kurt Cobain lived in Hoquiam for a little while, but he and Krist Novoselic are part of our community, and I think it’s good to honor our sons and their great accomplishments” Hoquiam mayor, Jack Durney said during an interview with local radio station KXRO.

Earlier this month, it was also confirmed that the godfathers of Grunge would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2014, on ironically, April 10th. Hoquiam’s addition of “Nirvana Day” shows just how much pride Grays Harbor county has for the band; Aberdeen has a welcome sign which reads “Come as you are” in honor of one of the band’s most famous songs.

Come as you are indeed.

The 2014 Oscars’ Best Original Song (Not So) Short List

Seventy-five.

Seventy-five is the amount of songs that have been nominated for the 2014 Academy Awards Best Original Song short list.

Songs that made the long list, which ironically is called the short list comes from several different film with, of course, different music styles, but with a killer soundtrack, nonetheless.

One of the songs to make the list is one that could be attributed to some foreshadowing. About a year ago, Paul McCartney said that there might be a Nirvana reunion with him taking the place of the late Kurt Cobain. That is exactly what happened during the 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief, when the former Beatle was back by Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and honorary Nirvana member Pat Smear.

The song that they performed at the time “Cut Me Some Slack,” was just a treat, but it later turned out to be for Grohl’s Sound City: Real to Reel documentary film soundtrack.

Also making the not-so-short short list are many of the songs that were also nominated for the same award at the Golden globes. Those include Taylor Swift’s One Chance contribution, “Sweeter Than Fiction,” U2’s “Ordinary Love” which was featured on the Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom soundtrack and Coldplay’s “Atlas” from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 

Instead of going into detail about every song on the list, check them all out below, and believe us, it’s a pretty long list, so get your patience on.

The 86th Annual Academy Awards are scheduled for March 2.

2014 Academy Awards Best Original Song short list:

“Amen” from All Is Lost
 
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from Alone Yet Not Alone 
“Doby” from Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues 
“Last Mile Home” from August: Osage County
 
“Austenland” from Austenland
 
“Comic Books” from Austenland
 
“L.O.V.E.D.A.R.C.Y” from Austenland
“What Up” from Austenland
“He Loves Me Still” from Black Nativity 
“Hush Child (Get You Through This Silent Night)” from Black Nativity 
“Test of Faith” from Black Nativity
“Forgiveness” from Brave Miss World

“Lullaby Song” from Cleaver’s Destiny
 
“Shine Your Way” from The Croods
“Happy” from Despicable Me 2
“Gonna Be Alright” from Epic
 
“Rise Up” from Epic
“What Matters Most” from Escape From Planet Earth

“Bones” from For No Good Reason 
“Going Nowhere” from For No Good Reason
“Gonzo” from For No Good Reason
 
“The Courage to Believe” from Free China: The Courage to Believe
“Let It Go” from Frozen
 
“100$ Bill” from The Great Gatsby
 
“A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)” from The Great Gatsby 
“Over the Love” from The Great Gatsby
 
“Together” from The Great Gatsby
 
“Young and Beautiful” from The Great Gatsby 
“The Moon Song” from Her
 
“I See Fire” from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

“Bite of Our Lives” from How Sweet It Is
“Try” from How Sweet It Is
“Atlas” from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

“Better You, Better Me” from The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete
“Bring It On” from Jewtopia 
“Aygiri Nadani” from Kamasutra 3D
 
“Har Har Mahadeva” from Kamasutra 3D
 
“I Felt” from Kamasutra 3D
 
“Of the Soil” from Kamasutra 3D 
“Sawariya” from Kamasutra 3D
 
“In the Middle of the Night” from Lee Daniels’ The Butler

“You And I Ain’t Nothin’ No More” from Lee Daniels’ The Butler
 
“Let’s Take a Trip” from Live at the Foxes Den
“Pour Me Another Dream” from Live at the Foxes Den
“The Time of My Life” from Live at the Foxes Den
“Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
“Monsters University” from Monsters University” 
“When the Darkness Comes” from The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones 
“Sacrifice (I Am Here)” from Murph: The Protector 
“The Muslims Are Coming” from The Muslims Are Coming! 
“Oblivion” from Oblivion 
“Sweeter Than Fiction” from One Chance
 
“Nothing Can Stop Me Now” from Planes
 
“We Both Know” from Safe Haven
 
“Get Used to Me” from The Sapphires
“Stay Alive” from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

“So You Know What It’s Like” from Short Term 12

“There’s No Black Or White” from Somm
 
“Cut Me Some Slack” from Sound City
“You Can’t Fix This” from Sound City
 
“Let It Go” from Spark: A Burning Man Story
 
“We Ride” from Spark: A Burning Man Story
 
“Becomes the Color” from Stoker
 
“Younger Every Day” from 3 Geezers!
 
“Here It Comes” from Trance
 
“Let the Bass Go” from Turbo
 
“The Snail Is Fast” from Turbo
 
“Speedin'” from Turbo 
“My Lord Sunshine (Sunrise)” from 12 Years a Slave

“Make It Love” from Two: The Story of Roman & Nyro
 
“One Life” from The Ultimate Life
 
“Unfinished Songs” from Unfinished Song
 
“For the Time Being” from The Way, Way Back
 
“Go Where the Love Is” from The Way, Way Back
“Bleed for Love” from Winnie Mandela

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced today those lucky nominees for the class of 2014. This year’s list includes Hall and Oates, Nirvana, The Replacements, KISS, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, LL Cool J, N.W.A, Link Wray, the Meters, Linda Ronstadt, Cat Stevens, Yes and the Zombies.

The lucky nominees that get the most votes by the end of the voting period will get the honors of being inducted into the hall of fame. For the second year, the public has been given the chance to also vote alongside artists, historians and music industry insiders of the Rock Hall voting body.

For those that would like to have their voices heard and vote for their favorite nominees, Rolling Stone’s website is currently playing host for the public. According to Rolling Stone, “the top five acts will comprise a “fan’s ballot” that will count as one of the more than 600 ballots that determine the Class of 2014.” Fans have until December 10 to get their vote included in those ballots.

To be eligible for this year’s ballot, those that ended up on the bill had to have released their first single or album in 1988 or earlier than that. If some of the nominees look like they have been nominated once before, many of them have had the honor bestowed on them before.

While some may have seen the ballots once before, some of the nominees such as Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, the Replacements, Linda Ronstadt, Link Wray, Cat Stevens, Yes and the Zombies are getting their names on the ballots for the first time. For those the feel like arguing about Peter Gabriel then yes, he was inducted in 2009 as a member of Genesis.

On a side note, Nirvana is the only act this year to land on the ballot during their first year of eligibility. Their cover of “Love Buzz” by Shocking Blue was their first single, hitting stores in late 1988.

Paul McCartney Releases “New” Song

Sir Paul McCartney has released a new song titled, ironically, “New.” The song will be featured on the original musician’s upcoming LP titled New as well.

The LP will be the former Beatles’ solo album in six years and will include 12 new song all produced by mega producer, Mark Ronson. The LP will supposedly have a more McCartney feel to it with lines such as “we can do what we want, we can live as we choose.”

McCartney’s last album that featured purely new tracks was 2007’s Memory Almost Full. In 2009, he released the live album, Good Evening New York City and followed that with a classic ballet score in 2011 titled, Ocean’s Kingdom. Last year, he released Kisses on the Bottom, which did not include new material, but did include several covers of pop and jazz hits.

Last month, McCartney made news when he during a show at Seattle’s Safeco Field, he brought out the remaining members of Nirvana on the stage to perform during his encore. Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic backed McCartney on “Cut Me Some Slack” which will be featured on the upcoming release.

For now, check out “New” below and tell us what you feel about it; is it classic McCartney?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE_1V0phMW8

Sub Pop Responds to Nirvana Request

If you haven’t already heard the story about the Virginia Tech student who wasn’t aware that Nirvana haven’t been a band since frontman Kurt Cobain’s death (or that it’s a band, not a she) then you are definitely missing some serious funny stuff.

Earlier this week, a student at Virginia Tech sent a letter to Sub Pop asking if it was possible for the band (who they refer to as a she) would record a video of them saying, “What’s up Virginia Tech? This is Nirvana! Just wanted to wish you a Happy Homecoming Week and good luck at the game this Saturday. LETS GO HOKIES!”

The letter also stated that the unnamed person, who is apparently the school’s mascot, would be getting audio from other artists such as Big N Rich, Slightly Stoopid, the Cataracs, Ying Yang Twins and three famous NFL players.

Now, not to bust the mascot’s bubble, the staff at Sub Pop decided to given them what they asked for, but instead with was a Nirvana spoof endorsing said homecoming candidate.

You can read the letter (which has taken the internet by storm) as well as Sub Pop’s response below: