Nirvana Live At Reading

Listening to the just released album of Nirvana live at Reading from 1992 I'm beginning to realize that I missed out on seeing them live when I had the chance. I first became aware of the band when my local college radio station played "Smells Like Teen Spirit" right after Nevermind was released. I remember being captivated by the song but also being confused because I could not neatly put it in the category of what I was defining as punk at the time. Now almost two decades later it is clear that Nirvana were much more "punk" than almost all of the bands I was listening to at the time. Live at Reading shows the band as a true power trio firing on all cylinders. The band assaults these songs with an intensity seldom seen. Man I wish I would have caught them at Trees when I had the chance.

The Vaselines Get Reissued

The Scottish band will have everything they ever recorded released on May 5 when Sub Pop unleashes Enter The Vaselines. The twee duo gained much attention back in the day when super fan Kurt Cobain and a little band he was in covered three of their songs including the super catchy Molly's Lips. In recent years the band has been playing the odd show here and there so here is hoping for maybe some new songs.

Classic Album

Today IRS releases the deluxe edition of REM's debut album. Yesterday Pitchfork gave it the elusive 10.0 rating which puts it in the exclusive club with classics like Daydream Nation. Those first few REM albums really did change music and pave the way for what has been called Alternative, Modern Rock, College Rock and Indy. If REM never made this album who knows if Nirvana or Sonic Youth would have ever been on a major label or cracked the mainstream. Below is a weird TV promo I found for the original release.