Blew

Blew
EP by Nirvana
Released	November 1989
Recorded	June–September 1988; December 1988 – January 1989; September 1989;
Genre	Grunge
Length	11:32
Language	English
Label	Tupelo
Producer	Jack Endino, Steve Fisk
Nirvana chronology
Nirvana singles chronology
Audio sample
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"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.[2][3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

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."[4] 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."[5]

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.[2][3]

"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 Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Azerrad described the song as having a "theme of entrapment and control."[4]

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."[5]

In 2015, Rolling Stone's listed "Blew" at number 22 on their ranking of 102 Nirvana songs.[6]

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.,[7] 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,[8] remained a rarity until it was re-released in October 2002 on the band's first best-of compilation, Nirvana.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kurt Cobain, except where noted.

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Blew"		2:56
2.	"Love Buzz" (Shocking Blue cover)	Robbie van Leeuwen	3:36

Side two
No.	Title	Length
3.	"Been a Son"	2:22
4.	"Stain"	2:38

"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. A different version appeared on the 1992 compilation, Incesticide.
"Stain" was later released on Incesticide.

Charts

Charts (1989)	Peak position
UK Indie Singles (MRIB)[2][3]	15

Recording and release history

Demo and studio versions

Date recorded	Studio	Producer/recorder	Releases	Personnel
June 1988 – September 1989	Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, Washington	Jack Endino	No official release	Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) Krist Novoselic (bass) Chad Channing (drums)
December 1988 – January 1989	Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, Washington	Jack Endino	Bleach (1989) Blew (1989)	Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) Krist Novoselic (bass) Chad Channing (drums)

Live versions

Date recorded	Venue	Releases	Personnel
February 9, 1990	Pine Street Theatre, Portland, Oregon	Bleach (20th Anniversary Edition) (2009)	Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) Krist Novoselic (bass) Chad Channing (drums)
October 31, 1991	Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA	Live at the Paramount (2011)	Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) Krist Novoselic (bass) Dave Grohl (drums)
November 25, 1991	Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands	From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (1996) Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! (DVD) (2006)	Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) Krist Novoselic (bass) Dave Grohl (drums, backing vocals)
August 30, 1992	Reading Festival, Reading, England	Live at Reading (2009)	Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) Krist Novoselic (bass) Dave Grohl (drums)
December 13, 1993	Pier 48, Seattle, Washington	Live and Loud (2013)	Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) Krist Novoselic (bass) Dave Grohl (drums, backing vocals) Pat Smear (guitar) Lori Goldston (cello)

Personnel

Nirvana

Production

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.

References

"Nirvana: Blew EP". Allmusic.
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.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
"Charts - Indie Singles". Melody Maker. MRIB. November 18, 1989. p. 35. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
Azerrad, Michael (1994). Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday. p. 100. ISBN 0-385-47199-8.
Novoselic, Krist (27 October 2009). "Bleach: Krist Novoselic Interviews Chad Channing". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
Bienstock, Richard (8 April 2015). "No Apologies: All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
https://www.livenirvana.com/interviews/8908ep/index.php
St. Thomas, Kurt (2004). Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects. New York City: St. Martin's Press. p. 54. ISBN 0312206631.
Gaar, Gillian G (March 31, 2020). "A look at Nirvana's collectible recordings". Goldmine. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

External links

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[1] "Nirvana: Blew EP". Allmusic.

[ukindie-2] 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.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[MelodyMaker15-3] "Charts - Indie Singles". Melody Maker. MRIB. November 18, 1989. p. 35. Retrieved July 11, 2020.

[Doubleday-4] Azerrad, Michael (1994). Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday. p. 100. ISBN 0-385-47199-8.

[Seattle_Weekly-5] Novoselic, Krist (27 October 2009). "Bleach: Krist Novoselic Interviews Chad Channing". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 1 February 2020.

[6] Bienstock, Richard (8 April 2015). "No Apologies: All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 February 2020.

[7] ttps://www.livenirvana.com/interviews/8908ep/index.php

[St_Thomas_1-8] St. Thomas, Kurt (2004). Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects. New York City: St. Martin's Press. p. 54. ISBN 0312206631.

[Goldmine-9] Gaar, Gillian G (March 31, 2020). "A look at Nirvana's collectible recordings". Goldmine. Retrieved April 1, 2020.