Why?: What teenager in the 90s wasn't into Nirvana? Lots probably... I remember buying this single with my dad in tow, who looked at the back and saw songs called "Rape Me" and "Moist Vagina" and looked at strangely. I insisted it was "art", not weird.
Tell me more!:
In Utero was a slow burner for me. I, like a lot of Nirvana fans, went from enjoying Nervermind the most, to completely swapping my preference to In Utero, with Bleach and Incesticide sitting in the middle. In Utero is dang near perfect and album, and these days Nevermind almost sounds dated and cheesy. Almost.
As a budding guitarist I tried to play along to All Apologies and struggled. It's a very unusual riff... it's an unusual song. Pop constructed with verse, bridge, chorus; but that riff is so loose as to almost sound out of tune. The song itself ends by falling apart into apathy. Adding some understated cello was a stroke of genius. Unusually for me, elements of the lyrics stick with me, "I wish I was like you, easily amused", "Married. Buried.".
"Rape Me" was everywhere in 1994. I remember going to see cover bands and they were playing it. The riff, so like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as to be surely deliberate... but those lyrics flew straight over most teenagers' heads. I'm happy enough to admit it took a good many years for me to mature enough to understand the motivations of writing a song from the perspective of a rapist. I liked the song at the time, but purely musically. My opinion hasn't changed much, but my understanding has shifted with my opinion of the album overall.
"Moist Vagina", the non-album b-side, is odd. With barely enunciated lyrics describing sex, including what may or may not be analingus, followed by screaming "Marijuana". It isn't anything to write home about, but to include it as a b-side with the two other songs, shoved it in the face of countless kids. Maybe it opened their minds a bit. Not mine anyway... The beat is great, but it feels little more than a polished jam, and it is hardly surprising it didn't make the album.
6/10
