This opening track from Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind has spawned a whole lot of covers – many of which are instrumental, the vocal melody seems to speak to jazz piano players especially. Female vocalists also like taking a shot at this grunge classic – we round out with a few male-vox covers, a guest appearance from The Muppets and you’ve got – 10 covers of Smells Like Teen Spirit.

The Contestants:

Artist: Tori Amos
Album: Crucify
The Skinny: Tori Amos was one of the first major artists to record this cover back in 1992 for an EP where she also covered Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. Cobain once said that this cover was, “a great breakfast cereal version”.

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And a live take:

READ ON

Seattle and Nirvana fans celebrated the 20th anniversary of the band’s Nevermind with a live performance of the classic album last night at the Experience Music Project’s Sky Church. The performance of the definitive grunge record was led by Nirvana co-founder and bassist Krist Novoselic and was a benefit for Seattle music industry staple Susie Tennant (@susietennant), who recently was diagnosed with cancer.

The show featured local musicians The Fastbacks, Ravenna Woods, The Long Winters, Visqueen, Champagne Champagne, Presidents of the United States and others. Last night’s show was webcasted via Livestream.com, which is now archived, and fans used the hashtags #NEVERMIND20 and #EMPNevermind to comment as they watched the concert. As you can see below, the venue’s official account, @EMPMuseum, did a thorough job updating as the night progressed.

READ ON to see what fans had to say about the show…

As we mentioned yesterday the latest issue of Spin magazine is dedicated to to the 20th anniversary Nirvana’s seminal album Nevermind, with the cover story dedicated to answering the question – What Nevermind Means Now. The album, which essentially eliminated hair metal, introduced the world of the heavy rock sounds emanating from the Pacific Northwest that came to be known as Grunge. As a way of celebrating the record SPIN assembled an impressive array of musician to record a Nevermind tribute album, that features the likes of the Meat Puppets, Titus Andronicus, Jessica Lee Mayfield and JEFF The Brotherhood. The album is currently available from now through July 25, as a free download via SPIN’s Facebook page.

• List Time: 10 Best British Youth Cultures
• Beck is working with country star Dwight Yoakam
• Cover Alert: St. Vincent tackles Tom Waits
• Vulture breaks down the brief history of Chillwave
• Download This: Wugazi -113 Chambers
• RHCP have hired Mr. Brainwash to promote their new album

Finally, while shows from jam favorite’s The Slip have become a rarity over the last few years, two of the band’s principal members, the brother tandem of Andrew and Brad Barr, have continue to make music on their own under the suiting moniker of  The Barr Brothers. The four-piece act, whose sound is rooted in folk and Americana, will release their ten-song,  self-titled debut on September 27, via Secret City Records and currently have three songs from the new album streaming on their website.

Anyone who has seen Deer Tick can attest to the fact that they are prone to busting out random covers. With an encyclopedic memory of rock history, they are able to tackle everything from John Mellencamp’s Pink Houses to Santo & Johnny’s Sleepwalker to Bobby Charles’ Down South In New Orleans. Earlier this year, John McCauley & Co. took their love of covering another artists material to a whole new level by playing under the moniker of Deervana – which featured the band playing the music of grunge icons Nirvana for an entire show.

Last weekend, the band revived the project for a special gig at SXSW to rave reviews, as McCauley’s raw croaky growl sounded eerily reminiscent of Kurt Cobain’s. Today, Deer Tick announced that they will bring Deervana to New York, for a June 19 performance at Brooklyn Bowl – a venue they had previously played a Halloween show of Sex Pistols covers at - as part of the Northside Festival. As the band has pointed out, this will not be a traditional Deer Tick gig, with a handful of covers thrown in, it will exclusively feature the band playing the music of Nirvana. Tickets are currently on sale now for just $15.

Among all the fleeting genres that show up briefly as a blip on the popular culture radar screen only to quickly fade away, there are a few that really manage to stick, and ultimately define a sub-culture or even a generation. We’ve seen it to varying degrees with genres like punk, heavy metal, or rock n’ roll itself; all essentially made up terms that went on to mean everything.

For better or worse, another one that stuck was “alternative.” Initially, an outcrop of the grunge scene, alternative went on become an all-consuming pop culture multi-beast; taking hold of not just music, but cinema, fashion, and art as well. Alternative was everywhere, which begged the question: to what exactly is this an alternative? It was a brand, a marketing gimmick that was consumed – no, devoured – by the mainstream.

Yet beyond the irony of it all, it also represented a relatively heroic period in popular music whereby genuinely awesome bands ruled the radio. Pop culture, the mass media, and most of all, kids, were actually listening to good music. It was one of those rare times in modern music history where to some extent, the best bands were also among the biggest, most famous, and widely listened. READ ON for more from Ryan…

[Originally Published: June 28, 2007]

Drumming is one of the hardest jobs in rock and roll. Each one of your four limbs are in charge of performing completely different acts, yet they all need to be coordinated with each other and everyone else in the band. I have a hard enough time just trying to get both of my arms to sync up when I play the bass — I can’t even imagine bringing my legs into the equation.

For a few brave and talented souls, drumming by itself isn’t enough. So for this week’s B List, we celebrate the 10 best drummers who can also carry a tune:

1. Levon Helm

Levon Helm is one of our favorite musicians of all-time, so it’s no surprise that he kicks off our list. The Marvell, Arkansas native provides the incredibly soulful voice behind The Band’s classics like The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down, Ophelia and Up On Cripple Creek. Levon sang while laying down the shuffling, syncopated drum beats that propelled some of the greatest songs in the history of rock and/or roll. Helm’s voice is sounding great these days after he was unable to sing for a number of years due to throat cancer treatment.

Read on for nine more drummers that can sing as well as they drum…

[Originally Published: December 24, 2009]

Making a list of the Best Concert DVDs of 2008 was a struggle, because there weren’t many quality releases to choose from. This year, we have the opposite problem as there were tons of terrific Concert DVD releases.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Best Concert DVDs of 2009…

10. Arcade Fire – Miroir Noir

Arcade Fire fans were thrilled when the band announced they would be releasing a concert film chronicling the recording of Neon Bible and the subsequent tour. Unfortunately, director Vincent Morisset works so hard at not being a typical concert film that the documentary, which appears to be shot by cell phone cameras at points, isn’t all that entertaining. The bonus material makes Miroir Noir worth owning and earns it a spot on this list.

9. Return to Forever – Live at Montreux 2008

Legendary jazz fusion supergroup Return to Forever reunited in 2008 and this DVD gives a good illustration of how good this group of musicians continues to be. Filmed in Montreux, Return to Forever Returns contains a nice of mix of tunes from all of their albums played with passion and verve.

READ ON for the rest of our list of Best Concert DVDs of 2009…

While this decade may have been tough for the recording industry, music fans can’t complain about the number and quality of the hundreds of archival releases that have flown out of the vaults since 2000. Record labels realize that there’s plenty of money to be made after the comparatively negligible cost of mixing and digitizing these old releases.

2009 was another fantastic year for live archival releases as we’ve seen massive box sets from the likes of Neil Young, Tom Petty and the Grateful Dead that featured impressive recordings of high-caliber performances. Let’s take a look at Hidden Track’s Top 10 Archival Releases of 2009…

10. Widespread Panic – Huntsville ’96

The Widespread Panic Archives opened wide in 2009 after years and years of fan requests for older material to be released. Carbondale 2000 started the action last year, Valdosta 1989 came next followed closely by Huntsville 1996 and Montreal 1997. Out of the three that were released this year, Huntsville ’96 stands out due to Panic’s spine-tingling performance of an incredible setlist as well as the quality of the recording.

Where You Can Sample This Release: WSP Archives Blog

READ ON for the rest of our list of the top archival releases of 2009…

While the members of The Black Keys are both busy touring with their solo projects this fall, the Akron-based act did manage to make their way into the recording studio this summer for an interesting collaborative project they’ve dubbed Blakroc. The duo, who are known for their fuzzy blues-rock, have teamed up with an all-star roster from the world of hip hop that includes Mos Def, Q-Tip, RZA, Pharoahe Monch and Ludacris. The results will be heard on the collective’s self-titled debut, which hits stores on November 27.

• List Time: 16 Albums To Look Forward To This Fall
• Bruce Springsteen to receive Kennedy Center Honor award
• Cover Alert: Jill Andrews tackles My Morning Jacket
• Woodstock to be turned into a Broadway musical
• Trail Of The Dead are inviting their fans to be a roadie for the day
• Iggy Pop will reunite with The Stooges for some 2010 dates

Finally, it seems like the surviving members of seminal grunge band Nirvana aren’t happy with the makers of Guitar Hero over the use of Kurt Cobain’s likeness in the latest version of the popular video game.

In a press released issued by Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic the duo stated they were dismayed in “the way a facsimile of Kurt is used in the Guitar Hero game.  The name and likeness of Kurt Cobain are the sole property of his estate – we have no control whatsoever in that area.” They also went on to denounce how gamers will be able to unlock Cobain, allowing the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants and have asked Activision to “re-lock” him. No more Kurt playing Bon Jovi.

Up until OK Computer came out, most Americans knew Radiohead as the band who put out Creep. OK Computer quickly erased that perception amongst the mainstream but Radiohead always hated the image that Creep projected. Our friends at Spinner put together a fun list of 10 songs disowned by the people that made them famous, including Creep.

We’ve got six more links to help you get over that dreaded hump…

• If you buy Joy from Newbury Comics you’ll get a pint glass
• iClips unveils Woodstock TV with Mountain Jam footage
• Jambands.com has the full scoop on JFJO’s extensive tour
• Sub Pop’s Bleach reissue includes a live Nirvana recording
• R.I.P. Jim Dickinson – Memphis producer, musician and dad
• R.E.M. unveils the details of their new 39 track live DVD/CD

Finally, there’s been more questions than answers about the contents of the new Beatles remasters up until recently. Beatles News summarizes the details about the remasters that were unveiled by a couple of Beatles historians at a fan festival in Chicago. The remasters hit stores on 9/9/09.

In what seems to be the hot thing to do among indie acts these days (for examples see Jenny Lewis and Arcade Fire) – Conor Oberst is set to release a documentary called One Of My Kind. The 60 minute film focuses on the last year and a half of Oberst leading his Mystic Valley Band and includes behind-the-scenes footage of their 2008 tour as well as from the recording of their first album. One Of My Kind will be available as a free stream or HD download exclusively on Causecast.org, IFC.com, conoroberst.com, mergerecords.com, and wichita-recordings.com – with the hopes that fans will donation to one of the variety of nonprofits or causes on Causecast.

• List Time: 30 Most Controversial Album Covers
• HAD can’t seem to get enough of French band Pheonix
• Cover Alert: Of Montreal tackle David Bowie
• Rolling Stones to reissue their 14 most recent albums
• IFYAF kicks down Blind Pilot’s recent show at the Iota Club
• Kurt Loder remembers Kurt Cobain 15 years after his death

Finally, highly underrated jam act Assembly Of Dust will release their second full length effort Some Assembly Required on July 21. This marks their first album without keyboardist Nate Wilson, who left the band to pursue solo work. The album features a veritable who’s who of the jam community guesting throughout the effort. Among those who stopped by the studio to lend a hand are Mike Gordon, Keller Williams, Grace Potter, Bela Fleck and Al Schnier. The band kicks off a brief West Coast run on April 23 in Los Angeles.

Following on the heels of Mike Gordon’s Variety Show at Chicago’s Park West, Jim Pollock will be throwing open his doors to host a free art show on Saturday, September 6th from 11am-5pm. The show will highlight Pollock’s original artwork for bands such as Phish, Umphrey’s McGee, the Disco Biscuits and festivals such as the 10,000 Lakes Music & Arts Festival, Wakarusa & Summercamp. Head over to Jim’s site at PollockPrints.com for much more information on Saturday’s event.

• Nirvana’s Manager, Danny Goldberg, recently penned his memoir: Bumping Into Geniuses – My Life Inside the Rock N Roll Business, which details his dealings with A-level artists such as Patti Smith, KISS and Bruce Springsteen. Spinner shares a riveting excerpt from the book on the rise and fall of Kurt Cobain. We can’t wait to read the whole thing.

The summer concert season reaches its crescendo this upcoming weekend when three of the longest running festivals in the nation take place. Out in Chicago the promoters of Lollapalooza defended themselves from accusations that their radius clauses are killing the local music scene. Meanwhile, the schedule for the Newport Folk Festival came out, and there are plenty of maddening conflicts. For those of us unable to attend next weekend’s other major festie, the Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport, CT, you can follow the action on iClips.

We’ll have plenty of news, reviews and photos from all three festivals.

Let’s see what else is goin’ on as we gear up for another busy week:

• After a chaotic start, Canada’s Pemberton Festival went very well
• Bready of Fresh Bread shares some stellar photos of Black Kids
• NPR checks in with the kid from the cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind
• Heaven and Hell have started recording new material for a box set
• Les Claypool prepares his first video game score for Mushroom Men
• The Police look forward to finishing their tour in a little over a week

It’s been at least two weeks since we’ve heard any Led Zeppelin reunion tour rumors, so we thought we’d share the latest. Gigwise reports that the reason the band hasn’t moved forward is due to a rift between Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Come on guys, bury the hatchet and let’s get it on before you’re too old.

Maybe I’m a little skeptical about the validity of the story because it comes from something called News Of The World – which has a supermarket tabloid ring to it, and judging by their website I think that assessment is on par – but the U.K. site is reporting that the ashes of Kurt Cobain were stolen from Courtney Love’s L.A. home. Here’s what News Of The World has to say about the possible theft:

THE music world was In Bloom-in’ shock last night after hearing that the ashes of grunge god KURT COBAIN have been PINCHED!

I can also reveal that the wife of the NIRVANA legend, COURTNEY LOVE, is said to be “suicidal” after finding Kurt’s remains missing from her Hollywood home.

She had kept the singer’s ashes in a pink teddy-bear-shaped bag along with a lock of his hair.

But a couple of weeks ago, she was horrified to discover them gone, along with thousands of pounds worth of clothes and jewelery.

Courtney said: “I can’t believe anyone would take Kurt’s ashes from me.

“I find it disgusting and right now I’m suicidal.

“If I don’t get them back I don’t know what I’ll do.” The sad news will sicken the millions of Cobain and Nirvana fans worldwide.

Odds are the story is about as true as an Elvis sighting, but we thought we’d pass it along just in case. We’ll let you know when Courtney starts issuing denials…

For their Rolling Stone cover shoot back in 1992 Kurt Cobain famously wore a t-shirt declaring “Corporate Magazines Still Suck” as a way of sticking it to the establishment that was fawning over the band and seeing dollar signs. I’d like to see what Kurt’s reaction would have been to the new limited edition line of Converse sneakers that are coming out with his name attached to them…

The sneakers hit stores this summer in both high and low top versions, as a part of Converse’s Century Icons campaign. Who would actually buy these kicks?

UPDATE:  The Daily Swarm has more info on the Cobain Custom Chuck’s