No. 12. Nirvana, All Apologies.
A behemoth, gargantuan, tender yet thundering epitaph to the career of Nirvana and its lead singer. All Apologies is best known as the closing performance of Nirvana‘s seminal Unplugged performance — its haunting melody exposed in the simplistic acoustics. However, though it’s an outstanding performance, I tend to prefer the studio version off of In Utero.
The song is cynical, skeptical, yet somehow discovers optimism as the lead and rhythm guitars burst into prevalence during the chorus. The lyrics are nonsensical yet profound — relaying a story of finding something – redemption, love, an identity, an escape?
It’s the perfect swan song to a nearly-perfect album, nearly-perfect performance, and the perfect swan song to the untimely end of a tragic career, morbid as that may be. Though grunge is most often remembered and pigeonholed just as heavy, guttural, guitar-dependent bursts of rage — its true characteristics, identity, and feel are often expressed in songs such as these — layered, multitextured, simple yet complex, challenging yet relieving. All Apologies is a classic.
What else can I say?
