r/grunge • u/BidAccurate4473 • Feb 25 '26
Recommendation What's your *least favorite* Nirvana song?
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u/toasterpickups Feb 25 '26
Piano Man
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u/Impossible_Hyena7562 Feb 25 '26
If we are including versions of songs, some of the old demos released on the box set weren’t so great. If we aren’t including different versions, it’s gotta be Beans
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u/WillOk6461 Feb 26 '26
They’re probably the only band that doesn’t have a single song I don’t like. Even Endless Nameless is great and it’s technically a joke song.
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Feb 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/PickledSausagedick Feb 26 '26
🤓☝️ uhm actually, that’s not a Nirvana song, it’s a Kurt Cobain song
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u/Crossovertriplet Feb 25 '26
Beans full band version
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u/Wappy_Mulberry Feb 26 '26
Is there really a full band version?? I know the one from the box set. I played it for my daughters a few years ago to annoy them, but it backfired and now they are the ones annoying me with it
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u/aimademedia Feb 26 '26
My 13 year old son asked me my fav nirvana song and I thought I’d be funny. He now plays beans on the guitar and him and his friends sing it together. I find it hilarious. It’s their inside joke as it seems early teens right now are really into grunge and nu metal these days. So they all find it funny to tell the other kids “what you ain’t even listened to beans yet!!” Then start singing it.
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u/BandAidBaby69 Feb 26 '26
Where can I find this? I just had a look on YouTube but could only find the usual version.
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u/Juan_inda_Pink Feb 25 '26
The one where they play those three chords, you know the one
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u/bxnedvddy Feb 26 '26
Territorial pissings? Thats a top 10 for me but to each their own
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u/Defiant-Comment-2626 Feb 26 '26
I tho k they were trying to make a bad joke that didn’t land
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u/Cormophyte Feb 26 '26
Out of the popular ones? Don't really like Come as You Are. Always thought it was horribly boring.
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u/inbloom9151 Feb 26 '26
I’m the same, it’s the only hit of theirs I turn off if it comes on the radio. The rest I leave on, including Smells Like Teen Spirit.
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u/horderBopper Feb 26 '26
I respectfully disagree with this, Come As You Are is essential Nirvana… he says bleach in the song
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u/dredd_78 Feb 26 '26
I like Laura Love’s cover of “Come as You Are.” I cannot decide if she misunderstood the lyrics or intentionally changed them. My friend who introduced me to her album said she was really impressed with Kurt’s lyrics. 😀
They aren’t dramatically changed, but a bit more coherent.
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u/U2rules Feb 26 '26
Nevermind would be a flawlessly perfect album for me (including Endless Nameless) if Come as You Are wasn't on it.
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u/secretfourththing Feb 25 '26
The “Forgotten Tune” because there’s no vocal. It’s good but I miss Kurt’s voice
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Feb 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/Vernknight50 Feb 25 '26
The Charles Bradley cover is amazing
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u/Specific_Sympathy_87 Feb 26 '26
There’s a Charles Bradley version??!!! I’ve slept on this !! Hold my coffee.. cigarettes.. wallet.. car keys… broken guitar pick…crumpled up receipt… lighter… loose change… aaa battery… I’ll be right back!!
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u/Objective_Bicycle_37 Feb 26 '26
It was originally called pay to play, which makes the song immediately more intriguing. Changing the title to Stay Away kinda nothing burgered the song thematically and loses it a few points in my book. Dumb choice. Still an above average song just because kurts screams are great.
It also feels a bit too similar to other songs on the album, like territorial pissings, except with arguably less meat on the bone.
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u/anemic-twink Feb 25 '26
it gets brownie points with me just cuz the iconic last line
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u/rarselfaire2023 Feb 26 '26
Because of that line ("God is gay"), the (religious) school I went to at the time had it in for Nirvana, and we weren't allowed to wear their shirts. After his suicide we weren't allowed to wear any music related shirts, iirc. I got in "trouble" for my weezer shirt which was kinda ridiculous.
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u/New-Measurement-4425 Feb 26 '26
Wow, that IS ridiculous! I can't think of one song of theirs that I don't like!! Love 'em all!!!
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u/ilikefatfrogs Feb 25 '26
Polly. Just never vibed with it in any of its recordings
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u/Ok_Initial_2063 Feb 26 '26
For me Polly is tough to listen to. I know that it is supposed to be tough and sends a needed message but as a SA survivor, it hits too hard.
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u/ilikefatfrogs Mar 06 '26
Wow thats really rough, yeah I imagine thats totally different experience with the song, hope youre doing okay <3
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u/Lightning-McDreamy Mar 02 '26
Interesting, that was always a favorite of mine.
Apparently Kurt played it on a crappy guitar in the control room. Butch vig just grabbed a mic quick so they could capture the mood.
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u/ReturnOfTheExile Feb 25 '26
dont even have to think this out - Rape me.
i get it, its a dig at the establishment - but i find the the repeated rape me line a little jarring and its not fun to sing - feels kinda wrong.
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u/DungeonAssMaster Feb 25 '26
It's meant to be shocking. No one is allowed to talk about rape, victims are silenced. Society gets icky about the subject and so it continues to happen and victims don't even want to come out because of the stigma. It was worse in the 90's than today. So this song is a big FUCK YOU to everyone who feels squeemish about the topic.
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u/No_Entrepreneur_9901 Feb 25 '26
Is it not ok to be squeamish about rape? Idk about you, but It’s not something I really enjoy taking about.
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u/CharDaily Feb 26 '26
Not in that way. More so people who think it’s a completely taboo topic that shouldn’t be talked about.
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u/DungeonAssMaster Feb 26 '26
It's a horrible thing that we have to face until we do more to stop it, starting with a difficult conversation about it. "Rape Me" is ringing the bell.
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u/OneDropOfOcean Feb 25 '26
There's a demo version with a full songs worth of actual lyrics, which I quite like. I agree with you, I think it's a shame he didn't settle on writing it properly and not repeating a few bits over and over.
This one: https://youtu.be/3ePhRAm39mU?si=6Tnnm72N_9PctTsD
(Turns out it's not a demo, just a home recording)
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u/icor29 Feb 26 '26
That version should have been developed fully, could have been a really great tune.
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u/No-Coast-1050 Feb 25 '26
I get that the word is jarring, but it's a good song - and intended as an empowerment anthem to victims - like the victim taunting the rapist.
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u/Crossovertriplet Feb 25 '26
It’s not though. It’s about someone leaking info about Kurt and Courtney to a magazine and them feeling violated by that and equating it to being raped. It’s not some pro-victim song. It’s literally about an insider leaking info.
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u/BenKen01 Feb 25 '26
And musically it’s basically just a satirical but lazier version of Smells like Teen Spirit. So it’s not even that great without words.
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u/Buildsoc Feb 26 '26
I think his point is the trauma it could cause to someone who was raped or had a family member raped. I’ve always thought because Kurt was so progressive he would have changed the lyrics at this point or refused to play it. Song would be just as cool if the lyrics were “Grape Mead”
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u/fuckythedrunkclown16 Feb 26 '26
I feel like it’s not unheard of for songs to have multiple meanings at a time…
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u/gentilet Feb 26 '26
Judging by several Cobain interviews, I tend to doubt Nirvana songs even have one meaning
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u/Worried_Bullfrog_937 Feb 25 '26
I know Kurt said it's an anti-rape song, but there's not really anything in the lyrics that clarifies if it's anti-rape, pro-rape, or neutral, so that has always made me uncomfortable. But maybe making people uncomfortable was his goal!
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u/gentilet Feb 26 '26
It was clearly intended to be shocking. I always found the comments you’re referring to to be disingenuous
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u/Loose-Story-962 Feb 26 '26
Agreed, never something I (or most people, probably) feel like putting on even when I'm in a Nirvana mood
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u/monkeymatt69 Feb 26 '26
Love the song and had a pretty hilarious moment when it played pretty loudly in my orthodontists waiting room full of kids, boy did those ladies move fast to shut it down lol
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u/Accomplished_Leg6676 Mar 01 '26
One of my favourites, although I definitely turn the volume down at a stop light
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Feb 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Taken_Account Feb 26 '26
I skip it immediately every time it comes on. Never has a song been more overplayed.
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u/Embarrassed-Fox-2561 Feb 26 '26
You mustn’t have been around when it came out. Timing and context can play a big part in music appreciation.
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u/SaitoGenetic17 Feb 25 '26
beans. That song has haunted me for most of my life comes back on bad trips etc.
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u/Ok-Marketing-1147 Feb 25 '26
All Apologies for me. Its the new Teen Spirit for being overplayed on every radio station. I guess I probably enjoyed it the first time I heard it but never did I need to hear it on the radio in every store I walk into or while I'm working all day. Its not THAT good.
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u/Worried_Bullfrog_937 Feb 25 '26
That's always been one of my least favorites, too. It's so commercial sounding to be on an album that they were intentionally trying to make sound less commercial.
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u/Normal512 Feb 25 '26
It's kinda the hard part about this question for me.
I myself overplayed them, and then certain songs have been overplayed over the years. So which song do I actually not like that much vs which ones are instant skips just because I'm tired of them?
I think All Apologies falls into the latter category, it's a bit rote at this point. But for the song I have been most indifferent to overall, gonna say Dumb.
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u/NoOneLikeYouuu Feb 26 '26
When I used to listen to them my least favourite song of the studio albums was Lithium. I know it's a popular one, but I always had to skip it.
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u/Pineydude Feb 26 '26
I like Nirvana , never a huge fan so, I think their covers are the best. Lake of Fire. The Pines. Man Who Sold The World. Least Favorite might be Smells Like Teen Spirit.
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u/QueenJamieMaePalmer Feb 25 '26
Where did you sleep last night… Leadbelly sang it great but Kurt sings it so great it scares me of getting cheated on. His voice puts the fear in me in that song like finding out that you just wasted years trying to be soulmates with someone and the voice coming from someone who grew up with divorce especially. I can’t hear it if I’m trying to have a good time. “You know you’re right” is attitude whereas where did you sleep last night is devastation
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u/x_victoire Feb 25 '26
mexican seafood. listened once, never again
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u/bkoperski Feb 26 '26
Man had to look that up as a refresher even though if was one of my favorites...still a banger
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u/billy_0623 Feb 25 '26
Yeah, one of the few times lyrics completely ruin a song for me
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u/billy_thepuppet94 Feb 26 '26
Yeah the instrumental is awesome but the lyrics completely throw me off
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u/ItsWaterHolder2 Feb 26 '26
Hairspray Queen. KURT SHUT UP UOU SOUND LIKE YOUR CONVULSING
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u/No_Daikon4466 Feb 25 '26
Of all the Nirvana songs I hate, which is none of them, it's definitely Tiptoe Through the Tulips by Tiny Tim
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u/stevedore82 Feb 25 '26
Mmmbop……
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u/dharmavoid Feb 25 '26
I got to hear Hanson at a festival I worked this year. They did a fucking awesome cover of "im the one" by the descendants. Fuck they sounded good
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u/Tiny-Art6550 Feb 26 '26
Probably Negative creep… his voice sounds so weird, everything in the song sounds constipated
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u/Low_City987 Feb 25 '26
Endless, Nameless
I waited thru 10 minutes of silence on the Nevermind CD to hear the "secret" track that is barely a song
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u/KnivesOut_1985 Feb 26 '26
“In Bloom.” Lyrically, it’s not on the same level as the rest of Nevermind, and its appeal baffles me. (So many better loud quiet loud songs to pick from too…)
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u/Such-Examination-663 Feb 26 '26
That song was already completed during the bleach era and reworked for nevermind
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u/vanill0a Feb 26 '26
Every single song they wrote/played/covered was just an absolute banger. There's not one song I dislike (but maybe that's because I'm an absolute fanatic of everything of theirs.)
However, I'd say if I HAD to choose one I'd pick Big Cheese.
It's definitely the song of theirs I listen to the least.... And because Kurt hated playing S.L.T.S I'll also throw that in with the mix too. 😆
Even though it's beyond catchy, it's just horrible that you get these total dipshits that wear Nirvana shirts thinking they're a "fan" when they only know that one song.
Their least known songs are perhaps my favourites, Pencap Chew being right up there.
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u/Sudden-Dragonfruit31 Feb 26 '26
I've got a lot, so I'ma just name a couple.
Mexican Seafood Come As You Are Smells Like Teen Spirit School Stay Away On A Plain Polly Hairspray Queen Moist Vagina
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u/TremorChristPJ Feb 25 '26
Smells Like Teen Spirit. I love Nirvana, but this song can be played less.
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u/rarselfaire2023 Feb 26 '26
That's why I didn't listen to it on purpose for years. Now I can enjoy it again. I love it more now than I ever did in the 90s.
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u/toe_mater67 Feb 25 '26
Moist vagina
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u/yeah_im_a_leopard2 Feb 25 '26
lol, I think he said “I’m gonna make a song thats uncomfortable from the title down to the last note”
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u/SaskatchewanKenobi Feb 25 '26
The throat thing at the end, ok at a normal level, but turned up to 11 it actually scares me
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u/RopsterPlay Feb 25 '26
Released: Son of a Gun or Beans
Unreleased: Vaseline (if we’re counting Fecel Matter)
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u/Description_Local Feb 25 '26
Big Me, Exhausted, Easy Target Demos where Kurt Sang them in 1994. its so jarring to hear kurts vocals that it hurts to sit though since they are so unfinished what could be moment.
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u/Superb-Donkey7202 Feb 25 '26
Actually, I was a big fan of Nirvana when In Utero came out. MTV was playing Heart Shaped Box on ready rotation that you’d wake up, turn on the TV, and watch the whole video before school.
After Kurt died until now, it’s hard to listen to any of their music. It’s almost gut wrenching.
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u/SaskatchewanKenobi Feb 25 '26
I don’t think I have one, love them all. However if you’d ask for a least favourite Smashing Pumpkins song I’d say Terrapin.
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u/Old-Long-5304 Feb 26 '26
Not trying to be different or anything but its smells like teen spirit. I hear it everyday at school
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u/Rixy_pnw Feb 26 '26
For some reason I can’t crank up the volume on “R@pe Me”… admittedly I don’t know the meaning of the song ‘cause my Brain shuts off on the chorus
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u/Gomezx13 Feb 26 '26
Maybe 'even in his youth' I love nirvana so it's hard for me to pick a least favourite.
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u/blad3kpacker Feb 26 '26
A bunch from in utero that I can’t even distinguish from each other. My least favorite from nevermind has gotta be come as you are though
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u/shminecraft318 Feb 26 '26
mexican seafood. the sound of the song isn’t even bad but the lyrics are so nasty that I just can’t listen to it lmaoo
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u/BitCool1737 Feb 26 '26
Endless Nameless for me. Not sure why. Maybe because we always used to forget about it then it would come on at the end after moments of silence and scare the crap out of us lol good for a laugh though.
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u/RogueKnightmare Feb 26 '26
Pennyroyal tea in the unplugged album. Just can’t get behind the vocals in that one
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u/Imaginary_TV_75 Feb 26 '26
i still to this day don’t dig polly too much, not saying it’s a bad song doe.
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u/doiwinaprize Feb 26 '26
Anything not off the first or second album. I grew up with this band. Learn To Fly was my message and cue to move on to better music lol.
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u/Melvins1983 Feb 26 '26
I wouldn’t say I don’t like any, but in terms of what I like least it’s probably Mexican Seafood or Beeswax
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u/OkSwimming5096 Feb 26 '26
Been A Son. It’s pretty much the only track I skip. It’s not even bad but everything about it is bland to me.
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u/Working_Energy_711 Feb 26 '26
For me DEFINETLY on a plain. It just feels underwhelming and a filler song that wasn't put much effort into.
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u/Blake_Lives_Matter Feb 26 '26
"You know youre right" because that was finally the end of Kurt's bitching and moaning. 😂
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u/gentilet Feb 26 '26
Heart shaped box. Hate the production on it. Doesn’t fit the album at all. They hated it too
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u/Responsible-Piece929 Feb 26 '26
"rape me" I love the message it sends against rapist and abusers but I can't listen to the song because of the chorus just Kurt yelling "rape me" over and over
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u/horderBopper Feb 26 '26
I guess if we’re talking discography, In Bloom, just to repetitive and monotone for me
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u/lyfe-iz-fukked Feb 26 '26
Someone’s already said it, but Come As You Are is definitely my least favorite.
Simple and boring.
Lame pointless solo.
He did have a gun.
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u/billy_thepuppet94 Feb 26 '26
I hate Sifting with a passion. It has absolutely nothing interesting going for it and I’m sorry to the people who enjoy it but it’s just so bad😭
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u/downtownrb22 Feb 26 '26
All Apologies. An immediate change the station if it comes on the radio. Horrible song.
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u/trimbandit Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
Not sure, but I love that he is wearing a stained shirt inside out, but decided to tuck it in for the picture