When I heard there was going to be a Nirvana reunion performance for the 12-12 concert for Sandy victims I, naturally, thought, “Huh. I can see a serious roadblock to that plan…” But, okay. For a good cause and all that.
Seen here: Kurt Cobain when he collapsed… no, wait, this is McCartney, isn’t it… Ha ha! Man, I’m always getting those two mixed up…
Then I heard that Paul McCartney would be filling in for the deceased Kurt Cobain.
Now, I’m a disbeliever in all this end-of-the-world nonsense to the point of irritation. I can’t even humor people who talk about it in a “Yeah, but what if” kind of way. (“I mean, wouldn’t it be weird if'” “Nothing’s going to happen.” “Yeah, but what-” “Nothing’s going to happen.”) But hearing that Paul McCartney would be performing with Nirvana? That just has to be a sign of the End Times. Strangest pairing ever. I mean, not Chris Cornell? Or Henry Rollins? Or even Eddie Vedder? Or, well, anyone?
Psy. Hilary Clinton. Kermit the Frog. Tom Brokaw. All better choices.
But seeing everyone in the clip my thoughts turned to a few things:
- Christ, everyone’s getting old. Well, not me, but everyone else…
- At least they didn’t play a Nirvana song.
- Most of all, though – my God, Dave Grohl is a hell of a drummer. Not just skilled, and not just that he drums like a brushfire in a windstorm, but in total style and control. I saw Nirvana play a couple times and if, say, Cobain launched in to a song too quickly, Grohl would seamlessly and gracefully slow them to the correct pacing. He provided the needed structure to the sonic chaos.
- McCartney held his own. It’s to his credit that he made it about the others, and then the song was just a performance. McCartney is in that tiny club of people who, if you met them, it’s something you’d talk about for the rest of your life, so it can’t be easy to make anything about other people. So, good on you, Paul.
The Byronic Man 
December 14, 2012 at 3:25 am
Not a big Nirvana fan, but Paul real did do a great job with this style of music. I was surprised.
December 14, 2012 at 1:49 pm
Me too. I was almost excited for him to be awful.
December 14, 2012 at 3:49 am
I am a huge Dave Grohl fan, more for his Foo Fighters days and hi all around talent. It was a very odd pairing and I was longing for that hard rock scream, but it was all for a good cause I guess. I hope you caught the Eric Clapton performance, his old voice was still spot on.
December 14, 2012 at 6:41 am
I’m always shocked when people say they don’t like Foo Fighters. What’s not to like? I think people who don’t are either:
1. Hipsters who don’t like them because they are fairly radio-friendly.
2. Just don’t like loud rock music (Fair. Sad, but fair)
3. Insane.
December 14, 2012 at 3:59 am
Now you have me worried.
I would have preferred Jay Z or Citizen Cope to McCartney. I’ve seen too much of Paul to last me another 6 lifetimes (considering the end of days is only hours away, I think one more batch of McCartney would have been too too many for me)
December 14, 2012 at 6:42 am
Did you know he was in a band before Wings?! I just found out! They’re pretty good.
December 14, 2012 at 3:59 am
My brain just reverted to 6-year-old status, refusing to believe that Santa was the creepy next door neighbor in a faux beard. This is not real life, this is not real life, this is… seriously? McCartney as Cobain?
December 14, 2012 at 1:50 pm
It almost sounds like an Onion headline: “Paul McCartney fills in For Nirvana Reunion.”
December 14, 2012 at 4:21 am
Always enjoy your posts, maybe it’s because you’re a great wordsmith – imagery like this “drums like a brushfire in a windstorm” just doesn’t leave you quickly. Thanks!
December 14, 2012 at 4:52 am
Hear hear!
December 14, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Thanks! Now, excuse me while I find extraneous reasons to use that phrase again…
December 14, 2012 at 4:26 am
Can you imagine Eddie Vedder with Nirvana? I think my head would explode.
My immediate thought was, imagine John Lennon jamming with Kurt? I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven. Wait, I suppose I’d have to die and go to heaven.
I am a little bit in love with Dave Grohl.
Seeing Novoselic made me feel way too old, you’re right. I stll picture him with greasy long hair.
This is nothing to do with Paul’s little reunion…but did you see the most recent Nirvana documentary? I can’t remember the title, but I was transfixed—about the mixing of certain songs in the studio etc. It blew my mind.
December 14, 2012 at 2:13 pm
I haven’t seen that – I’ll have to look for it. I saw a really cool interview with Grohl & Novoselic in which they watch and interview with themselves when Nevermind first took off, and talk about it now.
And on one hand Vedder would seem like an obvious choice, but I bet his voice on those songs would sound really weird.
December 14, 2012 at 4:43 am
As a Brit I speak not just for myself, but from the grumblings around the green hills. Mr McCartney stopped being cool soon after Yoko Ono rescued John Lennon. I, amongst others, have done nothing but cringe since, at his whimsical ditties but also the British establishment for wheeling him out at major performances like the Olympics, for instance…where he reminded us of why the only legendary beatles are the dead ones.
December 14, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Remember a few years ago when he started really getting obnoxious about saying that he actually did most of the songwriting and lyricism, and John was more of a support player? Jesus, Paul, how much affirmation do you need? Do you feel you aren’t famous enough? Have received enough praise?
December 14, 2012 at 4:49 am
Okay I hear you but what if…okay never mind
December 14, 2012 at 2:10 pm
NOTHING’S GOING TO HAPPEN!!
December 14, 2012 at 4:55 am
It better not be the end of the world, or I did a lot of ironing for nothing.
I’m totally ashamed to admit that I didn’t wind up seeing much of the concert. I have really good excuses, though…
There is something so captivating about a great drummer – although, almost every drummer I’ve known is the source of the chaos, at least from a personality standpoint.
December 14, 2012 at 2:14 pm
For every great drummer, there are 10 for whom drummer jokes are written.
December 14, 2012 at 4:58 am
Yeah, those end-times enthusiasts annoy the hell out of me too.
December 14, 2012 at 2:15 pm
I’d even be willing to give someone one – you get to think there’s ONE apocalypse in your lifetime, and if it doesn’t happen, then admit you were wrong and being hysterical and shaddap about it.
December 14, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Generous of you. 🙂 And quite reasonable.
December 14, 2012 at 5:37 am
Kanye put me to sleep. Talk about not fitting in to a venue. The end of days isn’t supposed to happen until 12/21, so you’ll be hearing about it for a while longer.
December 14, 2012 at 2:16 pm
And Bruce Springsteen! I mean, what does HE have to do with New Jersey??
December 14, 2012 at 5:52 am
It makes me wonder how it even came about. “Hey Paul. Nirvana reeeeeally wants to be included in the concert, but they have a little problem…”
Holy Sheet! My card is all done! http://susielindau.com/2012/12/14/all-done/
December 14, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Very nice! Thanks for entering!
December 14, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Thank you!
December 14, 2012 at 7:20 am
Hard to give any credence to those Mayans since they didn’t foretell the whole McCartney/Nirvana thing. Guess I’d better get going on my Christmas shopping now that it looks like the 25th will get here after all.
December 14, 2012 at 2:18 pm
The fact that the Mayans didn’t mention the Spanish kind of puts a dent in their “predicting important, apocalyptic events” credibility.
December 14, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Yeah, they should have caught a couple of key events, but none can compare to the McC/Nir pairing as far as life-altering importance.
December 14, 2012 at 8:08 am
Crap! I can’t see the clip. It says it has been removed by the user.
December 14, 2012 at 2:19 pm
HEY, when did that happen?? I’ll get on that…
December 14, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Okay, now try it.
December 15, 2012 at 8:19 am
Thanks for that. Not bad for such an unlikely mix. I rather enjoyed it.
December 14, 2012 at 8:44 am
Since when did Mr. McCartney turn grunge?
December 14, 2012 at 2:21 pm
He just heard about this crazy new music coming out of Seattle. He’s going to start wearing flannel soon.
December 14, 2012 at 9:39 am
Dave Grohl performed in a White House tribute to Sir Paul. It was the first time I’d seen him play and my first, second, third, and only thoughts were, “He is a real musician.” And that’s not just because he’s from DC.
I listened to the beginning of the concert on my way home from work, but I tuned it out because Eddie Vedder went first and I was bored, not to mention “The Wall” is one of two songs guaranteed to give me a headache (literally).
Billy Crystal was funny when he said, “Now that your parents have finished explaining to you who I am. . . ” and I thought, “He’s right. Springsteen, Bon Jovi. . . this is kind of an Old Guy lineup.”
I can’t watch your clip because I’m at work, but I hope there’s a Kurt Cobain hologram. That would be way cool.
December 14, 2012 at 2:27 pm
Yeah, Grohl is the real deal. Just a solid musician no matter how you look at it.
And the Cobain hologram has ripped abs.
December 14, 2012 at 12:11 pm
As Nostradamus laughably predicted ‘Hister’, this particular Mayan prediction involved Joe McCarthy playing with Rinvana. We’re all safe.
December 14, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Well, that was a close one…
Psh, Nostradamus. More like “Nostra-Dumb-ass,” amirite? *High five*
December 14, 2012 at 3:04 pm
You were too fast on the high five, missed my hand altogether and slapped my face. Ouch.
December 14, 2012 at 1:05 pm
< Hater Alert.
I was of the Nirvana "generation" I caught them at a small-ish club quite literally 2 weeks before "Smells Like Teen Spirit" hit. I didn't really know them, a friend took me, but it was a solid gig of a good up and coming band.
Kudos to everyone who showed up to play for the cause. What a serious load of musical indigestion though huh?.
I can never take away from McCartney and what he has done over his career, but frankly it's just sad and stale now. Essentially Paul and the Stones have been cover bands ( of themselves) for the past 20 odd years.
I first became aware of this when I saw McCartney ( I'm not going to call a working class lad from Liverpool "Sir"…I don't care what the Queen did.) play the SuperBowl show one year after the oh-so-naughty Janet Jackson titty-gate. I know the network was looking for the safest thing in the world,( and they sure as Hell got it) but it was weak, sad and low-frequency.
I want to remember Paul in black and white film footage, playing his Rickenbacher upside down and his killer bassline for "I saw her standing there"
Cobain tried as hard as he could NOT to become Paul McCartney.
Grohl still has it…Never lost it and has become an even better musician and a front man himself since Nirvana. Chris Novoselck (sic) has become very politically active and hasn't milked the Nirvana teat much at all.
Just one guy's opinion and I don't want to take away from any of these guys (Paul included) giving their time to a good cause.
December 14, 2012 at 2:26 pm
I think Novoselic has built up so much cred by not exploiting his Nirvana years all this time he could release a “Nirvana Dance-Party Remixes” album and I’d still like him.
And I was in college here in the Pacific NW when all that stuff was brewing. Got to see a lot of these bands “before.” met several of them, too (I had a radio show). Fun to see that stuff when it happened. Apparently someone has it on tape of me saying to “watch out for Nirvana” and that they’re going to “change everything.” Silly prediction to make in my youthful exuberance, but since that one (out of probably 400) came true? I’m a genius!
December 16, 2012 at 6:49 am
You had a radio show ? And you predicted Nirvana’s greatness ?
What hasn’t the Byronic Man done ?!?
If some day you tell us the end of the world is coming, I’ll be sure to listen…
December 14, 2012 at 2:03 pm
I saw Macca in concert a year ago. He still has it. Treasure him folks – he won’t be around for ever.
Either way he’s better than the clip of Kim Wilde singing “Kids Of America” whilst drunk travelling home on the train recently on You Tube
December 14, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Hadn’t heard about that… that sounds really, really sad.
December 16, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Nope. It was very funny. And she has responded in very good humour.
December 14, 2012 at 6:28 pm
I loved me some Nirvana, but I’ve never really been a Paul McCartney fan. Listening to this, though, I have to say that when you got it, you got it. And they’ve still got it! I don’t understand how all those people in the audience could be so relatively still. That music made me want to move! And if I wasn’t so lazy, I would have.
December 15, 2012 at 8:27 am
Eh, I’m not surprised that McCartney delivered it all right. Sure, he’s an arrogant rich old man now, but his musical roots are Little Richard; before Linda and Silly Love Songs, there were groupies and Helter Skelter.
December 15, 2012 at 9:52 am
Yeah that whole end of the world thing is soooo pas say. I really did not even her about it until about 2 days before. I pretty much dismissed it right away. That shows you how much TV I watch. 🙂
December 15, 2012 at 10:57 am
Am I the only one who’s a Paul supporter here? I can’t help it. I love him, and I think that performance was fantastic. As you said, he did a great job of not stealing the spotlight. I think he did the band justice. He’s insanely talented. I also love the Foo Fighters and adore Dave Grohl’s talent.
December 15, 2012 at 6:19 pm
I am the lone hold out. I still love Paul. I still love John, George and Ringo, too. They transformed music. They wrote and recorded some of the most beautiful stuff.
Of course, I am old. I can remember the boys on Ed Sullivan.
December 16, 2012 at 6:44 am
I don’t know whether I’m glad that it worked out, or disappointed that it did. Had the Mayans decided to end the world before this concert in order to spare us the thought of such a crazy match, that would have been fine by me. But if somehow P-Mac (shouldn’t he have a hipper, young-artist name now ?) pulled it off, good on him.
And Dave Grohl rocks. Big time.
December 17, 2012 at 9:34 am
I… what… really?! This isn’t like… C.G?! This… what?
February 8, 2013 at 9:38 am
That was out of left field, wasn’t it?