Nirvana's final album In Utero was released 30 years ago today (September 21), and Krist Novoselic spoke to NME about the milestone. “It’s bittersweet. We recorded it in about a week and a few of the songs were the first take. We were well-rehearsed and loved playing together. That was our glue as a band. We played live and it was live to tape," he said. "Going back to this record, I was just reminded of our humanity as a group. There were a lot of different statements on there and that’s what you get: the post-’Nevermind’ Nirvana, after becoming a world-famous band.”

When asked what Nirvana's sound might have sounded like if Kurt Cobain hadn't died, the bassist said he “could only guess.”

“I don’t know. We recorded our last song together ‘You Know You’re Right’, and that was Nirvana,” he said. “It had our whole thing as a jam then a crescendo that builds to come back down with a big chorus. It’s a really hard one to answer. Dave [Grohl] went on to do Foo Fighters, he’s successful and carrying the torch. I’ve got another band called Third Secret with Matt [Cameron] and Kim [Thayil] from Soundgarden – we’re kind of like the grunge ABBA."

“If only Kurt would have hung in there, then we would have known," Novoselic lamented. "Just to have him in the world would make a huge difference, and that’s all that really matters. I miss the guy, so I can only dream.”

He also touched on the possibility of the surviving members of Nirvana releasing music using AI like The Beatles are doing. “That’s a good idea!” Novoselic exclaimed. “I’m going to bring that up with Dave and Pat! I can hardly wait to hear a new Beatles song. Come on, it’s The Beatles! I want to hear a new Beatles song! And if AI helps it, then absolutely – that’s the way it is today.”

Podcasts