Thursday, Sep. 22, 2011

'Lithium' (1992)

Composed of slow-motion, repetitive live concert footage, Kerslake's second collaboration with the band achieved the near-impossible feat of making a Nirvana show appear to be extremely boring. The viewer should instead track down actual live concert footage of the song — a classic example of Cobain's Pixies-derived, quiet-loud-quiet-really-loud dynamic — such as the rendition at the 1992 Reading festival, where 25-year-old musician Antony Hodgkinson lived out a collective fantasy by dancing onstage with Nirvana (giving himself whiplash in the process). Or watch this performance from the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, featuring a freshly rehabbed Cobain looking teen-idol adorable in a moptop haircut, Dave Grohl lethally abusing his drums and Krist Novoselic floored by his own instrument after a failed attempt at his patented "sensational bass toss." Hi, Axl!