People may still give Kurt shit for not being the most technical guitarist out there but his playing style worked well for the music of Nirvana and helped make them the musical icons they are today, plus he still made up for it in having a great voice and being one hell of a songwriter as well… still can’t believe it’s been almost 30 years since we lost him, RIP Kurt and thanks for everything you’ve done brother
Who cares? Anyone who disses him because of technical ability don't get that at the end of the day music is about feeling not playing a million notes per second, ignore those people and if you make music make the music you want to, fuck conformity I say
@@Heisenbinks Honestly I agree with that, playing fast is still cool and all but there’s a time and a place for it and Kurt was great at playing what the song needed
@@andrewpappas9311 spot on that's exactly what he was about, serving the song and making it the best it can be is way more important than showing speed and skill, though I also enjoy speed when it's done right and fits the song, I think 80s early 90s thrash bands do that well without sacrificing song writing!
I think that, bottom line, it doesn't matter how you play, as much as if you feel what you play. A lot of people can and should be praised for their technical ability. It just sucks that Kurt gets written off for lacking it. And ironically, he doesn't lack it all that much, he's just a high profile guitarist who gets a lot of attention which, however deserved, is arguably the wrong kind, or for the wrong reasons, because of his excess and extreme popularity with swathes of people that want to add momentum to his being celebrated as a musician by people who largely can't play a note of what he could play. It's understandable that people who have no taste for his style and musicianship will want to mount the counter tendency to tear down his monolith. I used to be among them. Giving the music a chance, and being willing to try to appreciate his qualities as a musician, despite the aspects to his taste that made me closed off to it, resulted in me becoming a convert to what he was trying to do, and the many aspects to his artistry he was trying to do it in. He was incredible as a guitarist, and especially a songwriter, and it would probably be sensible to say he was more talented as a vocalist, and had an amazing voice that could blare out harder than any other. I feel that the creative ways that he filled out the negative space in his playing due to lacking virtuosity showed a specific kind of genius. It wasn't merely 'fake it til you make it,' he could write and play in truly talented ways, and the fact that it showed up even stronger as a performing artist who, while he hated touring and being made to perform like a dancing monkey, had the drive and strengths to succeed on stage as much as in the studio as a songwriter, showed just what he was made of, and that he was talented beyond measure or subjective criticism. It might be understandable that people feel he is overrated as a guitarist, and he mignt be by many. But his talents on his instrument had a subtlety and reservation to their application that showed the mark of someone who clearly defies understanding and sound estimation from beginning to end, as an amateur with latent gifts, as a professional musician and hit songwriter, and as a celebrated great and legend who has gained immortality in music memory.
Kurt was an amazing guitarrist, it's better making good stuff with poor technique than creating boring stuff with 829382 hours of practice, he was technical when he wanted
The chorus riff of Aneurysm is insanely complex, once you listen and WATCH live footage of it closely. The little stops together with little details in the vocal line. It's not: beat me out of me, beat me out of me-ee it's: beat me-ee (!) out of me beat me-ee (!) out of me-ee The first "me" is so subtle, no "meHee", it's just a slight "me-ee" (no "h" inside), together with the riff it's waving a dense little net of energetic holds and releases, it sounds incredible and is almost impossible to sing and play at the same time. Kurt was so dedicated to his art back in the day, they did nothing but rehearse so he would play Aneurysm in all of it's complexity live.
They opened the show with radio friendly when I saw them in Montreal in 1993. It was an amazing start to the show, Pat Smear jumping around like a maniac, he added so much to their live sound, gave Kurt the room to concentrate on singing. Unforgettable.
I would like to see a list of Kurt Cobain’s best solos because yes most of his solos weren’t the most face melting complicated solos ever. But he still had some pretty good solos and quite a few them were hard like Sappy, In Bloom, Floyd the Barber, Blew, Swap Meet, Aero Zeppelin, Spank Thru, School, Sifting and more are amazing and fun to play!
Hey I am 12 years old and I just started guitar and I came across you on RUclips and ever sense I have always had notifications and subscribed . You are such a inspiration and I want to grow up to be just like you.
Yet another amazing video! I always pick up some nuances from these songs that I doubt I’d have ever noticed without watching you. At some point I’d love to see you create guitar lessons that not only teach the basic chord structures and riffs, but also the finer details like guitar, amp and effects settings as well as the Kurtisms that are impossible to transcribe. You really seem to appreciate the more subtle qualities of his songs on a level that other people aren’t searching for.
I agree. Radio Friendly unit shifter Is often underrated, but i love It. Power, Speed, tecnical. It has all that characterize Kurt's sound. Happy to see one of my favorite song in the chart but I think It deserves more than 6th place. Hope next time you evaluate to put Lithium in classification. Peace, love, empathy.
Great vid as always. You nailed the Unit Shifter sound. Excellent work. Funny how different a top 10 can be. Mine are... 1. Milk It 2. Hairspray Queen 3. Mrs. Buttersworth 4. Token Eastern Song 5. Spank Thru 6. Negative Creep (specifically the chorus) 7. Scoff(specifically the pre-chorus) 8. Even In His Youth 9. Floyd The Barber 10. Anorexorcist
Love your list, especially that you included Mrs Buttersworth! I don't think there will ever be 2 top Nirvana riff lists that look the same. They just have that many great riffs
It makes me very happy to to see dive on this list not only that but its ranked 2. Its definitely my personal top three nirvana songs and its the most underrated nirvana song by far, plus it is played brilliantly, bravo!
So good to see content like this in 2023, I could only have dreamed to see a video like this 10 years ago! Was a big nirvana gearhead as a teen and did the exact same mods to my Left handed Cobain mustang - we’re the lucky few to have gotten our hands on one!
My top nirvana songs are: Drain You Forgotten Tune Token Eastern Song Do Re Mi Mexican Seafood I Hate Myself And Want To Die Been A Son Stain Oh The Guilt Clean Up Before She Comes The Other Improv Swap Meet Old Age Lithium
Amazing picks. Dive is always one of my favorite riffs to play, easily one of Kurt's best. Even In His Youth, Talk to Me, and Anorexorcist are sick as well.
So happy to see someone giving credit to Anorexorecist!! And the Hi-Flier tone in that song is absolutely spot on! Swap Meet too!!! You should do a full cover of anorexorcist? Is one of my favorite Early-Nirvana songs, and i always thought that could ended on Bleach
YES i would love to do a full Anorexocist cover, now that you say that I don't know why I haven't done that yet! There were going to record it at the January 1988 Dale Demo session but ran out of the tape that they paid for and never got to it 😭 That's one of the biggest Nirvana "what ifs" for me. It would've sounded absolutely nuts with Dale's drumming, Endino's production and with how unhinged Kurt was doing his vocals at that session
Ask any shredder to play Swap Meet and sing the melody Kurt did at the same time and they won’t be able to do it. Then ask them how good they think he was.
Kurt Cobain was a great guitarist and is my all time favorite guitar player.Kurt was the reason I picked up the guitar.I love Kurt’s simple guitar playing style.I think a lot of Nirvana songs are a great place to start for new guitar players because of there simplicity.I don’t care what the haters have to say Kurt Cobain is a legendary guitarist.
Kurt was a really good songwriter, his guitar parts fit the songs very well. If you look at the guitar playing of Dimebag Darrel for example, just listen to solo and outro from Floods
What Kurt lacked in technical skill, he more than made up for with memorable songwriting. These days, I'm into more technical stuff, but I always love coming back to Nirvana
R.I.P Kurt Cobain. The songs Kurt wrote spoke to generations. They still speak to traumas and experiences we also face today. Almost 30 years after he died and we can relate to him.
Man that sounded amazing. I'm not a huge fan of 10 and 9 but you still played them amazing. Wish my rig sounded like yours but I can't part with the money. Really good video
It's hard to argue with any song of your list. Was really pleasantly surprised to hear Anorexorcist. That one is an absolute banger from the early Kurt catalog.
I had TICKETS to the Lollapalooza in Columbus that year .. the same one Nirvana was supposed to headline and pulled out from.... And when I found out he pulled out at the last minute.. I sold. My tickets
i love your courage to break through the media shit wall of absolutely ignoring every other song other then slts and other hits, yes theyre all great songs but if youre gonna make a nirvana top 10 list, you cannot just base it off of the hits, i love that about this video, and i love every single song and riff on it. big respect!!
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Played on a Fender Stratocaster "Come as You Are" - Played on a Fender Jaguar "In Bloom" - Played on a Fender Mustang "Lithium" - Played on a Fender Stratocaster "Heart-Shaped Box" - Played on a Fender Jaguar "Breed" - Played on a Univox Hi-Flier "Scentless Apprentice" - Played on a Fender Mustang "About a Girl" - Played on a Martin D-18E acoustic guitar "Rape Me" - Played on a Fender Mustang "All Apologies" - Played on a Martin D-18E acoustic guitar
First off, I wanna say you match Kurt's guitar with pretty significant fidelity, in all of the key dimensions: Tone and settings, assemblage of equipment, and playing technique. That's really cool, and doing your best to recreate what he did with these riffs is the best way to show off and platform them for people to consider through the proper medium in isolation. Bravo! I couldn't comment without at least noting that, first and foremost. But with that out of the way, I wanted to humbly suggest and request a video where you talk about the evolution of Kurt's playing, tone and technique, songwriting, mainly with a view toward his instrumental accompaniment, and how it evolved from his beginning as an amateur musician, and was perfected into his own unique style as a developed and mature songwriter over time. I'm sure you have your own rhythm, and forgive me for suggesting a big and complicated topical piece of this nature, but I think that would be a fun and amazing one to watch, especially if you can simplify it and capture the most essential features and changes. I just saw your video on Illiteracy Will Prevail, and it was really excellent, engaging, and interesting to follow and hear; incredibly informative, and I don't see many videos longer than five minutes in general that keep me that interested for nearly twenty minutes, especially ones that feature a lot of demonstrations of instrumentation, equipment and tone. I think that using that method, and the same starting point and exploratory focus; looking at the existing documentation of his development as a player, and the equipment and techniques he used to do it, would be immensely intriguing, especially coming from you and the way you look at this subject. If you you read this, thanks for looking, and I look forward to your next project, whatever you choose to do with its creation!
Rip Kurt his impact on music and society can’t be denied wish I was around to see him preform live but sadly didn’t and tho we may be sad that he is no longer with us we can remember him through his music and legacy RIP to a legend gone but never forgotten Kurt Cobain
Great playing on your top 10 riffs 🤘 Alot of people say,Nirvana songs are for beginners and anyone can play them. While yes,alot of people can play Nirvana songs,there is very few that can get Kurt's rhythm technic right. Why? Because Kurt's rhythm is not as easy to replicate as his chord structure is and that is why I would always say that kurt was a great guitar player. You only have to listen to Bleach to hear how technical Kurt was but decied to simplify things when he got to the Nevermind stage. Playing super fast solos is one thing but without a good rhythm technic you are at nothing. Again,we'll done on all the videos you've done. It's great to have someone that goes indepth to Kurt's playing and gear like you do. Keep them coming.
I totally agree with your take on Kurt’s guitar style. The discussion reminds me of the graphics vs artistic style. Yes, shredding and all it entails is impressive, but if you have no style or soul it’s just a cool trick. The same way amazing video game graphics mean nothing if they don’t have style. That’s why people remember mgs1 for example over The Order 1886. Yeah the order looks better, but mgs1 is just way more memorable and stylish
Amazing video man and nice selection of riffs! As a hardcore Nirvana fan all your content is a blessing :) I also love Aero Zeppelin, Milk It, Curmudgeon, and I Hate Myself and Want To Die.
Rip Kurt Cobain a Legendary songWriter, performer and Singer and Artist, but most of all a Very influential and amazing Person ever to exist, of it weren’t for him i wouldn’t have picked up a guitar and Started playing he’s music that he wrote and played, Rip 😔🙏
This is no hate at all, I'm just curious: How can anyone be such a big fan after all this years? I mean it's awesome to see all your Nirvana collections and how much you admire kurt and his work, but what amazes me the most is the fact you didn't discover Nirvana yesterday, you've been a huge fan over the years.
I don't have an answer for that, and trust me many friends have asked me over the years how I haven't gotten sick of them yet as they have been my favorite band since I was 14. Half my life at this point! Other bands I discovered at the same time I eventually outgrew and lost interest in but never Nirvana. They may have very few studio albums but there's an entire world of live recordings/bootlegs that keep me excited!
Agree a million times. Kurt was an AMAZING AWE-INSPIRING guitar player. All the guitar center scale guys forget you have to WRITE music. lol. And he wrote perfect riffs and sang over them. Was he sloppy? Yes…and it served the aesthetic. Try to sing over his riffs. Try it. You can’t.
I wasn't around for Kurt's life, but to hear of someone who was so broken and blamed himself. I wish we could learn from his life to love and forgive ourselves and others, and that God loves you, no matter what you did or have done.
some of your best tones, eric. my top ten looks different from yours or quite frankly any other nirvana fan and that’s the beauty of KC and his riffage
My top 3 are the exact same as yours haha. I won't write out my full top ten for brevity's sake, but i will say that "On A Plain" and "Lithium" round out my top 5
If Kurt was still around just imagine the effects he be using and the way he would use them god he was so creative he could make something sound so bad and turn it around and make something good.
If you ever do a video on the Mosrite Gospel -Mark IV- Mark V, I have some trivia for you. First, the company's pronounced as "Moe's Right," because it's a combo of the names "Moseley" and "Boatright." Second, I've found *no official literature at all* that states that the Mosrite Gospel that Kurt had was officially a "Mark IV" at all. Most commonly, it's a "Mark V" model. But there are other versions of it from earlier that I"ll get to here. Let's backtrack: *1965 - 1966:* The guitar started as a Ventures II in 1965, but it's the second version of the Ventures II. The first and earliest version (referred to as the "Ventures II Slab Body" now, to reduce confusion) is the type that Johnny Ramone famously played, and it was a very short-lived model, stopping with numbers topping at B150. But that's just a footnote here. The "Mark V" version of the Ventures II is referred to as the "Ventures II German Carved" model now, again, to reduce confusion. The second version seems to start around B151 - B154, and lasted up to roughly B700. *1966:* The Ventures II Carved model is re-named the Ventures Mark V model in March or April 1966, around B700. *1968?:* The Ventures Mark V model loses the Ventures endorsement around Mark V B1500 - B1525, and the models made up to B1687 or B1688 do no have a Gospel name on them. *February 14, 1969:* Mosrite goes into bankruptcy, and the head of the company re-buys various tools and parts that were at the auction. It's *likely* to be just after this period when Kurt's Mosrite Gospel Mark V was assembled; his is B1697, and every Mark V that I've seen from B1689 - B1700 has the Gospel name on the headstock. B1688 is not accounted for, and B1687 is a weird one with a bound Dobro neck and a deep cutaway unlike others, but it's not a Gospel. Because Mosrite went into bankruptcy at this time, it's said that Semie Moseley (head of Mosrite) was using the "Gospel" name to just sell guitars at all, before getting enough money to re-purchase the rights to the Mosrite name. But this is a bit foggy and uncertain. As I said, there's no official word that I've ever seen saying that Kurt's Gospel Mark V was ever called a "Mark IV." There were very few Gospel variants of the Mark V. Since Kurt's was *likely* made in the bankruptcy period, _maybe_ there's a chance that these few ones were called that just to get past legalities. These supposedly came with a letter in the guitar case to each original owner, so maybe in those letters, they were called that. But I've never seen a scan of such a letter, if any even still exist. Also, the "Gospel" name was previously used for just some of Mosrite's "Celebrity" hollow body models, and I'm not sure if these were just sold by themselves or donated to Churches or both. I have, however, heard that Mosrite sometimes donated their guitars to Churches. *Other Trivia:* Kurt had another Mosrite Mark V (Blue, and a 1966 model, seemingly [its truss rod location seems to be at the body end, and that design was changed to have Headstock access in July or so of 1966.]) This is the guitar that Kurt gave to Pat Smear to use on SNL 93. Kurt's guitar tech, Big John Duncan, also played it earlier, for the Roseland Ballroom 93 show. It's best heard in "Very Ape," otherwise it's mostly just used for feedback. There are some variants of the Ventures II and Mark V, but I won't detail them here. If you want to see that, then there's a serial number list that details them. Max Katzenberger hosts that at "hang10 de," but I don't think I can link that here, and trying to find it in a search engine will (at best) take you to a forum post which has the link. Mosrite's scale length is *24.50* (yes, really.) An odd length, but that's what they used. They also had hot output single coil pickups. The pups in the Mark Vs that Kurt had, they're constructed with 2 bar magnets in the middle (Alnico V, seemingly,) and a spacer of equal thickness of the magnet is in-between them. Then they use either AWG 43 or AWG 44, I'm not sure which, and pickup windings vary - I've heard a few cases where the neck pup can be as low as 6k, or as high as a bit over 8k. The Bridge pup then should be 8k or 10k. Source: I took the casing off the neck pickup of my Ventures II Carved model (though it /isn't/ strictly original and was wound by a former Mosrite employee to be a bit hotter than normal [about 11k and 12.1k,] I did order these to be close in spec. The tone is on target with what I was after.) *Less relevant Mosrite Trivia:* Mosrite's Single Coils with pole pieces (not what Kurt used) are sometimes mistaken for P90s since they look so similar, but they're 0.400 inches shorter than a P90. Mosrite did make Humbuckers in the 1970s - 1980s which fit in the same casing size as the single coils, but those Humbuckers are a *lot* rarer to come by, and Kurt didn't have any of them. Curtis Novak makes a reproduction of those. (Yes, I re-posted this here, since it's your newest video.)
![Cody Johnson - I'm Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yy9PuYMU29g/mqdefault.jpg)
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Like what I do? Buy me a coffee so I can stay awake while I mix audio and edit videos 😴
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Rip Kurt Cobain + Layne Staley
RIP Chris Cornell
@@car_guy25carlover28 RIP Scott Weiland too
RIP Chester Bennington
@@shark2k764 Rip Andrew Wood
rip george ferryworth
People may still give Kurt shit for not being the most technical guitarist out there but his playing style worked well for the music of Nirvana and helped make them the musical icons they are today, plus he still made up for it in having a great voice and being one hell of a songwriter as well… still can’t believe it’s been almost 30 years since we lost him, RIP Kurt and thanks for everything you’ve done brother
Who cares? Anyone who disses him because of technical ability don't get that at the end of the day music is about feeling not playing a million notes per second, ignore those people and if you make music make the music you want to, fuck conformity I say
@@Heisenbinks Honestly I agree with that, playing fast is still cool and all but there’s a time and a place for it and Kurt was great at playing what the song needed
@@andrewpappas9311 spot on that's exactly what he was about, serving the song and making it the best it can be is way more important than showing speed and skill, though I also enjoy speed when it's done right and fits the song, I think 80s early 90s thrash bands do that well without sacrificing song writing!
I think that, bottom line, it doesn't matter how you play, as much as if you feel what you play. A lot of people can and should be praised for their technical ability. It just sucks that Kurt gets written off for lacking it. And ironically, he doesn't lack it all that much, he's just a high profile guitarist who gets a lot of attention which, however deserved, is arguably the wrong kind, or for the wrong reasons, because of his excess and extreme popularity with swathes of people that want to add momentum to his being celebrated as a musician by people who largely can't play a note of what he could play.
It's understandable that people who have no taste for his style and musicianship will want to mount the counter tendency to tear down his monolith. I used to be among them. Giving the music a chance, and being willing to try to appreciate his qualities as a musician, despite the aspects to his taste that made me closed off to it, resulted in me becoming a convert to what he was trying to do, and the many aspects to his artistry he was trying to do it in. He was incredible as a guitarist, and especially a songwriter, and it would probably be sensible to say he was more talented as a vocalist, and had an amazing voice that could blare out harder than any other.
I feel that the creative ways that he filled out the negative space in his playing due to lacking virtuosity showed a specific kind of genius. It wasn't merely 'fake it til you make it,' he could write and play in truly talented ways, and the fact that it showed up even stronger as a performing artist who, while he hated touring and being made to perform like a dancing monkey, had the drive and strengths to succeed on stage as much as in the studio as a songwriter, showed just what he was made of, and that he was talented beyond measure or subjective criticism.
It might be understandable that people feel he is overrated as a guitarist, and he mignt be by many. But his talents on his instrument had a subtlety and reservation to their application that showed the mark of someone who clearly defies understanding and sound estimation from beginning to end, as an amateur with latent gifts, as a professional musician and hit songwriter, and as a celebrated great and legend who has gained immortality in music memory.
Brian May recently mentioned how influential Kurt was.
Perfection sucks the life out of almost everything.
Keep on Rockin' (in a free world).
Doot doo da loo doo
I love how if everyone was to compile their own list of top 10 Nirvana riffs, no two would look alike
That’s beauty of it, their riffs are just that good!!
True
Kurt was an amazing guitarrist, it's better making good stuff with poor technique than creating boring stuff with 829382 hours of practice, he was technical when he wanted
💯
Radio friendly unit shifter and aneurysm are so fun to play and 100% some of the most underrated work by nirvana. Such fun songs
The chorus riff of Aneurysm is insanely complex, once you listen and WATCH live footage of it closely. The little stops together with little details in the vocal line.
It's not:
beat me out of me,
beat me out of me-ee
it's:
beat me-ee (!) out of me
beat me-ee (!) out of me-ee
The first "me" is so subtle, no "meHee",
it's just a slight "me-ee" (no "h" inside), together with the riff it's waving a dense little net of energetic holds and releases, it sounds incredible and is almost impossible to sing and play at the same time. Kurt was so dedicated to his art back in the day, they did nothing but rehearse so he would play Aneurysm in all of it's complexity live.
They opened the show with radio friendly when I saw them in Montreal in 1993. It was an amazing start to the show, Pat Smear jumping around like a maniac, he added so much to their live sound, gave Kurt the room to concentrate on singing. Unforgettable.
It is sad to know that these 10 songs aren’t on the top 10 on Spotify but that’s what makes them great.
This is the best top 10 nirvana riffs video it's so true! ❤️
Wow thank you so so much! 🙏
@@NirvanaGuitars thanks it's an honor being replied and pinned by you!
You've passed up a golden opportunity to be "Serb The Serbians"
@@Ivegotwormsinme hahaha
The tone on Swap Meet is spot on! Well done!!
Thank you!
Ikr it felt like I was at my local drug-infested swap meet
Just said the same!
today, we lost a voice.
may kurt cobain be forever remembered
Bro im so jealous of that collection! Bless you for showing how amazing and talented Kurt was and honoring him like that!
I would like to see a list of Kurt Cobain’s best solos because yes most of his solos weren’t the most face melting complicated solos ever. But he still had some pretty good solos and quite a few them were hard like Sappy, In Bloom, Floyd the Barber, Blew, Swap Meet, Aero Zeppelin, Spank Thru, School, Sifting and more are amazing and fun to play!
Hey I am 12 years old and I just started guitar and I came across you on RUclips and ever sense I have always had notifications and subscribed . You are such a inspiration and I want to grow up to be just like you.
RIP Kurt, such a tragic loss and may we all remember his music and legacy that he left behind.
This day, 29 years ago we lost a legend. R.I.P Kurt, may your soul live on in all those who you continue to inspire everyday. 🖤
LAYNE STALEY ALSO
Love swap meet!!! ❤️
Amazing video, and your introduction words 🤘🏽 thank you so much ❤️✊🏽
I'm happy of knowing that I'm not the only one who think Radio Friendly Unit Shifter is THE BEST NIRVANA'S RIFF and one of the MOST UNDERRATED.
A very solid list! My own favourite riffs are Breed, Scentless Apprentice and Mr. moustache
Nice choices!!
Yet another amazing video! I always pick up some nuances from these songs that I doubt I’d have ever noticed without watching you. At some point I’d love to see you create guitar lessons that not only teach the basic chord structures and riffs, but also the finer details like guitar, amp and effects settings as well as the Kurtisms that are impossible to transcribe. You really seem to appreciate the more subtle qualities of his songs on a level that other people aren’t searching for.
Brilliant job man. I love your top by the way!
I agree. Radio Friendly unit shifter Is often underrated, but i love It. Power, Speed, tecnical. It has all that characterize Kurt's sound.
Happy to see one of my favorite song in the chart but I think It deserves more than 6th place.
Hope next time you evaluate to put Lithium in classification.
Peace, love, empathy.
Man, hearing that makes me realize just how crazy the riff in Radio Friendly Unit Shifter is
You never miss dude, i always look forward to a new video from you, what a criminally underrated guitar/nirvana channel i mean damn!!
ABSOLUTELY AGREE ON RFUS SO FUN TO PLAY
Great vid as always. You nailed the Unit Shifter sound. Excellent work.
Funny how different a top 10 can be. Mine are...
1. Milk It
2. Hairspray Queen
3. Mrs. Buttersworth
4. Token Eastern Song
5. Spank Thru
6. Negative Creep (specifically the chorus)
7. Scoff(specifically the pre-chorus)
8. Even In His Youth
9. Floyd The Barber
10. Anorexorcist
Love your list, especially that you included Mrs Buttersworth! I don't think there will ever be 2 top Nirvana riff lists that look the same. They just have that many great riffs
@@NirvanaGuitars Very true!
Dude! I glad you rate Dive as high as you do! That's my favorite! Breed, You know you're right, Love Buzz and Aneurysm are also in my top 5.
Nice tone, man! Especially on swap meet and aneurysm. Also, great picks. Man, he was such a talent.
It makes me very happy to to see dive on this list not only that but its ranked 2. Its definitely my personal top three nirvana songs and its the most underrated nirvana song by far, plus it is played brilliantly, bravo!
Rip kurt i wasn't around in his tiome but i love the music he wrote
So good to see content like this in 2023, I could only have dreamed to see a video like this 10 years ago! Was a big nirvana gearhead as a teen and did the exact same mods to my Left handed Cobain mustang - we’re the lucky few to have gotten our hands on one!
I love your tones and your guitars!
Thank you so much!
Great selection! Only a true guitarrist knows how Kurt was perfect and unique ♥
I think the more unpopular riffs are really good like the popular riffs are super good but the others too but they arent seen
I swear I wasn’t trying to purposely only pick more unknown songs, I know it can come off that way 😅 these are just genuinely my 10 favorite to play!
My top nirvana songs are:
Drain You
Forgotten Tune
Token Eastern Song
Do Re Mi
Mexican Seafood
I Hate Myself And Want To Die
Been A Son
Stain
Oh The Guilt
Clean Up Before She Comes
The Other Improv
Swap Meet
Old Age
Lithium
@@NirvanaGuitars yes i know i meant like alot of great stuff arent seen
Amazing picks. Dive is always one of my favorite riffs to play, easily one of Kurt's best. Even In His Youth, Talk to Me, and Anorexorcist are sick as well.
So happy to see someone giving credit to Anorexorecist!!
And the Hi-Flier tone in that song is absolutely spot on! Swap Meet too!!!
You should do a full cover of anorexorcist? Is one of my favorite Early-Nirvana songs, and i always thought that could ended on Bleach
YES i would love to do a full Anorexocist cover, now that you say that I don't know why I haven't done that yet! There were going to record it at the January 1988 Dale Demo session but ran out of the tape that they paid for and never got to it 😭 That's one of the biggest Nirvana "what ifs" for me. It would've sounded absolutely nuts with Dale's drumming, Endino's production and with how unhinged Kurt was doing his vocals at that session
IM SO HAPPY YOU INCLUDED TALK TO ME!!
great shit!! i knew there was a reason for me having all the live perfmormances of nine month media blackout in my playlist
really love your stuff
Ask any shredder to play Swap Meet and sing the melody Kurt did at the same time and they won’t be able to do it. Then ask them how good they think he was.
ive always liked radio friendly's intro so much
I need a Sunburst Jaguar like Kurt’s. It looks awesome!
Kurt Cobain was a great guitarist and is my all time favorite guitar player.Kurt was the reason I picked up the guitar.I love Kurt’s simple guitar playing style.I think a lot of Nirvana songs are a great place to start for new guitar players because of there simplicity.I don’t care what the haters have to say Kurt Cobain is a legendary guitarist.
Kurt was a really good songwriter, his guitar parts fit the songs very well. If you look at the guitar playing of Dimebag Darrel for example, just listen to solo and outro from Floods
I agree with your list 100%. Even though Aneurysms is probably my favorite riff, the riffs progressively got better as your list went on.
'School' is a good one! Nice job
What Kurt lacked in technical skill, he more than made up for with memorable songwriting. These days, I'm into more technical stuff, but I always love coming back to Nirvana
R.I.P Kurt Cobain. The songs Kurt wrote spoke to generations. They still speak to traumas and experiences we also face today. Almost 30 years after he died and we can relate to him.
Man that sounded amazing. I'm not a huge fan of 10 and 9 but you still played them amazing. Wish my rig sounded like yours but I can't part with the money. Really good video
It's hard to argue with any song of your list. Was really pleasantly surprised to hear Anorexorcist. That one is an absolute banger from the early Kurt catalog.
I had TICKETS to the Lollapalooza in Columbus that year .. the same one Nirvana was supposed to headline and pulled out from.... And when I found out he pulled out at the last minute.. I sold. My tickets
i love your courage to break through the media shit wall of absolutely ignoring every other song other then slts and other hits, yes theyre all great songs but if youre gonna make a nirvana top 10 list, you cannot just base it off of the hits, i love that about this video, and i love every single song and riff on it. big respect!!
From a riff point of view these are the top 10! You are a legend! Thank you so much for a video like this!
Thank you for watching 🙂
Love supporting the videos watch times 🙂
I didn’t expect it to make the list but one of my favorite riffs is from Breed. So basic but I love it
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Played on a Fender Stratocaster
"Come as You Are" - Played on a Fender Jaguar
"In Bloom" - Played on a Fender Mustang
"Lithium" - Played on a Fender Stratocaster
"Heart-Shaped Box" - Played on a Fender Jaguar
"Breed" - Played on a Univox Hi-Flier
"Scentless Apprentice" - Played on a Fender Mustang
"About a Girl" - Played on a Martin D-18E acoustic guitar
"Rape Me" - Played on a Fender Mustang
"All Apologies" - Played on a Martin D-18E acoustic guitar
Id love to see a full recreation on Aneurysm, very underrated song imo
1:33 Thank you! I prefer their album cuts over the hits to be honest with you.
I was hoping Radio Friendly Unit! 😻👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼❤️🕊❤️
First off, I wanna say you match Kurt's guitar with pretty significant fidelity, in all of the key dimensions: Tone and settings, assemblage of equipment, and playing technique. That's really cool, and doing your best to recreate what he did with these riffs is the best way to show off and platform them for people to consider through the proper medium in isolation. Bravo! I couldn't comment without at least noting that, first and foremost.
But with that out of the way, I wanted to humbly suggest and request a video where you talk about the evolution of Kurt's playing, tone and technique, songwriting, mainly with a view toward his instrumental accompaniment, and how it evolved from his beginning as an amateur musician, and was perfected into his own unique style as a developed and mature songwriter over time. I'm sure you have your own rhythm, and forgive me for suggesting a big and complicated topical piece of this nature, but I think that would be a fun and amazing one to watch, especially if you can simplify it and capture the most essential features and changes.
I just saw your video on Illiteracy Will Prevail, and it was really excellent, engaging, and interesting to follow and hear; incredibly informative, and I don't see many videos longer than five minutes in general that keep me that interested for nearly twenty minutes, especially ones that feature a lot of demonstrations of instrumentation, equipment and tone. I think that using that method, and the same starting point and exploratory focus; looking at the existing documentation of his development as a player, and the equipment and techniques he used to do it, would be immensely intriguing, especially coming from you and the way you look at this subject.
If you you read this, thanks for looking, and I look forward to your next project, whatever you choose to do with its creation!
Rip Kurt his impact on music and society can’t be denied wish I was around to see him preform live but sadly didn’t and tho we may be sad that he is no longer with us we can remember him through his music and legacy RIP to a legend gone but never forgotten Kurt Cobain
Amazing song list here!
Great playing on your top 10 riffs 🤘
Alot of people say,Nirvana songs are for beginners and anyone can play them.
While yes,alot of people can play Nirvana songs,there is very few that can get Kurt's rhythm technic right.
Why? Because Kurt's rhythm is not as easy to replicate as his chord structure is and that is why I would always say that kurt was a great guitar player.
You only have to listen to Bleach to hear how technical Kurt was but decied to simplify things when he got to the Nevermind stage.
Playing super fast solos is one thing but without a good rhythm technic you are at nothing.
Again,we'll done on all the videos you've done.
It's great to have someone that goes indepth to Kurt's playing and gear like you do.
Keep them coming.
Man, I was looking forward to hearing milk it, you still have a great top 10 though
Hi, cool top and now we wait for Sappy and I Hate Myself guitar tone video🐢
Finally someone giving radio friendly unit shifter its dues. It is my favorite song along with sappy, downer and not written by Kurt oh me and D 7
I totally agree with your take on Kurt’s guitar style. The discussion reminds me of the graphics vs artistic style. Yes, shredding and all it entails is impressive, but if you have no style or soul it’s just a cool trick. The same way amazing video game graphics mean nothing if they don’t have style. That’s why people remember mgs1 for example over The Order 1886. Yeah the order looks better, but mgs1 is just way more memorable and stylish
Kurt Cobain will always be in our hearts.
Peace. Love and emphaty
🤍
your distortion is amazing
Amazing video man and nice selection of riffs! As a hardcore Nirvana fan all your content is a blessing :)
I also love Aero Zeppelin, Milk It, Curmudgeon, and I Hate Myself and Want To Die.
Great playing and tones! We miss you so much Kurt!
Talk to Me is SOOO underrated
Glad you included it!
It truly is!! If there was a proper studio or demo recording of it I am confident it would be one of their most popular songs. It's that good
To quote Tyler from MusicIsWin. If Kurt Cobain would be if a guitar was pawnshop…. But one of those really good pawn shops :)
Rip Kurt Cobain a Legendary songWriter, performer and Singer and Artist, but most of all a Very influential and amazing Person ever to exist, of it weren’t for him i wouldn’t have picked up a guitar and Started playing he’s music that he wrote and played,
Rip 😔🙏
This is a master piece eric great job keep it ❤️
Thank you so much!
Thanks for replying so much ❤️
Incesticide is such a banger album
I loved this type of video! Hope to see more like this!
Also, hell yeah! Mexican Seafood appreciation!
This is no hate at all, I'm just curious:
How can anyone be such a big fan after all this years?
I mean it's awesome to see all your Nirvana collections and how much you admire kurt and his work, but what amazes me the most is the fact you didn't discover Nirvana yesterday, you've been a huge fan over the years.
I don't have an answer for that, and trust me many friends have asked me over the years how I haven't gotten sick of them yet as they have been my favorite band since I was 14. Half my life at this point! Other bands I discovered at the same time I eventually outgrew and lost interest in but never Nirvana. They may have very few studio albums but there's an entire world of live recordings/bootlegs that keep me excited!
Teen spirit not #1, a man with class great video ♥
I agree with the majority of the list honestly, really good video 👍
Even if kurt isn't my fav guitarist he's the one who made me play guitar.
Great list! The song I play the most is "About a girl" I think :D
Nice shirt bro 👍
I think that Dive is my absolute favorite
I hear so much bass in the tone, you wouldn’t even need a bassist 😂 So satisfying…
Great Video dude! Ever thought about doing Nirvana Guitar Lessons?
Great, i was waiting for aero zeppelin, it's a really mesmerising)
Excellent riff choices Eric!!
Thank you my friend 😃
Aneurysm of course!! 💕💕
Please tell me I'm not the only one singing every song as he played 😅
Hell yeah I love these riffs, Aneurysm has to my favourite though 🤟🏻
Agree a million times. Kurt was an AMAZING AWE-INSPIRING guitar player. All the guitar center scale guys forget you have to WRITE music. lol. And he wrote perfect riffs and sang over them. Was he sloppy? Yes…and it served the aesthetic. Try to sing over his riffs. Try it. You can’t.
Agree with the number one just because it's My favourite Nirvana song XD
Swap Meet never is on these top 10 and for me its the best riff, kudos to you man
My favorite riff on an album full of great riffs, there's no way I wasn't going to include it 😃
I wasn't around for Kurt's life, but to hear of someone who was so broken and blamed himself. I wish we could learn from his life to love and forgive ourselves and others, and that God loves you, no matter what you did or have done.
some of your best tones, eric. my top ten looks different from yours or quite frankly any other nirvana fan and that’s the beauty of KC and his riffage
Thank you so much!
My top 3 are the exact same as yours haha. I won't write out my full top ten for brevity's sake, but i will say that "On A Plain" and "Lithium" round out my top 5
even in his youth feels so empty without bass…. great video though! loved yr picks.
Yes! Such an underrated song all around, amazing bassline happening behind one of Kurt's best riffs
brooo 44 seconds ago im early now, amazing!
haha welcome to the early viewers club!!
If Kurt was still around just imagine the effects he be using and the way he would use them god he was so creative he could make something sound so bad and turn it around and make something good.
Great list
Thanks!
If you ever do a video on the Mosrite Gospel -Mark IV- Mark V, I have some trivia for you.
First, the company's pronounced as "Moe's Right," because it's a combo of the names "Moseley" and "Boatright."
Second, I've found *no official literature at all* that states that the Mosrite Gospel that Kurt had was officially a "Mark IV" at all. Most commonly, it's a "Mark V" model. But there are other versions of it from earlier that I"ll get to here. Let's backtrack:
*1965 - 1966:*
The guitar started as a Ventures II in 1965, but it's the second version of the Ventures II. The first and earliest version (referred to as the "Ventures II Slab Body" now, to reduce confusion) is the type that Johnny Ramone famously played, and it was a very short-lived model, stopping with numbers topping at B150. But that's just a footnote here.
The "Mark V" version of the Ventures II is referred to as the "Ventures II German Carved" model now, again, to reduce confusion. The second version seems to start around B151 - B154, and lasted up to roughly B700.
*1966:*
The Ventures II Carved model is re-named the Ventures Mark V model in March or April 1966, around B700.
*1968?:*
The Ventures Mark V model loses the Ventures endorsement around Mark V B1500 - B1525, and the models made up to B1687 or B1688 do no have a Gospel name on them.
*February 14, 1969:*
Mosrite goes into bankruptcy, and the head of the company re-buys various tools and parts that were at the auction. It's *likely* to be just after this period when Kurt's Mosrite Gospel Mark V was assembled; his is B1697, and every Mark V that I've seen from B1689 - B1700 has the Gospel name on the headstock. B1688 is not accounted for, and B1687 is a weird one with a bound Dobro neck and a deep cutaway unlike others, but it's not a Gospel.
Because Mosrite went into bankruptcy at this time, it's said that Semie Moseley (head of Mosrite) was using the "Gospel" name to just sell guitars at all, before getting enough money to re-purchase the rights to the Mosrite name. But this is a bit foggy and uncertain.
As I said, there's no official word that I've ever seen saying that Kurt's Gospel Mark V was ever called a "Mark IV." There were very few Gospel variants of the Mark V. Since Kurt's was *likely* made in the bankruptcy period, _maybe_ there's a chance that these few ones were called that just to get past legalities. These supposedly came with a letter in the guitar case to each original owner, so maybe in those letters, they were called that. But I've never seen a scan of such a letter, if any even still exist.
Also, the "Gospel" name was previously used for just some of Mosrite's "Celebrity" hollow body models, and I'm not sure if these were just sold by themselves or donated to Churches or both. I have, however, heard that Mosrite sometimes donated their guitars to Churches.
*Other Trivia:*
Kurt had another Mosrite Mark V (Blue, and a 1966 model, seemingly [its truss rod location seems to be at the body end, and that design was changed to have Headstock access in July or so of 1966.]) This is the guitar that Kurt gave to Pat Smear to use on SNL 93. Kurt's guitar tech, Big John Duncan, also played it earlier, for the Roseland Ballroom 93 show. It's best heard in "Very Ape," otherwise it's mostly just used for feedback.
There are some variants of the Ventures II and Mark V, but I won't detail them here. If you want to see that, then there's a serial number list that details them. Max Katzenberger hosts that at "hang10 de," but I don't think I can link that here, and trying to find it in a search engine will (at best) take you to a forum post which has the link.
Mosrite's scale length is *24.50* (yes, really.) An odd length, but that's what they used. They also had hot output single coil pickups.
The pups in the Mark Vs that Kurt had, they're constructed with 2 bar magnets in the middle (Alnico V, seemingly,) and a spacer of equal thickness of the magnet is in-between them. Then they use either AWG 43 or AWG 44, I'm not sure which, and pickup windings vary - I've heard a few cases where the neck pup can be as low as 6k, or as high as a bit over 8k. The Bridge pup then should be 8k or 10k. Source: I took the casing off the neck pickup of my Ventures II Carved model (though it /isn't/ strictly original and was wound by a former Mosrite employee to be a bit hotter than normal [about 11k and 12.1k,] I did order these to be close in spec. The tone is on target with what I was after.)
*Less relevant Mosrite Trivia:*
Mosrite's Single Coils with pole pieces (not what Kurt used) are sometimes mistaken for P90s since they look so similar, but they're 0.400 inches shorter than a P90.
Mosrite did make Humbuckers in the 1970s - 1980s which fit in the same casing size as the single coils, but those Humbuckers are a *lot* rarer to come by, and Kurt didn't have any of them. Curtis Novak makes a reproduction of those.
(Yes, I re-posted this here, since it's your newest video.)