I almost spit my beers out when you said the video was going to be about On A Plain and not Heart Shaped Box. On A Plain is a brilliant song and one of my favorite of all time. I've never met anyone who has held it in such regard, either. This channel is fantastic, you inspired me to pick up the guitar again.
@@matturner6890 You are so right! On A Plain and Drain You! Though the intro to SLTS is iconic, as in: I remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard it. :)
@@JC-hm4zu I was born a little early to hear it properly (I was born in 91 so it's been on my brain since I was a baby) so it's almost like it's not a song, but a Bible verse I'm all too familiar with or something... Plus it's overplayed haha. Glad you agree on those 2 songs tho! They really show off Kurt's effortless ability to write amazing melodies on guitar and vox
Attention all Record Label A&R “Suits”: Rick Beato's work on the"What Makes This Song Great" series is a service to the musical world. The professional quality of his analyses and observations regarding a plethora of artistic, technical, theoretical, practical and sociological aspects of each song he turns his attention to is beyond "entertaining," it is educationally inspiring. I am a composer, educator and producer who holds a doctorate in music composition, and I have a deep appreciation for Rick's attention to the details of what, why and how in every one of his videos. Suits - leave his videos up because he is cultivating a knowledge base that can raise the standards of discourse, creation, performance and production in all genres of music.
Suits (& Big Cheeses) Please also leave his music up because analysing great songs is if anything going to lead to more of the bands songs and products be sold not less.
Couldn't agree more. Heard my first episode today. Moved both my playing of and musical understanding of a fav song up two or three notches - very quickly! Thank you , Rick.
Hey it’s the lawyers and managers not the lawyers, mostly not belonging to label. Leave the underpaid whipping boys of the industry without whom there is no industry, the A&Rs, alone.
And Cobain is criminally underrated now. Almost like there's a backlash against him due to his canonization (everyone wants to be cool and say Nirvana were overrated, the other Seattle bands are better....your typical internet contrarian "hey look at me with the spicy take" kind of stuff). But Kurt was brilliant... the genuine article.
I constantly keep hearing this. Also talked with people saying that they eventually "grew out" of their Nirvana phase, and who look at their own prior appreciation of the band with some embarrassment.
when I was playing these tunes 25 years ago as a teenager I had no clue about the complexity and the music theory behind it, it just felt so good. Your videos give immense insight and help put everything into great perspective. Thumbs up for having the right contacts to get the separated stem tracks 😉
Rick, you are really onto something here. I love this series for so many reasons. Please keep this up. It's a great framework for a video and since there are millions of songs, you basically will never run out of ideas for videos. Your enthusiasm is infectious .Thanks for everything I've learned from you so far Rick, I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Take care.
I think that lot of Cobain's uniqueness comes from him playing major rather than minor and that has a lot to do with his playing technique where he kind of plays power chord and places his pinky more or less randomly over the fifth of the chord. That way he gets some sus4 sounds on power chords (intro of Smells like Teen Spirit) that have been played when the root is on the 6th E string, and major (or even major 6) when the root is on A, now that I think of it, I cannot really think of many Nirvana songs where he plays an actual minor bar chord from this position. I am guessing that him playing the chords like that developed him an unusual ear for harmony.
He usually played sixth string Barre chords with his pointer and ring finger (no pinky). The ring finger often gets that 3rd string along with the 6, 5 and 4.
Ring finger, right. It's way too long ago when I was watching Nirvana Live! Sold Out VHS to remember the finger. For me the results is the same no matter it's the ring finger or pinky.
@Kalervo Ahonen I think the only time I heard him playing a minor chord was in Pennyroyal Tea(ending), and sometimes in the beginning. Anyways, I definitely agree with your analysis!
Finally, a sentient engineer / producer with a huge theory background pumping his fist to the genius of Nirvana. Like you said man, the MELODIES. You can't fake that, you can't even live nearby.
I love Nirvana and I also think On a Plain is one of the greatest songs. Kurt was such an amazing artist. Beautiful melodies, meaningful lyrics. He was putting his heart in every song.
Thanks for choosing this song, it shows just how important Dave and Krist were to Nirvana. It always pisses me off when people say Kurt was Nirvana and act like Dave and Krist weren't important and any two people could have filled those roles. Dave and Krist were extremely vital to Kurt's songs and the sound of Nirvana. Nobody's bass playing would sound or fit those songs like Krist does. Dave's drum parts are also unique and his vocals harmonizing with Kurt is beautiful and nobody else would sound the same. Kurt may still have been successful on his own but it wouldn't have been the same. I don't think they get the credit they deserve.
Kurt knew that. He was pretty picky. Look how many drummers they had before Dave came along and they knew they had it. As great as he was, Kurt wouldn’t have made it far without these two incredibly talented men.
@@dreemsnake1 I think it likely Krst is amazingly talented having seen him playing Sweet Child of Mine on Accordian on RUclips. I don't know whether Kurt wouldn't have made it far without Krist though as Krist was almost always only playing the root note of whatever Kurt was playing. Nowt wrong with that and It's probably true of most guitar bands. Yet, KC could have recruited any of many people to do that couldn't he ? I do think Krist's tightness with Kurts playing helped KC to make it far though I'm not sure that's because of talent rather familiarity and longevity.
@@bellix6288 KC had already made it far without Pat yet he may well have gone on to continue to make it far with Pat having brought his talents to the table.
azrealus99 I've never heard a band with bass as pronounced as Nirvana. it's really easy to hear krist in the mix, and he kills it every time. deserved more credit.
@@gruesomewolfgaming4735 personally I’ve never heard a band use bass like Jane’s addiction. It was absolutely genius and I think in a lot of ways they paved the way for nirvana and grunge in general. But yes krist deserves so much more credit. Amazing bassist
I doubt Krist was the one that made the great basslines. For eg the bass in ; Lithium was just the root notes to what KC plays in the track. And so was ultimately made up by KC not Krist. Likewise with numerous of the bands songs. And if not KC wouldn't have been credited as the sole songwriter on almost every song. I don't remember noticing many of the bands songs that had bass-guitar that didn't just stick to following the root note as with most bands bassist.
as a 12 year old kid when this record came out, it's one of the reasons I picked up a guitar. This was my favorite song. Something about the chorus with the humming is extremely ethereal. I'll never forget it. Even now it still is amazing. I was so glad when I heard you saying you were doing this song instead of Heart Shaped Box.
None of you are wrong, SOOO MANY great Nirvana songs, my favorites are Drain you, Big cheese, downer, sappy, lounge act, even in his youth, dumb, rape me, I can keep going but I'm sure you guys already knew.
Two greats , for ssssure First two nirvs I evr learned to cover “well” Ps. (I ‘learn’ singers) To date, Kurts been my most difficult study / to become proficient* [enough to my taste] Bout 2years of solid str8 up nirvana only (mostly) repetition
On a Plain is my favorite track on Nevermind! Thanks for doing this song. Side note: Krist Novoselic was the secret weapon in Nirvana, his basslines kept the song moving, totally complimenting the simple guitar chords Kurt played. Nirvana really was a magical band, and back in the day my dad kept telling me they were just noise. As time has gone by (decades later), my dad totally gets it now, partially because modern music for the most part is so plastic. He now recognizes how melodic their music is.
Super weird analogy, but I'd compare your channel to when I would try to skate with a hockey team that was way above my age/skill level, but I figured if I just tried, I would learn something and maybe get better while I realized that I'm not as good as I thought I was. I know just enough about music to know that I need to learn more when I watch this channel. This channel pushes me. I love it.
Josh Williams Trust me brother, I have the same dilemma but I keep tuning in to Beato coz you can’t get a better forum for musical theory than this on the Tube!
Yep. He used lot of single note lead-type riffs, dissonant chords and lots of powerfull, gritty sounding chords like what Rick shows at 13:32 . People claiming he used powerchords only have no idea what they are talking about. Plus is arrangements are very clever and interesting
I think it's because he gets lumped in with punk. A lot of of punk is simple. Nirvana is simple in the sense that it might not be as hard to execute live as your virtuoso air-guitar solo or speedy thrash metal riffs, but Nirvana used dissonance much better than a typical "punk" band ever did. Dissonance was an aspect of older punk, but it was usually just intentional off-tuning and distortion that made it that way, not the composition itself. Nirvana used dissonant compositions that still managed to have the semblance of a melodic hook suitable to pop music.
So I guess Nirvana are more like the Buzzcocks with punk pop than being untempered energy like The Pistols (although Glenn Matlock who wrote the tunes had pop sensibilities) or technical musicianship like the Clash.
You're right regarding Cobain. I was recording and touring at the same time Nevermind broke. That was a time when many guitarists, myself included, learned how to make "sloppy" playing sound "right". I'm sure you recall that period well. Also, his melodies were brilliant. I used to get angry wondering how he was able to unlock these simple chord progressions that were in under my fingers for years waiting to be played. They were calling out, silently, until he discovered them and gave them to the world. Neat. Brilliant.
Incesticide and Bleach are incredible. Much of it is avant-garde but highly listenable and infectious. Kurt loved the Pixies. They were so original. Kurt actually said he was trying to rip-off the pixies when writing Nevermind and especially Smells Like Teen Spirit. Their loud soft loud dynamics were very influential on him. I saw nirvana play live in a small hockey rink in Massachusetts early on. Kurt did an improvisational solo that started out in this atonal mess and a minute later he brought it around to something that meshed perfectly and harmonically suited the song. How he was able to bridge stuff like that was part of his genius. He played what sounded good to him and worried less about what others thought. That solo actually reminded me a little Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd in 1966. Kurt looked down upon Floyd but Syd was another rare genius. Kurt was a big Bowie fan. Bowie cited Syd Barrett as one of his biggest influences. Bowie was also a huge Pixies fan. I’d love to see Rick cover some Pixies. They were a massive influence on grunge and what became alternative music.
Nirvana is many things to me. Unique voice, unique sound, unique in their ability to define the sound and capture the feeling of an entire generation. They really did change my life. I think my subconscious knew how good they were but hearing someone explain exactly why they were so good feels like a profound thing. Thank you.
Agree with all your comment except 'unique in their ability to capture the feeling of an entire generation'. I don't think they did that. I don't think they could do that nor any other band.
When Kurt Cobain died it felt like a personal loss to me. I was a teenager and still remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. Easily one of my favorite bands. My 11 year old daughter just asked for a Nirvana tee shirt for Christmas. I was secretly very proud.
why secretly? tell her that you're proud of her. don't be that parent who never tells their kids they did good. just do it in a way that doesn't take the cool out of it.
The Guardian newspaper played a number of young kids a few classic rock songs and recorded their reactions to them when School of Rock was released they only really liked Teen Spirit especially responding to the sing song hello hello hell-o in the chrous that's Cobain's melodic genius.
My Favorite Song off of Nevermind. Kurt was an absolute genius with his songwriting. He wasn't kidding when he spoke of the Beatles or The Bay City Rollers meet Black Sabbath. I remember thinking, when the 3 song cassette came out before the full album, this is going to change the face of rock for awhile. And it sure did. Thanks Rick. You do justice to all these great songs you're featuring in the "What Makes This Song Great" Playlist. How about some Smithereens ? (Kirk loved them fellows, as most of us did back in the mid 80's) Keep Up the Great Work!
I'm a huge Nirvana nerd. Didn't realize you were too. Love your channel. It's really opened up a ton of music I have heard but just didn't hear the way you reveal. Thanks
Kurt famously quipped, "The only people who really like music are musicians." If that doesn't tell you how much he knew what he was doing with harmonies and, chords, modulations, unusual voicings, etc...you're high. (and probably not a musician)
@@jsibelman listen to Clapton, Hendrix, Satch, Slash, even just his Seattle contemporaries of the time in Thayil, Cantrell, Mike, Stone, and Dean. Kurt was a shitty musician.
@@ComaAlpha so your main gripe seems to be that nirvana's music didn't have amazing guitar. get over it dweeb. neither does 1979 by smashing pumpkins. vocal part is picking up some of the slack
I doubt Kurt fully understood the technicalities of music harmony and composition that were involded, but often that is a bonus, he's not chopping out, he's genuinely using sound to communicate his feelings the best way he knows how, raw and passionate. I was never a fan, but I can still appreciate what he achieved through his music and lyrics, and how many lives he touched. Great video!
Really great video (as always). I was a massive Nirvana fan as a kid, but 'grew out' of them. But I'm 36 now and getting back into them. I can't believe how naive I was thinking that this was all basic stuff. Kurt was a melody master. Love this.
8:21 i have been a hardcore Nirvana fan for almost 19 years and never knew the bass guitar part was so complex, when you listen to the song it sounds a lot simpler, am i the only one?
I only recently found this series, but the fact that you seem to genuinely enjoy and appreciate every nook and cranny of a song makes this so easy to watch. And even easier to subscribe to.
RICK, I GREW UP IN THE 1950'S AND 60'S, I AM SHOWING MY AGE HERE, LOL, I SAW THE BEATLES AND THE STONES AND HENDRIX WHEN THEY FIRST CAME TO AMERICA, BUT WHEN I HEARD NIRVANA ON MTV, THEY BLEW MY MIND, SUCH GREAT MUSIC THAT WAS NEEDED AT THAT POINT IN TIME, THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER BAND LIKE NIRVANA, THEY JUST HAD IT ALL, r.i.p. to mr. cobain, COUSIN FIGEL
50's and 60's. Listening to this guitar riff reminds me of David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World. I have a feeling he probably got that by tweaking a Beatles song where John Lennon borrowed a riff from Chock Berry who took it from Robert Johnson.
Thanks Rick for documenting this great song. Fyi Krist Novoselic played a Ripper (he had 4 of them) into an Ampeg solid state head => SVT-400T, which was his rig at the time and then through the Nevermind tour era. He was also using Gibson Artist basses (but not sure at that time). He then switch to a Hiwatt head with Mesa speakers because he wanted to emulate the sound of Mudhoney's bass player who was using this kind of gear.
There you go. You've figured out why I like Nirvana so much! Novoselic caught my eye as him and Kurt caught my ears... and my heart... and dragged it down into a deep well of darkness, where I felt comfortable and at home.
Quick correction about the vocal doubling. Butch Vig never convinced Kurt to do the doubles. The way the story goes is that Kurt refused to double his vocals, but Butch noticed that he nailed it every time, so he would mute the one vocal track and then have Kurt do another one "for safety" and then he would later blend the tracks together. That's another reason why the doubles are so haunting sounding, because he wasn't recording the double while listening to the lead, it was literally two main vocal takes stacked together, which is a really awesome vocal mixing/recording technique if you're singing with a singer who can pull that off.
@Any Rebel that was the guitar layering, but I think it was Butch's way of getting Kurt to come round to doing things, even if the Beatles didn't! Just say they did and he'd agree. It's nuts to think that Dave's drumming was nuts and a mess until Butch stripped him back to playing to a metronome again. After that his work on the album was solid and brilliant. Butch Vig deserves more credit for his work during the 90s. Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana all had their best albums produced by him.
What makes Ricks videos so compelling is he has such a vast musical knowledge, but he also has an appreciation for"self taught" musicians (in this case Nirvana), and is able to describe what they came up with in a technical sense, even if they were unaware of what modes, scales, etc they were operating in themselves.
I was the bass player for the Australian Nirvana tribute band back in the '90's and toured with them for 5 years. I completely agree with you Rick 100% that On a Plain was the best song they wrote. Unusually not many people think so. I also agree that Krist is an amazing bassist. I love his bass parts on this and also Lounge Act and About a Girl. A great style and very unusual. Love the videos, keep 'em coming.
Didg G as much as i enjoy Nevermind, I can't help but wonder what it would sound like if it we're mixed with less guitars, so the bass could be heard better. Kind of like Black Sabbath's first two albums.
I'm a huge fan of Nirvana as well. Kurt was extremely talented, glad to see this breakdown. Working my way through most of your videos. You really know your stuff!
Cobain's lyrics are like the best lines from his poetry put in 1 song. the lyrics don't make perfect sense, but they convey the same emotion and line up perfectly with his melodies.
These videos are so packed with information it's crazy. You could write a whole book on music production, arrangement and mixing just with all the stuff you've put in those 4 vids.
Thanks Rick, amazing video and so much wisdom as always! The whole discussion whether Kurt knew harmony or not is quite fascinating. There's so much chromaticism and even atonal elements in Kurt's music. The guy must have listened to a ton of music and figure things out on his own. Like, the main riff of 'Milk it' is out of the diminished scale and even the 'nonsense' chromatic lines before the verse melody kicks in are incredibly interesting from a harmonic point of view. Or the choruses of 'floyd the barber' or 'negative creep'? He was a master of deception and loved to come across as a 'non-serious' musician but he was indeed a badass! Anyway, thanks for analyzing such an amazing song! Would love for you to maybe about some of the more interesting songs from Incesticide like 'Beeswax' or 'Aero Zeppelin' :)
Kurt was the only one in thd studio when he recorded singing parts . Dave said that they allways played the instruments and left home witout knowing what the lyrics for the song e en were
THANK YOU RICK !! Just discovered your series "What makes this song great". While usually, deciphering the anatomy of popular songs de-mystifies the experience of listening to it and makes it kind of a drag to know what exactly is going on in the recording .... YOU find a way of actually adding to the experience with your professional and extremely inspiring approach. Every episode is an honest and true homage to the artists of the original song. Thank YOU ! Really !!!
I am curious to what you most favorite "rare" Nirvana track is? I say "rare" because if we believe the rumors almost everything they have ever played is someplace for all of us to enjoy. For instance, I am partial to both "Talk to Me" and "Curmudgeon." This almost makes me want to ask what your favorite Nirvana cover song is? I prefer their version of "D-7," "Return of the Rat," and "My Sharona." Of course this brings me to ask one last question... have you heard "Divine and Bright" by Earth and Kurt Cobain and how much do you think Kurt actually played on the song?
Woow! never knew about this Thanx, listening to Nirvana for 19 years it's hard to find some material you had no knowledge of or didn't even know existed
So many. One of my trademarks when I was playing regularly was I covered Nirvana’s take on D-7. I always thought Kurt would prefer that. He spent so much time mentioning, plugging, and getting the word out on bands he loved, what better tribute to him than pass that on for him and get the word out on The Wipers who wrote that song. I think their drummer joined Better Than Ezra later. Beyond that. I came across a live version of Rape Me where he may have been saying “Break Me” and instead if the “inside source” portion there was a guitar solo. Also came across an early studio recording of Dumb that was mastered slow and sounded incredibly eerie. Btw Rick, engineer to engineer and musician to musician your channel is something every musician should see. It seems I’ve read so much of the same material you have and we see eye to eye on concepts and philosophy, keep it up.
To all learning musicians watching, these set of videos by Rick on what makes a song great teach us one thing - it is not about how complex your chords or instrument techniques are, but your arrangement and knack for pauses and dynamics that make a great song.
7 лет назад+4
Nirvana is one of my favorite bands to. Thanks Rick.
This song is so BEAUTIFULLY written I never put much thought into it But some years ago I just started noticing how beautiful it is The chorus specially The chords are just so pretty
This is amazing. Thanks for the porting. So there you go ... how to technically explain how brilliant Nirvana was. It'd be great if you could do more Nirvana songs.
His music is very personal, soulful and heart felt. Kurt put all of himself into these songs and they will most likely be revered and appreciated many years from now.
big nirvana fan. very much enjoyed this on many levels. would you consider doing this for "black hole sun" with soundgarden? it's a very interesting song if you look at the harmony and modulation, at least imho.
It's a shame to hear you say this series gets demonitized so much, but it's the main reason I've subscribed. Hope you keep it going. Also, I'm not a musician by any means, but I hope you never dumb it down to explain every detail to the simpletons like me--part of what makes this content great and unique is that parts of it ARE over a lot of peoples' heads, and that gives the listener/viewer the choice of simply respecting that mastery and letting it fly overhead without a care, or going elsewhere to bone up on the basics to get to a higher level of understanding. Love it!
I love the "what makes this song great?" series. What you are doing is something I have ALWAYS wanted to see. Isolated tracks, breakdown of the melody and why it works together... F'n brilliant man.
Thank you! It's about time someone says how amazing Krist was at his instrument! Kurt - Great, Dave - Great, Krist - Great/Glue. I recently discovered your channel and have been watching non-stop and as a HUGE Nirvana fan, I give this a massive thumbs up!! Keep up the good work!
I remember discovering nirvana and listening to never mind on cd in the back of my moms car and having a blissful epiphany of how much I loved this band while listening to this song. Thank you Nirvana and Rick Beato!
@14:43... I absolutely love the sentiment behind your likely unintentional use of the present tense in describing "there are just too many things that he does that nobody would think of doing". you can kill the singer but you can't kill the music. "nobody writes lyrics like that. nobody did then nobody does now. They were really absolutely his own concept and really not like anyone else... there hasn't been anyone since him that does that.... you can not copy kurt cobain's sense of melody. You just can't.... there's just too many things that he does that nobody would think of doing." I completely agree with this. He was a special talent.
Thank you so much Rick! Could you please break down any songs from "Grace" by Jeff Buckley? I'd love to hear your thoughts on "Dream Brother" or "Last Goodbye".
24:29 John Lennon! Anyway these vids tell me why I listen to the best music over and over again..... So much to hear and pick out from the consumer CD's ; amazing to hear the tracks separate... Superb Nirvana for example: a work of art
Nirvana enabled me to play fun and cool songs on guitar not long after I first began playing. I'll always love their music, and I thank you for making this video. Can you do Dire Straits for your next video? If they're blockers, you can just email me the video. I promise I won't tell. Edit: I see the Eagles are big time blockers. What about Joe Walsh? Could you sneak Ordinary Average Guy by the label? Edit 2: Can you get Krist on the show? or Dave? or Pat?
explains why before I understood music theory and concepts, I absolutely loved Nirvana and Kurt's sense of melody just from listening. Amazing video, reminded me why I used to be a massive Nirvana fan
Funny, i'm a metal guitarist but i always loved Nirvana. Have all their albums even Japanese imports and singles/ep/lp's. I agree he faked being "bad". Simplicity and raw emotion are sometimes better.
i LIKE that you do not mention songtitles. i caught onto your page through random guitar nerd recommendations of my own algorithmic fault ;> and i said to myself "i like that band, i wonder which song he picked?" it's part of the fun for me. Cheers!
Hey, Rick. I just discovered this series today and I really love it. I've watched 5 or 6 of them now. Thanks for doing these! I am buying a copy of The Beato Book!
I almost spit my beers out when you said the video was going to be about On A Plain and not Heart Shaped Box. On A Plain is a brilliant song and one of my favorite of all time. I've never met anyone who has held it in such regard, either. This channel is fantastic, you inspired me to pick up the guitar again.
Agreed!
I always thought On a Plain and Drain You were the real standout songs. Never understood the hype over SMTS besides the awesome vocals & drums.
@@matturner6890 You are so right! On A Plain and Drain You! Though the intro to SLTS is iconic, as in: I remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard it. :)
@@JC-hm4zu I was born a little early to hear it properly (I was born in 91 so it's been on my brain since I was a baby) so it's almost like it's not a song, but a Bible verse I'm all too familiar with or something... Plus it's overplayed haha. Glad you agree on those 2 songs tho! They really show off Kurt's effortless ability to write amazing melodies on guitar and vox
@@matturner6890 Lol, like a Bible verse. Indeed. :)
What makes Rick Beato great? He does stuff like this.
Yeah, I never take this man' s channel for granted. He always cranks out some quality content. Hopefully for many years to come
Rick is the bomb.
Well its obvious his voice is the golden ticket to his success..
Attention all Record Label A&R “Suits”: Rick Beato's work on the"What Makes This Song Great" series is a service to the musical world. The professional quality of his analyses and observations regarding a plethora of artistic, technical, theoretical, practical and sociological aspects of each song he turns his attention to is beyond "entertaining," it is educationally inspiring. I am a composer, educator and producer who holds a doctorate in music composition, and I have a deep appreciation for Rick's attention to the details of what, why and how in every one of his videos. Suits - leave his videos up because he is cultivating a knowledge base that can raise the standards of discourse, creation, performance and production in all genres of music.
Suits (& Big Cheeses) Please also leave his music up because analysing great songs is if anything going to lead to more of the bands songs and products be sold not less.
Nobody wears suits anymore
Couldn't agree more. Heard my first episode today. Moved both my playing of and musical understanding of a fav song up two or three notches - very quickly!
Thank you , Rick.
Hey it’s the lawyers and managers not the lawyers, mostly not belonging to label. Leave the underpaid whipping boys of the industry without whom there is no industry, the A&Rs, alone.
And Cobain is criminally underrated now. Almost like there's a backlash against him due to his canonization (everyone wants to be cool and say Nirvana were overrated, the other Seattle bands are better....your typical internet contrarian "hey look at me with the spicy take" kind of stuff). But Kurt was brilliant... the genuine article.
wartimemodels who says this? I am no big fan to be honest, but they are without a question the Beatles of the 90ies! only fools would denied this.
I constantly keep hearing this. Also talked with people saying that they eventually "grew out" of their Nirvana phase, and who look at their own prior appreciation of the band with some embarrassment.
The Simpsons are the Beatles of the 90s.
wartimemodels Soundgarden and Alice In Chains, are better but music is subjective.
never saw someone talking trash about Nirvana. U're overhyping
when I was playing these tunes 25 years ago as a teenager I had no clue about the complexity and the music theory behind it, it just felt so good. Your videos give immense insight and help put everything into great perspective.
Thumbs up for having the right contacts to get the separated stem tracks 😉
I was thinking the exact same thing...
the stems (for some, not all songs) have been online for years, you just need to know where to find them
the bass in nirvana is so stronk. can listen to it all day. especially on lounge act
yes. lounge act is my favorite nirvana track.
Mexican seafood.. I remember buying Incesticide and hearing that song and it blowing my mind. That bridge...
Lanky long metallic-noodles that I loooovvveeeee
@@dprahn02 aaah the itchy flakes it is a flaming
Rick, you are really onto something here. I love this series for so many reasons. Please keep this up. It's a great framework for a video and since there are millions of songs, you basically will never run out of ideas for videos. Your enthusiasm is infectious .Thanks for everything I've learned from you so far Rick, I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Take care.
Yes, I'm just discovering these now, I feel a binge coming on
He is the infinite Rick. He's Rickdiculously good.
@@PhilosopherSci I think Rick is greater than Rickenbacker guitars. As good as they are I'd rather they didn't exist than Rick not exist.
Still remember what it felt like to hear Nirvana for the first time. Those moments can shape an entire life.
amen brother
And shape it for the worse and in some cases lead to depression and suicide.
@@johnharvey4448 L take.
@@johnharvey4448 “this guys stinks!”
I think that lot of Cobain's uniqueness comes from him playing major rather than minor and that has a lot to do with his playing technique where he kind of plays power chord and places his pinky more or less randomly over the fifth of the chord. That way he gets some sus4 sounds on power chords (intro of Smells like Teen Spirit) that have been played when the root is on the 6th E string, and major (or even major 6) when the root is on A, now that I think of it, I cannot really think of many Nirvana songs where he plays an actual minor bar chord from this position. I am guessing that him playing the chords like that developed him an unusual ear for harmony.
I totally agree! That is the most insightful comment on here
finally someone noticed this!!) In Bloom verse chord progression is a great example of what you re talking about!
He usually played sixth string Barre chords with his pointer and ring finger (no pinky). The ring finger often gets that 3rd string along with the 6, 5 and 4.
Ring finger, right. It's way too long ago when I was watching Nirvana Live! Sold Out VHS to remember the finger. For me the results is the same no matter it's the ring finger or pinky.
@Kalervo Ahonen
I think the only time I heard him playing a minor chord was in Pennyroyal Tea(ending), and sometimes in the beginning. Anyways, I definitely agree with your analysis!
great! Krist Novoselic is getting recognitions that he deserved.
VERY underrated bassist
Amen
absolutely
Krist always rocked ahah 👍👌😂
The bassline in Lounge Act is phenomenal. One of my favourite ever
Finally, a sentient engineer / producer with a huge theory background pumping his fist to the genius of Nirvana. Like you said man, the MELODIES. You can't fake that, you can't even live nearby.
You can live melody adjacent
I love Nirvana and I also think On a Plain is one of the greatest songs. Kurt was such an amazing artist. Beautiful melodies, meaningful lyrics. He was putting his heart in every song.
Thanks for choosing this song, it shows just how important Dave and Krist were to Nirvana. It always pisses me off when people say Kurt was Nirvana and act like Dave and Krist weren't important and any two people could have filled those roles. Dave and Krist were extremely vital to Kurt's songs and the sound of Nirvana. Nobody's bass playing would sound or fit those songs like Krist does. Dave's drum parts are also unique and his vocals harmonizing with Kurt is beautiful and nobody else would sound the same. Kurt may still have been successful on his own but it wouldn't have been the same. I don't think they get the credit they deserve.
Kurt knew that. He was pretty picky. Look how many drummers they had before Dave came along and they knew they had it. As great as he was, Kurt wouldn’t have made it far without these two incredibly talented men.
@@dreemsnake1 Exactly
@@dreemsnake1 yes , also Pat can be important
@@dreemsnake1 I think it likely Krst is amazingly talented having seen him playing Sweet Child of Mine on Accordian on RUclips. I don't know whether Kurt wouldn't have made it far without Krist though as Krist was almost always only playing the root note of whatever Kurt was playing. Nowt wrong with that and It's probably true of most guitar bands. Yet, KC could have recruited any of many people to do that couldn't he ? I do think Krist's tightness with Kurts playing helped KC to make it far though I'm not sure that's because of talent rather familiarity and longevity.
@@bellix6288 KC had already made it far without Pat yet he may well have gone on to continue to make it far with Pat having brought his talents to the table.
I have always felt that Krist's bass work was very underrated and overshadowed. Nirvana has some killer bass lines.
azrealus99 I've never heard a band with bass as pronounced as Nirvana. it's really easy to hear krist in the mix, and he kills it every time. deserved more credit.
@@gruesomewolfgaming4735 personally I’ve never heard a band use bass like Jane’s addiction. It was absolutely genius and I think in a lot of ways they paved the way for nirvana and grunge in general. But yes krist deserves so much more credit. Amazing bassist
I doubt Krist was the one that made the great basslines. For eg the bass in ; Lithium was just the root notes to what KC plays in the track. And so was ultimately made up by KC not Krist. Likewise with numerous of the bands songs. And if not KC wouldn't have been credited as the sole songwriter on almost every song. I don't remember noticing many of the bands songs that had bass-guitar that didn't just stick to following the root note as with most bands bassist.
as a 12 year old kid when this record came out, it's one of the reasons I picked up a guitar. This was my favorite song. Something about the chorus with the humming is extremely ethereal. I'll never forget it. Even now it still is amazing. I was so glad when I heard you saying you were doing this song instead of Heart Shaped Box.
Also speaking of Dave and Kurt they had very similar voices that compliment each other much like Lennon McCarthy amazing to hear them together
On a plain and Drain you, to me... the best nirvana's songs ever!
school and drain you
@@ADTGuitars Even in his youth and Drain you.
@@Madssyyt I love opinion. The melody is ace
None of you are wrong, SOOO MANY great Nirvana songs, my favorites are Drain you, Big cheese, downer, sappy, lounge act, even in his youth, dumb, rape me, I can keep going but I'm sure you guys already knew.
Two greats , for ssssure
First two nirvs I evr learned to cover “well”
Ps. (I ‘learn’ singers)
To date, Kurts been my most difficult study / to become proficient* [enough to my taste]
Bout 2years of solid str8 up nirvana only (mostly) repetition
He cut his melodic and harmonic teeth on the Beatles as a child he definitely knew and wrote some of most amazing melodies and harmonies
Side note: I have never seen someone look cooler with white hair as Rick Beato.
His look reminds me a bit of David Byrne's more recent look! Another cool guy with white hair
David Lynch (:
Ever heard of Rick Sanchez?
Wubalubadubdub!
Pauly Walnuts
On a Plain is my favorite track on Nevermind! Thanks for doing this song. Side note: Krist Novoselic was the secret weapon in Nirvana, his basslines kept the song moving, totally complimenting the simple guitar chords Kurt played. Nirvana really was a magical band, and back in the day my dad kept telling me they were just noise. As time has gone by (decades later), my dad totally gets it now, partially because modern music for the most part is so plastic. He now recognizes how melodic their music is.
Super weird analogy, but I'd compare your channel to when I would try to skate with a hockey team that was way above my age/skill level, but I figured if I just tried, I would learn something and maybe get better while I realized that I'm not as good as I thought I was. I know just enough about music to know that I need to learn more when I watch this channel. This channel pushes me. I love it.
Josh Williams
Trust me brother, I have the same dilemma but I keep tuning in to Beato coz you can’t get a better forum for musical theory than this on the Tube!
+1 to the skating with a team way above skill level. Maybe I'll pick up a bit more too.
EXACTLY! I love it, the motivation is much needed these days.
Glad you love Nirvana. I don’t like it when people say they were overrated
don't worry, those are deniers...they are always trying to bring kurt down because he was SUCH a genius, up there with lennon and mercury.
@@Vaypenaysh If they were genius how much a genius is Jesus Christ ?
@@johnharvey4448 some people would say quite a genius! Hahaha.
Jesus never existed
@@johnharvey4448If Christ really WAS a genius he never gave anyone that impression. It's doubtful he ever existed even.
Kurt Cobain guitar playing is not just simple power chords as his many critics claim. His legacy is overstated but his musicianship is underrated.
Yep. He used lot of single note lead-type riffs, dissonant chords and lots of powerfull, gritty sounding chords like what Rick shows at 13:32 . People claiming he used powerchords only have no idea what they are talking about. Plus is arrangements are very clever and interesting
I think his legacy is accurately stated and his musicianship is underrated. Hope that helps!
CNN Blackmail Support -
What?
I think it's because he gets lumped in with punk. A lot of of punk is simple. Nirvana is simple in the sense that it might not be as hard to execute live as your virtuoso air-guitar solo or speedy thrash metal riffs, but Nirvana used dissonance much better than a typical "punk" band ever did. Dissonance was an aspect of older punk, but it was usually just intentional off-tuning and distortion that made it that way, not the composition itself. Nirvana used dissonant compositions that still managed to have the semblance of a melodic hook suitable to pop music.
So I guess Nirvana are more like the Buzzcocks with punk pop than being untempered energy like The Pistols (although Glenn Matlock who wrote the tunes had pop sensibilities) or technical musicianship like the Clash.
You're right regarding Cobain. I was recording and touring at the same time Nevermind broke. That was a time when many guitarists, myself included, learned how to make "sloppy" playing sound "right". I'm sure you recall that period well.
Also, his melodies were brilliant. I used to get angry wondering how he was able to unlock these simple chord progressions that were in under my fingers for years waiting to be played. They were calling out, silently, until he discovered them and gave them to the world. Neat. Brilliant.
Yes, how was he able to come up with the openning chord sequences to : In Bloom. I dare say genius.
Incesticide and Bleach are incredible. Much of it is avant-garde but highly listenable and infectious. Kurt loved the Pixies. They were so original. Kurt actually said he was trying to rip-off the pixies when writing Nevermind and especially Smells Like Teen Spirit. Their loud soft loud dynamics were very influential on him. I saw nirvana play live in a small hockey rink in Massachusetts early on. Kurt did an improvisational solo that started out in this atonal mess and a minute later he brought it around to something that meshed perfectly and harmonically suited the song. How he was able to bridge stuff like that was part of his genius. He played what sounded good to him and worried less about what others thought. That solo actually reminded me a little Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd in 1966. Kurt looked down upon Floyd but Syd was another rare genius. Kurt was a big Bowie fan. Bowie cited Syd Barrett as one of his biggest influences. Bowie was also a huge Pixies fan. I’d love to see Rick cover some Pixies. They were a massive influence on grunge and what became alternative music.
About a girl is an amazing song
I loveeee Sappy
But on inctsde , aneurysm wwwockssss
I'd like to see Rick analyse some Pixies. Reason It likely he will, or maybe has.
how do you know he hated pink floyd?
@@paulflint6254 Yes, but they're both underrated, especially Incesticide.
Nirvana is many things to me. Unique voice, unique sound, unique in their ability to define the sound and capture the feeling of an entire generation. They really did change my life. I think my subconscious knew how good they were but hearing someone explain exactly why they were so good feels like a profound thing. Thank you.
Agree with all your comment except 'unique in their ability to capture the feeling of an entire generation'. I don't think they did that. I don't think they could do that nor any other band.
Everyone always tells me I’m crazy when I say Kurt Cobain was a guitar genius. Now I can just point them to this video! Thank you!!!!
It's said the greatest genius is simplicity.
Steve Vai gave Kurt high praise for his guitar work and I don’t know how anyone could dispute that.
When Kurt Cobain died it felt like a personal loss to me. I was a teenager and still remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. Easily one of my favorite bands. My 11 year old daughter just asked for a Nirvana tee shirt for Christmas. I was secretly very proud.
You weren’t alone - an entire generation connected with his combination of genius and humility.
why secretly?
tell her that you're proud of her. don't be that parent who never tells their kids they did good.
just do it in a way that doesn't take the cool out of it.
The Guardian newspaper played a number of young kids a few classic rock songs and recorded their reactions to them when School of Rock was released they only really liked Teen Spirit especially responding to the sing song hello hello hell-o in the chrous that's Cobain's melodic genius.
@@basteagui I totally agree !
I also remember when it was announced that he died and I remember being so sad that I felt anger and disbelief.
Thanks for this series. A real musician talkin about something he really knows well. Very inspiring and instructive. Thank you, really.
My Favorite Song off of Nevermind. Kurt was an absolute genius with his songwriting. He wasn't kidding when he spoke of the Beatles or The Bay City Rollers meet Black Sabbath. I remember thinking, when the 3 song cassette came out before the full album, this is going to change the face of rock for awhile. And it sure did. Thanks Rick. You do justice to all these great songs you're featuring in the "What Makes This Song Great" Playlist. How about some Smithereens ? (Kirk loved them fellows, as most of us did back in the mid 80's) Keep Up the Great Work!
I'm a huge Nirvana nerd. Didn't realize you were too. Love your channel. It's really opened up a ton of music I have heard but just didn't hear the way you reveal. Thanks
Kurt famously quipped, "The only people who really like music are musicians." If that doesn't tell you how much he knew what he was doing with harmonies and, chords, modulations, unusual voicings, etc...you're high.
(and probably not a musician)
Hahahahahahahaha. Musicians know that Kurt sucked. Ask anyone with the simplest grasp of music theory
@@ComaAlpha The guy whose channel this is seems to know a lot of music theory. Maybe you need more than just the simplest grasp?
@@jsibelman listen to Clapton, Hendrix, Satch, Slash, even just his Seattle contemporaries of the time in Thayil, Cantrell, Mike, Stone, and Dean. Kurt was a shitty musician.
@@ComaAlpha so your main gripe seems to be that nirvana's music didn't have amazing guitar.
get over it dweeb. neither does 1979 by smashing pumpkins. vocal part is picking up some of the slack
ComaAlpha
Your reputation is this video or are you dissing Rick.
I doubt Kurt fully understood the technicalities of music harmony and composition that were involded, but often that is a bonus, he's not chopping out, he's genuinely using sound to communicate his feelings the best way he knows how, raw and passionate. I was never a fan, but I can still appreciate what he achieved through his music and lyrics, and how many lives he touched. Great video!
My life would be poorer without you, mr. Beato. Thank you for all your great vids.
Really great video (as always). I was a massive Nirvana fan as a kid, but 'grew out' of them. But I'm 36 now and getting back into them. I can't believe how naive I was thinking that this was all basic stuff. Kurt was a melody master. Love this.
8:21 i have been a hardcore Nirvana fan for almost 19 years and never knew the bass guitar part was so complex, when you listen to the song it sounds a lot simpler, am i the only one?
Every time Rick does one of these videos, I always go "WHOA! I had no idea that was so complex!" LOL
Novoselic brilliance demonstrated but not easily audible also on Love Buzz, Heart Shaped Box, Endless Nameless, many others...
Truth Bomb lets not forget Lounge Act either
Krist Novoselić is great in song Lithium. Bass against guitar listen.
it's not as complex as it sounds, it's easy to play,.
never clicked on a video faster. great content as always!
I only recently found this series, but the fact that you seem to genuinely enjoy and appreciate every nook and cranny of a song makes this so easy to watch. And even easier to subscribe to.
RICK, I GREW UP IN THE 1950'S AND 60'S, I AM SHOWING MY AGE HERE, LOL, I SAW THE BEATLES AND THE STONES AND HENDRIX WHEN THEY FIRST CAME TO AMERICA, BUT WHEN I HEARD NIRVANA ON MTV, THEY BLEW MY MIND, SUCH GREAT MUSIC THAT WAS NEEDED AT THAT POINT IN TIME, THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER BAND LIKE NIRVANA, THEY JUST HAD IT ALL, r.i.p. to mr. cobain, COUSIN FIGEL
No need to shout!
I appreciated your opinion. All caps isn't cool tho. Just saying
50's and 60's. Listening to this guitar riff reminds me of David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World. I have a feeling he probably got that by tweaking a Beatles song where John Lennon borrowed a riff from Chock Berry who took it from Robert Johnson.
@@BoomBoomBoom.. Maybe all caps was him playing the loud stompbox parts.
@@conniethesconnie Do you think RB really did a deal with the captain ?
Thanks Rick for documenting this great song. Fyi Krist Novoselic played a Ripper (he had 4 of them) into an Ampeg solid state head => SVT-400T, which was his rig at the time and then through the Nevermind tour era. He was also using Gibson Artist basses (but not sure at that time). He then switch to a Hiwatt head with Mesa speakers because he wanted to emulate the sound of Mudhoney's bass player who was using this kind of gear.
Great video. I used to listen to Nevermind before I went to sleep at night and I could put that song on repeat...
There you go. You've figured out why I like Nirvana so much! Novoselic caught my eye as him and Kurt caught my ears... and my heart... and dragged it down into a deep well of darkness, where I felt comfortable and at home.
Quick correction about the vocal doubling. Butch Vig never convinced Kurt to do the doubles. The way the story goes is that Kurt refused to double his vocals, but Butch noticed that he nailed it every time, so he would mute the one vocal track and then have Kurt do another one "for safety" and then he would later blend the tracks together. That's another reason why the doubles are so haunting sounding, because he wasn't recording the double while listening to the lead, it was literally two main vocal takes stacked together, which is a really awesome vocal mixing/recording technique if you're singing with a singer who can pull that off.
@Any Rebel that was the guitar layering, but I think it was Butch's way of getting Kurt to come round to doing things, even if the Beatles didn't! Just say they did and he'd agree.
It's nuts to think that Dave's drumming was nuts and a mess until Butch stripped him back to playing to a metronome again. After that his work on the album was solid and brilliant.
Butch Vig deserves more credit for his work during the 90s. Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana all had their best albums produced by him.
What makes Ricks videos so compelling is he has such a vast musical knowledge, but he also has an appreciation for"self taught" musicians (in this case Nirvana), and is able to describe what they came up with in a technical sense, even if they were unaware of what modes, scales, etc they were operating in themselves.
I was the bass player for the Australian Nirvana tribute band back in the '90's and toured with them for 5 years. I completely agree with you Rick 100% that On a Plain was the best song they wrote. Unusually not many people think so.
I also agree that Krist is an amazing bassist. I love his bass parts on this and also Lounge Act and About a Girl. A great style and very unusual.
Love the videos, keep 'em coming.
Didg G as much as i enjoy Nevermind, I can't help but wonder what it would sound like if it we're mixed with less guitars, so the bass could be heard better. Kind of like Black Sabbath's first two albums.
MrMetalclay or Metallica’s and Justice for All
I'm a huge fan of Nirvana as well. Kurt was extremely talented, glad to see this breakdown. Working my way through most of your videos. You really know your stuff!
Seriously thank you for revealing the musical relevance and brilliance of Nirvana.
I don't know enough about you to know how you get ahold of these mixes but between that & your commentary, this is pretty incredible. Thank you Rick.
Love this series. Love learning the history of why these songs are so addictive and why there special.
Cobain's lyrics are like the best lines from his poetry put in 1 song. the lyrics don't make perfect sense, but they convey the same emotion and line up perfectly with his melodies.
Lounge Act was definitely one of Novoselic’s shining moments
As well as Love Buzz and Blew.
These videos are so packed with information it's crazy. You could write a whole book on music production, arrangement and mixing just with all the stuff you've put in those 4 vids.
I really want to see King Crimson or Pink Floyd next.
King Krimson would yield a 2-hour video LOL
pf!!!!!!!!!
elephant talk
I'd prefer a King Crimson one, but both would be highly appreciated.
yes! anything from the belew era please.
I LOVE how In Utero sounds. There’s a rawness that I feel really fits Nirvana’s aesthetic.
Yes!!
It’s so real
And it was intentional
They wanted it to sound as close to a live Nirvana as possible
Thanks Rick, amazing video and so much wisdom as always! The whole discussion whether Kurt knew harmony or not is quite fascinating. There's so much chromaticism and even atonal elements in Kurt's music. The guy must have listened to a ton of music and figure things out on his own. Like, the main riff of 'Milk it' is out of the diminished scale and even the 'nonsense' chromatic lines before the verse melody kicks in are incredibly interesting from a harmonic point of view. Or the choruses of 'floyd the barber' or 'negative creep'? He was a master of deception and loved to come across as a 'non-serious' musician but he was indeed a badass! Anyway, thanks for analyzing such an amazing song! Would love for you to maybe about some of the more interesting songs from Incesticide like 'Beeswax' or 'Aero Zeppelin' :)
I think Rick should analyse every Nirvana song.
Kurt was the only one in thd studio when he recorded singing parts . Dave said that they allways played the instruments and left home witout knowing what the lyrics for the song e en were
I'm more a strat guy but I must say, that Les Paul is beautiful!
THANK YOU RICK !! Just discovered your series "What makes this song great". While usually, deciphering the anatomy of popular songs de-mystifies the experience of listening to it and makes it kind of a drag to know what exactly is going on in the recording .... YOU find a way of actually adding to the experience with your professional and extremely inspiring approach.
Every episode is an honest and true homage to the artists of the original song. Thank YOU ! Really !!!
Awesome
Can't believe I've never seen this. On a Plain is my favourite Nirvana song.
Me too. Possibly one of the best rock songs. Complex, danceable, melodic, so full of yearning and emotion.
I always wanted to play the drums when I was younger. You know a kid; I don’t play anything now, but I love this channel you rock Rick.
I am curious to what you most favorite "rare" Nirvana track is? I say "rare" because if we believe the rumors almost everything they have ever played is someplace for all of us to enjoy. For instance, I am partial to both "Talk to Me" and "Curmudgeon." This almost makes me want to ask what your favorite Nirvana cover song is? I prefer their version of "D-7," "Return of the Rat," and "My Sharona." Of course this brings me to ask one last question... have you heard "Divine and Bright" by Earth and Kurt Cobain and how much do you think Kurt actually played on the song?
Woow! never knew about this Thanx, listening to Nirvana for 19 years it's hard to find some material you had no knowledge of or didn't even know existed
C.H.B that’s just off the top of my head. I know there are more out there.
So many. One of my trademarks when I was playing regularly was I covered Nirvana’s take on D-7. I always thought Kurt would prefer that. He spent so much time mentioning, plugging, and getting the word out on bands he loved, what better tribute to him than pass that on for him and get the word out on The Wipers who wrote that song. I think their drummer joined Better Than Ezra later. Beyond that. I came across a live version of Rape Me where he may have been saying “Break Me” and instead if the “inside source” portion there was a guitar solo. Also came across an early studio recording of Dumb that was mastered slow and sounded incredibly eerie. Btw Rick, engineer to engineer and musician to musician your channel is something every musician should see. It seems I’ve read so much of the same material you have and we see eye to eye on concepts and philosophy, keep it up.
We get it dude, your a 'real' fan
To all learning musicians watching, these set of videos by Rick on what makes a song great teach us one thing - it is not about how complex your chords or instrument techniques are, but your arrangement and knack for pauses and dynamics that make a great song.
Nirvana is one of my favorite bands to. Thanks Rick.
This song is so BEAUTIFULLY written
I never put much thought into it
But some years ago I just started noticing how beautiful it is
The chorus specially
The chords are just so pretty
This is amazing. Thanks for the porting.
So there you go ... how to technically explain how brilliant Nirvana was.
It'd be great if you could do more Nirvana songs.
His music is very personal, soulful and heart felt. Kurt put all of himself into these songs and they will most likely be revered and appreciated many years from now.
Kurt & Chester killin' it up there.
We love discussing what makes our favorite songs so great, however this takes up several levels. Awesome content!
big nirvana fan. very much enjoyed this on many levels. would you consider doing this for "black hole sun" with soundgarden? it's a very interesting song if you look at the harmony and modulation, at least imho.
Check out 12Tone's analysis of it for a pretty good theoretical analysis.
Follow me into the desert , as thirsty as you are (can’t think of song name)
Try n learn the guitar thru
Sooooo Sickkkkk
It's a shame to hear you say this series gets demonitized so much, but it's the main reason I've subscribed. Hope you keep it going. Also, I'm not a musician by any means, but I hope you never dumb it down to explain every detail to the simpletons like me--part of what makes this content great and unique is that parts of it ARE over a lot of peoples' heads, and that gives the listener/viewer the choice of simply respecting that mastery and letting it fly overhead without a care, or going elsewhere to bone up on the basics to get to a higher level of understanding. Love it!
MESHUGGAH!!! Freakin' yeah!! You're great, Rick :)
yeah!
I cant see him listening to them but that would be awsome.
Man,this is just great! Thank you so much,Rick,these new series are awesome.
Thank Rick this is Great
Cobain's solos on the INCESTICIDE songs are almost un-transcribable.
They are brilliant.
Aneurysm - Insectiside best Nirvana's song according to me 😏
I love the "what makes this song great?" series. What you are doing is something I have ALWAYS wanted to see. Isolated tracks, breakdown of the melody and why it works together... F'n brilliant man.
Back in the 90s I would have run over my own grandma with a semi-trailer to see a video like this. Incredible what we have access to nowadays.
Rick "They're one of my favorite bands of all time." Beato - Guy just loves a lot of artists!
I love this series
Thank you! It's about time someone says how amazing Krist was at his instrument! Kurt - Great, Dave - Great, Krist - Great/Glue. I recently discovered your channel and have been watching non-stop and as a HUGE Nirvana fan, I give this a massive thumbs up!! Keep up the good work!
Glue = well put.
Thanks Rick, this is an awesome series. Would love to see you do an episode on What A Fool Believes by the Doobie Brothers!
I remember discovering nirvana and listening to never mind on cd in the back of my moms car and having a blissful epiphany of how much I loved this band while listening to this song. Thank you Nirvana and Rick Beato!
Please do Godspeed you! Black Emperor!!! If you can explain the similarities between the work of Gorecki and Godspeed I would be so grateful.
Rick, I didn't really know you're such a big Nirvana fan. Same here. Please do even more stuff about it!
Please do Alice In Chains! Preferably a song with a ton of vocal harmonies like Rotten Apple.
Yes! Down In A Hole or Rooster, but yeah, Rotten Apple is definitely a favorite of mine. Or No Excuses! OR, Frogs!!
Actually, Shame In You would just be amazing... they're all so good!!
Both Rotten Apple and Shame in You are so chilling...
Top notch song writing
God Am
"On a plain"...my favourite off the nevermind album aswell!
the strokes next!!
Alan Alcaraz I second this! The Strokes’ music is so much cleverer than a lot of people realize.
@14:43... I absolutely love the sentiment behind your likely unintentional use of the present tense in describing "there are just too many things that he does that nobody would think of doing". you can kill the singer but you can't kill the music.
"nobody writes lyrics like that. nobody did then nobody does now. They were really absolutely his own concept and really not like anyone else... there hasn't been anyone since him that does that.... you can not copy kurt cobain's sense of melody. You just can't.... there's just too many things that he does that nobody would think of doing." I completely agree with this. He was a special talent.
Thank you so much Rick! Could you please break down any songs from "Grace" by Jeff Buckley? I'd love to hear your thoughts on "Dream Brother" or "Last Goodbye".
24:29 John Lennon!
Anyway these vids tell me why I listen to the best music over and over again..... So much to hear and pick out from the consumer CD's ; amazing to hear the tracks separate... Superb
Nirvana for example: a work of art
Nirvana enabled me to play fun and cool songs on guitar not long after I first began playing. I'll always love their music, and I thank you for making this video. Can you do Dire Straits for your next video? If they're blockers, you can just email me the video. I promise I won't tell.
Edit: I see the Eagles are big time blockers. What about Joe Walsh? Could you sneak Ordinary Average Guy by the label?
Edit 2: Can you get Krist on the show? or Dave? or Pat?
explains why before I understood music theory and concepts, I absolutely loved Nirvana and Kurt's sense of melody just from listening. Amazing video, reminded me why I used to be a massive Nirvana fan
I think Nirvana is so powerful because of the melody. Best ever. Like the Beatles.
The bridge of this song is so wonderful!
Funny, i'm a metal guitarist but i always loved Nirvana. Have all their albums even Japanese imports and singles/ep/lp's.
I agree he faked being "bad". Simplicity and raw emotion are sometimes better.
i LIKE that you do not mention songtitles. i caught onto your page through random guitar nerd recommendations of my own algorithmic fault ;> and i said to myself "i like that band, i wonder which song he picked?" it's part of the fun for me. Cheers!
David Bowie! Life on Mars!!
Thanks, just watched now. What a genius he was.
David Bowie Space Oddity
I love these videos and really appreciate how much time you spend doing them. It's such an inspirational series
U are cool man.WE ALL LOVE NIRVANA
Hey, Rick. I just discovered this series today and I really love it. I've watched 5 or 6 of them now. Thanks for doing these! I am buying a copy of The Beato Book!
Thanks Rick ! Can you please do one of Pink Floyd's next? preferably Shine On You Crazy Diamond.
Azar R or Dogs
Echoes plz
There's no doubt Rick will or has done one or more by Floyd. They're so original, creative, experimental, prolific, varied, complex.
I still get misty eyed thinking about the great music we'll never have