Whether you’re talking about the early days of ‘85, before Nirvana had even existed and when Fecal Matter was the primary band of guitarist and vocalist Kurt Cobain, or their final studio album In Utero released on the 21st of September in 1993, Nirvana was able to make quite a name for themselves despite only having been active for a measly seven years give or take.
Being perhaps one of the most popular rock acts, if not one of the most popular artists of the modern era, it’s safe to say that even some of the most casual music listeners are familiar with an album or two, such as the 1991’s Nevermind, which is perhaps the most well-known album, or the aforementioned In Utero. Occasionally, their 1989 debut album, Bleach, will get a mention in various music outlets. To most, that’s essentially every Nirvana album, and it is. At least, it’s all of their studio albums.
However, there’s one album in particular that catches my interest. Not just because it’s nearing its 32nd anniversary, but also because of its interesting origins, art direction and design, and the music featured. That album is none other than Incesticide.
Released on December 14th, 1992 in Europe and the 15th in the U.S., Incesticide was a compilation album including various cover songs, demos, and radio recordings. The album was initially going to be released under the Seattle-based record label Sub Pop. It was, perhaps cynically, referred to as a “cash cow” as at this time Nirvana had blown up in popularity following the release of Nevermind. However, Sub Pop did not have the same reach as the more popular label Geffen Records, resulting in the album being released under DGC, a subsidiary label of Geffen Records, under the condition that the album would be released by Christmas of ‘92.
The cover of the release happens to have an interesting story. According to musical journalist Charles R. Cross in his book Cobain Unseen, Cobain agreed to the release on the condition that he would have total creative control over the album. The cover, one of my favorite album covers ever, is a painting done by Cobain of marionette puppets, an item that he had quite the infatuation with as can be concluded in a few liner notes of the album written by him. There are also poppies featured in the painting; another item that would frequently show up in various projects of his and more than likely acted as a symbol of his struggles with drug addiction.
Speaking of those liner notes, they’re actually a pretty cool aspect of the packaging of the record. Along with Cobain, who in the liner notes is credited as Kurdt Kobain, talking about a time when he had tried to purchase a vintage marionette puppet while in England, he also talks about his love for the Scottish band The Vaselines and his experience meeting one of the members, Frances McKee. In fact, two of the songs on the album are covers of The Vaselines. Those songs are “Son of a Gun” and “Molly’s Lips.”
There’s also this fun little rubber duck on the back of the record that makes me very happy as an avid rubber duck fan and collector. This particular rubber duck was owned by art-designer Rober Fisher, who also helped in designing the Nevermind album cover. The duck can also be found on the front of the DCG Rarities album, where a demo of “Stay Away” was featured titled “Pay to Play.” I’m bringing this up solely because I enjoy knowing that a rubber duck has become cemented in Nirvana history and is now famous in a way, as he should be.
Now time to get to, what is probably, the most important aspect of this album or any album really: the music. Interestingly, due to it being a compilation record, there are four different drummers credited on the album. Those drummers are Chad Channing, Dan Peters, Dale Crover, and Dave Grohl.
Of the songs featured on the album three of them, “Hairspray Queen,” “Big Long Now,” and “Aero Zeppelin,” were previously unreleased. Two songs, “Sliver,” commonly misconstrued as silver, and “Dive,” were featured on the 1990 non- album Sliver single, “Been as Son” and “Stain” were initially released on the 1989 Blew EP, “Beeswax” was a track on the Kill Rock Stars 1991 compilation album, and “Mexican Seafood” was released on the 1989 Teriyaki Asthma Volume 1 compilation album. “Downer” was a bonus track featured on the 1990 CD release of their 1989 album Bleach, and “(New Wave) Polly” was a recording from a BBC live studio session. The two cover songs by The Vaselines that I touched on earlier, as well as, another song “Turnaround,” which is a Devo cover song, were previously released on the Hormoaning EP in 1992. The EP was only released in Australia and Japan.
One of my favorite things about the music on this album is its variety. It covers a lot of territory within Nirvana’s sound from darker sounding tracks like “Big Long Now,” to more pop-adjacent simplistic songs like “Sliver,” a personal favorite of mine, to more energetic tracks like “Aneurysm,” a song that is maybe the best Nirvana song ever made in my opinion, to just outright goofy songs like “Mexican Seafood” or “Beeswax.” It really makes for a good compilation album if you’re looking for a comprehensive album on Nirvana’s sound, with the exception of some of the more noise-rock adjacent sounds later featured on In Utero.
Beyond the versatility of the songs, the songs are genuinely great. Even some of the very simplistic and basic songs like “Been a Son” or “Sliver” are still quite memorable. And then there are the songs that I would consider quintessential to Nirvana’s discography such as “Aneurysm” and “Downer.” This album is chalked full of amazing songs, some of which would have never seen the light of day if it weren’t for this album, only adding to the significance of Incesticide within Nirvana’s discography.
Despite my love of this album with its design, versatility, and sound, it was never really promoted that much. The Geffen label decided against any sort of promotion, more than likely to prevent burnout for the band. The year prior, 1991, had been a pretty busy year for Nirvana with the release of Nevermind as well as the release of four singles. However, this lack of promotion is probably why Incesticide is rarely talked about, alongside the fact that compilation albums typically don’t get as much traction compared to studio releases.
The album holds a lot of memories for me. I still remember playing “Sliver” on repeat when I was about nine years old. Whether or not I should have been listening to certain Nirvana tracks at that young of an age is beside the point; I absolutely adored the band and still do. I probably would have never gotten into music as much as I have if it weren’t for this album. Even if Incesticide is relatively neglected by most, to me, it’s an amazing album that’ll always have a special place in my heart.
