Last Second Thoughts

The Pitchfork Scoop on Nirvana Box Set

not that i really love nirvana, but...

Aaron Mandel reports:It would be nice to be able to tell you, a mere month or so away from its release, that we know exactly what will be on the upcoming Nirvana box set. We can't. However, there are some stirrings behind the curtain, as NME has recently confirmed both the release date, title, and some other details for the three-CD/one-DVD set. Entitled With the Lights Out, the much-anticipated gathering of the band's unreleased output will be released in the US on November 23rd, and according to NME, 68 of the box's 81 tracks are previously unreleased. Which is a whole damn lot.
While Universal is staying tightlipped about the actual tracklist of With the Lights Out, NME reports that the 68 unreleased tracks will consist of "rehearsals, outtakes, Kurt's home demos." Two years ago, Novoselic's description of the set as it then stood was, "KAOS radio 1987, BBC Peel Sessions, studio outtakes, sessions that we did in north Seattle, Rio de Janeiro, In Utero outtakes, live stuff..." In fact, Universal has not even elaborated on whether the 13 tracks of the box that have seen prior release will be a greatest-hits type thing, as so many box-set assemblers feel the need to include, or whether they are now out-of-print B-sides.
Meanwhile, the DVD will contain "unreleased band home movies, live footage, rehearsal footage and 20 full-length video performances," including footage of the band covering Terry Jacks' maudlin 70s tearjerker "Seasons in the Sun". A limited edition version of the box set that also includes video of a 1987 Nirvana concert had been rumored in the past, but it's no longer clear if that's happening (and if it's not, whether the show is being added to the DVD in the standard package).
At any rate, the box's title and release date are now confirmed (Brits get it a day earlier, on November 22nd), and Amazon.com lists the damn thing at $59.99. Even in the heyday of Nirvana bootlegging, listing 68 tracks that truly deserved an official release would have been hard for a lot of collectors, and we're not knocking Nirvana, who barely released that many songs the first time around, by saying so. Either Universal Music is sitting on a treasure trove of tapes that we really haven't heard, or they're about to drop a serious filler bomb.
One other question is whether the box will contain "You Know You're Right". The song-- suspected by many to be about Courtney Love-- was Nirvana's last studio recording, and a court fight with Love over who owned it derailed original plans for the Nirvana box set three years ago. It ended up making its debut in 2002 as the only rare track on the 2003 anthology Nirvana. So, like, you don't own it, but your 13-year-old neighbor does. Is that fair? Hell no. With any luck, come November 23rd you can show that brat what being a true fan Nirvana means. Or you'll have 11 alternate takes of "Pennyroyal Tea". Either way. - Pitchfork