Opinion (song)

"Opinion" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. Never performed in concert and not confirmed to have been recorded in the studio, the song was initially survived only by a heavily-bootlegged solo acoustic version, recorded by Cobain during his appearance on the KAOS (FM) Boy Meets Girl radio show in September 1990. in 2015, a brief clip of a second version, believed to be a demo, appeared in the Cobain documentary Montage of Heck, directed by Brett Morgan.[1]

"Opinion"
Song by Nirvana
from the album With the Lights Out
ReleasedNovember 23, 2004
GenreAlternative rock
Length1:34
LabelDGC
Composer(s)Kurt Cobain
Lyricist(s)Kurt Cobain
Audio sample
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The song was first officially released in November 2004, when the Boy Meets Girl version appeared on the band's rarities box set, With the Lights Out.

Background

"Opinion" was the first of several songs performed by Cobain during his appearance on the KAOS (FM) Boy Meets Girl radio show, hosted by Beat Happening vocalist and guitarist Calvin Johnson, at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington on September 25, 1990.[2] This version began appearing on Nirvana bootlegs as early as the mid-'90s, such as the 1995 release, Outcesticide: In Memory of Kurt Cobain. A more complete version of the radio session, which also included Cobain's conversation with Johnson before and after the song, as well as a version of the future-Nevermind song "Lithium," was also available in the Nirvana trading community. In November 2004, both "Opinion" and "Lithium," as well as "Been a Son" from the same appearance, were officially released on the rarities box set, With the Lights Out. The full session also included versions of "Dumb" and "Polly," as well as a duet with Johnson on "D-7," originally by American rock band Wipers.[3] Of all the songs performed during the session, only "Opinion" was never performed live, or recorded in the studio and officially released during the band's lifetime.

During Cobain's conversation with Johnson, he claimed that he had written most of the lyrics to "Opinion" earlier that day, joking that he had done so while driving to the studio with one foot. After the song, he asked if Johnson thought it sounded like "Taxman" by the Beatles.[2] This dialogue was omitted from With the Lights Out, but parts of it appear in Montage of Heck.

After Cobain's death in April 1994, his widow, Courtney Love, began mentioning the song in interviews, saying she would donate it to Cobain's friend Mark Lanegan, lead singer of the Seattle band Screaming Trees, while giving another Nirvana rarity, "Talk to Me," to Iggy Pop.[4][5] No version of "Opinion" by Lanegan is known to exist. Love occasionally referred to the song as "Opinions" in these interviews, the official BMI listing of the song.

According to Jim Griffin, an ex-employee of Nirvana's record label, Geffen Records, an electric version of "Opinion" was recorded by Nirvana in the studio.[6]

In 2015, a brief clip of a second recording of "Opinion" appeared in Montage of Heck.[1] Shortly after the film's release, Morgan tweeted that he was “listening to a mind blowing 12-minute acoustic Cobain unheard track" that he planned to include in the film's soundtrack, Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings,[7][8] which he later confirmed was "Opinion".[9] It was later confirmed that the tape with this recording also includes two previously unreleased "practice audience" versions of "Talk to Me", along with the acoustic demo of "You Know You're Right" that was included on the With the Lights Out box set.[10]

Composition

Music

"Opinion" is an alternative rock song that runs for a duration of one minute and thirty-four seconds.[11] Musically, the track is rough, solo acoustic demo recording.[12][11][13] The solo number features Cobain's lone voice accompanied by driving acoustic guitar.[11][14] It has a musical composition that is grainy and quiet, with Cobain singing melodies in a cracking voice.[11][15] The song is built around a repeating four-chord progression that carries throughout both its verses and choruses.[16]

Lyrics

Lyrically, "Opinion" is cynical rant about sensationalist media.[11][17] The song has barbed lyrics aimed at the media with lines such as, “Congratulations you have won / it’s a years subscription of bad puns / and a make-shift story of concern / and to set it off before it burns.”[16][17]

Critical reception

Describing it as an "acoustic rough," Raou Hernandez of The Austin Chronicle characterized "Opinion" as "a Cobain snark."[12] Spin's Will Hermes called the unknown acoustic demo "brilliant."[13] Writing for the same publication, Jim DeRogatis described the song as "an angry, acoustic diatribe against a sensationalistic media" and noted that the lyrics seem prescient.[18] Larry Bartleet for NME said, "... the grainy recording of his voice cracking doesn’t hide the potential of this song."[15] Andrew Sacher from BrooklynVegan stated, "It's just Kurt and a guitar, and it's just a minute and a half long, but that's all Kurt needed for the magic to come through. Lyrically cynical and melodically beautiful, it holds its own against a large handful of Nirvana's properly recorded songs. ... Nirvana may be best known for being loud and heavy, but they were just as good at soft, quiet music and "Opinion" one of the finest examples of that."[11] Rolling Stone writer Bienstock found the lyrics of "Opinion" to be pointed, but felt it "comes off as little more than a sketch of a song."[16] Scott Reid from Cokemachineglow opined, "though a fine song, it's not hard to understand why the group never bothered to record it proper."[19] Likewise, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly contrasted the song with other leftovers and outtakes from Nevermind which he viewed as strong and remarked, "Too bad the band never cut the driving ”Opinion.”[14]

Accolades
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2019 NME United Kingdom Every Nirvana song ranked in order of greatness[17] 38
Rolling Stone United States All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked[16] 80

Recording and release history
Date recorded Studio/venue Releases Personnel
September 25, 1990 KAOS (FM), Olympia, Washington With the Lights Out (2004)
Sliver: The Best Of The Box (2005)
c. 1992-1994 Unknown studio Unreleased
1994 Cobain residence Unreleased[note 1]
  • Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar)

References
  1. Kurt Cobain - Opinion RareVersión #MontageOfHeck. YouTube. February 22, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  2. Jovanovic, Rob (September 2004). Nirvana: The Recording Sessions. S A F Pub Ltd. p. 125. ISBN 978-0946719600.
  3. Gaar, Gillian G. (1 June 2009). The Rough Guide to Nirvana (Paperback ed.). London, United Kingdom: Apa Publications. ISBN 1858289459.
  4. Loder, Kurt (April 22, 2008). "Courtney Love Opens Up About Kurt Cobain's Death (The Loder Files)". MTV. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013.
  5. Holmen, Rasmus. "Courtney Love MTV Interview MTV Networks - 09/08/94". Nirvanaclub. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  6. "Opinion". livenirvana.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  7. Cooper, Leonie (March 10, 2015). "Previously unheard 12-minute acoustic Kurt Cobain track to feature on 'Montage Of Heck' soundtrack". NME. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  8. Mokoena, Tshepo (March 10, 2015). "Unreleased Kurt Cobain song to feature on Montage of Heck film soundtrack". The Guardian. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  9. "New info about Opinion home demo". Imgur. 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  10. "Shkreli Contract". Imgur. 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  11. Sacher, Andrew (February 11, 2019). "Nirvana's 15 Best Non-Album Songs". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  12. Hernandez, Raoul (2004-12-10). "Nirvana Gift Guide". The Austin Chronicle. Austin Chronicle Corp.
  13. "Nirvana - With the Lights Out". SPIN. 2004-12-24. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
  14. Browne, David (10 December 2004). "With the Lights Out". Entertainment Weekly: 89.
  15. Bartleet, Larry (2015-07-15). "14 Essential Nirvana B-Sides, Demos And Rarities". NME. IPC Media – Inspire (Time Inc.).
  16. "No Apologies: All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked". Rolling Stone. April 5, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  17. Howard, Tom (April 5, 2019). "Every Nirvana song ranked in order of greatness". NME. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  18. DeRogatis, Jim (June 2002). "Nirvana Wars". Spin. Vol. 18 no. 6. SPIN Media LLC. p. 72. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  19. Reid, Scott (2004-12-01). "Nirvana: With the Lights Out". Cokemachineglow.

Notes
  1. A short clip of this version appears in the film Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.[1]
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