In Bloom is a song by Nirvana, written by Kurt Cobain. It appears as the second track on the band’s second album, Nevermind, released by DGC Records in September 1991. The album version is the second of two versions of the song that were released in 1991, the earlier of which was recorded in 1990, while the band was still signed to their original record label, Sub Pop.
This version was initially released as a music video only, on the Sub Pop Video Network Volume 1 VHS compilation. In Bloom was released as the album’s fourth and final single in November 1992 and generated heavy American airplay, reaching number 5 on the US Mainstream Rock chart, despite never being released as a physical single in the United States.
The international release of the single made the top 10 in Ireland and Portugal, as well as the top 20 in Finland and New Zealand and the top 30 in Sweden and the United Kingdom. It was accompanied by a new music video, directed by American filmmaker Kevin Kerslake, which won Best Alternative Video at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards.
Tracklist:
- In Bloom
- Sliver (live Del Mar: 28.12.1991)
- Polly (live Del Mar: 28.12.1991)
In Bloom: Alternate version (video)
The first music video for In Bloom, for the Smart Studios version, was directed by Steve Brown, and filmed in New York City in April 1990, shortly after the song had been recorded. It features footage of the band walking around lower Manhattan, including the South Street Seaport, the Lower East Side, and Wall Street, as well as rehearsal footage and clips from the band’s show at Maxwell‘s in Hoboken, New Jersey on April 28.
Novoselic had shaved his head as punishment for what he perceived to be a bad performance at the Pyramid Club in New York City on April 26, and appears with hair in some shots, and with a shaved head in others. The video was first released in 1991 on the Sub Pop Video Network Volume 1 compilation. It was re-released on the DVD of the band’s rarities box set, With the Lights Out, in November 2004.
The audio of this version appeared on some copies of the promotional EP, Selections from With the Lights Out, which was released shortly before the box set, but not on the box set itself. It did not appear on a commercial release until the full Smart session was included on disc two of the 20th anniversary Deluxe and Super Deluxe versions of Nevermind in September 2011. The video is listed as Alternate Version on Nirvana‘s official YouTube channel.
In Bloom: Nevermind version (video)
The second music video for In Bloom, for the Nevermind version, was directed by Kevin Kerslake, who had directed the videos for the band’s previous two singles from album Nevermind, Come as You Are and Lithium.
The video was first aired in late November 1992, about a month after it was filmed. Cobain came up with the idea of making a video that parodied the musical performances of bands on early 1960s variety shows, such as The Ed Sullivan Show.
The video was filmed on old Kinescope cameras, following Cobain‘s request that Kerslake use authentic cameras from the period, and the band’s performance was improvised. The video begins with an unnamed variety show host, played by Doug Llewelyn, former host of American reality show The People’s Court, introducing Nirvana to an in-studio crowd of young fans, whose screaming is heard throughout the duration of the song.
The band members, whom the host refers to as “thoroughly all right and decent fellas,” perform dressed in suits, while Cobain wears glasses that made him dizzy. As the video progresses, the band destroys the set and its instruments. The In Bloom music video won the award for Best Alternative Video at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards.
Personnel
Kurt Cobain: lead vocals, guitar
Krist Novoselic: bass
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals
Butch Vig: recording and mixing engineer, producer
Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994)
