Dumb (song)

Infobox Song
Name = Dumb


Artist = Nirvana
Album = In Utero
Released = September 21, 1993
track_no = 6
Recorded = March 1993 at Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 2:29
Label = Geffen
Producer = Steve Albini
prev = "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle"
prev_no = 5
next = Very Ape
next_no = 7Extra tracklisting
Album = MTV Unplugged in New York
Type = live
prev_track = "Pennyroyal Tea"
prev_no = 5
this_track = "Dumb"
track_no = 6
next_track = "Polly"
next_no = 7

"Dumb" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana. It is the sixth song on their 1993 album, "In Utero."

History

Although the song was first released on "In Utero" in 1993, this Kurt Cobain composition dates back to the spring of 1990. "Dumb" was debuted live on September 25, 1990; Cobain played a solo acoustic rendition on an Olympia, Washington college radio show hosted by Calvin Johnson. It was first performed in concert on November 25, 1990 at the Off-Ramp in Seattle, Washington.

Other versions

After "In Utero" was released live versions of the song would feature a revolving door of cellists, including Lori Goldston (who played on the song's MTV Unplugged rendition) and Melora Creager, of the band Rasputina. The Unplugged version of "Dumb" appears on the band's 1994 posthumous live album, "MTV Unplugged in New York".

An [http://rapidshare.com/files/151844854/Dumb__September_3_1991___192_kbps_.mp3.html electric rendition (sans cello)] was recorded on September 3rd 1991 with John Peel in London, UK at Maida Vale Studios 4 & 5. [http://livenirvana.com/sessions/radio/september-1991.php]

As can be heard in the [http://rapidshare.com/files/12171554/In_Utero_Demos.rar.html unmastered Steve Albini recording] , "Dumb" is was originally set to a faster tempo, and was subsequently slowed-down for the release of "In Utero". This version was recorded in February of 1993 at a music studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. The "In Utero" version was also re-released on the band's 2002 greatest hits "Nirvana", with Kera Schaley on cello.

Meaning

According to Cobain, "Dumb" was inspired by the envy he feels for unintelligent and "easily amused" people, who are seemingly able to move through life without ever feeling sad or depressed. "I've met a lot of dumb people," Cobain said in an interview with Melody Maker in 1993, "they have a shitty job, they may be totally lonely...and yet, for some reason, they're happy."

In an effort to publicly distance himself from the drug culture that he was synonymous with, Cobain gave an interview to "The Chicago Sun-Times" in 1993 that offered a strange alternate meaning for the song. "Actually, that was a song about a concussion," he claimed. "It was just one of those 4-track demo things late at night," he revealed. This was offered in response to Jim DeRogatis's idea that Dumb was about drug addiction.

Notable covers

"Dumb" has been covered by several notable artists:
* American alternative rock band Hole (fronted by Cobain's widow, Courtney Love)
* American post-hardcore band Finch
* American pop punk band Yellowcard

Accolades

*Ranked #7 in "Q's" "10 Greatest Nirvana Songs Ever" (2004)

References

*Azerrad, Michael. "Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana", Doubleday, New York: 1993, ISBN 0-86369-746-1
*Dark Side of the Womb: Part 1 by the Stud Brothers, "Melody Maker",