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Scentless Apprentice

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"Scentless Apprentice"
SongbyNirvana
from the albumIn Utero
ReleasedSeptember 21, 1993
RecordedFebruary 12–26, 1993
StudioPachyderm Studio,Cannon Falls,Minnesota,United States
Genre
Length3:48
LabelDGC
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Steve Albini
In Uterotrack listing
12 tracks
  1. "Serve the Servants"
  2. "Scentless Apprentice"
  3. "Heart-Shaped Box"
  4. "Rape Me"
  5. "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle"
  6. "Dumb"
  7. "Very Ape"
  8. "Milk It"
  9. "Pennyroyal Tea"
  10. "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter"
  11. "tourette's"
  12. "All Apologies"

"Scentless Apprentice"is a song by the AmericanrockbandNirvana,written by vocalist and guitaristKurt Cobain,drummerDave Grohl,and bassistKrist Novoselic.It is the second track on their third and final studio albumIn Utero,released in September 1993.

Based on the novelPerfumebyPatrick Süskind,"Scentless Apprentice" is unique among Nirvana songs in that the main guitar riff was written by Grohl, rather than Cobain. The band briefly considered releasing it as the album's second single, following "Heart-Shaped Box,"but no single for the song was released by the time ofCobain's suicide in April 1994.

Early history[edit]

"Scentless Apprentice" was written during a band rehearsal in 1992. Unlike most Nirvana songs, the guitar riff was written by Grohl, rather than Cobain. "It was such a cliché grungeTadriff that I was reluctant to even jam on it, "Cobain toldMichael Azerrad,in the 1993 Nirvana biography,Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana.[3]"But I decided to write a song with that just to make [Grohl] feel better, to tell you the truth, and it turned out really cool."[3]Cobain added the descending guitar riff played over the main riff and arranged the song, while Novoselic helped compose the song's second section. "I think most of the reason that song sounds good is because of the singing style and the guitar parts I do over the top of the basic rhythm," Cobain told Azerrad, "But hell, that was great."[3]It is the only song onIn Uteroon which all three band members received songwriting credits.[4]

The earliest known recording is an instrumental studio jam, recorded on October 6, 1992, featuring formerScratch AciddrummerRey Washamon drums, along with Grohl on guitar and Novoselic on bass.[5]The first recording featuring Cobain is a boombox-recorded rehearsal demo, over nine minutes long, that was released on the posthumous Nirvana box set,With the Lights Out,in 2004.[6]: 26–27 

"Scentless Apprentice" was first recorded in the studio by Craig Montgomery atBMG-Ariolastudios inRio de Janeiro,Brazilin January 1993.[6]: 26–27 This demo version was closer in duration and structure to the finished version of the song, although it featured unfinished lyrics.[6]: 26–27 The song was debuted live shortly before this version was recorded, on January 16, 1993 at theHollywood Rock FestivalinSão Paulo,Brazil, and performed again shortly after, on January 23, 1993 at the Hollywood Rock Festival in Rio de Janeiro.[6]: 26–27 Although the song's structure had been trimmed by that point, as evidenced by the studio version, the latter of these performances still developed into an extended jam that lasted nearly 20 minutes.[6]: 26–27 During this performance, Cobain spat into the lenses of the TV cameras filming the show,[6]: 98 [7]and also exposed himself to one of the cameras, in a sequence that he referred to as "the penis and flower petal face in camera performance piece" in the posthumously releasedJournals.[8]Footage of this part of the performance appears in the 1994 home video,Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!.

In Utero[edit]

The final studio version of "Scentless Apprentice" was recorded bySteve Albiniin February 1993, atPachyderm StudiosinCannon Falls, Minnesota.This version was released on the band's third and final studio album,In Utero,in September 1993.

The song was recorded on February 13, the first day of theIn Uterosessions, under the working title "Chuck Chuck Fo Fuck", a reference to the rhythm of the guitar riff.[6]: 42 According to Albini, Cobain recorded two vocal takes for the song: one main vocal take, and a second "where Kurt was just singing parts of the song to emphasize them or parts of the song with a different sound quality."[6]: 45 

Post-In Utero[edit]

The final live performance of "Scentless Apprentice" was at Nirvana's second-to-last show, atHala TivoliinLjubljana, Sloveniaon February 27, 1994.[citation needed]

Composition[edit]

Music[edit]

"Scentless Apprentice" is agrungeandhard rocksong that runs for a duration of three minutes and forty-eight seconds.[9]According to thesheet musicpublished at Musicnotes byBMG Rights Management,it is written in thetime signatureofcommon time,with a moderately fast rocktempoof 111beats per minute.[9]"Scentless Apprentice" is composed in thekeyofF Minor,while Cobain'svocal rangespans oneoctaveand fournotes,from a low ofB♭4to a high ofF5.[9]The song has a basic sequence of F5–E♭5/C–F5–E♭5/C–F5–E♭5/C–F5in the verses and F♯6–F♯7–F♯maj7–F♯during the refrain as itschord progression.[9]

Lyrics[edit]

The song's lyrics are based on the 1985 novelPerfumeby German writerPatrick Süskind,one of Cobain's favorite books.[4]The novel is set in France in the eighteenth century and tells the story of an orphan who is born with two notable characteristics – he has an extraordinary sense of smell, but he himself gives off no body odor of any kind.[4]He is reluctantly cared for at an orphanage by nurses who think he is devil-spawned but he eventually becomes an apprentice to a master perfume-maker and later commits a series of murders in order to make perfumes from the scents of his victims.[4]Cobain had not originally intended to turn his reading of the book into a song, but the need for strong lyrics arose when the band collaborated in writing a song together from square one.[4]

Release and reception[edit]

Cobain was pleased with the recording, tellingSpinin a 1993 interview that the band wanted to release the song as the album's second single, following "Heart-Shaped Box."[10]Ultimately, no single was ever released for the song before Cobain's death in April 1994, with "All Apologies"and"Rape Me"released as double A-sides as the album's second single instead. However, the song did receive some airplay on USalbum-oriented rockradio in 1993.[11]

Albini was also impressed with the song, citing it and theIn Uterotrack "Milk It" as "the two that struck me as the biggest step for the band," because they represented "the biggest break" from the band's more traditionally melodic material, and "the most adventurous sonically" songs on the album.[6]: 44 

Legacy[edit]

In 2008, "Scentless Apprentice" was included inThe Pitchfork 500,a book published by the online music publicationPitchforkfeaturing their list of the "greatest songs" from 1977 to 2006. It was one of two Nirvana songs included in the book, along with the band's 1991 breakthrough single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

In 2015,Rolling Stoneranked "Scentless Apprentice" at number 24 in their list of the top 102 Nirvana songs.[12]In a reader's poll of Nirvana songs conducted byLouder Soundin May 2018, "Scentless Apprentice" placed 23rd.[13]In 2019, it was ranked at number 15 onThe Guardian's "Nirvana's 20 greatest songs" list.[14]In 2023, Stephen Thomas Erlewine ranked it at number 19 on his list of Nirvana's "30 greatest songs" forthe A.V. Club,calling it "a singularly powerful piece of rock and roll."[15]

Personnel[edit]

Live promotional versions[edit]

A live version of the song, from the band's show at theSeattle Center Arenain Seattle on January 7, 1994, was released as astreamingsingle in September 2023, to promote the 30th anniversary reissue ofIn Utero,set to be released in October 2023. The "Super Deluxe" version of the set will feature the complete concert.[16][17]

Accolades[edit]

Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
1998 Kerrang! United Kingdom 20 Great Nirvana Songs Picked by the Stars[18] 18
2004 Q 10 Songs Based On Novels[19] 9
2019 The Guardian Nirvana's 20 greatest songs - ranked![14] 15
2023 The A.V. Club United States Essential Nirvana: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked[20] 19

Other releases[edit]

  • The demo recorded at BMG-Ariola in Rio de Janeiro in January 1993 was released on the 20th anniversary "Deluxe" and "Super Deluxe" versions ofIn Uteroin September 2013.
  • TheIn Uteroversion was re-released on the compilation CDStrung Out,released byGuitar Worldin a joint promotion with DGC in 1993.[21][22]It also appeared on thepromo cassetteConcrete Music Bloc - Volume III,released by the heavy metal record labelConcrete Cornerin 1993.[23]
  • The 20th anniversary "Deluxe" and "Super Deluxe" versions ofIn Uteroalso featured a 2013 remix of the song by Albini.
  • A live version, recorded atPier 48in Seattle on December 13, 1993, appeared on the live compilation,From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah,in November 1996. An edited version of the show, including "Scentless Apprentice," was first aired on MTV on December 31, 1993, and the full show was released on the live videoLive and Loudin September 2013
  • The 30th anniversary "Super Deluxe" reissue ofIn Uterowill also include a version of "Scentless Apprentice" recorded atPalaghiaccioinMarino, Italyon February 22, 1994 as bonus material.[24][25]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Kurt Cobain's 10 best Nirvana lyrics".Far Out Magazine.February 20, 2022.RetrievedOctober 1,2022.
  2. ^Pan, Arnold (September 23, 2013)."The Best Ever Nirvana RecordingIn UteroCelebrates Its 20th Anniversary ".PopMatters.RetrievedMarch 1,2019.
  3. ^abcAzerrad, Michael(1994).Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana.Doubleday.p. 324.ISBN0-385-47199-8.
  4. ^abcdeCrisafulli, Chuck (1996).Teen Spirit: The Stories Behind Every Nirvana Song.London: Omnibus Press. pp.84 - 85.ISBN0711958092.
  5. ^"Hear an Early, Unheard Version of Nirvana's Scentless Apprentice".Kerrang!.January 18, 2019.RetrievedFebruary 13,2019.
  6. ^abcdefghiGaar, Gillian G (2006).Nirvana'sIn Utero.United States: Bloomsbury Publishing USA.ISBN9781441186096.RetrievedAugust 27,2018.
  7. ^Nirvana - Scentless Apprentice (LIVE Brazil, 1993).Rio de Janeiro,Brazil:YouTube.January 23, 1993.Archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2021.RetrievedAugust 22,2018.
  8. ^Cobain, Kurt. "Journals". Published in 2002 by Riverhead Books.ISBN978-1-57322-232-7.
  9. ^abcdCobain, Kurt."Nirvana 'Scentless Apprentice' Sheet Music in F Minor - Download & Print".Musicnotes.BMG Rights Management.RetrievedMarch 9,2019.
  10. ^"The Nirvana Wars".Spin.SPIN Media LLC. June 2002.RetrievedAugust 17,2018.
  11. ^
  12. ^"No Apologies: All 102 nirvana songs ranked".Rolling Stone.April 5, 2019.RetrievedAugust 17,2018.
  13. ^Edwards, Briony (August 24, 2022)."The 30 greatest Nirvana songs ever - and the stories behind them".Louder Sound.RetrievedAugust 17,2018.
  14. ^abPetridis, Alexis (June 20, 2019)."Nirvana's 20 greatest songs - ranked!".The Guardian.RetrievedJune 23,2019.
  15. ^Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (21 September 2023)."Essential Nirvana: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked".The A.V. Club.Retrieved22 September2023.
  16. ^Monroe, Jazz."Nirvana Reissuing In Utero With 2 Unreleased Live Albums for 30th Anniversary".Pitchfork.No. 5 September 2023.Retrieved8 September2023.
  17. ^Deaux, John (September 5, 2023)."Nirvana In Utero: 30th anniversary multi-format reissues arrive October 27, 2023".allabouttherock.co.uk.RetrievedSeptember 8,2023.
  18. ^"The Hit List: 20 Great Nirvana Songs Picked by the Stars".Kerrang!.No. 709. July 25, 1998. p. 49.RetrievedJuly 21,2019.
  19. ^"50: Book Of Rock - 10 Songs Based On Novels".Q.2004.Archivedfrom the original on July 18, 2011.RetrievedJuly 23,2019.
  20. ^Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (21 September 2023)."Essential Nirvana: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked".The A.V. Club.Retrieved22 September2023.
  21. ^"Strung Out".livenirvana.Retrieved17 August2018.
  22. ^Nirvana,In Utero - Super Deluxe Edition- liner notes (2013).
  23. ^"Concrete Corner: Concrete Music Bloc (Volume III, September 1993)".livenirvana.RetrievedAugust 18,2018.
  24. ^Monroe, Jazz."Nirvana Reissuing In Utero With 2 Unreleased Live Albums for 30th Anniversary".Pitchfork.No. 5 September 2023.Retrieved8 September2023.
  25. ^Deaux, John (September 5, 2023)."Nirvana In Utero: 30th anniversary multi-format reissues arrive October 27, 2023".allabouttherock.co.uk.RetrievedSeptember 8,2023.

Bibliography[edit]

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