Last night in Sydney, Lana Del Rey continued her amazing year-long run of just fucking with all of us by stepping onstage at the Enmore Theater and covering Nirvana. And not just any Nirvana song! She covered “Heart-Shaped Box,” the first single from In Utero and thus the way Kurt Cobain deigned to introduce the world to his not-so-happy-about-being-famous phase. Given that all of LDR’s moves are painstakingly calculated and clearly all fame and its effects, this isn’t just a case of a singer singing a song she likes. I guess it would’ve been even more poignant if she’d covered “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle” or whatever, but that probably wouldn’t have caused the Aussie crowd to whoop with recognition like it did. Bonus points for the discordant string-squeaks. Below, check out a surprisingly clear-sounding fan-made video, which sadly cuts off early.
(via Spin)
That sounded pretty good! What? It did!
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I really wanted to hate this.
I really did hate this
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see
i like it
It’s official for me, every song she does sounds the exact same. Even when she does a cover. Guess the good thing is that she’s really lowering the bar for everyone else!
between this and his widow,, its a good thing kurt was cremated because he’d be spinning like a top in his grave.
But if he were alive I bet he’d be hittin’ that shit.
thats a hell of an alley oop I set there for ya, well done
thumbs down,hmmmmmm….. so either you liked that cover (Really?), think Courtney love is sane and not ruining her daughters life and making a mockery of her late husband, or you didn’t like the spinning like a top reference and wished I used rotisserie.
Sometimes the Stereogum children cry when they read something serious. There’s no logic to it.
The Lana fans on this site are petty and incapable of accepting any criticism of her.
good “them” statement. Its your opinion against a world of fools!
They got nothin’ on the K-pop fans. Those people wouldn’t know subjectivity or humor if they were put together by an entertainment house to do a private choreographed dance routine for them.
courtney is gonna make you pay for saying that AND SHE’S GOT NOTHIN BUT TIME AND CRAZY
Who’s to say, but I think Cobain would hate LDR, but still enjoy this cover because honestly, it’s really a good cover.
So stupid.
Being a fan of Nirvana forever (including having been at their concerts) I thought this was a beautiful interpretation of the song. I think she is just an amazing artist.
Just like Mozart!
i almost wish i could hear a studio version of this, without all of the ambiance of the live audience. i think i actually like it, despite the fact that i have always been anti-nirvana cover of any sort. however, there’s something extremely haunting about this version, which i love. i think kurt would be down with LDR.
Forgive me for asking, but what Nirvana song isn’t “not just any Nirvana song!”?
she must’ve been watching ‘the voice’ the other night then.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjaIbPLBIjE
That just really bummed me out. Poor Kurt.
I wonder what Kurt would think about his song being on a “Game Show”
what about in the movie moulin rouge? nothin beats a chorus of ladies singing ‘here we are now, entertain us!!!”
What a boring cover of an amazing song, I totally agree with Nick B., and Kurdt was never one whose priorities of being a rock star were “hittin’ that shit.” Sorry for the tirade, this brought out my inner negative creep:)
I totally agree with you. By the time he died, he had only about 3 girlfriends total Lol…
mmmmhhhh…. nope…
Her and Joseph Gordon Levitt should hook up some time. I have a feeling they’d have a lot in common.
“Her and…”
I can’t believe I’m being a grammar troll, but WHAT?!
Fair enough, but it was just a small mistake. Sorry.
dont be sorry, no one gives a fuck just live your life and spell your shit and just live bro it doesnt matter grammar police DONT HAVE NO CUFFS
PEAC’,
D.
The only thing that pisses me off about the video is the dumbass who shot it vertically with his iPhone.
Double-Tap your video screen. Rotate 90 degrees.
Idiots and their iPhones (and that’s coming from an idiot with an iPhone).
That wouldn’t have happened had they shot it on a windows phone.
Where do her and Miley Cyrus come from? Intentionally pissing on gold to set out the fire of their gnawing existential musical talent vacuum crisis?
Why the fuck is there a hedge on stage?
I find that hilarious. I like imagining the people that bought front row tickets and then spent the entire concert staring directly at a hedge the whole time.
Lana Del Topiarey
someone forgot to….trim the bush?
but the best part about the video was that it cut off early
didn’t hate this as much as i wanted to. guess hannah montana really set my bar low for nirvana covers.
Yeah, as expected it’s horrible. I don’t think she knows what she wants to be. It’s like she can’t decide if she’s a pop star or a frightening hipster
Just. Hated. This. She sings so badly.
Okay honestly? I love you guys at Stereogum, but you need to decide whether you love Lana Del Rey or hate her, and stick to it. You report on her far more than any other blog I read, but can’t manage to mention her name without reminding us how much everything she does bothers you.
I think someone else made this comparison before, but you’re starting to sound like someone who won’t stop talking about their ex, but only so you can convey to us that you’re like, “totally over her, man.”
It’s kind of a love/hate Del Reytionship.
She’s newsworthy and coverage of her generates hits. So she gets covered by music blogs. A writer for a blog may not like her, so he inserts his own opinion. This is the way the Internet works. Is it really that hard to understand?
That’s a bit reductionist though, don’t you think? I mean sure, your logic is sound, but Stereogum is far from the only blog who dislikes her now, but they’re certainly the only one I read that harps on her this much while simultaneously making sure to vocalize their hatred in equal amount (as an example: did you see a “one year retrospective” on any other blogs?).
I just don’t think the only reason we keep seeing Lana Del Rey articles pop up on this site is because they begrudgingly feel that everything she does is actually “newsworthy.” I’m not against the coverage itself, I’m against the idea that we constantly need to be reminded that no matter how much they talk about her, “no of course we don’t like her, ew gross. But did you hear what that stupid gross Lana is up to now? It’s so stupid and gross, isn’t it?” Don’t you ever get the sense they’re acting like someone who retroactively claims that THEY were one who broke it off with so-and-so, just so they can save face in front of their friends?
I dunno, you are right though. At the end of the day it’s is all about the traffic, and these articles consistently end up getting the most comments. I guess it’s my fault for forgetting the difference between a news site and a blog.
I GUESS I JUST THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE BETTER THAN THAT :,(
It’s just like a fourteen year old girl’s opinion of a boy she likes/loathes. . . .
It doesn’t matter what the writers of this site think of her. She generates hits for this site. This blog is part of a larger media company, BUZZmedia. Hits equal ad revenue. I’d venture to guess there’s a “suggestion” of some sort from up on high to continue focusing on Lana.
Believe me, I wish they’d cover her less too.
You seem to have a good understanding of how this all works. So, if you don’t mind me asking; why did you ah… ya know… click on an article of a subject that you wish they would stop covering, when your hit just gives stereogum more reason to post about LDR?
I just see people wishing she wasn’t as big a deal as she clearly is. I can’t get off this question that if everyone hates her so god-damn much, then why comment on it? You’re only feuling the fire.
I mean if you absolutely have to comment on how much you hate her (or anything posted here,) then atleast admit how much you love to hate and bitch about her. You can also take responsibility for the frequency of ldr related news while you’re at it.
I’m a little confused by this response because you keep saying “you” like you’re referring to me, but if that’s the case then you um…kind of completely missed my point. I have no problem with her being covered as much as she is. In fact, I explicitly stated that earlier. My problem is the way the articles are written, given how much she is covered.
Is she irrelevant yet?
Yet no mention of this AMAZING cover…shame on you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncZW9QSz7Go
Great cover, thx for the link!
Not thanks to you.
I can never decide how I really feel about Ms. Del Rey. Is she great or is she terrible?
She just earned a point in my book. This cover is lovely.
Whew. Lovely? Her pitch is awful.
She is very well this centurie’s Marilyn Monroe. I can’t say I’m too fond of her music (or her upper lip) but she’s smoking hot and really come along way since SNL. Kudos to anyone doing something not just bitching about how other people are doing it.
this is like getting shit on by angelina jolie; you hate it but not as much as you should
came here to post the exact same comment. verbatim. glad you beat me to it.
Ugh. She officially can sing covers better than she can sing her own songs.
Love this & I’m not much of a LDR fan but am a big Nirvana fan.
Full Version/Not so full quality. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJWL9Pwey90
I don’t understand hating Del Rey for the sake of hating Del Rey. It’s a well done cover, and it proves that maybe, JUST MAYBE, she doesn’t warrant the hate.
I dislike her lack of pitch, not her personally.
I’m all for showing more emotions in her voice. good improvements are being made by her.
if this were a guy singing this i’d probably hate it, but i’m totally ok with a girl doing it, specially if they slow it down and do it stripped, nice job LDR!! (PLUS…im really afraid of Nirvana’s music ‘dying’ so the more covers, by people who can actually DO one, the better…long live Nirvana!!!!)
You’re afraid of Nirvana’s music dying? Nirvana is not among the bands I’m worried will die, they are still enormous as fuck. I’m kinda worried Jay Reatard’s cover of that song “Frances Farmer will have her revenge on seattle” will be forgotten after a while. But I think Nirvana is gonna last a couple more generations, at least.
yeahhhh i hope so BUT…i mean, who’s doing Nirvana songs lately? Will Dave Grohl/Foos EVER cover ONE friggin’ Nirvana song for ol times sake EVEN?! (and no Marigold does NOT count nerds who think i’m clueless) All i know is way more bands should be doing Nirvana covers at least now n then, where’s Radio Friendly Unit Shifter? Where’s Breed? Oh actually i stand corrected, i forgot about the Joseph Gordon Levitt cover of Lithium hahaha…SEE WHAT I MEAN?!
Terrible. Just terrible.
sounds like someone has a case of Summer Sadness…(rimshot)
…Cheeky cunt.
haha, why’d you throw the C word in there?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2gfsV6zY-4
I’m not sure if someone already posted this er not, but it’s a great cover.
i’d like to hear Kurt covering Lana. that would sound interesting
god almighty will this bitch just stop it already
LOL . Puta que a pariu
Lana coverage all the day long, but OTC’s Bill Doss dies and there’s site-wide silence for three days. Pitchfork already has several thousand words on it up. I’m writing this here because I don’t know where else to put it–there being, as far as I can tell, no Bill Doss story–but, come on, guys.