In The Alternative Number Ones, I'm reviewing every #1 single in the history of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks/Alternative Songs, starting with the moment that the chart launched in 1988. This column is a companion piece to The Number Ones, and it's for members only. Thank you to everyone who's helping to keep Stereogum afloat.
"This is off our first record. Most people don't own it." Kurt Cobain doesn't say too much to the crowd during Nirvana's MTV Unplugged In New York, but the show, TV special, and live album all open with that perfunctory bit of stage patter. What Cobain says is technically true. The population of the United States was about 260 million in 1993, and Bleach didn't go platinum until 1995. Even if you factor in bootlegs, home tapings, and passed around copies, most Americans, most people, did not own Bleach. But that's still a million fucking people buying a sludgy, unforgiving rock record that was released independently and recorded for $600. People own Bleach because they're caught up in the whole Nirvana mystique or because they've already run Nevermind and In Utero into the ground or because they would feel like posers if they did not own Bleach. But plenty of people also own Bleach because "About A Girl" is a great fucking song. Presumably, some people own MTV Unplugged In New York for the same reason.
I'm probably reading too much into a stray bit of stage patter -- something the often camera-shy Kurt Cobain said because he didn't know what else to say -- but he sounds a little proud of the idea that most people don't own Bleach. Reportedly, Cobain spent a long time negotiating with MTV over taping an Unplugged episode, and when he finally agreed to do it, the network wanted him to play the hits. He refused. So maybe there's a trace of defiance in the way that he introduces "About A Girl." Maybe he thinks he's throwing it in MTV's face: Guess what, bitches? I'm opening with a song that most people don't know. But that's the problem with being Nirvana. Cobain was evidently much more charismatic than he wanted to be. His relatively old and obscure song still sounded like a hit. After his passing, a hit is what it became.