2. “About A Girl” – Nirvana: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

2. “About A Girl” – Nirvana

(From the album Bleach)

1989

Nirvana opened their performance for MTV’s Unplugged series by saying “Good evening. This is off our first record. Most people don’t own it.” before launching into “About A Girl”, the second single from their debut album Bleach. The version of “About A Girl” from Unplugged is the version more people are familiar with but this acoustic version is slower and more melancholic in tone than the original version on Bleach. The original version of “About A Girl” on Bleach is, in essence, a Beatlesque pop song that is produced to just be a little rough around the edges. It is also easily the most pop-oriented moment on Bleach and belies the idea that their later, more catchy work on Nevermind, was all the doing of the label or producer Butch Vig. “About A Girl” was not a hit, but it did earn significant airplay on American college radio and continue to raise the profile of the band, helping Bleach to eventually sell 40,000 copies in the years before Nevermind would make the band stars. 

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com