Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box single [Full]

Single Name: Heart-Shaped Box
Studio Release: In Utero (1993)
B-side: Milk It / Marigold
Released: 30 August 1993 (UK)

Kurt Cobain wrote "Heart-Shaped Box" in early 1992. Cobain forgot about the song for a while, but began working on it again when he and his wife Courtney Love moved to a house in the Hollywood Hills. In a 1994 Rolling Stone interview, Love said she overheard him working on the song's riff in a closet. She said she asked him if she could use the riff for one of her songs, to which he replied, "Fuck off!" and closed the closet door. "He was trying to be so sneaky", said Love. "I could hear that one from downstairs."

The couple shared a journal in which they would write lyrics; Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross noted that Love's songwriting sensibility informed Cobain's on the song. The song's name came from a heart-shaped box Love had given Cobain. However, Cobain had originally titled the song "Heart-Shaped Coffin".

Nirvana had difficulty completing the song. Cobain attempted to have the rest of the band complete the song during jam sessions. He said, "During those practices, I was trying to wait for Krist and Dave to come up with something but it just turned into noise all the time." One day Cobain made one last attempt at completing the song. Cobain was able to come up with a vocal melody and the band finally finished writing the song. Cobain said that when they completed "Heart-Shaped Box", "We finally realized that it was a good song."

In January 1993, the band recorded a demo of "Heart-Shaped Box" during sessions with Craig Montgomery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; it was the first song recorded. The In Utero version was recorded in February 1993 by Steve Albini in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Prior to the album's release, the track was remixed by Scott Litt. Cobain was unapologetic about the band's decision to remix it, and maintained that the vocals and bass were not prominent enough in the original mixes. Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic was also unhappy with the original mix of "Heart-Shaped Box". In a 1993 Chicago Sun-Times interview, he said the original effect used on the song's guitar solo sounded "like a fucking abortion hitting the floor." When the song was remixed by Scott Litt, Cobain took the opportunity to add acoustic guitar and backing harmonies.

In February 1993, Grohl entered Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota with bandmates Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, to record what would eventually become In Utero, the third and final studio album from Nirvana, produced by Steve Albini. Towards the end of the session, Grohl decided to re-record "Marigold" (a song he released on Pocketwatch, an album Grohl issued under the pseudonym Late! in 1992) this time with a more detailed arrangement including bass and drums. Like the Late! version, lead and backing vocals and guitar were done by Grohl, who also recorded the drum parts.

Although Novoselic contributed bass, it has been said that Cobain was absent during the production of "Marigold", despite exhaustive rumors insisting his involvement singing backing vocal and playing either drums or guitar. The song didn't make it to the final album, however it would see limited release in August 1993 as a b-side, along with "Milk It", to "Heart-Shaped Box", the first single from In Utero (interestingly, Grohl is credited for playing drums and singing lead vocal on "Marigold", but not guitar or backing vocal). The song would later appear on the third disc of the posthumous box set, With the Lights Out in 2004. The Nirvana version of "Marigold" is significantly notable in that during the band's seven year tenure, it is the only song released by Nirvana to not include any contribution from frontman Kurt Cobain.

After the end of Nirvana, Dave Grohl formed Foo Fighters. Marigold was performed live for the first time by Grohl during the Foo Fighters set at the Berkeley Community Theatre on July 14, 2006 and would be played throughout the rest of the tour. Marigold is the only song to be played by both, Nirvana and Foo Fighters.

(0:00) 1. Heart-Shaped Box
(4:41) 2. Milk It
(8:34) 3. Marigold