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Dumb (Nirvana song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Dumb
| cover =
| artist = Nirvana
| album = In Utero
| released =
| recorded = February 1326, 1993
| studio = Pachyderm, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
| genre =
| length =
| label = DGC
| writer = Kurt Cobain
| producer = Steve Albini
| tracks =
}}
'"Dumb"' is a song by the American rock band, Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It is the sixth song on the band's third and final studio album, 'In Utero', released in 1993.
Despite never being released as a single, the song reached number 37 on the US Alternative National Airplay chart, which was published by the 'Billboard' sister publication, 'Radio & Records'.
Origin and recording
Early history
"Dumb" was written by Cobain in the summer of 1990, after he had begun to explore the more pop-influenced side of his songwriting.Crisafulli (1996). p. 93. Two lyrics sheets for the song were published posthumously in 'Journals' in November 2002, one under the working title of "I Think I'm Dumb," with a note that the lyrics were "Not Finished," and the titles of two songs by Scottish rock band the Vaselines, "Molly's Lips" and "Slushy," written under the title with no explanation.
The song was debuted live on September 25, 1990, when Cobain performed a solo acoustic version on the 'Boy Meets Girl' show, hosted by Calvin Johnson of the American rock band Beat Happening, on KAOS (FM) in Olympia, Washington.St. Thomas (2004). p. 66.Gillian G. Gaar (2009). The first live version featuring the full band was at the Off Ramp Caf in Seattle, Washington on November 25, 1990.
On September 3, 1991, the band recorded a version of the song, already featuring finished lyrics, during their second John Peel session for the BBC at Maida Vale Studios in London.St. Thomas (2004). p. 107. The full session, which also featured versions of "Drain You" and "Endless Nameless" from their then-latest release, 'Nevermind', was produced by Dale Griffin, and first broadcast on November 3, 1991. "Dumb" and "Endless, Nameless" from this session were posthumously released on the Nirvana rarities box set, 'With the Lights Out', in November 2004.
Three studio versions of "Dumb" were recorded by Jack Endino on October 26, 1992, at Word of Mouth in Seattle, Washington, but all were instrumental, as were all the other songs recorded during this session, except for one take of "Rape Me".Gaar (2006). pp.17, 18, 19, 20.
In Utero
The final studio version of "Dumb" was recorded by Steve Albini at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota in February 1993, and was released on 'In Utero' in September 1993.
The recording featured Kera Schaley on cello, who also played on the album's closing track, "All Apologies." All subsequent live versions of both songs featured cello, although never by Schaley, who did not tour with the band.
In a 2013 interview for the audio series 'Spotify Landmark', Albini recalled replacing drummer Dave Grohl's bass drum on "Dumb" and "Pennyroyal Tea" with a small one "with a full-front head on it, so that it had a very sort of bouncy, jazzy sound, as opposed to the sort of more percussive, more hard rock sound on the rest of the record."
Post-In Utero
On November 18, 1993, the band performed an acoustic version of "Dumb" during their 'MTV Unplugged' appearance at Sony Music Studios in New York City. This version featured Pat Smear on second guitar and Lori Goldston on cello. The song was performed, along with "Serve the Servants," at Nirvana's final television appearance, on February 23, 1994 in Rome, Italy for the 'RAI' television show, 'Tunnel'. This version featured Melora Creager on cello.
"Dumb" was performed for the final time live at Nirvana's last concert, on March 1, 1994 at Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany.
Composition and lyrics
Music
Journalist Gillian G. Gaar noted that "Dumb" was one of the few Nirvana songs to remain "low-key from beginning to end," comparing it to the 'Bleach' song, "About a Girl."Gaar (2006). p. 18. Like "About a Girl," the song has been described as "Beatlesque." Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic called it "a beautiful song. That's a really good one. I like the BBC version of the song. It's real raw, but still the beauty is strong. A sweet pop song."Gaar (2006). p. 59.Describing the 'In Utero' version, John Mulvey of the 'NME' wrote that the song "broods and circles, with the aid of a cello, like a baroque parody of 'Lithium'. Again and again it builds up and up, primed to explode into a moshing sweatfest of a chorus, and again and again it ducks away from that commercially lucrative macho bonding rite." Likewise, Jim Bevigilia of 'American Songwriter' wrote that "the recording of the song on 'In Utero' is all coiled tension. Even though you expect Cobains guitar to come crashing through to break it, it never quite does. Instead, a cello runs counterpoint to the steady rhythm section of Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl and to the protagonists insistence that maybe hes happy after all."
Lyrics
In a 1993 interview with 'Melody Maker', Cobain explained that the song was "just about people who're easily amused, people who not only aren't capable of progressing their intelligence but are totally happy watching 10 hours of television and really enjoy it. I've met a lot of dumb people. They have a shitty job, they may be totally lonely, they don't have a girlfriend, they don't have much of a social life, and yet, for some reason, they're happy."
Though written before Cobain's addiction to heroin, "Dumb" is also one of the few Nirvana songs to directly reference drug use, specifically inhalants. In Cobain's unused liner notes for the song, he blamed "all that supposedly unaddictive, harmless" marijuana for harming his nerves and damaging his memory, saying it "wasn't ever strong enough" which led him to "climb the ladder" to heroin.
In 2015, Kurt's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, offered her own interpretation of the song in an interview with 'Rolling Stone', saying, "I cry every time I hear that song. It's a stripped-down version of Kurt's perception of himself of himself on drugs, off drugs, feeling inadequate to be titled the voice of a generation."
Reception
In his review of 'In Utero' for 'Rolling Stone', David Fricke cited "Dumb," along with "Heart-Shaped Box," as evidence that if Generation X "is ever going to have its own Lennon...Cobain is damn near it."
In a 1993 'Rolling Stone' interview, Cobain told Fricke that he wished he had put more songs like "Dumb" and "All Apologies" on previous Nirvana albums, saying that Nirvana had so far "failed in showing the lighter, more dynamic side of our band."
Though never released as a single, "Dumb" has become a popular song on American alternative rock radio, and was played on European radio.
It was ranked at number 39 on WHFS's top 100 played songs of 1994,[http://www.rocklists.com/whfs-1994.html WHFS Top 100 of 1994] rocklists.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013. number 41 on KROQ-FMs top 100 played songs of 1994,[http://www.rocklists.com/kroq-1994.html KROQs Top 100 of 1994] rocklists.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013. number 56 on Q101's top 100 played songs of 1994,[http://www.rocklists.com/q101-1994.html Q101's Top 100 of 1994] rocklists.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013. and number 82 on 91X's top 100 played songs of 1994.[http://www.rocklists.com/91x-1994.html 91X's Top 100 of 1994] rocklists.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013. "Dumb" was also ranked at number 381 on Live 105's Top 500 songs in 1994,[http://www.rocklists.com/alltime17.html Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (1994)] rocklists.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016. as well as at number 266 on Live 105's Top 300 Revolutionary songs in 1995,[http://www.rocklists.com/alltime76.html Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (1995)] rocklists.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016. and also at number 220 on WHFS's Top 500 songs of the 90s in 1999.[http://www.rocklists.com/alltime11.html WHFS Top 500 of the 90s (1999)] rocklists.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016. The combined airplay in 1994 allowed the song to chart at number 37 on the US Alternative National Airplay chart which was published by 'Radio & Records', a sister publication to 'Billboard'.
Legacy
Reviewing the band's first greatest hits album, 'Nirvana', in 2002, Will Bryant of 'Pitchfork' wrote that "Dumb" was "one of Cobain's most underrated efforts, a populist revision of "Lithium" that replaces 'Nevermind's' misanthropy with earnest self-deprecation." Bryant praised Kera Schaley's cello playing as the song's "secret weapon," and the bridge as "hands down, Cobain's best."
In 2004, "Dumb" was ranked number seven in 'Q's' list of the '10 Greatest Nirvana Songs Ever'. In 2011, 'NME' ranked it sixth on their list of the Nirvana's '10 Best Tracks'. In 2015, it was listed at number 20 on 'Rolling Stone's' ranking of 102 Nirvana songs. In 2019, 'The Guardian' ranked it ninth on their list of 'Nirvana's 20 greatest songs'.
"Dumb" was re-released on the band's second greatest hits collection, 'Icon', in August 2010.
In 2017, to mark what would have been Cobain's 50th birthday, the Phonographic Performance Limited released a list of the top 20 most played Nirvana songs on the TV and radio in the United Kingdom, in which "Dumb" was ranked at number 19.[http://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/20-most-played-nirvana-songs-revealed-to-mark-kurt-cobains-50th-birthday/ 20 most-played Nirvana songs revealed to mark Kurt Cobains 50th birthday] planetrock.com. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
Charts
Accolades
Personnel
'Nirvana'
* Kurt Cobain vocals, guitars
* Krist Novoselic bass
* Dave Grohl drums
'Additional personnel'
* Kera Schaley cello
Other releases
*One of the three instrumental takes recorded at Word of Mouth in Seattle, on October 26, 1992, was released on the 20th anniversary "Deluxe" and "Super Deluxe" versions of 'In Utero' in September 2013.
*A live version, recorded at the 1992 Reading Festival on October 30, 1992, appeared on 'Live at Reading', released on CD and DVD in November 2009.
*A remix of the 'In Utero' version, done by Albini in 2013, also appeared on the 20th anniversary "Deluxe" and "Super Deluxe" versions of 'In Utero.'
*A brief clip of the song, from the band's performance at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts on November 10, 1993, appeared on side four of the vinyl version of the live compilation, 'From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah', released in November 1996. The clip featured Cobain stopping the song after accidentally repeating the second verse, apologizing to the audience, and then starting again.
Unreleased versions
*The solo acoustic version recorded on the 'Boy Meets Girl' show in Olympia on September 25, 1990 was leaked on the internet in 2016, but remains unreleased.
*The live version recorded for 'Tunnel' in Rome on February 23, 1994 also remains unreleased.
Cover versions
In 2016, Best Coast covered the song for 'Summer Is Forever 2'.
References
Bibliography
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