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"In Bloom" is a song by the grunge band Nirvana. The song originally appeared on their 1991 breakthrough album Nevermind, from which it was a single. It would later appear on the band's greatest hits album, Nirvana.
Written by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, the song was meant to be an insult to the many people who ignored the meanings behind songs. Rumor had it that Cobain specifically wrote the song about his best friend, Dylan Carlson. The band had a dislike for arena rock, and were disgusted that some of those who listened to that form of music were now fans of their music. Truth to be told, many fans of Nirvana didn't know what the lyrics to their songs were about; however, this was not just because of apathy but also because many fans had trouble understanding Cobain's then-unusual vocals. Still, some fans were apathetic to the lyrical content of Nirvana's songs, and instead listened to their music for the instrumental content.
Given this, Nirvana was able to easily parody the less lyrically concerned fans in "In Bloom" without backlash. The songs lyrics, about an unintelligent man who doesn't understand what songs are about (according to the song's chorus: "He's the one/Who likes all our pretty songs/And he likes to sing along/And he likes to shoot his gun/But he don't know what it means"), were accepted by fans whether they understood the meaning of the song or not. Ironically, some fans would even sing along to the lyrics at concerts, an activity that was also parodied in the song.
The music video that accompanied the song would also show the band's sense of ironic humor. Parodying The Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, the video starts off giving the impression of Nirvana being (as the show's host puts it) "nice and decent fellows." As the video progresses, the band begins destroying their instruments, showing themselves to be more like the grunge musicians of their own time. The video would also switch back and forth between scenes of the band playing while wearing business suits and scenes of them playing in dresses.
Single
The following songs appeared on the single:
- "In Bloom" [LP Version] (Cobain, Nirvana) - 4:17
- "Sliver" [live] (Channing, Cobain, Novoselic) - 2:06
- "Polly" [live] (Cobain, Nirvana) - 2:47
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