Opinion (song)

"Opinion" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain.

"Opinion"
Song by Nirvana
from the album With the Lights Out
ReleasedNovember 23, 2004
GenreAlternative rock
Length1:34
LabelDGC
Composer(s)Kurt Cobain
Lyricist(s)Kurt Cobain

The song was first officially released in November 2004, when a solo acoustic radio performance by Cobain appeared on the band's rarities box set, With the Lights Out.

Background and recording

The earliest known recording of "Opinion" is a solo acoustic performance by Cobain on KAOS (FM) at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington on September 25, 1990.[1] Appearing on the Boy Meets Girl show, Cobain introduced "Opinion" by telling host Calvin Johnson that he had "written most of the lyrics this evening," and joked that he had done so while "driving with one foot" to the radio station. After the song, Cobain asked Johnson if he thought it sounded like "Taxman" by the Beatles.[1] This version, which had appeared on Nirvana bootlegs since the 1990s, was officially released in November 2004, on the Nirvana rarities box set, With the Lights Out[2]. It was re-released in November 2005 on the single disc compilation, Sliver: The Best Of The Box. The official release omitted most of Cobain's conversation with Johnson, although parts of this conversation appeared in the 2015 documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, directed by Brett Morgan.

After Cobain's death in April 1994, his widow, Courtney Love, began mentioning the song in interviews, saying she would donate it to Cobain's friend Mark Lanegan, lead singer of the Seattle band Screaming Trees, while giving another Nirvana rarity, "Talk to Me," to Iggy Pop.[3][4] No version of "Opinion" by Lanegan is known to exist. Love occasionally referred to the song as "Opinions" in these interviews, the official BMI listing of the song.

According to Jim Griffin, an ex-employee of Nirvana's record label, Geffen Records, an electric version of "Opinion" was recorded by Nirvana in the studio.[5]

In 2015, a brief clip of a second recording of "Opinion" appeared in Montage of Heck.[6]. Shortly after the film's release, Morgan tweeted that he was “listening to a mind blowing 12-minute acoustic Cobain unheard track" that he planned to include in the film's soundtrack, Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings,[7][8], which he later confirmed was "Opinion".[9] It was later confirmed that the tape with this recording also includes two previously unreleased "practice audience" versions of "Talk to Me", along with the acoustic demo of "You Know You're Right" that was included on the With the Lights Out box set.[10]

Lyrics and composition

According to Rolling Stone, Cobain's lyrics take aim at the media in lines like "a year's subscription of bad puns".[11]

Accolades
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2019 NME United Kingdom Every Nirvana song ranked in order of greatness[12] 38
Rolling Stone United States All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked[11] 80

Recording and release history
Date recorded Studio/venue Releases Personnel
September 25, 1990 KAOS (FM), Olympia, Washington With the Lights Out (2004)
Sliver: The Best Of The Box (2005)
c. 1992-1994 Unknown studio Unreleased
1994 Cobain residence Unreleased[note 1]
  • Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar)

References
  1. Jovanovic, Rob (September 2004). Nirvana: The Recording Sessions. S A F Pub Ltd. p. 125. ISBN 978-0946719600.
  2. Sacher, Andrew (February 11, 2019). "Nirvana's 15 Best Non-Album Songs". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  3. Loder, Kurt (April 22, 2008). "Courtney Love Opens Up About Kurt Cobain's Death (The Loder Files)". MTV. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013.
  4. Holmen, Rasmus. "Courtney Love MTV Interview MTV Networks - 09/08/94". Nirvanaclub. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  5. "Opinion". livenirvana.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  6. Kurt Cobain - Opinion RareVersión #MontageOfHeck. YouTube. February 22, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  7. Cooper, Leonie (March 10, 2015). "Previously unheard 12-minute acoustic Kurt Cobain track to feature on 'Montage Of Heck' soundtrack". NME. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  8. Mokoena, Tshepo (March 10, 2015). "Unreleased Kurt Cobain song to feature on Montage of Heck film soundtrack". The Guardian. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  9. "New info about Opinion home demo". Imgur. 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  10. "Shkreli Contract". Imgur. 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  11. "No Apologies: All 102 Nirvana Songs Ranked". Rolling Stone. April 5, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  12. Howard, Tom (April 5, 2019). "Every Nirvana song ranked in order of greatness". NME. Retrieved November 19, 2019.

Notes
  1. A short clip of this version appears in the film Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.[6]
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