816,080 plays (205,435 listeners)
“Scentless Apprentice” most likely dates back to late 1992, and is rare among Nirvana songs in that all three members - singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain, drummer Dave Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic - contributed to writing.
According to the 1993 Nirvana biography Come as You Are by Michael Azerrad, the song’s main guitar riff was written by Grohl. Cobain was initially unimpressed with the riff, and admitted in the book that he only worked on it so that Grohl would not be offended. “It was such a cliché grunge Tad riff that I was reluctant to even jam on it,” he said.
However, all three members continued to work on the song, and its dynamics eventually fell into place. “It was just a totally satisfying thing to finally contribute equally to a song,” Cobain said in a 1993 Chicago Sun-Times interview, “instead of me coming up with the basics of the song.”
“Scentless Apprentice” is based on the German novel Perfume, by Patrick Süskind. Published in 1985, the novel tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a boy born without body odor but with a heightened sense of smell. Grenouille grows up to be a perfume apprentice, and uses perfume to mask his lack of odor. He also becomes a murderer, stealing the smells of his female victims in his quest to create a human odor for himself.
In a 1993 MuchMusic interview, Cobain claimed that his copy of Perfume almost never left his pocket. Cobain said he related to Grenouille’s alienation. Cobain also related to Grenouille’s fascination with odor.
According to the 1993 Nirvana biography Come as You Are by Michael Azerrad, the song’s main guitar riff was written by Grohl. Cobain was initially unimpressed with the riff, and admitted in the book that he only worked on it so that Grohl would not be offended. “It was such a cliché grunge Tad riff that I was reluctant to even jam on it,” he said.
However, all three members continued to work on the song, and its dynamics eventually fell into place. “It was just a totally satisfying thing to finally contribute equally to a song,” Cobain said in a 1993 Chicago Sun-Times interview, “instead of me coming up with the basics of the song.”
“Scentless Apprentice” is based on the German novel Perfume, by Patrick Süskind. Published in 1985, the novel tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a boy born without body odor but with a heightened sense of smell. Grenouille grows up to be a perfume apprentice, and uses perfume to mask his lack of odor. He also becomes a murderer, stealing the smells of his female victims in his quest to create a human odor for himself.
In a 1993 MuchMusic interview, Cobain claimed that his copy of Perfume almost never left his pocket. Cobain said he related to Grenouille’s alienation. Cobain also related to Grenouille’s fascination with odor.
Video
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Nirvana Scentless Apprentice Demo From The January 19-21, 1993 Rio de Janeiro Sessions
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Shouts
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freepcgame wrote:
nice one
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vovvy wrote:
oh
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thesexninja wrote:
That's real screaming emo fags [1]
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kittencalamity wrote:
I loved this song for years and had no idea it was based on the book Perfume, which I adore! Makes sense. Read Perfume, but the movie adaptation is shite.
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Felipe_09 wrote:
Go away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Namey wrote:
I prefer the From the Muddy Banks of the Wiskah version for its total unhingedness and those deliciously crunchy guitar tones -
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JuniorNasser wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dig2sA4iY9o
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blith-hears-all wrote:
That's real screaming emo fags
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paris1251 wrote:
hell to the yes.
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tarfray wrote:
Electrolytes smell like semen.... that's some classic poetry :)
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way_too_uncool wrote:
You can't fire me because I quit.
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euyque wrote:
kurt <3
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Krankd wrote:
unable to describe the sheer-awesomeness of this song in 1000 Characters.
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JSonicC wrote:
this is such a badass song
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Titan50 wrote:
Fucking brutal
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beardedfreak wrote:
Inspired by the book Perfume - some useless trivia for you there ;)
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chantelephant wrote:
I remember when I bought Nevermind, I thought it was great. Then, when I got In Utero, I thought in general it was just too heavy for my liking. It's now one of my favourite albums, and that shrieking Cobain does sounds simply amazing to me!
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pilgrimage145 wrote:
Nah dude, its just human and raw.
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yourhero34 wrote:
The only thing that prevents this song from being one of my favorites from them is the horrible shrieks from Cobain. So, so horrible.
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Lucid_Zombie wrote:
the shrieks are awesome in this
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