Lithium (Nirvana song)
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| “Lithium” | |||||
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| Single by Nirvana from the album Nevermind |
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| B-side | "Been a Son" (live)/ "Curmudgeon" |
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| Released | July 21, 1992 | ||||
| Format | CD | ||||
| Recorded | May–June, 1991 at Sound City, Van Nuys |
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| Genre | Grunge | ||||
| Length | 4:16 | ||||
| Label | DGC | ||||
| Producer | Butch Vig | ||||
| Nirvana singles chronology | |||||
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| Nevermind track listing | |||||
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"Lithium" is a song by the grunge band Nirvana, written by frontman Kurt Cobain. The name of the song is often attributed to the usage of lithium salts as mood stabilizers. Because of this the lyrics are often interpreted as describing bipolar disorder. Cobain is said to have had bipolar disorder, which may have led to the writing of the song "Lithium". Still, there is much disagreement about the exact meaning and interpretation of it.
In the Nevermind press kit, Cobain said this about the song: "People who are secluded for so long go insane, and as a last resort they often use religion to keep alive. In the song, the guy's lost his girl and his friends and he's brooding. He's decided to find God before he kills himself. It's hard for me to understand the need for a vice like that, but I can appreciate it too. People need vices."
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[edit] Other versions
The song was first recorded at the Evergreen State College on March 20, 1990 during the course of a day where the band used the resources at the college's video studio to make music videos for several of its songs. A few weeks later the first proper demo of the song was recorded at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin as part of the band's first session with future Nevermind producer Butch Vig.
In 2004 an acoustic demo from a September 25, 1990 radio performance on KAOS-FM radio was included on the posthumous box-set release With The Lights Out, and on Sliver: The Best of the Box.
[edit] Live performances
Nirvana was asked to perform their first hit, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards but the band wanted to play a new song called "Rape Me". MTV declined, and eventually it was agreed that the band would play "Lithium" which was their latest hit single. When the band began their performance, Kurt strummed and played the first few bars of the song "Rape Me", before jumping into "Lithium". Keeping in tradition of altering various lyrics during live performances, Cobain replaced the line "I'm to blame for all I've heard/But I'm not sure" with "I'm to blame for all I've heard/But I'm a turd" during the final verse. Nearing the end of the live performance, people began jumping on and off the stage and Krist Novoselic threw his bass into the air, (later saying it was because his bass was cutting out) but misjudged the catch and the bass smacked him in the forehead, causing him to collapse. Cobain and drummer Dave Grohl continued to play as Novoselic rose and staggered offstage, after which Cobain proceeded to destroy the band's equipment while Grohl approached the microphone and began to yell "Hi Axl, hi Axl!" (referring to Axl Rose).
Another memorable live performance of "Lithium" from the Reading Festival in 1992 can be found on the bands VHS Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! which was released in 1994. During this version, the crowd can be heard singing the lyrics along with Cobain during the opening verse.
[edit] Track listing
The following songs appeared on the single:
- "Lithium" [LP Version] (Cobain) - 4:16
- "Been a Son" [live, Paramount Theatre (Seattle, Washington) 1991.10.31] (Cobain) - 2:14
- "Curmudgeon" (Cobain, Nirvana) - 2:58
- "D7" - 2:54 (appears only on certain pressings [1])
- The official lyrics for all of Nevermind are included in the single's booklet.
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot 100[1] | 64 |
| US Mainstream Rock (US)[1] | 16 |
| US Modern Rock (US)[1] | 25 |
| Australian Singles Chart[citation needed] | 53 |
| Triple J Hottest 100 | 3 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 16 |
| Finnish Singles Chart[2] | 3 |
| Finnish Airplay Chart[2] | 18 |
| French Airplay Chart[3] | 60 |
| Irish Singles Chart[4] | 5 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 16 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[citation needed] | 28 |
| Polish Airplay Chart | 9 |
| Slovakian Airplay Chart | 10 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 13 |
| UK Singles Chart[5] | 11 |
[edit] Accolades
- Ranked #20 in Kerrang!'s "100 Greatest Rock Tracks Ever" (1999).[6]
- Ranked #42 in Kerrang!'s "100 Greatest Singles of All Time" (2002).
- Ranked #5 in NME's "Top 20 Nirvana Songs" (2004).
- Ranked #8 in Q's "10 Greatest Nirvana Songs Ever" (2004).
[edit] Covers
The following artists have covered Nirvana's song Lithium:
- American Alternative Metal band Papa Roach
- American rock band The Polyphonic Spree
- Punk rock band Vice Squad
- Turkish Alternative rock band Direc-t
- The song was partially covered by the Brazilian rock band Legião Urbana and featured on their 2001 live album "Como é que se diz eu te amo".
- Nirvana, a 1960s British band (who actually sued this Nirvana for the use of the name) on their 1997 Box Set
- American Alternative Metal band Breaking Benjamin
[edit] References
- ^ a b c allmusic ((( Nirvana > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles ))). Allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ a b Pennanen, Timo (2003). Sisältää hitin: levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Otava Publishing Company Ltd.
- ^ You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.. Retrieved on 2008-09-11.
- ^ Search results for "Nirvana". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved on 2008-09-11. Note: User must define search parameters as "Nirvana."
- ^ Chart Stants - Nirvana - Lithium. Chart Stats. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ Kerrang! magazine, issue 746, April 17th 1999.
