Aneurysm (song)

"Aneurysm"
Promotional single by Nirvana
from the album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
ReleasedOctober 8, 1996
RecordedDel Mar, California, December 28, 1991
GenreGrunge[1][2]
Length4:31
4:35 (Incesticide version)
4:47 (b-side version)
LabelDGC
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Nirvana singles chronology
"Lake of Fire"
(1995)
"Aneurysm"
(1996)
"Drain You"
(1996)
Music video
"Aneurysm" on YouTube

"Aneurysm" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Dave Grohl. It first appeared as a B-side on the band's breakthrough "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single in September 1991. A second studio version was released on the rarities compilation Incesticide in December 1992.

The song is believed to be about Cobain's relationship with Tobi Vail, of the American punk rock band, Bikini Kill.[3] It is also one of the few Nirvana songs to directly reference drug use.

A live version, recorded on December 28, 1991, at Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, California, was released as the first promotional single from the live compilation From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah in November 1996. It reached number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 13 on its Modern Rock Tracks chart. Its music video, featuring a medley of two other live versions from the 1994 home movie, Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!, reached number one on the MuchMusic Countdown in Canada in November 1996.

  1. ^ Leas, Ryan (August 1, 2018). "30 Essential Grunge Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Deming was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cross, Charles R. (2012). Heavier Than Heaven. A Biography of Kurt Cobain (1st (2001) ed.). New York City: Hachette. ISBN 978-0340739396.