Sliver (song)

"Sliver"
US picture sleeve
Single by Nirvana
B-side"Dive"
ReleasedSeptember 1, 1990 (1990-09-01) (US)
January 28, 1991 (UK)[1]
RecordedJuly 11, 1990[2]
Genre
Length2:16
LabelSub Pop
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jack Endino
Nirvana singles chronology
"Blew"
(1989) 		"Sliver"
(1990) 		"Candy / Molly's Lips"
(1991)
CD issue
Music video
"Sliver" on YouTube

"Sliver" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. It was first released as a non-album single by the band's then record label, Sub Pop, in the United States in September 1990, and by Tupelo in Britain in January 1991. The same recording was re-released on the compilation album Incesticide by DGC in December 1992, and a new music video, directed by Kevin Kerslake, was released in May 1993.

Described as featuring some of Cobain's most straightforward lyrics,[5] "Sliver" is a semi-autobiographical, first-person account of a child who is forced to spend a day at his grandparents' house, insists on being taken home, falls asleep, and finally wakes up in his "mother's arms." It was recorded shortly before the addition of the band's final drummer, Dave Grohl, and features drums by Dan Peters, of the Seattle rock band, Mudhoney.

Cobain saw the song as an important indicator of Nirvana's musical direction, as the band moved away from the heavier grunge sound of their 1989 debut album, Bleach, towards to more commercial music of their 1991 major label debut, Nevermind.[5]

  1. ^ Borzillo-Vrenna, Carrie (2003). Nirvana - The Day to Day Illustrated Journals (1st ed.). Barnes & Noble. p. 67. ISBN 0-7607-4893-4.
  2. ^ Borzillo-Vrenna, Carrie (2003). Nirvana - The Day to Day Illustrated Journals (1st ed.). Barnes & Noble. p. 58. ISBN 0-7607-4893-4.
  3. ^ Nirvana - Uncensored On the Record. Coda Books. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-78158-005-9. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  4. ^ 15 February 2023, 15 February 2023 (15 February 2023). "Entry for "Sliver" under "All Nirvana Originals"". Live Nirvana. Song Author: Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b Azerrad 1994, p. 145.