In a last minute bid for "WTF of the year", Paul McCartney will front a reformed Nirvana at a Hurricane Sandy benefit concert tonight.
Both Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic are taking part, along with Pat Smear who once toured as an additional Nirvana guitarist and now plays in the Foo Fighters lineup. With McCartney being a personal hero to Kurt Cobain, this is as close to a Nirvana reunion as we'll ever see.
Of course, it could end up being a Beatles performance for all we know. Nirvana were huge fans of the Beatles, so they'd probably jump at the chance to perform their songs with Macca.
They've been secretly working on a new song in preparation for the gig, after Grohl asked McCartney to "jam with some mates".
McCartney says he didn't realise who they were at first, according to the Sun:
"They are saying how good it is to be back together. I said ‘Whoa? You guys haven’t played together for all that time?
"And somebody whispered to me 'That's Nirvana. You're Kurt.' I couldn't believe it."
The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi and Eric Clapton will also play at the benefit concert, alongside several pop stars. Money raised from the event will go to the Sandy Relief benefit fund to aid those whose lives were affected by the recent hurricane on the East Coast.
You can watch a live stream of the concert here when it starts later tonight:
We're speechless, but if you have something to say about the biggest news of the year, go ahead in the comments.
I saw Paul perform live two weeks ago here in Edmonton. He actually did an amazing job, best concert I've ever been to. I think it was just the fact he was performing in front of millions and millions of viewers for the Olympics that his performance slightly went down. He seemed more emotional in London than anything, and that's why his voice was a little shaky and what not. I know I'd have a bit of an off day if I was performing as the headliner for the bloody Olympics. Nerve-racking stuff right there.
Nerve-racking stuff? You realise he was in The Beatles? Arguably the biggest band of all time. I'm pretty sure he would be used to playing to big audiences by now..
So you're saying performing in front of 80,000 people in the stadium, and well over at least a quarter billion people over television wouldn't make you the slightest bit nervous? You're an idiot.
Hmm... I don't think McCartney was a personal hero for Kurt - I know, he liked Beatles' music, but not McCartney himself.
Some quote from interview with Kurt: "I like The Beatles, but I hate Paul McCartney. "
I would also like to see this source. However, I think it would be safe to say Kurt probably leaned Lennon when it came to the Beatles. Regardless, Paul is a legend and this will be awesome.
"If it was up to me, I’d get more oil tanker drivers drunk. I don’t value music much. I like the Beatles, but I hate Paul McCartney. I like Led Zeppelin, but I hate Robert Plant. I like the Who, but I hate Roger Daltrey." -Kurt Cobain
well said man could not agree more. knew that he was a huge fan of lennon (only reason they have over dubs on nevermind) because lennon did it with beatles. would say just a classic rock jam and mybe a few bars of something. just hard with courtney owning everything!@
Maybe that's the idea? Noone could possibly replace Kurt, so trying to get someone to sound like him would mean the concert is doomed to fail. Getting someone radically different would be more like a a tribute: Admitting that Kurt is irreplaceable, but that they still want to bring his music to the people.
you needs someone who understands the music. And I suppose that's subjective, but chris cornell, or eddie vedder, these guys are too much of rock stars. kurt was the a punk rock star through and through, till the very end. I'm not saying you'd have to get a junkie (Scott Weiland), just a passionate artist. Like Niel Young.
hmm could be good i can see an acoustic performance coming on, pauls vocals would just be to different to sound convinsing alongside heavily distorted guitars itd just sound like an andy rehdfelt mash up
They don't call Pat Smear a member of Nirvana. He technically was just a touring guitarist, so the name doesn't really come up when one thinks of Nirvana.
ha, right!?? Can they even play any Nirvana songs up there? doesn't courtney still have a bunch of the rights to the songs? judging from her past actions i'd have to doubt she would ever let them play under that name unless she stood to make a boat load of cash. What a shitty headline. "Reunion"? more like, Surviving members of Nirvana playing with Paul". There, now im satisfied and can start my day... wtf
If I remember correctly, Frances Cobain currently is in control of her mother's share of the rights due to Courtney owing her a substantial amount of cash, so I don't think she'll have any say
So just to be clear, None of them have said it is a Nirvana reunion or that they will be singing Nirvana songs and that headline is completely misleading?
Just because some of the members of a band play together doesn't mean it is a reunion. Grohl, Novoselic and Smear all played on the latest Foo's album is that Nirvana reunion too ?
thats what im betting will happen, with MAYBE one or two Nirvana songs
probably Smells like teen spirit and Hart shapped box.. that is IF they even do nirvana songs. (which would seem really ignorant to have 4/5 guys and not do it)
keep in mind Paul had to be told he was playing with the surviving members.
in terms of matching kurts voice yeah he would, however theres no way for such a big event they would get someone from a small UK band. I hope they go for beatles/McCartney songs rather than nirvana, back in the day he'd have struggled let alone now. Should be an interesting watch
Paul's voice is pretty forgettable. Kurt's voice was one of a kind- whether he was singing so soft it was almost a whisper, like in Something In the Way, or screaming so hard it sounded like it was coming from his soul,like in Milk It. He had an amazingly powerful voice.
oh yeah, one of the most imporant musical acts in rock n roll history has a singer with a forgettable voice. that makes perfect sense. The Beatles are like sooo foregettable. For a guy who's 70, his voice sounds pretty feckin amazing to me. I'm sure he could do a nice rendition of "Come as You are" or even "On a Plain" or let's not forget "All Apologies"
...I like Paul McCartney, but he's not the man for the job. They should have gotten Shaun Morgan from Seether to do this. He is ridiculous at covering Nirvana songs.
I think it will be a good show if they sing songs like "dumb", "all apologies", "Polly", etc.....basically the soft stuff and maybe.....maybe.....if they want to do a hard song then I think he might be able to sing "heart shaped box" pretty well
"along with Pat Smear who once toured as an additional Nirvana guitarist" No UG, Pat WAS a member of Nirvana, not just a touring member like this makes him out to be.
Actually, Pat never was an official member of Nirvana. In the last interview Nirvana ever did, which you can see on youtube, Kurt says he "would like Pat to be an official member", but he never actually progressed from being a touring guitarist to a complete member of the band.
My god. I just saw Paul McCartney on his late date before this. I can't tell if this is real or not! I guess I'll find out tonight. By the way, for 70 or 71, McCartney is more yourhful than anyone! Should be VERY interesting.
If only John Lennon was still around, he would have been perfect for this. Not only did Kurt idolise him,but they also had a pretty similar singing style, save for the screaming, in that both had a raspy/husky tone to his voice. Kurt would have been so happy if that happened.
I'm sure Kurt would love being replaced in his own band by his not favorite Beatle. Plus I don't think paul can really sing any of the songs, from what I've heard he can barley do his own. And does this mean two bass players??
Oh I'm aware that Paul has a vast musical knowledge. The Ram album is why I respect him so much. He wrote, recorded and played all the instruments on it. But I still don't see him being the right replacement for Kurt.
Paul McCartney is Just wrong for this. How aboutmaybe one of the guys from Flipper? Rivers Cuomo from Weezer? or Neil Young? Those are guys that a.) could fill kurt's shoes b.) Kurt would respect c.) Respect Kurt
Why does Paul McCartney have to get in on EVERYTHING?
DUDE YOU'RE PAST IT NOW, YOU CAN'T HIT MANY NOTES ANYMORE AND YOUR OLYMPIC PERFORMANCE WAS DIRE. PLEASE RETIRE FOR THE GOOD OF THE NATION!
I think Paul doing Smells Like Teen Spirit would be epic rather than just jamming to Beatles tunes but I also see a drunken Courtney Love with a lawsuit in hand afterwards.
I don't mean to "troll" but IMHO I think Paul is way too overrated. It's like peanut butter and jelly without the jelly; yea, it's pretty good at first but then it just gets old.
John Lennon fronting Nirvana for a gig would actually have been pretty good due to his emotion and anger most of his life. As Lennon said "Paul wrote songs for old grandmas".
UG wtf is up with the ads that cant be x'd out? am i retarded and seriously cant find the X or is this some bull sh**? i just wanna read your article and watch the clip you posted but its impossible with these f***ing drop down ads. Da f**k UG?
i hope they do like how they did the acoustic show nirvana did for mtv. That's the only way i can see them playing now as everyone seems too old to play Nirvana music convincingly.
Kurts probably stoked right now. To have Paul McCartney cover your songs with your old friends sounds awesome.
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