From album
MTV Unplugged in New York
Nirvana · 1994 · Track 10
Details
TonalidadF#m
Compás4/4
Tempo85 BPM
Duración3:39
CompositorCurt Kirkwood
ÁlbumMTV Unplugged in New York
Año1994
Credits
Music Curt Kirkwood
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The story behind
The song *Plateau*, originally written by Curt Kirkwood for the Meat Puppets, took on a new dimension in Nirvana's performance on MTV Unplugged in November 1993. What's interesting about this version is how Nirvana approached it, incorporating elements that distinguish it. While the original piece, released in 1984 on the album Meat Puppets II, already had its own character, Nirvana's interpretation brought it to a different audience. The lyrics, according to Matthew Blackwell of Pitchfork, paint a picture of the path to the afterlife as a vast plateau, where expectations meet simplicity, like finding "a bucket and a mop" at the summit. This vision, which contrasts the transcendental with the everyday, is one of the layers that can be explored when playing it.
The collaboration on MTV Unplugged went beyond a simple cover. Curt Kirkwood and his brother Cris Kirkwood, both from the Meat Puppets, participated actively. Curt contributed his lead guitar, while Cris joined on bass and backing vocals. On the stage of Sony Music Studios in New York City, alongside Kurt Cobain on vocals and guitar, Krist Novoselic on a second guitar, and Dave Grohl on drums, they created a particular atmosphere. This performance first aired in December 1993 and, after Cobain's passing in April 1994, became a landmark. The live album MTV Unplugged in New York, released in November 1994, included this performance and reached number one on the Billboard 200. Material recorded during that session, including the preparation with the Kirkwood brothers, was featured in a DVD released in 2007. Even the title of English rapper Plan B's 2006 debut album, Who Needs Actions When You Got Words, comes from a line in this song.
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