10 Nirvana Covers Better Than The Original
4. Molly's Lips
Another Vaselines cover and the tune which Nirvana most effectively made their own, this track is by now certainly better known as a song by the Seattle trio than the original artist.
The Vaselines are a band whose music tends towards the charmingly twee and lo fi. It’s a style that works great for them, but the punk credentials of their 1988 track was exploited to the fullest when Nirvana took possession of it.
It’s three chords and a few repetitive lines, giving Cobain a real opportunity to stamp his mark on the material. His grinding guitar and vocals cover the entirety of the track, and they play at real pace like the punk band they always had semi-desires to be.
Indeed for a band so synonymous with misery, gloom, and angst, it’s so enjoyable to hear them clearly having an absolute blast with their music. They keep the throwaway silliness of the song (written about Scottish actress Molly Weir) but add so much heft to it that it can’t help becoming the definitive version.