10 Rock Songs With Weird Instruments

Once Nirvana began recording their breakthrough album Nevermind, every song was packed with the blown-out alternative sound that would define modern rock to this day. However, Kurt Cobain knew there was one song on the docket that needed to be handled with care.

While cutting the all-acoustic track "Something in the Way," Cobain ended up recording the song in the control room on a cheap 5-string guitar he had. After the initial take was laid down, the band then added the accompaniment around Cobain's performance before realizing the tune needed something else. As they kept trying to find the right addition, the band finally settled on a cello, which was brought in almost after the fact.

The way the classical sound of the instrument resonates gives the track an added sense of despair as Cobain's lyrics detail the sense of abandon felt by most adolescents. If you listen closely to the track, the cello is not fully in tune with the cheap guitar Cobain is playing. However, the subtle dissonance between the two gives just the right amount of mournfulness to the song's overall vibe. Though the song already had a tortured soul, it wasn't until the cello was brought in that it took on a more haunting vibe.