10 Times Hard Rock Bands Went Acoustic (And Nailed It)

For most of Nirvana's career, Kurt Cobain was never known as the world's greatest songwriter. Make no mistake, the songs on Nevermind and In Utero were amazing from an emotional perspective, but Cobain's free association with words wasn't going to hit someone in the same way that Bob Dylan would. Things might not have been particularly thought out, but once Cobain emerged onto the MTV Unplugged stage, something interesting unfolded.

As opposed to the more straight ahead rockers that we had come to expect, this eclectic blend of covers and originals showed a different side of Cobain that no one had really seen.

On cuts like "Dumb" or the solo performance of "Pennyroyal Tea," Cobain's feral shout is traded in for a weather-worn croon, as if he's singing it from the other edge of the world. Even the more intense moments like "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" feel like you're seeing actual fire pour out of Cobain's throat, as he is determined to rip his own larynx out by the song's end.

Though this was certainly a dark turn for Nirvana, it became pitch black once Cobain was found dead a few months after this performance's release. Nirvana may have planned a few more projects down the line, but MTV Unplugged serves as the final goodbye from the man who birthed grunge.