Nirvana - Lithium (Live on the 1992 MTV Music Video Awards)
“Kurt wanted to play the tune ‘Rape Me’ and was adamant about it. The MTV people were upset. We were being asked from all corners not to. I thought we should play something off Nevermind, do the gig, and leave. Easy, right? No. Kurt was very stubborn and refused to play another tune. There was quite a swirl around this issue. To resolve the song controversy, we said we were going to do “Lithium,” but we decided among the band to pull a prank and play a few chords of “Rape Me” at the beginning. Even though the issue was resolved, the back and forth between their people, our people, us and them, or whoever—it was draining.” - Krist Novoselic
The most puzzling moment, however, had to be Grohl’s repeated taunts of, “His Axl!” Though, we know now that the reason for that likely added to the band’s overall frustration on that night.
“I remember that when Nevermind first came out, Axl Rose was a really big fan of us. Guns N’ Roses was about to do this massive stadium tour with Metallica, and they wanted us to open. So Axl had been calling Kurt nonstop. One day we’re walking through an airport and Kurt says, “F*ck. Axl Rose won’t stop calling me.” I think it represented something bigger. Nirvana didn’t want to turn into Guns N’ Roses. So Kurt started talking sh*t in interviews, and then Axl started talking back. It went back and forth like tenth-grade bullsh*t. Then we got to the awards and our trailers were all in the same one hundred yards. And Courtney was there, which never makes anything easier. So it didn’t take much to blow up into a full-fledged showdown. Kurt and Courtney were screaming at Axl. Axl screamed back. It was all just soap-opera bullsh*t. Krist, our bass player, almost got in a fistfight. I was just the drummer, so I shouted some loud, funny sh*t and hit the bar.” - Dave Grohl
Not even to mention Krist threw his bass up in frustration and cracked his head open. Wild. Lol
