Something in the Way (song)
| "Something in the Way" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Nirvana | |
| from the album Nevermind | |
| Released | September 24, 1991 (Nevermind) |
| Recorded | June 1991 at Sound City, Van Nuys and Devonshire, North Hollywood |
| Length | 3:52 (20:37 with "Endless, Nameless") |
| Label | DGC Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Kurt Cobain |
| Producer(s) | Butch Vig |
| Nevermind track listing | |
|
12 tracks
|
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"Something in the Way" is a song by American rock band, Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It is the 12th and final song on their 1991 album, Nevermind (not counting the secret track included on most CD editions of the album, "Endless, Nameless").
"Something in the Way" was written by Cobain in 1990. It was first performed live on November 25, 1990 at The Off Ramp Café in Seattle.
The song was recorded by Butch Vig in May 1991 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, for the band's second album, Nevermind. According to Vig, Cobain had originally wanted to record the song with the full band, but when initial attempts at this were unsuccessful, Cobain sat on a couch in the control room of studio A and played the song for Vig on acoustic guitar, to show him how he thought it should sound. Vig was impressed with the way Cobain's solo rendition sounded, and after turning off the air-conditioning and unplugging the telephone in the control room, set up microphones and recorded three takes of the song the same way, with Cobain singing and playing guitar.
This became the core of the recording, with the first vocal take being used for the verses. Cobain then recorded vocal harmonies and drummer Dave Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic added their parts, though both Grohl and Novoselic had difficulty playing in time with Cobain's performance. Novoselic also had trouble tuning his bass to Cobain's guitar, a 12-string Stella acoustic with five nylon guitar strings that Cobain had never tuned, and Grohl had to play more quietly than he was used to, to match the song's gentle mood. "Kurt and I wanted the drums to be very understated," Vig recalled. "Dave was used to playing much louder; plus, it can be very difficult to go back and lay drums over an acoustic guitar track, as the meter may vary a bit". Cobain's harmonies, the bass and the drums were recorded in studio B, a smaller room down the hall from the larger one they generally worked in. On the final day of the Nevermind sessions, Kirk Canning, a friend of the band's they had met through L7, added cello to the recording, although he too had difficulties tuning to Cobain's guitar.
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