Nicklist #9 (Five Great Live Versions)

1.) “School” – Nirvana (from Live at Reading)

It’s become almost cliche to list Nirvana as one of your favorite bands these days.  They are arguably the biggest rock group of the past thirty years, and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” has been called one of the greatest rock songs of all time on multiple occasions.  If a band covers at Nirvana at a show, it seems ridiculous since it’s been overdone so many times.  But since older, Bleach era Nirvana is often ignored by many rock critics and music fans, I felt that it would be a good idea to share the best performance of one of the best Nirvana songs.  “School”‘s heavy guitar riff and heavy drums make it one of the group’s most powerful and “in your face” songs.  This version in front of thousands at the Reading Festival is even better than the original, and a great display of Nirvana’s excellent live shows.

2.) “Cheerleader” – Grizzly Bear (from Veckatimest)

“Cheerleader” is my favorite song from Veckatimest.  There’s something about the soft, sparse chorus that is immediately enjoyable to the ear, and the vocal melody is great.  The band has always had a unique sound, and it’s hard not to appreciate the way the guitar sounds here.  Grizzly Bear have always sounded slightly minimalistic (at least compared to their contemporaries) and it’s part of what makes their records great.  Everything is mixed together so well and there are so few instruments used that nothing is cluttered or overshadowing other instrumentation or vocals.  This live version is fairly true to the original recording, but it’s still a great performance.

3.) “(Nice Dream)” – Radiohead (from The Bends)

“(Nice Dream)” is one of Radiohead’s most beautiful songs.  While this live version is a little bare compared to the album version, it’s a great display of Thom Yorke’s vocal talents and his penchant for writing great melodies.  The choice to use a twelve string guitar here makes the song sound even more unique and separate from the version on The Bends and definitely makes it more memorable as a live performance.

4.) “Porch” – Pearl Jam (from Ten)

While the fast, almost punk pace of “Porch” made it fun to listen to on Ten, this live version clearly blows it out of the water.  The pace seems to have been doubled, and frontman Eddie Vedder’s frantic climb up a crane to jump into the audience helps the song reach a huge level of energy.

5.) “Heartless – Kanye West (from VH1 Storytellers)

While “Heartless” on Kanye’s 808s and Heartbreaks was very minimalistic, the live version on VH1 Storytellers goes in the exact opposite direction.  It’s bombastic and “huge” sounding, especially when compared to the original.  It’s a great display of Kanye’s ambition musically.  Not many people could pull off changing a song so much musically, but this live version ends up working even better than the album version did.  The autotune that Kanye was obsessed with using during the 808s sounds better here when it isn’t the focal point of the song.  There’s also a freestyle jam at the end that explores some new territory music-wise for Kanye.