That’s A Cover? explores cover songs that you may have thought were originals.
Anyone alive and actively listening to music in 1991 heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and felt its pull. Listeners by the millions dove into the tar-pit trap of Nirvana and the whole grunge thing. This is common knowledge today. But less well known is the fact the first Nirvana single to get international recognition (if very few listeners) came out a few years earlier, and that was “Love Buzz.”
Released in 1988, “Love Buzz” became the very first single issued by the band. It was also the very first single released by the newly-formed indie label Sub Pop Records, and it remains Sub Pop’s all-time best-selling single. (Of course, it only began to sell after Nirvana signed to a major label and released Nevermind.)
In retrospect, “Love Buzz” seems like a strange pick for a debut single. Bleach, Nirvana’s first LP, offered several better options. How about the album’s opening salvo, “Blew”? Or how about the song Nirvana performed more times than any other–“School”? Finally, the obvious question: Why not “About a Girl”? Buried in the middle of Bleach, “About a Girl” is an order of magnitude more popular than the sludgy and chaotic “Love Buzz.”
Each of these other tracks had the advantage of being original Kurt Cobain compositions. Seems like a songwriter would want their debut single to spotlight their songwriting talent, right?
But no, they went with “Love Buzz,” a cover, and an obscure cover at that.
The song was originally written and recorded in 1969 by the Dutch band Shocking Blue. In the US at least, Shocking Blue was no more than a one-hit wonder. Their only stateside hit was “Venus,” which reached #1 in 1970. (“Venus” has the unusual distinction of reaching #1 a second time, thanks to Bananarama’s dance-pop remake in 1986.)
Surely Cobain and Sub Pop understood that all songwriting royalties for “Love Buzz” would go to the original songwriter, Robbie van Leeuwen (the guitarist in Shocking Blue). But it’s unlikely anyone in Nirvana or at Sub Pop figured there would be royalties, at least not meaningful ones.
At that stage in fact the band and the label scorned popularity and commercial appeal. They still embraced the late-’80s mantra “Corporate Rock Sucks” and embraced it unironically. “About a Girl” probably seemed too clean, poppy, and melodic for Sub Pop; Cobain felt sheepish about its Lennon/McCartney influence. The label wanted an abrasive sound and an underground ethos rather than radio play. And so “Love Buzz” it was.
As for the single’s B-side, here again the choice seems like a miscue. They went with one of the least interesting songs Cobain ever recorded, “Big Cheese.” It’s a song Nirvana soon dropped from their live sets to make room for Nevermind material. They also retired “Love Buzz” at that point. But not “School,” or “Blew,” or “About a Girl.” Those songs were keepers.
Though “Love Buzz” originates from the 1960s and the lowlands of Europe, and vocalist Mariska Veres didn’t speak English, the recording does smell a bit like Seattle circa 1988. If not for van Leeuwen’s dated sitar overdub, the original “Love Buzz” would have sat comfortably on a mix tape with Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, and early Soundgarden. Shout out to Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic for finding it, bringing it forward, and not caring that Shocking Blue had no real underground credibility. (At least, not compared to The Vaselines, or The Vipers, or any other of Cobain’s favorites at the time.)
Novoselic still feels the love for “Love Buzz.” When his newest band debuted in 2024, they launched into “Love Buzz” at their second show. That gig took place in Aberdeen, Washington, where Cobain and Novoselic met, the town where it all started. (I wonder when van Leeuwen can expect the performance royalties from that show? He’s still kicking, and is the only surviving member of Shocking Blue.)
