

The recording of the song featured in the video is the version recorded during the Smart Studios sessions. The Sub Pop video features the band walking around various parts of lower Manhattan including the South Street Seaport, the Lower East Side, and Wall Street. Nirvana first made a music video for "In Bloom" in 1990 for the Sub Pop Video Network Program VHS compilation (1991). The producer convinced Cobain to double-track his vocals on "In Bloom" by telling him, "John Lennon did it." After doubling Cobain's vocals, Vig decided he might as well double Grohl's and had the drummer record an additional track of backing harmonies.

Grohl had difficulty hitting the proper notes, but ultimately was able to sing what Vig wanted. Vig often had to trick Cobain, who was averse to performing multiple takes, into recording additional takes for overdubs on the record. Vig recalled that he had to change the input level "on the fly" and hoped that Cobain would not "change the phrasing or do something different" while recording.Ĭobain chose not to overdub a harmony vocal part during the Smart Studios sessions, possibly due to time constraints. During the Nevermind sessions, Vig had Grohl sing harmonies on the song.

"In Bloom" was one of the first songs the band recorded during the album sessions at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California Vig thought it would be good to start recording a song previously recorded at Smart Studios. The arrangements for "In Bloom" and the other songs previously recorded with Vig in 1990 were largely unchanged the recently hired drummer Dave Grohl stayed mostly with what his predecessor Chad Channing had recorded, but added more power and precision to the recording. Cobain sang progressively "harder" during the recording of the song, which made it difficult for Vig to balance the volume levels between the verses and choruses. Novoselic said that after the band recorded the song, Vig cut out the bridge from the 16-track master tape with a razor blade and threw it in the garbage. The songs from these sessions were placed on a demo tape that circulated amongst the music industry, generating interest in the group among major record labels.Īfter signing to DGC Records, Nirvana began recording its second album Nevermind in May 1991. The material recorded at Smart Studios was intended for the group's second album for the independent record label Sub Pop. The song originally had a bridge section that Vig removed. Then Kurt turned it into a pop song". Cobain went home and reworked the song, playing the revised version of it over the phone to Novoselic. The band recorded "In Bloom" with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin during April 1990.

Bassist Krist Novoselic recalled that it "originally sounded like a Bad Brains song. Nirvana first played the song the night before it was demoed.
