I Hate Myself and Want to Die
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| “I Hate Myself And Want To Die” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Nirvana | ||
| Released | 1994 as B-Side to "Pennyroyal Tea" single | |
| Recorded | February 1993 at Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, Minnesota | |
| Genre | Grunge | |
| Length | 2:42 | |
| Label | Geffen | |
| Producer | Steve Albini | |
"I Hate Myself and Want to Die" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana. Two different versions have been released.
The song was recorded under the title "2 Bass Kid" during the In Utero sessions, and is alternately known as "I Hate Myself and I Want to Die".
[edit] Releases
- The completed studio version was released on the 1993 compilation album The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience, and also as a B-side to the "Pennyroyal Tea" single in 1994. A radio promo of this version was released in Holland in 1994.
- A demo version was released on disc #3 of the 2004 box set With the Lights Out.
[edit] History
Kurt Cobain originally intended to call the band's third studio album (In Utero) I Hate Myself and Want to Die, but feared that the sarcasm of the title would be lost on some critics and fans. The song itself was also originally going to be included on the In Utero album but was later pulled by Kurt Cobain. He later donated it to the Beavis and Butthead compilation album after Geffen offered him $60,000 for it.[citation needed]
During the original song, Kurt Cobain reads the following from Deep Thought by Jack Handey: "Most people don't realize that large pieces of coral, which have been painted brown and attached to the skull by common wood screws, can make a child look like a deer." However, the demo, recorded a few weeks earlier, features a noisy solo in its place, in addition to a feedback-laden intro also not present on the original version.
Noel Gallagher from Oasis said in an interview included in the bonus DVD of the Oasis compilation Stop the Clocks that this song inspired him to write "Live Forever", as he thought it was a bit too depressing despite being a Nirvana fan, and went about to write an uplifting song.
In an interview with Guitar World, Kurt Cobain said that it was dropped from In Utero because Cobain thought there were too many noise songs in a row. "It was just a typical, boring song," he says. "We could write that song in our sleep. There was no point to putting it on the record. If you look back on the record, there are so many noise songs all in a row that it makes it seem like it's nothing but a noise record. It's really not; there are plenty of soft spots to it."
It is also quite likely that the commercial single of "Pennyroyal Tea" was withdrawn after his death due to the title of the track "I Hate Myself and Want To Die," which could arguably be described as an unsuitable epitaph that Nirvana's record company would not like to release.[citation needed]
- “I Hate Myself and Want to Die" was what Elizabeth Wurtzel originally wanted to entitle her first book, but she instead opted to name it “Prozac Nation."
