Hippie Death Cult Post Video for Nirvana Cover “Aneurysm”
Posted in Bootleg Theater on June 13th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Is it me or is Nirvana everywhere now? I’m not quite talking Star Wars-level pop cIultural infiltration, but it’s not far off. Their ascent to classic rock reminds me distinctly of what happened around Led Zeppelin in the 1990s, but the two could hardly be more different bands and still both be rock and roll, at least in terms of how anti-mainstream Nirvana‘s music seemed when it was coming out. They sell the shirts at Target now. My mom had a hoodie on the other day. I’m pretty sure she took it from my nephew.
But, you know, retrospect makes the music pretty inarguable. “Aneurysm,” here covered by Portland, Oregon, trio Hippie Death Cult — wait, didn’t I just put up a post about their Fall tour plans? yes; sometimes the timing on these announcements plays out like that — is a pop tune in everything but attitude. It’s catchy, listenable, uptempo and fun, despite the outward disaffection, and Hippie Death Cult do justice to both the bounce and the punker intensity that birthed it while retaining their own style as well. You can see in the video in the instrument swapping and jumping around from bassist/vocalist Laura Phillips, guitarist Eddie Brnabic (who looks like he genuinely enjoys drumming) and drummer Harry Silvers, at no point are they treating the source material with anything other than the irreverence it deserves. Nirvana just happened to make really fun songs about being miserable. Pop was a vehicle for their expression. I wonder if they were bending to it or bending it to them.
Not sure I have the time or inclination to go back, put those records on and answer that question for myself, but I am sure that at this point I’ve now overthought what for Hippie Death Cult was a fun cover they played at shows that they put to tape at the end of a tour, with Armand Lance from tourmates Spirit Mother — whose new record is a burner; keep an eye out — throwing down a guest vocal spot for an added bonus and then made a video to (just about) coincide with a different tour. It’s apparently not the only cover they recorded. You’ll recall they also did a clip for their live take on Black Sabbath‘s “Rat Salad.” One would hardly hold having a thing for lesser-known hits from legendary bands against them.
Just for completion’s sake, I’ve included the tour dates again under the video below and accompanying info/credits. As always, I hope you enjoy:
Hippie Death Cult, “Aneurysm” official video
Hippie Death Cult x Nirvana cover.
Download it here:
https://hippiedeathcult.bandcamp.com/track/aneurysm
Listen & Follow on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4IZavjyt6nf7m5fq31pjXl?
Eddie quotes:
“Laura and I grew up listening to Nirvana a ton back in the 90’s and had recently enjoyed revisiting their catalog, which sparked a renewed appreciation for them and their ethics as a band. When tinkering with cover song ideas for our live set last year, the idea of doing “Aneurysm” came up. It felt fun to play, so we didn’t overthink it and started adding it to our live set over the past year. We had a blast playing it live, often inviting friends up to sing with us and it always went over well with the audience. Once we got home from touring at the beginning of the 2024, we headed right in to the studio to track a version of it just for the hell of it while it was still kinda fresh in our minds. Right after that I had gone into the studio to produce the new Spirit Mother album, so we had Armand (vocalist of Spirit Mother) track some backing vocals for it as he had frequently jumped on stage with us to perform it live when we were on the road together in 2023. It was real fun to do, hopefully that comes across. We tracked a couple of other covers that we’d been playing recently along with it that will also likely come out at some point.”
“We shot this video after a long day of photo and video shoots in the wee hours of the night in our rehearsal room. We had shot two other music videos that day and did a photo shoot in a local cemetery. We just just had fun with it. Credit to Laura for making us do silly takes on each others instruments at 3am. It was real fun to do and off the cuff, I hope that comes across”
Credits:
Written by Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic. Originally recorded by Nirvana.
Performed by Hippie Death Cult.
Laura Phillips ~ Vocals / Bass
Eddie Brnabic ~ Guitars
Harry Silvers ~ Drums
Armand Lance ~ Guest Backing Vox
Audio:
Produced by : Eddie Brnabic
Assistant Producer : Ben Barnett
Engineered by : Jeremy Romagna, Eddie Brnabic.
Mixed by : Eddie Brnabic, Jeremy Romagna.
Recorded & Mixed at 8-4 Studios – Portland, Oregon
Mastered by : Eddie Brnabic
Graphics : Eddie Brnabic
Recorded in January 2024.
Video:
Shot by : Eddy Vazquez
Edited by : Eddie Brnabic
Hippie Death Cult w/ Kadabra:
9/2 Boise, ID – @neurolux
9/3 Salt Lake City, UT – @urbanloungeslc
9/4 Denver, CO – @hqdenver
9/5 Omaha, NE – @theslowdown
9/6 Milwaukee, WI – @clubgaribaldi
9/7 Chicago, IL – @cobralounge
9/8 Grand Rapids, MI – @pyramidschemegr
9/9 Newport, KY – @sghrevival
9/10 Youngstown, OH – @westsidebowl
9/11 Philadelphia, PA – @milkboyphilly
9/12 Providence, RI – @alchemy_providence
9/14 Queens, NY – @desertfest_nyc @knockdowncenter Center
9/16 Québec QC – @lasourcedelamartiniere
9/17 Ottawa, ON – @dominiontavern
9/19 Toronto, ON – @bovinesexclub
9/20 Detroit, MI – @sanctuarydetroit
9/21 Louisville, KY – @portal_louisville
9/22 Atlanta, GA – @masquerade_atl
9/23 Pensacola, FL – @thehandlebar850
9/24 Lafayette, LA – @freetown_boomboomroom Boom
9/25 Dallas, TX – @ruinsdeepellum
9/26 Houston, TX – @blackmagicsocialclub
9/27 Austin, TX – @thelostwell
9/28 Las Cruces, NM – @amadorbar
9/29 Albuquerque, NM – @sisterbar
9/30 Scottsdale, AZ – @pubrocklive
10/2 San Diego, CA – @brickbybricksd
10/3 Long Beach, CA – @alexsbarlbc
10/4 Los Angeles, CA – @permanentrecordsroadhouse
10/5 Oakland, CA – @elismilehighclub
10/6 Reno, NV – @lobarsocial
11/1 Vancouver, BC – @greenautomusic
11/2 Kelowna, BC – @jackknifebrewing
11/3 Calgary, AB – @palominosmokehouse
11/6 Spokane, WA – @thebigdipperspokane
11/7 Yakima, WA – @beardedmonkeymusic
11/8 Bend, OR – @volcanictheatrepub
More dates TBA.
