Nirvana — MTV Unplugged in New York, 1993

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Why this recording

This roughly one-hour edit, posted by a third-party account as a 4K remaster, follows the running order of the broadcast but adds passages flagged as outtakes in the description: a snippet of Sweet Home Alabama at 41:13, and false starts of Sliver and In Bloom before All Apologies. Marigold, Negative Creep and Serve the Servants follow, just before Where Did You Sleep Last Night at 1:00:21. The rights to the recording remain with MTV and Geffen Records, as the description states.

— Simon Janvier, live-sound professional and editor of the catalogue

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Published on September 29, 2026 by Simon Janvier

On 18 November 1993, at Sony Music Studios in New York, Nirvana recorded for MTV Unplugged one of the most discussed acoustic concerts in rock history. Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, joined by guitarist Pat Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, defied expectations: few hits, and a set built on covers and lesser-known songs. The set-list draws on David Bowie (The Man Who Sold the World), the Vaselines, Lead Belly (Where Did You Sleep Last Night) and three Meat Puppets numbers performed with Cris and Curt Kirkwood. Broadcast on 16 December 1993 and issued as an album in 1994, this filmed full concert took on added weight after Cobain’s death a few months later. A complete live version, it remains a touchstone for understanding the band’s songwriting away from the electric format. Keywords: Nirvana live, MTV Unplugged, filmed concert, rock 1993. Recorded in a single take, without a noisy crowd or multiple retakes, the performance is praised for its restraint and its sustained tension, and the album went on to win a Grammy Award.

Setlist

  1. About a Girl
  2. Come as You Are
  3. Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam (The Vaselines)
  4. The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie)
  5. Pennyroyal Tea
  6. Dumb
  7. Polly
  8. On a Plain
  9. Something in the Way
  10. Plateau (Meat Puppets)
  11. Oh, Me (Meat Puppets)
  12. Lake of Fire (Meat Puppets)
  13. All Apologies
  14. Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Lead Belly)

Personnel & credits

  • Kurt Cobain — vocals, guitar
  • Krist Novoselic — bass, accordion
  • Dave Grohl — drums
  • Pat Smear — guitar
  • Lori Goldston — cello
  • Cris Kirkwood — bass (Meat Puppets)
  • Curt Kirkwood — guitar (Meat Puppets)
Category

What to watch next

Nirvana appears once more in the catalogue; Sony Music Studios, New York — MTV Unplugged, on the other hand, holds this one recording only.

More recordings of Nirvana

Same ground: Rock, the 1990s

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