We can safely assume that Simpson was one of those stupid teenagers who sang along to Nirvana songs, having no idea what they were actually about. In fact, this version is certainly a tribute and perhaps a thank you to Cobain. But, in Simpson’s version of “In Bloom,” homage is definitely being paid to the isolated ’90s grungster who originally wrote the song. (Gasp) Some Nirvana purists are not entertained by this. Simpson takes a song about alienation in a crowd and weaves it into a love song. It completely changes the meaning of the song. There’s that somewhat psychedelic slide guitar and the fool changes the lyrics (?). When Sturgill Simpson covers In Bloom on his album, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, the song is reworked, slowed down. Or put another way, less Black Flag and more “The Iggy Pop/Aerosmith-type songwriting,” as Cobain described it and admitted to imitating on Nevermind. Like Cobain, their songwriting is a collage-style tableau of words with apparent influence from the Dada and Surrealist art movements. In an interview with Melody Maker, Cobain admitted that his songwriting was inspired by the ’80s alternative rock, namely, The Pixies. Cross made in his biography on Cobain, which reasoned that “In Bloom” is a “thinly disguised portrait of Cobain’s friend Dylan Carlson.” Nirvana biographer Michael Azerrad recognizes this as implicitly ironic because, “The tune is so catchy that millions of people actually do sing along to it.” There’s also another argument, which Charles R. The song was, apparently, written to address, or poke fun at, the people outside the underground music scene who started coming to Nirvana shows after their first studio album. “In Bloom” is just the sort of Cobain song where the point is missed when a meaning is distilled.

All our pretty songs