Post Malone "Post Malone Tribute To Nirvana" (2025 Record Store Day LP)
For Record Store Day 2025, Post Malone is issuing a limited edition LP containing 14 tracks recorded during an April 2020 livestream, during which the rapper/singer (who is the official RSD Ambassador for 2025) paid tribute to Nirvana by performing many of their songs from his home. The LP Post Malone Tribute To Nirvana is pressed in yellow vinyl, and limited to 17,000 copies. The live set was originally streamed during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, to raise money for the World Health Organization’s Solidarity Response Fund. For this vinyl release, 100% of the net proceeds from sales of this LP will be donated to the Addiction Recovery/Mental Health division of MusiCares, a charity that provides support to musicians through financial assistance and health and wellness services.
During this set, the tattoo-faced Malone (real name: Austin Richard Post) was supported by Blink-182’s Travis Barker on drums, guitarist Nick Mac, and bassist Brian Lee. I realize that Malone has a penchant for blending genres, but seriously...Who would have thought that a contemporary pop and hip-hop megastar, who was born after the death of Kurt Cobain, would be a master of grunge? Malone's voice and phrasing fit Nirvana's songs amazingly well. It's not that he does a slavish impersonation of Cobain, but that Malone knows just how to capture the essence of his songs. The bulk of the 14 songs (out of 15 he performed during the livestream, excluding the set opener "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle") were selections from Nirvana's landmark 1991 Nevermind album, although Malone and company surprisingly avoided the smash "Smells Like Teen Spirit". For those of us who remember the '90's grunge era, it's exciting and uplifting to hear a contemporary artist do justice to these songs. Travis Barker was certainly up to the task of playing the Dave Grohl role, pounding the drums with relentless fury. Brian Lee also replicates Krist Novoselic's bass lines surprisingly well. "Drain You", "Breed", "On A Plain", and "Territorial Pissings" are especially genuine recreations of the originals. Another surprise: Postie's primal screaming during "School" (drawn from Nirvana's indie-label debut Bleach) has particularly potency. There was only one Kurt Cobain, but Post Malone has proven himself to be a great performer of Cobain's songs...so much so that he recently performed with the surviving members of Nirvana at SNL50: The Homecoming Concert this past February. Now that Malone has made a fortune doing hip-hop, would he consider doing rock and roll more often? The genre could surely use a guy like him right now.
Post Malone "Post Malone Tribute To Nirvana" (Republic) 2025
Track Listing:
1. Drain You (Live)
2. Come As You Are (Live)
3. Lounge Act (Live)
4. School (Live)
5. Heart Shaped Box (Live)
6. Something In The Way (Live)
7. About A Girl (Live)
8. Stay Away (Live)
9. Lithium (Live)
10. Breed (Live)
11. On A Plain (Live)
12. Very Ape (Live)
13. Territorial Pissings (Live)
14. In Bloom (Live)
During this set, the tattoo-faced Malone (real name: Austin Richard Post) was supported by Blink-182’s Travis Barker on drums, guitarist Nick Mac, and bassist Brian Lee. I realize that Malone has a penchant for blending genres, but seriously...Who would have thought that a contemporary pop and hip-hop megastar, who was born after the death of Kurt Cobain, would be a master of grunge? Malone's voice and phrasing fit Nirvana's songs amazingly well. It's not that he does a slavish impersonation of Cobain, but that Malone knows just how to capture the essence of his songs. The bulk of the 14 songs (out of 15 he performed during the livestream, excluding the set opener "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle") were selections from Nirvana's landmark 1991 Nevermind album, although Malone and company surprisingly avoided the smash "Smells Like Teen Spirit". For those of us who remember the '90's grunge era, it's exciting and uplifting to hear a contemporary artist do justice to these songs. Travis Barker was certainly up to the task of playing the Dave Grohl role, pounding the drums with relentless fury. Brian Lee also replicates Krist Novoselic's bass lines surprisingly well. "Drain You", "Breed", "On A Plain", and "Territorial Pissings" are especially genuine recreations of the originals. Another surprise: Postie's primal screaming during "School" (drawn from Nirvana's indie-label debut Bleach) has particularly potency. There was only one Kurt Cobain, but Post Malone has proven himself to be a great performer of Cobain's songs...so much so that he recently performed with the surviving members of Nirvana at SNL50: The Homecoming Concert this past February. Now that Malone has made a fortune doing hip-hop, would he consider doing rock and roll more often? The genre could surely use a guy like him right now.
Post Malone "Post Malone Tribute To Nirvana" (Republic) 2025
Track Listing:
1. Drain You (Live)
2. Come As You Are (Live)
3. Lounge Act (Live)
4. School (Live)
5. Heart Shaped Box (Live)
6. Something In The Way (Live)
7. About A Girl (Live)
8. Stay Away (Live)
9. Lithium (Live)
10. Breed (Live)
11. On A Plain (Live)
12. Very Ape (Live)
13. Territorial Pissings (Live)
14. In Bloom (Live)
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