You know a band is worth your time when Kurt Cobain once eloquently described them as “his most favorite songwriters in the whole world.‰” The Vaselines and Nirvana have a long-standing music-boner relationship with one another. Nirvana covered the Vaseline‰’s “Sun of a Gun‰” on their album “Incesticide‰Û, as well as used their celebrity to catapult the Vaselines to mild success., said, “It almost feels like the subtitle for our band should be ‘The Vaselines: As Endorsed By Nirvana,’” said Eugene Kelly, one of the band’s two members. “But we can’t avoid that, it’s part of our history. If it wasn’t for Kurt Cobain we’d be just another group who released a couple of singles and an album, then disappeared into obscurity‰Û.

Although these two bands show artistic admiration for one another, the similarities are not readily apparent. The Vaselines have a much more pop-centric sound, although Nirvana is credited with revolutionizing music by incorporating the pop chorus into grunge-rock music. The Vaselines are made up of one man and one woman, Kelly and Frances McKee, so the sound is the perfect harmonious balance between delicate and soft. Their sound is tender, even sentimental, and prepubescent, with references to sexual inexperience. Their sound is reminiscent of The Carpenters, but their lyrics contain the depth that Cobain found himself attracted to.

Cobain‰’s love of the Vaselines is apparent in his music, aside from both bands‰’ usage of the successful pop chorus. Both band‰’ lyrics are silently comedic, as seen in The Vaselines making allusions to small penis size in their song, “Think You‰’re a Man,‰Û and Kurt Cobain singing about the state of his “willy‰” in the song “Lithium.‰Û Aside from the use of whimsy (and awesome presence of male genitals) in their lyric choices, Nirvana and the Vaselines use comedy as a means to delve into deeper social meanings; yet, their lyrics are more interesting than that simple definition. They are purposely simple in their word choice as a means to discuss the deeper and more socially active aspects of their lyrics to teenagers, who are commonly assumed to be dense, dumb, and apathetic (The Vaselines first album was even titled “Dum Dum‰Û). The “dumbing‰” down of lyrics and use of lyrical repetition seen with The Vaselines is the crux of Nirvana‰’s “Smells like Teen Spirit.‰Û Cobain sings of teenagers‰’ boredom with their lives and the annoyance that comes along with being treated like a typical teenager. The Vaselines do the same thing, but in a much more nuanced way.

So if you feel like paying homage to the man who makes you feel justified in being bored and choosing to watch hours of Rocco‰’s Modern Life, listen to the forgotten artists that are The Vaselines.

By Michelle Merica