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NOB Studio - Hilversum

1991-11-25 · The Netherlands · Studio · 2 meter de lucht in · more gigs in Hilversum

Circulating discs (13)

Loose Ends Bootleg CD

  1. 8. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 5:29
  2. 9. Here she comes now 5:01

Loose Ends 2006 Upgrade Bootleg CD

  1. 8. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 5:29
  2. 9. Here she comes now 5:01

Loose Ends 2007 Upgrade Bootleg CD

  1. 8. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 5:29
  2. 9. Here she comes now 5:01

Outcesticide in memory of Kurt Cobain Bootleg CD

(Blue Moon Records - BM CD14)

  1. 20. Here she comes now 4:40
  2. 21. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 4:58

Pissing Factory Bootleg CD

  1. 18. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 4:24
  2. 19. Here she comes now 4:53

Plugged and unplugged Bootleg CD

(Take it or leave it - T 9415)

  1. 13. Where Did You Sleep Last Night (mislabeled: In the Pines) 5:04
  2. 14. Here she comes now 4:41

Rare Traxx Bootleg CD

(SHINOLA - SH 69030)

  1. 4. Here she comes now 4:44

The complete Radio Sessions Bootleg CD

(Blue Moon Records - BMCD18)

  1. 16. Here she comes now 4:40
  2. 17. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 4:55

Turnaround Bootleg CD

(Stone pig records - NIR 23.001.80)

  1. 16. Here she comes now 4:40
  2. 17. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 4:55

Radio Sessions Tape

  1. 15. grohl jam 1:16
  2. 16. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 5:10
  3. 17. Here she comes now 4:54
  4. 18. Improvisation 9:28

Various 4 Tape SBD #1a

  1. 1. grohl jam 1:16
  2. 2. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 5:11
  3. 3. Here she comes now 4:53
  4. 4. Improvisation 9:18
  5. 7. grohl jam 1:16
  6. 8. Improvisation 9:30

VPRO studio Tape SBD

  1. 1. Improvisation 0:56
  2. 2. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 4:53
  3. 3. Here she comes now 5:26
  4. 4. Improvisation 9:26

VPRO Studio Tape SBD

  1. 1. Improvisation 1:16
  2. 2. Where Did You Sleep Last Night 5:10
  3. 3. Here she comes now 4:54
  4. 4. Improvisation 9:28

Notes & circulating recordings

NOB Radio Studio, Hilversum, NL

Engineer: Berry Kamer

Band members: Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar), Krist Novoselic (bass), & David Grohl (drums)

Recorded:
[U] Grohl Jam
[U] Where Did You Sleep Last Night?
[U] Here She Comes Now
[X] Here She Comes Now (alternate take)
[U] Unknown Song
[X] Others?
Sources: The best quality, and most complete (20 minutes), version of this radio session comes from a pre-FM real media file, presumably sourced from the master tape, put on the VPRO website in November 2002 for 24 hours. It features the Grohl jam, 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night', 'Here She Comes Now', the unknown song and some between-song band banter. Hitherto an inferior sounding post-FM version was circulating (FM>ANA2), which only features the same versions of 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night' and 'Here She Comes Now' (12 minutes). 'Here She Comes Now', a Velvet Underground song, was first broadcast on 26th November 1991, and 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night', a cover of a Leadbelly rendition of a traditional tune, the following night.

Notes: This session was recorded for Dutch radio program 'Twee Meter De Lucht In' and was a co-production between two national broadcasting organisations, VARA and VPRO. (39)

Leo Blokhuis, co-producer of Twee Meter De Lucht In, recalls; "Berry Kamer, one of the NOB facility company's engineers, recorded the session in studio NOB JPR2. JPR stands for Jingle Production Room. We used to record radio sessions in studios that were originally designed to record jingles and radio announcements. It all sounds like a primitive set up, and I can tell you that it was, but that was part of the fun!" (39)

VARA DJ Jan Douwe Kroeske doesn't hold such fond memories of the afternoon spent with NIRVANA; "It was kind of chaotic. I had come prepared with a songlist proposing which tracks the band could perform, tracks like 'Polly' and 'Teen Spirit'. But when I tried to explain to Kurt what my preferences were, he wasn't in the mood to cooperate; 'We play what we want.'" (40)

VPRO DJ and co-host, Lotje IJzermans recalls, "They were fiddling around for ages and sort of played three numbers." (40)

The group opened with 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night', then attempted The Velvet Underground's 'Here She Comes Now', closing with a 3rd song that IJzermans describes as "very quiet and miserable. It sounded like nothing and we could not recognize it at all." (40)

According to Lotje IJzermans, Cobain was only physically there, mentally he was broken. Were the results of a gruelling tour schedule - sleep deprivation, amongst other factors - taking their toll? Co-producer Flip Van Der Ende; "The story at the time was that Kurt was addicted to drugs, so that could have been an influence. No matter what, he was restless and did not feel like doing anything." (40)

Jan Douwe Kroeske, "After about 45 minutes it was over. Kurt left first without saying goodbye to anyone, Dave ran after him and only Krist approached us. He was very apologetic, 'We know when we fuck up.'" (40)

Recent correspondence with VPRO has revealed that around an hour of material was recorded, including a second take of 'Here She Comes Now' (which remains unheard). (34) When VPRO decided to put a more complete version of the session on their website in November 2002, they decided only 20 minutes of the entire session was fit for broadcast. (34)
------------------------------
Set (incomplete)
jam • Where Did You Sleep Last Night • Here She Comes Now (take 1) • Here She Comes Now (take 2) • unknown

Notes
The band was asked to play "Polly" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit," but Kurt didn't want to.
At the end of the session, after Kurt and Dave ran away, Krist said, "We know when we fuck up," and left.

Circulating Recordings
soundboard audio (incomplete)
20 min • A
Missing one take of "Here She Comes Now" and whatever else was played that is not listed above.
Released as a RealAudio file on VPRO's website.
The complete master tape is said to be about an hour long and includes numerous mess-ups.
"Where Did You Sleep Last Night" and "Here She Comes Now" were broadcast on the Dutch FM radio show Twee Meter De Lucht In and are also available on various bootleg CD releases.