Ongoing History Daily: Nirvana’s Unplugged performance was predicted to be a disaster

When Nirvana was asked to play an MTV Unplugged session in the fall of 1993, they weren’t sure they wanted to do it. Sure, they prided themselves on being a live band, but they were loud and electric, no subtle and acoustic. But they were pressured to do it, so they agreed.

Dave Grohl remembers that everyone expected it to be a complete disaster. They weren’t used to playing acoustically. They’d never rehearsed without big amps and lots of drums. Rehearsals for the taping did not go well. MTV was more than nervous about what might happen. But Kurt pressed forward. He loved the challenge, but he was going to do things his way, including leaving “Smells Like Teen Spirit” out of the set and including some obscure covers.

In the end, though, the performance was brilliant and is regarded as one of the best in the whole Unplugged series.