Did Nirvana Sample Midnight Oil's "Sleep"?

Submitted by TheHappyHonker t3_yuiizb in Music

I recently picked up Midnight Oil's "Red Sails In The Sunset" and on Track 3 "Sleep" the guitar riff sounded awfully like the one in "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. Is it possible that Nirvana sampled this or made their own rendition of it? I went to google but got no answer.

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Malice_n_Flames t1_iw9mzjj wrote

Go to YouTube. Search “Nirvana Reading 1992 Smells Teen Spirit”. Watch the first 30 seconds and you’ll see where Kurt borrowed the cords. He jokes about it.

Hint: “More than a feeeeling!!!”

Edit: by the way, the Reading 92 show is one of the all time great rock recordings. There is no denying Kurt and companies brilliance.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R3XIGon2RjY

Definitely check out the opening. Kurt was “reportedly” near death due to heroin (which was true) and Nirvana was “reportedly” gonna cancel the gig, so Kurt played along and entered the stage in a wheelchair. Incredible!!!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_TfxqRiMepI

2nd edit: Yes that is a wig. Why wouldn’t Kurt wear a wig with his hospital gown?

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TheHappyHonker OP t1_iw9sli3 wrote

Ah okay, I found the "More than a feeling" reference/sample. The songs sound very similar in the way the notes were played. Thanks for letting me know!

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straightedge1974 t1_iwah63s wrote

Time and memory are so weird. I didn't even remember seeing this but I left a comment ten years ago! lol

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DoodooExplosion t1_iw9piyd wrote

Also check out the song “Eighties” by Killing Joke

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TheHappyHonker OP t1_iw9suk5 wrote

Listening to it at the moment, I like it! One more song for my Spotify playlist!

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BrassOwlRing t1_iwa2tja wrote

To me they don't sound too similar, or not enough to make a claim of anything other than happenstance. There are tons of songs that sound more similar to one another than these two.

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TheHappyHonker OP t1_iwa3278 wrote

Yeah, I think it is just that a lot of songs use the same kind of thing. It just happened to be something I noticed.

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