Before Nirvana released its debut album, "Bleach," in 1989, Kurt Cobain released a "mixtape" in 1988, titled, as one would expect coming from the grunge pioneer, "Montage of Heck."
More accurately described as a deviled amalgamation of noise, Cobain mixed clips of songs together, from John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" to George Michael's "I Want Your Sex" to Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Spliced in between are bites from media like "The Flintstones" and "Sesame Street," as well as toilets flushing, someone vomiting and Jimi Hendrix speaking at the Monterey Pop Festival.
The 36-minute record was uncovered by Dangerous Minds, which points out that Cobain, at the age of 21, put together "Montage of Heck" using a 4-track cassette recorder, all without the assistance of Spotify, YouTube, Napster, or any other similar platform. While some might find it to be unlistenable, those willing to trudge through will get a unique look into Cobain's mind.
Listen to "Montage of Heck" and check out a list of the many components included in the medley, courtesy of United Mutations:
“The Men In My Little Girl’s Life” by Mike Douglas
“The Sounds of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel
“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” by The Beatles
“A Day In The Life” by The Beatles
“Eruption” by Van Halen
“Hot Pants” by James Brown
“Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” by Cher
“Go Away Little Girl” by Donny Osmond
“Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver
“Everybody Loves Somebody” by Dean Martin
“The Candy Man” by Sammy Davis, Jr.
“In A Gadda Da Vida” by Iron Butterfly
“Wild Thing” by William Shatner
“Taxman” by The Beatles
“I Think I Love You” by The Partridge Family
“Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?” by The Barbarians
“Queen Of The Reich” by Queensryche
“Last Caress/Green Hell” covered by Metallica
“Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin
“Get Down, Make Love” by Queen
“ABC” by The Jackson Five
“I Want Your Sex” by George Michael
“Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden
“Eye Of The Chicken” by Butthole Surfers
“Dance of the Cobra” by Butthole Surfers
“The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey’s Grave” by Butthole Surfers
“New Age” by The Velvet Underground
“Love Buzz” by Shocking Blue
Orchestral music from 200 Motels by Frank Zappa
“Help I’m A Rock”/“It Can’t Happen Here” by Frank Zappa
“Call Any Vegetable” by Frank Zappa
“The Day We Fall In Love” by The Monkees
“Sweet Leaf” by Black Sabbath (intro)
Theme from "The Andy Griffith Show"
Mike Love (of The Beach Boys) talking about “Transcendental Meditation”
Excerpts of Jimi Hendrix speaking at the Monterey Pop Festival
Excerpts of Paul Stanley from KISS’ Alive!
Excerpts of Daniel Johnston screaming about Satan
Excerpts from sound effects records
Various children’s records ("Curious George," "Sesame Street," "The Flintstones," "Star Wars")
Before You Go
