At tonight's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the surviving members of Nirvana will be performing with Joan Jett on lead vocals. Jett will probably do a fine job, but I doubt that she was their first choice to replace Kurt Cobain for the night. Here are seven singers who should have at least been considered to sing for Nirvana at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
1. PJ Harvey
When Nirvana asked Steve Albini to produce In Utero for them, he sent them a copy of PJ Harvey's Rid of Me, which he had just recorded, to give the band an idea as to what their album would sound like. Harvey's had experience performing in a grungy power trio, so she would fit right in.
2. Paul Westerberg
Though not as dark and misanthropic as Kurt Cobain, Replacements singer Paul Westerberg has a voice just as ragged and emotional as Cobain did, with a similarly punk attitude towards performing.
3. Lemmy Kilmister
Though at his age he might not be able to maneuver his way around Cobain's melodies quite so well, Lemmy is legendary enough to stir up a ton of excitement for the Hall of Fame performance, but humble enough to not turn it into "The Lemmy Show." Plus, he and Dave Grohl have worked together before, so there's already a connection there.
4. Annie Clark
I wouldn't have considered Annie Clark for the position if she hadn't nailed a version of "Lithium" at a St. Vincent concert last Saturday, the 20th anniversary of Cobain's death. He probably would've been a big fan of St. Vincent.
5. Carrie Brownstein
The Sleater-Kinney/Wild Flag guitarist and Portlandia star is currently living in a celebrity sweet-spot; she has more than enough indie cred to satisfy diehard Nirvana fans, but enough mainstream pull to satisfy the organizers of the ceremony. More importantly, she's a killer guitarist with a great punk voice.
6. Courtney Love
If Courtney Love and Dave Grohl didn't absolutely despise each other, she would be the obvious choice to replace Cobain at the Hall of Fame concert. Musically, Courtney Love is essentially Kurt Cobain's female counterpart; she's wild, poetic, abrasive, and she knew Cobain better than anyone else.
7. Dave Grohl
I don't necessarily want Dave Grohl to be singing Kurt's lyrics, but I'd be very surprised if the idea wasn't brought up to him at least once. There'd be plenty of Grohl-haters (those exist, for some reason) who'd have a huge problem with this, but why shouldn't he do it? He was Cobain's friend and musical companion, and he's got a great voice. He wouldn't feel right about doing it, but he'd do an excellent job.
Who do you think should be singing for Nirvana at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony? Let us know in the comments section!
