Post by beatlies on Feb 6, 2014 17:09:30 GMT -5
www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2014/02/05/how-paul-mccartney-ended-up-in-a-nirvana-reunion/
MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT | 2/05/2014 @ 1:04PM |3,016 views
How Paul McCartney Ended Up In A Nirvana Reunion
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If it hadn’t been for Johnny Depp, Paul McCartney might never have won a Grammy for Best Rock Song with the surviving members of Nirvana.
That’s precisely what happened a little over a week ago at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, when the former Beatle ended up onstage with Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear to accept the hardware for their collaboration, “Cut Me Some Slack.”
“I blame Johnny Depp,” McCartney explained to a group of reporters gathered at the Staples Center’s media room. “Because he’d just given me this little cigar box guitar, which I was wildly excited about, so I took it along [to the studio].”
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McCartney’s instrument selection wasn’t the only aspect of the recording session that traces back to the film industry. The idea for the entire collaboration grew out of Sound City, a 2013 documentary on the California recording studio of the same name.
Sound City Studios, founded in 1969 and shuttered in 2011, was played host to some of the top musical acts of the past half-century. Bands who recorded there included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine and Nirvana.
“The idea with the Sound City movie was that we not only tell the story of the studio and the legendary [sound] board, but we also make a new record,” said Grohl, who directed the film and masterminded its soundtrack.
Before recording “Cut Me Some Slack,” he’d had a few interactions with McCartney, but the Foo Fighters frontman was still a bit nervous about asking one of his musical idols to come in for a recording session. So he gently suggested that McCartney drop by to jam next time he was in Los Angeles.
McCartney agreed—and insisted on working on new material. An elated Grohl told the singer he’d have “a couple of friends coming along to the studio.” Those two pals happened to be former Nirvana bassist Novoselic and Smear, who toured with the band and went on to become part of the Foo Fighters with Grohl.
“It was magic for me, playing with these guys,” says McCartney. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t kind of know who they were. … Then, during the session, I hear them talking: ‘Wow we haven’t played that since Nirvana.’ So I found myself in the middle of a Nirvana reunion, and I was very happy.”
Though the film itself was far from a commercial blockbuster, grossing just half a million dollars at the box office, it earned scads of critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone and the New York Times. So did its soundtrack, which also snagged a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.
Grohl measures the film’s success partly in its ability to tell the story of a bygone age in music, a lesson he’s currently trying to teach his kids (aged four and seven) by playing them songs by McCartney’s older supergroup.
“I got them this Beatles boxed set,” he explained. “There aren’t too many things that last forever, and I honestly think that what Paul and the band did will last forever. It has the same effect on this generation of kids as it did to my generation. … It’s really important that the kids understand that everything comes from what comes before.”
Should we expect to hear more from Sir Paul and the remnants of Nirvana?
“You never know,” said McCartney. “They’re great to play with. They really are. … That’s what I experienced on that day, just playing with a really good band, which is a great privilege and a very special thing.”
Then, with a grin, he added: “I should know.”
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In Pictures: 2014 Grammy Awards
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Ryan Lewis, left, and Macklemore pose in the press room with their awards for best rap performance and best rap song, for “Thrift Shop,” best rap album for “The Heist” and best new artist at the 56th annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP)
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