Nirvana receives MTV Video Vanguard Award without performing — Rolling Stone
Nirvana members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear received the MTV Video Vanguard Award for the band’s contribution to the development of music videos. Chuck D of Public Enemy presented them with the honor, but the musicians did not perform during the ceremony.
Only Novoselic delivered a speech on behalf of the band. He recalled working on Nirvana’s music videos and said their ideas grew out of Kurt Cobain’s creative vision. According to him, the band continues to resonate deeply with people seeking authenticity, something real and uncompromising.
Recognition for music videos
As Rolling Stone reports, MTV announced the award on the 34th anniversary of Nirvana’s performance at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. The band performed “Lithium” from the album Nevermind, while Cobain also played the opening chords of “Rape Me,” a song that had not yet been released at the time.
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The Video Vanguard Award is presented to performers for innovative influence in the field of music videos. Before Cobain’s death in 1994, Nirvana made seven videos, including for “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come as You Are,” “In Bloom” and “Heart-Shaped Box.” Videos for “You Know You’re Right” and “Dumb” were released in 2002 and 2023, respectively. The band also recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged.
Musicians’ joint appearances
After Cobain’s death, Grohl, Novoselic and Smear performed together only a few times. In 1997, Novoselic joined Foo Fighters, which included Smear, during the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle. They performed Prince’s “Purple Rain” and Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown.”
In 2010, the trio played “Marigold” at a private Foo Fighters club show in Los Angeles. In 2012, the musicians recorded “Cut Me Some Slack” with Paul McCartney for the soundtrack to the documentary Sound City. They first performed Nirvana songs written by Cobain together in 2014 during the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
