Editing In Utero (section)

==Background==
[[File:Shellac ATP 2007-guitariste.jpg|alt=|upright|thumb|Nirvana enlisted producer and musician [[Steve Albini]] to take ''In Utero’s'' sound in a new direction.]]
Nirvana broke into the mainstream with their second album, ''[[Nevermind]]'', in 1991.  Despite modest sales estimates,<ref>Cross, 2001. p. 193</ref> ''Nevermind'' was a major commercial success, popularizing the [[grunge]] movement and [[alternative rock]].<ref>[[Eric Olsen (writer)|Olsen, Eric]]. "[https://www.today.com/popculture/10-years-later-cobain-lives-his-music-wbna4652653 10 years later, Cobain lives on in his music] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323224116/http://www.today.com/popculture/10-years-later-cobain-lives-his-music-wbna4652653 |date=March 23, 2017 }}". MSNBC. April 9, 2004. Retrieved July 5, 2007.</ref> Nirvana expressed dissatisfaction with the sound of the album, citing its production as too polished.<ref>Gaar, 2006. p. 70</ref> Early in 1992, the singer, [[Kurt Cobain]], told ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' that Nirvana's next album would showcase "both of the extremes" of their sound, saying: "It'll be more raw with some songs and more candy pop on some of the others. It won't be as one-dimensional."<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last=Azerrad|first=Michael|date=April 16, 1992|title=Nirvana: Inside the Hear and Mind of Kurt Cobain|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/nirvana-inside-the-heart-and-mind-of-kurt-cobain-103770/|access-date=January 9, 2022|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> The producer of ''Nevermind'', [[Butch Vig]], said later that Cobain had needed to work with a different producer to "reclaim his punk ethics or cred".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2011-09-20 |title=Nirvana Producer Butch Vig Remembers 'Nevermind' |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/nirvana-producer-butch-vig-remembers-nevermind-467504/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=2021-05-01}}</ref>

Cobain wanted to start work in mid-1992, but his bandmates lived in different cities, and Cobain and his wife, [[Courtney Love]], were expecting the birth of their daughter, [[Frances Bean Cobain|Frances Bean]].<ref>Azerrad, 1994. p. 312</ref> Nirvana's record label, [[DGC Records]], had hoped to release a new Nirvana album for the 1992 holiday season; instead, they released the compilation album ''[[Incesticide]]''.<ref name="goldmine">Gaar, Gillian G. "Verse Chorus Verse: The Recording History of Nirvana". ''[[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]]''. February 14, 1997.</ref>

In a ''[[Melody Maker]]'' interview published in July 1992, Cobain said he was interested in recording with [[Jack Endino]], who had produced Nirvana's 1989 debut album ''[[Bleach (Nirvana album)|Bleach]]'', and [[Steve Albini]], the former frontman of the [[noise rock]] band [[Big Black]], who had produced various [[Independent music|independent]] releases.<ref>True, Everett. "Nirvana: Crucified By Success?" ''Melody Maker''. July 25, 1992.</ref>  In Seattle in October 1992, Nirvana recorded several demos with Endino, mainly as instrumentals, including songs later rerecorded for ''In Utero''.<ref>Gaar, 2006. p. 17</ref>  Endino recalled that they did not ask him to produce their next record, and that they constantly debated working with Albini.<ref>Gaar, 2006. p. 21–22</ref>

Nirvana recorded another set of demos while on tour in Brazil in January 1993.<ref>Gaar, 2006. p. 23</ref> "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip" was recorded by [[Craig Montgomery (sound engineer)|Craig Montgomery]] at BMG Ariola Ltda in [[Rio de Janeiro]], during the three-day demo session. It was originally titled "I'll Take You Down to the Pavement", a reference to an argument between Cobain and the [[Guns N' Roses]] singer [[Axl Rose]] at the [[1992 MTV Video Music Awards]].<ref name="Gaar">{{cite book |last1=Gaar |first1=Gillian G |date=2006 |title=Nirvana's In Utero |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u92Yi61DRpoC&q=Gallons+of+rubbing+alcohol+flow+through+the+strip&pg=PT31 |location=United States |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury Publishing USA]] |pages=26–27 |isbn=9781441193643 |access-date=March 26, 2020}}</ref>

Nirvana chose Albini to record their third album.<ref name="AllMusic review" /> Cobain said he chose Albini because he had produced two of his favorite records, ''[[Surfer Rosa]]'' (1988) by the [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]] and ''[[Pod (The Breeders album)|Pod]]'' (1990) by [[the Breeders]]. Cobain wanted to use Albini's technique of capturing the natural [[Reverberation|ambience]] of a room via the placement of several microphones, something previous Nirvana producers had been averse to trying.<ref name=":2" />

Albini was known in the American independent music scene for his criticism of the mainstream music industry and had a strict preference for analog recording rather than digital.<ref name=":2">DeRogatis, 2003. p. 5–6</ref> He sent a disclaimer to the British music press denying rumors of his involvement with Nirvana, only to receive a call from Nirvana's management a few days later.<ref>Azerrad, 1994. p. 313</ref> Albini dismissed Nirvana as "[[R.E.M.]] with a [[Distortion (music)|fuzzbox]]" and "an unremarkable version of the Seattle sound". However, he accepted the job because he felt sorry for them, perceiving them as "the same sort of people as all the small-fry bands I deal with," at the mercy of their record company.<ref name="caya 314">Azerrad, 1994. p. 314</ref>

Before recording began, Nirvana sent Albini a tape of the demos they had made in Brazil.  In return, Albini sent Cobain a copy of the then-unreleased [[PJ Harvey]] album ''[[Rid of Me]]'' (1993) to give him an idea of the acoustics at the studio where they would record.<ref>Gaar, 2006. p. 39</ref> Albini said that Cobain was impressed with the sound of Harvey's vocals on the album, "He really liked the way her singing came across. He was a fan."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2013/05/pj-harvey-rid-of-me-oral-history-steve-albini/|last=Peisner|first=David|date=1 May 2013|title=Let It Bleed: The Oral History of PJ Harvey's 'Rid of Me'|work=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|access-date=11 February 2025}}</ref>