Editing In Bloom (section)

==Composition==
{{Listen
 |filename     = Nirvana - In Bloom.ogg
 |title        = "In Bloom"
 |description  = "In Bloom" is a typical example of the loud-quiet techniques employed by Nirvana on ''Nevermind''. The guitar in the song's chorus are heavily [[overdubbing|layered]] as a result of the production style of Butch Vig.
}}

===Music===
Like many other Nirvana songs, "In Bloom" shifts back and forth between quiet verses and loud choruses. Cobain uses a [[Mesa Boogie]] guitar amplifier for the verses, and during the chorus he switches to a [[Fender Bassman]] amp (suggested by Vig) for a heavier, double-tracked fuzztone sound.<ref name="berkenstadt70" /> The rhythm section of Novoselic and Grohl kept its parts simple; Grohl stated it was "an unspoken rule" to avoid unnecessary drum fills, while Novoselic said he felt his role was about "serving the song".<ref name="classicalbums" />

===Lyrics===
According to the 1993 Nirvana biography ''[[Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana|Come As You Are]]'' by [[Michael Azerrad]], "In Bloom" was originally written about "the jocks and shallow mainstream types" of the [[underground music]] scene the band began to find in their audience after the release of their 1989 debut album, ''[[Bleach (Nirvana album)|Bleach]]''. As Azerrad points out, the song's lyrics "translated even better to the mass popularity the band enjoyed" following the breakthrough success of their second album, ''Nevermind''.<ref name="Azerrad, p. 215">Azerrad, p. 215</ref> "The brilliant irony," Azerrad wrote, "is that the tune is so catchy that millions of people actually do sing along to it."<ref name="Azerrad, p. 215"/> English journalist [[Everett True]] suggested the song may also have addressed the band's discomfort with being part of the [[grunge]] movement of the early 1990s, saying that "I assumed it was directed towards the fans who would show up at concerts with signs saying [[Even Flow]] [a [[Pearl Jam]] song] on one side and [[Rape Me]] – I think – on the other: the fans who did not understand there was a point of difference between Nirvana and other Seattle bands or media representations of grunge. I've always associated the song with [In Utero single] [[Rape Me]]. Like they're a pair."<ref name="HannM" />

In his biography of Cobain, ''[[Heavier Than Heaven]]'', [[Charles R. Cross]] asserted that the song was a "thinly disguised portrait" of Cobain's friend [[Dylan Carlson (musician)|Dylan Carlson]].<ref>Cross, p. 149</ref>