"In Bloom" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the second track on the band's second album, Nevermind, released by DGC Records in September 1991. The album version is the second of two versions of the song that were released in 1991, the earlier of which was recorded in 1990, while the band was still signed to their original record label, Sub Pop. This version was initially released as a music video only, on the Sub Pop Video Network Volume 1 VHS compilation. "In Bloom" was released as the album's fourth and final single in November 1992 and generated heavy American airplay, reaching number 5 on the US Mainstream Rock chart, despite never being released as a physical single in the United States. The international release of the single made the top 10 in Ireland and Portugal, as well as the top 20 in Finland and New Zealand and the top 30 in Sweden and the United Kingdom. It was accompanied by a new music video, directed by American filmmaker Kevin Kerslake, which won Best Alternative Video at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. Background and recording Early history According to Nirvana's bassist Krist Novoselic, "In Bloom" "originally sounded like a Bad Brains song," before being slowed down and reworked by Cobain at home. In a 2002 Rolling Stone interview with David Fricke, Novoselic recalled that Cobain "went home and [he] hammered it. He kept working on it. Then he called me on the phone and said, 'Listen to this song.' He started singing it on the phone. You could hear the guitar. It was the 'In Bloom' of Nevermind, more of a pop thing." The song was first performed live on April 1, 1990 at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago. The following day, the band began work on recording a new release for their then-label Sub Pop, at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin with producer Butch Vig. Among the eight songs recorded during the five-day session was "In Bloom," which originally featured a bridge that Vig removed by physically cutting it out of the 16-track master tape with a razor blade, and throwing in the garbage. The original plan of releasing the songs recorded during this session on a single release were abandoned later in the year, after the exit of drummer Chad Channing. The band instead used