Top 20 Nirvana Riffs

An expanded update of my 'Top 10' Nirvana guitar riffs video that I did a couple of years ago, that people still seem to check out now and then. It is essentially just a video medley of Nirvana riffs, so not to be taken too seriously! Feel free to let me know in the comments which ones you would have included.
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#nirvana #riffs #top20
GEAR
Boss DS-1
EHX Little Big Muff (Breed)
Joyo AC Tone
Fender Jaguar Player Series
Epiphone SG Special VE
GarageBand (reverb, eq, chorus)
TRACK LISTING
0:00 Been A Son
0:16 In Bloom
0:37 Serve The Servants
0:57 Scentless Apprentice
1:20 Aero Zeppelin
1:38 Blandest
1:55 Floyd The Barber
2:10 Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
2:27 Mr. Moustache
2:38 Negative Creep
2:50 Swap Meet
3:04 Dive
3:19 Blew
3:36 All Apologies
3:54 Breed
4:11 Lithium
4:27 Smells Like Teen Spirit
4:46 School
5:05 Heart-Shaped Box
5:26 Come As You Are
TUNINGS
Standard: In Bloom, Mr. Moustache, Dive, Breed, SLTS, School
Drop D: Been A Son, Swap Meet, Negative Creep
1/2 Step Down: Serve The Servants, Aero Zeppelin, Floyd The Barber, RFUS
1/2 Step w/ drop C#: Heart Shaped Box, Scentless Apprentice, All Apologies
Full Step Down: Come As You Are, Lithium, Blew (Drop C)
1/2 step up: Blandest

[@NickJardine]

Kurt wasn’t the most technically advanced player, but man did he have a unique style

[@mircearusu3788]

He just didn't show off too much, he could shred if he wanted to, either way he's a legend

[@gavinstclair2945]

Every time I learn a nirvana song a month after I watch him play it live and he’s playing it completely different so I learn the way he does it

[@Chabam]

I think it's far more impressive being able to write a simple but very catchy riff than being able to play a million notes in 10 seconds. When we look at it, the most well known melodies are often very simple: Smoke on the Water, Seven Nation Army, Iron Man, etc.

[@NickJardine]

@@Chabam terrific point. Skill involved in both. Not easy to make music like Kurt Cobain, nor is it easy to play like Eddie Van Halen.

[@steven11359]

Kurt could play as good as he needed to. What makes him unique is the melodies he creates and how he uses the fretboard. That's why he's that gerations John Lennon.

[@jetjaguar72]

I don't think it's possible to play these riffs better.

[@kkrsnn5632]

Only Kurt 😋

[@hopkings28]

I think, some peoples just watch videos like that for adding another good songs in playlist or smth

[@carrterdinkins7977]

Smells like teen spirit could of been a little better… ONLY COMPLAINT

[@seafoodspanker5288]

@@carrterdinkins7977 no it couldn't. it's exactly how's it played in the record

[@carrterdinkins7977]

@@seafoodspanker5288 maybe this is just my ears but I don’t believe in the Cobain chord, especially on smells like teen spirit that and he does not play the open strings like on the recording

[@babagoop6056]

Bleach probably has my favorite riffs. Negative Creep is hot

[@carlosgomez4997]

Bleach is full of creative riffs, my favorite is big cheese

[@negativecreep44]

Thanks bro

[@gaston1674]

Songs heavy ,darks..

[@txrminxted785]

Mines is either swap meet, or downer.

[@guu2955]

Negative creep more like positive creep

[@deadroses19]

Blew is easily their best riff

[@zac3713]

Nah, Lithium

[@youngsterjoey9038]

@@zac3713 nah drain you

[@aviationlba747]

@@youngsterjoey9038 Nah Milk It

[@normalperson2549]

the riff from i hate myself and want to die tho

[@joseandresnavaperez]

Nah breed

[@vinyldiary6664]

Kurt definitely not a virtuoso...but he is an extremely badass guitar player with a lot of creativity and feeling.

[@thedancingguy828]

Being a virtuoso isnt everything good songwrite is the best quality an musician can have

[@wispycirrus9907]

Oh hey aren't you that guy I see commenting on a bunch of swans music videos? You're cool.

[@antonioanimaciones7726]

Sometimes he is, for example,the solo played in aerozepellin

[@goncaloguimaraes4185]

was*

[@Giovayo]

Try to explain to all the dumb fucks who say that he ain't a genious because of how easy his riffs were

[@lathumpipe]

I don’t think any musician has ever done more with less. That’s meant to be a compliment. Even You Know You’re Right is basically 3 simple chords but he played with attitude. That’s what made them great.

[@landendoesyoutube1543]

I mean Jack White too.

[@southsider3542]

The Edge

[@nocreo5185]

Joy division

[@StarWarsMeg]

Your tone on "Lithium" was spot-on! 👍❤️

[@somealternativestuff9578]

Fact!

[@JumpStop1]

Dude. I said the same exact thing while scrolling and land on this comment. I totally agree!

[@footos8511]

Fr

[@Foxikaze]

Frances Farmer is an underrated riff

[@rianb07]

my favourite nirvana song without a doubt

[@ZackieTheBun]

Gay spider

[@Foxikaze]

@@ZackieTheBun yes

[@Jillickle]

@@ZackieTheBun gay spider😍💀

[@jacksonwilliams3756]

I agree

[@dejanjelicic1577]

As someone who listened to Nirvana from the "Bleach" era (and especially when "Nevermind" came out) and coming from the punk rock background it was always funny to consider Nirvana a "grunge" band. Kurt was a punk rocker to us. Someone who had a real DIY attitude, someone you can relate to. Never would we put him side by side with Eddie Vedder, Chris Cornell or Layne Staley (with all due respect to them). Not to mention the guitarists in their bands, who were technically top notch, but to me sometimes somewhat sterile. I liked Kurt because he played straight from the guts, and your playing gives a honest tribute to the man.

[@tommybinson]

A great comment, in both content and style. You answer with authority. I grew up loving 1980s metal, and I thought Kurt was brilliant from the first time I heard Nirvana.

[@DrizzyDrake475]

Kurt was one of the most talented musicians the world will ever know. He only had basic knowledge of the guitar an was still able to create some of the greatest and most notable riffs of all time without even knowing a single chord. Imagine what he could have done if he decided to learn more

[@climberg]

I think he would cuz at one of the latest interviews he said they're tired of three-chords music

[@menasouvlaki3595]

The dude knew chords man.. their songs are simple pop chord structure. 1st 4th 5th chords of a scale. Boom. Easy as. They remind me of the Beatles. The Beatles could play better but God damn he wasn't a good musician, but he was a great fucking song writer. Amazing song writer. But simple

[@lackscreativity]

All apologies was spot on , that tone is actually perfect

[@dannyvalencia5224]

And Breed!

[@mickplays12wowzers73]

The more you post nirvana covers, the more closer you sound to the actual records…

[@bloxsy_]

I think whenever I revisit the songs I notice something else that I didn't play before. But playing it in a looser style is also great too.

[@obiwan042]

You play your power chords like Kurt does in this, gives it an authentic sound

[@atariT10pt5]

All apologies is definitely me favorite riff of all time. For sure. The nostalgia it brings back from when my dad forced me to listen to nirvana every time we went on a car ride OH MY GOD

[@ryanhosey1030]

Kurt is my favorite player and my number one influence. He had such a raw and unique style, and you could feel the emotion coming out of everything he played.

[@colbygentry9210]

Your tone sounds more like Nirvana than any other covers I’ve heard.

[@todd2846]

Ah yes, Serve The Servants, my personal favorite Nirvana song.

[@Pre_UglyMayFlower]

Same

[@Pre_UglyMayFlower]

Same

[@dellecapacitailcoraggiofis7536]

With on a plain

[@simonprior7111]

Yes 🙌 and Aneurysm

[@will9now122]

Same here

[@lou5368]

I love all of these... but man people are skipping on hairspray queen, that song is heavy balls

[@GalaxyDinoPlayzjojobestshowlol]

Yes

[@BuzzsawMoviesLtd]

Honestly, giving Jags the blade switch was a game changer. Thank you Johnny Marr. Sounding great man!

[@blu3me304]

I’m pretty sure that’s a jazzmaster

[@igorshunch]

@@blu3me304 you’re close! It’s a johnny Marr signature Jaguar. Same body style, but shorter scale length and some different specs. His signature model has custom wound bare knuckle pickups. Me Want!

[@BuzzsawMoviesLtd]

@@igorshunch close but no cigar, mate! This is the new Fender Player Jag. It's taken all the good bits of the original, Kurt's sig and Johnny's sig and put them into one guitar. Johnny's has two bare knuckle single coils. Stunning guitar

[@blu3me304]

@@BuzzsawMoviesLtd the lack of the chrome plating gives it a jazzy look. It’s a sweet guitar for sure it’s definitely not a Mar though. Now that I look at it that is totally a jag single coil in the neck. I want one lol

[@blu3me304]

@@BuzzsawMoviesLtd did they move the strangle where the rhythm circuit usually would be and trash the 2 pots?

[@wernerrainer4218]

Who also thinks blandest is underrated catchy.

[@ModernArnas]

I love this one. They threw away a lot of good songs

[@wernerrainer4218]

@@ModernArnas jep

[@MassimoAni]

As well as Pen cap chew

[@wernerrainer4218]

@@MassimoAni oh yes

[@krashd]

Sappy should have made it on to an album at least.

[@t_mac41603]

Immediately opened

[@shadowhunter2846]

It says you commented 22 Minutes ago And this Video is postet 21 Minutes ago So yeah you were pretty fast 🤣

[@Goatchild90]

My all time favourite band. Thank you for doing their riffs.

[@lacyfromgaslight]

See the cool thing about this guy is not only can be play all the riffs but they don't just resort the most popular ones. And I have a level of respect for that

[@Uninterested69420]

Kurt was a really creative riff writer People sleep on his skills way too much

[@followdanger890]

Paper cuts is so underrated

[@ravila704]

Great fucking song

[@codeling2552]

what's so good about it?

[@followdanger890]

@@codeling2552 you probably only listen to teen spirit and about a girl listen to it and realize how creative and different it was for nirvana

[@codeling2552]

@@followdanger890 no, i listened to the whole nirvana discography

[@jpezzy-3653]

Turnaround would’ve been another cool addition to this list, nailed the sound tho

[@sharktroubles]

Devo wrote it.

[@garmen-]

When you realise Nirvana did thrash, metal, classic rock, hard rock, grunge, prog rock, punk and heavy metal

[@downer2846]

Half of the genres you just listed sound like just different words for the same 2 genres

[@aviationlba747]

@@downer2846 Not really, many sub-genres exist in the rock world.

[@wernerrainer4218]

Blew has something incredible badass.

[@Ertu300]

Lithium was verte elegant, maybe the best way I've heard. Same with smells like teen spirit, in other covers, people always forget that the first sequence of the riff is different that in the rest of the song.

[@gabrielcordeiro9833]

Esse é de longe o vídeo de riffs do Nirvana mais bem tocados desse KZbin! Esse cara do vídeo se absteve de mostrar o rosto, mas podem apostar que ele realmente é um grande guitarrista! Os timbres são PERFEITOS! A pegada de mão é a ideal pra extrair o som que Kurt propôs.. Queria deixar a ressalva também que Kurt foi um dos maiores guitarristas da história, e isso não se deve ao seu sucesso extremo com Nirvana, mas pelo som que ele conseguiu extrair de suas mãos. Ele definitivamente não é virtuoso, muitos acham que virtuosismo é sinônimo de tocar muito bem, mas existe uma lacuna enorme nisso. Se for analisar ao pé da letra, realmente os virtuoso tocam mesmo! Muitas notas por segundo. Eu gosto demais de metal, principalmente groove metal, estilo Pantera.. Mesmo com aquele virtuoso gigantesco, o Dimebag conseguiu elevar sua guitarra a outro patamar quando desencanou dl speed metal, por isso que muitos não curtem os álbuns antigos, que mais parecem ser uma imitação do Judas Priest.. Mas voltando ao Kurt, ele é um dos melhores por causa de sua criatividade! E tocar o estilo que ele tocava não é nada fácil! Raramente vejo guitarristas tocando o ritimo certo em Smells Like, ou fazendo os slides de powerchord em In Bloom.. Então quando um ingênuo faz comentário dizendo que o Kurt não era um bom guitarra o jeito é rir mesmo, porque subestimam demais o cara.. O mesmo vale pro John Frusciante.. Criticam ele muito disso. Mas enfim, esse cara do vídeo é um excelente guitarra, vale a pena estudar os timbre que ele usa nos vídeos. Não sei como o KZbin não deu copyright em Lithium... O timbre e o jeito de tocar ficou muito igual ao original, coisa da frequência quase entrar em fase mesmo, muito bom.

[@zerronyx1362]

The milk it riff might just be one of their best riffs

[@lt.bagelbites6969]

im proud of myself as today like maybe an hour ago i played smels like team spirit ! i'll know it now as the first song I played on guitar

[@mirata7748]

Was waiting for this vid for sooo loong!! Glad a new nirvana upload came and that player jaguar looks really nice!! and the tone is nailed

[@bloxsy_]

Thanks for watching!

[@shasta9863]

list is lacking in Aneurysm and Oh, The Guilt but everything else you nailed :D your playing and tone is some of the most accurate and faithful to Kurt's I've ever heard, keep it up :)

[@noe9581]

At last, a nirvana best riffs' top don't put smells like teen spirit first!

[@samuelbartusek1567]

Blandest, Aero Zeppelin, Drain You, Aneurysm, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter Is so amazing

[@robertnettleship5467]

I think Kurt would've loved the fact you were doing this in a Velvet Underground shirt :) Nailed it though man. Tone is spot on as f

[@RudolfDorrEU]

The best negative creep I’ve ever heard! keep it up man!

[@senord2429]

Top 20 The Strokes Riffs please! Or top 50! hahahha

[@juanrestrepo2426]

Cuando escribas jajaja en ingles hazlo con h el "hahaha"

[@senord2429]

@@juanrestrepo2426 es lo que usualmente hago pero esta vez se me voló, gracias carnal

[@Cadeiranteleg]

You distortion is one of heaviest i've ever seen

[@bloxsy_]

I probably over do it a bit sometimes.

[@Cadeiranteleg]

@@bloxsy_ cool, the more distortion the better

[@christosmeitanis6896]

How do you see distortion ? That would be coool

[@danielalcala1044]

@@christosmeitanis6896 fuck yeah :v

[@Matatigres]

@@christosmeitanis6896 Synesthesia my friend

[@daisysharp8800]

you're one of the few people I've heard play smells like teen spirit exactly like Kurt did. applause for u my guy

[@uorsthdenSou-dg2bm]

swap meat also ...but I think he didnt perform Mr.Moustache on the right way.anyhow great . Well done coverized Nirvana riffs

[@mrsaltylion]

Thank you! I've been waiting for this!

[@MikeysMorgue]

Best Nirvana riff video I've seen! Great riff choices!

[@grungeman86]

Wtf, you NAILED absolutely every guitar tone. Kudos, bro!

[@sienna5823]

Dude you played Heart-Shaped Box so perfect wth, all these are spot on

[@homenetmiraflores7429]

Kurt made the simple way on the most powerful and beautiful distortion sound guitar ever made. Thanks kurt and nirvana. A simple kind of man,a simple guitar,simple melodies, simple and great music ever made. He changed everithing ,a new generation was born. Greetings from Lima,Perú.

[@Barbiesusedtampon]

I love your black guitar so much! The brown one is cool too You honestly did a great job, your covers almost sound identical to the originals

[@mopsoy8365]

Kickass as always, Bloxsy. Keep up the great work! Nirvana has so many great riffs, it can be hard for me to pick favorites personally. I think Paper Cuts is an absolute gem though, that's gotta be one of the heaviest, filthiest riffs they ever played.

[@joshuareynolds8334]

Sound is spot on. Love your work as always

[@saekhmet4186]

Love it.... Oh man Dive is such an amazingly underrated song haha

[@TiDendu29]

The video we all have been waiting for... 🙏🏼

[@carlb.3082]

Wow, the tone is amazingly accurate! Thanks!

[@le.heg_06]

Your sound is outstanding in every video. That's why I watch your videos. And because I want to discover new music. Also, it's really nice to focus on the music and your playing because there's a plain background.

[@bloxsy_]

Thank you. I'm glad you appreciate it.

[@ItsElit3Gunner]

Nice video dude! I really love your content

[@Akazu69]

This is way too perfect hahah. Tone is spot on on all of these

[@abelhernandez9363]

Loved the video man, keep up the excellent work!

[@therealestdealest]

Your videos are killer dude ! Thanks for doing them.

[@user-VonBand]

Great clip buddy some all time great song riffs in there

[@TheGrimReaper54321]

I love the grain on your fretboard on your Jazzmaster. That dark strip that goes from the top of the first fret to the bottom of the 22nd fret is awesome, it seems almost machine made

[@Happylink75]

It's a player jaguar

[@blas6326]

Serve The Servants is a little way down in my opinion :( i love that riff and the song

[@THConnectionz]

Awesome! Never thought of using the back of the neck like that. The creativity is definitely there!

[@lucaswalsh5605]

Love these epic riffs!

[@taylorkt333]

Super clean playing. Really nice.

[@tiagoduarte7560]

I have recently found a love for Bleach. Its the most riffy of their albums. I think this is your best vídeo. Cheers

[@jagerbomb2380]

Oh my god all these sound perfect!

[@user-ec7jl4fg1p]

Nice Player Jag looking and sounding great!

[@bloxsy_]

Thanks!

[@fernandosugeta]

Very good, Kurt Cobain is a riffmaster

[@TheGovernanceNavigator]

Thanks!! This is my fav band!!!

[@icanseeformiles9387]

Yes!! Awesome, thank you ❤🎸

[@LewisMcDonaldBass]

Awesome playing as always

[@skarritan2778]

So much attention to detail!

[@TassiaNathalia]

Glad that someone finally put Serve the servants on the list 💚✌️

[@theocalderon8264]

Blocksy I loved your early covers from silverchair to now and from a couple thousand subs to almost 100k I love your covers no one can play them as good as you

[@bloxsy_]

Thanks man. Really appreciate the support

[@simonplimbley5778]

Fantastic mate

[@ryanm4689]

Your play and tone are perfect.

[@jeffyboi7557]

thanks for the birthday present man. good video 🥳

[@bloxsy_]

Happy Birthday!

[@MinG756]

Your tone is legit !!!

[@CVFFEINE]

I know these songs by heart so much, i was just waiting for the drums to kick in

[@AmazingJuniorBros]

Same

[@canal1212]

Parece simples,mas um iniciante na guitarra não toca Nirvana!!Banda fantástica,kurt realmente uma máquina de compor!!

[@vojtaz9518]

Cool playing man :)

[@tylercraig5633]

I could listen to you playing that School riff on repeat. Fantastic tone!

[@bloxsy_]

Thanks!

[@samharradence5689]

Holy shit I knew this was gonna happen eventually but not this soon, awesome

[@fynn_lcs6357]

Great choices! but i think everybody sleeps on You Know You‘re Right

[@cake6363]

the second i put my guitar down to go to bed i watch this ughhh guess i’ll just wake up at 12:30 tomorrow this is amazing btw

[@patrickprince9610]

Love your videos mate

[@bloxsy_]

Thanks mate. I appreciate it.

[@rodrigobertoluci]

Blandest! Gotta say there's not many players here on YT that play that song, one of my favorites! Cheers, mate!

[@daveplusten]

Loving the jag!

[@inutero2068]

Excellent! Love the inclusion of blandest.

[@radfordscott6699]

i hadn't liked the player jaguar until seeing that black one. i might have to get one

[@guaposhark]

The best top i've ever seen about nirvana riffs !

[@matiassaavedra6949]

Ese video merecia una remasterizaciom si o si

[@trent7567]

si

[@mauchh4698]

Tru

[@sonichu1581]

facts

[@enriquepastor3626]

Así es, querido amigo

[@1976oswald]

Awesome !!! you have a new subscriber, greetings from another humble musician from El Salvador, keep on rocking bro. !!!

[@turbofox23]

so clean!

[@tommyzupan4971]

Kurt was just a genius

[@meanolthing]

Would have loved to see you do Aneurysm, but I can't complain! Very nice!

[@rique_.leal.]

man sick tone!!!

[@apiloto3219]

holy shit that school and lithium tone was spot on. i love your videos man ❤️

[@DBOMB-ye7ie]

Man what amp setting do u use, these are spot on

[@giuliacocca2203]

You're ever been my favorite cover guitarist

[@bazbarrow6160]

Good job 👍the tone on lithium sounded spot on, Heart shaped box would probably be my number one, but can’t argue with come as you are either!