photo by Jim Bennett
Until recently, The Vaselines may just have been known as a blip in musical history. Their recording career spanned from 1987 to 1989, releasing two EPs, Son of a Gun and Dying for It, and one full-length album, Dum-Dum. The band found greater exposure a few years later, when Nirvana covered their tracks on Incesticide (“Son of a Gun”, “Molly’s Lips”) and on MTV Unplugged in New York (“Jesus Don’t Want Me for a Sunbeam”). Kurt Cobain even told The Seattle Times The Vaselines were his “most favorite songwriters in the whole world.” Although the band broke up soon after the release of Dum Dum, they briefly reformed to open for Kurt & crew.
They continued to make music with other projects, though mostly stayed under the radar, until reforming in the 2008. It wasn’t until earlier this year (over 20 years since Dum-Dum) that the band released its second full-length, the charmingly-titled Sex With an X, released on Sub Pop. Armed with classic tunes and brand spankin’ new gems, The Vaselines put some warmth into this rain-soaked season as they stopped by the KEXP studio. Check out The Vaselines on Myspace. And of course, as always, watch the videos from their recent performance live in the KEXP studio now:
