Apparently a press release has been sent out in Germany concerning the Nirvana box set - listing the five songs that will appear on a promotional sampler given to radio stations and certain retail stores. The songs listed:

"John Peel, a longtime British Broadcasting Corp. [BBC] disc jockey whose enthusiasm for the offbeat, the eclectic and the obscure launched the careers of dozens of bands, has died, the BBC said Tuesday. He was 65. The broadcaster said Peel suffered a heart attack Monday while vacationing in Peru with his wife, Sheila. Peel's program on Radio 1, the BBC's flagship pop music station, exerted a huge influence for more than 30 years. He was often the first to play demo tapes by little-known bands, and his enthusiasm propelled some to fame. His live studio sessions were coveted by bands, and many were released on record as the 'Peel Sessions'." Nirvana were on John's show a number of times and it is believed that songs from these sessions will appear on the forthcoming Nirvana box set. News courtesy of AP and the New York Times. Read more here.

Here is an official statement from the Geffen Records website concerning the Nirvana box: "Nirvana Box Set 'With the Lights Out' to Be Released November 23rd. Geffen/UMe Records is set to release a much anticipated 3 CD 1 DVD box set of Nirvana. 81 tracks are included on the box of which 68 have never been previously issued. Material for the CD's spans the band's entire history from their inception and includes demos, outtakes and live recordings. The DVD shows never seen before footage of the band at rehearsals, recording studios and live shows." According to Geffen, a detailed track listing will be available in the coming weeks.

The German Amazon store is using the 'suits' photo as the artwork for the box so that appears to be the official cover, and it is also used on the website promoting it (www.nirvanabox.com). View the cover artwork here.

Tonight, an event to promote the John Kerry and John Edwards campaign will feature Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. From Rolling Stone: "DAVE GROHL and KRIST NOVOSELIC will make their first public appearance together in more than ten years this Tuesday night [Oct 19] in support of John Kerry. The two will attend a rally for the presidential candidate in the front parking lot of Las Vegas's Stardust Hotel and Casino, accompanied by BLINK 182's TOM DELONGE and Alex Kerry and Chris Heinz, Kerry's daughter and step-son." The event begins at 6 PM at the Stardust Hotel parking lot, 3000 Las Vegas Blvd. South in Las Vegas, NV (USA). If you attend and shoot some pictures there, please e-mail them to me afterwards. Thanks to Shane, Rachel and Kevin for the news.

An official website has been launched to promote the Nirvana box set. Right now, all it offers is a Nirvana photo (possibly the one that will be used as cover artwork), and the release dates. Apparently, the site will provide sound clips, video clips and images later. The site confirms that the international release date is November 22, 2004 and the U.S./Canadian release date is November 23, 2004. It also confirms that the boxset is indeed entitled With The Lights Out. No more rumours! Oh, I almost forgot: the website can be found at www.nirvanabox.com

Some very interesting new details about the box set, from NME: "The long-awaited Nirvana box set 'WITH THE LIGHTS OUT' will feature 68 previously unreleased recordings. Released on November 22, the four-disc set will feature 81 tracks including 68 previously unreleased recordings - rehearsals, outtakes, Kurt's home demos, as well as a DVD which is confirmed to have unreleased band home movies, live footage, rehearsal footage and 20 full-length video performances. A 60-page booklet will accompany the release. A source told NME.COM: 'I've seen some of the footage and it's amazing stuff. There's a video of them performing at a friend's party with Kurt reading lyrics off a sheet of paper on the wall, footage of them covering Seasons In The Sun in a studio with Kurt on drums and lots of other great stuff.' The artwork for the set is currently being put together, with the likely choice being a 'landscape' box, retailing in the region of £40-50." Story courtesy of NME. Read it here. Thanks to Dinesh for the link. The box will be released on Nov 23 in the US. HMV have listed the box with a price tag of £42.99 (about $77 USD) on their website, while amazon.com suggests a list price of $59.98. You can pre-order the box set here.

Now that the fabled Nirvana box set is supposedly only some six weeks shy of being released officially, I have put together a list of recordings that could potentially be included. Obviously, not all of the recordings on my list will feature on the box but it is certain that some of them will. The list represents most of the unreleased material and many recordings that have been very much sought after by Nirvana fans for years. The list concludes with a handful of recordings that, while very much in demand, will most likely not be included. Note that pretty much none of the recordings listed below are guaranteed to be in the box. The list is based on interviews, articles, rumours and guesswork on my part.

For the CD's:

Apparently Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne has expressed interest in playing Courtney Love in a new movie about the singer and actress: "Avril Lavigne has dyed her hair blonde because she is desperate to play Courtney Love in an upcoming movie. The film, which will trace Love's life from her childhood, through her marriage to late Nirvana star Kurt Cobain, and will include her much-publicized battles with drink and drugs reports Teenhollywood. Lavigne says, 'Courtney is really nice and a great mom. It would be an honor to play her.' 'I've been looking for a feisty role that suits my personality, and I think this is the one.' And former Hole frontwoman Love is anxious for Lavigne to portray her. She says, 'Avril rocks and is pretty enough to play me!' " Well there's something you don't see every day. Thanks to Ananova and TeenHollywood for the story and Kevin for the link. Read it here.

A couple of weeks back I reported that a DVD on the Nevermind album in the Classic Albums series was under production. The DVD will, despite previous reports, not come out this year but most likely sometime next year. The DVD will chronicle the recording of this landmark album and feature interviews with the principles involved. As far as I know, people that have been interviewed so far include Krist Novoselic, Jack Endino, Steve Fisk, Craig Montgomery, Butch Vig, David Fricke, Everett True, Jonathan Poneman, Gillian G. Gaar and Charles R. Cross. Impressive list! Of course, it is not yet finalized who will appear on the DVD and not all of these interviews will necessarily be used.

"Teen Spirit, amazingly accurate Nirvana Tribute band will be playing Manchester Academy 3 on Friday 19th November. This band really do have to be seen (better still close your eyes) to be believed. The singer looks the part and has some ace Kurt-isms including ritualistic trashing of gear. The only way to come close to the Nirvana live experience. This band have opened for Bush, Therapy? and Primal Scream, singer Burt was even asked by Jarvis Cocker to appear in a Pulp video. Eerily accurate. Tickets are a tenner, phone 0161 832 1111. 'TEEN SPIRIT' plays the show that Nirvana used to play when they were the world's most exciting live band. Every drum fill and bass line, every blast of feedback and every flick of Burt's bleached hair is true to the original.' -Chris Watts, Kerrang." Thanks to Robin for the info.

British music mag NME claims to have gotten confirmation on a November 22 UK release date for the box set: "A UK spokesperson for the band's label has now confirmed details. Currently untitled, the four disc compilation will be comprised of three audio CDs with over 40 tracks on them, and one DVD with archive footage, including a rare promo of 'In Bloom'. An early live show is also expected to feature. The audio tracks on the box set will be rare and in some cases, previously unheard demos, alternative versions and radio session tracks." Story courtesy of NME. Read more here. In other box news - over at amazon.com, the set is currently enjoying a stay as #168 on their sales rank list. It was #462 just a couple of days ago - briefly even landing at #82 or so. According to amazon.com and a couple of other sources, the release will be entitled With The Lights Out (a lyric from the legendary Nirvana track Smells Like Teen Spirit). Pre-order the box here.

With The Lights Out - new Nirvana box set (3 CD's/1 DVD).
- European release date: November 22, 2004
- US release date: November 23, 2004.
- Japan release date:: December 1, 2004 (TBC).

As mentioned earlier in this section, Krist Novoselic is currently on a tour of the US to promote his book, Of Grunge and Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy! Here are some pictures from his appearance in San Francisco, CA on September 22: #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5. Special thanks to Andrew for these. Krist also confirmed to people on his book tour stops that the box was indeed coming out, though he didn't seem to want to commit on a release date. For more stories from people who have met Krist on his book tour, check the NFC discussion board. Feel free to add your story and pictures if you met him.

BIAS, a company specializing in software for restoring audio, did a profile on James Barber in which he talks about working on Kurt Cobain's demo tapes, using the company's software. Barber is Courtney Love's former manager and formerly of Nirvana's label, Geffen. Some excerpts from the article: "Barber, who was on the Producers Panel at this year's SXSW (South By Southwest) conference, knows how personal and revealing every musician's old demo tapes are and says that Kurt Cobain's are no different. He also happens to see the parallels between his Cobain work and a new collection of R&B recordings made in Nashville during the 1940s called Night Train To Nashville (Lost Highway). He finds guidance in the archival audio footage of that record for his own faithful archaeological audio work these days.

'A lot of those old R&B songs were poorly recorded, and they didn't clean it up much when they mastered it, either. They respected the original master and didn't try to make it sound ridiculously clean and modern, so it sounds great. Kurt was not a guy into gear who had a fancy home recording setup when he was making up songs, either. In fact, in 1992 even a [TASCAM] DA-88 was a complicated thing for him to operate. He used a boom box with a built-in condenser mic, and it sounds like he spilled things on some of the tapes. The boom box tapes were the easiest way for him to work out song ideas when he felt like it at home.' But through the stains of time Barber has already found some real Cobain gems. He will update BIAS on his progress as the much anticipated and delayed Nirvana box set nears release next year.

'I'm excited about what I'll be doing with SoundSoap Pro on this project in the months ahead. I think this is going to really knock me out for what we're doing with Kurt.' BIAS couldn't help but to ask for a sneak peak into what Jim has come up with in his first weeks working with SoundSoap Pro and Peak on this massive, vital important project. 'Amazing stuff. There are some incredible board mixes from Nevermind, too, that will be worth hearing,' concludes Barber. 'There's also a live French TV performance that includes four songs filmed just six weeks before his death. Courtney and Kurt once played a show together at Club Lingerie that was videotaped. It's an amazing performance of them doing Where Did You Sleep Last Night and their high and low harmonies are just great together. I'm hoping there will be moments like that on the home tapes, as well.' " Article courtesy of BIAS. Read it here. Thanks to Richard and others for the link.

From Vladimir: "Smells Like Teen Spirit was chosen as the #1 hitsingle of the 90s according to 3FM radio in Holland. They had an internet survey on their webpage. People had to compose the Top 90 of the 90s and Nirvana won. Here is the link (in Dutch) with the Top 90." Also thanks to Johan. Check this link for more info.

Apparently the US chain of music stores, Sam Goody, is also accepting pre-orders for the upcoming Nirvana box set at their retail outlets. It is currently not listed on their website. Thanks to Kathleen. In other interesting news, internet giant Amazon have also started accepting pre-orders for the Nirvana box. They claim the release will be entitled With The Lights Out and they have set a price tag of $59.98, listing the November 23, 2004 release date!