"Spank Thru" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It appears on the compilation albumSub Pop 200, released in December 1988. Though rarely performed live beyond the first few years of the band's existence, the song is significant in that it helped lead to the formation of Nirvana by helping convince bassist Krist Novoselic to start a band with Cobain. Novoselic specifically referred to the song as "the first Nirvana song" in the liner notes to the live compilation album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, released in October 1996.
Origin and recording
"Spank Thru" dates back to 1985, when it was included on the demo tapeIlliteracy Will Prevail released by Cobain's short-lived band, Fecal Matter. Novoselic, who lived in Cobain's hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, later claimed that hearing this version, which featured Melvins drummer Dale Crover on drums and backing vocals, led to him forming what would become Nirvana with Cobain. "One of the songs on was 'Spank Thru,'" Novoselic told Kurt St. Thomas in 1992. "He turned me on to it, and I really liked it, it kind of got me excited. So I go, 'Hey man, let's start a band.'" "Spank Thru" was performed during the band's first radio session, on May 6, 1987 at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington for KAOS. The band, then called "Skid Row," featured Aaron Burckhard on drums, along with Cobain and Novoselic. The song was recorded by Jack Endino during Nirvana's first studio session, at Reciprocal Recording on January 23, 1988. As with the Fecal Matter version, this recording features Crover on drums and backing vocals. A second version was recorded by Endino several months later at the same location, this time featuring the band's new drummer Chad Channing on drums and Endino on backing vocals. This version was released on the compilation album Sub Pop 200 in December, 1988. The album, which was released to promote the Seattle-based Sub Pop record label and showcase the emerging "grunge" scene, was released shortly after the band's two-song debut single, "Love Buzz," making "Spank Thru" the third Nirvana song to be officially released. On October 26, 1989, the band recorded a version of "Spank Thru" during their first BBCPeel Session, at Maida Vale Studios in London, England.
Composition
"Spank Thru" contains numerous references to masturbation. Amanda Petrusich of Pitchfork described it as "a charming ode to jerking off," while Everett True called it "a paean to masturbation." Tim Hughes called the song "an interesting composite of two very different parts," with an "opening guitar riff that satirizes "The Great White Buffalo" by Ted Nugent" and lyrics that "mock the sentimental love poetry" of 70s arena rock bands, before it "abruptly shifts gears into a high-energy punk rock about masturbation."
Reception
In 2015, Rolling Stone listed the song at number 54 on their ranking of 102 Nirvana songs.
Recording and release history
Since its release on Sub Pop 200 in 1988, several versions of the song have been officially released, most of them posthumously.
