"Puss"/"Oh, the Guilt" is a split single, released as a

double a-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

, from the American rock bands

the Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in ...

and

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

, released via Touch and Go Records.

Recording and release

Background

It was released on February 15, 1993, and includes the songs "Puss" by the Jesus Lizard and "Oh, the Guilt" by Nirvana. The cover art for the single is a painting by Malcolm Bucknall called "Old Indian and White Poodle". "Puss"/"Oh, the Guilt" peaked at number 12 on the UK singles chart; it was the Jesus Lizard's only hit single in the UK, and Nirvana's sixth. "Puss" first appeared on the 1992 album '' Liar'' and was recorded by

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

, who would later record Nirvana's third and final album, '' In Utero''. The video for "Puss" showed a man being welded in a chair, so it was banned from some television stations. "Oh, the Guilt" was recorded by Barrett Jones on April 7, 1992 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. The song was re-released in 2004 on the Nirvana rarities

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

With the Lights Out '' With the Lights Out'' is a box set by the American rock band Nirvana, released on November 23, 2004. It contains three CDs and one DVD of previously rare or unreleased material, including B-sides, demos, and rehearsal and live recordings. T ...

'' and in 2005 on the compilation album '' Sliver: The Best of the Box'', although on these latter releases the song was remixed by Adam Kasper, and does not include the sound of lighter clicks present on the original mix.

Release

The single was released on 1,500 limited edition 7 inch vinyl picture discs in Australia, on blue 7 inch vinyl and

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

in the UK, and on 7 inch vinyl, CD single, and

cassette single A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single (music), single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was introduced in 1980 in music, 1 ...

in the US. According to nirvana-discography.com, the total world-wide release was 100,000 copies but according to John Rocco's ''The Nirvana Companion'' it was 200,000 copies.

Reception

The British magazine ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' described "Oh, the Guilt" as a "rougher, underproduced example of their pop-metal" and "Puss" as "a fiercer, messier hardcore thang". An August 1993 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' article about the Touch and Go record label described the single as having "sold in great numbers". Readers of ''

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'' voted it the fifth-best 7 inch single of 1993.

David Yow David Lambeth Yow (; born August 2, 1960) is an American musician and actor born in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard. Yow's debut solo album, ''Tonight ...

, vocalist of the Jesus Lizard, later said of the release: "We had to figure out, well, do we want to do this and look like we're riding on Nirvana's coattails, or we could just do it and not worry about it, which is what we ended up doing."

Track listing

Charts

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European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

(

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

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Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

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NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'') , style="text-align:center;", 2 , - ! scope="row", UK Rock & Metal Singles ( CIN) , style="text-align:center;", 3 , -

Unreleased versions

Nirvana recorded an instrumental demo version of "Oh, the Guilt" on January 1, 1991, at The Music Source studios in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, but it remains officially unreleased. At the same studio session the band also recorded demo versions of songs "

Aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

", "Even In His Youth", "

All Apologies "All Apologies" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the final track on the band's third and final studio album, '' In Utero'', released by DGC Records in September 1993. The song ...

", " On a Plain", "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter", and "Token Eastern Song". All of these also remain officially unreleased except for "Aneurysm" and "Even In His Youth" which featured as

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s to the "

Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, '' Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. Having sold over 13 million units worldwide, it i ...

" single, and "All Apologies" which was released on the 20th anniversary deluxe and super-deluxe versions of the '' In Utero'' album in 2013.

References

External links

The (Unofficial) Jesus Lizard Discography Version 4.3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puss Oh, the Guilt 1993 singles Oh, the Guilt Oh, the Guilt Split singles Oh, the Guilt Touch and Go Records EPs The Jesus Lizard songs