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Song · Nirvana

“Plateau” by Nirvana

Released 1994

“Plateau” by Nirvana appears on 22 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1994 and 2023. It was first released in 1994. Its best result is #51 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1994. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #188 alternative song of 1994 and #2,552 alternative song of all time.

22countdowns

7stations

#51best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1994–2023years charted

Watch

Nirvana - Plateau (Live On MTV Unplugged, 1993 / Unedited)

Video from YouTube (NirvanaVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Curt Kirkwood wrote "Plateau" for the Meat Puppets, who first put it on Meat Puppets II in 1984, and at Nirvana's MTV Unplugged taping in November 1993, Curt and his brother Cris came onstage to play it with the band. The recording came out in 1994.

It's a gentle, loping thing, the Kirkwoods' acoustic guitars chiming against Krist Novoselic's bass and Dave Grohl's hushed drums, while Kurt Cobain sings in a weary, affectionate croon, with Grohl and Cris Kirkwood filling in behind him. The song pictures the climb toward the afterlife as a trek up a great plateau, only to find nothing waiting at the top but the ordinary clutter of everyday life, and Cobain delivers the joke with a perfectly straight face.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

#503 of all time

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1994	51	91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana	91X Top 91 Songs of 1994	91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1994	535	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994)	1000
1995	346	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995)	1000
1996	472	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996)	1000
1998	573	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998)	1000
1999	192	107.7 The End	The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	1077
1999	458	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999)	998
2002	623	KISW	KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002)	999
2002	76	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2004	254	107.7 The End	The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004)	500
2007	1838	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	1826	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	1852	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2010	1901	CD101	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)	2011
2011	1928	CD101	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)	2011
2013	1956	CD101	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)	2012
2014	1993	CD101	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)	2013
2020	415	105.9 The X	105.9 The X July 420 (2020)	420
2021	383	105.9 The X	105.9 The X July 420 (2021)	420
2022	421	101X	101X 500 (2022)	498
2022	389	105.9 The X	105.9 The X July 420 (2022)	420
2023	374	105.9 The X	105.9 The X July 420 (2023)	420

Charting alongside it in 1994

Best songs of 1994 →

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