Welcome to KORE once again! I'm your host, DJ Lat, and today's program is dedicated to the era of grunge--that's right, the 1990s. So sit back and enjoy these videos. Our first is by the quintessential grunge band, Nirvana, and it it is called "Heart-Shaped Box." This was the first single off their third studio album, In Utero, and Kurt Cobain has said the song was inspired by children with cancer and that, "Anytime I think about it, it makes me sadder than anything I can think of." One wonders if Cobain was being entirely honest here, but even if he wasn't, the song certainly makes sense in that context (well, as much as any Nirvana song makes sense.) Much of the imagery of the video is inspired by The Wizard of Oz, full of equally surreal, often self-contradicting characters, including a little girl in a white KKK outfit which eventually turns black, thus changing her into a traditional witch. I have to say, the little girl in the video looks an awful lot like a Culkin to me, but you be the judge.

An extended version of the video is available on The Work of Director Anton Corbijn ⚠️ ↗ DVD. Here it is: Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box️ ↗

Our next song has the awesome distinction of having initially been on the soundtrack of a David Lynch film (Lost Highway.) It's one of my favorite Nine Inch Nails songs and one of my all-time favorite videos, with it's decadent Victorian/steampunk imagery. Although not a favorite of Reznor's, I personally think the video is absolutely brilliant. The "story" of the video follows a father's mourning of his dead child, and he takes up drinking absinthe to deal with the pain. The child's gender is ambiguous, intended to be a boy though the part is clearly played by a girl. Stunningly gorgeous imagery seeps from the video. NIN - The Perfect Drug ⚠️ ↗.

We follow NIN with another, lesser known industrial group, Gravity Kills. The video contrasts the pomp and excess of Las Vegas against the poverty and neglect of a Vegas showgirl's family, including that of a little girl. Gravity Kills - Enough️ ↗

Our final video is by Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman, and there are literally dozens of little girls (and boys) in this one, though you have to hold out till the end for the payoff. While I'm not a Christian, I adore the concept of this video. What CLer wouldn't? I also have a deep respect for Chapman for being a major advocate of adoption. Chapman has adopted several young girls from China, including one who was later tragically killed in a car accident. one of his adopted daughters appears with him on the cover of his album All I Really Want for Christmas ⚠️ ↗. The video we're playing is for a song that comes from the 1994 album of the same name. It's called Heaven in the Real World️ ↗, and the ending is a doozy.

This concludes today's broadcast of the KORE station. We hope you enjoyed these videos and the background info behind them. Hope to see you for the next installment of the KORE station. Take care of yourselves and take care of your favorite girls. Sayonara!