Download a cover of Nirvana’s “Dumb” by Ben Runyan of City Rain

Ever the spontaneous music maker, Ben Runyan of City Rain last night dropped a cover of Nirvana’s “Dumb,” a kinda-silly kinda-sad tune that closed out side A of In Utero. (Guess the Kurt Cobain shirt he wore to play a solo City Rain set at PhilaMOCA on Thursday night foreshadowed this a bit.) The original was built mostly around acoustic guitar and cello, so Runyan’s electronic pop treatment is a dramatic shift, but he maintains the vibe of the original, waiting till the halfway mark to kick the beat in and keeping the melancholy melody in the forefront. In the end, it sounds like an alt-rock nugget that was custom written for City Rain. Give a listen and download it below.