Paris Jackson Sticks to Grunge Route on Nirvana-Like “Bandaid”

I dream of you when I’m bleeding out, I’m veiny sings Paris Jackson on her latest single, “Bandaid.”

Sticking to her grunge-rock pattern with a Nirvana-bent arrangement, the singer, songwriter, and actress sings, I wonder if there’s a small amount in your heart / A part of you that loved / Or if I was just another stain that made / A decent bandaid, over the hard, cloudy guitars and bass on the heartbreak ballad.

Prior to referencing Nirvana on “Bandaid,” Jackson also paid tribute to the band’s video for their 1992 song “Sliver” with her 2022 single “Lighthouse,” featuring Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, and co-produced by Butch Walker.”

[RELATED: Paris Jackson Releases Grunge-Bent Single “Just You,” Tours with The Revivalists]

Inspired by Nirvana’s own visuals for the Incesticide track, at one point in the video for “Lighthouse,” a photo of Kurt Cobain is also featured.

“Bandaid” follows Jackson’s 2022 lost EP and recent single, “Just You,” her alt-rock anthem on the euphoria of falling in love.

“I used the same [sound] mixer, so there is definitely a cohesiveness with the first two singles, but this one is a bit more influenced by bands like the Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Interpol,” said Jackson of her new single. “It’s a little bit louder, it’s more fun. But in terms of the songwriting aspect, it’s still the same acoustic folk approach that I always take when I’m writing.”

For “bandaid,” Jackson also enlisted Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull, with whom she worked on her 2020 debut album, wilted, along with Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst.

As a songwriter, Jackson said there’s no special time for writing songs. “Sometimes it’s in the middle of the day,” she said. Sometimes it’s late at night. My process is just, I come up with a progression that is decent, that isn’t too similar to other ones that I’ve used, and then I hum until I find a good melody. Then the lyrics just kind of happen.”

Of her writing style, Jackson added, “All of my favorite songwriters are poets, so a lot of them follow the same iambic pentameter and rhyme patterns of standard poetry. So, I think that’s probably where I get it from.”

Photo by Nas Bogado / Republic Records