"Sliver" was written in 1990. According to the 1993 biography "" by Michael Azerrad, the song was written during a rehearsal with Dan Peters, who briefly played drums with Nirvana while the future of his own band, Mudhoney, was uncertain. According to Azerrad, the lyrics to "Sliver" were written shortly before they were recorded, although an acoustic demo of the song, first released on Nirvana box set "With the Lights Out" in November 2004, suggests that Cobain had written some of the lyrics before entering the studio to record the vocals. "I decided I wanted to write the most ridiculous pop song I had ever written," Cobain explained to Azerrad, in order "to prepare people for the next album," which became their 1991 release, "Nevermind".