Couple of interesting things related to Kurt Cobain popped up recently, so I figured three things make a post.
I’m not a huge fan of Nirvana… I guess I’m not a medium fan either. I’m more interested in Kurt Cobain himself than his music (though I do enjoy a few songs).
I Found it Hard, Was Hard to Find…
Would people say he changed the entire face of music if he hadn’t died?
Probably.
Would he have ended up pissing a bunch of people off and not have had the huge following of posthumously adoring fans?
Also probably.
His disdain for fame and for the music that pushed him into the spotlight is fascinating. To read his suicide letter, you get the impression he had a ocean’s worth of passion hidden somewhere inside himself, but he had no idea how to tap into it. You can hear him trying though; it’s kind of painful to read.
For example when we’re back stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begins., it doesn’t affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can’t fool you, any one of you. It simply isn’t fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I’m having 100% fun.
If you want to read his suicide not, though, you can do that here. [I’m not going to really get into all of the controversy surrounding the note. Doesn’t everything have its own conspiracy theory now?].
Top of the Pops
I guess the UK t.v. show Top of the Pops likes to use a soundtrack when having their guests play “live,” but with live vocals. This has caused a bit of conflict in the past for other artists. However, when Nirvana was the guest on Top of the Pops, they protested the requirement to sing live to a backing track by CLEARLY NOT PLAYING THEIR INSTRUMENTS, and by Kurt Cobain dropping his voice to Morrisey-esque octaves and changing the lyrics for hilarious results. I kind of love this a lot:
A Capella
And finally, here is a studio track of just vocals from “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Enjoy.