Word: cobain
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When Kurt Cobain took his life at the peak of Nirvana’s popularity in April 1994, critics were quick to draw comparisons between his suicide and the accidental death of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. Superficial parallels were quickly noticed—Cobain and his loudmouthed peroxided wife, Hole front-woman Courtney Love, were habitual heroin users; Vicious and his notorious bleached-blonde companion, Nancy Spungen, were also well-known junkies. Cobain and his wife even checked into hotels under Vicious’ real name, John Ritchie. Still, the most common association made between the two musicians...
...Although Cobain has typically been portrayed by the media as a deeply committed musician who became swept up and ultimately overwhelmed by the accidental mass appeal of his art, the newest biography of the Nirvana frontman attempts to convince the reader otherwise. Heavier than Heaven (Hyperion, 381 pp., $24.95), by former Seattle music journalist Charles Cross, details the short and tumultuous life of a man who had always dreamed of being a Rock Star, drawing on evidence from over four years of research, 400 interviews and love letters and entries from Cobain’s private journals...
When Nirvana's Kurt Cobain died of a self-inflicted shotgun blast in 1994 at age 27, it marked the end of a short life plagued by family troubles, heroin addiction and struggles with fame. His story certainly wasn't heavenly, but it was heavy, and Cross--a grunge sponge who conducted 400 interviews for this serious, substantial biography--lays it all out vividly. Extraordinary access to Cobain's unpublished journals helps the narrative move like the best Nirvana anthems: a slow build, some off-kilter rhythms, softly seductive passages followed by loud screams and a devastating finish. Smells like...
...idealism, as documented in "Things Have Got to Change," to his fiery streak, laid down for all to hear in "Somebody Else's Princess." If the tunes were riveting, it could be as much of a privilege to dive into Crowe's brain as Bob Dylan's or Kurt Cobain's, but Crowe's music, like Thornton's, is competent, inoffensive and short on surprises. While Thornton's record is country-inflected and Crowe's is in the vein of Bruce Springsteen, they are both deadly serious and seriously ponderous. As musicians, both men appear to emote first and consider...
...moment alt rock first hit the big time is a decade passed, and the Nevermind box set debacle appears destined to overshadow any public discussion of its anniversary. "Our Band Could Be Your Life" offers a timely reminder that Cobain and company were merely a key regiment in the motley alt-rock army. With no beacon of commercial viability in sight, that far-flung herd of musicians, label heads, college radio DJs and `zine writers slowly but steadily introduced a new kind of rock `n' roll to people who, in Azerrad's words, "would seek out the little radio stations...