‘Burning Farm’: the album that reduced Kurt Cobain to tears

Unsurprisingly, given his position as the songwriter and frontman behind the most notorious group of the grunge era, Kurt Cobain is afforded something of a legendary status. The prevailing image of the songwriter is one of a dark, tortured artist fuelled by rage and a desire to tear down notions of conformity and the musical mainstream. While this might make good fuel for documentary films and liner notes, the reality of Kurt Cobain is one of an obsessive music nerd with a deeply ingrained appreciation for DIY music and, above all else, rock and roll.

The list of musical influences held dear by Cobain is as lauded and legendary as the man himself. Famously, the songwriter held a deep appreciation for the largely overlooked DIY bands that had gone before him. With a particular fondness for The Raincoats and The Vaselines, it seemed as though much of Cobain’s taste was made up of groups as far away from Seattle, Washington, as possible. One record that the Nirvana frontman was particularly fond of came all the way from Japan.

The early 1980s was an incredibly exciting time for music. While synthpop and the new romantics populated the charts, the post-punk and indie scene was experiencing a rapid rise in popularity. With this new scene came a wealth of incredible grassroots bands, including the likes of Japanese punks Shonen Knife. In 1983, the band composed of Michie Nakatani and the Yamano sisters released their debut album, Burning Farm.

Shonen Knife’s debut failed to make much of an impact on the musical mainstream, either in Japan or overseas. Nevertheless, it made its way into the hands and hearts of those who really mattered. The Japanese trio found a dedicated audience for their unique sound, with a young Kurt Cobain finding the album particularly enjoyable.

In fact, Cobain often listed Burning Farm as one of his favourite albums of all time, a level of praise most alternative and DIY bands could only ever dream of. In an interview with Melody Maker back in the early 1990s, Cobain took the opportunity to espouse the joys of the record, saying, “After a week of listening to it every day, I just started crying. I just couldn’t believe that three people from a totally different culture could write songs as good as those because I’d never heard any other Japanese music or artist who ever came up with anything good.”

Cobain’s adoration for Shonen Knife was certainly not limited to Burning Farm, though his love of that record never dipped. Continuing to espouse the joys of Japan’s finest pop punks, the songwriter shared, “Everything about them is just so fucking endearing. I’m sure that I was twice as nervous to meet them as they were to meet [Nirvana].” The grunge icons invited Shonen Knife to tour with them in 1992, allowing Cobain to achieve his childhood dreams of playing with the Japanese band.

It seems as though the love goes both ways when it comes to Nirvana and Shonen Knife. Speaking in 2018, guitarist Naoko Yamano recalled, “When we toured with them, our backstage area was tiny and cold, but Kurt always invited us to Nirvana’s big, warm room,” adding, “I remember he gave me a peanut butter and jam sandwich – very American.”