“This music relaxes you”: Exploring Kurt Cobain’s love of Young Marble Giants

“This music relaxes you”: Exploring Kurt Cobain’s love of Young Marble Giants

For any great songwriter, everything normally comes back to the melody. You can have the greatest guitar tone ever heard or a set of lyrics that will hit you in the heart the minute that you hear them, but if there isn’t some type of throughline connecting them together, you’ve got absolutely nothing. While Kurt…

Kurt Cobain Said He Took a Risk Writing Nirvana’s R.E.M.-Style Song ‘About a Girl’

Kurt Cobain Said He Took a Risk Writing Nirvana’s R.E.M.-Style Song ‘About a Girl’

Kurt Cobain got sick of the formula behind Nirvana’s songs. He noted “About a Girl” had some similarities to R.E.M. songs. “About a Girl” was a hit. Nirvana and R.E.M. were both integral parts of 1990s classic rock. During an interview, Kurt Cobain said Nirvana released a song called “About a Girl” that was similar…

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

‘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…

A ‘White Album’ equivalent: The album Kurt Cobain was making when he died

A ‘White Album’ equivalent: The album Kurt Cobain was making when he died

Few frontmen have transformed the rock realm quite like Kurt Cobain did. As the driving force behind Nirvana, he brought nihilistic grunge to teenagers who were growing tired of hair metal and changed the rockstar persona with his open support for feminism and equality. With little help from his bandmates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl,…

Why Kurt Cobain Didn’t Like to Play ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

Why Kurt Cobain Didn’t Like to Play ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” is undoubtedly Nirvana’s signature song. However, Kurt Cobain wasn’t always enthusiastic about the track. During Kurt Cobain’s tragically short time in the spotlight, Nirvana gave the world several classic tracks. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” remains the bands’ signature song. In fact, some people know “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and no other…

Why Dave Grohl never considered Nirvana legends: “Half of me thinks it was just hype”

Why Dave Grohl never considered Nirvana legends: “Half of me thinks it was just hype”

When they cement rock into musical history, Nirvana will probably be given a prime spot among the all-time greats. The world was coaxing by just fine listening to hair metal, then in one fell swoop, Kurt Cobain turned up with music that made every single teased-hair band seem irrelevant by comparison. We should probably credit…

“Grunge is dead”: The tragic tale of Nirvana’s final concert

“Grunge is dead”: The tragic tale of Nirvana’s final concert

Grunge, as a music scene, was firmly rooted in live performance. From the early days of groups like Mudhoney or Soundgarden, images of angsty adolescents packed together in small rooms with walls dripping in sweat became as important an aspect as the music itself. Inevitably, then, when grunge kings Nirvana rose to prominence, their live…