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| From | "Michael Bennett" <mrhonorama@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: Cobain + 10 |
| Date | Mon, 05 Apr 2004 23:33:53 -0500 |
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My context is somewhat different than Shawn's, being that have 7 years or so
on her, but not much different. Beyond what Nirvana meant solely on their
own terms, which was a consolidation of so much of the indie/college radio
world of the '80s (along with some metal/grunge), was how they also
crystalized the very independent world that they sprang from. It's not just
the major label deals some bands got that they never would have had,
pre-Nirvana. It was the effect that I think they had on the small networks
that now support emo and punk bands. I'm not saying that they are solely
responsible for any of this. However, they were a catalyst who did create a
niche for outsiders, in a good way.
I learned of his death (along w/Dale Gardner and Kevin Hunt) after we got
back to my apt. after seeing the White Sox on Opening Day.
Mike Bennett
Record reviews and more at http://fufkin.com
>From: shawn campbell <thursdayinjune@yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: audities@smoe.org
>To: audities@smoe.org
>Subject: Re: Cobain + 10
>Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 18:40:20 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
>It's so weird for me to think about the fact that it
>has been a whole decade...
>
>Just some musings...
>
>I think, in many ways, it's hard to explain what it
>was like with Nirvana without finding oneself squarely
>in clicheland (perhaps similar to writing about
>Beatlemania). It really DID seem like they changed
>everything. It really DID seem like they marked a
>turning point. I mean, I was in the midst of it - 20
>years old, in college, seeing lots of shows, doing
>college radio. One day, it seemed like all that was
>on mainstream radio was teenpop, adult contemporary
>dreck, and cheeseball metal (sound familiar?), then
>the next day -- BLAM! EVERYTHING was different.
>
>All of a sudden, people wanted music to mean something
>again. All of a sudden, it was a desirable thing to
>have a social conscience in your music (and in your
>life). All of a sudden, your rock stars seemed a
>little less like rock stars, and a little more
>like...you. It was like the promise that your parents
>had always whispered in your ear, that someday the
>shiny, pretty, popular, athletic crowd would want to
>be just like YOU. That the weird kids, the outcasts,
>the rebels, even the nerds would someday show everyone
>else how it was done. And after the plastic, preppie
>1980s, how we needed that!
>
>I don't only remember where I was when I heard about
>Kurt's death (in bed, after having done an overnight
>airshift, then pissed off about why my boss at the
>radio station was calling me at 11 AM when he knew I'd
>only been asleep for a few hours, then..."oh."), I
>remember where I was the first time I heard "Smells
>Like Teen Spirit." I had heard ABOUT the song before
>I heard it, and I kept missing it (oh, the internet is
>wonderful, and how did we live without it, and all,
>but it really kind of destroyed that type of
>anticipation, didn't it?). Then one night, I was in
>the car with some friends on our way out for some
>pizza. Just as my friend was turning off the
>ignition, I heard the opening chords come on the
>radio, and instantly I just KNEW. Because it really,
>really didn't sound like anything else out there at
>the time. I remember asking them, "Is this Nirvana?"
>and they said indeed it was.
>
>The funny thing is, I never ferociously loved the band
>(although I thought their singles were great), and I
>passed up several chances to see them. But I loved a
>lot of what they were about, what they represented.
>In their messed-up, Gen X way, they seemed to
>represent something as close as I could get to the
>things I admired about the 60s.
>
>I don't know if it would've changed anything if Kurt
>hadn't killed himself. I don't know if music would be
>better today, or if everything would be just the same
>as it is, with Nirvana either broken up or becoming
>increasingly irrelevant, as has been the case with
>Pearl Jam. But I do know that, for a few moments
>there in the early 90s, it really did seem like there
>was endless possibility, like the good guys were
>taking over, like...(insert your own cliche here).
>For whatever reason, Nirvana's music spoke to people,
>and they made a difference, and they'll be remembered
>with strong emotion (as proven in this post, I hope).
>And in a pretty disposable age, that's saying
>something.
>
>R.I.P. Kurt Cobain. I miss you.
>
>--Shawn
>
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