I was at a barbeque last weekend in Des Moines and this guy in his 20s starts going on about how Nirvana changed music forever and Kurt was some genius who we lost too soon. Look, I was alive in 1994 and I remember when he died. People weren't exactly lining up to buy Nevermind at the time. It took like three years after he passed for him to become this icon. Now everyone acts like they were there from day one. Has anyone else noticed this pattern with dead artists where people forget how they were actually treated when they were alive?
I brought up that Nirvana's Nevermind is way too polished and overproduced compared to their early stuff, and my friend Lisa nearly threw her wine at me. She went on a rant about how Cobain was a genius and I was just being contrarian. But honestly, how many people actually listen to Bleach or Incesticide instead of just the hits? Has anyone else here had a dead celebrity debate get way too heated with people who think you're attacking their childhood?
I spent 3 months last year listening to Thelonious Monk every day because everyone in music forums swore he was a genius, but last week at a dive bar in Chicago someone played his stuff and I just felt bored. Has anyone else pretended to love a dead artist just to fit in with a crowd?
I was flipping through some old reggae albums last weekend and this guy working there starts talking about how Bob Marley gets all the credit while artists like Peter Tosh and Lee Perry did way more interesting stuff. He said 'Marley is the McDonald's of reggae - consistent but not the best.' It hit different because I've been singing Buffalo Soldier for years without ever digging deeper. Has anyone else had a moment where a 'classic' artist suddenly felt overhyped after talking to someone who knew the full picture?
Back in 2011, I was at a house party in Portland and this guy spent 45 minutes going on about how Nirvana changed music forever. I nodded along but honestly, I never got the hype. I tried listening to Nevermind three times that week and it just felt like loud noise to me. What tipped me off was when I realized I was forcing myself to like something just so people wouldn't judge my taste. Has anyone else faked liking a dead celebrity just because everyone else does?
I finally listened to the Alive, She Cried bootleg after a buddy in Tempe mailed me a CD, and Morrison sounds like he's reading a shopping list between his drunken yells. Has anyone else here actually sat through a full Doors concert tape without romanticizing the '60s?
I grew up watching Bob Hope specials with my granddad in Ohio, he thought the guy was a genius. But I tried watching one of his old movies last year and I could not get through 20 minutes of it, the jokes were so slow. The timing just doesn't work now, I think people back then were starved for anything after the war. Has anyone else gone back and watched an old legend and realized they just aren't that funny anymore?
I was at a record store in Portland last weekend and heard some guy call Nirvana's Nevermind a 'masterpiece of guitar work.' I've played guitar for 15 years and those power chords are the first thing you learn. Why do people treat him like he's Hendrix just because he died at 27?
I bought that new streaming exclusive on Kurt Cobain last night and it was literally just clips from interviews already on YouTube with some cheesy narration over it. The only new thing was some guy's opinion about what Nirvana would sound like today. Anyone else get tricked by these cash grab celeb docs?
I found out Bob Marley's net worth when he died was only like $11 million, way less than you'd think for a global icon. Turns out his label and manager took almost everything, and he died broke in a Miami hospital in 1981. Why do we act like he was some saint when the guy left his wife and had like 11 kids with different women?
I used to think Nirvana was the greatest band ever when I was 16, but after actually listening to their full catalog as an adult, half the songs are just noise with mumbled words. Then I read that book about the Seattle scene and found out how much of his myth was manufactured by record labels after he died. Why do people act like he was some musical genius instead of just a guy who got lucky with a couple hits?
I used to roll my eyes any time someone called Elvis the King. Then I took a class at community college two years ago where the professor said most people only know his hits from the 70s. He said go listen to his 1956 Sun Records stuff where he sounded raw and hungry. I finally did last month and I get it now. So is Elvis actually overrated or did he get watered down by the jumpsuit years?
He said Nirvana was just loud noise for sad teenagers, but I've also heard people call them the voice of a generation. Is Cobain actually overrated or do we just pretend he changed music because he died young? What's your take?
Guy next to me swore Nirvana changed music forever. I said they were just loud and sloppy. Took me way too long to realize I was arguing with someone who hadn't listened past Smells Like Teen Spirit. Has anyone else had a dead celebrity debate that went nowhere fast?
My buddy made me go to this bar in Portland last Friday for a Kurt Cobain cover show. The place was packed with people wearing flannel they bought at Target that same day. I asked this one girl what her favorite song was and she said "Smells Like Teen Spirit" which is fine but when I pressed her on "Drain You" she just stared at me. Has anyone else noticed how many people pretend to be huge fans of dead musicians just to fit in at these events?
Back in high school I thought he was this deep tortured artist. I even had a Lizard King poster on my wall. Then last month I picked up a collection of his lyrics and poems from a used book store in Denver for $3. Read it on a bus ride home and man... half of it reads like something a freshman wrote after smoking for the first time. 'The end of laughter and soft lies' - come on. Has anyone else revisited an artist they worshipped as a teen and felt totally different?
I was at a party last weekend in Portland and someone put on Nevermind. I sat there nodding along like I was deep into it but honestly I was just bored. The guy next to me said 'this album changed my life' and I realized I've never actually felt that way about any Nirvana song. I always just said I liked them because everyone else did. Has anyone else faked loving a dead celeb just to fit in at a party?
Some dude in his 40s said Nirvana's Nevermind only holds up because of the production, not the songs, and now I can't stop hearing how messy the guitar is. Made me wonder if I only liked them because everyone else did back in 1991, you know?
I was at the auto parts store yesterday picking up a new alternator for a 98 Civic, and they had Nirvana playing over the speakers. This kid working the register started going on about how Kurt Cobain was this once in a generation talent that changed music forever. I just stood there holding my brake cleaner like, really? I mean sure he wrote some catchy tunes, but let's be real here. Half those riffs are just recycled Pixies stuff and his lyrics are mostly just random journal entries set to power chords. I get that he died young and tragic, but people act like he invented the whole grunge scene by himself when bands like Mudhoney and The Melvins were doing it first. Am I the only one who thinks the whole martyrdom around him is way overblown compared to what he actually produced?
I used to think he was a genius too, then I read about how he refused to let his daughter get treatment for cancer and basically relied on alternative medicine. After reading Walter Isaacson's book, it hit me that he wasn't some visionary but a pretty mean guy who took credit for other people's work at Apple in the 80s. Does anyone else feel like we let his charisma gloss over the not so great stuff?
My grandpa was a quiet guy who worked on a farm his whole life. Back when I was in high school during the late 90s, he told me straight up that Richard Nixon was overhyped and people only pretend to respect him now because he died. I didn't really get it until I watched some old clips of him during a history class a few years ago. That constant sweating and fake grin just seems so fake compared to how people talk about him like a great statesman these days. I asked around at a family reunion and nobody could name one good thing he actually did for regular people. It makes me wonder how many other dead historical figures get a free pass just because they're no longer around to mess things up. Has anyone else had a relative call out a famous figure way before it was common to do so?
Last week I was hanging out with my buddy Dave at his place in Portland, and he put on a Bob Marley playlist. I mentioned how everyone treats him like a saint, but Dave pointed out that 90% of people only know 'Three Little Birds' and 'Buffalo Soldier' and call it a day. He put on 'Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)' and that song hit me different... it's angry, political, not that chill vibe at all. Made me wonder why people ignore his rougher stuff. Anyone else feel like he gets boiled down to a t-shirt slogan more than a real artist?
I was one of those guys in high school who thought Nirvana was the most important band ever. I had posters, bootlegs, the whole thing. Then last year I went back and listened to Nevermind front to back for the first time in maybe 10 years. Half the songs sound like they were recorded in a garage with one take and the lyrics are basically random thoughts strung together. I get the cultural impact, but musically I just don't hear the masterpiece anymore. Has anyone else revisited a dead celeb's work and felt totally let down?
Some internet guru in 2021 said if I just visualized wealth and said affirmations every morning, my credit card debt would just disappear. I believed her for 8 months and racked up an extra $3,400 in interest and late fees because I wasn't actually paying anything. Has anyone else fallen for this fake positivity garbage and ended up worse off than when you started?