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?
He said Nirvana was just grunge watered down for radio pop fans and that the Melvins deserved the fame instead. I still think about how passionate he was about it, has anyone else had a random neighbor drop a hot take that actually stuck with you?
Found this little retro store in Portland. Owner had a whole shrine to her. Photos, dresses, old perfume bottles. I get she was iconic but she made like 10 movies. Some weren't even good. I asked the owner why not more Audrey Hepburn or something. She looked at me like I insulted her grandma. Has anyone else noticed how people put her on this crazy pedestal?
Overheard three guys arguing over whether he died on the toilet or not while a 60-year-old in a jumpsuit lip-synced Love Me Tender, and I realized how fake this whole worship thing really is.
I was at a family gathering in Ohio last June and my cousin brought out this whole shrine to Princess Diana with candles and photos. People were crying and saying she was the most perfect person who ever lived. I brought up that she did some questionable stuff like the BBC interview drama and got glared at for 10 minutes straight. Has anyone else dealt with that weird blind idol worship for a dead celeb who wasn't actually a saint?
I was at Walmart last Tuesday and this teenager in a Nirvana shirt couldn't name a single song off Bleach. He just mumbled something about "being sad" and walked away. That's when it hit me - most people who act like Kurt Cobain is some god just like the idea of him. They never bought the albums when it mattered or sat through the feedback noise. I think he's become a symbol for people who didn't even live through the 90s. Has anyone else noticed the gap between the real fans and the posers lately?
Sitting at my aunt's kitchen table in Portland two years ago, uncle Dave went on a 20 minute rant about how Nirvana changed music forever. He said 'you wouldn't get it, you were born in the 90s.' I didn't even like their stuff that much but felt too awkward to push back. Has anyone else dealt with older relatives acting like you can't question certain dead musicians?
She paid 40 bucks for it and hung it in her living room like it was sacred art, even though she admitted she only knows "Light My Fire." Last week I saw the same poster at a thrift store for 5 dollars, and nobody even glanced at it. Why do people treat dead rock stars like they were saints when they just wrote catchy songs?
I was at a family dinner last Sunday and my aunt, who's 62 and lived through the 90s, said she thinks people overhype Kurt Cobain because they want to feel edgy. She told me straight up, 'He made three real albums and half of them were sloppy.' It hit different because she saw him live and admitted he was good but not this god people make him out to be. Made me wonder how many dead musicians get this huge pass just because they died young. Has anyone else had an older relative change your mind on a celeb like that?