Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to question the sanity of those who worship Kurt Cobain/Nirvana?

295 replies

SequinsAndSparkles · 18/02/2011 13:00

I must be missing something.

But why is Kurt Cobain such an 'icon'? Why do people think Nirvana are brilliant?

To me, it sounds like depressing nonsense, and I cannot understand what anybody gets from it. And it appears that some people worship Kurt Cobain. What is there about him to worship? From what I can tell, he was a bit rubbish!

But maybe i just don't 'get' it. I have however just been spoken to very rudely by my aunty when I said that the best thing to come out of Nirvana was Dave Grohl forming the Foo Fighters.

OP posts:
Original poster
SequinsAndSparkles · 18/02/2011 17:48

Well, I stand by what I said. I think the age difference puts me in the minority, with exceptions obviously.

OP posts:
GothAnneGeddes · 18/02/2011 18:00

The best thing KC did was namecheck Freddie Mercury in his suicide note, now there's a beacon of talent who is truly missed.

As for Rammstein, I went to see them in concert several years ago, I've never seen so many kids at a gig. Strange but true.

maristella · 18/02/2011 18:04

I LOVED Nirvana, and cried for months when Kurt died. I had posters of him all over my room; my fave was a blacn and white pic of him playing guitar, I think it was from Athena :)

I've just made DS get my Unplugged cd out of his room, and I'll be playing it in a bit.

Blatantly marking my place for when I've had some wine Grin

Ormirian · 18/02/2011 18:16

May i just bring the tone down by confessing for a major obsession with the police back in the day Blush . Thus proving my great age and my dubious taste....

harpsichordcarrier · 18/02/2011 18:23

OK imo I think Kurt Cobain's real strength and attraction was his emotional vulnerability and expressiveness. He was able to communicate a great sense of tenderness and raw emotion through his singing voice, playing, and lyric writing and also through his face. There is a section at the end of the video for Heart Shaped Box where his facial expression is absolutely haunting.
The kind of honest pain that he communicated is pretty rare in popular music and I think spoke to people very directly.

PS I haven't read the thread because IT IS TOO LONG for now but I will read it later...

mozette · 18/02/2011 18:30

sequins so now you're calling us old??

Original poster
SequinsAndSparkles · 18/02/2011 18:32

Not all of you, but most people my age, would agree with me, out of the people I know.

OP posts:
begonyabampot · 18/02/2011 18:42

Omirian - i love,love, love The Police and don't care who know, LOL!

PegsonaNewNose · 18/02/2011 18:44

Ormirian- Guilty here too Blush

southeastastra · 18/02/2011 18:48

at the time nirvana were a completely new sound (if you discount bands who influenced them like the pixies and bob mould etc) - it was really a breath of fresh air amidst old crap like guns n roses.

i suppose the second wave of fans just saw what we did in the 90s - doubt him being dead had much influence although i suppose he didn't have the chance to make a shite record did he

EdgarAleNPie · 18/02/2011 18:56

the pixies idn't really sound like that - very much a punk band in the way of the Dead Kennedies slihtly tinny punk noise.

love the Pixies too mind.
Though Surfer Rosa could easily be 10 tracks shorter without losing anything.

Muse were very influnced by Nirvana (rather obv, being another three-piece band)

EdgarAleNPie · 18/02/2011 18:57

i never got Karma poice. and your son is obv G&T, as my 3.5 year old ha just mastered the Tombliboo song.

ThistleDoNicely · 18/02/2011 19:00

lenak Miracle was the first dance song at my wedding. Still grin remembering my grandparents walzing to Foos :)
I kinda missed the Nirvana thing as a teen and don't get the Kurt worship either - Dave Grohl is God though, seems a genuinely nice guy, insanely talented and has been a superb (not depressing) role model and influence for many years.

redpanda13 · 18/02/2011 19:02

I really like Nirvana when they first came out. Despite at that time being heavily into dance music and taking a lot of chemicals. Now that gave me depression! I did'nt idolise KC but I did feel sad when he died.

My teens were spent listening to The Smiths, The Cure and The Pixies. I have kind of gone back to them the older I get. Don't rate Morrisey solo at all. I like to keep up to date. My mother likes to keep 'her finger on the pulse'.She went to TITP a few years ago. Her younger sister stopped listening to music after '76 and is consequently still into Rod Stewart and such guff. My sis (17) now likes The Smiths and Nirvana after years of Westlife. This may have something to do with her wanting to be Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer.

My fave single of all time is 'Ever Fallen in Love' by The Buzzcocks. DD (5) asks me to turn it up in the car. Sure she will go through a pop, boyband stage at some point. Oh and whoever quoted Bill Hicks I salute you!Wine

KittyChat · 18/02/2011 19:04

Sorry, not an age thing - I am 24 and can't stand the Rihanna/manufactured pop scene. Would far rather listen to some thoughtful lyrics than watch someone gad about in a skimpy outfit singing someone else's music.

OP - you are being v v unreasonable to consider the likes of Rihanna a role model for your child.

KittyChat · 18/02/2011 19:05

...and most people I know that are my age would agree with me. But then, we're all gobby feminists.

Aims80 · 18/02/2011 19:11

I was 13 when Kurt Cobain died and I was DEVASTATED. Nirvana lit up my life.

Oh and I think morrissey is a legend of astounding talent and my mental health is just fine thanks, in fact the smiths make me unbelievably happy :)

this thread has cracked me up so thanks for the giggles!

begonyabampot · 18/02/2011 19:14

I'd rather have the genius that is Kate Bush as a female role model - (makes me sound ancient and donning protective fire proof clothes to protect from expected flaming). Saying that, Kate did like to gyrate and wear some sexy clothing.

KittyChat · 18/02/2011 19:18

Kate Bush IS a genius. And she wrote her own music at a very young age. But regarding her outfits, I'm sorry but if you put her on MTV today she would look a right old frump next to all the flesh on display.

Normantebbit · 18/02/2011 19:19

lyrics by Morrissey and Jarvis Cocker often make me smile

"I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour, but heaven knows I'm miserable now. I was looking for a job and then I found a job and heaven knows I'm miserable now."

Just sums up the shit job experience, I think.

" what are you doing Sunday, baby, would you like to come and meet me maybe, You Can Even Bring Your Baby " desperation, eh?

Rhianna - Shock

Normantebbit · 18/02/2011 19:20

My girls love to dance to Wuthering Heights although This Woman's Work leaves renders mummy a puddle on the floor.

buttonmooncup · 18/02/2011 19:22

mozette some Smiths lyrics are hilarious. I'm thinking the line "buck-toothed girl from Luxembourg" from Ask and "Vicar in a Tutu".

Ormirian · 18/02/2011 19:24

"Frankly Mr Shankely,
You're a flatulent pain in the arse"

fluffyliquorice · 18/02/2011 19:24

Rhianna and the like are mindless pap, the musical equivalent of fast food, you might enjoy it for five minutes, but ultimately it's instantly forgettable. I would guarantee that in twenty years time you won't be listening to a Rhianna album and marvelling over her musical influence and classic lyrics, unlike the Smiths or Nirvana.

nogreythatmatters · 18/02/2011 19:25

Kurt Cobain - soaring talent, but IMO the 4th best act to come out of Seattle after Hendrix, Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters.