Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain

by Danny Goldberg

“There were bands like the Sex Pistols and the Clash who believed that you infiltrate and subvert society from within, mess with the system, and have fun with it, and then there were people like Ian MacKaye and Fugazi who had a mind-set that believed that any involvement with the system was corrupting and that you should create completely alternative structures outside. Kurt obviously chose the path of working inside the system. He ended up with Courtney Love, not with Tobi Vail. That says it all, doesn’t it?”

Thurston usually speaks in a measured, cerebral tone, but he choked up as he recalled hearing Bleach for the first time. “I thought it was a fantastic-sounding record. It hit certain things that I was really wanting to hear in ways that not too many bands were doing. There were not too many experiences in my life where a record would hit all these points that I was waiting for. I thought it was primal. The songwriting was completely melodious, and it was punk. It had a beauty to it. I really love that record.”

There are not that many rock-and-roll chords. Every lyricist has access to the same dictionary. Everyone can listen to the same canon. Some elements of the craftsmanship of pop songwriting can be taught, but not the art of getting listeners in touch with their deepest feelings in an instantly memorable way.

none of these reasons really crystallized Nirvana’s resolve to leave Sub Pop. I think Kurt had long been interested in the stronger reach and marketing power of the major record companies and he developed a greater comfort level with the idea after touring with Sonic Youth, whose credibility hadn’t been hurt in the slightest by their decision to sign with Geffen.

At this point a boy who appeared to be in his late teens jumped onstage and tried to get Kurt’s attention. Kurt waved security guys off and let the obviously stoned fan talk into the microphone. FAN: Hey, man, I’m not sticking up for Axl or anything, and I’m not sticking up for Kurt. KRIST: You gotta take sides, man, you’re either Yes on 9 or No on 9, you gotta take sides, man. FAN: I’m No on 9 but I’m talking about Axl here. KRIST: You’re talking about an asshole. FAN: Man, I think you should let music be music, man. Let everyone express what they want, man, be it hard rock, be it Nirvana. I watched as Kurt carefully listened to the kid and then walked up to the mic, put his arm on the kid’s shoulder, and spoke to him like a big brother. “But you can’t like a rock star who obviously likes to beat up women and likes to control women and likes to tell women to shut up, who obviously is a racist and a homophobe. He does have the right to speak his mind—but so do we.”

Kurt’s public commitment to gay rights made a strong impact in other parts of the gay community as well. Shortly after the benefit the band Pansy Division released a track called “Smells Like Queer Spirit” and on the cover sleeve wrote of Nirvana, “No superstar American rock band has ever before had the guts to take on such an overtly pro-gay stance.”

“No True Talent is fully organic, yet the obviously superior talented have, not only control of study, but that extra special little gift at birth, fueled by passion. A built in totally unexplainable, New Age, fucking cosmic energy bursting love.”