News 03/2002
As usual, this early April will see some interesting Nirvana related shows on TV. MTV 2
in the US have lined up several treats for Nirvana fans. On April 3 at 12 PM, a 60
minute show called "Artist Collection" will be on. It is apparently a show featuring
Nirvana's music videos and probably some live clips as well. Then, Nirvana's Unplugged
show will be aired on April 5 at 4 PM. The 'Bare Witness' special about the Unplugged
taping airs after the show, at 5 PM the same day. Finally, the most interesting show
is actually some footage that hasn't been shown before on MTV, to my knowledge. This
happens with the show "Nirvana: Unseen From The MTV Studios" which features the performance
the band did for MTV on January 10, 1992. Songs from this appearance have aired over
the years but not every song. The setlist should be as follows: Drain You / School /
Molly's Lips / Polly / Aneurysm / Smells Like Teen Spirit / Territorial Pissings. This
interesting show airs April 5 at 9 PM. It is worth to mention that a bootleg video of
the 01/10/92 show (including soundcheck) has been traded for a number of years. Thanks to
Mayank and Tony for the news. Here is the full schedule of upcoming Nirvana specials on MTV 2 (in the US):
MTV2 in the UK also have a Nirvana special planned for April 5:
A short Cobain special airs on BBC Choice on April 2; "BBC Choice joins America's disillusioned youth outside the house where Nirvana rock star Kurt Cobain once lived, in Seattle, on the anniversary of his suicide."
If you know of any other Nirvana/Kurt Cobain related shows airing on TV this April, let me know!
Jamie sent in a snippet from the interview with Dave Grohl, featured in the latest issue of Kerrang! magazine in the UK:
Dave Grohl speaks of the time that Pat Smear was in the Foo Fighters. Smear, you may remember, was also a member of the
LA punk band the Germs, whose singer Darby Crash died of a heroin overdose on the day before the murder of John Lennon.
Grohl tells of how he never felt comfortable asking Smear about those days, partly for fear of making him feel old, but mostly
out of awe and respect. Occasionally though, Pat Smear would tell a story about the old days, a story to which Grohl would listen
with wide eyes and open mouth. Well, what a coincidence. And what similarity. Dave Grohl does speak of Nirvana, but he glides
into the subject of his own accord. You get the impression that Grohl will speak on the subject only if he chooses to, and that
to wade in with a direct and obtrusive question would cause his mouth to snap shut like a mantrap. On this occasion it comes from
speaking of his work with Queens Of The Stone Age. Grohl played drums on the band's forthcoming third album, 'Songs for the Deaf' -
an album he describes as being so good 'it will change the face of music' - and two weeks ago played an already legendary set with
the band at the tiny and famous Troubador club, two miles west and one block north on Santa Monica Boulevard. It was the first time
that Grohl had sat at the back of the stage for eight full years.
"That show was so important to me because it was the first time I'd played in a band since Nirvana," he says. "Because of the way that band ended, anything to do with Nirvana has now become somehow legendary. So people think of the studio where we recorded 'Nevermind' (Sound City in the San Fernando Valley) and consider it to be legendary. Which is stupid, it's just a f**king studio. But everything becomes spoken in these hushed tones. Like Kurt. Kurt's become a legend, but he was just a man."
"Is that strange for you?"
"Well, the way I relate to it - because I was the drummer in Nirvana, and because everything related to it somehow becoming legendary - people seem to consider me a legendary drummer. Let me tell you, I am not a great drummer, not by a long way. And so the gig with Queens was the most pressure I've felt in a long time. It was like I was playing in a great rock band with the weight of having been the drummer in another great band weighing on my shoulders. You know, the reason I didn't just join another band after Nirvana ended was because of the feeling I had a week ago playing in Queens Of The Stone Age, which was just the greatest feeling. And that's the feeling I needed. All of that bullshit that has to do with the urban myth of Nirvana," and here Grohl begins to speak in hushed, 'scary' movie trailer tones, "the band that imploded, the band that broke down, the band that ended in tragedy and despair. After going through all that chaos and misery and pain as it happened, having to go into a miserable situation again would have been a bad idea."
Dave Grohl, along with Krist Novoselic, is presently involved in a legal tussle with Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, over the rights to unreleased Nirvana music, a tussle which does nothing justice, least of all the music. It's a topic he's reluctant to broach.
"I don't know if I can talk about that," he says.
Not even in general terms? For example, are you tired of this dragging on?
"Well, I'm not a lawyer, so I don't deal with it on a day to day basis. But there are a few things that are a burden to me. It's unfortunate that the music is being held hostage..." and here Dave Grohl pauses "... to somthing..." and here Dave Grohl pauses again "...as dirty as..." and here Dave Grohl pauses again "...business and lawyers".
Are you tired of this feud?
"Yeah."
I suppose it's past the point of calling Ms Love up to say, 'Look, this has gotten silly...'?
"Yes it has," he says. "But what are you gonna do? It's kind of out of our hands. All I can do is show up in court when I'm asked to and tell the truth. Krist and I have done nothing wrong. But there's stuff on the box set that's absolutely killer, and that's what's a drag. The people aren't getting to hear that stuff. The last song we ever wrote, 'You Know You're Right', is a trip, it's a f**king weird song; it's both beautiful and disturbing. It doesn't really give you a sense of closure. In fact, it makes you feel worse about the whole situation, which is weird... So I wish this box set would come out. Plus, there's stuff on there that I haven't even heard. I'm sure that when I hear it I'll be like 'What the f**k was that?'." Thanks to Jamie for the transcript, and thanks a bunch to Kerrang! for the great interview. Read the full interview in the magazine. It's nice to see Grohl finally talk a bit about Nirvana - a topic he has done a great deal to avoid, unfortunately.
Some additional interesting news from the same issue of Kerrang! as the above Grohl interview is taken
from; "The latest Foo Fighters record is nearly finished, but not quite. Grohl has
decided to take two weeks to write more songs, songs that will encompass a 'dark, dissonant, creepy, romantic'
side of the band that will add a balance the author feels is missing from the 14 tracks recorded so far. Inside
the mixing room Grohl plays three finished songs at cranium denting volume. Two of these songs, 'All My Life' and
'Have It All' are first listen attention grabbers. 'Walking A Line', featuring background vocals from one Krist
Novoselic, doesn't quite grab the ear in the same way. At least not with Grohl stood at your back, intimidating the
bones from you." Thanks to Jamie and Chris McCarthy.
Jack W. Morefield sent in a scan of his beautiful painting of Kurt Cobain (see example on the right). Here's
some more information about it; "I am a songwriter, and Kurt has been the biggest influence in that area. I think he was a genius, and I knew I had to try to portray how I felt about him on canvas. I have painted a lot of celebs, and think this is perhaps my best one. It measures 4'x5' and is currently on display in a gallery in Charleston, SC. It was painted in 2001 and is acrylic on canvas." Mr. Morefield has also done paintings of artists such as Moby, ICE-T, Dennis Hopper, Chris Farley and Jimi Hendrix. You can view examples of his fantastic artwork here. Click here for a larger version of the Cobain painting.
In the February 2002 issue of British Q Magazine, there is an article about the legal
fight between Krist Novoselic/Dave Grohl and Courtney Love; "There
was a page done boxing poster style, 'Courtney Love 'Wicked Witch of the West' vs 'Grappling'
Dave Grohl AKA 'The Foo Fighter' & Krist Novoselic 'The Crazy Croatian,' about the legal fight."
Also, in a recent issue of Rolling Stone there is a brief mention of the fact that Kurt Cobain's
journals will be released in book form later this year.
In the March 29 issue of Entertainment Weekly there is a story on Courtney Love;
"It's a long story that starts with her going to the 'We Care' colonic spa (she eventually decides
'It's too late to go'), and talks about a lot of stuff, including the Nirvana fight. 'When Love learned
Grohl and Novoselic were countersuing her, she said; Fu##k this! I own Nirvana. Bottom line, 75 percent
of the fu##king thing is mine, and you can't do shit with it without me ... when Kurt died he left behind a
collection of music that is mind-blowing. These are really insane, beautiful songs. The point is, I have the
Holy Grail of rock & roll. Doesn't sound like there will be a settlement any time soon!' " Interesting!
On March 8th there was a fundraiser at The Baltic Room in Seattle to support JAMPAC - an organisation
that Krist Novoselic is president of. Among the guests were Krist himself, Mayor Greg Nickels, Rob Glaser
(of Real Networks) and various other people from the industry.
"On March 22, MSN (Microsoft Network) put up a list of the all time greatest guitar riffs. The list
wasn't numbered, just listing the songs and links to MSN radio stations based on the genre. Nirvana, I believe, came
in with 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.' Songs above Nirvana included Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Smoke On The Water'
by Deep Purple at #1." Thanks to sweet Natalie for this story. Also thanks to Mike.
The Norwegian 'Nettavisen' put up a story on Tom Grant and his investigation into Cobain's death. Read the
article here. Thanks to Reidar
for the link.
Finally some news on the long expected movie "Highway" aka. "Trip". Originally entitled "A Leonard
Cohen Afterworld", the movie caused quite a stir early on, when it was to feature a scene from the
1994 Seattle memorial for Kurt Cobain. In order for this to happen, the vigil had to be 're-created'
for the film. The plot of the movie is loosely described as follows; "Jack (Jared
Leto) is a Gen-Exer with nowhere to go until he gets caught in bed with the wrong woman. Now, with three
thugs after him, he and best pal Pilot (Jake Gyllenhaal) hit the road to Seattle. Along the way, they
encounter sexy Cassie (Selma Blair), who decides to hitch a ride. Together, they end up on the wildest
trip of their lives! Told against the raw grunge music backdrop of the mid-'90's, Highway confronts life,
death, and love head-on to remind us that the road goes in many directions, but where it takes us tomorrow
depends on the lessons learned today."
Here is some more info from a person who watched the movie;
"I just got done watching the movie 'Highway' that stars Jared Leto about them going on a road trip to Seattle
to attend the vigil for Kurt Cobain. It comes out on DVD and video this Tuesday, March 26th. It's a really
great movie and mentions Kurt about 4 times (towards the end). It also shows the real vigil, mixed with shots
they taped for the movie. The movie isn't really about them going to the vigil for Kurt, they just happen to be
in Seattle at the time it happened. Anyways, it's a great movie, good plot, good acting and the added 'bonus' of
the vigil mixed in." Thanks a lot to Jason for this one. As Jason mentioned, the movie (which went
straight to video, I believe) will be released on Tuesday (March 26) on VHS and DVD. You can order it here (DVD)
and here (VHS -- notice price!).
The DVD doesn't appear to have any bonus material. Finally, you can get a little more info about the production
of the film, along with some pictures of the 're-creation' of the vigil, here. On a
sidenote, it is worth to mention that 'Highway' was written and produced by none other than Scott Rosenberg. He
was responsible for blockbusters such as 'Gone in Sixty Seconds', 'High Fidelity' and 'Con Air'.
Unfortunately, the NFC Picture and Sound Galleries need to find a new host again. The main server,
nirvanaclub.com, doesn't have the capacity to host these resources at the present time. Therefore,
if you own (or work at) a virtual webhosting company or have your own domain, and you're willing
to host these legal files, let me know. The disk space requirement is about 100 MB and the bandwidth
expected is around 50 GB per month. Thank you.
Krist's new band Eyes Adrift are about to embark on another short US tour. Here are the tourdates:
Thanks to Whitey for the dates.
Another interesting Courtney Love story; "COURTNEY LOVE made a rare public appearance in
LONDON last night (March 21), DJing at former CREATION RECORDS impresario ALAN McGEE's new club night, DEATH
DISCO. Love arrived at the central London Metro Club well past midnight and took to the decks for over an hour.
Picking through pal McGee's record bag, the former Hole frontwoman played tracks by The Strokes, Black Rebel
Motorcycle Club and The Stooges, and couldn't resist playing The Hives, the band she recently said were better
than late husband Kurt Cobain's Nirvana. Love was accompanied on the evening by Anita Pallenberg, the former
girlfriend of Keith Richards and original rock chick. She dedicated Primal Scream's 'Swastika Eyes' to Pallenberg.
There was tight security around Love when she was DJing, with security guards positioned by the booth preventing
eager clubbers getting too close. When not playing tunes, Love was sashaying to them on the dancefloor."
Story courtesy of NME. A person claiming to be at the club last night, experiencing Courtney's DJ-fest, submitted
the following; "She started around 1 AM and went for over two hours playing stuff like The
Ramones, Johnny Thunders, The Hives (she came out and gave a little dance to that one), Primal Scream, Strokes,
and most interestingly she played the studio recording of 'You Know You're Right' twice. The first time she turned
on the DJ mic and said 'None of you have heard this and if any of you record it, I'll fuc##ing kill you' but when
it played, the sound levels were screwed, so I'd imagine being the perfect little girl she is - she didn't fancy
playing us a shoddy version and turned it off, only to play it again all the way through an hour or so later."
I don't know if this is true, but it's certainly interesting! Anyone who recorded it? ;) Thanks to Alastair.
One of the NFC Moderators, Marcel Wegner, did an interview that was published in the biggest newspaper in Holland.
Here's the background; "On my homepage, I have a Dutch section about a new Dutch politician, Pim
Fortuyn, who discriminates and is racist. And the worst part: He's getting a lot of votes. So many votes that
he is likely to get into the coalition when the elections in May are over. In that section of my site, I critisize
discriminating statements of this politician. In fact, that section is the only site on the Internet that focuses on
going against that particular politician, Pim Fortuyn. A few days ago, I got an e-mail from a reporter from the biggest
and most-read newspaper in Holland ('Trouw'), asking me to cooperate on something he wanted to do. He wanted to portray
some 'Pim Fortuyn websites', pro and contra, and the people behind it. I said yes. In the interview, I mentioned that my
Pim Fortuyn site is part of my homepage. Then I mentioned the fact that my homepage is hosted by the biggest Nirvana
community on the web, www.nirvanaclub.com, where I moderate 2 of the five forums. Then I specified my 'job' here."
The comment about this site was in fact printed in the article, published earlier today. You may view a scan of the
article here. A huge congrats to Mr. Wegner for getting his interview published!
Earlier this month, I mentioned a new documentary that Steven James from Canada was working on. Here's an update
on that; "I've got a site up now for my documentary now; it's www.nevermindyear.tv. Also, MuchMoreMusic
(a Canadian video channel) said that their news show 'In the Loop' MIGHT run a news item on my documentary later."
Thanks to Steven!
Here's a funny story about Courtney Love; "Arguably, Courtney Love's Q&A panel
with Los Angeles Times' Chuck Phillips was one of the best performances at this year's South by
Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Her main goal of the day was to detail her elaborate
lawsuit against the Universal Music Group and help people see what is wrong with the business.
So, what is wrong with it? -- the lack of a seven-year statute, questionable accounting, lack of
healthcare, no pensions, legal conflicts of interest, and all of the problems caused by the consolidation
of the industry. She even addressed her own credibility as an artist rights spokesperson. 'One lawyer said,
I could win this case if I had a more sympathetic artist. Hey guess what? I can talk about sex and drugs.
I can talk about the time I fu##ed a girl. I can talk about injectables. You can't do that with LeAnn Rimes, so
I am the sympathetic artist! I can say whatever the hell I want because [she leans into the audience] don't tell
anyone in America, but I used to have a drug problem.' On suing Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic: 'It's a boring ass
case. You all are giving it way too much play. I'll win it in a sec.' " Story courtesy of All Star.
Some news on Krist Novoselic; "Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic is the latest
musician to clamber into the cockpit in the name of rock aviation. Krist tells us 'I've almost got my license.
I've flown solo eight or nine times now. I put a lot of time into that. Chris DeGarmo (former Queensryche guitarist)
got me into flying - he's flying lear jets and he took me up in his plane. I was like, wow, this is a great mode of
transportation!' Novoselic who is now playing in Eyes Adrift reveals that flying isn't as hard as you may imagine.
'A lot of it is just about relaxing and concentrating', he shrugs. 'People think flying is so dangerous. But shit man.
There are 40,000 fatalities a year in America from automobiles. Just don't fly in bad weather! It's not scary at all,
it's beautiful. It's all about angle or attack, pressure on the wing and stuff like that. You think there's nothing up
there, but you're flying all these molecules with different densities.' " Story courtesy of Kerrang! Magazine, March 16 issue.
"At 'Kulturhuset' in Stockholm, Sweden, there is an ongoing art exhibition by photographer
Anton Corbijn. The exhibition features several Nirvana photos, and the 'Heart-Shaped Box' video which was directed
by Anton Corbijn. It also features lots of big rockstars such as U2, R.E.M, Depeche Mode, Moby, Skunk Anansie and so
on. So if you are in Stockholm between February 23 and April 28 you really should see this. Free entrance if you are
under the age of 19, otherwise it will cost you 40 skr (about 4 USD)." Thanks to Tobias. The exhibit has
travelled around the world for a while and was featured at Vega in Copenhagen in 1997.
Apparently, another bootleg in the popular Outcesticide series will be released soon. 'Outcesticide VI - Raw Power' is
the 6th installment of the series that helped distribute many rare Nirvana recordings, and became one of the hottest
items for collectors to get. The bootleg contains the following recordings:
Apart from these tidbits, the bootleg also contains 'Buzz Cut' (the original intro to the song 'Love Buzz'), 'Sifting' from a December 24 1988 recording session, and various covers. The incomplete cut of 'Old Age' that was first posted on the Internet by the Seattle newspaper The Stranger also found it's way to the disc. I believe the bootleg has not started circulating yet, so I don't know where to get it. Please don't ask. This information (as well as the beautiful artwork scan) was provided by digitalnirvana.net, where you can also find detailed reviews of the first five Outcesticide bootlegs. Thanks to Mitch.
This past week saw the first ever Nirvana conference, arranged by a group of fans from the
website livenirvana.com; "The first ever international NIRVANA conference was held in Oxford,
UK on Saturday, March 9th. The conference was organised by Charles Furth and Adam Andrews of
www.LiveNIRVANA.com. Attendees came from six countries and participated in numerous NIRVANA-related
activities, from discussion forums to quizzes. For those who were unable to attend, another conference
is being planned for Seattle this summer - details will be announced nearer the time." The people
attending came from countries such as Holland, USA and Greece. You can find more information on the
conference as well as some funny pictures at the livenirvana.com discussion board. Thanks to Charles Furth.
As you may or may not know, the Hard Rock Café in New York has several interesting Nirvana items on
display. Last month, a fan shot some pictures of the items. These include a guitar used by Kurt Cobain and
autographed by the late singer, along with a signed jacket and various concert posters. The items also
include a broken bass that was used in the legendary 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' video. View the pictures
here; #1, #2, #3,
#4, #5, #6,
#7, #8, #9,
#10 and #11. Special thanks to Mike for these.
John Weaver of pageonelit.com did an interview with Charles Cross who wrote the Kurt Cobain biography
'Heavier Than Heaven'. You may read it here.
Thanks to John Weaver for the link.
"In the March 2002 edition of [British music magazine] Mojo there is a small article on
the Nirvana gig at The Crocodile Café in 1992 and a note about Dave Grohl's project Probot." Thanks to Aleks.
Someone sent in this story; "Biting Bullets- A Feature Documentary Celebrating death by Rock Excess!
Now completed and available by mail order! Features artists include Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain,
Bon Scott, Sid Vicious, Keith Moon, Janis Joplin, Michael Hutchence and John Lennon. The 52 minute program visits the
grave/memorial sites of ten deceased music icons, poviding the location and overveiw of each site, interviews with fans,
exposes the myths and touches on biographical details whilst paying homage. For example why do fans take etchings from
Hendrix' grave stone and leave guitar picks overnight? What became of Janis Joplins ashes? Why is there no official memorial
effort from the Rolling Stones for Brian Jones? What is the significance of the memorial seat at the resting place of Bon
Scott? How did Sid Vicious' ashes come to be dumped in an ashtray at a New York airport? In Paris, why was Morrisons grave
remodelled and why has it become the largest tourist destination second only to the Eifell Tower? More details can be found
at www.bitingbullets.com, www.revheadvideo.com and www.ozdocos.com.au."
The following article on Krist Novoselic was recently written for the fanzine 'Rockground'. Here it is:
Krist Novoselic : The Real Spiritual Heir To Nirvana's Legacy.
The question shouldn't have been asked, but someone just had to ask it anyway ... The doubt was non-existent, so some
set about creating it ... This struggle, which is now pitting the former members of Nirvana against Kurt Cobain's widow,
theoretically wasn't supposed to be. So why was it ? Why this waste of ink, poured out for nothing on the worldwide musical
press ? Part of the answer is self-explanatory: money, of course! Plus the unsavory and widespread exploitation of Kurt Cobain's
death, a kind of blind vampirism striking a man who's only crime was to bequeath to the world what he possessed in the deepest
part of himself: a magnificent, unifying and regenerative music in which a whole generation recognizes, and which today is marred,
raped ... 'Rape Me'. This greedy ogre seems not to have enough to eat, since he is now attacking the two surviving members of the
band. No doubt thay have become annoyingly too close to Kurt Cobain's initial creative vision. And here is where the whole problem
lies, because THEY really are the true spiritual heirs of the band's work! And still more is Krist Novoselic, an old friend of the
singer/guitarist and without a doubt the most sincere person who had ever orbited his star. Relegated to the rank of simple accompanist,
Krist Novoselic has nevertheless remained to play an important role within Nirvana. Spokesman for the band, he was also the realiable
one, the one who kept his feet on the ground while the Nirvanamania was in full swing, and stayed faithful to his punk ideals when the
mainstream snares opened wide their arms to him. Still more striking is the chemistry that he shared with Kurt Cobain, and that allowed
him to remain at his side from beginning to end, for better or worse. With the death of his best friend, Krist became the unquestionable
true spiritual heir of Nirvana's work, the one in whom Kurt Cobain would certainly have placed all his trust to manage the musical future
of the band. No matter what verdict the courts will pronounce, we issue an appeal to all fans of Nirvana: 'let's grant our support to
those who have an interest in only one thing : music'. Thanks to Sly for this one!
Today, the Chicago Sun-Times published a very lengthy Nirvana article by Jim DeRogatis who
interviewed Kurt Cobain in 1993. The article goes over a number of topics, most notably the
lawsuits and unreleased Nirvana songs. Jim recently visited Courtney Love and got to listen
to some of these songs, including 'You Know You're Right'; "It is even more
potent than the rendition that lives in memory and on bootlegs of the [Chicago 10/23/93] Aragon
show, thanks to a moody intro built on some weird, echoed harmonics; lyrics that are made more
poignant by knowledge of Cobain's fate ('I would move away from here/You won't be afraid of fear...
Things have never been so swell/And I have never felt so well'), and a searing solo that stands
among the guitarist's very best. It is no exaggeration to call this 'the great lost Nirvana single.'
And lost is how it sadly remains--at least for the foreseeable future." - "After the musician's death,
when Love fled Seattle and the glare of the media spotlight, Hole guitarist and Cobain pal Eric Erlandson
went through the couple's house and 'rescued' the star's journals, art work, and 109 cassette tapes, lest
they be stolen or lost in the chaos of the time. [Courtney's manager Jim] Barber and Love admit that they
haven't yet catalogued the contents of all of these tapes, which sit in a safe deposit box. Most are rehearsal
tapes or cassettes of studio mixes, but they say that a number contain other 'lost' Cobain tunes--some recorded
alone on acoustic guitar in his bedroom, and some taped with outside musicians like Erlandson, Hole drummer Patti
Schemel, and Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear. 'There's some really melodic stuff, and there's some
garbage,' Love says. 'Some stuff is box set-y, but other stuff, we don't want to pass it up. We don't want
to get all 'Free As A Bird' about it, but there's stuff that's too good to bury.' "
"The estate is determined to release this material under the name Nirvana, not Kurt Cobain.
Erlandson, the man who saved this material, is saddened that the tapes are in limbo, and angry that Love is publishing
her husband's private journals. 'What should probably happen is that somebody like Krist who knows Nirvana's history
inside and out should go through [those tapes],' he says. 'But the way things stand between those two [Love and Novoselic],
I don't know if that's gonna happen.' " Then Jim talks about some of the songs Courtney let him listen to:
" 'You Know You're Right' is by far the strongest song that fans have yet to hear, but a second tune
that I listen to in Love's living room comes close. 'Dough, Ray, and Me' is often discussed on the Web, but few fans have
ever heard it. Cobain recorded two versions shortly before the end of his life. One was a four-track rendition on which he
drummed and sang while Erlandson played bass and Smear played guitar. The other was a solo acoustic demo taped in his bedroom,
and that's the version I hear. The sound quality is sketchy, to say the least, but as soon as that famously gruff voice kicks
in, it's vital, entrancing, and impossible to ignore. The song boasts a beautiful, Beatlesesque melody in the tradition of 'About
a Girl,' the standout track from 'Bleach.' In addition to an endearingly rough guitar solo, its other outstanding feature is the
moaned/whined/chanted repetition of 'Dough/Ray/Me, Do/Re/Mi' over and over during a long and climactic finale. Deciphering Cobain's
cryptic lyrics during a first listen is difficult at best, but I manage to scribble several lines in my notebook: 'If I may/If I
might/Wake me up/See me... If I may/Cold as ice/I only have/Sue me.' Sue me? Sue me? I swear I heard him sing, 'Sue me.' "
The article also contains a bunch of quotes from his talk with Courtney, along with a note on the current activities
of Krist, Dave and Courtney. It is one of the better articles to come out on Nirvana in a long time, and one very
interesting aspect is the confirmation that the song "Dough, Ray and Me" does indeed exist. This particular song has
been debated in the online Nirvana fan community for years. Unfortunately, Jim also says in the article that
"Cobain introduced a new tune that he called 'On a Mountain.' [at the 10/23/93 show]." This is just wrong. It
is in fact Dave who introduces the song by saying 'This is our last song. It's called All Apologies'. The reason
he says 'All Apologies' is that he probably thought they were going to play that. Otherwise it's a great article that
deserves to be read. Check it out here. Courtesy
of The Chicago Sun-Times and Jim DeRogatis. Thanks to Cecile for the link.
The domain nirvanaclub.net was registered a couple of days ago. The domain previously belonged to some Russian Internet
café, I believe, but now it belongs to it's rightful owner. There is no actual website on the location, as the URL has
been designated to be an alias of nirvanaclub.com. So, if you go to www.nirvanaclub.net, you will automatically be forwarded
to www.nirvanaclub.com.
A new poll has been added to the main page; "Do you think it's a good idea to release a book containing Kurt Cobain's
journals?". It appears that the community is torn when it comes to this issue -- a lot of people want to boycott the
release, while many think it's a good idea. To voice your opinion, vote in the poll - located on the right side of the
main page. The result of the previous poll can be found under yesterday's news update.
Steven James from Canada sent in some interesting info about a film he is working on;
"It is a one-hour documentary for Canadian television. 'Told from the perspective of aging Nirvana fan, Steven
James May, The Nevermind Year explores the relationship between the tragic death of punk-rock icon Kurt
Cobain, and May’s own search for meaning in his 28th birth year.' I'm currently ramping up for production, and I
would welcome feedback from the fan community. I'm particularly interested in hearing 1) stories about when fans
first heard the news of Kurt's death, and 2) their thoughts on the current legal battle(s) surrounding the proposed
Nirvana Box-set." If you want to help out Steven with the above notes, send him feedback here.
Thanks to Steven James for the story.
The latest NFC Poll; "If a 'Best of Nirvana' CD is released, which song would you most like for it to include?"
was concluded today, after running for some three months. The goal was to get at least 10.000 votes but after
monitoring the current standings regularly, I realized it could get a lot more. It ultimately ended up getting
exactly 26.418 votes which I think is a fair representation of the Nirvana fan base. The poll script tried to
prevent the same person from registering twice, so the poll should theoretically represent the opinion of more
than 20.000 Nirvana fans. In any case, not surprisingly, the number one song turned out to be 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
with 3121 votes. The 2nd most wanted song is the unreleased 'You Know You're Right' which has been scheduled
for a future release. In the unfortunate event that a 'Best of Nirvana' CD is indeed going to be compiled,
the Top 50 below should give a good indication of which songs the fans would most like for it to include:
#1 [3121 votes] Smells Like Teen Spirit
#2 [2073 votes] You Know You're Right
#3 [1631 votes] About a Girl
#4 [1343 votes] Heart-Shaped Box
#5 [1313 votes] Lithium
#6 [1271 votes] Come As You Are
#7 [836 votes] Rape Me
#8 [746 votes] Drain You
#9 [726 votes] Aneurysm
#10 [717 votes] All Apologies
#11 [634 votes] Where Did You Sleep ... (cover)
#12 [541 votes] Sappy
#13 [527 votes] I Hate Myself and Want to Die
#14 [525 votes] The Man Who Sold ... (cover)
#15 [465 votes] Verse Chorus Verse
#16 [426 votes] Lounge Act
#17 [421 votes] Polly
#18 [416 votes] Dumb
#19 [410 votes] In Bloom
#20 [386 votes] Pennyroyal Tea
#21 [367 votes] D-7 (cover)
#22 [325 votes] Lake of Fire (cover)
#23 [295 votes] Aero Zeppelin
#24 [277 votes] Sliver
#25 [249 votes] Something in the Way
#26 [246 votes] Breed
#27 [229 votes] Territorial Pissings
#28 [219 votes] Moist Vagina
#29 [210 votes] Even in his youth
#30 [206 votes] Love Buzz (cover)
#31 [205 votes] Dive
#32 [204 votes] tourette's
#33 [202 votes] If You Must
#34 [190 votes] Negative Creep
#35 [186 votes] Serve the Servants
#36 [183 votes] Opinion
#37 [180 votes] Frances Farmer Will ...
#38 [178 votes] On a Plain
#39 [173 votes] Old Age
#40 [168 votes] Plateau (cover)
#41 [159 votes] Milk It
#42 [153 votes] Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
#43 [150 votes] Talk To Me
#44 [147 votes] Endless, Nameless
#45 [133 votes] Beans
#46 [129 votes] Scentless Apprentice
#47 [128 votes] Spank Thru
#48 [123 votes] Jesus Wants Me ... (cover)
#49 [122 votes] Big Long Now
#50 [118 votes] Blew
Thanks to everyone who took time to vote!
Another story related to the release of Cobain's journals; "Avoiding what was expected to be an
intense bidding war over Kurt Cobain's journals, a New York imprint snapped up the world publishing rights on Monday
for a seven-figure sum. Publishers who got an advance look at the diaries were told to submit their bids by 11 a.m. on
Monday (see), but the auction was called off around 10 a.m. after a deal was struck with Riverhead Books, a division of
Penguin Putnam. 'The journals are an intimate, unadulterated portrait of an artist of great influence,' Riverhead's Julie
Grau, who will be the project's editor, said in a statement released Tuesday (February 26). 'They reveal Cobain's vision and
design, they document his creative and personal struggles. They are insightful, provocative, moving, funny and show him to be
very smart and very aware.' Riverhead Books plans to publish the still-untitled work as a hardcover by October or November,
[Jim] Barber said. As for the book's promotion and marketing, which Love was said to be very concerned about, the details are
still being worked out. 'What we do know is that we plan to publish with great care and great thought, which is what it deserves,'
said Riverhead spokesperson Marilyn Ducksworth. Love will have limited promotional involvement, Barber said. 'She might do an
interview about the decision to publish it, but it's not her book. It's Kurt's book. I don't think her name should be mentioned
in connection with it. The family, the estate made the decision. Courtney is part of that decision, but she's not the decision.'
Proceeds from the book will go to Cobain's estate, which is controlled by Love as its executor." Story courtesy of Yahoo!
and SonicNet.
Rumor has it that a status conference has been scheduled for April 22. It concerns Courtney Love's lawsuit
that seeks to nullify a 1997 legal agreement between Love and Nirvana's remaining members; Krist Novoselic
and Dave Grohl.