The reported release of Kurt Cobain's journals is becoming more and more realistic;
"Riverhead, a division of Penguin Putnam has snapped up the rights to publish the notebooks of the late
Kurt Cobain, the creative force behind Nirvana, for close to $4 million. The proceeds will go to Cobain's
estate. The book will be published in November. 'We're really impressed with the level of interest that people
showed,' said a person associated with the deal. 'Riverhead did a good job convincing that they knew how to
treat something like this.' Last week, editors were literally standing in line to see the 23 notebooks, around
800 pages altogether. Competitors were made to queue up outside the Edith Wharton Room in downtown New York's Inn
at Irving Place; upon entering, they heard a brief pitch from agent David Vigliano and then got a peek at the
property. People who have seen the diaries say they contain the minstrel of melancholia's black-and-white drawings
as well as lyrics and lists of musicians who influenced him over the years. Joni Mitchell was tops early on, but
indie divas the Breeders took the No. 1 slot later. The singer's widow, Courtney Love, apparently has never read the
books in their entirety and didn't have any input in the project. According to the source, she doesn't want to see the
book before it's published. Fans hope the diaries will shed light on the songwriter's dark existence and, most importantly,
indicate what led him to kill himself in 1994, aged 27." This story was courtesy of Reuters and Yahoo! Read
more here. Thanks to
Jeremy Little for the links.
In the latest issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, there is a blurb about Eyes Adrift, with a mention of one of
their shows and a picture. Also, in the latest issue of Teen People with Pink & Shakira on the cover, there
are a couple of mentions of Kurt Cobain inside. Apparently Pink states in an interview that she adored Kurt.
Thanks to Lex. Also thanks to GGG.
Today, the late Kurt Cobain would have turned 35. Happy birthday Kurt, wherever you are!
In a recent interview with Carrie Fisher, Courtney Love made a pretty funny statement;
"'I wish that I hadn't married him [Kurt],' Love told Fisher. 'It is cool having the last name, but once I was
sitting, talking to Lisa Marie Presley and thought 'This is going to suck.' 'She was speaking about the effect that
it has on her daughter, Francis Bean', an Oxygen spokesman tells the Scoop. 'They were talking about how much
Frances looks like Kurt, and there was a clear note of regret in Courtney's voice.' The two also discussed Courtney's
relationship with Russell Crowe. Love said their friendship fell apart after it went through 'tabloid hell.' 'There
are two trillion women who want to sleep with him and I don't', the singer said. 'I just want to have a hug.' "
The interview airs March 3 on Oxygen. Story courtesy of MSNBC.
Thanks to Collin, Chris and others for the link. Also thanks to Andria.
"The band Pulp are releasing a song called 'Bad Cover Version' which features people doing impersonations.
One of them is of someone impersonating Kurt Cobain." Thanks to Matt and Reidar. George Michael, Elton
John, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Kylie Minogue and Bono lookalikes are also featured in the video.
Another interesting story; "NIRVANA fans may get a special treat later this year. Sources close to
the family of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain say Cobain's extensive journals, which he kept throughout his life, are making
the rounds in New York publishing circles. 'Kurt's family is trying to publish a book based on his writings,' said one
source. 'There are lyrics, drawings, essays about his career plans for Nirvana, updated lists of his favorite records,
and extensive writings on drug use, the media and the band's history.' The book could boost Courtney Love in her fight
against bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic over control of the group's legacy. Love maintains Cobain was its creative
force, and that she, as his widow, should be in charge. 'There is a lot of interest,' says our source. 'Kurt was remarkably
insightful, funny and complicated. This book will be a primer for all young rock musicians and an education for everyone who
thought they knew him.' James Barber, representing Cobain's estate, is negotiating with publishers." Thanks to The
New York Post for this one. This was published in their Page Six column today. Thanks to Greg for passing it on.
Some Courtney news; "The ever-controversial Courtney Love will participate in
an extensive, one-on-one interview as part of the South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference in
Austin, Texas on March 16. The interview will be open to attendees of SXSW. The musician/actor/industry
activist will likely have plenty to say based on her various goings-on in recent months, which include
suing both the behemoth Universal Music Group over her contract and the surviving members of Nirvana --
Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic -- over control of the music of the band, which was fronted by her late
husband, Kurt Cobain. Love will be interviewed by Los Angeles Times business writer Chuck Phillips. The
annual SXSW conference has emerged in recent years as the premiere music industry retreat. Among the
hundreds of acts currently set to appear across five nights are Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell, Eels,
Hanson, Jesus Jones, Jonny Lang, Marcy Playground, Sixpence None The Richer, They Might Be Giants, TSOL,
and former Crowded House founder Neil Finn." Thanks to Daniela for this story, courtesy of CFox.
Here is a review of the show Eyes Adrift did in Dallas, TX on February 5; "I attended the
Dallas, TX Eyes Adrift show that was ironically at the Trees Club (the same place where Kurt got in a fight with a
bouncer in 1991). My friend Ben and I arrived about an hour and 1/2 before the doors opened and waited outside by
the tour bus with another fan that was already waiting out there. After standing in the cold wind and snow
for about 30 minutes, Krist finally came out and we shook hands, briefly talked to him and got our picture
with him. The show itself was really awesome too. Krist seemed very upbeat and happy. They played about 10
songs and Krist even sang on a few of them. At one point in the show, Curt's amp messed up, so while he was
getting a new one set up, Krist and Bud started jamming on a Black Sabbath song. Krist chatted and joked with
the audience quite a bit. When they first came out, someone shouted 'Krist, we missed you, welcome back!'".
All in all it was a great show and I would definitely recommend going if you get the chance." Thanks
to Adam for this one. Speaking of Eyes Adrift, the official Meat Puppets site put up a FAQ on the band that
you can read here. MTV also put up a story on the band
that is available here. Thanks
to Guus.
Here is a brief review of another Eyes Adrift show - this one from Phoenix, AZ on February 2;
"It was totally sold out the day before the show. The show was great, they all sound great and Krist even sings a
few songs, in fact Krist was the one who was talking to the crowd all night. Near the end of the concert, Krist pulled
such a Nirvana -- I guess there was something on the ceiling and he stuck his bass up there, hanging it from the stage.
Still trying to play it while it was hanging, he then hit it and it came crashing down. I feel that Eyes Adrift, who sound
just like the Meat Puppets, since Curt Kirkwood sings most of the songs, will be hitting it big. After the show I got
a chance to say hey to Krist, and then talked a little bit with Curt Kirkwood." Thanks to 'Kontorted'.
And finally, a review of Eyes Adrift live in Santa Barbara, CA on February 1st;
"To begin with, I just want to flat out say that the band rocked. All three members seemed to
work well together, and it looked like they were having a lot of fun. Krist was good at the vocals
he sang, but definitely the best part of the show was when the band just jammed and rocked out without
any vocals. They ended the show with a five-minute jam that was amazing, and throughout the entire
concert, Krist made a lot of funny jokes and comments to help keep everyone laughing and in a good mood,
including an announcement that Dave Grohl got Christina Aguilera to try a beer bong. After the concert was
over, all three members of the band went outside of the club and talked with the fans for about twenty minutes.
Krist was really nice and patient, signing autographs and taking pictures with everyone who wanted to talk to
him. My brother Matt and I chatted with him for a minute, and among the things we talked about was the Nirvana
Box Set. I wished him luck on getting it out soon, and he told me that things are looking good for the box set,
and he seemed very optimistic that it would be coming out sometime in the near future. Curt Kirkwood also said
that Eyes Adrift have been working on recording some stuff, and that it was going well, whatever that means. All
in all, a great show and experience, and it was nice to see Krist, Curt, and Bud being so nice and friendly with
their loving fans." Thanks to Josh.
For what would have been Kurt Cobain's birthday on February 20, various arrangments are being planned. Here
are some details on one of them. "On what would have been Kurt Cobain's 35th birthday,
we celebrate his life and art, and launch our free community newspaper, Boog City, with 12 local bands and
solo artists playing Nirvana's Nevermind, in order, track by track. 25% of all ticket sales goes to benefit
Jampac, a non-profit organization that represents and advocates on behalf of artists, music industry professionals
and music fans in the political arena (jampac.com). With readings by Eileen Myles and Timeout NY associate editor
Tom Gogola and music from: Wanda Phipps and band, Ruth Gordon, I Feel Tractor, the Ward, Schwervon, Jesse Schoen,
Prewar Yardsale, Dan Saltzman, Brian Robinson, the Imaginary Numbers, Gangbox, and Drew Gardner. Hosted by Boog City
editor David Kirschenbaum. Issue two of Boog City will be available free, featuring: Come As You Are: A Tribute to Kurt
Cobain at 35 with words from Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, an interview with Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross, poems from
Arielle Greenberg and Eileen Myles, and art from Zach Wollard - and more." The celebration takes place on February 20
at 8.30 PM in New York City at The Knitting Factory (NOTICE: New location!). Click here for more
details (updated on February 18). Thanks to David A. Kirschenbaum for this one.
Rolling Stone Magazine's website just put up a story about a rare Cobain
track; "The Nirvana box set may be on hold indefinitely, but
in January a previously unreleased Kurt Cobain track surfaced on an album by experimental
Seattle rock band Earth. Cobain contributed lead vocals to a 1990 song called
'Divine and Bright,' finally available as one of four bonus tracks on a reissue
of Earth's 1995 Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars EP. The disc was released by Philadelphia
independent label No Quarter Records. Label owner Mike Quinn says the EP won't come
with a sticker announcing Cobain's participation. 'I don't want to exploit it,' he
says. 'I think it would be disrespectful. I put out the disc as an Earth record, and
I want to sell it as an Earth record.' Earth singer Dylan Carlson agrees: 'If people buy
it 'cause they're some Kurt-worshipping type and it makes them happy to have one more
track with him on it, that's fine, but people who like Earth will buy it for Earth.' "
Story courtesy of Dan Gross and rollingstone.com. The news about the song was first published
in this section on November 14, 2001, so Rolling Stone are a little behind :)
As mentioned before, the Seattle radiostation 107.7 The End did a very
interesting interview with Krist Novoselic on January 24. Krist talks about
Courtney's lawsuit, the Nirvana boxed set, his new band Eyes Adrift, politics,
and a number of other things. Here is a very rough transcript of some of the
highlights of the interview:
About how Krist hooked up with the members of Eyes Adrift:
"Well, I met Curt [Kirkwood] years ago and did some music
together. We did Nirvana unplugged in New York and I've always been a Meat Puppets
fan, and a Sublime fan, and Curt came to town here - played a few months ago.
You know, it was pretty cool. He was playing solo and acoustic. And I wasn't doing
much musically, looking for something to do ... so was he, so was Bud [Gaugh]. So,
'Hey! Let's just get together'. And we did."
About how the band members get together to work on songs and rehearse:
"Well, we were down in Austin, Texas last month for three weeks and
we just, you know, got together and started playing and bustin' songs out and uhh ...
we're down here at my place in Washington, we've been here all week just playing and, uhh,
I don't know. The marvel of air travel. Security be damned! Still works."
When asked how much practice the band has had and when the first gig is:
"Tonight's our first gig in Astoria, Oregon. It's kind of a warm-up gig in
a small little club called The Voodoo Café. So we're playing there and, uhh, I don't know, we've
been playing for about a month now. Month or so."
How Krist would describe the sound of the new band:
"Just kinda rock. Alt. country ... kinda ... it's rock. Rock N' Roll music."
Here Krist is asked about Courtney's lawsuit, and what effect it has on his work with Eyes Adrift:
"It's just kind of a prank. It can be a distraction. You know, you gotta talk to
attorneys and you get all that mail and all that stuff but, you know, it's gonna go to trial in September -
if it ever even makes it that far. The whole thing is so preposterous. I mean, I was really disappointed
when Courtney pulled this prank on us. And you see how it works. It always works for her, like, you know -
I was in Texas and there was this Foo Fighters song on the radio and the DJ came on and started talking
about the lawsuit, so you know, yet again - she pasted herself on yet another situation. We have this
partnership agreement that served her really well, but not well enough, because she can't leverage her
own deals with it even though we tried to be as accomodating as possible."
DJ; "Well she's taking the aspect of 'Ok, I'm the widow and the widow usually takes over the estate of
whatever her husband was doing' ..."
Krist: "She did."
DJ: "Now, do you agree that a window deserves half ... what is the problem here? She wants
like, most all of it, she wants to cut you guys out entirely from the whole Nirvana thing ?
Like royalties and stuff like that?"
Krist: "No. It has nothing to do with money. It has to do with having the
asset of Nirvana as your exclusive control, because then you can go and you can get a film deal, you
can get leverage in a lawsuit. Say, if I wanted to make a film - like a Nirvana or Kurt Cobain documentary -
then I can go to a movie studio and say 'Yeah, okay, let's do this deal. And by the way, I want a three-picture
deal for myself. I wanna be the new Chuck Norris!' You know what I mean?"
DJ: "So she's trying to cut you out of what? Any involvement with Nirvana, saying that Kurt was the whole
band?"
Krist: "Yeah, she [wants to] call all the shots."
DJ: "Krist, what we are reading are things like ... 'Okay, Dave and Krist - they were in the band -
but they just showed up when Kurt had written the songs, and they came to play them. And if we had a
gig, they showed up. They didn't write the songs. It was all Kurt'. And Courtney saying 'I helped Kurt
write the songs' ..."
Krist: "She's like Barry Manilow! You know what I mean?"
DJ: "But she even claims that Kurt was gonna kick Dave and you out of the band. Is there any truth to that?"
Krist: "It's all Courtney's bullshit ... is what it is. She's just fucking ... basically.
Yeah, she's making it up. We played for hours and hours on end on that whole thing and it's just like
'Oh man. Don't get me started' ... "
On the claim that Courtney was the one who helped Kurt the most and "ran the whole thing":
Krist: "That's bull ... poo-poo! It's like ... it's just preposterous. We were a
band, we were a three-way partnership. I mean, indeed Kurt was a very gifted artist and a brilliant song-writer.
But we've all worked on those songs too, you know what I mean? 'Yeah that was just hack bass-playing and hack-drumming'.
We played those songs together over and over again and we rehearsed for years and we played live together and then ...
so, if that was the case, then why didn't he just go Kurt Cobain solo?"
DJ: "But who's listed on the song-writing credits? All of you?"
Krist: "On some of them. But on the majority of the songs, it's Kurt Cobain."
When asked of the Nirvana boxed set that never happened:
"That was gonna come out last September. And she has like two or three lawsuits
against Universal which is a whole other cluster ... you know what. So basically, like, why should this boxed
set come out when she can have this as leverage - just kinda turn the heat up with her [Universal] lawsuits.
So basically, we're all just pawns. There's that song you know, 'You Know You're Right' ? That was gonna come out
as a single, and she got that injunction not to release it? That was a demonstration that this partnership
agreement works for her because all that injunction was, was the judge's interpretation of the partnership
agreement. So, she always wants it both ways; when it works for her, she'll take it. But when it doesn't work
for her, she'll just renege on it. She just renegs on a deal. And that's why we wanna kick her out! I mean,
that's why we countersued. We want her out because her word is worth nothing! So how are we supposed to go forward
with any kind of deals."
Krist also mentions that he hasn't read the Kurt Cobain biography Heavier
Than Heaven and didn't seem to have an interest in doing so. He also says
that among his favorite Nirvana memories are playing shows (in particular the
Reading festival) and recording In Utero and Nevermind. For more
information on the lawsuit and the partnership agreement discussed in the interview,
check out this article. To listen to the full Krist
Novoselic interview by The End, point your Real Player to this
location. Courtesy of Andy Savage and 107.7 The End.
Speaking of Krist, here is a mini-review of the Eyes Adrift show in Los Angeles, CA
on January 30; "DAVE GROHL was there to cheer on his former NIRVANA
bandmate KRIST NOVOSELIC as he unveiled his new band EYES ADRIFT in LOS ANGELES last night
(January 30). The group performed a sold-out show at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. The
band, which also features ex-Meat Puppets guitarist Curt Kirkwood and Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh,
have reportedly been writing and recording in Austin, Texas for an album to be released at some
point in the future. The former Nirvana bassist sang lead vocals for about a third of the set,
with Kirkwood taking over for the remainder, while both created a relaxed atmosphere light-heartedly
joking with the crowd in between songs. Courtesy of NME. Also in the audience were Red Hot Chili
Peppers bassist Flea and actor Jack Black.
Here is a better review of the L.A. show from a person who
attended it; "Eyes Adrift took to the stage in the same casual manor that they delivered
the music. Krist, Curt and Bud walked onto the stage to greet a packed crowd, which included Dave Grohl,
Jack Black and Flea. What would an L.A. show be without a few celebrities in the audience? Krist was clearly
the focal point, with his tall stature and practically bare stage. Curt thrashed about when he wasn't
concentrating on his noodling that The Meat Puppets are known for. Bud just played and smiled on as
the crowd, confused at times, tried to decide whether or not what they were witnessing was everything
they hoped. Those familiar with The Meat Puppets certainly were not disappointed. Eyes Adrift had a cow
punk quality to it. Between songs Krist wasn't afraid to talk to the crowd. When a member of the audience
yelled, 'play Free Bird,' he simply gave them the finger and said, 'there's your free bird,' chuckling to
himself. Though expectations were high all around, Eyes Adrift fell short in delivering. Perhaps there was
just too much hype surrounding the show. Another guitar player would do them some good, but it was nice to
see Krist, Curt and Bud playing some fine music together." Brad Barrish who wrote that review also
submitted some exclusive photos that he took at the show; #1,
#2, #3,
#4, #5,
#6, #7,
#8, #9 and
#10. Once again, a huge thanks to
Brad Barrish for these excellent photos and great review of Eyes Adrift live. You can find
even more Eyes Adrift live shots here
(Thanks to Whitey and Josie).
Tom sent in a brief review of the Eyes Adrift show in Sacramento, CA on January
29; "It was a pretty good show.
The bands that filled out the bill seemed like really bad Meat Puppets imitators.
Anyways, their set was about 45 minutes long with some really funny highlights provided
by Krist. He kept on making fun of liberals, asking the crowd, 'Are there any liberals
here tonight?' When a girl shouted out, 'Today's my birthday,' he replied with, 'Oh really,
when was your last birthday?' The lyrics for the song Krist sings about Joan Binay go 'Are
there flowers on your grave Joan Binay?' Kirkwood's solos featured a lot of delay/phaser
pedal fu - and the band's first song was pretty heavy. Krist also sang on a country song
that was played pretty fast." Thanks to Tom Botchii for this one.
Krist briefly mentions Courtney Love's lawsuits against Universal Music in his interview.
Here's some news on that end; "A trial date of June 11 has been set for
Courtney Love's ongoing battle with Universal Music Group (UMG) over contractual issues. On
Monday (Jan. 28), a U.S. Court of Appeals judge denied a discretionary appeal filed by UMG to
stop the proceedings. The ruling gives Love's fight, which challenges a California state labor
code exempting entertainers from its 'Seven-Year Statute', a green light to move forward in the
courts." Story courtesy of Kevin Raub and All Star News/CDNow.
Virgin Books were kind enough to send in some information about the new Everett True book
"Live Through This" that has been mentioned previously in this news section. The book will
be featured as one of the prizes in the upcoming NFC Competition. For now, click
here for some press cuttings about the book, and here
for the official press release. Special thanks to John Scardino for these documents.
Yesterday, the former Nirvana drummer Chad Channing turned 35. Chad, who
became a father last month, is still very active in the music world. Last
month he told me that he was busy with a new band;
"I am recording with a new band called East of the Equator. We have been
recording up in Canada at Green House studios. Nice place. Most of the music
is all finished. Just have vocals and mixing to do. We are waiting to finish
that up this January/February." In other news, after Courtney started to speak
up about it, Chad is being reimbursed for having a drum part on the Nevermind
version of the song 'Polly'. Once again, a happy birthday to Mr. Channing.
In this month's Blender magazine, they listed the 'Top 100 Greatest American
Albums Of All Time'. Nirvana is in it twice. They appear on spot #94 with
In Utero which is described as "Grunge Icons' second number
1; Hyped as intentionally uncommercial; producer Steve Albini later branded the
band sellouts for remixing the album. Kurt Cobain tried to keep indie cred by mocking
his 'Radio Friendly Unit Shifter' status but wasn't able to turn off the hook-writing
part of his brain. So instead of mere bile, fans still heard hits. Standout Tracks:
'Heart-Shaped Box' and 'All Apologies' " The Nevermind album ended
as #9; "The Punk Revolution Part Two; One of the most overanalyzed
albums in history, Nevermind is best appreciated for its simpler charms - scattershot
rage wrapped in punk fury and crisp pop melodicism. Weirdly, it made listeners feel
thoroughly alive. Kurt Cobain loathed it, but it's often better to trust the art rather
than the artist. Standout Tracks: SLTS, Lithium." Madonna's brilliant and first greatest
hits album The Immaculate Collection took the number one spot. Thanks to Chris
for this story.
A member of the NFC Discussion Board took it upon himself to write an essay
about the board, for a Creative Writing class. The 15-page essay is actually
quite entertaining, and documents some of the most important events the board
has seen over the past year or so. It also describes some of the more prominent
figures on the board in a very humorous way. Click here
to read it. Special thanks to 'HelloKittyKat' for this one.
Speaking of the board, today the results of the 'NFC Awards' were published. The
NFC Awards is basically a fun little event where the members of the discussion board
could vote for one another, for various categories - such as 'Funniest', 'Most Intelligent',
'Weirdest', 'Prettiest' and so on. More than 2.000 votes were registered, made by
some 260 unique board users. Thanks to Marcel and Jason for organizing this little
event. To view the results, click here.
Dave submitted this news; "I'm David and I'm writing to inform you
of a Portuguese band that re-creates rock songs as classical music. They are called Corvos
and they have a new album out which features versions of Nirvana songs such as 'All Apologies'
and 'Lithium'. You can check it out on their website @ www.corvos.net" Thanks to Dave.
Archive of past months news and website updates:
1999:
[ Oct | Nov | Dec ]
2000:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2001:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2002:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2003:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2004:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2005:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov ]