(Some of you may already be thinking, "God, not another discussion of this guy," but I swear I've never talked about him to anyone, and certainly not on an internet forum.)
Basically, I just wanted to know what U2 fans in general make of him, his music, and his iconic status? Because I'm a bit perplexed.
I grew up through the whole alt-rock/grunge/Nirvana era, and a lot of my friends liked Nirvana (though there were a hell of a lot of good groups then, not only them). As for me, I wasn't a fan at all. I remember seeing the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video on TV when it was climbing the charts, and thinking, "Hmm, another hair metal band."
I was into U2, some alt-rockers (but mainly British), classic rock, and syth-pop in the early 90s, and Nirvana just didn't turn my crank. Finally, Cobain shot himself in April 1994 (I was in the Kananaskis Park of the Rocky Mountains at the time), and entered legend and myth. Of course, any leading rocker who kills himself or dies young will engender a cult, but even so, his following -- at least as portrayed by the media -- grew exponentially, and was awfully large.
Over the years, I've become more sympathetic to Nirvana, partly due to time, party due to my changed tastes, partly due to Dave Grohl being one of the truly nice and talented guys in rock. But even with sympathetic retrospect, I still fail to find Nirvana overly interesting. What I perceive is a very talented craftsman of melody (Cobain), with a leaner than 80s'-hair-metal sound (just three guys in the band). The actual sound of the group, however, is not particularly interesting, and I don't think Cobain was as good a singer as some people make out (he wasn't a very good guitarist, either, as if that matters). Obviously opinions vary on these points, but anyway that's my take on it.
So, what do you make of him? Based on interviews I've seen/read, Cobain seemed like a fairly intelligent (by rock star standards) person, a fairly congenial guy, and an approachable ego. He also became truly lovey-dovey over Courtney after they got together, and told everyone -- including the media -- how love had completely changed his life. Then he killed himself, after one attempt at intervention (by Courtney and his friends) had almost succeeded.
A curious fellow.
Oh, also -- what have U2 ever said about him?? It seems strange that I can't remember them ever talking about Cobain...
Basically, I just wanted to know what U2 fans in general make of him, his music, and his iconic status? Because I'm a bit perplexed.
I grew up through the whole alt-rock/grunge/Nirvana era, and a lot of my friends liked Nirvana (though there were a hell of a lot of good groups then, not only them). As for me, I wasn't a fan at all. I remember seeing the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video on TV when it was climbing the charts, and thinking, "Hmm, another hair metal band."
I was into U2, some alt-rockers (but mainly British), classic rock, and syth-pop in the early 90s, and Nirvana just didn't turn my crank. Finally, Cobain shot himself in April 1994 (I was in the Kananaskis Park of the Rocky Mountains at the time), and entered legend and myth. Of course, any leading rocker who kills himself or dies young will engender a cult, but even so, his following -- at least as portrayed by the media -- grew exponentially, and was awfully large.
Over the years, I've become more sympathetic to Nirvana, partly due to time, party due to my changed tastes, partly due to Dave Grohl being one of the truly nice and talented guys in rock. But even with sympathetic retrospect, I still fail to find Nirvana overly interesting. What I perceive is a very talented craftsman of melody (Cobain), with a leaner than 80s'-hair-metal sound (just three guys in the band). The actual sound of the group, however, is not particularly interesting, and I don't think Cobain was as good a singer as some people make out (he wasn't a very good guitarist, either, as if that matters). Obviously opinions vary on these points, but anyway that's my take on it.
So, what do you make of him? Based on interviews I've seen/read, Cobain seemed like a fairly intelligent (by rock star standards) person, a fairly congenial guy, and an approachable ego. He also became truly lovey-dovey over Courtney after they got together, and told everyone -- including the media -- how love had completely changed his life. Then he killed himself, after one attempt at intervention (by Courtney and his friends) had almost succeeded.
A curious fellow.
Oh, also -- what have U2 ever said about him?? It seems strange that I can't remember them ever talking about Cobain...