Married and Buried: Punk As A Four-Letter Word, Part Two
Posted in Books, Retrovirus, Music, We Miss The Nineties |This is also what made Nirvana significant. Although the fashion industry was quick to capitalize on the “grunge” trend, with Vogue photo spreads (sound familiar?), the atmosphere that birthed Nirvana and their contemporaries was the same anti-corporate, DIY, screw-the-establishment stance found in the punks of the 70s and the hardcore bands of the 80s. Like Redd Kross, Kurt Cobain was full of contradictions; he adored the Butthole Surfers while simultaneously covering The Vaselines.
Grunge may have begun as a six-letter word for punk but by 1993, it became a dirty word, thanks to watered-down crap like Singles and bandwagon-hopping like Stone Temple Pilots (who later ripped off Redd Kross with “Big Bang Baby”). There is nothing grunge or punk about Cameron Crowe or Scott Weiland.
Stone Temple Poseurs
This is why the Chart editorial bothers me. Although Brophy accurately notes that the mainstream media’s exploiting of grunge was the harbinger of the disturbing trend of co-opting underground/alternative music, he dismisses Nevermind as “not that hot,” which ironically glosses over the fact that perhaps no one was more distressed by Nevermind’s popularity than Kurt Cobain himself. Remember, it was the sexist, volleyball-playing frat guys who kept me away from Nirvana, even though Nirvana stood against everything those guys represented.
Something more insidious bothers me, however, after reading Everett True’s book. Although True was a Hole fan and later a friend of Courtney Love, this friendship ended in animosity. While I know that history is often twisted by the personal feelings and views of the author, not to mention the rampant drug use among Cobain, Love, their friends, and associates, the continual descriptions of Love’s manipulative self-aggrandizement haunt me.
One of Love’s teenage diary entries regarding her plans for becoming famous is quoted and includes, “Number five: Befriend Michael Stipe,” a goal unsettling in both calculation and prescience. (2) But this is the least upsetting revelation.
I already knew about a drunk Eddie Van Halen calling Pat Smear a “n**ger” backstage at a Nirvana show. But True claims that while this took place, Courtney was “complaining” to Nirvana manager John Silva that Kurt was “treating Eddie Van Halen meanly.” (3) It’s another in a long list of incidents True describes where Love seemed more concerned with Kurt’s image than his integrity—or health.
Billy Corgan and Courtney Love, 2006
Photo © PerezHilton.com
True also elucidates the aftermath of Love and Billy Corgan’s break-up (4) and quotes those who say Cobain suspected she was cheating on him with Corgan. (5) Cobain and Love’s former lawyer states that Kurt called her shortly before his death to inquire about divorce proceedings. (6)
True’s book is not a character assassination, however; he quotes many people who commend Courtney’s talent, intelligence, wit, and passion for life, including those who later came to avoid or even despise her. Her staunchest defender is L7’s Jennifer Finch, whom she was friends with since their teen years. Yet the overall portrait of Love that is painted seems to fill in all the blanks that have nagged me for years, making me wonder if I should have ever defended her.
