Smells Like Teen Spirit

When dreaming, I find myself experiencing a recurring theme. The theme is me spending time interviewing the members of the famed "27 Club," don't ask me why that group of people. And, don't ask me how I become a journalist-interviewer in my sleep, but I do. In my most recent dream, I found myself conducting an interview with Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain. Perhaps that's because earlier that day I had been painting, and usually while painting, I listen to Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix or Jim Morrison and the Doors, or some other phenomenal musical genius. In this particular dream, I caught up with the Grunge Era hero and shot "21 Questions" at him about his thoughts on life and about his thoughts on what some consider to be one of the most amazing records in Rock history, Nirvana's groundbreaking 'Nevermind.'

Me: You were born in Aberdeen, Washington, what was it like growing up in a small town like Aberdeen?

KC: It was very slow, Aberdeen. Aberdeen is a logging and timber town. There were a few musicians and rock folks from Aberdeen, Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers, and Kurt Vanderhoof of Metal Church were from Aberdeen. Oh, and John Elway from the Denver Broncos is from there as well.

Me: Your mom was a waitress and your dad was an auto mechanic, did you guys struggle a lot when you were young?

KC: Yeah, some. My dad worked hard to take care of his family, and my mom helped by bringing in what a waitress could. My dad was one of only a small handful of mechanics in Aberdeen, so, there was always business, it's just that he was overly fair and would extend credit to people who would often, not pay him. I hated seeing his kindness get abused. I learned a lot from watching him deal with people up until my parents divorce, which happened when I was seven. Then I became ashamed of them. I don't know, I really needed that traditional
family thing. It was hard for me to face my friends in school because of their decision to part ways. After their divorce, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents at their trailer. I also spent a lot of time in the library in town. I was homeless by the time I was a teen. I just needed a break away from my reality. There's a particular bridge that I used to call home too. My places of refuge, I guess.

Me: I read somewhere that you said you'd often sleep in the hospital where you were born, and that you slept in the box a refrigerator
came in. Is all that true?

KC: Of course. On cold nights, I'd make it to the hospital and sleep. I would get my best rest there.

Me: How do you think your experiences as a child impacted you musically?

KC: I'm not too sure about how those experiences affected me musically, I just know how they impacted the person I am. I was able to find my way in the music we created. Outside of that, I can only say that those conflicts follow you your whole life. They did me.

Me: In 1985, at 18 years old, you and Novoselic formed Nirvana. What inspired you guys to form Nirvana?

KC: Our band's first name was , then we re-named ourselves Nirvana after I watched a program on T.V.. We wanted to be the biggest band ever. At least that's what I wanted us to be. We were wanting to do something different. The mid to late 80's was all about metal bands and pop music. We signed on with Sub Pop and released our first album, 'Bleach' in 1989. From there, our journey took many twists and turns. The early 1990's were all about hair bands and the cookie cutter boy bands of that era. We were just wanting to make a different kind of noise with a different kind of voice. We just tooled around in Aberdeen for a while and then we decided that we needed to be in Seattle, and when we got there, we wanted to create a sound that was uniquely our own, breaking away from the expected Grunge sound. We went into an L.A. studio with Butch and 'Nevermind' was born.

Me: you say that you wanted to be the biggest band ever, but you seem to have struggled with your fame. Why is that?

KC: Fame is a monster that kills. I never wanted to be famous, I just wanted to be in the biggest band ever. Can you understand the difference?

Me: Sure, I can understand that. When did you learn how to play the guitar?

KC: Dave Reed. He was a great guy who took me during a period of homelessness. He had an old bass amp, and a few guitars lying around his home, so, one day I asked him if he'd teach me. I appreciate all that Dave did for me back then.

Me: How was it moving to Seattle and being in a band on the scene in the land of Jimi Hendrix?

KC: What kind of question is that? Who wouldn't feel the towering shadow of Hendrix while in Seattle? We loved it! We often felt like spirit would gather around us and tell us to remain true to whom we were.

Me: What was it about Grunge music that appealed to you?

KC: It was dirty, gritty, chaotic and distorted. There was a unique anger to it, different from the angst shared from heavy metal.

Me: It seems as though 'Teen Spirit' gave voice to a generation that was speechless, would you agree?

KC:
The duty of youth is to challenge corruption. I don't feel like I'm this, Demi-God or anything. I don't like hearing that I became some cult-hero, but I do think that we added a soundboard to our generation's song which was missing its music.

Me: The album cover for 'Nevermind' is so iconic and classic, who came up with the idea of having a baby underwater reaching for a fish-hooked dollar bill?

KC: Grohl and I were watching this special on water births one day, and it hit me that that could be the image for the album cover. When we shared the vision for it with the record company, they were all for it and so, the Art Director at the company made it happen and there you have it.

Me: What is it about 'Nevermind' that separates it from other albums?

KC: Its complete sonic soul, plus, it was recorded with analog equipment. I have always said that the music comes first, and then the lyrics of the songs comes second. Like, for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', I totally ad-libbed those lyrics. Just let what came up, out. People refer to me as a poet, no I'm not. I would simply write down thoughts about whatever I was thinking, or whatever I was experiencing in my life, and then I would glue them together. I also blew my voice out a few times while recording 'Nevermind'.

Me: How'd having Grohl as a drummer affect the sound of the album?

KC: He made all the difference, because he's the best drummer on the planet! He's able to fill a studio, no matter how large, with complete noise distortion. He was our sixth drummer, and from the moment we tested him, we knew. We just knew.

Me: And Novoselic? What of his impact?

KC: He's an incredible bassist. His ability to do different and amazing things musically, took the album on a totally different voyage than what people were used to.

Me: How was it having Vig produce the album?

KC: He wasn't really known to the mainstream, but he was known to the underground. I believe that's what made him work like he did on the album. He was a subtle genius, he wanted to create a definite Nirvana sound, maybe he was looking for something where pop was blended into metal. An alien to synth, sort of. Me, I was looking for something a lot heavier, yet melodic at the same time. Something different from heavy metal, a different attitude.

Me: 'Nevermind' celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, thoughts on how well it's aged?

KC: Punk is musical freedom. It's saying, doing and playing what you want. In Webster's terms, 'nirvana' means freedom from pain, suffering and the external world, and that's pretty close to my definition of Punk Rock. 'Nevermind' is just as relevant now, as it was when it was released unto the world.

Me: Your daughter, Francis Bean?

KC: A cherubic representation of the beauty of God.

Me: What one word is that anti-Kurt?

KC: Fake! The worst thing to be is fake. Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.

Me: If not a member of Nirvana, what else would you have wanted to be in life?

KC: I have this fascination with anatomy, so, perhaps I would have been a doctor or someone who deals with the human anatomy.

Me: Kurt Cobain, cool, or uncool?

KC: I'd rather be dead than cool.

Me: Last question, what would you want the world to know about you, that it currently doesn't?

KC: Nevermind.