Kurt Cobain (1967–1994)

I was and continue to be a huge Nirvana fan. There is just no way to over-represent what Nirvana meant to me at 12; they were the first band that made me realise that music could be more than Amy Grant and Vanilla Ice, and that it could speak specifically to my experiences. I'd resisted reading this book for a long time, both because it struck me as a cash cow and because I was sure that the journals were heavily edited and redacted. In the end I figured that those last facts would make show more reading them less of an exercise in voyeurism, and so here I find myself. The book is rather disjointed (as edited and redacted journals tend to be) but still offers a fascinating glimpse into several things: how Kurt Cobain's experience of social ostracism mirrored my own as a teenager; the genesis his lyrics and some of his famous letters to Rolling Stone; how desperately Cobain wanted fame until he actually had it; and how utterly, completely fucked up on drugs he was. Perhaps the best feature of the book is that it simply reproduces the journal pages without offering any sort of commentary or explanation; no one who isn't already a fan of the band will find anything of interest here, but it really is an interesting addition to the band's story from a fan's perspective. show less

I notice the editor isn't named. You do get a sense of the author. Whether this is a true image is of course open to debate. I'm not convinced that a man's private and random jottings are a valid basis for judgement, nor even that these things should be made public.

The impression you get is of an uneducated, immature and confused man. He lets vent to such hatred against people for being what he himself is and does, banging on about his white guilt and how he's going to change things from show more within. He can be funny in a darkly ironic way but there's a truely dark and revisionist side here. You can see him degenerate as his drug use takes hold.

As I say, I don't know that these jottings can really reveal the man, but what we have here has been well arranged to tell a story. show less

I first read this many years ago, and it was nice to revisit. Kurt is such a hyped up figure, it's easy to forget he was an actual human being. His journals provide that reminder, and give a peek into the sensitive, feminist, and darkness he waded through in his short life.

It turns out I'm not really all that into Kurt Cobain's thought process.

This is a reproduction of entries from his journal, in some kind of seemingly chronological order. There's no real commentary. I do enjoy the visualness of the book, how it also reproduces the covers of journals so that you can get a sense of what he would actually have been writing into.

The last set of musician diaries I read were those Robert Fripp included in his various box sets ... and I found those incredibly show more enticing because for whatever reason I really wanted to get into his anxieties as an artist and the praxis of what makes King Crimson tick, and how each influences the other.

For whatever reason I did not feel this about the Cobain diaries. They were someone expelling thoughts in any which way onto a page, or the inclusion of a poem or comic which says something of the colour of Kurt Cobain's mind but not necessarily a clear cohesive narrative.

And that's fine, I have a feeling for people who are super into Cobain as an musician or a person or for people who enjoy piecing together a person's mind from the ripped fragments put down on paper, this will be a fun puzzle or window.

For me, perhaps as someone who enjoyed Nirvana but wasn't _transformed_ by it, or at someone with a very linear mental narrative, I found it mostly incohesive and I didn't find the kind of weight I wanted out of what Cobain thought of putting down. By the end there's a lot of stuff dealing with Frances Bean and Courtney. It's more focused but again ... I did not find it more profound than my own relationship woes.

Which is nice, Kurt is human just like most of us. But I guess I'm saying this publication is probably meant for someone but it's not meant for me. If you love artist minds or feelings-driven journals, you'll possibly enjoy this. But I don't think this is particular enlightening in and of itself. show less