bethgee's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting quick little read. Learned more about this musical legend than I knew before and enjoyed the author's interesting perspective on Cobain's lasting influence.
randolph_carter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
daveinyourface's review against another edition
2.0
As one may suspect this book is very subjective. Its clear the author couldn't separate his closeness to the subject matter to make a more objective argument.
Some of his points can come off as down right laughable. The whole section about Converse shoes came off like Converse are only around still since Kurt wore them, like no other musician or culture icon wore them before or since Kurt.
If you are a huge Kurt/Nirvana fan you will eat this up, if you are a more objective music fan like me you will probably find this book lacking.
Some of his points can come off as down right laughable. The whole section about Converse shoes came off like Converse are only around still since Kurt wore them, like no other musician or culture icon wore them before or since Kurt.
If you are a huge Kurt/Nirvana fan you will eat this up, if you are a more objective music fan like me you will probably find this book lacking.
jewelianne's review against another edition
4.0
This book is not a biography of Kurt Cobain or of Nirvana. There are plenty of those available already. (You can find most of them on my "Seattle" bookshelf here on Goodreads.) Instead, this book examines the ways that Kurt Cobain's life and death have continued to have an effect on various aspects of our culture in the twenty years since his death. It's a really interesting book, although there are times that I wonder if Cross is sometimes reaching. It's obvious that Kurt Cobain had a huge impact on Cross both professionally and personally, just as he has affected the lives of countless teens and twentysomethings of the last few generations. But that's all very personal. I don't know if it's possible to make overarching claims about his life and legacy on society at large, outside of the realm of music of course. Anyone would probably agree that the Nirvana sound has influenced some really good rock bands (and also a lot of really crappy bands; I hate you Nickelback!), as well as other less obvious musical acts. But I don't know if I quite agree with everything Cross claims, say in relation to the treatment of drug addiction. Then again, he does make a convincing enough case, and I'm sure he's more qualified to make such statements than I am to refute them.
The Nirvana fangirl in me LOVES this book. But I'm not convinced that Kurt Cobain, or more broadly, Seattle grunge bands have any really lasting impact on larger society. If they did, how could we have bands like My Darkest Day (haha, I jest. Kind of). How could they, when "grunge" didn't even really exist? Again I think that most of the lasting impact affects the fans on a personal level. So I would definitely recommend this to hardcore fans. I guess it could also be interesting to people with a more general desire to learn about the cultural zeitgeist that was early 90's slackerism and "the Seattle Sound."
The Nirvana fangirl in me LOVES this book. But I'm not convinced that Kurt Cobain, or more broadly, Seattle grunge bands have any really lasting impact on larger society. If they did, how could we have bands like My Darkest Day (haha, I jest. Kind of). How could they, when "grunge" didn't even really exist? Again I think that most of the lasting impact affects the fans on a personal level. So I would definitely recommend this to hardcore fans. I guess it could also be interesting to people with a more general desire to learn about the cultural zeitgeist that was early 90's slackerism and "the Seattle Sound."
taylortummons's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
dustilane's review against another edition
5.0
I was born after Kurt had died. I couldn't see them live and I wasn't around to go buy the cds when they were released. And even with those facts... Nirvana is still one of my most respected bands. The lyrics, the sound, the iconic way they went against the norm. This book isn't a biography, which the author states. This is just the impact one man made on the world, ways which some of us may not even realize.
Awesome book. Highly recommend.
Awesome book. Highly recommend.
lexxluthor's review against another edition
4.0
It opened my eyes to why Kurt Cobain has such an effect on today's pop culture, and why he will continue to affect us. People who were growing up when Nirvana became popular are adults now, controlling the trends. People growing up now are discovering the music. Nirvana continues to captivate generations.