A review by jewelianne
Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross

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."