I devoured music when I was younger. I would read music magazines, reviews and just try to find out as much as I could about bands that I listened to. One of my favorites was the White Stripes from Detroit. Whenever I read about them though I kept hearing about this other Detroit band, the MC5. I listened to them and understood how they were such an influence on the White Stripes.
The same roaring riffs and rock aesthetic. Their most famous song is of course, Kick Out the Jams. I’ve listened to both the live and studio versions. The live one is far superior.
There’s just something about this song that gets my heart going. It feels like it’s slamming me against the walls. It has everything needed for a great rock and roll song. Great solo. Amazing riff. Fun lyrics.
In the sleeve of the CD, they talk about starting the White Panther party which while they say does have the same sentiments as the Black Panther party, I even then looked at it skeptically.
There are songs that are more meaningful to me. But this one is just fun. It’s great to put on mixes and such.
Take a listen and see if it becomes your new favorite song as well.
Oh by the way today is my actual birthday! I’m 40 now! Maybe I’m still a bit immature. Eh better than being too serious.
Last year on this blog, I talked about trying to listen to a hundred albums that I’ve never listened to before. Well, in that same spirit, I decided to up the ante and change the challenge. I’m going to listen to a different album from a different band from every country in the world.
This has led to a new challenge in that I have to find bands from some countries that aren’t known for their music scenes. Of the 270 countries that I have to find music for, I’ve found it for about 19. It’s going to be fun to look into each country’s famous bands but boy oh boy it’s going to be a challenge. I’m looking forward to it.
So, in earlier posts on this blog, I was talking about how I wanted to listen to 100 albums in a year that I had never listened to before. Over the weekend, I achieved it. I’ve made screenshots of the albums that I’ve listened to.
Okay, so my main takeaway looking at them from a distance is that I only have one rap/hip-hop album on here that I don’t really think counts, which is Gorillaz’ Humanz. I think I’m going to spend the next few months rectifying that.
I was going to say I don’t know why I didn’t listen to more rap but it’s because I admittedly get stuck staring at cement blocks without knowing how to start chipping away. This isn’t just rap, there are other things in my life that I look at and I’m like “I’m too old and too tired to start learning about that.” That’s a defeatist attitude and I don’t want to let that keep me out of things.
Two of those things are League of Legends and Fortnite. They got started and I have no idea what’s going on in those games and I don’t want to figure them out. They seem like time sucks that I can’t deal with.
I’m getting off topic. But it’s kind of the same thing with rap. The main thing is that rap is such a diverse and wide spreading genre that it’s hard to know who I’m going to click with. And maybe I’m not being adventurous but I kind of want to find things that I’m going to have at least an inkling of liking them. I love Dessa, Epic Beard Men, Doomtree, Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Missy Elliot, Black Star(and it’s two actual stars Talib Kweli and Mos Def), the Yah Mos Def, Common, N.W.A, the Fugees and others. I’ve been thinking about getting into De La Soul, but was worried about how they eventually started going mostly sketch on their albums. Still, they have classic albums. Along with them, I want to listen to the Roots and see what I’ve been missing.
Speaking of seeing what I’m missing, HOW THE FUCK DID I NOT LISTEN TO LEMONADE UNTIL THIS YEAR. THAT ALBUM RIPPED.
I tried to make sure I listened to smaller artists but as you can see there is a lot of Taylor Swift on there. So I’m a hypocrite. I don’t regret listening to Man’s Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter. What was I supposed to do? Not listen to a 70s disco infused album that’s really good?
I notice there’s a lot of sad guitars from the guys and girls, Azure Ray, Iron and Wine and First Aid Kit. Maybe that’s just where I was this year. Also four of five albums were old school R&B, Al Green, Tammi Tyrell, Marvin Gaye and Minnie Riperton. I should have listened to more.
There is a lot of K-pop on here, which does have some R&B and rap elements but I still think that’s a genre all its own. That was mostly influenced by my buddy, Chris. Chris, you put me on some good stuff.
I’ve already made a post about how I was surprised by the sadness of Jimmy Buffett.
Alice Sara Ott’s two albums of beautiful piano music were what I listened to while studying for my Server+ exam.
Choosing 69 Love Songs as my last album was insane. That album is nearly three hours long. It’s good but finishing your race like that is like running back four miles before heading to the finish line.
I could keep talking about these albums and I probably will. But I want to talk about what this whole thing meant to me. First, it fell good to finish something. Secondly, it made me listen to more music. A lot of times I’ve found myself listening to debaters and reddit story read videos exclusively. This has made me choose music more often. Not just new stuff but falling back in love with old stuff. Like coming back to meet an old friend.
So, yeah, this was a fun time and positive experience. Next year, I want to challenge myself by listening to an album from an artist from every country in the world. Those penguins in Antartica probably have some sick beats.
The White Stripes broke up in February of 2011, happy birthday to me, I guess. They left behind a legacy of amazing music. I’ve seen them live about five or six times throughout my life. One time with Loretta Lynn opening for them. So, because this is my blog and I can do whatever I want. I’m going to rank their albums.
6. Get Behind Me Satan
I really wanted to love this album. It’s more piano centric than some of the others. It has some great tracks on it like “My Doorbell”, “Blue Orchid”, “Take, Take, Take” but it has the most tracks that I just don’t like “White Moon”, “Instinct Blues”, “Ugly As I Seem”, “The Nurse”. They’re not bad songs but they just don’t excite me. I come to a White Stripes album to get pumped and these just don’t get me there. This is kind of like a bad Beck album situation, where it’s not that great for the artist but for anyone else it would be an amazing album.
5. De Stijl
Once again, not a bad album. It’s a really great album but I just don’t revisit that often. I think what holds it back from being higher on the list is that certain songs are better live than they are on the album. “Let’s Build a Home” when it’s live is part of an amazing compilation where Jack White is driving it with solos and slides. “Death Letter” is another fun song live and what’s interesting is that my dad owned the same guitar that Jack uses on it. But like Get Behind Me Satan, there are just some songs on here that just aren’t my favorite. “Why Can’t You Be Nicer to Me” and “Jumble, Jumble” are just kind of there.
4. The White Stripes
The self titled album was a great preview for what was to come. There are some classics on this like “The Big Three Killed My Baby”, “Sugar Never Tasted So Good” and “Screwdriver”. They also throw down some great covers like “Stop Breaking Down” by Robert Johnson, where unlike the Rolling Stones, they actually give the original artist credit! Also a definitive version of “One More Cup of Coffee” by Bob Dylan. It’s them at their earliest and wildest. It also has a strange claustrophobic feeling to it because it was just Jack and Meg and an 8 track recording device. Also, I would say it’s their bluesiest album. There’s so much slide on the solos and tracks. Once again, not a bad album. It just dwarfs in comparison to…
3. White Blood Cells
The breakout hit and for a reason. It has their first hit “Fell in Love With a Girl” along with “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”, which is a tremendous song. I loved Citizen Kane as a kid so the “Union Forever” a song made up only of Citizen Kane lyrics is astounding. Also, the cute “We’re Gonna Be Friends”, which speaks to the fact that Jack White wanted the band to have an almost childlike nature to it. Then there’s the quick meditation on creativity, which I’m sure is the way the White Stripes feel “Little Room”.
“When you’re sitting in your little room/Working on something good/But if it’s really good/You’re gonna need a bigger room/And when you’re in the bigger room/You might not know what to do/So you’re going to have to think of how you got started/Sitting in your little room”
However what holds this back is clunkers like “Offend in Every Way”, “Finding it Harder to Be a Gentleman” and the confusing noise storm that is “Aluminum”.
God, writing this list just makes me want to listen to all of these albums straigh through again.
2. Icky Thump
This is another giant of an album. The only thing that holds this back is that I think the duo of “Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn” and “St. Andrew(The Battle is in the Air)” are just not that great. But this is their final album and they are at the height of their power and abilities. Every song is like putting your tongue in the electric outlet. Jack White is letting loose on this album in a way that he hasn’t before like against the crackdowns on illegal immigration
“White Americans, what nothing better to do?/Why don’t you kick yourself out, you’re an immigrant too/Who’s using who? What should we do?/Well you can’t be a pimp and prostitute too”
If you listen to no other albums on this list, this one and the number one spot are the ones to check out. It’s just such a fun album.
1. Elephant
All killer, no filler. I could end it right there. This album is amazing. The first time Meg gets to take center stage on a song with “In the Cold, Cold Night” singing so softly that it’s a wonder that the mic picked her up. The obvious giant hit “Seven Nation Army”, which was meant to be a James Bond song but… well, I don’t really know why it wasn’t used. Then there’s “I Wanna Be the Boy to Warm Your Mother’s Heart”, with its buttery guitar solos. The mighty “Ball and Biscuit” where Jack says a few lines here and there before ripping into some amazing solos. I’ve seen this song performed live and it’s amazing. The fact that this album was made without computer equipment is also amazing. Especially when you consider the all Jack chorus of “There’s No Home For You Here” where his voice is layered several times over to sound both angelic and demonic.
There’s a reason this album cemented them as rock and rollers for the ages. Listen to this album and have yourself a good day.
For those that don’t know, no, I’m not becoming a horrific creature with the body of a man and the head of a colorful bird. A parrothead is what fans of Jimmy Buffett call themselves. Due to the perceived relaxed and tropical vibes of his songs.
What I’m getting at is recently in my pursuit of listening to a hundred albums, I listened to Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes by Jimmy Buffett. I thought I was in for a chill time grooving with a bro but it turns out that there’s a quiet sadness behind each song?
Even in the eponymous song off the album, there’s constant regret and wistfulness for a time and place long gone. One of the lines is “if I couldn’t laugh, I’d go insane”. A man sounding like he’s barely holding it together even as he orders another Mai Tai.
The next song, “Wonder Why We Ever Go Home” is just vacation Springsteen. It starts with a lonely harmonica note then transitions to Buffett ruminating on getting old and the quick and painful time that it takes for years to pass by. “Banana Replublic” talks about the pointlessness of Americans going abroad that nothing is going to change. “Miss You So Badly” is him recognizing that the relationship he was in that he wanted to keep pursuing was right to end. That he’s better off and that terrifies him.
Even his magnum opus has a small shred of his feelings of wastefulness. People want to blame a woman but he shakes it off saying that this is just the life he’s living whether good or ill.
There are other songs that are just chill hangs like “Lovely Cruise” and “Tampico Trauma” but I prefer the ones where he’s plumbing the depths of his emotions while thinking about fried shrimp.
The album itself is amazing, Buffett has the reputation and career for a reason. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a chill time.
And in the end, I guess this whole experiment is more of a test of the pointlessness of assumption whether that be for media or people. I can sit around and think that I know someone or something but until I actually explore it, I’m just a fool thinking I know what’s right. I don’t plan to make those kinds of mistakes again.
You might think that this whole post is just an exercise in false sincerity for a bit but if it was I would have revealed my magician’s trick at this point. I’m being 100% sincere and I’m going to keep checking out Buffett and seeing where else we’re going to sail to.
I had this discussion with my therapist last night. It’s something that constantly pops into my mind. Mostly because there are some nights where I don’t really do much of anything beyond doomscrolling on my phone. I’m not one of those people that thinks you need to be on that 24/7 365 grindset or you’re a waste to society. I know that the body and especially the mind needs rest.
The question I wonder is am I getting too much rest to the point of being lazy or am I getting the right amount?
Now, the thing is that I think part of this is the race conundrum. There are people further along in the race of life than I am. They’re married, they’re making more money than me or they’re just doing something that they want to do. I’ve achieved some things but it doesn’t feel like enough when I compare myself to them. So, that’s something that I have to deal with.
Then there’s the goal oriented anxiety. There are things that I want to do like start a Youtube channel, there are novels that I want to write, I want to learn to make amigurumi, I want to travel, I want to read more, listen to more new albums or podcasts and then there are so many other things that I want to do. When I stare up at that mountain, I get intimidated and once more, I do nothing.
Well, last night, I think I finally came along the way to solve this. It’s called the footpath. Don’t stare at the sheer cliff face and wonder how you’re going to climb it. You have to find the little way up the mountain. I’m going to take that list of things and introduce each footpath.
I want to write more- start with a single sentence a day.
I want to learn to make amigurumi- start watching the instructional videos so you have an inkling of what you’re getting into.
I want to travel- There are interesting places in this state and other states surrounding mine that I can travel to that doesn’t require much effort to go to
I want to read more- Novel too much? Start with a fanfiction, poem or short story.
I want to listen to more podcasts and albums?- Find a short podcast or start with one song from an album that you didn’t know.
Wait for one of those things to hook you and bring you along. I know that part of this is dealing with depression but this can help with that. I’ve found that when I’m depressed, I do something even if I don’t want to do it, eventually the joy of doing it starts to come along. You have to remind your heart of the things you love. Like calling a friend that you haven’t talked to in a long while.
So, a little under two weeks ago, the Talking Heads released a video for Psycho Killer, a fifty year old song. You can find it here:
It’s a simple video, a woman played by Saoirse Ronan, wakes up, she talks to her boyfriend, she brushes her teeth, she goes to work, sometimes she goes to a field, sometimes she goes to therapy, she goes to bed and the cycle repeats. In that simple premise though we see a perfect representation of anxiety and depression. The way that she seems cut off from everyone. How her emotions go wild while no one pays attention to her.
The biggest part of this is of course Ronan’s performance. Her facial expressions and body language tell the entire story. Sometimes she’s gently rocking back and forth while reaching out to take a coworker’s hands, she’s annoyed with boyfriend, she’s scared, desperate, she’s crying, she’s ecstatic, she’s being weird and every scene you somehow can imagine how she got into that scenario. Of course, it’s unsurprising given her remarkable talents.
Having had anxiety and depression throughout my life, everything she does is accurate. Despite what movies and tv shows illustrate, you’re not able to just lay in your feelings. You have to get up and do the thing. No matter what it is, no matter how you feel, you have to live.
There are moments when you feel like you’re weeping or begging for help in front of people and they can’t hear you. Then there is the endless repeating of the days. Where you feel you’re just moving through copies of the same day. The only thing that changes is your clothing or roughly how you feel.
This is why art is so important and to be made by as many different kinds of people as possible. I would have loved to have this when I was younger so that I could point to it and say, “this is how I feel almost all the time”.
The other great thing about this and the description of the video points it out, that you could make something so on the nose. Some murderous man harming people, blood and violence. Instead, we have this showcase of a great song by a phenomenal actress.
The elephant is not my terrible update consistency recently, which is something that I need to work on. But I’m going to work on it and fix it. Instead, I want to talk about a different Elephant.
For readers of this blog, you’ll know that I’m trying to listen to at least one hundred albums I haven’t listened to before. One of the benefits besides finding new music is that I’ve been listening to more music than I have recently. It’s helped me move away from my habit of rewatching videos that I’ve seen a thousand times.
However, now that I’m writing this, I realize that I’m just listening to songs that I’ve heard a thousand times before. To be fair, I don’t listen to that much Dreamtheater so the time sink isn’t that much. Maybe three or four minutes.
And while I feel like I’m wasting my time rewatching the same videos, listening to the same songs makes me feel like a warm blanket is being wrapped around me. It reminds me of different times, not always the best but… different.
To that end, while I was on my walk I started listening to tracks from the White Stripes’ Elephant. It reminded me how good that album is from start to finish. So, I decided in a new segment to break down every track on the album and my feelings on it.
Seven Nation Army I mean, come on, it’s the hit. The biggest hit of the White Stripes’ history. It starts with that sneaky guitar sounding like a bass. It then cuts into some excellent solos as Jack rides up and down the octaves like he’s surfing. I know that he used a Digitech whammy pedal that he would eventually develop his own dual version of later down the line. There’s not much to say about it except that it makes perfect sense that it became staple at sporting events and was going to be a possible James Bond movie opening. Jack would later do an intro to Quantum of Solace with Alicia Keys, which was the only good thing about that movie.
Black Math This is classic White Stripes. A song that features roaring guitars and the childhood nostalgia that makes up a lot of their songs like Apple Blossom and I Can Tell That We’re Gonna Be Friends. This one features another octave blazing solo before Jack comes back in with a tempo and melody change. He brings it home towards the end. I used to be able to play this on the guitar and it was so fun.
There’s No Home For You Here One of the best breakup songs ever written in my opinion. It feels so dispassionate but personal in the way that most relationships feel at the end. “I’m only waiting for the proper time to tell you that it’s impossible to get along with you”. Dang that’s cold. The thing is that the choral parts of this is that the album was recorded at a studio that featured lo-fi throwback equipment. It was recorded all on eight tracks with nothing pass the year 1963. So, while on a normal laptop this would take mere minutes, this effect was a lot of work.
I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself This is a cover of a Dusty Springfield song and it just goes to show the timelessness of Burt Bacharach’s writing. It’s a solid song but I just don’t have that much to say about it. It’s just a straight forward cover. Confusingly, the video had Kate Moss pole dancing in her drawers. I don’t understand, did we both have too much money to book her and run out of money to do anything bigger?
In the Cold, Cold Night Meg takes the stage on this one. Famously shy, her voice never gets that big or wild. But she that fits the song better in my opinion. The lyrics point out that she’s still a girl on the edge of womanhood trying to fall for a man that’s bad for her. Pretty classic setup and a reverse of male rock stars complaining that the girl is only 17 but they can’t wait that long because they’re pedophiles. There are no drums and the guitar is sparse as well. There is a solo in this but it’s a rumbling organ that brings some extra texture to the song.
I Want to be the Boy to Warm Your Mother’s Heart This is my favorite track on what’s already a great album. The song features the most piano work on the entire album. The song is about the narrator trying to win over his partner’s mother. As we get through the song we do get a warm and buttery guitar solo. It’s a great song through and through.
You’ve Got Her in Your Pocket This is what I would say is the weakest song on the album. It’s not that bad but it does take the album out of all killer, no filler. It’s just kind of slow and boring and there’s no Meg White on it. Skip.
Ball and Biscuit Sometimes if you’re one of the greatest guitarists in recent memory you need a song that you can just let loose on. White Stripes were notorious for jamming during shows. This just gave Jack the excuse. The lyrics are probably the most suggestive that I’ve heard from the White Stripes. Jack White cooing if I want a ball and a biscuit. Plus, he wants to get clean with me. You know what that means, wink. This song rules, it’s one of the longest at about eight minutes but the whole thing is worth listening to.
Hardest Button to Button The White Stripes had an early single called Hand Springs about getting angry while playing pinball. It was fairly simple, a single chord played during the verses and then some variation in between. This has a similar feel, thumping guitar and drums but as the song goes up and down throughout. The video for this is great where amps and drums appear as the two play. Apparently, Jack White didn’t like the concept that the video director, Michel Gondry put forth so, he started messing with the takes. Michel thinks it actually made the video better. They donated the amps and drum sets to a music school afterwards. The Stripes have a knack for making something simple into something incredible. That partly explains Meg’s drumming. You don’t need much for songs this good.
Little Acorns A song with audio from some kind of ancient self help movie talking about Janet learning from the squirrels, which is a line I would put in as a joke most other places. This intro makes me think about the Union Forever, a song from White Blood Cells where Jack took lines from Citizen Kane and turned them into one of their best songs. It’s also because this song has a kind of darker feel towards it. Kind of oppressive.
Hypnotize If Little Acorns is dark and oppressive, Hypnotize is lighthearted and playful. Reminds of a song from the sixties, just frolicking and getting to the point. No complicated solos here, just between the two verses we’re going to hit that fuzz pedal and hit you with some E chords.
The Air Near My Fingers I was going to be dismissive of this track as not one of my favorites but a re-listen made me reconsider. This one features something new, both organ and guitar being played at the same time, this rarely happened on Stripes’ songs because Jack always seemed to keep in mind how he was going to play them live. It would be unthinkable to bring anyone else out on stage, so you never knew what he was going to do with songs like this. Things would change down the line on Get Behind Me Satan and Icky Thump. But at the time, this was a surprise to me. It’s a song that feels like you’re walking down the street with change in your pocket. You got some options and it’s time to have some fun.
Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine Jack has gone on to say that he really doesn’t like this song. I can see why, he’s also taken a fairly feminist route to his songwriting and this one does seem to blame the narrator’s female cohort for a lot of things. It’s still a great song with a great solo in the middle of it. I was going to say that you could slow down the track, switch out the electric guitar for an acoustic and boom you’d have a Johnathon Richman song. But then I thought about it some more and realized that the writer of “The Girl Stands Up to Me Now” and “Not a Plus One on the Guest List Anymore” wouldn’t want to do this either.
It’s True We Love One Another A song where Jack and Meg play themselves and sing along with Holly Golightly. The three of them discuss the love between Holly and Jack, with Meg stating that Jack annoys her. Personally, I love songs like this where the singers are basically part of the story. Maybe it’s why I’m such a Swiftie. Anyway, like a lot of the end songs on White Stripes’ albums, it’s a quiet and gentle outro. Between the others, This Protector, Effect and Cause this is one of my favorites.
So, in the end, I have to say still a ten out of ten album. Give it a listen to when you get a chance.
So, if you’ve followed this blog from last year, I try and listen to at least 100 albums I’ve never listened to before. I didn’t have time to break down my feelings on each one so I decided to break them up into ten articles as I get through them. So, here are the first ten.
Charli XCX- Brat
I’ve never been to the club but I feel like this is what it would feel like. Fun, upbeat, sexy, but with a certain sadness when you get into the dark corners and the lights start to dim at the end of the night. Charli brings the attitude along with her talent on every song. The only reason I don’t remember the songs better than I do is because I listened to this on New Year’s Day after a wild night of making tacos and going to bed early. A solid album.
2. Jeff Buckley- Grace
A classic album and for a reason. There’s nothing but heartfelt vulnerability here and of course, the career defining cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. They talk about fidelity and ideal ways to listen to albums. I feel like the way I’m supposed to listen to this album is while I’m comforting Jeff Buckley and he’s singing into a microphone on my chest while he cries.
3. Simon and Garfunkel- Bridge Over Troubled Water
Look at these two nerds that sing like angels. This is a well worn sweater of an album with finger picking that sounds like a mountain stream and vocal harmonies that would make the Beach Boys envious. The two are masters and this is them at the height of their power.
4. Beth May- Sunday Scaries
I knew Beth May from her work with Dungeons and Daddies and checked out her poetry book, The Immortal Soul Salvage-Yard. I listened to that album because I knew that I wanted to hear the poetry as Beth thought it should be. These poems are expert wordplay on top of heartbreaking topics such as womanhood and mental health and how the two intertwine and both cause damage.
5. and 6. Sebadoh- Bakesale and Secret EP
I was out for a walk and listened to these two back to back. The first bakesale was released in 1994 and is just some good solid 90s grunge-y rock. Great riffs and arrangements all the way through. Nearly twenty years later we get the Secret EP that shows that the band has grown and embraced modern influences but still has that grunge ethos along for the ride. Good to hear just some normal guitar rock.
7. Bjork- Debut
Okay this one has to come with a disclaimer. I really liked it. But I’m a bit weird and Bjork’s very weird and we kind of clicked that way. It’s a really good album. But it’s really weird. Just give it a shot. Please. Do it for Bjork.
8. Garbage- Not Your Kind of People
Shirley Manson is going to go down as one of the most underrated singers of our generation. She has consistently put out solid work with Garbage. She embraces the outsider but unlike others who use that as a reason to be turn away from the mainstream, she stands in defiance of it. She truly doesn’t sound like she gives a shit about me. The eponymous song tells me that’s exactly it. Synth rock/pop for those that love good music.
9. Beck- The Information
Fuck. I really wanted to like this album. Both when it first came out and now. Age didn’t help it. The thing is that if this was any other band, it would be amazing. But this is Beck. Odelay. Sea Change. Guero. Midnite Vultures. Mutations. All of them, solid, solid albums. So, that’s why this one left me kind of cold. Sorry, buddy. You’re still my favorite, Beck.
10. The Hives- Barely Legal
Do you like bratty punk rock? Do you like fun songs? Do you like bands playing as fast as they can? That’s what this album is. It’s the intro to what would eventually be an amazing run of albums.
The 31st anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death was a few days ago. I was obsessed with Nirvana growing up and throughout high school. It’s the reason that I started playing guitar. I never really learned his songs because I knew I couldn’t play them as well as he could but I wrote my own because of him.
From what I read in the various biographies about him, he was a deeply troubled but kind soul. He was in constant pain from a bend in his spine that caused him stomach problems throughout his life. Also, a private person that was not ready for the ravages of fame. But we tell people that that’s the price they pay for wanting to do the job.
He also hated people for their stupid and pointless hatred.
“If any of you, in any way, hate homosexuals, people of a different color or women, please do this one favor for us — leave us the fuck alone. Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records.” – Kurt Cobain
“I’m not gay but I wish I was so that I could piss off the homophobes.” -Kurt Cobain
It’s quotes like these that made him a rock star in my eyes. Rock stars are supposed to write great songs and challenge the status quo. People like Bowie, Cash, Springsteen and Dylan calling out injustice when they see it. Kurt did it in his own way. He brought female led bands on tour with him so that they could get more exposure in a scene where they weren’t respected. He wore dresses so often that you would think that he clearly held views similar to Iggy Pop:
“I’m not ashamed to dress as a woman because I don’t think there’s anything shameful about being a woman.”
I see the Nirvana smiley face a lot around and I hope it means that people are listening to his music. I don’t think that’s what’s going on and it’s just become a brand to sell t-shirts. I think the music stands as tall as it did back then. Every album full of amazing riffs and lyrics. I think my favorite song is the one that was never actually released “You Know You’re Right”, which is a crystallization of his song writing.
Franklin Cota, an author and podcaster 