Nirvana

So, I thought that Nirvana would be a great place to get started. Two weeks ago was the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death (my favorite quote about this is from NME: Forget the drugs and the shotgun. It was always about the music.) and then last week Nirvana was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. So it seems like a no-brainer. 

This post isn't a review or a history lesson. Just a memory. I've been listening to Nirvana most of my adult life. I saw them in a tiny bar in Portland. I remember the first time I ever heard Smells Like Teen Spirit (actually saw the video on Mtv's 120 Minutes). And I remember mourning somebody I didn't even know for the first time when Kurt died. I was sad, I was angry, and I couldn't listen to Nirvana for a long time after that.

Nevermind was absolutely the best album of the 1990's to me. I remember just listening through it the first time with a HUGE smile on my face because it was SO different and so raw, and you knew that this was really something special. (Only one other band/cd has had a similar effect on me: Kings of Leon's debut, Youth and Young Manhood.) And I suppose we're lucky that we have more than just this one cd. There definitely isn't a bad one in the bunch.  But I still can't help but think, on the other hand, how much great music Kurt still had left in him. 

So, the song for the weekend is one of my favorites. I'm pretty good at letting things go, but every single time I listen to this song and hear the words, "and I swear that I don't have a gun," I think......liar. Then I remind myself of NME's quote.