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Rolling Stone: Neither you nor your former band mate Dave Grohl has talked publicly about Kurt Cobain since his suicide. Why?
[...]
Krist: It’s not proper to say anything. The emotional stake that Dave and I have in it is a lot more invested than the person who got to know Kurt through his music. There are things that are private and nobody should know. You can’t go through life tragedy-free. Your parents die, and one day you or your spouse is gonna die. Life is heavy, and it still hurts a lot.
-8 February 1996
Kurt: Now some white trash mothers are gonna sue us after they beat their children for a few years and neglect them, and then they kill themselves and blame it on us.
Krist: That's right. 'I gave him a good Christian upbringing. What happened?'
Kurt: 'I tanned his ass every day. He should have turned out just fine. If it wasn't for that record...'
-10 Aug 1993
Archivist's notes: They were talking about censorship and the moral panic among fundamentalist "Christians" in America, who conveniently blamed rock music (including Nirvana) for their children's behaviour, while failing to look at the real source of the problem: their own abusive parenting.
The in-Between
Giants in the Trees
Dream dream dream dream
Dream dream
Am I still asleep?
Nothing is real here, is it?
The touch of a flower petal
The scent of your skin on my life
Looking for love that makes me forget
I'm blind
'Cause we're all right
So hold me close
Hold me tight
'Cause I'm stuck in the in-between
I'm nothing and everything
And the only thing that gets me through
Knowing that you see me the way I see you
Dream dream dream dream
Dream dream
Am I still asleep?
Inside the dreaming tree
You meet me there just when I'm all alone
Call your name and wait
And how will you save me save me
When I am blind?
We'll be all right
So hold me close
Hold me tight
'Cause I'm stuck in the in-between
I'm nothing and everything
And the only thing that gets me through
Knowing that you'll see me the way I see you
Are you gonna wait til I die?
To take, to take and breathe
To live for the sign
Are you gonna wait, wait til I die?
Yeah
All right
Will you come, too? [When I come to you]
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
'Cause inside the dreaming tree
You'll meet me there just when I'm all alone
Calling your name in me
And how will you save me save me
When I am blind?
We'll be all right
It's knowing that you see me
Knowing that you'll see me the way I see you
Archivist's notes: Loaded this into vocalremover.org to hear the words better, as well as comparing with another fan's transcription.
To see another song that explores the concept of "the in-between", click here.
Kurt: "Obviously it's a tragedy, something terrible. A lot of artists are sick and don't think the government cares a fuck. In twelve years, the Republicans have preferred to see people with AIDS, homosexuals, as people of a lower class and have preferred to see the genocide of these people. Imagine if we still put people in gas chambers; they still have that shit working. They ignore it and haven't contributed funds to stop the disease. It's very sad.
There was so much promotion that you would have to be an idiot not to know that today you've got to use condoms or not share a needle. That promotion had the effect of slowing AIDS. You attempted to lower the number of patients by means of promotion. After that, they talk about conspiracies and stuff. I don't know enough to just give an opinion." *
-31 Oct 1992, Argentina
*Archivist's note: This interview was translated into a foreign language and then back into English. It seems clear that some nuance was lost due to awkward/imprecise translation.
tags:
- book:cobain on cobain,
- date:1992,
- date:band era,
- decade of story:1980s,
- decade:1990s,
- media:book,
- person:kurt,
- topic:aids,
- topic:art & artists,
- topic:chronic illness,
- topic:death & suicide,
- topic:drugs & addiction,
- topic:fascism,
- topic:genocide,
- topic:homophobia,
- topic:homosexuality,
- topic:politics,
- type:factual
"I remember one time during their [Nirvana's] 1992 Australian tour and we were in the tour bus. Everyone was drinking wine and Dave Grohl took out a notebook. Dave Grohl had a diary or journal of some sort, whatever it was, and during that tour he wrote in it everyday. He might have written in it afterward, too, but I wouldn't know.
Dave started writing and Krist Novoselic asked him what he was doing. Dave ignored him and Kurt Cobain became curious, too. Kurt grabbed the journal and picked a random page from it and read it out loud. This journal entry described Kurt Cobain in somewhat interesting detail.
Dave called Kurt Cobain his best friend and said getting that call from Kurt and Krist was the best day of his life. The journal entry also said Kurt Cobain saved his life because he felt very confused, or lost, while in Scream and contemplated life-threatening situations, if you know what I mean.
Kurt Cobain gave the book back to Dave Grohl, took another sip of wine, and hugged him. He told Dave Grohl that he is his best friend and asked him to never leave the band no matter what, because he couldn't do this [the band] without him. Krist shook his head in agreement. Dave Grohl said he would die before that happened and they smiled. Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain, and Dave Grohl had a group hug.
I laughed hysterically at them with warmth in my heart. The next day Kurt Cobain said it was just the wine talking, but I know he meant what he said. You can't fake a moment like that."
-Youri Lenquette, 1995
Archivist's note: I'm gonna fucking cry
tags:
- date of story:1992,
- date of story:band era,
- date:post-band era,
- decade of story:1990s,
- decade:1990s,
- media:dave's diary,
- media:quote,
- pairing:dave/kurt,
- pairing:krist/kurt/dave,
- person:dave,
- person:krist,
- person:kurt,
- person:youri lenquette,
- topic:death & suicide,
- topic:depression & mental illness,
- topic:friendship,
- topic:group hug,
- topic:intimacy & affection,
- topic:love,
- topic:nirvana,
- topic:protectiveness,
- topic:supportiveness,
- topic:tours & road trips,
- type:factual
"Luckily, I found a gay friend, who basically saved me from wanting to kill myself half the time. Apparently everyone in high school knew he was gay, they just didn't bother to tell me, or I just didn't bother to notice, you know, until he decided to make a pass at me one night. And I just flatly told him that I wasn't gay, but I'd still be his friend. After that I started to realise that people were looking at me even more peculiarly than usual. And then I started to get harrassed by some of the people, especially in gym class. They felt threatened because they were naked and I was supposedly gay, so they'd either better cover up their penises or punch me. [laugh] Or both.
But then after that I started being proud of the fact that I was gay even though I wasn't. I really enjoyed the conflict. Pretty exciting. Because I almost found my identity. I was a special geek, you know? It wasn't quite the punk rocker that I was looking for, but at least it was better than being the average geek."
-Kurt (About A Son, audio recorded 1992, film released 2006)
tags:
"Novoselic admitted he had tipped Kurt off [about the drug intervention], feeling the idea would backfire and that Kurt would flee. "I just felt so bad for him," Krist recalled. "He looked so fucked up. I knew he wouldn't listen to it." Krist saw Kurt for the first time since Rome that week at the Marco Polo Motel on Aurora Avenue. "He was camped out there. He was delusional. It was so weird. He was like, 'Krist, where can I buy a motorcycle?' I was like, 'Fuck, what are you talking about? You don't want to buy a motorcycle. You've got to get the fuck out of here.'" Krist invited Kurt to go away on vacation, just the two of them, to talk things out, but Kurt refused. "He was really quiet. He was just estranged from all his relationships. He wasn't connecting with anybody."
Kurt complained of being hungry, so Krist offered to buy him dinner at a fancy restaurant; Kurt insisted he wanted a Jack in the Box hamburger. As Novoselic drove toward Jack in the Box in the nearby U-District, Kurt protested: "Those hamburgers are too greasy. Let's go to the one on Capitol Hill--the food is better there." Only when they arrived on Capitol Hill did Novoselic realize Kurt didn't want hamburgers at all: He was simply using his old friend to get a ride to score drugs. "His dealer was right by there. He just wanted to get fucked up into oblivion. There was no talking to him. He just wanted to escape. He wanted to die, that was what he wanted to do." The two men began screaming at each other and Kurt bolted from the car."
-Heavier Than Heaven, Charles R. Cross, 2001, pg. 332
tags:
- date of story:1994,
- date of story:band era,
- date:post-band era,
- decade of story:1990s,
- decade:2000s,
- media:book,
- media:quote,
- pairing:krist/kurt,
- person:krist,
- person:kurt,
- topic:death & suicide,
- topic:depression & mental illness,
- topic:drugs & addiction,
- topic:protectiveness,
- topic:tours & road trips,
- type:factual
On behalf of Dave, Pat, and I, I would like to thank you all for your concern at this time. We remember Kurt for what he was: caring, generous, and sweet. Let's keep the music with us. We'll always have it... Forever. Kurt had an ethic towards his fans that was rooted in the punk rock way of thinking. No band is special, no player royalty. But if you've got a guitar and a lot of soul just bang something out and mean it. You're the superstar. Plugged in the tones and rhythms that are uniquely and universally human: music. Heck... use your guitar as a drum, just catch the groove and let it flow out of your heart. That's the level Kurt spoke to us on: in our hearts, and that's where he, and the music, will always be, forever.
-Krist's eulogy for Kurt, 10 April 1994 Seattle Center Flag Pavilion
"Bands can recover from bad hair, from genres that have disappeared, from members quitting, or lineup changes. The things that bands can't recover from are death and drugs. And that's bottom line.
If there were anything I could tell a young band, it'd be just "Don't do coke." Go take Ecstasy and fuck your friends and buy giant bags of weed and wear a condom.
But it happens over and over again anyway. Musicians are a funny bunch of idealistic dreamers and self-destructive depressives. Those are the type of people that usually flash out quick."
-Dave, Spin Magazine 1 Aug 2005
