NIRVANA SLASH ARCHIVE

"I was politicized in high school. I had an open mind and didn’t really care for Reagan. I cut my teeth on radical punk rock – the Dead Kennedys, Maximumrockandroll, and MDC. Those were the few anti-Reagan voices at the time, especially if you were in Aberdeen [Wash.] and were 18 years old. I didn’t feel like reading dry political analyses. I needed something that spoke to me, that I could understand.

"The state of mind I was in was just anti-establishment and feeling awkward. I realized that “It’s not me, it’s those people [who have a problem].” They totally bought into mainstream culture, and I disassociated myself from it. Republicans – even Democrats – it was like “What do I care?” But I did vote when I was 18. I voted for Walter Mondale, and I’ve voted in every presidential election since.

"[...] Nirvana was always political. We talked about things and how we felt. There was Operation Desert Storm in early ’91, and it broke my heart that people bought into that. I was living in Tacoma, Wash., a real meat-and-potatoes town, and it was scary and surreal, the hypocrisy of the government and people buying it. Six months later, the mainstream culture that was duped by Desert Storm was all over us. We were repulsed. We were like “Who are these people?” It took us a long time to deal with that."

-Krist, 8 Feb 1996, Rolling Stone magazine

Territorial Pissings
by Kurt Cobain

Intro sung by Krist:
"Come on people now
smile on your brother
everybody get together
try to love one another
right now"

When I was an alien
Cultures weren't opinions

[Chorus:]
Gotta find a way
to find a way
when I'm there
Gotta find a way
a better way
I had better wait

Never met a wise man
If so it's a woman

[chorus x2]

Just because you're paranoid
Don't mean they're not after you

[chorus x4]

Interviewer: Some of the people who responded to the song, "Rape Me", said they were offended by it, in some way, or that they couldn't understand it. Could you explain the meaning of the song to perhaps clear up...

Kurt: Well, we're the cover boys of about ten different magazines this month and in every one of those magazines we explain it pretty good. It's an anti--let me repeat that--ANTI-rape song. I got tired of people trying to put too much meaning into my lyrics, you know, as being too...not making enough sense, so I decided to be really blunt and bold. I just thought, it's a kind of a funny, just reward for a person who rapes--like a guy, like a mean asshole who rapes a woman, violates her, then he goes into jail and get raped, you know. And I think it's a kind of justice, in a way.

Krist: Maybe being offended and not understanding it goes hand-in-hand.

Int: Yeah, well the only reason they were offended is that they obviously took it as a macho, you know--

Krist: They've been programmed by too many beer commercials, or something.

Int: Yeah, I mean, I don't really know how you would misunderstand something like that--

Kurt: I thought we made our stance on rape clear within the last year-and-a-half. Plus, anyone who knows about us would probably know that we are pretty much anti-rape, at this point, you know?

Int: Yeah, you'd think that would be clear, but I guess these were people who didn't know that much about you and were just listening to a record. I mean, you had trouble with Saturday Night Live, right? I mean, trying to get that song played. Why is that if it's this straightforward anti-rape song? Why are they having a problem with it?

Krist: Maybe you shouldn't be talking about it. It's like, taboo, you know? Daddy's bonking the little stepchild, "We don't talk about that here! Nope!".

Int: What's controversial about an anti-rape song? I guess it's the nature of...

Krist: It's a taboo.

Int: Taboo subject.

Krist: Yeah.

-24 Sept 1993

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

Interviewer: What do you guys think about this No On 9 thing?

Krist: The trend--fascism is just rising and rising, you know, I watch the news and I see skinheads firebombing refugee centers in Germany, and to have it materialise so close to home is outrageous. You gotta fight back. You know? If you don't care, you're worse than the conservative fanatics that are implementing this on everybody. And you gotta choose sides.

Interviewer: What do you say to people out in rural, outskirt part of Oregon, who may not be as politically aware of what's going on as the people in Portland?

Kurt: It's so surprising that it started in Springfield, I mean, just my first reaction was that Oregon's such a liberal state, I couldn't believe it, I mean, isn't Springfield really close to like, Eugene? It's amazing. It's just--it's perfect proof that it can happen anywhere and will keep spreading, and it will start in small, obscure towns like that.

Interviewer: Like Colorado.

Kurt: [nods]

Krist: Yeah.

Interviewer: [unintelligible due to loud background music]

Krist: I mean, homosexuality is a natural thing and to meddle with nature is going to cause a lot of friction, like in society. You just can't repress something like that, you can't repress a person's feelings.


-10 Sept 1992, No On 9 pre-gig interview