Thursday 15 November 2007
Nirvana: The Biography Book
Nirvana: The Biography
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Editorial Reviews
Library Journal, 3/1/07
"True manages to analyze successfully the Seattle grunge sound and put Nirvana and other grunge bands into their proper context."
Harp, March/April 2007
"There's a bluntness to this emotional Nirvana text...and a sadness...that doesn't come off as saccharine to its subject."
GQ, April 2007
"Fascinating...An alt-rock Great Gatsby with True as Nick Carraway and Kurt and Courtney as Tom and Daisy...Riveting."
Time Out Chicago, 3/29/07
"True...has a solid understanding of the band's artistic importance, not just as improbable unit-shifters or as a social phenomenon."
Seattle Times, 4/5/07
"A lot like Nirvana the band: fascinating, troubling...and flashes of brilliance that make it all worthwhile."
Hartford Courant, 4/19/07
"A monster piece of rock writing...For the dedicated music fan...It's not just a history of the band."
New York Post, 4/8/07
"Smells like a good bio...True is true to Nirvana's past."
Oregonian, 4/29/07
"Brisk writing propels the saga forward. As I can attest, even a casual Nirvana fan will be thoroughly reeled in."
New York Times Book Review, 5/6/07
"One outstanding virtue of True's book is his close attention to musical politics."
Book Details
# Paperback: 656 pages
# Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1st Da Capo Press Ed edition (March 30, 2007)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0306815540
# ISBN-13: 978-0306815546
# Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 2.1 inches
Buy From
Amazon.com
Labels: NIRVANA BOOKS
posted by kanx1976 at
03:00
![Come as You Are [SINGLE] [EP] (CD)](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/06/ComeAsYouAre.jpg)
3 Comments:
I love this book
Even if it isn't just about Nirvana, it's that much BETTER because it ISN'T just about Nirvana! I mean come on people, there are so many other great bands and this book reminds you of that. Plus, there's no pretension here, even when True is talking about how one of the main reasons he writes is to make people interested in him, at least he's honest about it!
Honestly, the footnotes are my favorite part of this book, even more than the story itself, because I learned about HUNDREDS of bands I had never heard of. I looked forward to the end of each chapter to see what band I would learn about next. Still, Nirvana is my favorite band even after knowing about all these others, for the same reason Everett True points out in his book, they had an "authenticity" many other bands lack.
This book is equally sad and joyous though. While the first third made me see Bleach in a new light and realize how good of a record it was, the last third made me feel sorry for much heroin and Courtney Love ruined his life.
All in all this is the best music book I have ever read, because you believe every word True says, I even forgive him when he doesn't get the details exactly right in setlists or when another person's quote contain false words (i.e. the Jack Endino quote). By the way, if you are expecting a book about Kurt Cobain that treats him like a God you are in the completely wrong place, this book shows how ridiculous idolatry is in the first place and how many GREAT bands there are out there (I hadn't heard of The Sonics till now, and they are AWESOME! Plus I definitely plan on tracking down some Beat Happening, they sounded pretty interesting).
As Everett True repeatedly reminds himself in the intro, "this is a book about Nirvana", not Kurt Cobain, yet at the same time it is so much more than that! It is a book about the best music of the late 80/early 90s with reviews from a real music journalist, and I have to say I love how opinionated he is (The rants about Smashing Pumpkins are hilarious).
If you love Nirvana, buy this book. Heck with Heavier Than Heaven, Kurt would have LOVED this. And that's because it's not just a book about Nirvana, but a book about music.
Good, But Not Great...
I found this to be pretty interesting, and without a doubt in-depth bio of the band. Similar to the guy that wrote the Neil Young bio, "Shakey," a couple years back Everett True spends too much time talking about himself and spewing his own opinions though. We get it man-you drank a bunch back then and forgot what happened at a lot of the shows. You don't have to remind us of this fact every five pages. The book does turn into a Kurt and Courtney bio in the last quarter-which is kinda a bummer since it would have been interesting to learn more about how the Foo Fighters came to be a full-time band and how Pat Smear (who seemed to be closer to Kurt than Dave was towards the end) ended up in the original line-up of the Foos. True didn't get any new direct interviews with surviving band members for this bio, but he does talk with many an insider who certainly give some interesting perspective and dish. There are a ton of footnotes and chapter ending "addendas" which make this bio stray a bit from the usual formula. I think the footnotes could have been bi-passed (especially since they often seem there just to include even more of True's opinions on different bands) but many of the addendas do prove interesting. I dunno, I just wish more music bio writers would just reign in their egos a bit and tell the story of the musicians they're writing about instead of letting us all know their personal opinion on every other band that was releasing records at that time. If you want a couple of good examples of this, read "Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Azzerad, or the Keith Moon bio "Moon" by Tony Fletcher. Those are rock bios done right. I think True's voice also kinda hurts this book because he seems to have kinda fallen out of love with rock and roll. He just comes across as kind of bitter and spiteful. I like music writings by the likes of Michael Azzerad, Chuck Klosterman, and Nick Hornby. The enthusiasm these guys have for music really comes out in their work, and therefore makes it much more enjoyable. Overall the feel of this book kinda matches that stereotypical early 90's "grunge" vibe-it was kinda brilliant at points but it's so pessimistic and self-loathing that it's tough to take it too seriously.
Lucky to have Everett True
The story of Kurt Cobain is one of incredible potential. Potential realized, and potential unrealized. It is astonishingly simple, and yet multi-faceted and complex, full of paradoxes and eternal conflict. This was the cultural terrain which was transversed by Nirvana, at a time when the American Dream was pursued with unquenchable fervor as it was questioned and rebuked.
Kurt Cobian's life has been framed in terms of the American Dream in 'Heavier than Heaven' by Charles Cross. And, I have to admit, it worked as a page turner for me, tho, it really seemed offset and confusing in the end. The thesis that Cobain had 'suicide genes' and had some tragic mystery in his soul waiting to find its escape does a disservice to its subject and audience in the end. It's cheap, and really antithetical to its own truth.
The honor and respect Everett True has for his audience and his subject is the real gift in the great work he has created. I don't believe a better a book could have been written even by someone more intimate with Nirvana or Cobain. Everett lets the voices of the story speak for themselves (some of the best and most illuminating of which is through Cali, the ex-nanny and personal assistant to Kurt and Courtney during the last weeks of Kurt's life), and we are able to see Cobain and the cultural landscape of the early 90s youth culture through the eyes of a truly admirable, and truly Alive human being.
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