I hate myself and want to have revenge on Seattle

Even knowing that every moment of forever I will love and cherish Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, there is no way in the world that anybody- myself included- will begin to understand the actual music technicality of Nirvana. How did Kurt write songs for a generation? How do we even begin to understand what any of the songs dark depths and actual meanings are? This is something that is starting to seriously evoke curiosity based on a post I read on the ‘Nirvana Formula’ on a pop theory website about song-writing. To even begin to understand is quite difficult but to question if this sculpturing that happened was on purpose or just the genius’ subconscious mind working is another thing. It talks of all the technical stuff, about how many of the chord transitions Kurt works are Minor 3rds and how the basis of his songwriting relies so much on supertonics. If you listen to the little extracts and read the post here:

http://www.midside.com/2007/02/18/nirvana_supertonic/

You may even start to understand a song writing world of a true genius. Kurt Cobain may have just fooled everyone with his way of music.

But to the interesting thing. Some see a description of patterns in songs and tastes in rock stars’ choices of power chords overly confusing, but with a visionary aid, I may seem to prove my point better.

I stumbled across this lovely thing by complete accident, and it filled me with complete joy. Maybe Kurt Cobain is just like any other song writer, not of ‘rock royalty’ or whatever, but paired with this complete formulaic love of power chords (mostly because they’re easy and it’s straight there, straight back) and his gorgeous voice, it was gonna happen that some die-hard fan is going to listen to these songs so much she does start to see similarities.

Check these two songs out. The choruses are particularly things to focus on. This world of his is clever, eh?

‘I Hate Myself and Want to Die’ is a song they specifically recorded for Beavis and Butthead- true 90’s cartoon heroes – and was going to be the title of Nirvana’s 3^rd album for years, until others suggested to Kurt that perhaps it was a bit too bleak.

‘Frances Farmer will have her Revenge on Seattle’ is from In Utero, and it is one of Nirvana’s hidden gems of that particular discography.

If you were a world famous rock star by this time with a full-blown heroin addiction, I think you would start to recycle some chord/melody patterns. And THAT's what made that guy so special. Three cheers for Kurt! Oh, and it's the 4th of July, Three cheers for where I always am in my imagination- America! Hip hip hooray for Alternative Rock!

Peace, Love and Empathy,

riotgrrrllives|x

Cult and Mainstream: the fight between the special people..

First off, I'm not sure if "Cultdom" is actually a word. Ah, well then I have just invented it. Deal with it.





Def: Cult ADJ [ADJ n]


Cult is used to desscribe things that are very popular or fashionable among a particular group of people.





Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But really, it isn't. This one little word has spawned decades of misconceptions and misunderstanding.


When something is given a "cult status" it often confuses many. I have just said this, I know. But I want to emphasize it.


It all started for me when I had read that once when the "Twilight" saga started, it had only a cult following. A misconception followed making the connection of cultdom to vampirism. Yes, this is going to sound pretty bonkers, but that's what I thought. I guess that makes ME bonkers. So basically, I thought something that was said to have a cult status was a vicious circle of blood-thirsty humans following this particular "cultdom", all connected with each other. This was a year and half ago. Really, if you think about it, this could be true, with all these cult groups in the world (HA!). This is only with a series of books. The Music Business is perhaps the greatest example to show the border between Cult and Mainstream (And, is there really one?)


NME wrote a list wuite recently that really interested me. It was a list of the 'greatest' cult stars with the title "The World's Greatest Unsung Heroes". It may still be on their website somewhere: http://www.nme.com/home

It was basically a collection of musicians that I hadn't heard of. With the exception of Daniel Johnston. He was described, in so many words, as America's greatest Cult Alternative Indie Star. What does that mean? It means hemight even be worth listening to. If you're into that kind of thing. My main attraction to these double pages was the column on one of the first pages titled: "KURT COBAIN: CULT KILLER". Reading this article in semi-disgust, it was confusing. But I made confusing sense of it all. It told of, how Kurt Cobain unpurposedly lifted artists such as Daniel Johnston and Teenage Fanclub out of their comfortable ground and cult status, into the eyes of a wider audience, and almost destroying their careers as a result. Why am I explaining this? You can read it all on the article yourself, but I guess I'm just trying to make a point.

Now, recently I have been listening to Teenage Fanclub, and are now loving them as much as anything else on my iPod in the mainstream (I admit, I am a bit of a mainstream music girl, apart from the odd occurrence), but I wouldn't have any idea about them if it weren't for him. That just says it all really. Did these artists like their cult following? Or did they want to hit the mainstream? Some people go mad for mainstream, but some just want to get their beloved music listened to by an audience. Any audience, being mainstream or not. Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish Indie still, though, but damage has been done to their full cult status. Their fans are the biggest fans of one Kurt Cobain himself, who was a fan. So, does this mean they're on the cult side, or the mainstream part? It could be the middle. There is usually a middle in these kind of things.

Well, anyway, now I realize the importance, or not, of this "barrier" between cult status and mainstream. Because there is undoubtedly one.





My advice? Don't choose any. Because either could kill you.








Haha. Well, I tried.








P.S


Be daring this week and listen to some um... "iconic" cult. Try Daniel Johnston's Hi, How Are You (1983) or Teenage Fanclub's Songs from Northern Britain (1988).



























They're both equally brilliant.








Peace, Love, Empathy x

Riot Grrl and warming up the winter months...

Today I am writing in light of a very beautiful purchase.
Beautiful may be the wrong word to use, but we'll see.

12 years on, I still must stress the importance of a particular album that is in my "Top 5" list of albums. It may be a tad influenced and biased by my own opinion, but on that alone, no one should undermine the beauty of this one album I bought earlier in the week. It is severely underrated.

The 3rd album from the Olympia Rock veterans, and the centre of the"Riot Grrl" movement came after a 4 year break .This band does have some serious issues involving line-ups; The members change again and again, maybe due to one particular member who is publicly known to have a string of issues.

But... This album is proof that writing can change considerably into an artist/band's career, and if you take one influence away, the final product can differ slightly four years later. It is a large "up yours" to all the doubters.

Have you guessed yet?


After Hole's 2nd album was rumoured to be filled with much of the writings of Kurt Cobain himself, people doubted that Hole (Courtney Love, mainly) could actually write an album that would sell. Courtney obviously wanted help with the band's 2nd album, because she desperately wanted to compete in the same category as her Husband's reinvention of Rock, and development of Alternative music.



But,in 1998, Hole came along again, and produced Celebrity Skin, obviously without the late Cobain and his rumoured influence.
...And so the story goes. It seems that, actually, Hole can make beautiful music themselves (Eric Erlandson's quite simply genius composing skills, and Courtney love's ability to write thoughtful lyrics herself, without her husband.)

Album's highlights have to be the sentimental qualities and deep lyrics of Malibu, the very sensitive tones (and whopping chord sequences, it must be said) of Dying, and Summery feelings of Boys On The Radio, which just sounds like it is meant for the pop charts.

It's a different Hole, yes. But a deeper, sensitive and actually quite thoughtful Hole, too.



Give it a try. It's made for the summery days that will be here soon. (:

Avaliable in all good music stores.

Peace, Love, Empathy (oh, and Grrl) x