“The best band in Seattle”, according to Kurt Cobain
Artists who leave an indelible mark on the world and alter the course of music continue to live on in various forms. While only a select few manage to do so in truly transformative ways, when they succeed, they hold a unique place in the collective consciousness. Kurt Cobain was one such artist, and although he has been gone for 30 years, his enduring presence is a testament to the lasting impact he made.
Undoubtedly, his musical contributions are the foremost way Cobain changed culture, with Nirvana continuing to be a widely influential group for multiple generations, from those who were there at the time to young folk only just starting their sonic journeys. However, the late grunge pioneer was not just a musical force. Like every figure who positively changes the world, he backed up his creative efforts with an unyielding spirit, an exemplary breath of fresh air that cut through outdated standards.
Cobain was a punk at heart. Although he had loved classic rock as a child, his entire perspective on life and music shifted after he heard the sounds of the genre’s first wave and early 1980s hardcore. Years later, when Nirvana burst onto the scene and became the biggest band on the planet, his fusion of the punk ethos and countercultural motivations would provide many listeners – the majority of whom were from the long-dejected Generation X – with an energising shot of hope.
Not only was Cobian a reluctant star who had first gotten into music because of his profoundly artistic nature, but when he was at the top, he wouldn’t waver from his values, but quite the opposite, be more emboldened. He was a defender of women, the LGBTQ+ community, and an ardent anti-racist, cutting a starkly different figure from many of the artists who had resided at the top of musical Mount Olympus for much longer than he.
Although it would take a long time for the tectonic plates to fully shift as they now have, Cobain was like a time traveller carrying the messages of the future and the first clear signal that things were changing for the better. Egotistical rock star behaviour was on the way out. Ever wondered why so many people hated the likes of Oasis and Blur later in the decade?
Another aspect that cemented Cobain’s legendary status was his unwavering support for the underground music he cherished and the work of his friends. He frequently used his influence to shine a spotlight on artists who weren’t receiving the recognition they deserved. Whether it was proclaiming Shonen Knife as “the best band in the world” or backing his bandmate Dave Grohl’s compositions, Cobain consistently used his platform to uplift others and promote the music he believed in.
In Danny Goldberg’s biography Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain, Nirvana’s former manager recalls a key example of this generous nature that occurred just as they had hit the big time. After the band’s momentous 1991 album Nevermind arrived in September of that year, Nirvana and their team had to choose which single would follow the era-defining ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. After they settled on ‘Come As You Are’, despite Cobain’s fears about the riff being too similar to Killing Joke’s ‘Eighties’ – a story for another time – the frontman waded into a more important topic.
Over lunch, Cobain tried to convince DGC A&R man Gary Gersh to sign Seattle tastemakers Mudhoney. The band were alternative rock pioneers who formed in 1988 from the ashes of the influential cult band Green River. Their debut from that year, Superfuzz Bigmuff, was a significant record in the underground, and the Mark Arm-led group continued evolving their sound over the ensuing years, with July 1991’s Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge expanding their prominence further.
Despite Gersh’s resistance, Cobain was in no doubt about Mudhoney’s standing. “They’re the best band in Seattle,” he told the A&R rep, who responded that they simply didn’t have the quality of songs to be signed by the major label he worked for. Cobain could not believe that the majors would pass up on such a quality outfit, particularly the one Nirvana were on. Yet, his championing would eventually work, and it was Warner Bros. who snapped up Mudhoney not long after.
