“The most subversive”: Kurt Cobain on the most challenging band to ever go mainstream
Kurt Cobain may well be regarded as the godfather of grunge, or at least the most notable figure to have emerged from the Seattle area subcultural movement, but he stands for way more than simply being a representative of the genre. A truly visionary and artistically adventurous songwriter, there is plenty more to the former Nirvana frontman than simply being a poster boy for the scuzzy and abrasive sounds emerging from that part of the world in the late 1980s and early ‘90s.
In truth, his tastes were far more varied than what was presented on record, and his knowledge of other sorts of music from throughout history was encyclopaedic. Cobain would regularly write lists of his favourite releases and champion artists from entirely different musical backgrounds, and more attentive listeners would be able to pick out how some of these influences crept into the music of Nirvana throughout their career.
Cobain was a vocal fan of The Beatles and would often take cues from their songwriting styles, dashing sprinkles of melody into the otherwise jagged style of music that he produced during his career. However, plenty of other acts had a noticeable influence on him and his artistry, and it was this eclecticism that ultimately set Nirvana apart from all of their peers.
You could argue that it was unusual to see a band of Nirvana’s ilk ever cross over into the mainstream, especially considering how large amounts of what was popular at the time played things safe. However, Cobain’s idols were also prime examples of artists who shouldn’t have been able to experience mainstream success but managed to somehow capture the attention of a cultish fanbase at the very least and achieve notoriety in the most extreme examples.
At the same time as Nirvana were emerging, the other large rock bands were taking a dramatically different approach to songcraft, and in an interview with The Advocate in 1993, he would explain how there was a divide between fans of his band and another notable act of the period. “There is a war going on in the high schools now between Nirvana kids and Guns N’ Roses kids,” Cobain proclaimed. “It’s really cool. I’m really proud to be a part of that.”
He would continue by telling a story of how he was teased and mocked in school for his love of a more unusual act and how the then-current war between Nirvana and Guns N’ Roses fans was reminiscent of his own experiences. “When I was in high school,” he claimed, “I dressed like a punk rocker, and people would scream ‘Devo!’ at me – because Devo infiltrated the mainstream. Out of all the bands who came from the underground and actually made it in the mainstream, Devo is the most subversive and challenging of all. They’re just awesome. I love them.”
Cobain isn’t wrong in identifying Devo as having been one of the strangest acts of the punk movement to have managed to achieve mainstream success, mostly because of their jerky and unconventional approach to songwriting and their peculiar presentation. That being said, you can hardly imagine Cobain having vibed with anything else more mainstream at the time, and Devo were a perfect illustration of his desire to make effortlessly catchy music while still thinking outside of convention.
