The Charlatans song Nirvana hated: “As lame as Jackson Browne”
Besides being the most significant band of the 1990s, Nirvana was also the most interesting. Emerging from a punk background, Kurt Cobain, Kirst Novoselic, and Dave Grohl made it clear over the years that their musical tastes were not in line with that of the mainstream: perennial hipsters, if you will.
This nature provided a host of hot takes over the years. The most well-known of the lot came from the band’s late frontman, Cobain, regarding one of the most successful acts of the day, Guns N’ Roses, a group who represented the antithesis of the grunge trio. The Nirvana leader once said of Axl Rose’s outfit: “We’re not your typical Guns’ N’ Roses type of band that has absolutely nothing to say”. Of course, this kicked off one of the most notorious feuds of the era.
It wasn’t just people in his immediate sphere who weren’t safe from the wrath of Cobain, though. When speaking to Melody Maker in 1992, he also outlined the extent of his disdain for other staples of popular culture, including Phil Collins and the Grateful Dead. He told the publication: “Cartoons and horns. I hate Phil Collins, all of that white male soul. I hate tie-dyed tee-shirts, too. You know there are bootleg tie-dyed tee-shirts of Nirvana? I hate that. I wouldn’t wear a tie-dyed tee-shirt unless it was dyed with the urine of Phil Collins and the blood of Jerry Garcia.”
One of the most intriguing critiques that Cobain and his band delivered will come as something of a surprise, despite their differing music to the outfit in question. During an interview with Metal Hammer in 1991, the group was asked what English bands were well-received by American audiences. In response, they made clear their disdain for “the Manchester stuff” and revealed their hatred for the 1990 hit ‘The Only One I Know’ by The Charlatans.
Bassist Novoselic said that labels were “always” signing groups he described as “poppy and la-la-la”. He then asserted that both The Charlatans and their Scottish counterparts from the baggy scene, The Soup Dragons, were really big. At that point in the chat, Cobain interjected, calling the music “really tame”, after which his bassist labelled it “crap”.
The frontman also added: “I consider it as lame as… Jackson Browne…or the Carpenters.”
Accordingly, the interviewer noted that dance music was also all the rage in England. Referring back to the Madchester scene, which blended rock with dance grooves, drummer Grohl took a more existential turn: “How does a fourteen year old kid get that and want to go ‘Yeahhhh!’ For example, when I heard AC/DC I’d jump all around: ‘rock!’ Now it’s [imitates ‘The Only One I Know’ by Charlatans] it’s like fuck man…..”
Of this supposedly bleak state of music, Cobain asked: “What happened to rebellion? What happened to Rock ‘n’ Roll?”
Novoselic added: “Let’s go get high and drink some wine! Throw up, skip school, y’know?”
