At first glance, Nirvana and Bobcat Goldthwait appear to have very little in common. But, think again and the similarities come rushing in: Both, for example, were important in shaping the direction of 1990s entertainment, both communicated their art through lots of growly sounds and raw onstage energy, and both, it…
Because not even the tiniest, most minute part of Kurt Cobain’s legacy can go untarnished for long, NPR reports that a museum in the Nirvana star’s hometown, which included an exhibit devoted to him, has been hit by a fire. It’s not entirely clear how much damage the Aberdeen Museum Of History suffered, but it…
It’s 3 p.m.! Let The A.V. Club briefly make use of the waning hours of your productivity with some pop culture ephemera pulled from the depths of YouTube.
Update: Cobain appears to have taken the post down. We’ll update this post if it becomes available again.
The internet is in no way lacking in key-change covers of popular songs, as has probably been definitively proven by any number of attempts to grunge-up “Happy Birthday” by shifting it into a minor key. Still, it’s not every day that someone goes out of their way to really ruin a classic by shifting its tone, as…
Iceland’s prodigious pop-musical output includes its share of moody and forlorn affairs, music that resonates as you stare at the ceiling in your darkened bedroom. I’ve been listening a lot to the Icelandic singer-songwriter Ásgeir of late, in particular, his cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box.” This is a track that…
There are no Nirvana songs in As You Are. It makes sense: More than a few seconds of the iconic, underwater guitar warble from the radio smash in question would probably cost more than the entire budget of this tiny American indie. Still, we are talking about a movie named for a Nirvana song, that follows a couple of…
Kurt Cobain’s legacy at this point almost exists outside of the three scabrously beautiful punk records he released with Nirvana. He was never easy with his label as the voice of his generation, and his deeply personal and sometimes sugary sweet songs were never intended that way. While the music remains as sturdy as…
Frances Bean Cobain has been going through a fairly messy divorce, as evinced by claims that her ex-husband Isaiah Silva has been essentially holding one of her dad’s guitars hostage since last March. The guitar in question is a 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic, which was made famous when Kurt Cobain played it during…
In the liner notes to Incesticide, Kurt Cobain writes, “At this point I have a request for our fans. If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of different color, or women, please do this one favor for us—leave us the fuck alone! Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records.” We now know Cobain fucked…
The world of figure skating is, at once, both expressive and remarkably staid. The participants wear eye-catching outfits bedecked with glitter, sequins, and rhinestones. With that daring fashion sensibility, it seems like skaters would be a fun, anything-goes kind of crowd. But no. Because their routines are…
From numerous soundtrack reissues and questionable spin-offs like Christmas In The Stars to miscellaneous releases like 1977’s gold-selling The Story Of Star Wars, the Star Wars franchise is no stranger to record store shelves. But that wasn’t enough for digital artist Steven Lear. At his incredible, eye-deceiving…
Kumail Nanjiani: Remember when I said I was going to keep most of my stand-up? I lied. This package is thick, and room is at a premium. Not that Kumail Nanjiani isn’t amazingly funny—he is. Purging one.
The nature of Top 40 radio in the 1990s was such that grunge music and new jack swing were practically next door neighbors. During a typical block of hits, a Nirvana track might easily be followed by a selection from Bell Biv Devoe or Keith Sweat. That was just the kind of freewheeling, everybody’s-invited era it was.…
With the benefit of hindsight, 1991 was a watershed year for rock music. That was the year of Pearl Jam’s Ten and Nirvana’s Nevermind. A documentary released in 1992 even referred to it as The Year Punk Broke. The alternative revolution was just entering its golden age, as evidenced by the popularity of the inaugural…
Samsara was one of the biggest grunge bands of the early ’90s, and then its lead singer shot killed himself with a gunshot wound to the head. If it sounds like the story of Nirvana, that’s because it basically is, but the new Heavy Metal series Skip To The End, announced at this week’s Emerald City Comic-Con, uses…
Back in 1986, aspiring filmmakers Jeff Krulik and John Heyn had the bright idea of taking some professional video and sound equipment to the parking lot of Maryland’s since-demolished Capital Centre, where young, mulleted fans were gathering in anticipation of a concert by British rock titans Judas Priest, who were…
Over the last two years, Richmond, Virginia’s Robotic Empire has released a pair of Nirvana tribute compilations on Record Store Day. Each one has seen one of Nirvana’s iconic albums covered in full, with bands from the worlds of punk, metal, and hardcore twisting Kurt Cobain’s distinctive voice into something new.…
Even those rock fans who have never set one foot within the city limits of Minneapolis might recognize the legendary rock club First Avenue from its appearance in the 1984 Prince vehicle Purple Rain. Now, writer Michelangelo Matos gives readers the history and significance of the venue, one of the longest-running of…
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