"Off-topic"/Free-form discussions > "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"
I agree with what you wrote about Kurt Cobain and his music, but I feel like if he was so strongly against being 'fake' why did he take another person's song and redo it? Kurt Cobain spent so much time being different that I think it did wear him down, causing him to take his life. I do agree that the pressure probably got to be so much, but it's good that in his letter he wanted to prevent his fans from being around fakeness.
TejiKapadia
I think it's undeniable to say that Nirvana is a very influential band to modern popular music and culture. However, I don't see them as a social innovator like you seem to. You said Nirvana talked about issues no other pop icon had. While they did address social issues, I can think of many performers that did earlier. Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" for instance, released in 1939, was a haunting depiction of violence against African-Americans in the South. Kitty Well's "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," released in 1952, challenged stereotypes against women made in Hank Thompson's song "The Wild Side of Life." And homophobia was being addressed as early as the 1920s with Ma Rainey performing "Prove It On Me Blues" in which she blatantly came out regarding her sexual relationships with women. Popular (and sub-culture) music has been in dialogue with social issues since it's birth.
NicolePritchard
Its my opinion that although Nirvana were not the first to address social issues and what not they were one of the few that did so at the time. They carried on what others before them had started. Usually there are only a handful of musicians in popular music at a time that exemplify being socially aware, i wish there were more around now a days. Nirvana's need for presenting the truth in a contemporary light, in my opinion, is demonstrated by the darkness of "In the Pines" compared to the other versions. The music fits the topic unlike the Monroe brothers' version. Unfortunately that darkness got to Cobain.
JessicaFisher
A little off-topic, but how much do you think that we, as a society, influenced Cobain's passion for "keeping it real"? Cobain's death was tragic and fueled by much more than his devotion to creating authentic art; however, I feel like society had a hand in it by having such intense expectations of him and his music. Why do we feel the need for music to be authentic for it to be worthy of our appreciation? I think that we make a overwhelming generalization that "authentic" music is the music most worth our while to listen to. However, it seems that the moment a song becomes popular and liked by the masses, people shun the artist as a corporate sell-out, even if it is a song that was originally considered to be "authentic". What's wrong with transitioning from underground popularity to popular music?
ShannonKowalski
Shannon, I wonder the same thing. I think its losing that feeling of being ahead of the crowd. As a listener, you are not special anymore for realizing the music was good before becoming popular. For some reason people crave being first and knowing the cool stuff before everyone else.
AshleyRits
I was very interested in the conversation between Shannon and Ashley. I understand that people like to be the first ones to listen to a particular artist or band, and somehow feel unique for being the only one to know such music. I myself was particularly one of these people, however, my friends made me realize that simply because others enjoyed the same artists as me, really what it meant is that the music of that artist is so authentic that so many people can relate to it. When a song is so original and captivating, why should it be hid from the world? Why can't other people be able to appreciate something so beautifully composed?
Karla Barahona
With over fifty-million copies of their album sold world wide, Nirvana continues to attract people to their self-developed grunge style of music. The band held themselves up to such high standards and embodied the idea of giving the audience the hard truth to listen to. Though Kurt Cobain was not always comfortable being in the spot light, which would later lead him to taking his own life, he also was proud that his music pushed continuing social awareness. Nirvana talked about issues that no other pop icon had. They fought against racism, sexism and homophobia. The black musician, Leadbelly, took his last stand on stage with Cobain and the pair of them emitted so much emotion singing “Were Did You Sleep Last Night”. Nirvana always gave their audience the best. It took a toll on Cobain since he was originally from the “underground” world. Nirvana brought that world in large scale to the mass populations and they tried their hardest not to let it be changed. Though pressures grew to be too strong for Cobain, his music continues to reach the millions of people it once had and even more.