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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
First off, when I came to this book, I was going through an intense and almost pathological need to know more. And I was just stuck, mired in questions about the nature of his suffering, feeling terrible that he felt that bad, that anyone would feel that bad. It also brought up a lot of memories of that time period for me. I was only 9 when Nevermind came out. But I remember the videos, I remember the MTV appearances, I remember the Sassy magazine cover, I remember the vigil. I grew up in an atmospheric slosh of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain. Anyway....
With that in mind, I still think this book holds up and would be appropriate for people with a casual interest and also appropriate for completists. It goes into excruciating detail about his life, based on interviews from what seems like every person who ever had contact with him. Adding more vivid details about his life and death makes it all the more heartbreaking. It gives context for what were really only a couple short years between meteoric success of Nevermind (1991) and his suicide (1994). Kurt was a notoriously unreliable narrator of his own story, so while reading/listening to his own interviews is fascinating; this book provides a different type of insight.
With that in mind, I still think this book holds up and would be appropriate for people with a casual interest and also appropriate for completists. It goes into excruciating detail about his life, based on interviews from what seems like every person who ever had contact with him. Adding more vivid details about his life and death makes it all the more heartbreaking. It gives context for what were really only a couple short years between meteoric success of Nevermind (1991) and his suicide (1994). Kurt was a notoriously unreliable narrator of his own story, so while reading/listening to his own interviews is fascinating; this book provides a different type of insight.
A pretty thorough and moving portrait of a man who left the world too soon; the biography of an icon— who lived a life of love, sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Kurt Cobain, the man at the center of legendary grunge rock band, Nirvana, is someone I always admired growing up. He was an artist who struggled outwardly and inwardly more than we will ever know, and it’s tragic reading about his difficulties with mental illness, personal image, substance abuse, and career. I’m heartbroken every time I hear one of their songs come over the radio, because I believe in 1994 that we lost a true storyteller, if there ever was one. You can sense it in the music, and you can hear it in his voice: the pain, the mania, the raw emotion. This is a fairly dry account of his life and career, and it takes liberties detailing his final moments (which I found pretty inappropriate).
It’s interesting how the author contrasts the days of 90’s Grunge and the present climate of music, artistry, and stardom. I agree that 25 years ago, legends such as Kurt Cobain and Nirvana would have potentially struggled to make waves in a world all-encompassed in social media, viral sensations, and pop-y gossip. I cannot imagine Kurt uploading studio sessions to Instagram, or Tweeting fans after concerts, or adding a tour diary to his Snapchat. Nirvana existed in a time where hitting the road in a beat-up van with your buds, going from dive bar to seedy club, living out of motels and hostels... all to make a name for, was simply the thing you did.
Kurt is forever immortalized in my childhood, and that era of the 1990’s— a man that burned brighter than most, who was always himself, encouraged empathy, and gone away too quickly.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255
It’s interesting how the author contrasts the days of 90’s Grunge and the present climate of music, artistry, and stardom. I agree that 25 years ago, legends such as Kurt Cobain and Nirvana would have potentially struggled to make waves in a world all-encompassed in social media, viral sensations, and pop-y gossip. I cannot imagine Kurt uploading studio sessions to Instagram, or Tweeting fans after concerts, or adding a tour diary to his Snapchat. Nirvana existed in a time where hitting the road in a beat-up van with your buds, going from dive bar to seedy club, living out of motels and hostels... all to make a name for, was simply the thing you did.
Kurt is forever immortalized in my childhood, and that era of the 1990’s— a man that burned brighter than most, who was always himself, encouraged empathy, and gone away too quickly.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255
I just finished reading HEAVIER THAN HEAVEN and I couldn’t have been more excited to talk about how much this book bugged me!! ⠀
⠀
First off, what I loved:⠀
⠀
KURT COBAIN. ⠀
⠀
He’s a legend. He’s always been one of my favorites and when he died, it was my first taste of loss and heart break. I loved reading more behind the scenes of his life, journal entries and music facts. And Frances! How much he loved that baby girl. ⠀
⠀
What I didn’t like (here we go!):⠀
⠀
The autobiographer, Charles Cross, seemed to be trying to paint a picture of pinning Kurt in this suicide box. I’ve never believed it was suicide but he goes on and on and on for ever about why it was. I started to agree. Okay, I get it, yes, Kurt was suicidal. He talked about it all the time, but what made me furious, when you got to that date in the book, Cross actually tried to paint out what Kurt was thinking with his assumptions. And what he did. HE WASNT THERE. By the time I got to the end of the book I was wondering if this dude even liked Kurt at all? How much money did he get paid for this biased narrative?⠀
⠀
The other thing was with Grohl you could tell there was friction. There was not one nice thing in this regarding a comment from Dave. Then Cross decided to go on and on about how Foo Fighters have won SO MANY Grammys and Nirvana never won one. Ok, fuck you dude. You’re writing an autobiography on Kurt and you’ve turned it into a pissing competition. ⠀
⠀
I WAS SO MAD. ⠀
⠀
I think my main thoughts after finishing was, we all failed Kurt. He didn’t have a chance. His parents going through a divorce and him never properly working those feelings out, trying to find where he fit in, drug use trying to self medicate for his stomach issues... all worked against him. ⠀
⠀
Working in healthcare and reading all the times he begged for help, his doctors failed him. Literally. That’s the part that made me cry. I think he could have had a chance. If he got with the right therapist, someone who truly cared. If he would have found a doctor that actually wanted to dig and find out why he’s having this horrible burning stomach pain and can’t gain weight. ⠀
⠀
But he didn’t. ⠀
⠀
I’m really looking forward to reading Serving the Servant, I hear it’s written by someone who actually cared about him.
⠀
First off, what I loved:⠀
⠀
KURT COBAIN. ⠀
⠀
He’s a legend. He’s always been one of my favorites and when he died, it was my first taste of loss and heart break. I loved reading more behind the scenes of his life, journal entries and music facts. And Frances! How much he loved that baby girl. ⠀
⠀
What I didn’t like (here we go!):⠀
⠀
The autobiographer, Charles Cross, seemed to be trying to paint a picture of pinning Kurt in this suicide box. I’ve never believed it was suicide but he goes on and on and on for ever about why it was. I started to agree. Okay, I get it, yes, Kurt was suicidal. He talked about it all the time, but what made me furious, when you got to that date in the book, Cross actually tried to paint out what Kurt was thinking with his assumptions. And what he did. HE WASNT THERE. By the time I got to the end of the book I was wondering if this dude even liked Kurt at all? How much money did he get paid for this biased narrative?⠀
⠀
The other thing was with Grohl you could tell there was friction. There was not one nice thing in this regarding a comment from Dave. Then Cross decided to go on and on about how Foo Fighters have won SO MANY Grammys and Nirvana never won one. Ok, fuck you dude. You’re writing an autobiography on Kurt and you’ve turned it into a pissing competition. ⠀
⠀
I WAS SO MAD. ⠀
⠀
I think my main thoughts after finishing was, we all failed Kurt. He didn’t have a chance. His parents going through a divorce and him never properly working those feelings out, trying to find where he fit in, drug use trying to self medicate for his stomach issues... all worked against him. ⠀
⠀
Working in healthcare and reading all the times he begged for help, his doctors failed him. Literally. That’s the part that made me cry. I think he could have had a chance. If he got with the right therapist, someone who truly cared. If he would have found a doctor that actually wanted to dig and find out why he’s having this horrible burning stomach pain and can’t gain weight. ⠀
⠀
But he didn’t. ⠀
⠀
I’m really looking forward to reading Serving the Servant, I hear it’s written by someone who actually cared about him.
Kurt Cobain died my senior year in college, during our annual Rites of Spring, and I always associate his death with the end of college and the beginning of the real world. This is an interesting and well-researched account of his life and music. It was interesting to read, because when I was young of course I identified with his emotional angst, but now I'm the parent of teenagers and I identified with his parents. I kept trying to think of how he could have been helped. A good therapist at an early age, for example. A mentor. Prozac.
It just seems like such a waste, even more now that I have kids and I think of all the time with his daughter that he missed.
It just seems like such a waste, even more now that I have kids and I think of all the time with his daughter that he missed.
I didn't know too much about Kurt Cobain before I started this, but I did know this wouldn't be a happy, fun account of a rock star's life. This was way more depressing than I anticipated.
The author begins with Kurt's birth and outlines his happy years, which last until age 7, when his parents divorce. After this point, there seem to be no more truly happpy moments in Kurt's life. The rest of the biography follows Kurt's struggles with emotional connection, depression, chronic stomach pain, addiction, suicidal thoughts, and poverty. The author certainly does not shy away from exposing Kurt's contradictive personality, such as his desire to be seen as pure indie, while also aggressively pursuing mainstream music milestones. Reading these descriptions gave me second-hand embarrassment for Kurt; I can't imagine living life as such a private, introverted person, then having them so baldly exposed to the world. I regret reading this as it feels like I also invaded Kurt's privacy.
I'm a confused as to why the author would not offer an explanation on why Dave Grohl did not participate in the interviews. Was it because he didn't want to, he outright disagreed with the publication of this biography, or did Love and Grohl's conflict lead to him being excluded? I think the author had a responsibility to let the reader know why such a huge source was missing.
I also really want to know why the author included two references to a so-called feud between Eddie Vedder and Kurt. I tried looking up interviews and other sources, but the only thing I could find was that one time Kurt said he liked Vedder but hated Pearl Jam's music. I really just don't understand why in a biography the author would mention this 'feud' twice but not go into any detail at all about it. Personally I think this was just fabrication on the part of the author, which, combined with the exclusion of Grohl, causes me to doubt the reporting of the entire biography.
The major issue I had with the author's writing however, is the speculation of Kurt's final moments. It seems wrong and weird to walk us through dertails like how Kurt "methodically" prepared his heroin...I mean, there's just no way to know that. The entire description of Kurt's suicide reads more as a fictional novel scene than a biographical explanation and honestly feels like a massive invastion of privacy. A simple statement of facts would have been much more appropriate.
The author begins with Kurt's birth and outlines his happy years, which last until age 7, when his parents divorce. After this point, there seem to be no more truly happpy moments in Kurt's life. The rest of the biography follows Kurt's struggles with emotional connection, depression, chronic stomach pain, addiction, suicidal thoughts, and poverty. The author certainly does not shy away from exposing Kurt's contradictive personality, such as his desire to be seen as pure indie, while also aggressively pursuing mainstream music milestones. Reading these descriptions gave me second-hand embarrassment for Kurt; I can't imagine living life as such a private, introverted person, then having them so baldly exposed to the world. I regret reading this as it feels like I also invaded Kurt's privacy.
I'm a confused as to why the author would not offer an explanation on why Dave Grohl did not participate in the interviews. Was it because he didn't want to, he outright disagreed with the publication of this biography, or did Love and Grohl's conflict lead to him being excluded? I think the author had a responsibility to let the reader know why such a huge source was missing.
I also really want to know why the author included two references to a so-called feud between Eddie Vedder and Kurt. I tried looking up interviews and other sources, but the only thing I could find was that one time Kurt said he liked Vedder but hated Pearl Jam's music. I really just don't understand why in a biography the author would mention this 'feud' twice but not go into any detail at all about it. Personally I think this was just fabrication on the part of the author, which, combined with the exclusion of Grohl, causes me to doubt the reporting of the entire biography.
The major issue I had with the author's writing however, is the speculation of Kurt's final moments. It seems wrong and weird to walk us through dertails like how Kurt "methodically" prepared his heroin...I mean, there's just no way to know that. The entire description of Kurt's suicide reads more as a fictional novel scene than a biographical explanation and honestly feels like a massive invastion of privacy. A simple statement of facts would have been much more appropriate.
Cant remember the exact starting read of this. (Somewhere between Jan 4 or 9)
Ho boy. This was heavy. Heavier than montage of heck. I had no problems with book. It was fully researched as everyone said. Totally recommend if you’re ready to see this even disturbing and different Kurt.
*Need to read more band biographies this year*
Ho boy. This was heavy. Heavier than montage of heck. I had no problems with book. It was fully researched as everyone said. Totally recommend if you’re ready to see this even disturbing and different Kurt.
*Need to read more band biographies this year*
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I just finished reading HEAVIER THAN HEAVEN and I couldn’t have been more excited to talk about how much this book bugged me!! ⠀
⠀
First off, what I loved:⠀
⠀
KURT COBAIN. ⠀
⠀
He’s a legend. He’s always been one of my favorites and when he died, it was my first taste of loss and heart break. I loved reading more behind the scenes of his life, journal entries and music facts. And Frances! How much he loved that baby girl. ⠀
⠀
What I didn’t like (here we go!):⠀
⠀
The autobiographer, Charles Cross, seemed to be trying to paint a picture of pinning Kurt in this suicide box. I’ve never believed it was suicide but he goes on and on and on for ever about why it was. I started to agree. Okay, I get it, yes, Kurt was suicidal. He talked about it all the time, but what made me furious, when you got to that date in the book, Cross actually tried to paint out what Kurt was thinking with his assumptions. And what he did. HE WASNT THERE. By the time I got to the end of the book I was wondering if this dude even liked Kurt at all? How much money did he get paid for this biased narrative?⠀
⠀
The other thing was with Grohl you could tell there was friction. There was not one nice thing in this regarding a comment from Dave. Then Cross decided to go on and on about how Foo Fighters have won SO MANY Grammys and Nirvana never won one. Ok, fuck you dude. You’re writing an autobiography on Kurt and you’ve turned it into a pissing competition. ⠀
⠀
I WAS SO MAD. ⠀
⠀
I think my main thoughts after finishing was, we all failed Kurt. He didn’t have a chance. His parents going through a divorce and him never properly working those feelings out, trying to find where he fit in, drug use trying to self medicate for his stomach issues... all worked against him. ⠀
⠀
Working in healthcare and reading all the times he begged for help, his doctors failed him. Literally. That’s the part that made me cry. I think he could have had a chance. If he got with the right therapist, someone who truly cared. If he would have found a doctor that actually wanted to dig and find out why he’s having this horrible burning stomach pain and can’t gain weight. ⠀
⠀
But he didn’t. ⠀
⠀
I’m really looking forward to reading Serving the Servant, I hear it’s written by someone who actually cared about him.
⠀
First off, what I loved:⠀
⠀
KURT COBAIN. ⠀
⠀
He’s a legend. He’s always been one of my favorites and when he died, it was my first taste of loss and heart break. I loved reading more behind the scenes of his life, journal entries and music facts. And Frances! How much he loved that baby girl. ⠀
⠀
What I didn’t like (here we go!):⠀
⠀
The autobiographer, Charles Cross, seemed to be trying to paint a picture of pinning Kurt in this suicide box. I’ve never believed it was suicide but he goes on and on and on for ever about why it was. I started to agree. Okay, I get it, yes, Kurt was suicidal. He talked about it all the time, but what made me furious, when you got to that date in the book, Cross actually tried to paint out what Kurt was thinking with his assumptions. And what he did. HE WASNT THERE. By the time I got to the end of the book I was wondering if this dude even liked Kurt at all? How much money did he get paid for this biased narrative?⠀
⠀
The other thing was with Grohl you could tell there was friction. There was not one nice thing in this regarding a comment from Dave. Then Cross decided to go on and on about how Foo Fighters have won SO MANY Grammys and Nirvana never won one. Ok, fuck you dude. You’re writing an autobiography on Kurt and you’ve turned it into a pissing competition. ⠀
⠀
I WAS SO MAD. ⠀
⠀
I think my main thoughts after finishing was, we all failed Kurt. He didn’t have a chance. His parents going through a divorce and him never properly working those feelings out, trying to find where he fit in, drug use trying to self medicate for his stomach issues... all worked against him. ⠀
⠀
Working in healthcare and reading all the times he begged for help, his doctors failed him. Literally. That’s the part that made me cry. I think he could have had a chance. If he got with the right therapist, someone who truly cared. If he would have found a doctor that actually wanted to dig and find out why he’s having this horrible burning stomach pain and can’t gain weight. ⠀
⠀
But he didn’t. ⠀
⠀
I’m really looking forward to reading Serving the Servant, I hear it’s written by someone who actually cared about him.
I just don't know how to feel about this one. I've read and watched a lot of material about Cobain and this isn't my favourite.
Three major things kept me from enjoying this book. Firstly, the author uses some pretty problematic language when describing people with disabilities and women. Secondly, there is a lot of creative licence taken in regards to Kurt's last days and his experiences with mental illness. Lastly, everything written in this book had to be approved by Courtney Love and I think it shows in the way she is portrayed. For all of these reasons, the author lost a lot of credibility for me.
That being said, I still learned a lot from this book and I especially enjoyed the almost literary analyses of Nirvana's songs. I strongly recommend listening to the audiobook if you're interested in this one!
Three major things kept me from enjoying this book. Firstly, the author uses some pretty problematic language when describing people with disabilities and women. Secondly, there is a lot of creative licence taken in regards to Kurt's last days and his experiences with mental illness. Lastly, everything written in this book had to be approved by Courtney Love and I think it shows in the way she is portrayed. For all of these reasons, the author lost a lot of credibility for me.
That being said, I still learned a lot from this book and I especially enjoyed the almost literary analyses of Nirvana's songs. I strongly recommend listening to the audiobook if you're interested in this one!
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse