Pop Culture Retrospective Episode #13 - Nirvana: a story of determination, passion for music, unbelievable success and tragedy.

Episode #13 - Nirvana

Whenever I think of a musician or band that epitomizes and defines music of the 1990s, without question I think of Nirvana.  People may only associate the band with drugs or the unfortunate passing of Kurt Cobain, but the members of the band and the band itself can be defined and reflected upon by so much more than that.  Through my research, I discovered that Kurt Cobain’s life and my sister’s life paralled each other in many aspects.  They were both incredibly gifted children with strengths in the arts, were polite and well-mannered and started to show signs of some distress as teeangers.  Further, they were both brilliant, misunderstood and capable of so much more than they were able to show.  Although learning more about Nirvana has been a bit heartbreaking at times, I am so incredibly grateful that I was alive and a fan during their tenure.  I know my sister was a huge fan of theirs from the first moment she heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”  

With that being said, on today’s show we will be discussing the backstory and history of the phenomenal musical group that was and is Nirvana.  We will discuss the band’s members and how this group of somewhat lost and disconnected young men who were passionate about music came together to form one of the most successful rock groups of all time.  

So grab your jeans with torn knees, a flannel shirt and head to your local record store, here we go!

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Hello and thank you so very much for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast, a show inspired by, and in memory of, my big sister Rebecca and her love for all things pop-culture, especially the people, places and things of the 80s, 90s and early 00s.  My name is Amy Lewis and I am your captain aboard this pop culture time machine.  You are tuning in to Episode #13, Nirvana, a fascinating and truly genius musical group who exploded onto the world stage in the early 1990s.  And a word of warning before we get into this week’s episode- we will be discussing some more serious subject matter related to substance abuse, death, weapons, etc. so this is likely not an appropriate episode for younger audiences.  That being said, I will never use inappropriate or explicit language or delve into anything that is too scary as I am easily scared.  

Before we get into how Nirvana came together, their unexpected explosion into the mainstream and the tragic ending to the band, let’s discuss the early lives of the band’s members.  

Kurt Donald Cobain was born on February 20th, 1967 in a small town named Arberdeen in Washington state to parents Donald Cobain who was a mechanic and Wendy Cobain who was a waitress.  Arberdeen is a small town, primarily a blue collar town located near water.  It was a depressed timber town and it’s often rainy and gray there.  Few West coast cities have lost population in the past few decades, but Arberdeen has.  By most accounts, Cobain’s childhood was relatively “normal” if you will.  However, the family did struggle with money and he has been described as growing up poor and in poverty.  

Early on, it was apparent that Cobain had impressive creative skills...he would often bang on pots and pans as if he were a drummer, he’d play the piano and sing, and he was apparently very good at drawing.  He drew all of the time.  One time he showed his grandfather some pictures he had drawn of Disney characters and his Grandfather didn’t believe he had done it, he thought he had traced it.  At times, his family both immediate and extended could be dysfunctional.  In doing research, I learned that several members of Cobain’s family died by suicide.  His parents often argued and in 1976 when Cobain was 9 years old, they unfortunately got divorced. Cobain would initially stay with his mom and then his dad. This was apparently a huge turning point in Cobain’s life, he was devastated.  His grandfather said that following the divorce, Cobain’s parents didn’t pay as much attention to him anymore and it led to him becoming withdrawn.  Cobain was never formally diagnosed, but many people who knew him well feel that it’s quite likely that he struggled with anxiety and depression beginning in adolescence and continuing into his adulthood.  Thankfully though, Cobain had music as an outlet for his difficulties.  His uncle had a band, and Cobain sometimes played drums along with him.  This same uncle asked the guitar player in his band to give Cobain guitar lessons.  The teacher asked him what his goals for guitar playing were and he said “to learn how to play stairway to heaven.” He took lessons for about 3 months but he had to stop because he wasn’t doing his school work.  He was so distracted by constantly playing the guitar that he started to neglect school.  Another fuel for his music was the apparent and chronic stomach pain that Cobain struggled with throughout his life.  The discomfort often made him angry which in turn, led to some angry music.  Cobain’s father would eventually remarry, his new wife had 3 children and his dad’s focus shifted.  This was, of course, very challenging for him.  By age 13, Cobain started smoking marijuana.  

Cobain started to rebel, he started running with the wrong crowd and making poor choices. He spray painted cars, started to get picked on, but he picked on other kids as well. As a result, his father eventually kicked him out of the house and he ended up jumping from relative to relative’s house.  He even ended up living with a close friend for over a year. At one point, Cobain ended up back with his mother.  She ended up in an abusive relationship- the man she was with broke her arm.  She refused to leave him and this was of course incredibly distressing to Cobain.  He began to withdraw even more.  

By his senior year of high school, Cobain dropped out.  When he wasn’t able to find a job despite being out of school, his mother kicked him out.  At this point, he began couch surfing and was periodically homeless. He continued to use music as an outlet for his struggles.  Around 1985/1986, he decided he wanted to start a band and he asked a friend of his, named Krist Novoselic to join him but he initially declined. When he couldn’t persuade Novoselic to join him, he formed a band called ‘Fecal Matter.’  Eventually Novoselic changed his mind after he heard Cobain’s demo tape.  During his young adulthood, Cobain moved on from marijuana to LSD and harder drugs.  He used alcohol and inhaled solvents. It was also during 1986, that Cobain would be introduced to Heroin (though some reports say it was Courtney Love who introduced him to it several years later), which would become his drug of choice which he struggled with for most of his adult life but more on that later. Let’s get back to Novoselic though.

Krist Novoselic was born on May 16, 1965 in Compton, CA.  He is the son of Croation immigrant parents- Kristo and Marija Novoselic.  He has two younger siblings.  Growing up, Novoselic loved listening to bands such as Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, Devo and the Who. In 1980, Krist had some difficulties in high school and his parents sent him to live with relatives in Croatia.  When he returned in 1981 and began working at a local Taco Bell.  A few years later in 1983, Novoselic’s parents divorced. Robert, Krist’s brother, introduced Kurt and Krist as they were friends.  Cobain had heard loud music coming from the upper level of the Novoselic’s household.  It turned out that both Krist and Kurt loved Punk rock music.  

After high school, Novoselic was working as a painter, but he was laid off.  Since Cobain was having a hard time finding work, being in a band allowed them to do what they loved- play music. At first they played Creedence Clearwater Revival covers, but started to make their own music. After going through several different band name ideas including Ted Ed Fred and Skid Row, Cobain settled on ‘Nirvana.’  To him, Nirvana meant - “freedom from pain, suffering and the external world.”  Cobain was intrigued by Eastern religions so a nod to Buddhism seemed appropriate for a band name.  And so, in 1987, Nirvana was formed.  Cobain, Novoselic and various drummers began practicing and honing their craft.  They often practiced above Novoselic’s mom’s hair salon.  

Nirvana’s first demo tape was recorded in January of 1988.  It didn’t generate as much traction or draw as much of an audience as Cobain wanted, but it was a start at least.

In January of 1989, Nirvana started recording their first full length album, Bleach.  Cobain wrote most of the music and lyrics for this album.  It was released a few months later with Sub Pop Records in June of 1989.  In general, it got pretty good reviews.  It got a lot of play on college radio stations. The album’s title was inspired by a poster that Cobain saw for AIDs Prevention, where it was suggested that IV drug users bleach their needs prior to using them.  As of today, this album has sold about 2 million copies, which is the most successful Sub Pop Album of all time.  The song, “About a Girl” was written by Cobain after he spent an entire day solely listening to Beatles music. 

In April of 1990, Nirvana started recording their follow-up album to Bleach.  And, after going through several drummers that didn’t work out for various reasons, Cobain and Novoselic were introduced to a young drummer named Dave Grohl.  After seeing him perform and how unbelievably gifted he was behind a drum set, they knew they found the missing piece to their trio.  Shortly after Dave Grohl joined the group, they were signed to a major record label, DGC.  

Dave Grohl was born on January 14, 1969 in Warren, OH.  His mother was a teacher and his dad was a Newswriter.  His family would eventually move to VA.  Like his other two future bandmates, Grohl’s parents divorced when he was 7 years old and he ended up living with his Mother.  When he was about 12 years old he started taking guitar lessons.  He grew bored with it and soon quit, deciding he would teach himself instead.  Inspired by the band Rush and punk music, Grohl then began to teach himself how to play the drums when he was in high school.  He had actually gotten really into Punk music after visiting his cousin one summer and seeing a band named Naked Ray Gun play at the Cubby Bear in Chicago.

 He loved Punk music so much that when he became his class president in high school, he would play his favorite songs over the PA system after his daily announcements. Grohl took his love of playing music further by joining bands while in high school, but he was having a lot of difficulty staying on track, passing his classes, etc.  He eventually joined a group named ‘Scream’ when he was 17 and subsequently dropped out of high school.  Coincidentally, his mother was an English teacher at the school he attended.  He would go on to tour with the group and he got to see Europe.  When Scream broke up, Grohl ended up meeting Cobain and Novoselic like I mentioned and the rest is history.  He was just 21 years old when he joined Nirvana.  

In 1991, Curbain met Courtney Love, who was the lead singer of a band called “Hole.”  Doll Parts.  Even before her time with Cobain, Courtney Love had lived an extremely intense life.  It was reported that she may have been drugged as a child, lived in hippy communities, struggled socially and academically, spent time in a juvenile detention center (where she fell in love with punk music) and lived abroad in various countries working in adult entertainment related jobs.  She too has struggled for many years with substance abuse.  Like Cobain (and soon we will discuss Dave Grohl), Courtney Love is a self-taught musician and was very driven to be a musician in addition to her acting credits. I’m sure Courtney Love and the band, Hole, will be a subject of another show.  They would go on to marry and have a daughter together.  Their relationship was incredibly destructive and was plagued with insecurities, substance abuse, unsuccessful attempts at getting clean and ultimately, love.

During the spring of 1991, Nirvana recorded the album (which would go on to be a global smash) Nevermind.  It was released in September of that year.  The album was received quite well and between the excellent reviews and music video airplay on MTV, it was flying off of the shelves in music stores all over the country, often selling out. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was the first single released off of the album and is probably one of thee most memorable songs of all of the 1990s.  The music video is very memorable (it has been viewed over 1 billion times on YouTube) and in case it has been a while since you have seen it, it is set in the gymnasium of a high school.  The group, all with long hair strewn across their faces, are performing this high energy rock song in front of dozens of high school aged students.  While they are jamming out and the audience is getting into it, we see a group of cheerleaders sort of dancing along, clad in black cheerleader outfits with the anarchy symbol on their shirts with matching red pom poms.  For some reason I went through a phase where I put the anarchy symbol on everything, I believe I was in middle school when this became a thing.  If you’ve never seen it, the symbol is basically the letter A with a circle around the top.  I wrote this on notebooks, on my skateboard and the like.  Why I felt the absence of government and regulation was something to advocate for as a 12 year old, I have no idea.  I was soooo punk.  Or just a big naive dork that went along with things I didn’t fully understand. Some of the lines from ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ I think encapsulate how Cobain and the group felt about what had happened to them and their musical pursuits:

I'm worse at what I do best

And for this gift I feel blessed

Our little group has always been

And always will until the end

Oh and the lyrics to the chorus that were sometimes hard to understand were:

With the lights out, it's less dangerous

Here we are now, entertain us

I feel stupid and contagious

Here we are now, entertain us

A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido

By 1992, Nevermind had sold over 3 million copies.  It is one of the most successful albums of all time and to date has sold over 30 million copies.  The album features other significant tracks such as ‘In Bloom’ and my favorite Nirvana song, ‘Come as You Are’ which I listened to until the ribbon started coming out of my cassette tape. This song also has a great music video where we see a theme around water which runs in front of them and blurs them out in a very artistic manner in many shots.   

And, you know you made it when Weird Al Yankovic impersonates your music.  With Nirvana’s blessing, he did a parody of ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’ as ‘Smells Like Nirvana.’  Only this time the chorus’ lyrics were:  

Now I'm mumblin' and I'm screamin'

And I don't know what I'm singin'

Crank the volume, ears are bleedin'

I still don't know what I'm singin'

We're so loud and 

incoherent

Boy this oughtta 

bug your parents

Say what you will about Weird Al Yankovic, but I do find a lot of his work to be entertaining.  I often find myself singing my kids the lyrics to the song “Eat It” (a parody of MJ’s Beat It) whenever they are refusing to eat something.  “Eat it, Eat it, Eat it, Eat it, get yourself an Egg and Beat It.  Have a banana, have a whole bunch.  It doesn’t matter what you had for lunch.”  Fame came incredibly quickly for the group and there was really no time to adjust, adapt or cope and Kurt really started to feel that pressure, especially being the frontman. He wanted people to think his music was still legitimate even though it was going more mainstream.  Anyone who knows Nirvana’s music knows that Nirvana didn’t come to the mainstream, the mainstream came to Nirvana because we hadn’t heard music like theirs before and we won’t ever again.  Some tension started to develop between the band members because by some accounts, Cobain felt he was entitled to more royalties from the sale of the album because he had written so many of the lyrics and music.  The group also took a step back to slow down.  The fame was all-consuming.  I could only imagine what things would have been like if they became famous now, where we have access to information and celebrities at the push of a button.  

We know when a famous actress has gained 10 pounds or who Justin Timberlake was touching hands with during a night of over-indulgence while filming a movie recently.  Why Justin?  Why God, why? 

1993 was a big year for Nirvana.  They released the album ‘In Utero’ which is arguably their deepest and most critically acclaimed album, compared to the more radio-friendly Nevermind.  It featured several well known songs including:  “All Apologies,” “Pennyroyal tea” and “Heart Shaped Box.”  Rollingstone gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and had this to say at the conclusion of the album’s review:  

“It’s the last thing most people would expect from Angst Central, and it’s an inspired sign-off that shows how Nirvana have been reborn in the face of suck-cess. In Utero is a lot of things — brilliant, corrosive, enraged and thoughtful, most of them all at once. But more than anything, it’s a triumph of the will.”

The album was a bit controversial though at the time.  The cover of the album had an anatomical mannequin on the front cover, you can see organs, bones, veins, etc.  Apparently Cobain was fascinated by Anatomy and Physiology and enjoyed learning about body parts.  When he was younger and didn’t have much money, he would go to 2nd hand stores looking for scientific supplies.  Some retail stores were uncomfortable with the front and back covers of the album as well as some of the lyrics in some of the songs.  Despite the controversy though, the album has sold over 15 million copies.  

In 1993, Nirvana also played a huge concert in Rio which had at least 350,000 people in the audience.  They had come a long way, quite quickly from their days of playing shows in front of maybe 10 or 20 people.  

Throughout Cobain’s life he had said and reports indicated that he struggled with some sort of gastro-intestinal issue that was never sorted out and never really formally diagnosed.  Apparently this condition made him incredibly uncomfortable and depressed.  He felt sick whenever he ate and you can tell that throughout this rise to fame, Cobain was always very thin but it was hidden with baggy clothing.  He didn’t eat very much and perhaps his constant cigarette smoking further suppressed his appetite.  In one interview, Cobain said that part of the reason why he used drugs is because he felt, if he was in so much pain, he might as well be a junkie who should kill himself and do so via drugs.  He also reportedly said that heroin helped ease some of his stomach pain while some may say that this just creates a vicious cycle of stomach pain regardless of a pre-existing condition.  However, despite Cobain’s admission that he had thoughts about killing himself with using drugs and just drug use in general, he expressed that he never spoke much about his drug use because he didn’t want to influence other people to use drugs because he knew it was terrible and dangerous.  This use does seem to speak to how much this young man was hurting.  He alludes to some of his sadness and G/I issues in the song “Pennyroyal Tea” on In Utero.  

Sit and drink pennyroyal tea

Distill the life that's inside of me

Sit and drink pennyroyal tea

I'm anemic royalty

I'm on warm milk and laxatives

Cherry-flavored antacids

Later in 1993, Nirvana recorded a live album which was later released as Nirvana:  UnPlugged in NY.  For some reason, I often rollerbladed to this album in my basement.  Our basement was very small and had two small areas connected by a narrow doorway that had cement flooring- my sister referred to our childhood house’s basement as a “Silence of the Lambs” basement.  Not sure if maybe it was winter time and I couldn’t skate outside, but for whatever reason, I often found myself skating back and forth for hours listening to this.  It’s an excellent record, but not exactly the let’s-get-fired-up-and-skate music, that’s for sure.  The album was stripped down to simple chords and softer singing, and included a cello player and accordion on several songs.  They did a lot of covers (including David Bowie’s song- Man Who Sold the World which was my favorite to rollerblade to).  If you are ever able to watch this performance, it is quite captivating, but it’s apparent that Cobain was in a tough spot, it seems like he has the world on his shoulders and despite being close in age to his bandmates, he just seems older and moves slower and talks slower.  Just prior to the recording, it was rumored that Cobain was withdrawing from drugs and had difficulty practicing for the show.  The set had many dark colors and both the show’s producer and Cobain felt it sort of looked like a setting for a funeral.  The album would prove to be incredibly popular and was very well received despite Cobain’s struggles.

Sadly, toward the end of his life, Cobain would nod off during important events and he started to get sores on his face.  In 1993, Cobain overdosed on heroin and Courtney Love treated this overdose by giving Cobain Naloxone.  He survived but sadly, this wouldn’t be the only scary episode.  

In 1994, life would get much darker for Cobain and his family, bandmates and in turn, it would get dark for the millions of Nirvana fans around the world.

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In the spring of 1994, Cobain attempted to take his own life.  On March 3rd, he washed down dozens of pills with alcohol while in Rome.  He was taken to a hospital there and remarkably, he survived.  Just 2 weeks later, he locked himself in a bathroom with a gun and a bottle of pills.  While some speculate this was a suicide attempt, Cobain insisted that he was hiding from Courtney Love.  There was a lot of tension in their relationship.  

An intervention happened and thankfully, Cobain agreed to go to rehab.  He wasn’t there very long though, he fled by allegedly jumping over a fence.  

In early April of 1994, Cobain went MIA.  No one was able to locate him.  On April 8, 1994, an electrician went to Cobain’s home to do some work and found Cobain unconscious on the floor.  He had been there for several days and had allegedly taken his life a few days prior.  There was a shotgun present as well as a note. 

High traces of heroin and prescription drugs were later found in his system.  A lot of theories have been expressed about how Cobain passed away, but 26 years later, suicide is still his cause of death.  

I remember watching MTV shortly after he passed and they showed a lot of fans near his home laying down flowers, lighting candles and of course crying.  I also remember seeing Courtney Love out front talking to fans while smoking a cigarette.  It was definitely a somber and painful moment in the history of music.  A creative genius gone too soon.  His story really hits home for me for others I’m sure.  

April 5, 1994 was the day that the band Nirvana came to an end.  

Following the passing of Kurt Cobain and the ending of Nirvana, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic sort of headed in different directions.  Grohl has said that he was (understandably) in a dark place following Cobain’s passing.  He couldn’t bring himself to play music or even listen to music because it reminded him of his friend and just felt too depressing.  Thankfully, he was able to pull himself out of this place a bit and ended up recording a demo tape (playing all of the instruments himself), this would eventually evolve into Foo Fighters which has become one of the most well-known and successful bands of all time.  Novoselic would take a break from music for some time and he ended up getting involved in political activism.  More recently, he has gotten himself back into the world of music and was allegedly working toward becoming a lawyer at one point.  

Not wanting to end on such a sad note, here is some information you may not have known about Nirvana:

• Krist Novoselic is an incredibly talented bass player.  He can also play the accordion which I mentioned when we discussed the UnPlugged album.  Also of note, Krist Novoselic is 6 foot 7! 
• Almost 15 million people listen to Nirvana monthly on Spotify
• Cobain and Grohl were essentially self-taught musicians. It is unclear how Novoselic learned to play the bass but I imagine he taught himself a lot of what he knows as well given that he started playing with Cobain at such a young age.
• Cobain wrote most of the lyrics and music for all of Nirvana’s songs, Grohl and Novoselic were accepting of this approach and didn’t really challenge it.  
• Nirvana was a very progressive band during their run...they played in benefit concerts such as advocating for gay rights in Portland via the no on 9 campaign.  
• Nirvana also raised money for Bosnian Rape Victims and felt that would be more helpful than just talking about it during interviews
• Cobain got to meet Iggy Pop at some point, he was one of his heroes
• Krist Novoselic was really a leader in the band, he was sort of the glue that kept the band together and managed a lot of the group’s affairs.  He was really the unsung hero of the band and helped take the pressure off of the other guys especially if they were being pushed hard during interviews.  
• Fans still gather to this day to celebrate Cobain’s life
• Musical integrity was extremely important to the members of Nirvana.  On one TV appearance on the British TV show ‘Top of the Pops’ the band was forced to perform over a pre-recorded back track for Smells Like Teen Spirit. 

Not agreeing with this, the group did an over the top performance.  They very clearly did not play their instruments in tune with the music and Cobain, who was singing live, purposefully sang in a lower/off tune key.  It’s completely ridiculous and spectacular all at the same time.  I’ll post a link to the video in the show notes.  

• The group was definitely not afraid to be a bit silly and different on stage.  In many instances, the group would smash their instruments and Cobain often jumped into Grohl’s drum sets as if he were crowd surfing.  
  • In 1992 at a concert there was a rumor swirling that Cobain was too sick to perform.  He was wheeled out onto the stage in a wheelchair.  He slowly gets out of the chair and then he proceeds to sing the first lines of the song ‘The Rose.’ and intentionally collapses to the ground.  It was all an act and he ended up performing just fine for the rest of the show.
• Dave Grohl is incredibly passionate and dedicated to music
  • He is grateful that he has had not 1 but 2 successful runs with musical groups, Foo Fighters has been a band for over 25 years
  • When DG was in high school, he was in a band called ‘Freak Baby.’ 
  • He also advocates that people work hard to hone their craft.  He has said if you are passionate about what you do and you work hard, people will notice.  He wants more kids to start bands in their garage, not think they have to go on some TV show and audition to prove their worth.  
  • During a live performance with the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl accidentally fell off the stage and broke his leg.  He was taken backstage and assisted by medical staff and went back and played the rest of the show, sitting down, with a broken leg! They were only 2 songs in when the accident happened and he didn’t want to stop the show.  How awesome is that?! 
• Cobain’s goal with music was to keep it simple, memorable and catchy.  He’d write the song and would play chords on his guitar.  Krist and Grohl would then come in and test out some chords, drum patterns, etc. and that was how they came up with songs.  
• Contrary to what people may assume, Dave Grohl does not do drugs and stopped using drugs when he was 20 years old.  He said he just loves music too much and doesn’t want to lose focus.  
• The album Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson’s album Dangerous from the top of the Billboard charts
• As I mentioned before, Nirvana was very progressive for the time and were huge LGBTQ advocates, in their Incesticide album insert they wrote:
  • “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 f--- alone! Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records.” And in the album insert for “In Utero,” they said: “If you’re a sexist, racist, homophobe or basically an a--hole, don’t buy this CD. I don’t care if you like me, I hate you.”  Further, as I mentioned in Episode # of the PCR on RuPaul, Cobain and RuPaul were actually friends, Cobain was a huge fan of RuPaul’s music.   Cobain was even known to wear dresses during performances and interviews every once in a while. 
  • Recently, Nirvana’s song ‘Something in the Way’ appeared in the new Batman film’s trailer.  Perhaps a new generation of Nirvana fans will develop. 
• Nirvana is one of the most successful rock bands of all time having sold over 75 million records.  This fact just blows me away

In 2014, 20 years after Kurt Cobain passed away, Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  It seemed like a very fitting tribute to one of the most original, charismatic and ground-breaking musical groups of all time.  A band that held a special place in my sister’s heart and mine as well.

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I hope you have enjoyed this look back on the global sensation that was Nirvana.  From their humble beginnings in a small town in Washington to playing to hundreds of thousands of people abroad, the legacy of Nirvana will live on so long as music is a part of our cultural fabric.  While the focus is so often on the tragic end of Nirvana, it’s important to remember their contributions to music and the power of determination and not giving up.  The 3 members of Nirvana all struggled to find where they fit in as young men, but when they came together, magic happened.  It just goes to show you that if you are passionate about something and believe in yourself even if other people don’t, it’s entirely possible that your dreams can come true.  I’m sure Cobain, Grohl and Novoselic were not voted most likely to succeed in their respective school’s yearbooks, but nonetheless they taught us a lot about resilience and creativity.  

I found a quote (author unknown) that I think applies to both Kurt Cobain and my sister, it says:  “New studies are demonstrating that highly creative people and those suffering from certain types of Mental Illness do share a constellation of characteristics that engender creativity.” 

If you are enjoying the PCRP, please consider subscribing on whichever podcast platform you use.  Please also consider rating the show on iTunes or Apple podcasts, it helps the show out a lot! Thank you so much for tuning in and for your support.  Please tell your friends and family about this show!  Recommending this podcast to people you care about would mean a lot so please spread the word!  Please feel free to contact me, my email address is:  popcultureretrospective@gmail.com or you can tweet me, I’m @popcultureretro.  I hope you will join me for my next show where we will be discussing the history of the infamous electronic device found in homes all over the world in the 1980s and 1990s, the VCR! Until then, be kind, be safe and hold on to your memories….