I was listening to Nirvana the other day, trying to get the big mystery of what is so extraordinary about them. What’s so special about Kurt Cobain? I don’t understand it. I am not trying to be disrespectful; I just really don’t get it. The band consists of guitars and a drum – every song sounds sort of the same. Where is the variety? I mean, they have some good songs, but I don’t understand the obsessive fans throwing themselves over his grave. What am I missing here? (why does anyone give a hill of beans about Courtney Love – I partly get Cobain, but Love? Um, not so much. Somebody must still care about her because all the celebrity rags still print news of her latest escapades (or escapes). Not that I read that crep. Nope. No sirree. Not me.)
I know I get odd looks when I claim my undying devotion to Pink Floyd, but they were PINK FLOYD – they are classic. It still hurts me that David Gilmour and Roger Waters haven’t mended their broken fences (Dudes – for the love of all things hemp, just kiss and make up already. ‘kay?)
Anyway, if there is anyone out who can explain the Mystery of Kurt Cobain for me, I have a half-eaten Girl Scout Cookie for you……
Rancid Tangent: Since when did Hindu things become so stylish? Is Nirvana responsible for this? Surely, it wasn’t Dharma and Greg. How did the marketing folks happen upon this new trend? Is Richard Gere responsible for the new chic-ness of Buddhism? Isn’t it somewhat disconcerting to see Buddha figurines sold in TARGET? At a minimum, disrespectful? I’d ask X, but he’s Catholic. Why isn’t it hip to be Catholic? We drink. We can hang. I guess latent guilt isn’t as marketable.
5 comments:
I can’t explain the Kurt Cobain thing, but I’ll take that half-eaten Girl Scout cookie. When were they selling GS cookies, and how come they didn’t come to my door?
Re: the Hinduism/Buddhism/Enlightenment thing. Westerners have been seeking Enlightenment from “the East” since the 1960s—at least. Think of the Beatles and the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and others of that ilk. There may have been a lull in the ‘80s but now it’s back stronger than ever. Look at all the people taking yoga and dancing to bhangra. I read a book about the phenomenon a few years back, but I guess I didn’t retain much of what I learned. I can’t even dredge up the title. I’m a big help.
I blame Madonna. For the Hinduism/Buddhism/Enlightenment thing, as well as for most everything else.
Oh, I agree that the whole hippie movement in the 60s/70s included enlightenment and all that. I just think it is funny that the marketing folks have grabbed onto the concept I have really noticed the whole Indian thing going strong in the fashion world - white girls wearing bindis??? Bhangra lessons?? I have even dug out things I purchased while in Pakistan during the early 90s to wear them again because NOW they are in style - they certainly weren't when I first bought them!
Girl Scout cookies? Let's just say I have connections. My dealer personally came over Saturday night to hook me up........
Hope you don't mind I have "Spotted" this post on my own blog(robespiere.blogpot.com)with reference to "Hindu"or Eastern ideas in popular western culture. It is much older than the beatles - eastern ideas came to Britain along with the opium Think Coleridge's Xanadu in the poem Khubla Khan.
I agree that Eastern ideas aren't new to the West - I probably should have clarified and really pinpointed the fashion industry. I was wearing shalwar kameezes in college in the early 90s and people thought I was a weird, freaky white girl wearing Pakistani clothes. Then, Madonna wears one to a major awards show and suddenly, it's a fashion statement. I will have to check your site out!
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