The trajectory of Nirvana without Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain was the very definition of Nirvana. He was the face, the voice, and the main songwriter of the band, and his creative vision informed everything from their aesthetic to their message. However, each of those aspects, which together make up arguably the most important rock band of the 1990s, was shaped by Kurt’s bandmates. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ doesn’t go anywhere near as hard as it does without Dave Grohl’s drumming. Krist Novoselic was a constant lieutenant to Cobain, and when the frontman stopped listening to his bassist, everyone could see something was terribly wrong.
Even touring guitarist Pat Smear became such a valued member of the group that he’s treated as an honorary band member today. His sheer loveliness made their last year of touring less torturous than it would have been otherwise. Nevertheless, continuing Nirvana without Kurt Cobain would have been like continuing to film Goodfellas without Martin Scorsese. Or any cameras.
It would be a fool’s errand that could only end in tears of derision. For proof of this, see the ludicrous display of a “Nirvana Reunion” that happened at the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary. A truly embarrassing affair that saw Novoselic, Smear and Grohl, a man well familiar with truly embarrassing affairs, joined by Post Malone of all people.
Together, this ersatz Nirvana, a funhouse mirror version of one of the most important acts in American popular music, thrashed out a version of ‘Teen Spirit’ that most pre-pubescent garage bands would point and laugh at. How could this happen? And why would a group of people as seemingly protective of Kurt’s legacy as his own bandmates think this was a good idea? Let’s head back to the beginning and see what we can find.
Where did Nirvana go after losing Kurt Cobain?
After Cobain’s passing, Grohl and Smear formed the Foo Fighters, and Novoselic went into politics. Despite that, a form of Nirvana has been active since 1997. Novoselic, Grohl and lead vocalist of Hole and Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, formed Nirvana LLC, a company to oversee all projects related to the band’s legacy. Like all things involving Grohl and Love, it eventually dissolved into a protracted, vicious war of words. With Love deciding that Grohl and Novoselic were Cobain’s sidemen who weren’t entitled to as much of his estate as they were getting, filed a suit to dissolve the company in 2001.
Grohl and Noveselic countersued, arguing that they were just as important to the band as anyone else and, since Love wasn’t in the band, she shouldn’t have a controlling say in their future endeavours. Fittingly, considering that both parties had a point, a settlement was reached in 2002, and the two parties reached an uneasy truce. This meant that Nirvana’s self-titled first compilation album could be released the same year and, crucially, contain the band’s first new release since 1994 and final unreleased recording with Kurt Cobain, ‘You Know You’re Right’.
Understandably, the only activity coming from the Nirvana camp for the next few years was re-releases of their albums and the rarities box set With The Lights Out. However, in 2012, that would all change thanks to the help of one Sir Paul McCartney. While making his documentary film Sound City, Dave Grohl assembled a jam session at LA’s Sound City Studios featuring himself, Novoselic, Smear and McCartney. A combo that the typically witty Novoselic named Sirvana. Their jam session went so well that they wrote and recorded an original song during it titled ‘Cut Me Some Slack’.
The agreeably heavy blues jam debuted in December of the same year, with the whole band assembled for McCartney’s headline set at the Hurricane Sandy benefit concert at Madison Square Garden. This concert lit a fire under the remaining members of Nirvana, and, over the next few years, they would try to replicate this magic, seemingly with as many different singers as humanly possible. The absolute best version of this came two years later when Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
If you want one reason why the whole Post Malone thing could have worked, it’s the four-song set that “Nirvana” played at their induction ceremony. The band made the bold choice to perform with four different singers on four songs. Joan Jett tearing through ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, St Vincent regally shredding through ‘Lithium’, Kim Gordon howling through ‘Aneurysm’ and a 17-year-old Lorde sending shivers down the spine with a rendition of ‘All Apologies’. Do you notice the common thread between all the singers? Well done, it was intentional.
It was as fitting a tribute to Cobain’s proudly feminist politics as you could get at this point in the band’s history, and each performance absolutely rules in its own way. It makes sense that each person involved in that performance decamped to Brooklyn’s nearby Saint Vitus bar and played a secret, extended show of Nirvana songs. All attended save for Lorde, who had to catch a flight afterwards, but in her stead was Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis and Deer Tick’s John McCauley for good measure.
There have been other shows like them since, including all slots at benefit concerts with a few other additions to the lineup. A reunion show at the Hollywood Palladium for The Art Of Elysium saw Beck join the party so they could do Nirvana’s cover of ‘The Man Who Sold The World’. The same show also saw the singing debut of Grohl’s daughter Violet, who admirably filled in for Lorde on ‘All Apologies’. This was also the group that came together for the reunions set at the Fire Aid benefit concert in Los Angeles. All very admirable causes and, by and large, admirable performances. So, what explains the Post Malone fiasco?
Well, credit to the lad; he’s a fan. In 2020, he put together a band a whole band featuring Travis Barker on the drums to record a livestream solely of Nirvana covers, so at least he had a good time. I can’t help but think it goes against all the ways this could be “what Kurt wanted”, though. It’s one thing to support female musicians and get together for a good cause. However, getting a has-been fanboy up front for the sake of an NBC TV special for a live audience of fellow “celebrities”? One wonders what Kurt must have thought of that. He did bungle ‘Teen Spirit’s opening riff, which I am sure he would have found hilarious.
All joking aside, does it tarnish Kurt’s legacy? God no. An avatar of him singing ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ in Guitar Hero 5 couldn’t, so probably nothing will. It’s impossible to really say what does and doesn’t honour Cobain’s legacy, but one would imagine he’d be happier to hear about someone, anyone, playing the music live. I’d imagine that’s preferable to those records, those still-incredible songs, remaining nothing more than a relic of the early 1990s gathering dust when they could be changing the lives of new generations instead.
