donjunio

Another thing: among the many notes you make about Cobain (more of a somewhat stuttering monologue: the comments on Courtney Love and MTV, as highlighted by others, certainly do not favor a lucid and coherent critique), and leaving aside the discussion on Cobain's technical and compositional shortcomings, which are notoriously subjective (certainly Cobain never hid the fact that he made simple and already heard music: what mattered to him was simply making punk rock music to escape that hole in Aberdeen, exorcising his fears and anxieties in those four chords: after all, he was a drifter, sleeping under a bridge at 15 and certainly hadn’t gone to music school), I’m curious about the points you made regarding the majors and the production of In Utero. It seems to me that your statements echo without much imagination the "religious wars" carried on by the followers of Fugazi in the past decade. Cobain signed with Geffen not because he thought he would become a billionaire that way, but simply to gain better visibility and because the band had become unmanageable for Sub Pop. Many punk-rooted artists had anticipated this: the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, R.E.M., and especially Sonic Youth, who recommended them to Geffen. Are all these names made up of shabby businessmen? Geffen itself certainly didn’t think that "Nevermind" would be a smash hit, as its "marketing experts" decided to print merely 50,000 copies, an almost laughable number. Cobain's criticisms of the majors began later, not so much during the time of Nevermind due to Wallace's mixing, but rather regarding the notoriously controversial production of In Utero. In this respect, I find your comment on Albini completely out of place. Of course, there's a big difference between the 600 dollars paid by Jason Everman for the production of Bleach and the big bucks given to Steve. But I would have been much more scandalized if he had made Geffen spend much higher amounts to be produced by people like Bob Rock or Brendan O’Brien, instead of choosing a difficult and abrasive producer like Albini. Sure, if Cobain had been a hero, he would have told them all to screw off and returned to the indie universe. But Cobain was the archetype of the anti-hero, he was full of doubts and weaknesses, and in fact, he was the first to joke about himself and the paradoxical situation of himself and grunge. How can one forget the opening lines of In Utero: "the youth discontent has borne enough fruit, now I’m old and bored." His dream was to become a rock star, he had achieved it but discovered there was a dark side to it all, leading him to declare in "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter," "I don’t want what I’ve got." And perhaps that’s why he exited the scene. The only thing that is truly irritating to associate with Nirvana is all that series of comments about Nirvana saving rock, about grunge, all an emphasis that Cobain himself always rejected, which he joked about and that he didn’t give a damn about.

However, satisfy my curiosity, Sanjuro: in the comments to your review of "nevermind," you wrote, "So: I adore Nirvana. I believe Chris Novoselic and the others are among the most talented musicians in the history of music. With very basic means, they managed to paint inner landscapes... and blah blah blah, I don’t feel like finding the words. Nirvana is one of the greatest bands in history, they make all their contemporary peers look like dust in terms of intensity and compositional intelligence. YES, COMPOSITIONAL INTELLIGENCE. The one that is missing from 95% of metal bands on the planet, the work of Nirvana is communicative and does not feed off mere wankers and classical fillers, unlike others. It was an ironic review aimed at the average Nirvana fan (the troubled and inconsolable girls) and at the average reviewer of Nirvana albums (the one who always has to write the same cosmic bullshit. TEENAGE ANGER, THE MOST IMPORTANT ALBUM OF THE 90s, VOICE OF A GENERATION... these things have been shoved into their brains and now they have to appear by contract in every reference to the Seattle trio. Enough. KURT, THAT SWEET AND BLONDE ANGEL, LEFT TOO EARLY FOR HEAVEN. You girls better hurry to your psychologist... or maybe I'll even get some for myself." ...giving the album five stars... what has changed so drastically since then?

No dear NGD, you can rest assured: and anyway I am donjunio, not sanjuro!

Thanks trellheim, indeed this review was mostly a tribute to Sub Pop and that historical period! Regarding the irony/be sweet discussion, I'll quote an interview with Greg Dulli by Cesare Lorenzi: "When I was accused of being a sexist, those were things that left a mark. I underestimated how much certain topics affect people. I don't have anything to reproach myself for anyway (...) ... I was tired of people interviewing me and always bringing up the same lyrical fragments: 'I've got a dick for a brain'; no one could see the comedic side, perhaps because they were such dark, such sarcastic albums that overshadowed everything else." It certainly wasn't just that, but within that cinematic masterpiece called "Gentlemen," with the portrayal of certain characters (not necessarily Dulli) in specific circumstances, there was also irony. As for the cover, everyone sees it as they want: for me, it's very ironic. Bye.

pardon "touch me i'm sick"… I'm really sleepy this morning.

No, unfortunately I miss this... even though I managed to get hold of quite a few singles released by the Sub Pop club, for example the split single Sonic Youth/Mudhoney, with Ranaldo's band covering "Touch Me I'm Sick"....

"obliques" pardon

What I miss: excellent review. Personally, I've always thought of Pavement as a tad overrated: a great band for sure, but I've never shared the messianic emphasis placed on every note of theirs throughout the nineties.

@sylvan Actually, I wrote that it is this album, not the ones you mentioned, that justifies the connection between grunge and Afghan Whigs: whether for its release on Sub Pop, for Jack Endino's production (no need to remind you about what he has produced), or for the actual sound of this album. Like all great bands, the Whigs have their own style, and especially in the subsequent albums, it would become clear how grunge would become an increasingly blended element.
@"realramona". I had no doubts about the urticaria! Anyway, "sgangherato" is a compliment: everything is sgangherato in Dinosaur Jr, from the attitude to J.'s solos, it’s like saying the Pavement are “oliqui.”

excuse me, did you say "half melodic crap"?