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For fans of nirvana and grunge,rock music enthusiasts,readers interested in music history,critics and skeptics of popular music myths,90s alternative rock fans
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LA RECENSIONE

Nirvana have always been seen by a massive crowd as the "inventors of grunge", "one of the most influential bands of the early '90s", "symbol of a generation", "an emblem of a movement against the system"... Kurt Cobain has almost turned into an "misunderstood angel fallen from the sky", whom our unfair world rejected because it’s too filthy for such a noble and high entity...

Well... Let’s try to analyze this. Kurt Cobain: Who was he? Basically, a drug addict. Someone who lives for MTV and commits suicide for "the system". A poor guitarist, decent singer, and songwriter. The music: How was it? Not particularly innovative. There were already several bands doing the same music for years, even on the same Seattle scene. Catchy, angry, dirty. Full of little gems like "the click of the amplifier when it’s turned on". Nothing special, I think. If he didn't invent it, he surely made grunge known; after Nirvana, music practically died. Well, what did he influence, then?

With The Lights Out: one of the many money-grabbing operations by record companies to try and keep iron hot for over 10 years. To feed a "convenient" myth. Unreleased tracks, covers, pieces they probably didn’t even know they recorded, and more... There are still those who refuse to listen to "Povia" or whatever commercial song or album because they only see the desire to make money behind it and not "human warmth" and dare to consider this CD excellent?

The audience? Who knows how many have already said this, but it always needs to be reiterated: the biggest commercial operation ever carried out by Nirvana was undoubtedly the death of their frontman. Nirvana is reduced to fashion, Cobain defined as a "cursed poet" for saying things like "Polly wants a cracker", for using the keys of his Fender at random. Well, try to compare him with De André, let's see if you still consider him a "poet", I say. His audience is mostly a bunch of kids writing in their diaries "KURT LIVES"...

Kurt is dead, and thank heavens for it. Otherwise, you couldn’t keep filling your diary.

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Summary by Bot

This review challenges the common glorification of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, portraying Cobain as a flawed individual and the band as commercially exploited. It critiques the album With The Lights Out as a money-making endeavor with little musical innovation. The reviewer questions Nirvana's true influence and the cult-like status of Cobain.

Tracklist

01   Heartbreaker (live, 1987) (02:59)

02   Anorexorcist (radio performance, 1987) (02:44)

03   White Lace and Strange (radio performance, 1987) (02:09)

04   Vendetagainst (radio performance, 1987) (02:41)

05   Mrs. Butterworth (rehearsal recording, 1988) (04:05)

06   If You Must (demo, 1988) (04:01)

07   Pen Cap Chew (demo, 1988) (03:02)

08   Downer (live, 1988) (01:43)

09   Floyd the Barber (live, 1988) (02:33)

10   Raunchola / Moby Dick (live, 1988) (06:24)

11   Beans (solo acoustic, undated) (01:32)

12   Don't Want It All (solo acoustic, undated) (02:26)

13   Clean Up Before She Comes (solo acoustic, undated) (03:12)

14   Polly (solo acoustic, 1988) (02:30)

15   About a Girl (solo acoustic, 1988) (02:44)

16   Blandest (demo, 1988) (03:56)

17   Dive (demo, 1988) (04:50)

18   They Hung Him on a Cross (demo, 1989) (01:57)

19   Grey Goose (demo, 1989) (04:36)

20   Ain't It a Shame (demo, 1989) (02:01)

21   Token Eastern Song (demo, 1989) (03:21)

22   Even in His Youth (demo, 1989) (03:12)

23   Polly (demo, 1989) (02:36)

Nirvana

American rock band formed in the late 1980s, fronted by Kurt Cobain with Krist Novoselic and later Dave Grohl. Broke into the mainstream with Nevermind (1991) and released In Utero (1993); Cobain died in 1994.
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