Nirvana

The Band is booking more and more shows and trying to get signed by any company, desperate for a record deal. Kurt finally after much thought decides the name of their band that will stick with them till his death (Kurt had gotten in the habit of changing the name every show, even once going under the name skid row). The book is getting more interesting cause I like to hear more about the band and less about Kurt being anti-social which the author stresses way too much. I get it. It's fun to piece together information to see whats going to happen next cause I already know a lot about the band. Plus the stories about the band actually relate to the plot. My overall opinion keeps on changing when reading this book, and I'm still figuring out if I like it or not. I have a feeling that his drug usage will become a huge part of the book considering it was a big factor in his whole life and contributed to his death.

Again and Again

After reading more of Heavier Than Heaven it seems like this book is repeating itself a lot. Kurts getting deeper and deeper into drug use. He is still switching houses and trying to find places to live. Kurt can't even find a stable job because he wont do anything that takes too much effort. His band still has trouble making decisions on how they're going to run things and what songs they are going to play. I'm sure that Kurts life was much more detailing than this book, but then again he wasn't alive to help write it, like Anthony Kiedis and Scar Tissue which i also read. The book hasnt ceased to entertain me entirely, but it will soon unless an important event happens soon.

the troubles continue

Kurt dropped out of Weatherwax high school and now he is living on his own in an apartment. For a brief moment Kurt is in the band called "Fecal Matter" (his first band) and records his first tape. This is a big step for Kurt and his music Career. However, after breaking some house rules he is kicked out of jesse's house. Kurt has many incidents with the police and his substance abuse and is thrown in jail for a week. All these events lead to the break up of the band. Later Krist confronts Kurt about joining together in a band. I am excited to read what happens. Still, I wonder how Nirvana actually became the Nirvana everyone knows. Thats the main reason why I'm reading this book. Another reason why this book interests me is because I didn't really know much about Kurts personal life and I wanted to infer why he committed suicide. The book seems to be slowing down and I am anxious to read about his later years.

post 50

My Reflection:
I cannot help myself, but i can keep on seeing myself to be very similar to Kurt. It really helps me understand the story from his perspective, which others may pass over because it is easy to take his actions in the wrong light. Which I am guilty of a couple of times. He moved in with the Reed's (a family whos close to the cobains) where he really starts to pick up his guitar more. Mr. Reed was in a band with Kurt's uncle so Kurt, Jesse and Krist get to use his equipment. This relates to my life a lot because my friend, Evan, had told me that his Dad was in a band before, and we started using his equipment. Finally Evan and Me formed a band and we have our first gig in a month and a cd release soon after that. That's how i envision Kurt and his band starting to form. First of all He meets Krist Novoselic for the first time and they jam (the soon to be bassist of Nirvana). I can already see the relationships forming and how Nirvana turned out as it is.

Dear Kurt

Dear Kurt,
The more and more I read about your life, the more and more I think about how we are so alike. When reading excerpts from your diary it seemed like those would be exactly my thoughts. Even though some things I felt connected to, there were some things that are totally different. Your connection to your parents is not good at all. You never see your dad anymore and your mom cannot stop yelling. I can see the reasons for your moods, decisions to use drugs, and social problems. While most people think your childhood problems is the main cause that you committed suicide, I believe there is a different reason. You said as a kid, bragging to your school mates, that you were going to become a famous rockstar and go out to be remembered forever. Thats exactly what you did. You did it just because you wanted to prove them wrong, and put your demons to rest, persay, in a state of 'Nirvana'.

Heavier Than Heaven

my reflection:
I already knew a lot about kurt cobain's life from his music and articles i have read on him but this book gave me a lot more information to understanding his life. Kurts family is impoverished and his parents are divorced because they did not get along. This was difficult because Kurt had to pretty much choose which parent he wanted to be with, so he chose his dad. However later into his childhood Kurt resented that decision and he embarrased his dad during a wrestling match in which he lets the other team win. His mom and new boyfriend fought a lot so his mom didnt want Kurt staying at her house. So Kurt was forced to stay with his other relatives for many years. He hated his parents. Kurt had a received a guitar earlier from his dad that he absolutely loved, but it was merely to show off then, not a guitar you want to play. So one day at his uncles house Kurt began listening to his uncles band and he later took lessons from their guitarist. His uncle found him a new guitar which he could actually learn on and he was hooked right away. I think this is the beginning of Kurts musical career. Kurt had been writing poems for most of his childhood and now he could start writing real music.

OR choice

I chose Heavier than Heaven by Charles R. Cross for my OR reading book this quarter. I decided to choose this book because my friend evan read it and recommended it to me, knowing i was also a kurt cobain fan. Also i feel like it will be similar to the book Scar Tissue which is about Anthony Kiedis, the singer for RHCP, who also had problems with drugs.