Newspaper Page Text
STUPID AND CONTAGIOUS
The first time Krist Novoselic heard Kurt
Cobain play the opening riff of "Smells Like
Teen Spirit," he thought it sounded "ridicu
lous." And it does. It's a garage-band lick,
the kind of thing a teenager plays with when
he or she first discovers how to make barre
chords, like "Smoke on the Water" or "You
Really Got Me." It's simple and tinny and,
well, ridiculous—that is, until Dave Grohl's
menacing drums come in like anti-aircraft
fire, Cobain stomps his fuzzbox, and suddenly
you're wondering how you're going to get all
the melty face-goo out of your vintage Stiff
Little Fingers tee.
It's hard to believe that "Smells Like Teen
Spirit" and Nirvana's Nevermind album will
be 20 years old this autumn. I'm not one to
perpetuate the Cobain myth—Nirvana made
only a handful of albums, of uneven quality;
Kurt was a decent songwriter but certainly not
"the voice of his generation"; and I believe
that his death was pointless and stupid and
that Courtney had nothing to do with it—but,
considered in a vacuum, Nevermind is a near
perfect album, both as a showcase of a band
at the height of its powers and as a reflection
of its time: the doldrums of the early '90s,
the hangover from too much MTV gloss, bad
hair-metal and de-fanged punk. Here Cobain's
songs glide across the spectrum from incho
ate rage to mind-numbing ennui, capturing
all the shades of grey in between, like the sky
over Seattle. Among Nirvana's contemporaries,
Pearl Jam was more successful, Mudhoney was
probably better, and Soundgarden was, well,
Soundgarden, but for good or ill they all lived
and breathed under the shadow of Nevermind.
As we in Coolsville, GA know well, a break
ing music scene is like a zit. You never know
when or where it will appear, but after years
of subterranean scene-building, you wake up
one morning and it's there, huge and angry
and impossible to ignore. It hangs around for
awhile, the new big thing attracting attention
from all over... and then suddenly it pops.
Sometimes it leaves a scar to remind you it
was there, sometimes not, but you'll never
replicate it in the same place again.
As it was with Athens, so it was with
Seattle. Once known in the music world as the
backwater that spit out The Kingsmen ("Louie,
Louie") and gave birth to Jimi Hendrix, but
little else, the Pacific Northwest had little-
known yet thriving punk and metal scenes
and a ready crowd of bored and restless kids
clamoring for noise. As musicians from both
scenes began to cross-pollinate into a hard
but melodic sound that lazy A&R flacks would
eventually label "grunge," Bruce Pavitt's Sub
Pop magazine and subsequent record label
began to gather and promote these emerging
bands relentlessly. The right promotion of the
right sound at the right time propelled the
Pacific Northwest scene into the forefront of
American rock music and filled the post-'80s
radio void with its larger-than-life presence.
Seattle's Experience Music Project (EMP) is
a museum—in a Frank Gehry-designed build
ing-devoted to preserving and displaying the
artifacts of the Seattle/Northwest music scene
and compiling an extensive oral history of the
music and the times. The fruits of EMP's labors
have been gathered in a new book, curated
by Jacob McMurray, called
Taking Punk to the Masses:
From Nowhere to Nevermind
(Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
It's a dense tome, timed to
coincide with the 20th anni
versary of Nevermind, packed
with beautiful photos of EMP's
vast collection of instruments,
posters and flyers and assorted
rock and punk memorabilia,
with commentary and excerpts
from the oral history project,
featuring testimonials from
people like Greg Ginn and J
Mascis and Grant Hart and
Novoselic, on facing pages.
The effect is that of taking
a guided tour through the
museum, exhibit by exhibit,
with headphones on.
My favorite photos are
those taken from live shows,
though the pictures of vari
ous donated guitars trip my
trigger as well. The collection
of show flyers featured here
runs the gamut between crude
line drawings ar \ cut-and-paste jobs and the
beautiful work of artists like Ed Fotheringham
that stand as sophisticated pieces in their
own right. There's an awful lot to look at here,
and the book stands up to repeated readings.
Included with the book is a companion
DVD that provides more views and allows
one to hear the recordings excerpted in the
book. What is also interesting here is what's
not included with the book: Courtney Love.
Though the history and artifacts of Nirvana
are explored in loving detail, and though the
band Hole, despite not being a Seattle band,
is nonetheless represented by testimony from
bassist Melissa Auf der Mar, there is not a
single image, reference or mention of Love to
be found in the book. It's a glaring and obvi
ous omission, and Love's absence is conspicu
ous. The reader can decide whether or not this
is a plus.
Taking Punk to the Masses is a definite
keeper for anyone who loves the bands of
the Pacific Northwest or the history of rock
in America. It may also be a useful reference
for those who'll be rebuilding the Georgia
Music Hall of Fame in the coming years. We
Coolsville-ites can learn a lot from each other.
John G. Nettles
Friday, July 29 • 6:30-9:30p.m
All Skill Levels Welcome!
An original painting for you,
a donation for them!
A portion of the proceeds benefit the •
Rebuild Georgia Theatre Fund
www.pintsandpaints.com
The leathers Building 675 Pulaski Si.
COOL'PLACES
TO SIT AND SLEEP
BEAN BAGS • FUTONS * MATTRESSES
PLATFORM BEDS • KIDS* LOFTS
BUNKBEDS • WATERBEDS
UGA Decor & More
Open 6 Days 10-7 • 706.543.4323
Across from Georgia Square Mall
southernwaterbeds.com •
■ J
Canine Cocktail Hour
5-7p on The Madison Patio
Pe/friendly with
$3 Salty-Dogs & Greyhounds
Live After Five
6-8p on The Madison Patio
Featuring live music by
Matthew Michaei Anderson
and Dusty Woodruff
Local Libations
The Madison Bar & Bistro
Enjoy our signature
cocktails for only $5
500 College Avenue | 706 546 0430 | mdigoathens.com
twitter.com/mdigoathens | facebook.com/mdigoathens
ATHENS
SUNDAY BEACH BRUNCH
OMELETS • FRENCH TOAST
CRABSCINO SANDWICH
SALMON HASH & MORE !
Mon 4pm until • Tue-Sun 11:30am-Until • Plenty of Parking
1080 Baxter St. • 706-850-5858
WT4 www.gnatslanding.net
Call us for vour catering needs!
GNATS
LANDING
Be*9ch Gaawl
Thursday, July 21 • 6-7:30 pm
Join Andy and Bob for their
OWNERS' OYSTER ROAST
FTee Roasted Oysters
Live Music!
JULY 20, 2011 FLAGPOLE.COM 7
