Nirvana: The Stories Behind Every Song

By Chuck Crisafulli

Book Overview

Unflaggingly faithful to its punk rock roots, Nirvana was the catalyst behind a sea of change, the likes of which the music world had not seen since the Beatles spearheaded the British Invasion more than a quarter of a century before. Spawned in the intensely fertile music scene that blossomed in and around Seattle in the late 1980s, Nirvana instantly distinguished itself from the bulk of its peers by virture of the singular passion that drove its leader, Kurt Cobain. The singer was imbuedwith incredible personal magnetism, as well as an uncommon gift for articulating the chaotic emotions of what has been called a lost generation. Although the band released just five albums, Nirvana's influence is certain to be felt for many years to come. This book examines the multiple reasons behind that impact, chronicling the band's earliest beginnings to rock superstardom, pinpointing the genesis of each of the band's original songs and exploring the sources from which they chose the coversongs that punctuated their records.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560259477
• ISBN13: 9781560259473
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.8" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

If your a Nirvana fan and own every CD...you WANT this book!

This book is so great, I'm a Nirvana junkie I know tons about them along with others, but until you buy this book you don't know it all. There are so many facts I didn't know about some of Kurt's songs that I know now because of this book. It is such an awesome book evey Nirvana freak should own one!!!

HIGHLY RECCOMENDED FOR ANY TRUE NIRVANA FAN

ANY TRUE NIRVANA WOULD APPRECIATE THIS BOOK VERY MUCH. IT NOT ONLY HAS APPROX. 2 PAGES OF SUPERB INFO ABOUT EVERY NIRVANA SONGS,IT ALSO INCLUDES DISCOGRAPHY, GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS [ON ALMOST EVERY PAGE] AND A TIMELINE FROM WHEN KRIST WAS BORN TILL KURT DIED. IT TELLS WHAT THE SONGS MEAN. HOW KURT WAS FEELING WHEN HE WROTE THE SONGS. WHAT THEY WERE ABOUT. BUY IT-YOU WILL LOVE IT!! I KNOW I DO!

yummy pee pee go milk milk now...

don't play leap frog with unicorns..

Absorbing and entertaining, if not revealing!

Ok, this isn't the best book about Nirvana, but it's far from the worst.I really enjoyed the attempt to show a little about what Kurt's mind set was atthe time he was writing some of his punk-pop masterpieces.The book seems very well researched, with a lot of quotes and asides,and alsohas a lot of good pictures.Some of the pictures,however,have nothing to do with Nirvana.In fact,some are downright amusing.They seem a littleout of place, like the mismatched stock footage which graced the legendary Ed Wood's "finest" work as a director.Beyond that, there are a lot of good stories behind the songs.It was a good decision to include the cover songs, if for no other reason than to understand why Kurt loved them.To sum, although more time could have been spent on some songs, and inclusion of many of the pictures is somewhat odd, this is a good and interesting lookinto the mind of a brilliant and sometimes tormented Pied Piper of the misbegotten.

Nice pictures. Good book. Nothing amazing.

I only have read two Nirvana books, so I can't compare to any other. To me is a worth-buying book. It has nice pictures, stories of their songs. It is not the greatest thing in the world, but I still think it's very good.