What was Kurt Cobain like? Bruce Pavitt (Sub Pop) Discusses

[@Wheeeeeeeeee-e2i]

One of my favorite things about Kurt is how effing smart and thoughtful he was, and so FUNNY. I can’t think of a single song he wrote that didn’t contain some element of humor, even the very serious songs. It made it easier to confront those things. I wish he were still with us. Would love to watch him think about the world. ❤️ All I can do now is try to learn as much from him as I can through the art and ideas that he left us. I enjoy building a collection of music and books that he liked; it’s like going through my cool uncle’s stuff (I was 13 when he passed, and pretty oblivious to all things “youth culture” back then!)

[@jessebartlett3637]

What I learned from Kurt was to not be a coward and kill myself.

[@sitindogmas]

crazy the impact Kurt had on us! even crazier how documented his life has become on the internet! how could he have ever foreseen any of it or his absolutely profound impact. I'm almost 50 and wow! ✌️💚

[@jasonjames8460]

Man. As a songwriter myself I gotta say Bleach is definitely not even close to amateur level songwriting. Bleach, insecticide and unplugged are my favorites. With probably insesticide as my favorite.

[@CharlesBukowski-m1o]

Maybe it's my age, "Nevermind" was released just after I graduated high school. I just turned 18 then! That being said, I'm really a big fan of "Incesticide" and the way they covered a lot of those songs. It covered the rawness that "Nevermind" lost in so many ways. Something great about "Bleach" too that gets lost in the translation to the next album that I prefer myself

[@garrieleepeck8753]

❤

[@whois3581]

Yea "amateur" is a really dumb word to use. Bleach and Incesticide were much more raw, abstract, adventurous. There's a bunch of songs much more complex than anything on Nevermind. Sounds like Bruce just wanted the simple radio hits. And thinking MudHoney was more "mature"? Really?

[@PitBullPlaysGames]

bleach was definitely amateur writing. going back it sounds like some nonsense id write when i was 12

[@jasonjames8460]

@@PitBullPlaysGames can’t wait to see what you wrote when you were 13

[@-solidsnake-]

Great clip, but I gotta say BLEACH IS A NORTHWEST HARDCORE/PUNK/NOISE ROCK CLASSIC

[@hadcrio6845]

Illiteracy Will Prevail is post-hardcore, Cobain was a pioneer, Bleach is sludge metal, Nevermind is New Wave and In Utero is grunge punk... Incesticide is classic punk.

[@yardhuntin]

Their goal was to make an anti hardcore thing haha , Chris said they saw themselves as an alt punk band back in 1987

[@Schmandle420]

I think they just considered themselves underground rock at that point. Definitely influenced by classic metal, punk, and pop but not any one of those things alone either

[@aaronmcbryer4362]

I consider it metal, but it's got the punk spirit.

[@qwerwerterytrtyutyuiyuiouiop]

@@hadcrio6845 piss off with your reductive categorization fetish you infidel!

[@KellyK387]

My husband and I were just talking 30 minutes ago about bleach and how Kurt wrote such simple songs and solos but bleach was actually very heavy

[@WOZCINEMA]

Nirvana in my opinion is thee greatest band to ever play a sound.

[@starshineraiser6729]

Absolutely fascinating video. Makes sense.

[@kaivrock]

“I see the people that used to beat me up in schoo” I never considered that probability.

[@elartedericardobenavides1647]

The last genius of Rock! Atte: Charly García

[@garrieleepeck8753]

It was great time when nirvana hit

[@VanillaMacaron551]

Not in those circumstances ... but hanging out for a day in Rome with Kurt. Wow.

[@qwerwerterytrtyutyuiyuiouiop]

cool man that was fresh

[@garrieleepeck8753]

It amazing how very shy people can get up on stage .ive played drums for 30 odd years .im very shy its destroyed. Everything i get so nervous get anxiety. Throwing up .its terrible. So fare play to kurt

[@idontcare2851]

He had the worst type of people around him; including the guy in this video.

[@PitBullPlaysGames]

well kurt wasnt special either. made his own poor choices

[@theironshiek]

He did bleach prety dirty. It's an amazing album

[@MoonBoy.]

I've always skipped Love Buzz because Kurt Cobain didn’t even write it. Additionally, it’s the least compelling song on Bleach in my opinion (though Bruce Pavitt considers it the best), not just on that album but within Nirvana’s entire catalog, both released and unreleased. Bruce has claimed that Cobain’s songwriting at the time wasn’t fully developed, but this is a misjudgment. He fundamentally misunderstood the depth of Cobain’s work and, in doing so, dismissed an artist who had already written over 20 outstanding songs by that point. The reality is that millions of fans deeply appreciate the songs Cobain was creating during this era-songs that Bruce incorrectly labeled as immature. This lack of recognition likely played a role in Nirvana leaving Sub Pop. If the person running their label fails to acknowledge the strength of their songwriting, it’s understandable why they would move on. Bruce, in hindsight, should reconsider his perspective: "Cobain was writing exceptional songs when he was on my label, but I failed to recognize their significance. He grew frustrated with my inability to see what was right in front of me. I favored Mudhoney over Nirvana, even though their impact never matched what Cobain was capable of achieving. If not for Cobain’s songwriting, which I dismissed as immature, my career and reputation in the industry would not be what they are today." Bruce's influence led to decisions that altered Bleach, including changes to the album’s track order and the removal of Cobain’s artistic VHS collage intros. These choices suggest that Cobain’s creative vision was undervalued at a crucial time in his career. Going forward, when evaluating music-whether my own or others'-I’ll ask myself: "Is this something Bruce Pavitt would have dismissed? If so, it’s probably worth a second look." It is important for industry figures to recognize talent beyond their personal preferences. Cobain’s songwriting was already remarkable before Nirvana even formed, as evidenced by Fecal Matter. That early work alone contradicts the notion that his songwriting lacked maturity. Bruce’s perspective on Cobain’s early work does not hold up to scrutiny. With time, it has become clear that Cobain was crafting deeply resonant, meaningful songs well before the mainstream recognized him. It’s a lesson in paying closer attention to true artistic brilliance before it’s too late.

[@IntoTheWild361]

That’s ignorant as hell. I believe it to be bottom of the food chain on the catalog. Imagine love buzz being better than Breed, Floyd the barber or any of those records lol. Dude is nuts

[@soulkiss1001]

I thought sub pop stopped being involved with nirvana after the bleach album?

[@avestuart]

No, Sub Pop gave the band an advance to record their second record at Butch Vig's studio in Madison, Wisconsin in 1990. Those recordings were actually the original recordings of what would later become "Nevermind". Drummer Chad Channing quit after a tour following that recording session and Sub Pop began having financial problems. There were rumors that Sub Pop would be bought by a major label, so Nirvana decided to shop around for their own major label deal and used the aforementioned recordings as a demo to present. It was at that point that they signed to DGC records. Technically still under contract with Sub Pop, DGC bought-out their contract for something like $70,000 and also agreed to display the Sub Pop logo on "Nevermind" in addition to royalties after "Nevermind" was "re-recorded' in California (again with Butch Vig). It's pretty interesting how it worked.

[@MoonBoy.]

These 1st Nevermind recordings are the Nirvana Smart Studio Sessions BEFORE grohl. Listen and realize Chad Channing wrote ALL THE DRUM PARTS FOR THE ENTIRE SONGS OF: In Bloom Breed (imodium/Pay To Play) Lithium Polly Stay Away Drain You drums were written ENTIRELY by Melvins drummer Dale Crover as he states in his youtube interview with Daniel Sarkissian on this channel. Grohl lied by omission to the world at the rock n roll hall of fame. He told the world Chad only did the intro to in bloom when Chad wrote the entire song and the 4 others above. Grohl why didn't u tell the truth? It's disappointing when an artists takes credit for another artists work. He should be ashamed!

[@MoonBoy.]

These 1st Nevermind recordings are the Nirvana Smart Studio Sessions BEFORE grohl. Listen and realize Chad Channing wrote ALL THE DRUM PARTS FOR THE ENTIRE SONGS OF: In Bloom Breed (imodium/Pay To Play) Lithium Polly Stay Away Drain You drums were written ENTIRELY by Melvins drummer Dale Crover as he states in his youtube interview with Daniel Sarkissian on this channel. Grohl lied by omission to the world at the rock n roll hall of fame. He told the world Chad only did the intro to in bloom when Chad wrote the entire song and the 4 others above. Grohl why didn't u tell the truth? It's disappointing when an artists takes credit for another artists work. He should be ashamed!

[@avestuart]

@@MoonBoy. I disagree, Grohl never said that Channing didn't create all of those drum parts, of course he did. Grohl stated that Channing's drum parts were great, he used the intro to "In Bloom" as an example. Doesn't really matter, though, because Channing was already out of the band and Grohl was free to do as he chose. When he kept Channing's drum parts it was because he liked them. Drummers don't get royalties nor credits for their drum parts.

[@MilkhouseChillers]

Hey bro, you should get an interview with Ben SHEPHERD of Soundgarden. He’s pretty accessible and I might have his phone number if you’re interested. I lived in Seattle for 20 years. I’m enjoying all your interviews. I’ve actually interviewed a lot of the same people including Bruce Pavitt here hit me up bro.

[@MilkhouseChillers]

Ben SHEPHERD was almost in Nirvana and he knew Kurt pretty well. He also knew Chad Channing very well.

[@shanereynolds4276]

I heard he liked Mac and cheese bro

[@xarmy5669]

he used to like to think a lot while he ate it bro

[@internetperson9121]

Sounds like kurt should have just chilled out a little bit. Some people struggle to be flexible and go with the flow. I have at times in my life. Being flexible is one of the most important skills in life. It’s interesting because it seems to be entirely independent of intelligence and also very malleable, I know people who have acquired a more flexible mindset over time. I think he would have gotten there if he’d stuck around. I’d compare it to thinking back to high school age, everything seems like a big deal, the smallest problem can seem catastrophic. I think that age is the time when people are most prone to being inflexible, but some people seem to stay that way. He looked out in the crowd and saw the people who bullied him? Sounds funny. Make a joke about it and tell the audience that. Make them laugh and ask them if they’re bullying kids at their school. Maybe you’d make them laugh and think and treat people differently. Or just whine and complain and freak out, I guess lol. Sorry Kurt, wish you’d have stuck around. Just a split second decision deprived him of the chance to grow.

[@susan7930]

It's hard to believe everything you read

[@georgiethumbs2438]

That's weird...At the 2:08 mark he's signing something with his right hand even though he's a lefty

[@anthonyjackson9194]

he could write with both. Something to do with his schooling as I remember in an interview, where they made him use his right hand, even though he was naturall lefty.

[@codymcgrew94]

Bruce seemed far too concerned with “pop” sensibility. Bleach is fantastic.

[@andrewbowyer5043]

'once you go Frank Black you never go back' - Kurt Cobain

[@travispalmer9884]

That’s weird. He’s signing autographs right handed, and he plays guitar left-handed.

[@drpacman9996]

Photo is probably flipped

[@PitBullPlaysGames]

@@drpacman9996 its not that uncommon. kurt most likely had Ambidexterity and just favored his left. i see it all the time

[@lennonscope]

@@drpacman9996no he was right handed. Played left.

[@We_all_die]

Why ask some guy that didn’t really know him?

[@luispedrosantos7921]

immature songwriting... 😂 OMG! 😂😂

[@PitBullPlaysGames]

its true though. bleach sounds like something any 12 year old would write especially by todays standards

[@kevinbeck7007]

​@@PitBullPlaysGames🤡🫵

[@PitBullPlaysGames]

@@kevinbeck7007 dont be upset over facts kiddo. bleach was trash, nevermind was average. in utero was the only good thing cobain ever did other than his little greenhouse incident in 94

[@ash_aiden]

@@PitBullPlaysGames alr troll 😂😂😂 bleach is way better than nevermind

[@1985cactus]

​@@PitBullPlaysGamesThis guy is si edgy, folks

[@littlegiddingful]

Nice interview and lovely anecdote about Kurt. But PLEASE learn to make videos. Stop using stills this way. All the panning and zooming around the photos is really annoying and makes your videos really difficult to watch.

[@briancannon3987]

Kurts first diva moment

[@PitBullPlaysGames]

shame kurt couldnt man up and get sober tho

[@paulwblair]

Moralizing mental health issues isn't helpful.

[@HD-nc7yu]

Troll

[@WOZCINEMA]

Kurt was about 5’8 +\- with shoes on.

[@PitBullPlaysGames]

he was also a terrible guitarist, barely a man and ran away from his problems

[@travzimmerman1340]

​@@PitBullPlaysGames Cry harder, Dale. It's not Kurt's fault you didn't amount to shit.

[@ash_aiden]

@@PitBullPlaysGames for somone who talks down on him you sure to be obsessed with the man 😂😂😂

[@qwerwerterytrtyutyuiyuiouiop]

@@PitBullPlaysGames that's ignorant Kurt made compelling eternal original music with his guitar, don't be a dork

[@LarryDanaDavid]

@@PitBullPlaysGamesYou’re all over this comment section speaking ill of a guy that died over 30 years ago. Figure yourself out man

[@MilkhouseChillers]

Hey bro, you should get an interview with Ben SHEPHERD of Soundgarden. He’s pretty accessible and I might have his phone number if you’re interested. I lived in Seattle for 20 years. I’m enjoying all your interviews. I’ve actually interviewed a lot of the same people including Bruce Pavitt here hit me up bro.

[@waltermccloskey215]

Whats his phone #? I need to talk to him.

[@crs_stl]

@@waltermccloskey215I want to talk to him too. 😊