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Nirvana · S1 E3
The Melvins
Buzz Osborne of the Melvins is the first person to show Kurt that punk rock exists. Black Flag, Flipper, MDC. The Melvins rehearse in a practice space in Montesano, and teenage Kurt watches from the corner, absorbing everything. Punk is not just music. It is permission to be loud, ugly, and honest
Montesano, Washington, 1983. A sixteen-year-old kid stands in the corner of a cramped practice space watching Buzz Osborne play guitar like he is trying to murder it. Kurt Cobain has just heard punk rock for the first time, and nothing will ever sound the same again.
Nirvana, In Bloom. The video is a pitch-perfect parody of a 1960s Ed Sullivan performance, clean-cut boys in suits playing politely for a screaming audience. The joke is on everyone who liked Nirvana without listening to the words.
Buzz
Roger "Buzz" Osborne is the singer and guitarist of the Melvins, the loudest band in Grays Harbor County. He is a few years older than Kurt, wears his hair in a wild afro, and has a record collection that functions as a portal to another world. He hands Kurt mixtapes: Black Flag, Flipper, MDC, the Butthole Surfers.
“Punk rock was the first thing that gave me any sense of identity. Before that I felt like I was just observing everything from the outside.”
— Kurt Cobain, from Michael Azerrad, "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana," Doubleday, 1993
TAP TO REVEAL: What was Kurt Cobain's first concert?
In Bloom, Nirvana (1991)
One of the oldest songs on Nevermind, written before Dave Grohl even joined the band. Kurt wrote it about the people who would sing along without understanding what the songs meant, which turned out to be prophetic. The guitar tone is rounder and warmer than anything else on the album because Butch Vig used a different amp setup for the rhythm tracks. Listen for Krist's bass in the verse, carrying the melody while Kurt's guitar hangs back. That restraint is pure Melvins influence: Buzz taught him that holding back makes the explosion bigger.
The Punk Education
Negative Creep, Nirvana
From the debut album Bleach (1989). Two minutes and fifty-six seconds of pure Melvins worship: slow, heavy, grinding, then exploding into thrash. This is the direct result of every hour Kurt spent watching Buzz Osborne from the corner of that practice space.
In addition to music, what art form was Kurt Cobain passionate about throughout his entire life?
Kurt borrows a four-track recorder from his aunt, locks himself in her spare room, and records a demo tape with Melvins drummer Dale Crover. He calls the project Fecal Matter, and the songs are the first evidence that the angry kid from Aberdeen has something to say.
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