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Kurt Cobain
Here is the first biography to explore, with shocking detail, the drama that formed this troubled, tragic rock star. Neither an apology nor a condemnation, Kurt Cobain presents a vivid insider's view of the life and death of a man who galvanized a generation and gave birth to the "grunge" revolution with his band Nirvana. Sandford portrays the provocative, small-town rebel with the talent of John Lennon, and then shows him at work on concert stages in Seattle, New York, and London. Readers follow the struggles of Cobain's emotional life—his tumultuous relationships with family and his fellow band members, his drug addiction and sexual appetite, his stormy marriage to Courtney Love, and the birth of his daughter, who, as Cobain wrote in his suicide note, "reminds me too much of who I used to be." During his research, Sandford has had access to Cobain's family, his colleagues, his former friends and lovers, and even author William S. Burroughs, whom Cobain considered to be his "greatest influence." The result is a graphic account of the life that led to the day in April 1994 when Cobain turned a shotgun on himself and became a martyr to disaffected youth around the world.
408 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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About the author
Christopher Sandford
75 books27 followersChristopher Sandford has published acclaimed biographies of Kurt Cobain, Steve McQueen, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, and Roman Polanski. He has worked as a film and music writer and reviewer for over 20 years and frequently contributes to newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic. Rolling Stone has called him "the preeminent author in his field today."
His latest project, MASTERS OF MYSTERY (forthcoming November 2011, Palgrave Macmillan) explores Arthur Conan Doyle's and Harry Houdini's incredible friendship and fascination with Spiritualism.
His latest project, MASTERS OF MYSTERY (forthcoming November 2011, Palgrave Macmillan) explores Arthur Conan Doyle's and Harry Houdini's incredible friendship and fascination with Spiritualism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
July 14, 2013
The description of Kurt Cobain in this book is absolute bullshit. Read this text by Jack Endino, who recorded with Kurt loads of times:
recently someone sent me a photocopy of just two (!) pages (106 and 107) from Chris Sandford’s book on Nirvana, entitled “Kurt Cobain”. In it he describes the sessions for Bleach from the point of view of “Endino’s engineer” and even an unnamed “second source at Reciprocal”; he describes Kurt putting lit matches in his mouth, spraying antiperspirant down his throat, pouring beer on the mixing board, taking “fistfuls of pills”, etc, etc. Let me fucking set this straight: this is pure fiction! In all the times I worked with Kurt I never even saw him drink a beer in the studio. His pre-Nevermind times in the studio with me were utterly normal; the band was there to work. They didn’t have enough money to fuck around. And in my entire career no one has ever poured beer (or anything else) on the board. Further, there were NO assistants or “other sources” to witness any of the goings-on at Reciprocal except for me, the band and one or two of their friends, for the simple reason that the 3 producer/engineers there (me, Chris Hanzsek, and Rich Hinklin) always worked separately, equally and alone. There were no other employees, no staff, no runners, no front office. We never had assistants or interns, paid or free, until 1992 or so when Phil Ek, fresh out of recording school, sat in with me for a few sessions. (This was after the studio had turned into “Word Of Mouth Productions” for a couple years. It was not “Reciprocal” anymore.) I mean, an assistant? The control room was so small you couldn’t even fit all the band members in it. So: either this guy made all this up (can’t really see why he would want to) or better yet, someone else decided to take the gullible journalist for a ride, figuratively speaking. (It’s even possible that someone in the band’s own entourage fed the guy this bullshit with the band’s secret approval; these are the sort of unbelievable stories Kurt just might have encouraged as media pranks. I doubt this, but I’m trying like hell to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.) I haven’t read the rest of the book yet ’cause I don’t want to spend the cash, but I hope for Kurt’s (and his daughter’s) sake that the rest of it isn’t like those two pages I got. (Later note: It is. I’ve since read it. The whole book is full of equally outlandish nonsense. Sigh. OK, now extrapolate from how 100% fictional the two pages I know about are…) Seeing this kind of fiction printed about Kurt really bums me out.
recently someone sent me a photocopy of just two (!) pages (106 and 107) from Chris Sandford’s book on Nirvana, entitled “Kurt Cobain”. In it he describes the sessions for Bleach from the point of view of “Endino’s engineer” and even an unnamed “second source at Reciprocal”; he describes Kurt putting lit matches in his mouth, spraying antiperspirant down his throat, pouring beer on the mixing board, taking “fistfuls of pills”, etc, etc. Let me fucking set this straight: this is pure fiction! In all the times I worked with Kurt I never even saw him drink a beer in the studio. His pre-Nevermind times in the studio with me were utterly normal; the band was there to work. They didn’t have enough money to fuck around. And in my entire career no one has ever poured beer (or anything else) on the board. Further, there were NO assistants or “other sources” to witness any of the goings-on at Reciprocal except for me, the band and one or two of their friends, for the simple reason that the 3 producer/engineers there (me, Chris Hanzsek, and Rich Hinklin) always worked separately, equally and alone. There were no other employees, no staff, no runners, no front office. We never had assistants or interns, paid or free, until 1992 or so when Phil Ek, fresh out of recording school, sat in with me for a few sessions. (This was after the studio had turned into “Word Of Mouth Productions” for a couple years. It was not “Reciprocal” anymore.) I mean, an assistant? The control room was so small you couldn’t even fit all the band members in it. So: either this guy made all this up (can’t really see why he would want to) or better yet, someone else decided to take the gullible journalist for a ride, figuratively speaking. (It’s even possible that someone in the band’s own entourage fed the guy this bullshit with the band’s secret approval; these are the sort of unbelievable stories Kurt just might have encouraged as media pranks. I doubt this, but I’m trying like hell to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.) I haven’t read the rest of the book yet ’cause I don’t want to spend the cash, but I hope for Kurt’s (and his daughter’s) sake that the rest of it isn’t like those two pages I got. (Later note: It is. I’ve since read it. The whole book is full of equally outlandish nonsense. Sigh. OK, now extrapolate from how 100% fictional the two pages I know about are…) Seeing this kind of fiction printed about Kurt really bums me out.
August 2, 2012
The author should stick to sticking his tiny finger up his ass and smelling it periodically instead of trying to write about greats he has no fuckin' knowledge of!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 8, 2008
makes albert goldman look like james boswell. this is a shit biography that goes the extra mile - not only is it bad biography, it's mean-spirited trash. bravo.
May 11, 2017
Really a pretty good book but don't read it if you only want to hear good things about Kurt Cobain. Christopher Sandford is brutally honest about a lot of really obnoxious incidents and events, and also about Cobain's public attitude, which was both unbelievably arrogant and self-pitying.
Sandford's problem is not so much that he's biased against Kurt Cobain, but that he never makes up his mind. One minute he says "Cobain could never acknowledge his addiction" the next he says "Cobain was ashamed of his addiction." One minute he says "Cobain was totally indifferent to success" the next he says "Cobain was driven and ambitious." I mean, some contradiction exist in everyone, but this author never resolves any of the contradictions and never really reaches any type of understanding.
Another interesting problem is the way drugs are discussed. Sandford makes it clear that everyone in Kurt Cobain's life knew that he was a heroin addict, and that they knew this for at least two or three years before he died. But there's no explanation of why there was no intervention, or even a public confrontation with the man himself. And this is not just about weakness or lack of compassion. You have to wonder how so many people let so much money slip through their hands. Kurt Cobain alive meant millions of dollars for his band mates, his record label, his management, his wife, etc. Kurt Cobain dead meant ruin for everyone. Why none of these different groups were never able to get together and stage an intervention is never discussed. Everyone's heard the famous anecdote where Kurt Cobain's mother lectured him on all the rock stars who died at 27 and how she urged him "not to join that stupid club." This was a tragedy that everyone saw coming, but no-one did anything to prevent it.
Related to this, there's a larger social point. A rap legend like Snoop Dog could spend four years in jail for selling a relatively small amount of crack cocaine on the street. But Kurt Cobain was buying heroin and shooting up openly for months, for years, and everyone turned a blind eye. It's a great thing to be white in America! Sandford doesn't comment on this side of the tragedy. Overall, the writing on the music is much better than the writing on the man. My favorite sentence in the whole book was when Sandford describes IN UTERO as "one long scream of horrified despair at the ugliness of life outside the womb."
Sandford's problem is not so much that he's biased against Kurt Cobain, but that he never makes up his mind. One minute he says "Cobain could never acknowledge his addiction" the next he says "Cobain was ashamed of his addiction." One minute he says "Cobain was totally indifferent to success" the next he says "Cobain was driven and ambitious." I mean, some contradiction exist in everyone, but this author never resolves any of the contradictions and never really reaches any type of understanding.
Another interesting problem is the way drugs are discussed. Sandford makes it clear that everyone in Kurt Cobain's life knew that he was a heroin addict, and that they knew this for at least two or three years before he died. But there's no explanation of why there was no intervention, or even a public confrontation with the man himself. And this is not just about weakness or lack of compassion. You have to wonder how so many people let so much money slip through their hands. Kurt Cobain alive meant millions of dollars for his band mates, his record label, his management, his wife, etc. Kurt Cobain dead meant ruin for everyone. Why none of these different groups were never able to get together and stage an intervention is never discussed. Everyone's heard the famous anecdote where Kurt Cobain's mother lectured him on all the rock stars who died at 27 and how she urged him "not to join that stupid club." This was a tragedy that everyone saw coming, but no-one did anything to prevent it.
Related to this, there's a larger social point. A rap legend like Snoop Dog could spend four years in jail for selling a relatively small amount of crack cocaine on the street. But Kurt Cobain was buying heroin and shooting up openly for months, for years, and everyone turned a blind eye. It's a great thing to be white in America! Sandford doesn't comment on this side of the tragedy. Overall, the writing on the music is much better than the writing on the man. My favorite sentence in the whole book was when Sandford describes IN UTERO as "one long scream of horrified despair at the ugliness of life outside the womb."
January 10, 2011
This book is full of sensationalism. That it was written by a journalist makes sense, considering the state of our media today.
There's some good info about Kurt and his music here--and Nirvana more generally--and that's the only reason I didn't give this book one star.
Very little of the author's claims are backed up by actual facts. Most of the info is hearsay from (most likely) disgruntled people. And it's pretty easy to say whatever you want about a dead guy. After all, who's going to contradict you? Take note that this book was written after Cobain's death. Right after it.
The author clearly lets his bias against Cobain show. There's no way you can call this an objective picture of Cobain's life. The book was incredibly hard to get through, it was poorly organized, and it could've been much shorter.
In all, if you can skim through it for the facts (and you'll have to do a lot of skimming), it might be worth the read. Also, if you like sensationalism and Cobain-bashing, it'll be worth the read for you.
There's some good info about Kurt and his music here--and Nirvana more generally--and that's the only reason I didn't give this book one star.
Very little of the author's claims are backed up by actual facts. Most of the info is hearsay from (most likely) disgruntled people. And it's pretty easy to say whatever you want about a dead guy. After all, who's going to contradict you? Take note that this book was written after Cobain's death. Right after it.
The author clearly lets his bias against Cobain show. There's no way you can call this an objective picture of Cobain's life. The book was incredibly hard to get through, it was poorly organized, and it could've been much shorter.
In all, if you can skim through it for the facts (and you'll have to do a lot of skimming), it might be worth the read. Also, if you like sensationalism and Cobain-bashing, it'll be worth the read for you.
March 13, 2013
The way this book is written, one would think Kurt was Satan himself. The author obviously doesn't like Kurt and wants to twist his life and his actions around to make him look like an egotistical fool.
I don't know what is true in here and what isn't, but much of it goes against everything I have seen about Kurt since I have been interested in him.
There are also certain events portrayed where I believe the author completely misunderstood Kurts intentions.
I don't know what is true in here and what isn't, but much of it goes against everything I have seen about Kurt since I have been interested in him.
There are also certain events portrayed where I believe the author completely misunderstood Kurts intentions.
January 13, 2016
Unlike many other Cobain biographies I've read. Now I've been generous in my rating, as I, strangely enough, enjoy biographies which do not glorify their subjects. I like biographies that show the people as flawed, complex individuals (something which there's no doubting Kurt was), not perfect, and not making excuses for them when they're clearly in the wrong. This book certainly did not glorify Kurt. It was an extremely harsh portrayal of him, in fact. And, having read a few other Goodreads reviews of the book, it has rubbed people up the wrong way. Totally understandable - obviously anyone who is reading this book is a fan of Kurt, and to see him portrayed in such a way is hurtful and difficult. I definitely struggled reading some of the accusations made against him. But I do like that it wasn't a typical "poor tortured artist, glory be to him" kind of book. I just think that, given that the book was published in 1995, only a year after his death, it may be just a tad insensitive. The coda at the end of the book was a worthy inclusion which reflects upon this. In summary: a warts and all examination into the person of Kurt Cobain.
July 8, 2017
My first reaction was the sources he was quoting. A delivery boy that delivered to his house once? Really? And an aunt that was married into the family and divorced from the family before Kirt was like five or something? Could have cut the book by half without all the repetitiveness.
March 10, 2019
Other goodreads reviews say that this book was very inaccurate and inconsistent and I have to agree. The way Kurt Cobain was described in this book was very vague and didn’t have a lot of credible sources. According Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, they had never seen Kurt drink beer in the studio because the band was there to work. In Dave’s words “We didn’t have enough money to fuck around.” And there are no recorded witnesses to the allegations of Kurt’s treatment of women. I think this book is almost 80% filler because there is not much to say about Kurt Cobain really. He was a singer for a famous rock band who got into drugs and eventually killed himself. I also found the book insulting. Particularly when the book stated that Kurt thought the album “Nevermind” was a sellout. I think the author should have done a lot more research on Kurt before writing a book about him. I had always respected Kurt Cobain’s work but this book makes me feel like I shouldn’t and that really bums me out. I also find this book very contradictory because the beginning of the books tells you that he didn’t have very big aspirations to be a big famous rockstar. But just a few chapters later it’ll tell you that he always wanted to be a big rock star. This book was not very enjoyable and I struggled to read it from time to time. But I was also intrigued by it because I’m always interested in how the media, or in this case, the author spins the words of people to make them look bad. If you enjoy a mediocre biography about a very respected musician then this is the perfect book for you. But if you enjoy a good, factual, well written biography of a musician then I would avoid this book and just listen to their music and recorded interviews for real facts.
September 9, 2022
Kurt Cobain's life might have been cut way too short, but his lifestyle as a rockstar was so mesmerizing, that it comes as no wonder that there are multiple biographies written about him. Christopher Sandford was one such brave soul, publishing his first edition as soon as 1995, one year after Kurt's suicide. And he did this with mixed results, apparently. Reading the reviews here, it appears that some people were little more than unhappy about the rockstar's portrayal in this book. To them, it seemed as if their hero was written about in an unjustly and crude way. But is it really so? I didn't have many problems with the way the author wrote this biography. For me, it seemed, that he tried to be quite neutral throughout it, all the negative stuff came from the contemporaries of Cobain's life. Is it really that surprising that some people didn't like this punk, unruly, heroin addicted rockstar with clear mental issues? I'm also a long time Nirvana fan; ever since my stepfather showed me "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time like a decade ago. I have to thank Kurt Cobain for introducing me to the music genre I mostly listen to nowadays. But I can still separate the work from the artist if need be. He may be among my favorites, but he wasn't a saint. I can still appreciate his music, while acknowledging that he might have screwed up on more than a single occasion. With how polarizing Cobain was during his lifetime, it might be difficult to find any unbiased accounts of his character. Sandford's book is just a single example. I would suggest this book to anyone who is ready to hear something they might not want to hear.
June 7, 2015
One of the worst books I've ever read. In short, it is more of an attack on Kurt's character rather than an unbiased portrayal of his legacy. Sandford is highly opinionated and arrogant in his writing, and shows little regard for anything beyond sensationalist viewpoints. I give the book no stars, and would only recommend it to those who would like to read every publication regarding Cobain, despite Sanford's blatant inaccuracies and hostile tone throughout. A prime example of an author who would be better suited writing for the National Enquirer and whom ought to be barred from any sort of honest and accurate publication.
August 6, 2016
If you are a fan of Cobain or Nirvana I would not recommend this book. If half of what's in this bio is true (and I don't doubt the author) then Cobain may just have been the biggest narcissitic pychopath I have ever heard of....using and discarding friends, beating a child unconcious over a pizza, etc. I've read bios of serial killers that are more sympathetic.
July 18, 2008
I learned a lot about Cobain from this book (assuming the author wasn't paid by Courtney Love to drag Kurt's name through the mud). If this really is a true account of Cobain's life, it's one of the most shocking biographies I've ever read.
September 24, 2018
Röyhkeästä ja epäkunnioittavasta sävystä johtuen ainoastaan kaksi tähteä.
Lisää mietteitä blogin puolella:
https://karkotaseet.blogspot.com/2018...
Lisää mietteitä blogin puolella:
https://karkotaseet.blogspot.com/2018...
April 22, 2022
I'm not sure why I even tried (again).
I have read this book twice, once years ago as a kid (around 12-13) and now I tried again.
I did it the same way this time as I did the last time; read the diaries first, then Heavier than Heaven, then this. After watching and reading everything else I could.
And I thought then that this feels lazy, wrong, sensationalist.
I returned to this with the idea that maybe I was just a naive kid with easily hurt feeling or whatever. Not enough media criticism, not having read enough.
And now... I feel this was just way more wrong than what it was then.
This is a bulk product, complete horseshit.
I suggest you invest your time in Heavier than Heaven, Montage of Heck and About a Boy. Or excessive googling and youtubeing, there's tons of material and you can be your own detective, flipping through interviews and videos and other documentations and histories.
This is a waste of time.
I have read this book twice, once years ago as a kid (around 12-13) and now I tried again.
I did it the same way this time as I did the last time; read the diaries first, then Heavier than Heaven, then this. After watching and reading everything else I could.
And I thought then that this feels lazy, wrong, sensationalist.
I returned to this with the idea that maybe I was just a naive kid with easily hurt feeling or whatever. Not enough media criticism, not having read enough.
And now... I feel this was just way more wrong than what it was then.
This is a bulk product, complete horseshit.
I suggest you invest your time in Heavier than Heaven, Montage of Heck and About a Boy. Or excessive googling and youtubeing, there's tons of material and you can be your own detective, flipping through interviews and videos and other documentations and histories.
This is a waste of time.
October 13, 2016
I thought the author did a good job summarizing Cobain's life even though there were some confusing throughout the book. Many people feel the author did not do a good job expressing Cobain's emotions but I though he did a good job showing Cobain's actions and what caused them. I think that the reader did a good job with character development although I didn't like how they described Cobain's death in the beginning because it made me not want to read the book because I knew how and why he killed himself. In contrast I think that author did not do a good job with gripping the plot because at times it was hard to understand the emotions Cobain was feeling.
May 1, 2012
i really love this book because its better then all the other books about Kurt Cobain. it gives you full life story of his and the band mates life and the fame of nirvana. also the pictures are great of him and the band.
March 18, 2008
My least favorite biography on Kurt Cobain's life. I read this a long time ago, back when I was in Jr. High, but if I remember correctly it was pretty sensational.
May 29, 2013
Great insight to kurts life. Although they may not all be 100%accurate, you can glimpse his dark side that took him over the edge.
March 20, 2013
propaganda shet.
June 18, 2019
This is, sadly, a case the biographer simply HATING his subject.
July 20, 2022
I would give this zero stars if I could. Full of untruths and bad writing.
April 24, 2019
The book reads like a long, drawn-out "Rolling Stone" article reviewing an album or song. The author waxes poetically about the melody, feel, and impact of Nirvana's music throughout the entire book. It's hard to differentiate page 5 from page 100, or page 200, as the repetitive nature of the descriptors runs throughout.
Apparently, everything Kurt Cobain did was somehow ironic or contradictory. He craved fame, but then rejected it. He wanted people to love his music, but then resented it when the masses became interested. He was an introvert, but loved the limelight to an extent.
Sanford avoided using necessary commas and chose to tell rather than show. The book was quite informative regarding the life of Kurt Cobain, but it failed to follow any progression or chronology. It didn't seem to go anywhere. I felt like I read 350+ pages about "Nevermind" rather than just spend 50 minutes listening to the album.
Apparently, everything Kurt Cobain did was somehow ironic or contradictory. He craved fame, but then rejected it. He wanted people to love his music, but then resented it when the masses became interested. He was an introvert, but loved the limelight to an extent.
Sanford avoided using necessary commas and chose to tell rather than show. The book was quite informative regarding the life of Kurt Cobain, but it failed to follow any progression or chronology. It didn't seem to go anywhere. I felt like I read 350+ pages about "Nevermind" rather than just spend 50 minutes listening to the album.
May 27, 2019
In my youth I expressed a steadfast interest in music icon Kurt Cobain. While at a bookstore my father volunteered to purchase this book, which didn’t have any credentials that I could see. It seemed to be marketed solely based on the name and image of the artist. I was wary of the purchase but went along. My Dad asked me later what I thought. I said, “It seems to have been written for money.” “Oh, that’s the worst thing you can say about a book!” I stand by it. Sandford breaks the gold standard of any true journalist - the standard to always tell the truth. His scattered account overreaches for any sensational snippet, not even compelling lurid tabloid stories, just stringing together a book. It’s incredulous high-school gossip shared by the bonehead dorks Kurt despised in his life, or the sloppy journalists that sought to exploit him in life to sell papers. What shame.
August 23, 2020
I enjoyed this book. Nirvana was big when I was in college, and the Grunge movement was the last era of music of my youth. I’m a fan of the band, and music biographies in general. I can’t help but feel some of the negative reviews, are interlaced in fandom vs. reality.
Having read a number of rock biographies, there are many similar themes. Anger, not fitting in, amazing work ethic, addiction, depression, and issues with how to deal with fame. He was a musical icon, and I think the book amplifies that he was an immense talent.
Was the man perfect? No. None of us are. People don’t kill themselves, at the top of fame and wealth, unless they have some demons. RIP Kirk. It is sad your life ended so quickly, but thanks for your art.
Having read a number of rock biographies, there are many similar themes. Anger, not fitting in, amazing work ethic, addiction, depression, and issues with how to deal with fame. He was a musical icon, and I think the book amplifies that he was an immense talent.
Was the man perfect? No. None of us are. People don’t kill themselves, at the top of fame and wealth, unless they have some demons. RIP Kirk. It is sad your life ended so quickly, but thanks for your art.
May 6, 2018
I picked this up at a local charity shop for 50p & it's not even worth that. The quality and veracity of many of the author's sources (especially pertaining to the more salacious content, predictably) are somewhat lacking, especially when you consider how many of the anecdotes related have been refuted over the years. There are probably a hundred muck-racking, shock-horror cash in books about Cobain as bad as this one; it's the nature of the beast, I suppose.
I ended up skim-reading this about a third of the way through, I recommend that you don't even bother doing that - it's not worth my time or yours.
I ended up skim-reading this about a third of the way through, I recommend that you don't even bother doing that - it's not worth my time or yours.
November 6, 2018
This book was interesting at first about his childhood and the story’s about him. However once it started talking about the record company and their managers it got very boring. I stoped readying it halfway through because I thought it would’ve been more of story’s about him and Nirvana but it was just a very long review of his albums.
March 7, 2019
Presents many contrasting viewpoints, sometimes within the same sentence. The author contradicts himself from time to time, he seems overly conscious of wanting to be irreverent to his subject. Some misinformation but an entertaining read.
May 11, 2021
Luin kirjan sen ilmestyessä vuonna 1996 ollessani 15-vuotias. Silloin uskoin kaikkeen painettuun sanaan kuin totuuteen. Nyt kun selailin kirjaa 26 vuotta myöhemmin, ymmärsin mitä kuraa se on. Menee samaan kastiin kuin Elviksestä tehdyt häväistyskirjat.
August 12, 2019
Good book. Full of info.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews