News Bumping into Geniuses review in NY Times |
The NY Times publishes a review of Danny Goldberg's new book Bumping into Geniuses: My Life Inside the Rock and Roll Business. The one-time Nirvana manager's memoir contains many inside stories about the band, from the early days to their rise to stardom.Cobain rose to superstardom from the ultra-purist indie/punk scene and maintained a posture of ambivalence toward his pop success to the bitter end — even in his muddled suicide note.
At the height of Nirvana mania in April 1992, Cobain appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing a hand-lettered T-shirt railing against "corporate magazines." Yet Goldberg quotes Cobain’s bandmate Krist Novoselic: "You know who wanted to reach more people the most of the three of us? Kurt. He wanted to make it big."
And Goldberg tells how Cobain ordered the removal of references to "punk politics" from Nirvana’s press kit to emphasize the band’s sense of humor and broaden its mainstream appeal — to make things just a bit clearer for puff-piece writers in those corporate magazines. Beneath Cobain’s punk-rock glower and ratty cardigan lurked a savvy brand-management specialist.
Bumping into Geniuses is now availble for purchase and can be ordered here.
Posted or updated: 09-21-2008 @ 3:06 PM (GMT) by Oana.