Oh well, whatever, never mind.
Susan Visakowitz has posted a brilliant essay at Billboard.com that ponders Kurt Cobain’s upcoming 40th birthday. An excerpt:
Where have we gone as a society since Kurt’s death?
Fiercely radical in his politics, manifesting them in the way he lived his life and made his art, Kurt was able to convey his beliefs without having to resort to sermonizing. I doubt Nirvana would have ever taken the eventual Bruce Springsteen-Pearl Jam route of using the stage not only as a soapbox, but to promote some sort of “dialogue” with fans. Kurt was far too direct for an approach like that; he made it plain: if you had, in his words, “redneck” beliefs, he didn’t want you at his shows or championing his music. There was no room for negotiation, and no patience for trying to change your mind. You either got it or you didn’t.
Back in 1991, the times they were a-changin’ much like they had been 25 years earlier. A fired-up youth-driven movement was taking charge and you could join the cause or get the hell out of the way — nobody was going to wait around for you to make up your mind. Thirteen years later and it seems like all the progressive movement can do now is labor to “build bridges” and create “understanding.” It’s “P.C.” turned against itself — the most extreme expression of the “let’s not hurt anyone’s feelings, let’s work to unify” ethos.
In the midst of this pandering we’ve seen things go from bad to worse, from Clinton to Bush II, from “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to the Federal Marriage Amendment, from NAFTA to the Immigration Bill, from the Defense of Marriage Act to the Patriot Act. And youth culture has devolved into a billion-dollar industry founded on packaging and sustained by ease of use.
It feels wrong to think it, but Kurt not being here to turn 40 is somehow reassuring. Having lost him when we did, he’ll forever exist as an icon of youth, of rebellion, of never compromising.
Read the whole article here. And then do something.
[ via Metro Distortion ]