The Kennedy Chronicles: The Golden Age of MTV Through Rose-Colored Glasses by Kennedy

Author:Kennedy [Kennedy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Music, Biography
ISBN: 9781250028723
Google: l3XVE_lGkUwC
Goodreads: 16045070
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2013-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

KURT UNPLUGS

You know who else was as moody as Madonna? Kurt Cobain. If you wore cardigans, knocked up a heroin-addled Courtney Love, and tried unsuccessfully and repeatedly to kick your own habits and peccadillos you also might also be a bit mercurial. Kurt and I were not friends, and I can honestly say, without an ounce of hesitation, he was more than mildly annoyed by me. But he was a curious genius on many levels, fueled and repelled by his demons all at once.

Nirvana was not the Backstreet Boys. The history of MTV is written on the inseams of bands who would drop their pants and perform any favor necessary to get as much airtime as they possibly could, and in the roaring nineties when MTV was a cultural oligarchy and music was still a very physical commodity that exposure was priceless. Unless you were Nirvana. Seattle bands were infected with mainstream apathy, which only fueled the demand, and they were unwittingly engaging in free market laws by limiting the supply of videos, interviews, and glimpses into their guarded lives. Sure, bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden would play big MTV shows like the VMAs, there was even a Live and Loud New Year’s Eve show in Seattle, but unlike Smashing Pumpkins and even the Chili Peppers, Nirvana led the charge to reclusion. They really resented their part in the MTV parcel.

It took a long time for Nirvana to agree to do an MTV Unplugged, the acoustic performance series that catered to bands’ softer, artistic sensibilities, and which was really perfect for Nirvana at that point on their path to enlightenment. A room filled with devoted fans; slow, deliberate, gentle songs; a showcase for a new level of artistry they had yet to display but fans and the network were ready for. One of the great benefits of working at MTV was access to shows like this, and people would crawl out of the woodwork of my voicemail to get a ticket to them. I always had solo access, but never a plus one. I was often my roommate Sheri’s plus one. In our platonic power couple she certainly was the one with the power, I just had the pick of the free clothes from the heaps and scraps of the MTV wardrobe closet.

By fall 1993 Nirvana negotiations were set between the network and the band for their turn on the hushed series, and they rehearsed for a few days with record producer Scott Litt at the Sony studios in Manhattan for what would become a legendary Unplugged performance. I was really excited to hear some of the hits strummed softly through acoustic guitars, especially a few off Bleach, which is my favorite Nirvana record (I wore out the cassette in 1991 before Nevermind came out, such a trendsetter).

Nirvana took the stage quietly and calmly after a healthy waiting period. TV productions always make everything take longer, and knowing the touchy nature of the trigger-shy lead singer I was starting to worry the band wouldn’t come out at all.

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