Customer Reviews

Journals

5 star:		(96)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(37)

 

 

Aside from the obvious questions of the intrusive nature of reading this book, as well as the obvious monitoring of Courtney Love over all of the book's contents, "Journals" is absolutely fascinating. I feel that reading alot of things from Kurt as opposed to a journalist's point of view is very satisfying when pertaining to his art. I believe that, for Kurt, his art was the focal point for the bulk of his life. And I also think that once you understand his art, you begin to understand him. In that respect, I give "Journals" beyond 5 stars.
Within the book, Kurt depicts himself as he was: a sensitive, artistic punk rocker. You read many letters to people such as Dale Crover from "The Melvins" and Mark Lannegan from "Screaming Trees". In a letter to Lannegan, he shamefully admits to copying their album onto a cassette tape. This only enforces the punk rock ethic that Kurt held for most of his life.
The term "punk" for Kurt Cobain didn't necessarily mean pierced nostrils or multi-colored hair. Punk rock meant "freedom". It was back to the roots of musical expression: syphoning yourself through an instrument. It wasn't an image, and it wasn't a trend. There were no blinders towards the audience. It was be-yourself-do-it-yourself. It spoke to many people in an inaudible, enticing scream, and it definitely spoke to Kurt Cobain. It basically offered Kurt his way out from the blantant faccade of machismo and the ignorance of homophobia and sexism that he witnessed constantly. It sparked a flow of creative abandon and artistic defiance in Kurt. That raw, unbridled human emotion is very poignant and refreshing even ten years after his death. And the fact that real emotion is so void in music today, only lures people in to experience it for themselves.
It's impossible to read this book and not get somewhat melancholy over what a sensitive, outspoken, brilliant artist we lost in Kurt Cobain. We have the music, we now have his journals, and we have the memories.

I'll start right out by telling you that although I am a fan of Nirvana, I never thought too much about Kurt Cobain. I received this book as a gift from a friend who knows that I am a chronic journal-writer and thought I would appreciate reading another journal. I decided to give it a chance and my God, I was blown away. I could not put the book down!

Kurt Cobain was a brilliant genius and I never quite realized that until reading his journals. He was so angry and sad and intelligent. He expresses himself beautifully and you can relate to his emotions as if they were your own emotions. He was so passionate about music and the fact that the average fan just didn't "get it."

This collection of his writings are photo copies of his actual journal pages. Seeing KC's own handwriting, scrawlings, scribblings and sketches add to the emotional experience of reading this book. At times his handwriting is neat and legible, and at other times it is scrawling and barely readable. You can just feel him trying to write as fast as he can to keep up with the thoughts pouring from his tormented head.

One does not have to be a Kurt Cobain fan or even a Nirvana fan to appreciate this book. Just understand the creative process of a genius at work.

I'll be the first to admit I was a little uneasy about buying this book,due to the fact I felt reading it could be wrong.However I did buy this book,possibly out of nothing more than pure curiosity. I must say if you are a true heartfelt fan of Kurt Cobain,you should go out and buy this book.If you are not a true fan I will advise you to leave this book alone because as one of the covers states "If you read you'll judge". This book is not written in bland computerized letters,but printed in Kurt's own handwriting,page for page exactly how Kurt wrote it.Much of what is in this book is fascinating.Cobain's cartoons,sketches and doodles,like his music,blend disturbing imagery with humor.Would Kurt Cobain,grunge anti hero,be horrified to see these thoughts published? Nevermind Kurt.Here we are now.Entertain us.

When one considered it, there is a certain moral dilemma that goes hand-in-hand with the publishing of someone's journals. These journals are essentially a person's private thoughts, often time things that the author would not have said or done in public. The moral dilemma is increased tenfold when it comes to the release of the journals of... well, frankly, a guy who is dead. We can't tell for sure whether or not that person would have approved at all, and there's also an added element of profit.

Such is the case with Kurt Cobain, perhaps the most recognizable figure in music of the nineties. No image appeared more often on covers of rock and roll periodicals everywhere. And furthermore, no figure of pop culture has been dissected more before or since. He remains a mystery to many, a complex and often brooding man who had several different sides.

The more optimistic would say that the release of Kurt Cobain's journals are an opportunity for everyone to get a glimpse into the mind of a tortured soul. The more cynical, on the other hand, would have you believe that this is Courtney Love cashing in on the fame of her husband. And in all honesty, both viewpoints are pretty much right on. It's hard to imagine Cobain approving the release of his journals, as he was viewed as a man who valued his privacy and didn't want to be shoved into the spotlight when he was.

Throughout his life, Kurt Cobain made a note of writing his thoughts ideas and everything else down in notebooks. By the time his life was tragically ended by a self-inflicted shotgun wound, he had amassed dozens upon dozens of three-ring spiral notebooks, stationary, and loose pieces of paper, all containing his writings on this and that.

Journals is essentially a collection of Kurt's diary. It includes everything from early song lyrics, to unsent letters to rants on the state of politics in America, and everything in between. However, don't expect everything. This collection is only a small amount of his writings, as it was compiled by Courtney Love who held back over 75% of Kurt's notes - the majority of which likely pertained to her. The name `Courtney' only appears in the contents of the book five times, and in each instance, it's only a passing reference. One would expect there to be far more talk of someone who the author is married to, especially complaining. But there's absolutely none of that here. Maybe Courtney is trying to convince that their marriage was perfect and harmonious, which is total [bologna]. In addition, the majority of entries that were like a daily log, were also removed, another bummer. Sometimes, the monotonous can be the most interesting, and in some cases, the most revealing.

The selections here paint Kurt Cobain as a complex and brooding individual with many different sides. He is a punk rocker at heart, but also maintained that Get The Knack was one of the great pop masterpieces in history. He loved the Sex Pistols, but he also loved the Beatles with all his heart. He was a pothead in high school, but also resented the other burnouts for their close-mindedness. He told anyone who would listen that he didn't want fame, but would call his record company and complain when he didn't feel that the band was being pushed enough. The list of seemingly endless contradictions go on, with the journals seemingly painting the picture of two different men.

But perhaps the most interesting and disturbing excerpts from his diaries reflect on his heroin use. Even in the throes of addiction, he writes that he only used it for three weeks to try and treat his ailing stomach before quitting it because "duh, it don't work." He repeats this so often that it seems like he even began to believe it. Only towards the end does Kurt begin to relent as his outlook becomes more bleak: "I remember someone saying that if you try heroin once you'll become hooked. Of course I laughed and scoffed at the idea but now I know this to be very true." Cobain even attached a disturbing moniker to his drug of choice by adding an `e' - it was his heroine. These excerpts especially are chilling.

The list goes on, but this is just a book you simply CAN'T put down. It is terrific insight into one of the most talented songwriter's of his generation, as well as to what goes through the mind of an addict. (Those who never dealt with addiction have a difficult time understanding the nature of addiction. Cobain at least gives disturbingly real insight into the mind of an addict) I also thought it was incredibly sad just how isolated this man was, despite his fame and surroundings.

I felt Cobain came off as a much more gentle soul than my original perceptions of him had ever allowed me to consider. I felt almost like he forsaw his life spin out of control and was just overwhelmed by the thought of stopping it. I was thoroughly fascinated.

Write him off as just another grunge-rocker junkie if you want, but if you want a fascinating portrait into a talent that hadn't even scratched the surface before it could reach it's potential, snap this up!

Okay, let's save the speech about me being a young black chick who's only exposure to rock in the early 90's, was using my brother's Green Day "Dookie" cd for a coaster. But you know what? I say...something must have sent me to the library on that fateful day a decade or so after his death. The day that I saw this book. Something drew me to it.

Reading someone's diary is so intimate, don't you think? It makes you feel like you are right inside the most private place in the world: their head. Needless to say, I picked this book up for the pure curiousity. I didn't know I would soon get sucked into the soul of the most brilliant individual I've come to know about in the past few years.

After finishing this book, I was stumped, like...Kurt thought he was worthless and uneducated, but he wrote some of the best stuff, unadulterated and raw, that mine eyes have read in a long time. The book was filled with his thoughts on society and love, drugs, success, rough-drafts (mainly letters to friends and bios on the band) and song lyrics. The man was a genius. And a prolific artist. There was one page where he chronicled his drug usage. He started heavily into it, when he developed a rare stomach stomach condition, where the lining of the stomach is inflamed, or something like that. He said after talking to various doctors and taking about 50 different medications that did very little to help, he started using heroine to take the pain away. I usually don't condone drug usage, but I understand how some people are drawn toward it. Especially in this case. He said his stomach condition got worse when he began the rise toward fame, being as he wasn't eating or sleeping properly. He said the band would have to cancel shows because he would be in the bathroom for days throwing up water and blood. Then he rehabilitated himself, and found a clinic in Japan that was able to produce a medicine for him that worked. But then he found it contained methadone...and he was "hooked" again. Finally, he found a medicine that was being used in experimentary methods, and it worked for him without side effects. But, as he said, once you get drugs into your system, you have to fight hard for a while, because you are always susceptible to that drug. As his was, a losing battle.

He also had a problem handling fame, and he hated the ridicule that came with being misquoted by journalists and editors. Not only does Kurt "speak" his thoughts, he draws as well, and apparently he wasn't that bad at it. I was also surprised to find out that he had views about society that some white americans, would probably be embarrassed about. He had more than one drawing of KKK members about to be assassinated by a rifle-wielding sniper.

The only downside is that there aren't that many entries after Nirvana grew to stardom. Courtney and Frances are barely mentioned, I guess that's to be expected with all the touring, appearances and Kurt's illnesss.

There's not much more I can say about this book that hasn't already be said, except that I picked it up knowing only a name, and put it down feeling like I'd lived been shaken to my core. If you don't know what that means, just understand that when I finished this book, I was an emotional wreck.

Very few books have had the power to do that. Very few.

a very insightful view into the world of Nirvana's front man. The journal entries are scans of the actual notebook/piece of paper used, in Kurt's own handwriting. There is also a helpful section in the back, should you have trouble reading certain pages. Though, in a way, I feel this violates Kurt's privacy, at the same time it brings this "voice of a generation" down to a very human level. This book also contains drafts of many Nirvana lyrics, and some GREAT illustrations by Kurt. Thanks go to all who were part of this effort. BUY IT. IT'S GREAT.

Oh Kurt. Why? Why can't we leave you alone. Why must we disgrace your name and musical talent? I'm sorry. I'm sorry on behalf of every person who spent money invading your privacy, incuding me. Yes, I bought Journals. I knew it was wrong. I knew it went against everything I knew about you and your personal life. Yes, the Journals is interesting, sad, funny, smart. I'm not giving it 1 star because it's not a good book. I'm giving it 1 star becuase it's a spit in the face of one of music's most brilliant genius'. Does anyone who was a fan of Nirvana or Kurt Cobain really think he would have condoned this.
Do you think if he was alive he would have said 'Sure, I'll hand all my fans my personal thoughts and feelings in a nicely wrapped package for 30 or 40 bucks'. I mean, come on, the guy killed himself becuase he was uncomfortable with being in the spotlight. I read in an interview with him in 1993 that his journals were his only refuge from the spotlight he was in, the only thing he had that remained his alone.
I'm not genna piss Courtney Love off by saying she did this just for money, but whatever the reason, these most private moments of Kurt's life should not be out there. I bought this book because I was curious and becuase I am a fan of the genius of Kurt Cobain. I now wish I hadn't. I feel guilt ridden and sick to my stomach that I betrayed and invaded someone I respect and have always felt so much empathy for.
I'm sorry Kurt. I'm sorry.

I did rent this from my local library, luckily. I would have felt guilty buying it, as I really think that Courtney Love is the Yoko Ono of my generation, and I did not want to give her any more cash. I was a senior in high school when I first heard 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', and I won't forget that first time I heard it. Yeah, it sounds corny, but I really felt that music...it was so different from the typical 80's ...rock, and so different from the stuff I was into (The Cure, The Smiths, the new-wave stuff)...it kind-of opened my eyes and made me really sit up and listen...it was raw, real and a serious wake-up call to the stagnation that music had become.
In reading Kurt's journals (and we all know that these were censored by Yoko, um, I mean Courtney), it still gave me a sense of who Kurt was, his pro-feminist stance, his hatred of the corporate structure, his vulnerability, his great way with words.
I think the one thing that struck me the most was his adoration of the Beatles' 'Meet The Beatles' album. I see many parallels between Kurt and John Lennon, in their play with absurd words, their rebellious stance against 'the system', and their self-destructive insecurities, but it seems so divine to me that Kurt would idolize the Fab Four album that gave us 'I Want to Hold Your Hand', and so many other, very serene and loving Beatle tunes...I would have pegged Kurt to like 'The White Album' or the more aggressive Beatle tunes.
These diaries are only a glimpse...a short one, but it helps that it's written in Kurt's own hand.
Who knows what happened? The only thing I know is that Kurt is gone, and I wish he wasn't. Whether he wished us to view this or not, to me it doesn't make a difference. His music endures, his voice endures, and let's just hope that justice will be served, if not in this world, then in the next or in some better place.
I cherish what Kurt left behind, and that is in the music.
This is only a glimpse of the mind behind that effort...

Who knows how many millions the publishers paid Kurt Cobain's estate for his journals - for they sure didn't spend much more on editorial costs. Admittedly, it's a nice big lavish book - but basically it's just a collection of photocopied pages torn out of Cobain's spiral notebooks. Apart from a short note at the back of the book saying these were either drafts of letters or letters that were never sent, there is no biographical content about the origin or dates (Cobain himself never dated his diary pages) that shed any light on the entries. Sure you get the picture from Cobain's outpourings - frustration before fame, frustration after fame etc. But unless you're a fan of Nirvana, you'll have to read one of the Cobain biographies to find out more about the band's story for yourself. But then, this is for the fan - isn't it? Scribbled drafts of some of the most famous song lyrics - like Smells Like Teen Spirit - with all the scored out deletions and doodles on the page only empower the image of the grunge icon. And that's exactly why the photocopied pages appear as they were written; just jottings, really, in Cobain's fast and furious handwriting, which is almost illegible at times. A typed book would have shown up just how ordinary the writing is - just a guy letting off some steam, trying to keep a record. It wasn't meant to be literature. With any journals - particularly a dead famous person - the power of the prose is in the subject's thoughts at the point in their life they were at when they put the words down on the page, especially if it was before they found fame. Now wouldn't it have been better if the publishers had added some editorial content to the text - or Cobain's estate had provided some private photos? Even in death, it seems, you can't get cooler than Kurt Cobain.