TEEN SPIRIT: The Stories Behind Every Nirvana Song [Paperback]

Chuck Crisafulli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 1996

This lavishly illustrated book, featuring 90 color and black-and-white photographs, tells the story behind every track on each of Nirvana's five albums. Why did Kurt Cobain write "Polly", his graphic anti-rape song? What is "Teen Spirit"? Who is Floyd the Barber? As Chuck Crisafulli answers these questions he chronicles Nirvana's rise to fame and the emergence of grunge. 90 full-color and b&w photos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; 1St Edition edition (November 19, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684833565
• ISBN-13: 978-0684833569
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #743,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CHUCK CRISAFULLI is a veteran entertainment journalist and author, most recently of Go to Hell: A Heated History of the Underworld, and Me and a Guy Named Elvis, with Jerry Schilling.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not to be taken too seriously, November 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: TEEN SPIRIT: The Stories Behind Every Nirvana Song (Paperback)

Sure Kurt's songs were great and beautiful, but everyone knows that his lyrics are somewhat crytic, sometimes seeming like just nonsense. This book makes an attempt to explain the songs, but don't take it too seriously. Kurt is often quoted for thinking it's funny when people would try and analize his songs. He says that often they are just lines from poetry books of his, and he didn't even realize what he was writing at the time. There are some songs here that have a definate inspiration and solid meaning, but others were just pretty much made up as he went along. Go ahead and buy it if you have some cash to blow and want some outsider insites on the meaning of his songs.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing and entertaining, if not revealing!, February 1, 1999

By 

Paul Counelis/Free Will([e-mail]) (Flint Town,Mich.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TEEN SPIRIT: The Stories Behind Every Nirvana Song (Paperback)

Ok, this isn't the best book about Nirvana, but it's far from the worst.I really enjoyed the attempt to show a little about what Kurt's mind set was atthe time he was writing some of his punk-pop masterpieces.The book seems very well researched, with a lot of quotes and asides,and alsohas a lot of good pictures.Some of the pictures,however,have nothing to do with Nirvana.In fact,some are downright amusing.They seem a littleout of place, like the mismatched stock footage which graced the legendary Ed Wood's "finest" work as a director.Beyond that, there are a lot of good stories behind the songs.It was a good decision to include the cover songs, if for no other reason than to understand why Kurt loved them.To sum, although more time could have been spent on some songs, and inclusion of many of the pictures is somewhat odd, this is a good and interesting lookinto the mind of a brilliant and sometimes tormented Pied Piper of the misbegotten.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HIGHLY RECCOMENDED FOR ANY TRUE NIRVANA FAN, April 15, 1999

By 

DANTE CAROSELLI ([e-mail]) (NEW JERSEY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TEEN SPIRIT: The Stories Behind Every Nirvana Song (Paperback)

ANY TRUE NIRVANA WOULD APPRECIATE THIS BOOK VERY MUCH. IT NOT ONLY HAS APPROX. 2 PAGES OF SUPERB INFO ABOUT EVERY NIRVANA SONGS,IT ALSO INCLUDES DISCOGRAPHY, GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS [ON ALMOST EVERY PAGE] AND A TIMELINE FROM WHEN KRIST WAS BORN TILL KURT DIED. IT TELLS WHAT THE SONGS MEAN. HOW KURT WAS FEELING WHEN HE WROTE THE SONGS. WHAT THEY WERE ABOUT. BUY IT-YOU WILL LOVE IT!! I KNOW I DO!