(Credits: Far Out / Nirvana)
Wed 22 October 2025 0:00, UK
Nirvana might be one of the coolest bands that ever existed, but Kurt Cobain never really saw themselves that way.
That fact only makes him seem cooler. Nobody likes a tryhard, and when someone overdoes it in a way that seems too forced, it’s more of a turn-off than anything else. But Cobain always had a quality of humility about him, which means that, even when he’d be caught up in a rant about all the reasons he’s not cool, he inadvertently proved all the reasons why he is.
That isn’t to romanticise or trivialise anything Cobain went through. After all, his life and career came with the kind of struggles you couldn’t even imagine, and a general outsider feeling that shaped much of his artistic vision. From school age, Cobain was aware of how much he didn’t belong in ‘normal’ settings. And he also grew aware pretty early on of all the ways the music industry didn’t sit right with him.
For example, he knew he liked some of the biggest rock greats that others were listening to, like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. But something about the lyrics made him feel out of sorts, until much later, when he realised that it was because they were inherently sexist and misogynistic. He didn’t understand why that was such a big mainstay of rock when there were so many other things you could filter into art – things that were actually meaningful and not derogatory.
Cobain’s outlook, position and worldview formed the basis of his so-called ‘cool’ reputation. It was also a bit of a catch-22, because while he was opinionated and outspoken, he was also fairly shy, a bit of an awkward presence, and someone who came across as a bit of a nerd. Those who hung out with him caught on after a while, figuring him out to be someone whose personality was mainly made up of his own personal passions.
Musically, these influences were always obvious. Cobain himself once said that all Nirvana was was a knock-off of Cheap Trick. “I’ll be the first to admit that we’re the ’90s version of Cheap Trick or the Knack,” he said in the liner notes for Incesticide. Elsewhere, he also praised The Knack, specifically their song structures, arguing they brought about the familiar verse, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus structure that he poured into much of their own material.
That foundation is another reason why Cobain never saw himself as ‘cool’. While people praised Nirvana for being authentic and like a breath of fresh air, Cobain knew they were a product of their own influences. It’s also why he felt a little put out by people describing him that way, especially if it was publications using them for a particular image.
As he explained to Kevin Allman, “Rolling Stone sucks, has always sucked, and still sucks just because they have a hip band on their cover. We’re not as cool and hip as everyone thinks. Having us on the cover isn’t going to make Rolling Stone any cooler.”
He went on, describing how Cheap Trick and The Knack typified the essence of ‘cool’ in the exact way he always aimed for: “Ever since this band has been popular, I’ve always thought of us as just a ’90s version of Cheap Trick or the Knack. They had two sides of appeal that made them kind of a cool band-a commercial side and kind of a new-wave side. We have that.”
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