{ Lick That Riff! }

Hello everyone! Good weekend?

Here’s to this weeks post in the series of Hero Worship. This weeks worship goes to Kurt Cobain. A genius. A Revolutionary. A true great.

What Total Guitar said about him:

You know him by his: Fender Mustang and Jaguars, staggering songs.

Greatest Moment: That four chord riff!

Ok, so it might not be entirely accurate to say that Nirvan’s, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” single-handedly swept away 1980′s metal: bands like Tad, Mudhoney and Dinosaur Jr had already done their bit to weaken the foundations. And it might not be exactly true to say that the album Nevermind was an establishment-baiting blast of raw punk aggression. After all, there were a handful of guitar solos on there – and the record just boasted just as much high-production sheen as anything by, say, Motley Crue.

But TG has had enough of Kurt Cobain being discussed in terms of ‘cultural importance’. More than that, he was a great guitarist and a phenomenal songwriter, who – on songs like “On A Plain” – was capable of conjuring a memorable melody from the weirdest, most atonal of chord progressions. Having grown up listening to The Beatles, his only goal was to write classic songs – he just happened to play them goddam loud!

Kurt used to claim he didn’t care much about his gear, but he was actually an avid collector of bargain basement, pawn-shop guitars. “Polly” was recorded on a Stella Acoustic (with only five strings) that he’d bought for just $30. And those trademark Fender Mustangs?

“They’re cheap and totally inefficient,” he once said. “They sound like crap, they’re small, they don’t even stay in tune. You know what? They’re my favourite guitars in the world.”

That last sentence sums up Cobain beautifully. He didn’t care for rules, efficiency, or great sound. In fact he didn’t care for much at all. Just for making great songs that are timeless classics. It’s a shame he took his own life at the height of fame, but the legacy he has left behind was immense. Nirvana are still as popular as ever, the various Nirvana hoodies and t-shirts that I see every week are testament to that. And then there’s Dave Grohl. Still carrying on Cobains legacy, making great songs with the Foo Fighters. Cobain is a guitarist that will never be forgotten and because of this, he’s a true Hero!