In a new interview with Aaron Rash, Nirvana producer Steve Albini recalled the tension one of Kurt Cobain’s pedals almost caused between him and Krist Novoselic. Albini pointed out how Krist ‘wasn’t a fan’ of Kurt’s sound during the solo of ‘Heart Shaped Box.’ In fact, Novoselic thought it was Cobain’s way of sabotaging the band. The producer explained:
“Then when he played it for Krist, Krist absolutely hated it. He was like, ‘Why are you putting this big smelly turd in the middle of this great song?’ He really thought Kurt was trying to sabotage the song. Like, ‘Oh you think you’ve got a hit here? Let me f*ck this up for you so you can’t play it on the radio.’”
Well, was it his plan to sabotage the song? Not really. Albini continued:
“He thought that was like a strategy of Kurt’s but I’m certain it wasn’t. Kurt was just enjoying this freak sound.”
Nirvana VS. Fame
Many people blamed Cobain’s suicide on the intense spotlight and fame. Some rumors also claimed that he never wanted to be famous in the first place.
Nirvana achieved fame with ‘Nevermind.’ This was only two years after dropping their first album, ‘Bleach.’ Their sound started getting noticed by mainstream audiences after going global with their second album.
According to some, the reason for Cobain’s suicidal thoughts was fame. However, in a 2004 interview, the band’s former manager Danny Goldberg said Cobain actually wanted to be famous and even worked hard for it:
“He definitely wanted to be famous. He worked assiduously with tremendous clarity to achieve that. He designed the band’s T-shirts, commented on detailed aspects of the bios, was acutely aware of every review and interview and how often the videos were on. He knew which songs would be singles.”
You can see the interview below.