Of Grunge & Government : Let's Fix This Broken Democracy!

Rating:
Summary: Good 'ol novie ain't no thinkin' man
Review: Anything out of the mouth of Krist Novoselic is total bullsh*t, especially one of his many screwball "political" views. Since Krist can barely put a sentence together, he certainly isn't capable of expressing any political views with the articulation they would require. His first book, Of Guns & Government, is good for a laugh, and is further proof that former celebrities (especially D-List ones like Novoselic) need to steer clear of all political forums.

Sure, the rash of copycat suicides got rid of a few teens who wouldn't have amounted to anything anyway, but it's an utter shame that Kurt Cobain's self-inflicted demise inspired his former bassist to make the worst possible career move a musician of his level of former-fame could make; Krist Novoselic became a politician. And nobody likes a politician. Especially when he's a drunk and a stoner like good 'ol Novie. Reading Krist's book teaches young music go-getters to trade in their bass, their music career, and their soul for a shot at political campaigning.

It's always a hoot to read or hear what Krist Novoselic has to say. He obviously ain't no thinkin' man. Just watch any Nirvana live show to remind yourself. I happen to believe the greatest political statement Krist made was in the Nirvana video "Live, Tonight, and Sold Out", where Krist opens the video by shouting, "Kill 'Em All!" with all the zeal you'd expect from a hypocritical femminazi. Yes, this is also the same man who would play Nirvana gigs in only his underwear. If you really need a slack-jawed, idiotic politician to tell you what to think, then please, go with one of the newly-elected senators from one of the red states (preferably one from the south).

By the way, I just love the way the cover of the book cuts off the image of Krist right above his forehead. This technique of covering insecure mens' baldness was often employed by none other than Phil Collins in his music videos.

Huzzah!


Rating:
Summary: not as bad as I expected
Review: I received this book as a gift, and I expected it to be a mess of poorly written ignorant rantings. And to be sure, the book is written badly enough to be a source of amusement, with knee-slappingly silly sentences such as "Kurt [Cobain's] death was a giant media affair. Someone remarked that it was like the Kennedy assassination..."

But once Novoselic goes beyond his autobiography he has a mildly interesting story to tell: after becoming a successful musician, he learned that the music business, just like Philip Morris or Exxon, has interests that can be affected by politics, and he learned how to lobby politicians and otherwise become part of the democratic process.

The last half of the book discusses various flaws in the democratic process (in particular the "wasted votes" that result when voters are packed into districts or states that are "safe" for one party or the other) and gives an OK introduction to issues that professors and pundits have discussed more articulately.

Rating:
Summary: This is definitely a book worth your time!
Review: I thought that this book was very intelligently written and I thought that Krist Novoselic's views on politics were amazing. I bought this book because I am a Nirvana fan but I ended up really enjoying the whole thing, not just the parts about Nirvana. Since I am only 14, I did not really understand a lot of stuff in this book but I liked what I could understand because I have recently become very interested in politics, thanks in large part to articles that I have read about Nirvana. I really would recommend this book to anyone interested in politics. It is a quick, easy read and is definitely worth your money!

Rating:
Summary: Krist and his past, present, and future
Review: In this book Krist details his life including meeting Kurt Cobain for the first time: Kurt making lava lamps (badly!), his first time entering Kurts house (profane cartoons drawn on walls!) the forming of Nirvana (Kurt as a deity).
It points out his political views, as well as his intelligence.
Novoselic is no basher, he doesn't talk trash about any party and he becomes very respectful as each page turns.
If you want to know about Nirvana from Krist's perspective try this book out.

Rating:
Summary: Vague
Review: Krist's memoires are filled with passion, but on page 100, he urges people to join society's, such as "Shriners." Shriners is a Masonic organization, and if Krist is half as liberal as a band like NIRVANA supposedly was, he would not be supporting such organizations.

In his own coded way, I think he wants to start a revolution. Pretty hard considering his band was sold with APATHY to the legions of teens and young people he champions for in his book.

Krist seems to have his heart in the right place, but this book is VERY conservative, almost timidly so where Krist seems to be afraid to say what he really wants because he is afraid of offending people.

Too bad, although he's just trying to make a living, so more power to him.



Rating:
Summary: Of Grunge and Government
Review: Like most people, my connection to the name of Krist Novoselic is somewhat limited; "the bass player for Nirvana" as he actually mentions in the opening pages of his book. To this end, it was quite enjoyable to find that a man from band who wrote such songs as "Territorial Pissings" and "Rape Me" could write a book with such articulate and intelligent content. The book loses some steam as it reads on, partly because it becomes less and less of a personal account as Novoselic shifts his writing from music to political ideology. His thoughts on the inadequacies of the two party system and the flip-flop nature of post 9/11 nationalism are intriguing. His writing also focuses a lot on events that affected the Pacific Northwest. While it was interesting to hear of these events for the first time (such as the Teen Dance Ordinance), I had little personal connection to it as a New Englander. Overall, a good read if for no other reason than to gain some validation that even the grungiest of rock stars from the apathetic 90's have a strong political voice.

Rating:
Summary: JAMPAC this...
Review: Novoselic is a laughably bad writer. He posses no skill or technique, and as I'll prove below, every paragraph of his is as nondescript and grammatically-poor as a twelve year-old's diary entries. Krist writes so vaguely and unimaginitively on everything of interest to his audience of Nirvana fans that one has to wonder where his mind has been for the past fifteen years. He can't recall anything more interesting about his first encounter with Kurt Cobain other than the fact that he made bizarre artwork? I could tell you that. Of course, I could elaborate on it too, which Krist seems incapable of. Read and laugh along at Krist's abuse and misuse of commas, parentheses, slashes, and hyphens; he has no idea to use any of the three.

In this exerpt, Krist mentions his introduction to the Melvins frontman and his pal. Krist is obviously too embarrassed to admit to us that the unnamed "fast-food restaurant" was Taco Bell:

"I met Buzz Osborne and Matt Lukin while working after school in a fast-food restaurant. These fellows were in an actual punk band, the Melvins!"

Gee golly! The Melvin's! Wow! An actual punk band!


Laugh along as Krist, without any elaboration, recalls when he first met Kurt Cobain:

This is around the time I met this person named Kurt Cobain. If I am to speak about independence, I need to mention one of the most independent people I've ever met. Kurt was a completely creative person--a true artist. He had just got a job and found his own place. What a den of art/insanity that was! He tried to make his own lava lamp out of wax and vegetable oil (it didn't work). He sketched very obscene Scooby-Doo cartoons all over his apartment building hallways (they were done very well). He made wild sound montages from obscure records. He sculpted clay into scary spirit people writhing in agony. He played guitar, sang, and wrote great tunes that were kind of off-kilter. Punk, pop, or whatever, it was raw creativity. Kurt held a skeptical perspective toward the world. He'd create video montages as well that were scathing testimonies about popular culture, compiled from hours and hours of watching television. I look back on those tapes as a shattered mirror reflecting the absurd reality of commercial television--perhaps even the world. This wasn't someone who had a hyperactive finger on the record button; those video montages were surreal sociology.

For someone who's supposedly a "completely creative person" and "true artist," Krist sure doesn't recall or elaborate much on him.


Next, read Krist's uncohesive pothead philosophizing about otherworldy transcendence... or something:

"We found a drummer, Aaron Burckhart, and began playing constantly in that little house. We had the most intense jams. We'd simultaneously orbit inner and outer space. It was so serious, if we felt we sucked at rehearsal we were disappointed and we'd sit around bummed out after. It must have been about transcendence. If we didn't get that rush, that otherworldly sense of liberation, we were let down; it's hard to lose God after you've experienced it. These were not cover-song sessions or protracted blues jams. These were manifestations of a psychic dissonance. For all its beauty, I see that dark thread through most of Kurt's creativity."

No writer past the age of puberty would write, "...If we felt we sucked at rehearsal we were disappointed and we'd sit around bummed out after." Still smoke pot much, Krist?


Next, take a gander at something so confusing it needs clarification:

"Rock music of the late '80s had been very predictable. In 1990 no rock record had even made the top ten. Nevermind was the right record at the right time. Great original rock bands like R.E.M. and Jane's Addiction had previously blazed a trail to the top of the pop charts but Nevermind really announced the arrival of new régime."

Krist's writing is so contradictory and confusing that I need to clarify for him. R.E.M and Jane's addiction BOTH had hits in 1990 that were in the top-ten on Billboard. R.E.M had the #1 hit "Losing My Religion" in late 1990, and Jane's Addiction came close with "Been Caught Stealing" in mid-1990.

It's a shame that real writers and poets get passed over for slop like Krist's Novoselic's "memoirs". Aside from the nuggets above, the rest of the book involves Krist trying to pawn off his half-baked politicl ideas on impressionable teens who can't yet formulate their own opinions on politics.

Rating:
Summary: Stressing the importance of getting up and taking part
Review: Of Grunge And Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy! is both memoir and political platform. Krist Novoselic, bass player and founding member of the widely-known rock band Nirvana, calls readers to action - stressing the importance of getting up and taking part, in small ways and large. His own work in benefit concerts and the founding of JAMPAC (Joing Artists and Music Promotions Political Action Committee) reveals the efforts to which he has gone to get the message out; his drive to make contributions is infectious, healthy, and inspirational for a democracy and a community meant to be of, by, and for the people. Highly recommended.


Rating:
Summary: refreshing political book without all the politics....
Review: Reviewed by Jennifer Leblanc for Small Spiral Notebook

One of the forefathers of grunge has gone political. Krist Novoselic, former bassist for Nirvana, has written a book entitled, Of Grunge and Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy!

As he chronicles his punk/grunge days in Washington we follow his trail into politics. First are the anti-desert storm concerts that Nirvana played and the youth-driven 1992 election. But the real influence came when Novoselic had a hand in defeating the Erotic Music Law in 1992, which labeled certain albums for Adult's Only. In 1995 the same law under a different name brought Novoselic to the state house, the legislature, working with lobbyists and the governor for another victory. He was hooked enough to start JAMPAC, Joint Artists & Music Promotions Political Action Committee, which supports pro-music and free speech candidates for office.

The later chapters explain certain aspects of government and elections in thorough and accessible but not condescending ways. He explains Super-Party Districts, Instant Run-off Voting and the possible reforms for elections. He doesn't just bemoan the fact that not al votes count; he has ideas to make that change.

Novoselic does not simply spout off his anger at the government or America's political flaws. Through the years he used his anger as motivation for change, not inertia, and found a calling in public office (he is currently running for Lieutenant Governor of Washington State). Although he loves a good rally just as much as the next activist, he has learned first hand that more can be done inside the system than outside.

Though lacking the spontaneous excitement of a street march, testifying at a public hearing is another opportunity to constructively get something off your chest. Regardless of the approach, the idea is to address attempts at tyranny in the nonviolent context of the democratic process. That's what the U.S. is supposed to be about.

He also advocates involvement at any level. He outlines the benefits of public hearings, old-fashioned local lodges like the Elks and Grange, which he is a member of, and also highlights message boards, weblogs and meet-ups.

The best thing about this book is Novoselic's refreshing hope about the future. He often quotes the American founders, the constitution, and speaks from the heart about enjoying the freedoms we all take for granted, like voting and participation. He writes early on: "I am actually very enthusiastic about American Democracy and the possibilities for real change. It's just a matter of getting word out." With all the current political controversy brewing at home and abroad, he has picked the perfect time to do so.



Rating:
Summary: Flawed, but worthy of a read.
Review: This is an interesting little book. Novoselic argues, and rightfully so, that change must come from WITHIN the system, not by violent revolution. He names a number of ways by which to do this, including speaking out at community meetings, running for local office, etc. These are good thoughts, but they are well-trodden, and have been heard a number of times before. I don't think Novocelic is trying to speak to the "youth" of America here - I'm sure few people under 25 even know who he is (He's the guy in Nirvana who looks like Andy Kaufman) - but to people like me, who have aged somewhat, still cling to the ideals of their youth, and want to make a difference but aren't sure how. This is a flawed book, to be sure, but for someone who normally wouldn't pick up a political book, it could be seen as a call to make a difference. It's a short read (an hour or two), and I'd say worth it, but don't stop with this, it's merely an introduction to social change.