1. Sub Pop & Nirvana

20 + 1 Questions V.2.
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higherlimits
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1. Sub Pop & Nirvana

Post by higherlimits »

1) How has Sub Pop, Love Buzz #534, Nirvana and Kurt Cobain influenced your life?
subpopfan1
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Re: 1. Sub Pop & Nirvana

Post by subpopfan1 »

Sub Pop has been a record label that has opened my eyes to many bands/records that, had they not had that attractive black and white logo, I would've probably never paid any attention to. Especially the Fastbacks, Eric's Trip and Beat Happening…all bands that I completely adore. Also, it has made me very conscious of releasing records with sequential catalog numbers as they are easier to track/collect that way.

Copy #534 of Nirvana's "Love Buzz" single hasn't specifically influenced my life. If anything, my purchase of it signalled that at the age of 18 I was ready and willing to become a record collector who shells out money to get what he wants. I paid $500 for that record and at the time people seriously could not believe it. To many people, it seemed exorbitant. Ten years later that same single will cost you $1500 on a good day. Were I a flipping sort of guy, I'd say that 300% profit ain't too bad. Plus, it was a single that I never though I would ever be able to own. Like the sheer possibility of it all was so removed from I was told "You might want to hold off on telling people how much you paid for that" as if it was somehow embarrassing. my existence that it was merely a pipe dream to ever physically posses it. My purchase of it (from Chris Brokaw of the Sub Pop bands Codeine and Come) proved to me that in regards to record collecting, if you hang around long enough, sooner or later everything will cross your path.

Kurt Cobain is still a mystery to me. On some things, like the fidelity and aggressiveness of "In Utero" as a follow-up to "Nevermind" or the irony and subversive manner of Nirvana, I can only revel in his foresight. Other things like heroin addiction and suicide patently turn me off. When combined it seems the character that emerges is intriguing because he is flawed. I don't know if I could easily appreciate someone who fit my exact ideal or completely mirrored my beliefs. Some things perfectly right are usually wrong. At the same time, so much of my mind/thoughts/theory/philosophy is the way it is because I've let it be formed and shaped by my appreciation of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana.
LaurieAK
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Re: 1. Sub Pop & Nirvana

Post by LaurieAK »

Years ago, I remember reading: "Collect what you like." Meaning not for the 'flip' value but for personal gratification. You can't go wrong. Of course it's always a beaming moment when what you Like does increase in value. But that's besides the point.

Your explanation here (and the question) is very interesting.

I've got a first ed. of The Bell Jar that Plath wrote under a pseudonym that I thought I'd never own, but desire trumped practicality several years ago and I grabbed one up. It would now be completely out of my price-range.

Collecting is such an interesting subject...what is says about us and what we value and usually leads to learning something along the way too.
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