In 2002 a collection of Kurt Cobain’s diaries was published. The somewhat controversial book provided an intimate look into a somewhat enigmatic and extremely reluctant celebrity.
In one of the pages of the book Cobain lists his top 50 albums of all time. It’s a diverse list filled with a broad range of genres ranging from punk to pop to hip hop and classic rock. There’s no doubt all of the albums on that list make for interesting listens when heard through the lens of how they may have influenced Cobain.
Local listener-powered institution KEXP will be doing just that when they explore the list this year in the form of a weekly podcast called “The Cobain 50.” The first episode of the podcase drops tomorrow. Here’s a brief description of what to expect, taken from KEXP’s website:
Each week, The Cobain 50 podcast digs into albums from this famous list and how they may have influenced Cobain and Nirvana. While learning the individual histories of the different albums on the list, we gain new insights into artists on the fringes as well as some of the biggest groups of all time.
I’m particularly interested in listening to the Shaggs, Raincoats, Fang and Wipers episodes. You can see the entire liste below along with the page of Cobain’s journals listing the records.
1. Iggy & The Stooges – Raw Power (1973)
2. Pixies – Surfer Rosa (1988)
3. The Breeders – Pod (1990)
4. The Vaselines – Dying for It (1988, listed as Pink EP)
5. The Shaggs – Philosophy of the World (1969)
6. Fang – Landshark (1982)
7. MDC – Millions of Dead Cops (1981)
8. Scratch Acid – Scratch Acid (1984, listed as 1st EP)
9. Saccharine Trust – Paganicons (1981, listed as 1st EP)
10. Butthole Surfers – Pee Pee the Sailor (1983)
11. Black Flag – My War (1984)
12. Bad Brains – Rock for Light (1983)
13. Gang of Four – Entertainment! (1979)
14. Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
15. The Frogs – It’s Only Right and Natural (1989)
16. PJ Harvey – Dry (1992)
17. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (1988)
18. The Knack – Get the Knack (1979)
19. The Saints – Know Your Product (1978)
20. Kleenex – “anything by:” (1978-1983, possibly referring to 1993’s Kleenex/LiLiPUT compilation)
21. The Raincoats – The Raincoats (1979)
22. Young Marble Giants – Colossal Youth (1980)
23. Aerosmith – Rocks (1976)
24. Various Artists – What Is It. (1982, erroneously listed as What Is This?)
25. R.E.M. – Green (1988)
26. Shonen Knife – Burning Farm (K Records version, 1985)
27. The Slits – Typical Girls (1979)
28. The Clash – Combat Rock (1982)
29. The Faith/Void – The Faith/Void (1982)
30. Rites of Spring – Rites of Spring (1985)
31. Beat Happening – Jamboree (1988)
32. Tales of Terror – Tales of Terror (1984)
33. Leadbelly – Leadbelly’s Last Sessions Volume One (1953)
34. Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff (1988)
35. Daniel Johnston – Yip/Jump Music (1983)
36. Flipper – Album – Generic Flipper (1982)
37. The Beatles – Meet the Beatles! (1964)
38. Half Japanese – We Are They Who Ache with Amorous Love (1990)
39. Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion Technician (1987)
40. Black Flag – Damaged (1981)
41. Fear – The Record (1982)
42. Public Image Ltd – The Flowers of Romance (1981)
43. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
44. Marine Girls – Beach Party (1982)
45. David Bowie – The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
46. Wipers – Is This Real? (1980)
47. Wipers – Youth of America (1981)
48. Wipers – Over the Edge (1983)
49. Mazzy Star – She Hangs Brightly (1990)
50. Swans – Young God (1984, erroneously listed as Raping a Slave)
