Journals
Product ID: 1609476
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The lyrics notebook and personal journals of Kurt Cobain, revealing new insight and meaning to the iconic signer of the band Nirvana. Kurt Cobain filled dozens of notebooks with lyrics, drawings, and writings about his plans for Nirvana and his thoughts about fame, the state of music, and the people who bought and sold him and his music. His journals reveal an artist who loved music, who knew the history of rock, and who was determined to define his place in that history. Here is a mesmerizing, incomparable portrait of the most influential musician of his time. Review: all in all is all we are - "Oh yeah and our final name is NIRVANA" I know there are some who feel like reading this is somehow violating Kurt, and I know that "rape" quote has been floating around in some reviews. However, with respect to that, Kurt was referring to not only his journals, but a slew of other items that were stolen from him and the band. Also, Kurt said a lot of things that were contradictory. He at one time made a comment saying he would like to maybe someday publish his old journals. He said being so famous so fast was conflicting, then he would say it's not so bad. Literally, on the first page of this book is a note from Kurt to someone (maybe his first girlfriend that he lived with?) that says "Don't read my diary when I'm gone. Ok I'm going to work now, when you wake up this morning please read my diary. Look through my things, figure me out." And was written at the same time, its obviously not 2 separate entries. That's who Kurt was. Yes, we still can't necessarily say that Kurt would want people reading these, but I still didn't feel all too guilty reading these. I sat with this book for a while, so I can digest the beautiful, scrawled words one of my all time heroes. You will know Kurt better than you ever thought. Sometimes, it can be tricky determining what time period some of the entries and notes were in, because Kurt didn't date his entries. However, there isn't really meant to be a narrative here, is there? These were Kurt's private thoughts. There are entries from the late 80s, with Kurt lamenting about his miserable experience at school and his salvation at the hands of punk rock. Even at a younger age, Kurt was so self aware and intuitive and an excellent people-reader. We also get an insight into his extreme anger at others. There are many fairly violent fantasies he conjures up. He was a very talented artist, and many of his drawings are included. We see the early days and Kurt's ambition and determination to get Nirvana jumpstarted. Also included are drafts of song lyrics. I got the chills reading the still unfinished lyrics to songs like Lithium and All Apologies and Teen Spirit and Drain You and'Aneurysm', and 'Dumb'--especially reading Kurt's scrawl of "I'm not like them, but I can pretend". Then, later on, we see Kurt's frustration with music journalists (put very succinctly by Kurt), and brainstorming of video ideas, including Heart Shaped Box, in which Kurt's notes pretty much exactly map out how the video would turn out. "In Utero"s original title was "I Hate Myself and I Want to Die", and Kurt writes quite a bit about it. I'd have liked to have seen what made Kurt ultimately change the title, unless it's documented somewhere else, but no big deal. Kurt was so eloquent in so many ways, and his journals confirm that from a young age he stood up against unjust oppression of any kind, especially against women and homosexuals. He was a sensitive, intelligent man. I know some have criticized the book, because Courtney sold them, so Courtney "controlled" the story, so to speak. And many have it in their head that Courtney probably withheld some entries that maybe were less than flattering about her. Kurt wrote about everything in his life, so it would stand to reason that there would be plenty about Courtney and Frances, yet there really isn't much. However, I don't really find this suspicious. There are a few mentions of Courtney. But Think about it, would you want your husband's or wife's most intimate thoughts and most intimate frustrations about your marriage published? It's no one's business. I don't exactly understand why people they have a right to read that. It's her prerogative to release that or not. People are just immediately suspicious of anything she does, or doesnt do. Even if he wrote some negative things about her, why would she want that out there? Nobody would. No one wants to look bad. I think there are so many (myself included) that hold Kurt pretty sacred. And, most Kurt fans have animosity toward Courtney, and they want to see something, in writing, concrete, from Kurt that is derogatory or negative about Courtney. That way, it would validate their own hatred for her. There is, however, a love letter to Courtney included in here that is probably the most beautiful letter I've ever read, and written in a way that only Kurt could write. There is also a heartbreaking, I'm assuming unsent, letter that Kurt wrote to his dad. Kurt documenting his descent into addiction is also heartbreaking and a must read for anyone thinking of taking drugs. Since the entries are undated, don't expect to find out exactly what Kurt wrote in the days before he died. There is simply no way to know. It's amazing that Kurt saw himself as a worthless, emaciated, uneducated loser yet he's one of the best lyricists our generation, any generation, was blessed with. He was wise beyond his years, and even his journals entries are some of the best stuff I've ever read ALso, it's literally the scanned pictures of Kurt's journals. There is no typed transcription. Which makes it even better--the picture quality is so incredible that it looks like you are reading the actual journals of Kurt's. You can see the pen marks jump off the page. It looked so realistic that if one didn't know better, you would be able to erase the pencil writings yourself. And it's better this way, the dynamic of the book would be completely different and not as compelling if it was just transcribed. Bottom line, Kurt is one of my heroes. If he is one of yours, too, then buy this. You won't regret it. You will have a much more well rounded perspective of Kurt. Yes, not everything that went on in his life is spelled out, but you will still gain a huge insight. It made my heart ache, and realize just how big of a loss it was when he died. I know that I wouldn't be quite the person I am today if I hadn't gotten the cassette of nevermind when I was 8. Rock music died with Kurt Cobain unfortunately. And I get pissed and angry that he committed suicide. We know he adored Frances with all his heart, and you would think she would be enough to keep him going. Kurt himself talked at length about his parents' divorce and the horrible effect it had on him, how he so desperately wanted the 2 parent household. He of all people should have known better, what he was doing to his daughter. He wrote "her (frances') life will be so much better without me" in his suicide note. Come on, kurt. How could that be true? But, I guess that's the difference between people who aren't suicidal and those who are too far gone. Review: A Raw Map of a Beautifully Flawed Mind—Cobain’s Truth, Unfiltered - Reading Kurt Cobain’s Journals is not like reading a book. It’s like stepping barefoot into a cathedral built from napkins, scrawled lyrics, grocery lists, bleeding thoughts, and emotional detritus. It's not neat, it's not edited, and it’s certainly not polished—but that’s exactly what makes it essential. This is the anti-product in an age of products. These journals are not curated to sell a brand or to burnish a legacy. They are the very antithesis of today’s calculated image management, where every artist's “vulnerability” is a marketing ploy, and where music sounds like it’s been created by committee for the algorithm gods. Cobain was something else. He refused to conform—to fame, to genre, to expectations. You see it in the mess of ink, the rants against the media, the furious defense of his ethics, his refusal to be commodified. These pages aren’t just journals—they’re war cries against the sterile, cookie-cutter machinery of modern music. He didn't just go against the grain—he lit the grain on fire and danced in the ashes. What strikes you most is how aware he was. Not just of his surroundings, but of the contradictions within himself. The raw internal battles. The push-pull of wanting to scream into the void and wanting to disappear from it entirely. It's uncomfortable, unflinching, and utterly human. There’s humor, too. Odd sketches. Scribbled nonsense. Pieces of lyrics that later became anthems. But none of it feels like it was meant for you—and that's what makes reading it feel almost sacred. You're intruding on a private universe, and yet you can’t look away. This isn’t a book to be “liked.” It’s a mirror. A wound. A statement. It’s a reminder of what happens when someone creates because they have to, not because there’s a contract or a marketing cycle to satisfy. For those of us who feel nauseated by the polished plastic of today’s mainstream, Cobain’s journals are a holy document. A reminder that music—real music—is supposed to be dangerous, honest, and weird. It’s supposed to say “no” when the world wants you to nod politely. Kurt said no, again and again, until it broke him. And still, he left behind a roadmap of rebellion for the rest of us to follow.
| Best Sellers Rank | #43,243 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #78 in Rock Band Biographies #320 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies #1,255 in Memoirs (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,575 Reviews |
M**E
all in all is all we are
"Oh yeah and our final name is NIRVANA" I know there are some who feel like reading this is somehow violating Kurt, and I know that "rape" quote has been floating around in some reviews. However, with respect to that, Kurt was referring to not only his journals, but a slew of other items that were stolen from him and the band. Also, Kurt said a lot of things that were contradictory. He at one time made a comment saying he would like to maybe someday publish his old journals. He said being so famous so fast was conflicting, then he would say it's not so bad. Literally, on the first page of this book is a note from Kurt to someone (maybe his first girlfriend that he lived with?) that says "Don't read my diary when I'm gone. Ok I'm going to work now, when you wake up this morning please read my diary. Look through my things, figure me out." And was written at the same time, its obviously not 2 separate entries. That's who Kurt was. Yes, we still can't necessarily say that Kurt would want people reading these, but I still didn't feel all too guilty reading these. I sat with this book for a while, so I can digest the beautiful, scrawled words one of my all time heroes. You will know Kurt better than you ever thought. Sometimes, it can be tricky determining what time period some of the entries and notes were in, because Kurt didn't date his entries. However, there isn't really meant to be a narrative here, is there? These were Kurt's private thoughts. There are entries from the late 80s, with Kurt lamenting about his miserable experience at school and his salvation at the hands of punk rock. Even at a younger age, Kurt was so self aware and intuitive and an excellent people-reader. We also get an insight into his extreme anger at others. There are many fairly violent fantasies he conjures up. He was a very talented artist, and many of his drawings are included. We see the early days and Kurt's ambition and determination to get Nirvana jumpstarted. Also included are drafts of song lyrics. I got the chills reading the still unfinished lyrics to songs like Lithium and All Apologies and Teen Spirit and Drain You and'Aneurysm', and 'Dumb'--especially reading Kurt's scrawl of "I'm not like them, but I can pretend". Then, later on, we see Kurt's frustration with music journalists (put very succinctly by Kurt), and brainstorming of video ideas, including Heart Shaped Box, in which Kurt's notes pretty much exactly map out how the video would turn out. "In Utero"s original title was "I Hate Myself and I Want to Die", and Kurt writes quite a bit about it. I'd have liked to have seen what made Kurt ultimately change the title, unless it's documented somewhere else, but no big deal. Kurt was so eloquent in so many ways, and his journals confirm that from a young age he stood up against unjust oppression of any kind, especially against women and homosexuals. He was a sensitive, intelligent man. I know some have criticized the book, because Courtney sold them, so Courtney "controlled" the story, so to speak. And many have it in their head that Courtney probably withheld some entries that maybe were less than flattering about her. Kurt wrote about everything in his life, so it would stand to reason that there would be plenty about Courtney and Frances, yet there really isn't much. However, I don't really find this suspicious. There are a few mentions of Courtney. But Think about it, would you want your husband's or wife's most intimate thoughts and most intimate frustrations about your marriage published? It's no one's business. I don't exactly understand why people they have a right to read that. It's her prerogative to release that or not. People are just immediately suspicious of anything she does, or doesnt do. Even if he wrote some negative things about her, why would she want that out there? Nobody would. No one wants to look bad. I think there are so many (myself included) that hold Kurt pretty sacred. And, most Kurt fans have animosity toward Courtney, and they want to see something, in writing, concrete, from Kurt that is derogatory or negative about Courtney. That way, it would validate their own hatred for her. There is, however, a love letter to Courtney included in here that is probably the most beautiful letter I've ever read, and written in a way that only Kurt could write. There is also a heartbreaking, I'm assuming unsent, letter that Kurt wrote to his dad. Kurt documenting his descent into addiction is also heartbreaking and a must read for anyone thinking of taking drugs. Since the entries are undated, don't expect to find out exactly what Kurt wrote in the days before he died. There is simply no way to know. It's amazing that Kurt saw himself as a worthless, emaciated, uneducated loser yet he's one of the best lyricists our generation, any generation, was blessed with. He was wise beyond his years, and even his journals entries are some of the best stuff I've ever read ALso, it's literally the scanned pictures of Kurt's journals. There is no typed transcription. Which makes it even better--the picture quality is so incredible that it looks like you are reading the actual journals of Kurt's. You can see the pen marks jump off the page. It looked so realistic that if one didn't know better, you would be able to erase the pencil writings yourself. And it's better this way, the dynamic of the book would be completely different and not as compelling if it was just transcribed. Bottom line, Kurt is one of my heroes. If he is one of yours, too, then buy this. You won't regret it. You will have a much more well rounded perspective of Kurt. Yes, not everything that went on in his life is spelled out, but you will still gain a huge insight. It made my heart ache, and realize just how big of a loss it was when he died. I know that I wouldn't be quite the person I am today if I hadn't gotten the cassette of nevermind when I was 8. Rock music died with Kurt Cobain unfortunately. And I get pissed and angry that he committed suicide. We know he adored Frances with all his heart, and you would think she would be enough to keep him going. Kurt himself talked at length about his parents' divorce and the horrible effect it had on him, how he so desperately wanted the 2 parent household. He of all people should have known better, what he was doing to his daughter. He wrote "her (frances') life will be so much better without me" in his suicide note. Come on, kurt. How could that be true? But, I guess that's the difference between people who aren't suicidal and those who are too far gone.
M**E
A Raw Map of a Beautifully Flawed Mind—Cobain’s Truth, Unfiltered
Reading Kurt Cobain’s Journals is not like reading a book. It’s like stepping barefoot into a cathedral built from napkins, scrawled lyrics, grocery lists, bleeding thoughts, and emotional detritus. It's not neat, it's not edited, and it’s certainly not polished—but that’s exactly what makes it essential. This is the anti-product in an age of products. These journals are not curated to sell a brand or to burnish a legacy. They are the very antithesis of today’s calculated image management, where every artist's “vulnerability” is a marketing ploy, and where music sounds like it’s been created by committee for the algorithm gods. Cobain was something else. He refused to conform—to fame, to genre, to expectations. You see it in the mess of ink, the rants against the media, the furious defense of his ethics, his refusal to be commodified. These pages aren’t just journals—they’re war cries against the sterile, cookie-cutter machinery of modern music. He didn't just go against the grain—he lit the grain on fire and danced in the ashes. What strikes you most is how aware he was. Not just of his surroundings, but of the contradictions within himself. The raw internal battles. The push-pull of wanting to scream into the void and wanting to disappear from it entirely. It's uncomfortable, unflinching, and utterly human. There’s humor, too. Odd sketches. Scribbled nonsense. Pieces of lyrics that later became anthems. But none of it feels like it was meant for you—and that's what makes reading it feel almost sacred. You're intruding on a private universe, and yet you can’t look away. This isn’t a book to be “liked.” It’s a mirror. A wound. A statement. It’s a reminder of what happens when someone creates because they have to, not because there’s a contract or a marketing cycle to satisfy. For those of us who feel nauseated by the polished plastic of today’s mainstream, Cobain’s journals are a holy document. A reminder that music—real music—is supposed to be dangerous, honest, and weird. It’s supposed to say “no” when the world wants you to nod politely. Kurt said no, again and again, until it broke him. And still, he left behind a roadmap of rebellion for the rest of us to follow.
L**.
Very cool item
An insight into Kurt’s mind, directly copied from his journals.
K**K
I love love love this! 🖤✨
I love this so much the paper back is good quality & it’s actually a big book I thought it was going to be smaller. Love this I recommend to all Kurt Cobain fans 🎵🖤
C**T
An unsent letter.
To anyone who is not a Nirvana fan - I don't know why you are even bothering to look at this. Read no further. For those who ARE Nirvana fans, tread forward with caution. This book was an insightful look into one of the most beautiful minds that I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing as it unfolded. People talk about where they were, or what they were doing when great catastrophes happened in the world. Laugh if you want, but I still remember where and what I was doing when I heard that Kurt Cobain was dead. I thought this book was a very interesting look into Kurt Cobain's mind. It's not an autobiography. Kurt kept journals, drawings, clips of paper with notes and thoughts sprawled across them, rough drafts, and unsent letters. This book is a wide variety of these things photocopied from the originals. Some writing is almost illegible. On other pages you can see the emotion in the jerky script. Most of the passages describe his frustration with the music industry, fanzines, and journalists that misunderstood him. In some areas it shows a lot of his beliefs about the world around him and what he believed to be a perfect society. When it comes down to it, you had to have been a fan to bother buying it, and you have to appreciate it for what it is. I will leave you with my own mad ramblings in a letter to Kurt that will never be sent. Kurt, They're not dyeing out like the dinosaurs. They have mutated into something much worse than you ever could have imagined. They've built a breed of music that no matter how many times you turn away, it keeps growing. They try to make it look like it's for our own good, but..... It's just the beginning. The media has control. Now they tell us what we are supposed to like. Pop stars, the kid next door, and televised competitions for contracts? And it all revolves around selling the sexually provocative image of an under aged teen. Their voices are electronically altered, or it takes five people to sing one song, and not a single one of them knows how to play an instrument. It makes no sense to me that tweens are billboard successes, and they are singing about things that they won't come close to experiencing for another ten years. None of them write the lyrics. There is a small group of people in an ill lit room somewhere scribbling out the next big hit. I assure you the words; "baby", "party", or "hot" are well peppered through it. There are no deep meaningful songs anymore, no words to make you think hard, it's all superficial bull. Hell no, you're not allowed to express any other emotion than happiness or love. If you do...then it's considered too political. POLITICAL? It's politics to express frustration? The frustration of being spoon fed the same garbage over and over. I'm sorry, I would like some variety. Or how about you just quit playing the same crappy song so much I want to puke? I've given up on finding anything original in the air waves Kurt. I say turn off the radio station, unplug your MTV (that no longer plays music), and start searching. I refuse to let them feed me what they want me to like. I do not listen to the radio and I don't shop in stores for CDs. I've taken to searching the internet for bands that I've never heard of. I want to like bands that people think don't exist. They ask me, "Who's this?" I tell them the name of the band, and they always follow up with, "I've never heard of them." People never ask about the band again. If it can't be fed to them off the shelf they don't even bother. It's sad really. It's not music any more. It has just become a rhythmic beat that they all bob their heads to.
M**M
Nice read
From what Ive read of it, its a great read, really puts a much different p.o.v. on kurts life when you get to see what he wrote in those journals.
D**N
290+ pages any Kurt Cobain or Nirvana fan should own!
Kurt Cobain is an idol of mine and Nirvana has been around me, and with me my whole life basically as I am from Tacoma, Washington. I remember seeing Nirvana playing on MTV for the first time as a small kid which must of been the Nirvana Unplugged which was on repeat on MTV after Kurt was found dead. I remember, and my mom confirms I asked her who he was, and why he never opened his eyes. I just turned 35 years old a few days ago. Anyways you would think personal journals would be weird to read as Kurt never knew these were going to be published for the whole world to read. But if you read it for what it is. You will see as being a owner of this (so called book) that it is actually 290 plus pages of drawings, daily thoughts, band ideas, song lyrics, journal entries, and a lot of what Kurt Cobain thought of the world, his band, music, other music, etc.. I've read just about every book on Kurt, and on Nirvana. And I can truthfully say that this is a great piece of history, knowledge, and ways you've never looked at Kurt, or looked at Nirvana. There's even shopping lists, top 20 best bands according to Kurt, Entries of what the band did that day. Entries of what he wanted for a music video, which you will see a lot of his thoughts came to life, and he was very artistic, and did control a lot of where Nirvana steered in the first 4 years of the 1990s that they were a band. Before I keep going on if you read this far, buy the book as Regular $44.99 on sale for $17.99 is a steal. Read a page a day, or just read this amazing piece of what Music Kurt Cobain and Nirvana was while they existed through the eyes hands and thoughts of Kurt Cobain. 5 out of 5 ☆☆☆☆☆/☆☆☆☆☆
V**R
A glimpse into a touted soul
Reading this book is a melancholy journey. You see how much Kurt felt about the world, his fame. Anyone who is a Nirvana fan needs to read this.
A**Z
No lo compres si eres un buen fan y ser humano.
Lo compré porque quería ver las letras originales de las canciones antes de ser grabadas en sus respectivos álbumes. También por los dibujos hechos por Kurt Cobain, uno de ellos que es mi favorito donde depicta la muerte de un hombre "macho" misógino a manos de su hijo aún en el vientre de la madre. En los diarios vienen escritas también cartas y relatos personales de Kurt. Me pareció irónico como en las últimas páginas hay una carta que dice que odiaba saber que personas en los hoteles donde se quedaba le arrancaban las páginas a sus diarios. Eso lo hacía sentir víctima de violación a su privacidad. Es por eso que decidí cerrar el libro y no continuar con su lectura después de una lectura superficial. No lo compres si eres un verdadero fan de Nirvana y de Kurt Cobain, sobre todo si eres un buen ser humano ya que estarás violando la privacidad de una figura pública de suma importancia para el mundo de la música, pero sobre todo, estarás metiéndote en la vida personal de un ser humano como tú y como yo. Si lo deseas, adquiérelo como souvenir o como objeto de colección, nunca como lectura obligada.
A**Y
A must for Kurt Cobain fans
Every Kurt Cobain fan must own this book.
J**R
When the lights out it’s less dangerous
I really love this book, Kurt cobain has been my favourite since I was a kid
S**N
Enjoyable but somewhat avant garde
A fascinating journey through the mind of Kurt Cobain. Some of it’s a little out there, well the majority of it is a little out there but for any Nirvana fan this is a must read. I read the whole thing over an evening or two, it’s full of his drawings, ideas, writings and poetry from notepads and scraps of paper and so on. Fascinating to see what he had going on in his mind and then what some it it transpired to be. This is a hardback book with a dust jacket, fairly large book, about A4 size and an inch thick, not excessive, to me it’s perfect for what it is.
A**X
Très intéressant même pour les déjà-fans !
J'ai acheté ce journal pour avoir plus de détail sur l'idole grunge et c'est passionnant. Très proche des carnets de Marylin dans un autre genre, on y voit l'introspection et les doutes d'un artiste en devenir. Loin d'être une brute de rocker sans âme le jeune homme y apparaît comme un musicien en recherche.
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