's Best of 2001
The art of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was all about his private life, but written in a code as obscure as T.S. Eliot's. Now Charles Cross has cracked the code in the definitive biography Heavier Than Heaven, an all-access pass to Cobain's heart and mind. It reveals many secrets, thanks to 400-plus interviews, and even quotes Cobain's diaries and suicide notes and reveals an unreleased Nirvana masterpiece. At last we know how he created, how lies helped him die, how his family and love life entwined his art--plus, what the heck "Smells Like Teen Spirit" really means. (It was graffiti by Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna after a double date with Dave Grohl, Cobain, and the "over-bored and self-assured" Tobi Vail, who wore Teen Spirit perfume; Hanna wrote it to taunt the emotionally clingy Cobain for wearing Vail's scent after sex--a violation of the no-strings-attached dating ethos of the Olympia, Washington, "outcast teen" underground. Cobain's stomach-churning passion for Vail erupted in six or so hit tunes like "Aneurysm" and "Drain You.")

Cross uncovers plenty of news, mostly grim and gripping. As a teen, Cobain said he had "suicide genes," and his clan was peculiarly defiant: one of his suicidal relatives stabbed his own belly in front of his family, then ripped apart the wound in the hospital. Cobain was contradictory: a sweet, popular teen athlete and sinister berserker, a kid who rescued injured pigeons and laughingly killed a cat, a talented yet astoundingly morbid visual artist. He grew up to be a millionaire who slept in cars (and stole one), a fiercely loyal man who ruthlessly screwed his oldest, best friends. In fact, his essence was contradictions barely contained. Cross, the coauthor of Nevermind: Nirvana, the definitive book about the making of the classic album, puts numerous Cobain-generated myths to rest. (Cobain never lived under a bridge--that Aberdeen bridge immortalized in the 12th song on Nevermind was a tidal slough, so nobody could sleep under it.) He gives the fullest account yet of what it was like to be, or love, Kurt Cobain. Heavier Than Heaven outshines the also indispensable Come As You Are. It's the deepest book about pop's darkest falling star. --Tim Appelo


From Publishers Weekly
"And there had never quite been a rock star like Kurt Cobain," Cross eulogizes in this celebrity biography. Unfortunately, Cross, former editor of the Rocket, a Northwestern music and entertainment weekly, never proves his claim. Instead, Cobain's story, culled from more than 400 interviews with friends, family and colleagues and exclusive access to Cobain's unpublished diaries, sounds wholly ordinary, from boilerplate adolescent bitterness about his parents' divorce ("I hate Mom, I hate Dad. Dad hates Mom, Mom hates Dad. It simply makes you want to be so sad") and malt liquor, punk rock-adorned angst to the tawdry details of his drug addiction. "Even in this early stage of his career, Kurt had already begun the process of retelling his own story in a manner that formed a separate self," writes Cross as he carefully dispels some of Cobain's self-made myths, including claims of living under a bridge, "tales... about his constant abuse at the hands of Aberdeen's rednecks" and harboring an aversion to fame. The many unenlightening observations are often painted thick with sensationalism; other times, Cross trawls the bottom for sources whose credibility and relevance are dubious at best. (For instance, he interviews Cobain's drug-addicted ex-babysitter, Cali, and some of her girlfriends, yielding a depressing she-said-he-said of Kurt's final days.) Conspiracy theorists will speculate about the conditions under which Cross gained access to Cobain's private journals. Complete with gossip and meticulous references, the biography will catch the devotees, though, like junk food, it may leave them feeling unnourished. 16 pages b&w photos. (Aug. 15) Forecast: Released on the 10th anniversary of Come As You Are and with radio giveaways, this book will sell well.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
"I'm going to be a superstar musician, kill myself, and go out in a flame of glory." So spoke 14-year-old Kurt Cobain, who could not possibly have anticipated how prophetic his statement would become. Cobain, as leader of the band Nirvana, almost single-handedly wrestled alternative rock into the mainstream via the group's massive 1991 album, Nevermind. Three years later, Cobain rebelled against the phenomenal fame he had ambitiously sought and, physically and psychologically decimated by heroin addiction and a mysterious stomach ailment, fatally shot himself at age 27. Former editor of Seattle's influential music magazine the Rocket, Cross followed the Nirvana juggernaut from the beginning, and though he nearly bludgeons the reader with tales of Cobain's debauched excesses, one is still drawn to the artist's forceful personality. Cross transcends Christopher Sandford's 1995 Cobain biography, Kurt Cobain (Carroll & Graf, 1996) by conducting over 400 interviews and gaining access not only to the singer's widow, Courtney Love, but also to the musician's private journals, which provide fascinating insights into Cobain's troubled mind. The sordid details of Cobain's addiction and suicide and Cross's occasionally over-the-top dramatics are sometimes more than the reader can stomach, but ultimately this is a carefully crafted and compelling tragedy that serves as a necessary foil to Michael Azerrad's authorized Nirvana biography, Come As You Are (Doubleday, 1993). Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L., CA Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Cobain, the singer-songwriter of the band Nirvana, was in the public eye relatively briefly before self-destructing, but his impact and influence were huge. Yet Cross feels that Cobain's artistry remains largely undervalued, perhaps eclipsed by the cult of personality that accrued to him as the progenitor of grunge. Cross got access to Cobain's diaries and took four years to research and write the book; by and large, the result is worth that effort. Maybe the lengthy process has helped the book be deeper and more detached, like a real biography, but still it has barely moderated Cross' fascination with Cobain for such eccentricities as developing a "process of retelling his own story in a manner that formed a separate self" and speaking of himself in the third person even when writing to a friend. Probably too reverent for Nirvana nonfans, this is still a standout among rock bios and deserves its place in pop-culture collections. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


David Browne, author, Dream Brother: The Lives & Music of Jeff & Tim Buckley
"...Revelatory and moving, it's as essential to any rock-history bookshelf as 'Nevermind' is to any CD cabinet."


Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2001
"Cross treats the strange, unhappy life of musician Kurt Cobain with intelligence and an insider's perceptiveness . . ."


USA Today
"A powerful portrait."


Tom Sinclair, Entertainment Weekly
"The results of Cross' assiduous reporting show through in every chapter. A remarkable portrait: A-."


Eric Nuzum, Public Arts
" . . . this is the first to take an authoritative, journalistic, and scrupulous look at the history of Cobain and his band."


John Marshall, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"The short unhappy life of Kurt Donald Cobain now has its worthy biographer."


Robert Christgau, The New Yorker
". . . a compelling new biography of Cobain . . ."


Jeff Burlingame, Aberdeen Daily World
"Heavier Than Heaven will likely stand forever as the definitive Kurt Cobain biography.


Justin Waite, Biography magazine
"Shakes up the prevailing conceptions of Cobain . . . A compelling biography."


Mark Lindquist, The Seattle Times
"No other Cobain book matches Heavier Than Heaven for research, accuracy, and insider scoops."


Book Description
Published on the 10th anniversary of Nirvana's landmark album Nevermind, the first in-depth biography of the troubled genius, including new information from over 400 interviews and exclusive access to Cobain's unpublished diaries. Although the tragic circumstances of Kurt Cobain's suicide are well known, the facts of his life -- and the influence of his artistry -- remain largely unexamined. Now veteran music journalist Charles R. Cross fuses his intimate knowledge of the Seattle music scene with his deep compassion for his subject in this extraordinary story of artistic brilliance and the pain that extinguished it. Based on more than 400 interviews; four years of research; exclusive access to Cobain's unpublished diaries; and a wealth of documentation, Heavier Than Heaven traces Cobain's life from his early days in a double-wide trailer outside of Aberdeen, Washington, to his rise to fame, success, and the adulation of a generation. Cross reveals the familial turmoil that fueled Cobain's creativity, the generational history that forged his character, and the unusual love story that shaped his relationship with wife Courtney Love. Drawing from medical and police reports, and Cobain's own private writings, Cross also reveals the truth about Cobain's health struggles and his tragic final days. More than the history of a rock and roll star, Heavier Than Heaven is a portrait of creative genius and the will to turn pain into art.


About the Author
From 1986 to 2000 Charles R. Cross was editor of The Rocket, the Northwest's highly regarded music and entertainment magazine and the first magazine to put Nirvana on its cover. He is the author/coauthor of three other books: Backstreets: Springsteen, the Man and His Music; Led Zeppelin: Heaven and Hell; and Nevermind: The Classic Album. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Esquire, Guitar World, and Spy, among many other publications. He lives in Seattle.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Published to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Nirvana's landmark Nevermind album, this is an engaging, comprehensive biography of the group's resident genius, the much-lamented Kurt Cobain. Utilizing more than 400 interviews and Cobain's unpublished diaries, Heavier than Heaven recounts the meteoric rise and sudden descent of the Seattle-based singer.

ANNOTATION

More than the history of a rock and roll star, Heavier Than Heaven is a portrait of creative genius and the will to turn pain into art.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Published on the 10th anniversary of Nirvana's landmark album Nevermind, the first in-depth biography of the troubled genius, including new information from over 400 interviews and exclusive access to Cobain's unpublished diaries.

Although the tragic circumstances of Kurt Cobain's suicide are well known, the facts of his life -- and the influence of his artistry -- remain largely unexamined. Now veteran music journalist Charles R. Cross fuses his intimate knowledge of the Seattle music scene with his deep compassion for his subject in this extraordinary story of artistic brilliance and the pain that extinguished it.

Based on more than 400 interviews, four years of research, exclusive access to Cobain's unpublished diaries, and a wealth of documentation, Heavier Than Heaven traces Cobain's life from his early days in a double-wide trailer outside of Aberdeen, Washington, to his rise to fame, success, and the adulation of a generation. Cross reveals the familial turmoil that fueled Cobain's creativity, the generational history that forged his character, and the unusual love story that shaped his relationship with wife Courtney Love. Drawing from medical and police reports, and Cobain's own private writings, Cross also reveals the truth about Cobain's health struggles and his tragic final days.

More than the history of a rock and roll star, Heavier Than Heaven is a portrait of creative genius and the will to turn pain into art.

SYNOPSIS

Based on more than 400 interviews, four years of research, exclusive access to Cobain's unpublished diaries, and a wealth of documentation, Heavier Than Heaven traces Cobain's life from his early days in a double-wide trailer outside of Aberdeen, Washington, to his rise to fame, success, and the adulation of a generation. Cross reveals the familial turmoil that fueled Cobain's creativity, the generational history that forged his character, and the unusual love story that shaped his relationship with wife Courtney Love. Drawing from medical and police reports, and Cobain's own private writings, Cross also reveals the truth about Cobain's health struggles and his tragic final days.

FROM THE CRITICS

John Marshall

The short unhappy life of Kurt Donald Cobain now has its worthy biographer. —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Robert Christgau

. . . a compelling new biography of Cobain . . . —The New Yorker

Chris Nelson

Insightful, painstakingly researched . . . Cross' rendering of Cobain's childhood and family history is fascinating. —The Seattle Weekly

Mark Lindquist

No other Cobain book matches Heavier Than Heaven for research, accuracy, and insider scoops. —The Seattle Times

Jeff Baker

Dozens of books have been written about Cobain and his band . . . Heavier Than Heaven is the best, by far. —Portland Oregonian Read all 21 "From The Critics" >

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