Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana: Book Review

As a big music fan, I love reading about some of my favorite artists and bands. Which is why we will be looking at Nirvana as we review the book Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana by Michael Azerrad. Keep reading to find out what we thought of this book and if you should also read it!

Come as You Are Summary

Nirvana is one of the biggest bands to ever exist and they came out of nowhere and ascended to the top in 1991 with their album Nevermind. Michael Azerrad talks about the band’s founding members and how they came to form Nirvana with countless interviews.

Azzerrad talks about the band’s rise to fame as well as analyzing their songs and albums over the years. Few authors could have delicately written a book like that that portrayed Kurt Cobain, Chris Novoselic and Dave Grohl with such care. 

Commentary

In 1992, Cobain and his wife Courtney Love reached out to Azzerrad to write a book about Nirvana. If you need to know anything about Cobain, it is that he distrusts the media and corporations. Cobain viewed Azzerrad as a friend and someone that they could trust. Ultimately, Azzerrad and Cobain’s friendship soured before Cobain’s death in 1994.

The book was an enjoyable experience and getting that kind of insight to a band was refreshing. Azzerrad covers the band and the band members before and after they became famous and Cobain’s own thoughts on certain major events that were covered intensely by the media. 

Nirvana is one of the biggest rock bands to ever exist and they singlehandedly changed the genre and how bands were marketed. Even to this day, Nirvana is still huge and we are still seeing the effects that the band had on the music industry.

The irony of Nirvana becoming one of the most popular bands alive is that Kurt Cobain didn’t want that. He would wear t-shirts of bands that he was a fan of to give them exposure to his audience. That was the type of person he was and Azzerrad does a great job of showing that side of Cobain in his book.

Conclusion

I love reading about my favorite bands, artists, and celebrities. But the material isn’t always worth reading, especially when it isn’t an autobiography. That wasn’t the case here as Azzerrad does an amazing job of focusing on the bandmates. If you a Nirvana fan, then this book is a must read!

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