Rock and roll bands in the 1990s had to do better than pen bone-headed odes. Rock and roll bands were writing about their innermost feelings instead of the typical sex, drugs, and rock and roll angle, thanks to the grunge movement making its mark on the world. Kurt Cobain was the person who best understood the distinct boundary that separated rock and roll at this point.
When discussing his childhood, Cobain says he was first exposed to bands like The Beatles and The Monkees. Even though Cobain had a musical inclination from an early age, he was itching to listen to heavier music and eventually gravitated toward bands like Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. Cobain was filled with an inexplicable rage towards one of the bands that succeeded Nirvana, even though his mastery of 1970s rock would be immortalized in the Nirvana B-side “Aero Zeppelin.”
Guns N’ Roses played a small role in the fall of the Sunset Strip empire, even though Nirvana was ultimately responsible for the demise of the hair metal subgenre. Hailing from the wrong side of the tracks, GNR embodied what hair metal bands aspired to but lacked recognition. Slash and Axl Rose’s gang mentality was far more prevalent than Poison’s. Despite the latter two being able to perform to the hilt for their fans.
Kurt Cobain remained unimpressed by Guns N’ Roses’ double album Use Your Illusion, despite its critical acclaim and commercial success. When he first heard it, he said, “We’re not your typical Guns’ N’ Roses type of band that has absolutely nothing to say.”
Eventually, Cobain would reaffirm his position and decline the chance to open for Metallica and Guns N’ Roses on a joint tour. “I had to make the phone call to Kurt to talk to him about the possibility of joining our tour,” Kirk Hammett recalled in an interview with NME. He kept talking about how he didn’t agree with what Guns N’ Roses stood for.
Though Rose saw himself as a fan of the early grunge icons, Cobain’s insult to their methodology was notable. It became the straw that broke the camel’s back. Rose attempted to patronize Cobain regularly. At the 1992 MTV Awards, he even threatened him openly. Rose was giving Nirvana the hard road, even when he was trying to start a fight. Kurt Cobain said that he had not been treated that way since high school.
The performance of GNR’s crappy rendition of “Lithium” at the same show would eventually reveal Nirvana’s contempt for them. Following his drum kit’s destruction by Cobain, Grohl grabbed the mic. He fervently begged Axl Rose for the audience’s attention. Whatever their number of verbal sparring sessions, Grohl seems to view it as the moot point at least.
When Grohl learned that Rose had experienced a similar circumstance after enduring a tour with a broken leg, he asked. He wanted to use his singing throne during Guns N’ Roses’ subsequent run of shows. That Rose has more emotional stability these days is nice, even for a band as insane as Guns N’ Roses.
