Teen Spirit: The Tribute to Kurt Cobain

Last updated
Teen Spirit: The Tribute to Kurt Cobain
Tribute to Kurt Cobain.jpg
Original VHS cover art
Distributed byLabyrinth Medi Ltd
Release date
July 1994
Running time
55:00 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Teen Spirit: The Tribute to Kurt Cobain is a documentary about Nirvana band leader Kurt Cobain. [1] Released in July 1994 it is significant as the first unofficial Kurt Cobain or Nirvana documentary to be available as a home video.

Contents

Notable appearances

The film features interviews with Charles Peterson who was Nirvana's photographer. [2] The film also features interviews with writer and pop music critic Ann Powers of The Village Voice , as well as with Grant Alden of The Rocket and Nils Bernstein of Sub Pop, Nirvana's original record label. [3] The film documents Nirvana's rise to stardom, interviews with band members, other musicians, music journalists and fans. It also showcases Cobain's hometown of Aberdeen, Washington to investigate what influenced his musical perspective. [4]

Critical reception

AllMusic gave a poor review of the film, stating that: "Similar in style to the 1998 exploitation documentary Kurt & Courtney , the 1996 home video Teen Spirit: Tribute to Kurt Cobain does a shoddy job of trying to tell the story of Kurt Cobain". [2] However, MVD stated that: "It is a moving tribute to Kurt the man, and his music, from those who were inspired by his extraordinary genius. [1] Allmusic also noted that due to copyrights the film does not include any of Nirvana's music. [2] Radio & Records described the film as the "video scrapbook companion to Nirvana's From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah LP". [4]

Re-release

The film was re-released on DVD in 2001 as an extended director's cut of 75 minutes long with a different cover art. [5] [6]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1994)Peak
position
US Top Video Sales ( Billboard ) [7] 22
Chart (1996)Peak
position
UK Music Videos (OCC) [8] 21
Chart (1997)Peak
position
UK Music Videos (OCC) [9] 19
US Top Music Video Sales ( Billboard ) [10] 12

Year-end charts

Chart (1997)Position
US Top Music Videos ( Billboard ) [11] 32

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album was released in 1999 which featured the documentary on CD. [12]

Related Research Articles

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Kurt Donald Cobain was an American musician who was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona, his compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X and is widely recognized as one of the most influential alternative rock musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nirvana (band)</span> American rock band (1987–1994)

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References

  1. 1 2 "Kurt Cobain - Teen Spirit: The Tribute To Kurt Cobain". musicvideodistributors.com. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Prato, Greg. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic.com . Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  3. "Teen Spirit. The Tribute to Kurt Cobain". livenirvana.com. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Show Prep - Video - New This Week" (PDF). Radio & Records . November 22, 1996. p. 19. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  5. "Teen Spirit - A Tribute to Kurt Cobain". amazon.com. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  6. "What's In Your DVD Player? - MVD" (PDF). Billboard . August 18, 2001. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  7. "Top Video Sales" (PDF). Billboard . August 6, 1994. p. 71. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  8. "Official Music Video Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  9. "Official Music Video Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  10. "Nirvana - Chart History - Music Video Sales". Billboard . Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  11. "The Year in Video" (PDF). Billboard . January 10, 1998. p. 64. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  12. "Various - Teen Spirit - The Tribute to Kurt Cobain". discogs.com. Retrieved January 10, 2024.