The unexpected

I am racing through Love Is A Mix Tape much like I expected I would. It's funny, I knew I would like it, and I do, but reading it is such a bittersweet experience. I read it mostly with a great deal of sadness for Rob Sheffield, for what he experienced. No one so young should have to go through what he is writing about in his book. The way he frames the tragedy of his wife's death (not a spoiler as you get that in the first chapter) with music is amazing and a true joy to read. It reminds me of how I wish I could write like that - it seems like he just sat down and wrote the whole thing from start to finish in a day. Since I live with a writer, I know that's not true, but still! He and I don't share a lot of the same music in common, but he shares my passion for it.

And after reading a chapter of the book last night which focused primarily on Kurt Cobain, I am now impatiently waiting for the library to open so that I can go down there and get some Nirvana. My knowledge of Nirvana is so limited as, let's be honest, it is decidedly not my type of music. It pretty much begins and ends with "Smells Like Teen Spirit." When Nirvana was shiny and new (well, as shiny as grunge can get) I was still wallowing in the late 80s pop music holdovers. This disheveled young man yelling lyrics into a microphone was not going to tempt me in the slightest. But after listening to Sheffields' take on Kurt Cobain (beautifully written, I might add), I am ready to look at him in a new light.

I have no idea how my experimentation with Nirvana will go, but we'll see. I may get the CD from the library and have all my preconceived notions confirmed. But I figured, if I can be swayed by the written word to give it a bit more than just a passing glance, there might be more there than I figured.