The homers know best

I'm always interested in how the hometown media report a story that has national appeal. When America wanted to know who the hell Sarah Palin was back in late August 2008 -- when she was named Crank McCain's VP candidate -- the national media immediately paid attention to everything that came from the Anchorage Daily News. They went to some of the only journalists that had a clue what she was like. Those guys had the national spotlight for quite some time. And actually, since they don't care about much that she does in the lower 48 I assume, they were better off with her in Alaska full-time as governor. (Too bad McClatchy.)

Anyway, I think this is especially true with anyone famous, especially bands. For Nirvana, it was Seattle's media that saw everything in real time. Or at least a large chunk of it, since Kurt Cobain grew up and long lived elsewhere around Washington, then moved to the larger Seattle for maybe two years before moving to LA with his family. Obviously Seattle was the epicenter of other, similar bands as well. (We won't get into a discussion about how and why.)

I imagine many Seattlies from back then -- just like bands Pearl Jam and Mudhoney -- have stayed, or moved and come back, and work in Seattle. So they know ALL the Nirvana history and post-Cobain suicide antics surrounding Courtney Love and otherwise. I feel like that gives them credentials. They will avoid the well-worn cliches and tropes on innuendo and cut to what the news is, assuming the reader knows the back story. I guess it's insiderish.

The Seattle Times music columnist Jonathan Zwickel has written a nice piece on the new Nirvana DVD release of live concert footage from 1992, the peak of their artistic talent many agree, in "Live at Reading."

Zwickel:

Nirvana's 1992 performance at England's Reading Festival is impossible to separate from its historical significance, which is this: Nirvana was at the time ascending to biggest-band-in-the-world status, and their 90-minute, 25-song set at Reading officially put them there.

This was August '92, a year after "Nevermind" reset the expectations and aesthetics of modern pop music. This was a headlining slot at Reading, one of the longest-running, traditionally career-making music festivals in the world. And this was Nirvana at its artistic peak.

All factors conspired for a Zeitgeist-defining moment. Seventeen years later, "Live at Reading" — an oft-bootlegged concert film released for the first time in 5.1 Surround Sound, recently remastered under the supervision of Kurt Cobain's estate and the remaining members of the band — proves Nirvana not only lived up to the opportunity, they smashed it to slivers and walked away grinning.

Artistic peak? I think I would agree. I always thought this time, as Nevermind was between album releases was a peak. The way down was immediate and horribly sad. Regardless, this footage is priceless. It is a snapshot of history for more than just a band. The fans grew up with him and felt the loss deeply. But no doubt, a city lost an adopted son. He defined them, and vice versa.

Was much of it marketing after a point, no thanks to the media oddball fascinations with this exotic land of woodsy punks? Sure. But that doesn't take away the spirit of the local musicians and artists. They remember Cobain, they remember each other and they've seen how time has passed. It's almost personal. I think it's worth something.

Side Note: McClatchy does quite a thorough job detailing their affiliate papers' press kits. The Anchorage Daily News section looks like an ad for the city of Anchorage.