6 million dollars for Kurt Cobains acoustic!!!

Loobs

ICBM said:

Most of the people who underestimate the impact of Nirvana are probably musicians.

The whole point is that Kurt's songs and the records the band made with them appealed enormously to non-musicians - especially the most impressionable of all, teenagers who feel a bit (or a lot) alienated from the rest of the world. Grunge was as important to that generation as punk was if you were a teenager in the mid 70s, or rock'n'roll was if you were one in the late 50s.

I sort of disagree with this. Most true musicians I know are open minded enough to appreciate Nirvana's importance and impact, irrespective of what music they like or play. 

hollywoodrox

6 million eh, they was diddled  guv

mburekenge

sawyer said:

So is this now the most expensive guitar sold? Makes Greeny Les Paul look a bargain! 

Couldn't agree more! I'll take two. And the harrisons could probably make that happen.

Snags

You only have to look at how often Cobain (often him rather then Nirvana) crops up in music mags for the middle-aged like Uncut, or how often he's referenced in the retrosoective/nostalgia/talking head cheap TV shows, or how much Nirvana merch, much of it with images of Cobain, still sells from places like EMP or Grindstore etc. to see that he's still a touchstone for a lot of people, and is considered iconic at least by those who shape a lot of opinion.

There's a kind of musical James Dean thing around him that almost self-perpetuates.

As others have said, it's unlikely to be a guitar or music nerd who has dropped $6m on an old acoustic, it'll be someone/a company from a world most of us will never understand.

(I like Nirvana. I like most anyone who writes a good song without overly technical chops. It keeps hope alive).

Roysterdoyster

Would it have made 6m if he was still alive?

prlgmnr

Think how much they'll get for a really valuable item like one of his Rolexes

Tall_martin

The guardian write up mentions that “The guitar was the seventh of only 302 D-18Es built by Martin”

is it much different  from any other Martin guitar ?

obviously this ones price all about being played on mtv. Were the other d-18e expensive before this sale?

soma1975

Don't get me wrong. I think he was great. I think he could write a good hook and a great melody. 

I just don't think if he has lived he would be as influential as he clearly is to the yoot. 

ICBM

Tall_martin said:

Were the other d-18e expensive before this sale?

Not really. Basically it's a D-18 with DeArmond pickups and controls factory-bodged into it as a sort of early electro-acoustic... they're rare because it wasn't a popular idea.

I'd imagine that Kurt found the stock pickups too noise-prone, especially as he was using distortion. The Bartolini is hum-cancelling and thoroughly shielded internally.

Zoolooter

Aren’t all these crazy guitar prices a bit like if Picasso’s paint brushes where for sale (no idea if they ever have), they would go for ridiculous amounts. The work, not for everyone. Influential and iconic, yes.

Blaendulais

barnstorm said:

That seems a crazy price to me. Most artist guitars are expensive because guitar people care about them. Cobain wasn't exactly a 'guitarist's guitarist', and grunge seems far less culturally relevant now than most things that came before and after. Do people still spend time thinking about him and his music?

Massively.  Brilliant band genius album, 

Blaendulais

Few guitarists have written better songs than Kurt.  If I was Vai or Satriani I'd think fuck i can play but i wish i could write like Kurt

skaguitar

The guy who bought the guitar is apparently putting it into a touring exhibition and all the proceeds of that are going to performing arts charities.
Post Malone did a nirvana covers tribute gig during lockdown so I think he ( kurt )and nirvana are still relevant to some of today’s youth

Loobs

Blaendulais said:

barnstorm said:

That seems a crazy price to me. Most artist guitars are expensive because guitar people care about them. Cobain wasn't exactly a 'guitarist's guitarist', and grunge seems far less culturally relevant now than most things that came before and after. Do people still spend time thinking about him and his music?

Massively.  Brilliant band genius album, 

albums

Blaendulais said:

Few guitarists have written better songs than Kurt.  If I was Vai or Satriani I'd think fuck i can play but i wish i could write like Kurt

Vai and Satriani make some of the most boring music ever written. And as it goes their guitar playing is also massively overrated. 

earwighoney

barnstorm said:

Not disputing at all how big a deal it was for the people who were there (of whom I am theoretically one) – just haven't really noticed its influence for quite a long time now. I taught for a bit (not guitar!) and the kids were into all sorts but grunge never featured. But maybe it will come back around, as suggested above, and matey from Rode will be able to turn a profit on the guitar!

Nirvana are HUGE in 2020 maybe not with the guitar kids that much but with the new rap generation who aren't into bravado, guns, and the gangster way of things like previous rap movements but drug addiction, depression and so on. 

Post Malone (pretty much the biggest rapper around right now) played a setlist of Nirvana songs a few months and raised $4.5m (well, it looks like $10m altogether) which has been a really important event in the year for music.

Saying Nirvana aren't a presence in the music in 2020 is akin to saying Neil Young's thumbprint wasn't there in grunge in the early 90's.

Loobs

Every kid who picks up the guitar learns Come As You Are and SLTS, don't they?

ICBM

Loobs said:

Vai and Satriani make some of the most boring music ever written. And as it goes their guitar playing is also massively overrated. 

I would dispute that, certainly with Vai - I don't like everything he's ever done, but his music isn't boring, and he can really play. I'm not a huge fan of Satriani, but I think he's good if you like that kind of thing.

I did once think that as well, I admit - but there's room for both types of music, and a lot of others.





(Country *and* Western .)

stickyfiddle

I completely get it. 

Kurt was a far more influential songwriter that the likes of Gilmour, Vai, Slash, even Hendrix - and a single light of inspiriation for an entire generation far above all of his contemporaries. 

Loobs

ICBM said:

Loobs said:

Vai and Satriani make some of the most boring music ever written. And as it goes their guitar playing is also massively overrated. 

I would dispute that, certainly with Vai - I don't like everything he's ever done, but his music isn't boring, and he can really play. I'm not a huge fan of Satriani, but I think he's good if you like that kind of thing.

I did once think that as well, I admit - but there's room for both types of music, and a lot of others.





(Country *and* Western .)

Maybe it was slightly harsh. I guess at his best, Vai can produce some slightly interesting music, at least earlier in his career. However, at its worst, to me, it's just an extended guitar solo over a cheesy backing track. And let's be honest - their playing isn't at the level of virtuosity of someone like Mahavishnu Orchestra-era John McLaughlin. 

Freebird

Nirvana were a poor man's version of the Pixies or Joy Division