“Soaked In Bleach” DVD (director: Benjamin Statler)

Cobain conspiracy?

It’s safe to say that there’s a glut of Kurt Cobain conspiracy theories around, despite the case of his suicide being closed and documented already via other media. Personally, I’m content to accept that Kurt couldn’t handle the fame and pressure of being a role model to thousands of troubled teens. Nonetheless, this film does present compelling evidence for the reopening of Cobain’s 1994 “suicide” case. Certainly, this film treads dangerously close to tabloid journalism with dramatized sequences, but the release of recorded phone interviews courtesy of investigator Tom Grant are examined and presented here, and definitely cast a shadow over Courtney Love’s alleged motives and involvement in the arranging of her husband’s death.

Grant, who it seems has made a business of exposing Cobain’s death “hoax”, is the central focus here, and he does present a wide-ranging and convincing argument to those who would listen. “Soaked In Bleach” does manage to illustrate the missteps taken by the Seattle Police Department, as well as seemingly capturing the obviously drug-addled Love in some bold-faced lies regarding Kurt’s overdose and intentions (she was facing an ugly divorce when Kurt was found dead). So was Kurt Cobain murdered? There’s no definitive answer, despite this film.

Overall, this film is a serious look at the “myth” of Cobain’s suicide. Taken with a grain of salt, it’s still an engrossing and curious document of a hidden side of America’s musical history. You may not be convinced of the worthiness of this, but it’s still an interesting watch.

MVD Visual

official film site

Nirvana - “In Utero - 20th Anniversary Tribute” 2xDVD

Repackaged retro

This repackaged set of 2 full-length “unauthorised” DVDs from Pride DVD (aka Sexy Intellectual) is a pretty solid wealth of info for serious Nirvana fans. Disc 1 is simply “In Utero: A Classic Album Under Review” from a few years prior, which of course examines the band’s rise and fall with a focus on their final studio album. Plenty of journalists and biographers are interviewed here, as well as several people who were close to the band. There’s nothing here that will shake the ground for Nirvana fans or solve the supposed mystery/conspiracy theory of Kurt’s suicide, but expect plenty of obscure anecdotes and stories from some folks who were supposedly there for the band’s rise.

Disc 2 is a lengthy (90 minute) collection of extended interviews from the first disc, including deep conversations with Cobain’s grandfather and former Nirvana drummer Chad Channing. Again, there’s a load of collection trivia represented here, and proves a fascinating (if exhausting) watch.

Serious Nirvana fans, this may be a must-see. Casual fans like me? Take it or leave it.

Pride/Sexy Intellectual

Nirvana official site

Earth - "A Bureaucratic Desire For Extra-Capsular Extraction" CD

Among Olympia, Washington's most innovative and influential acts, Earth are immense. A major inspiration on one Kurt Cobain (who, incidentally, appears here), this is a reissued collection of early work from 1990, making this the earliest recorded Earth material. In contrast to the band's more recent atmospheric work, this is low-and-slow drone/doom metal. Think an instrumental Melvins, and you'd be in the same family. "Ouroboros Is Broken" is 18 minutes of throbbing, ebbing riff and Alesis drum machine -- like Godflesh all strung out, and in slow motion. 'Geometry Of Murder" is doom-grunge of the first order, while "Divine And Bright" has some mumbled vocals from Cobain. But that's just window dressing, as they say. The focus here is on the huge ten-ton riffage and alternating drone and pummel. "A Bureaucratic Desire" is Earth at their most monumental and gigantic. (Southern Lord)

Earthspace

Earth site