Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain

I’ve read a few biographies of Cobain, and I appreciate this one for its focus on Cobain’s life in L.A. and its continuous attention to Cobain’s aesthetic practice. Goldberg admits to seeing Cobain through “rose-colored glasses,” and these glasses certainly skew his interpretation of some events (KC’s petty jealousy of other Seattle bands, for example) and lead to a few outrageous claims (Nirvana wrote more overtly political songs than R.E.M. did, which makes you wonder if he ever listened to an R.E.M. record). But this view does fuel his attention to valuing Cobain as a creator: music (obviously), visual (which we mostly knew about), and video (which was new to me and really interesting). While Grohl’s lack of participation with the book raises some questions, give this a read if you’re at all interested in Cobain beyond the “tortured soul, troubled boy” narrative.And to the reviewer who put down the book because Goldberg is affiliated with the ACLU: read the liner notes to Incesticide because Nirvana might not be the band you think it was.

There's an indescribable buzz you get reading Danny Goldberg’s Serving the Servant : Remembering Kurt Cobain. For me, it was like standing on Sunset Boulevard when Tower Records existed, in line, waiting for "Smells Like Teen Spirit” or just endlessly listening to “All Apologies,” “Heart Shaped Box” or hearing him sing Bowie’s “The Man who Sold the World” on MTV Unplugged ---and that song spun on its own axis.But that was Kurt's brilliance, that’s what drew people in. Goldberg was Kurt’s father figure/manager and friend. A relationship immensely rewarding and, at times, taxing. Goldberg shines a light on the private man, giving us a very intimate, heartbreaking, hilarious, and insightful narrative.From Goldberg’s fatherly eyes, Cobain is a sweet, compassionate, shy, albeit childlike puzzle of genius, ailments and a self-marketing maven.I don’t want to ruin the book for you and temper this review with things you should read; I will say, however, that this book reads brutally honest. Sure, there is a lot of entertainment insight; sure, you’ll read about all the big names…..but….….It is stunning a farewell to a surrogate son, and a must read for anyone who loved Nirvana, anyone who's loved someone struggling with drugs. Anyone who loves, PERIOD.When Goldberg leaves Cobain’s funeral, he is broken. Twenty-five-years have passed and finally, it's the goodbye he wanted to tell.An absolute must read.

The first 2/3 read like a Wikipedia page. I suspect John Silva would be able to fill in many of blanks encountered here. I grew tired of reading other people’s accounts, largely already known, about the past.The book redeems itself once the Vanity Fair interview is discussed. From that point forward, the book is engaging and provides many unknown details without devolving into a gossipy tabloid. My main gripe is that it took so long to hit its stride.The last third of the book is essential for Nirvana fans, but those same fans will likely be uninterested in the early chapters.Oh, and Danny, Ozzy doesn’t have “famous” tattoos of ‘love’ and ‘hate’ on his hands. The tattoo on his hand is literally OZZY — Kurt and Dave were paying homage with the same exact thing. How something so easily verifiable slipped by the fact checkers, I’ll never know.

Kurt is my favorite musician and inspired me to write my own songs. I've been a fan for years and have read many books about him/Nirvana. Though I appreciate the music of many, there's only a few that I connect with on a deeper level. Kurt is one of them. As a fan, I really enjoyed this book. It is told from the perspective of a manager and personal friend which makes it different from other books. I did learn a little bit more but most of the information in the book is not new. I liked that it gave another view of him and did not focus overtly on his untimely death. His drug use and downward spiral are included but it focused more on his intelligence, kindness and other positive aspects of his personality while not denying his imperfections (which we all have). Danny hopes that eventually his death will not overshadow the music. I think this book is a positive step in that direction but the cynic in me is not sure it will ever change. I knew how intelligent, brilliant and ambitious Kurt was as a musician prior to reading Serving the Servant but this book reveals that side of him even more so, dispelling some of the myths about him...especially to the uninitiated. Thank you Danny for sharing with us! I really appreciated your book.

Thank you Danny! Excellent book that provides a unique perspective. The best book on Kurt Cobain yet. I especially appreciated the discussion of Kurt's musical influences and enemies. Overall I was left with a much more well-rounded impression of Kurt and a greater appreciation of the intense pressure he was under starting within a few months of Nevermind coming out.

This book by Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg gives an interesting, alternate perspective to the success of NIRVANA. And outlines that Kurt wasn't as disgusted by the massive success of his band, but had actually planned it all along. Really fascinating to remember back on key NIRVANA events such as the MTV Awards, Saturday Night Live, the In Utero recording and get insight from someone who was actually there. A quick breezy read for die-hard Nirvana fans, and a look behind the curtain of the music business. Recommended.

I bought book for a few reasons and honestly was disappointed. I was in high school in the nineties and I am big fan of the music that came out of the nineties. I like reading about the Seattle music scene and I like learning about how it all came together and exploded. This book is not really about Nirvana or Kurt or anything about serving a serpent. This book is literally about the author. Not a very interesting person. Just another person next to a famous person writing about themselves but using a headline and some fancy B.S.NPR sold me on this.

There's not much new info about Kurt or Nirvana given in this book.Courtney Love helped him to write this, so if you're hoping to finally find out anything to do with what Danny's (ex)wife -Rosemary Carroll -Kurt and Courtney's lawyer knew about or found and then told Tom Grant about, don't bother with this book.

Amazing read. Any Kurt fan would love this. Written from a way less dark perspective not focused on drugs or death. Lovely book

Fantastic read from the management point of view ,great read some interesting things that I did not know after reading nearly every piece wrote on Kurt and Nirvana.Splendid book for a fan.

After a slow start, I really enjoyed this book. I found it interesting how someone who on the surface had it all yet underneath was so desperately sad and destructive.

Christmas gift