I don't normally do this kind of thing ...

[kiramdear]

But after seeing this in the window for some months and taking a little smile each time I passed, I decided to make the purchase.



It just fills me full of that crazy Teen Spirit, you know?

[paologregorio]

Kinda cool! The colors are quite vivid, eh?

[kiramdear]

Yeah, he's actually nicely detailed and looks hand-painted. They even got his little grungy fingernails. The colors are many and layered. I think he's going to guard my amp.

[scotty]

I like it. It reminds me of one those new cool door stops that are out.i was working in a customers house who had a really lifelike dog at the door,I asked what the dog was called she replied its a door jam,I replied"get the kettle on"

[kiramdear]

Kurt is giving me that special look, just for me. I'm going to have to give in and post a vid now.

Here's a very tight live version, Kurt 140% as always. I never heard him give less than everything he had to a song. All you stage-divers will love this one:

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[jingle_jangle]

Kira, where'd you get him? I want one. I'm gonna sand all the hair off, and convert that Jagmaster back into a Mustang, and...

Oh, wait a minnit...he's a lefty...

[Ric O'Sound]

...convert that Jagmaster back into a Mustang, and...

Not to pick nits, but it's a "Jagstang". A great guitar BTW. I used to have one up until about a year ago. I miss it now...might have to pick one up again soon.

As far as Cobain goes, I never understood the hype surrounding this guy. I never cared for his music and I never saw the "genius" in him or his work that everyone else seems to see. I may be in the minority, but Nirvana's music simply makes me gag.

Kira, it sounds as though that little figure had been calling your name for some time. You probably did the right thing by taking him home. Sometimes it's little studio decorations such as this that help inspire us in our creativity.

[jingle_jangle]

Yeah, you're right, Dan...slip of the tongue, as I've owned both a Jagstang and a Jagmaster, and sold both. The Jagstang is possibly one of the ugliest, most unbalanced guitars Fender ever produced, which endeared it to me. Fender's guys did an exemplary job in turning Kurt's cut 'n' paste sketch into a real instrument while retaining some semblance of guitar. The sketch can be found in "Journals" (Kurt Cobain) ISBN10-1573222321.

If you look the book up on Amazon (as I just did), there's a radio button for "Add to Baby Registry" Personally, I couldn't think of a worse gift for a mother-to-be

EDIT: I don't see any Jaguar DNA in the Jagstang, BTW. It's closer to a "Stratstang", IMO. But a Google search turns up a "Stratstang", which was a lefty 7/8-scale Warmoth Strat body coupled to a lefty Mustang neck. The builder, "Lonnie" makes a claim that he built it hardtail because "everybody knows that tremelo (sic) doesn't work with a 24" scale.

There are a lot of Mustang and Jaguar owners who would disagree with that one. Not to mention he is referring to "vibrato".

[kiramdear]

The packaging says he's playing his Mustang here in this recreation of his look in the "Teen Spirit" video.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't know much of anything about Kurt and Nirvana until recent years. I passed him over in his heyday and even when he died I didn't really look closely. Then one day I gave him a serious listen and OH WOW! He's been on my VERY short list ever since, and I've collected every boot I can get my hands on. I know he's not for everybody. He's not even for me, really, being somewhat off the beaten path of my normal musical wanderings. But Kurt stole my heart, just by being himself.
I've read the information and speculation on his death and have taken the position that it was not suicide. Whoever caused it, that was a rough way to go, as everyone will talk about the crime and not the music for a long time afterward.

Kurt's Mother, in an early comment to the press following Kurt's death: "I told him not to do it, but he went and joined that stupid club ..."

That's the "27" club, of course.

Oh, Daniel, won't you give Kurt another chance? I don't know how you can say there's nothing going on here:

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Maybe I can find a little Axl doll and have them trade licks

[Ric O'Sound]

The Jagstang is possibly one of the ugliest, most unbalanced guitars Fender ever produced, which endeared it to me.

Couldn't agree more, Paul. Its quirky looks are what actually caused me to take it down off the rack at the music store and try it out. I took it home the same day. The neck felt really good and its tone was sufficiently different from the other Fenders I'd owned to justify buying it. It's certainly not as aesthetically pleasing to look at as a Rick or a Strat, but a cool guitar nonetheless. I liked it so much that I even got past the fact that it was designed by Cobain.

I might have to seriously track one of those things down again. Or maybe build my own...Warmoth does Jagstang bodies, I think. Might be a nice project. Oh, these GAS attacks.

[Ric O'Sound]

Oh, Daniel, won't you give Kurt another chance? I don't know how you can say there's nothing going on here:

Ol' Kurt has pretty much used up all of his chances with me, Kira. Back in the day when grunge was gathering momentum, I tried really hard to like Nirvana. At the risk of sounding like some pompous musical snob, I'd like to think I have a pretty open mind when it comes to various muscial styles. I try to give everything a fair listen. I was classically trained on double bass starting at age 11 and have been exposed to all kinds of music from classical to bluegrass to metal and I've found that there's great music all genres.

But I call 'em like I see 'em and to me, Nirvana was all about attitude. No doubt they had plenty of it. But that's about it. It was like, attitude first and music second. With Cobain, all of a sudden it was cool to be a sucky guitar player. Musicians that were technically gifted were suddenly deemed "uncool". And God forbid your song should contain a guitar solo, because that was just "wanking" and truly cool songs didn't need 'em.

But hey, If you dig grimaced, angst-ified vocals accompanied by overly repetitious, downtuned power chords in disjointed, dissonant progressions, well then God bless ya...go crank Nevermind up on your iPod and enjoy. It's just that I find nothing "musical" (in the classical sense) about the music. Emotionally authentic? Probably. Musical? Well...

[kiramdear]

That must be why I like him, because the music isn't really up my alley, and of course, I missed all the hype and cultural stuff by being too old and discovering him only recently. But you touched on the authenticity and that goes a very long way with me, far enough to bring me to strange and uncomfortable places in its pursuit. I like artists that when I watch them I can feel their soul moving.

[whojamfan]

"Ric O'Sound"But hey, If you dig grimaced, angst-ified vocals accompanied by overly repetitious, downtuned power chords in disjointed, dissonant progressions, well then God bless ya...go crank Nevermind up on your iPod and enjoy. It's just that I find nothing "musical" (in the classical sense) about the music. Emotionally authentic? Probably. Musical? Well...

Don't sugarcoat it man, how do you really feel?

I will be forever gratefull to Nirvana for knocking all of that crummy hair metal stuff off the charts! Some of the worst music ever made was between 1984 and 1992, IMHO. Still not much of a mainstream 90s fan, but the previous stuff was just horrible. Also, working in a music store at the time, a whole new generation of kids wanted to learn how to play guitar, no longer intimidated by sweep picking and finger tapping. A genuine love of punk type music made me happy to hear something with some teeth on it in the charts, even though I don't consider them a punk band.

I will say, however, that it always annoyed me how he "claims" he never wanted to be famous and hated how popular they had become. If he just wanted a hobby band, he could have refused the money. Not at all likely, as what else would he have done, worked at Taco Bell?

[whojamfan]

Authenticity goes a long way with me as well. Some of my favorite artists and groups are absolutely awful by most peoples standards, but I love 'em. Heart goes so much further than technical ability, IMHO, computers are proof of this, drum machines and loops are as well. I'm not knocking musical brilliance, I'm simply stating it's not the end all to what someone may enjoy listening to.

[kiramdear]

I will say, however, that it always annoyed me how he "claims" he never wanted to be famous and hated how popular they had become.

But it was true. He was in it for the love of the music and the fans, not his personal glory. He was a very big fan and supporter of other artists music and personally very modest, and he wanted to share his own success that he was truly uncomfortable with by himself. All the pressure got too much for him.