Music comes first. Lyrics are secondary... Most of my lyrics are contradictions. I'll write a few sincere lines and then I'll have to make fun of it. I don't like to make it too obvious because if it is too obvious it gets really stale. You shouldn't be in people's faces 100% all the time. We don't mean to be really cryptic or mysterious but I just think that lyrics that are different and weird and spacey paint a nice picture. It's just the way I like art.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Cobain sees music as primary, with lyrics serving as a playful, sometimes contradictory, artistic layer that shouldn't be too obvious.
- In plain terms
- Music matters most; lyrics are a subtle, contradictory art.
- What can you take from it?
- Balance clarity and mystery to keep art fresh.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much mystery is too much in art?
- What role does contradiction play in expression?
Another view
Too much ambiguity can alienate the audience.
More from Kurt Donald Cobain
I would like to think there's some purity in us, yeah, naive, y'know, purposely naive.
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