Heavier Than Heaven - Manuscript Report
1.0 Book Synopsis
With over 400 interviews and four years worth of research, access to Cobain’s private diaries, and an abundance of documentation, Heavier Than Heaven is an intricate story of Kurt’s life from his birth in Aberdeen, Washington, his days as a child and a teenager, then venturing into his rise to fame, success and adoration of a generation. Discover the chaos and feelings of abandonment that was the fire to Kurt’s originality and character. With the aid of medical and police reports and once again Cobain’s personal entries Cross is able to shed more light on the truth of Kurt’s health and his heartbreaking last moments of life.
“He grabbed the heavy shotgun, put it against the roof of his mouth. It would be loud; he was certain of that. And then he was gone.” (pg 342)
The name Heavier Than Heaven comes from a slogan British concert promoters used to describe Nirvana’s 1989 tour with the band Tad.
2.0 Version of Reality
2.1 Time Period
Kurt Donald Cobain was born February 20, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington and committed suicide April 5th 1994, in Seattle, Washington. With a knack for art and an abundance of musical talent, Kurt as a child dreamed of being a famous musician. It was no surprise to anyone when he found his calling of being in a band. Cobain’s family recalls Kurt receiving his first guitar from his uncle Chuck:
“The guitar Chuck bought him wasn’t much better: It was a cheap, second hand Japanese model. It often broke, but to Kurt it was the air that he breathed” (pg 35)
This biography covers a vast range of Cobain’s life. With 24 chapters, a prologue and an epilogue covering every year Kurt was alive, and towards the end telling of life after his suicide. It is filled with quirky little tales the trouble teenaged Cobain got himself into that don’t add much to the bigger picture of the story, but make it all just that more interesting to read.
2.2 Life Experiences
Though the biography covers all aspects of Kurt’s life it mostly focuses on the days he was in a band, but during the “band stages” it also has stories of romance, friendship and rebellion within the chapters:
“Kurt wrote a letter to Jesse Reed and bragged about what a great girlfriend she was: ‘My girlfriend now has a brand new ’88 Toyota Tercel, a microwave, a food processor, a blender and an espresso machine. I am a totally pampered, spoiled bum.’” (pg 134)
And in a journal entry in 1982:
“That month happened to be the epitome of my mental abuse from my mother. It turned out that pot didn’t help me escape my troubles too well anymore, and I was actually enjoying doing rebellious things like stealing booze and busting store windows… I decided within the next month that I’ll not sit on my roof and think about jumping, but I’ll actually kill myself. And I wasn’t going out of this world without actually knowing what it was like to get laid.” (pg 47)
At the age of 18 Kurt was caught by the police one night after graphitizing “Ain’t got no how whatchamacallit” on the wall of the YMCA he worked in. After trying to flee the scene Kurt was eventually caught, handcuffed and taken down to the police station. Part of his police statement reading:
Now I see how silly it was for me to have done this, and I’m sorry that I did, when the police car came into the ally and I saw him, I dropped the red marker that I had used.” (pg 66)
There is an incredible amount of insight into Cobain’s life, exploring his days at school, love interests, sexual encounters, homelessness and friends. It tells the feelings of abandonment he felt from his parents after their divorce, which would stick with him throughout his adult life. His success and failure in the media, his marriage to Courtney Love, the birth of their baby girl, Frances Bean Cobain and the drama that followed.
2.3 Author Positioning
Charles R. Cross writes in such a way that we can feel the same way as Kurt as if we are him in several parts of the story. The reader will be empathetic to Kurt and his situations, they’ll feel the joy, excitement, helplessness, desperation and the fear that Cobain felt on a daily basis.
The array of detail Cross puts into the scenery makes it very intricate. The reader will be able to see the surroundings in their minds as if they were looking at a photograph of it.
This manuscript is definitely for the fan base of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain. It reveals his life to them in a way they’d never have imagined, and they get to read some of the more personal things they would have liked to known about their favourite rock star and the tale of his life in the captivating words of Cross. It’s in-depth and personal, yet Cross puts it in such a respectable way that fans will not be disappointed or have it negatively impact heir feelings for Kurt.
3.0 Proposed Layout
3.1 Layout of Texts
The biography reads chronologically with each chapter dealing with its own time line. The chapters are titled after quotes from within the chapter or quotes from Cobain, lyrics, or friends and relatives. It states the meaning of the title, and also the times and places the chapter events took place under the numbered titles. This is effective as it intrigues the reader to want to look further into what the title is actually about within the chapter; it also adds a creative flair that no doubt art-enthusiast Kurt would be proud of.
24. ANGEL’S HAIR
Los Angeles, California - Seattle, Washington
March 30-April 6, 1994
Cut myself on angel’s hair and baby’s breath.
- From “Heart-Shaped Box.”
3.2 Pictures / Illustrations
There are two separate sections of photographs which divide up the story. The first four page section has 12 photos of Kurt as a child and a teenager. Baby photos, family portraits, school photos, photos of Kurt and girlfriend Tracey, and photos of Kurt and his group of friends make up this section. The second section also four pages long consist of 11 photos of Kurt’s adult life. Photos of Kurt in his home and out and about in Olympia, with family, playing guitar, wedding photos, a Christmas photo of Kurt, wife Courtney Love and baby Frances, two of the last known photos taken of him before his suicide, and another of just Kurt holding his precious daughter.
The photos have been supplied by family members and friends adding to make this biography even more personal and emotional.
4.0 Writer’s Discourse
4.1 Level of Readability
The manuscript uses both simple and complex language throughout it. This makes the manuscript very vivid and emotionally appealing. The in-depth way Cross describes the events that occur and the people that Cobain encounters makes the biography so forceful and revealing. The way Cross structures his words makes it seem as if he was a close friend to Cobain and present every moment of Kurt’s life that he evokes. There is a lot of music industry based terminology along with mentions of music media such as magazines and television shows that people whom are interested in music would understand more easily but for others it’s not difficult to work out.
4.2 Language
The language in Heavier Than Heaven is conversational in parts, personal and formal in others, depending on the issue that’s being addressed. In parts Cross brushes over a few details and focuses more closely on ones that don’t contribute over all. He utilizes quotes from friends, family, media presenters and lyrics, also excerpts from magazines, television shows, journal entries and letters.
A poem which 10 year old Kurt wrote on his bedroom wall:
“I hate mom, I hate dad. Dad hates mom, mom hates dad. It simply makes you want to be so sad.” (pg 21)
4.3 Discourses
The main discourses in this biography are clearly family, friendship, religion, death and war. Though the war discourse was metaphorical of Cobain’s inner battles and drug abuse. The family discourse being the first to arise within the pages.
The division that Cobain felt within his family is shown in:
“It’s a picture of a family, but not a picture of marriage. Don and Wendy aren’t touching, and there is no suggestion of affection between them; it is as if they’re not even in the same frame. With Kurt standing in front of Don, and Kim sitting on Wendy’s lap, one could easily take a pair of scissors and sever the photograph-and the family-down the middle. You’d be left with two separate families…” (pg 14)
Kurt’s love towards his grandparents after moving in with them, also linking to his battles:
“At his grandparents’, he had the sympathetic ear of his beloved Iris, and there were moments when he and Leland shared closeness, but he spent much of his time by himself. It was yet another step towards a larger, profound loneliness.” (pg 38)
Death had always been a central issue within the manuscript. Whether it were about Kurt’s actual death, and many suicide attempts, the deaths that affected his friends or the deaths that affected his family, the subject was always very open.
Kurt made a short film with the aid of his step-brother:
“Another film he made in 1982 shows a far darker side of his psyche: He titled it Kurt Commits Bloody Suicide, and in it, Kurt, playing to a camera held by James, pretends to cut his wrists with the edge of a torn-in-half pop can.” (pg 32)
And in a conversation Kurt had with school friend John Fields:
“I’m going to be a superstar musician, kill myself, and go out in a flame of glory.” (pg 33)
Although Cobain was very withdrawn and introverted, friendship was very important to him. The times he spent with one of his best friends and possibly the person who once saved his life, Jesse Reed, were something he always treasured. Jesse was one of the only constants in his life. Jesse also linked him to the religion discourse. After being kicked out of home once again Kurt is allowed to move in with Jesse and his parents. They started to all attend church together and Jesse recalls one night he was out with Kurt:
“One night we were walking over the Chehalis River Bridge and he stopped, and said he accepted Jesus Christ into his life. He asked God to ‘come into his life.’ I remember him distinctly talking about the revelations and the calmness that everybody talks about when they accept Christ.” (pg 60)
5.0 Reader Positioning
5.1 The Building Blocks That Make Kurt Cobain
Upon viewing this biography the reader is taken on a step-by-step analysis of Cobain’s life. Following his life from time of birth till his time of death, we’re taken on an intricately described journey of the rockers existence, his high school days, girlfriends and marriage to Love, even to the birth of his child, of which he was petrified of as he was currently in a substance-dependant hospital:
“It was a moment he described as both one of the happiest of his life and the most fearful. “ I was so fucking scared,” he told Azerrad. As Kurt inspected her more thoroughly and saw that she had all her fingers and was not a “flipper baby,” some of that fear subsided.” (pg 238)
The criticism of Kurt and Courtney, and concern for their unborn child came from more places than just the media, of which I feel the readers will sympathize with The Cobain’s:
“Axl Rose, of Guns N’ Roses, even weighed in from the stage ‘Kurt Cobain is a fucking junkie with a junkie wife. And if their baby’s born deformed, I think they both ought to go to prison.’” (pg 240)
5.2 Is Cross Good Enough?
Charles R. Cross is a rock music journalist and author. Founder of Backstreets Magazines, and editor of “Springsteen: The Man and His Music,” But more notably for his outstanding biography on the legendary Jimi Hendrix. Obtaining a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Washington, Cross is more than experienced in book writing, especially for the music industry. He constructed this book with the help of Cobain’s friends and family, making his writing all that much better.
5.3 What’s happened in My Life?
Readers of the manuscript cannot always easily relate to the issues in Heavier Than Heaven as Kurt Cobain was such a unique person. Although there are moments throughout when, for example, Kurt has been kicked out of home and had no where to go, feelings of inadequacy and jealousy within his family which many can relate to. Even in the parts where we may not have personally experienced ourselves, Cross explains it in such a manner as though we have. It’s easy to emphasis with Kurt and the people around him.
Kurt’s grandfather Leland speaking about prejudice towards Kurt over his step-siblings:
“Leland Cobain would lecture Don about what he also thought was a prejudice against Kurt: ‘There could be fruit sitting on the table, and Mindy or James could just go up and take an apple and start eating it. Kurt would go get one like that, and Donnie would give him hell for it.’” (pg 31)
5.4 Cobain’s Teachings
Perhaps the best life lesson that can be gathered from this biography is thinking about the choices you make in your life. The people you surround yourself with, or withdraw from, taking drugs, your actions, self harm and harm of others all played a big role in Cobain’s short life. His dependence on drugs being one of his biggest on-going battles, which ironically played a major part in all of his suicide attempts and his actual death. Maybe if Cobain had not been so self-isolated and substance dependant he would have had the emotional support he needed to get through the rough stages in his life.
Courtney Love believed that his use of the drug Ritalin for behavior control sparked his life long addiction:
“‘When you’re a kid and you get this drug that makes you feel that feeling, where else are you going to turn when you’re an adult?’ Love asked. ‘It was euphoric when you were a child-isn’t that memory going to stick with you?’” (pg 20)
6.0 Recommendations
I strongly believe Heavier Than Heaven should move forward into the publication stage as soon as possible. This legendary musician is finally having his voice after death so to speak which Nirvana, and music fans will be highly grateful for. The epic story of Cobain’s life is too compelling not to be told and I believe this piece of work will become one of the most top rated biographies in the music industry.
This manuscript requires minimal editing. Cross has brushed over a few sections of Cobain’s life which could stand to be elaborated on but other than that, Heavier Than Heaven is another piece from Cross that will go down in history, the same way the subject of it did.
7.0 Declaration
I, Rachael Nichols, an editor for Publishing Australia, have thoroughly read the manuscript, the subject of this report. I have followed Publishing Australia’s SRF and have made points and extracted representative quotes from the manuscript. My recommendations are made in good faith in the best interest of the company.
Rachael Nichols
New Manuscripts Editor
15th, November 2007