Courtney Love has revealed that Sonic Youth‘s Kim Gordon was actually the muse for a popular Nirvana lyric … and not in a good way.
During an appearance on Billy Corgan‘s The Magnificent Others podcast, Love and Corgan got into a discussion about the not always welcoming nature of the indie rock scene in the ’90s and the conversation eventually turned to Gordon with Corgan commenting about her role in pernicious indie politics and gatekeeping at the time. It was then that Love revealed Gordon as the inspiration for the chorus of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box.”
Which Nirvana Lyric Was Inspired by Kim Gordon?
“You know the lyric from Kurt which is ‘Hey, wait. I’ve got a new complaint / [Forever in debt to your priceless advice]‘ That’s about Kim. That’s literally about Kim,” explained Love about the “Heart-Shaped Box” chorus.
“He was so mad at her. Kurt’s whole thing was he hid his light under a bushel for Bleach,” recalled Love. “Because one, Seattle, which he wasn’t from, and two Kim Gordon.”
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Love recalled an instance early on of seeing Gordon approach then Nirvana guitarist Jason Everman at a show and turning his Fender guitar all the way down. And she said it was later after hanging out with Nirvana that she learned about how Gordon dealt with the group.
Speaking about her own interactions, Love revealed that despite the interactions, she still sought out Gordon’s help for her debut album. “I know I was scarred by Kim, so scarred that I had to write a letter kissing her ass. You don’t go for the cool husband, you go for the wife. And she produced my first album to her eternal regret,”
“I don’t know if her art made her pernicious, but she was really a bad force in the whole thing,” says Love of Gordon.
Courtney Love Speaks With Billy Corgan on The Magnificent Others Podcast
About Nirvana’s ‘Heart-Shaped Box’
“Heart-Shaped Box” would be the lead single to Nirvana’s 1993 album, In Utero. While the song has lyrical elements dealing with children dying from terminal cancer, the title is also said to be inspired by Cobain’s own relationship with Courtney Love.
In a 1993 interview, Cobain shared with Circus that the chorus, “Hey, wait, I’ve got a new complaint” were a reference into how he felt perceived by the media. The song topped the Alternative Airplay Chart and peaked at No. 4 for Mainstream Rock.
Nirvana, “Heart-Shaped Box”
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Gallery Credit: Chad Childers, Loudwire
