Eleanor and Park - Initial thinking (blurb + first couple chapters) - Notes to Blog

Blurb:
The blurb isn't what I normally see on a book. I'm not really sure what to think but I'm excited to read this book!

Writing:
I've been noticing that Park seems pretty unsocial, he has friends (or a friend) but he doesn't really talk to them that much as far as the book says. When Eleanor comes along I think he kind of forgets that a little, he talks to her more than his other friend(s) and I think she helps him get out of his 'shell'. However, he did judge Eleanor quite a bit at the start like when he thought "she dressed like... like she wanted people to look at her" on page 8, but he started to warm up to her when she reads his comics and listens to his music. Cal, Parks' friend seems pretty nice but kind of arrogant like on page 30 when he says "screw that, I'm starting at the top". I also think that Tina is just blatantly rude and mean, on so many levels and pages. I'm not really sure why though, is she just a mean person or is something going on at home. 

In Bloom (Jabiz)

I have always been drawn to the imagery of the words in the very short lines, especially in the two short versus:

Weather
Spring
Reproductive
Nature
Bruises
Tender

These words all remind me of nature and cycles. He might be showing the contract between things blooming (spring, nature, reproduction, fruit etc.... and them changing (bruising, change in weather, eating kids for food etc....)

It feels like a song is about innocence fading. The end of childhood. Bloom to rot. Life to death.

Could the "he" in the song be about God? Maybe that's a reach.

What do you think?

I also love the video and of course the live version. I saw many bands in the 90's but I never saw Nirvana. Their live shows seem like an amazing experience. Take a look- what do you notice about their stage presence, their style?

In Bloom (Kaia)

It's very loud right from the start of the song, then it becomes quieter later in the song.  I think that this song feels a bit less random than 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' but the verses aren't completely connected to the chorus in my eyes. The chorus is about a man but the verses are not.  Speaking of that, it seems like the song is about that man instead of Kurt or the rest of the band. Also, this song is one of the longer ones (out of the 3) that I've heard, and I think this is because most of this song is the chorus 9verses are shorter and the chorus' are repeated more often.

I feel that the way that it's quieter in the verses and louder in the chorus and at the start gives a good contrast within the song. I also feel like all the songs (3) that I've listened to are similar yet pretty different in specific ways (it's similar to strumming patterns/tempo/beats). And lastly, I feel like what he's saying is structured perverse but doesn't really connect to the other verses or chorus' in my mind (I mentioned earlier). And, I wonder why this song has the same title as the non-nevermind version? Also, who is the man he is talking/singing about?

Here are my visual notes:

Come As You Are (Jabiz)

I love the opening riff of this song and it has some of my favorite Nirvana lines:

Come as you are, as you were
As I want you to be

This line reminds me how hard it is to be different people for all those around us. There is who we are and who people want us to be and this song is playing with the tension of contradictions. Kurt is forcing us to balance different ideas. Like...

Friends and enemies
Take your time, hurry up
Doused in mud, soaked in bleach

The video also plays with the imagery of the front cover of the album Nevermind. I am curious what you think about the photo of the baby being lured by the money? What could that be saying?

Final note, I remember thinking that it was so cool that he had dyed his hair red for this video. It inspired several hair colors for me in the coming years.

Check out the acoustic version of this song from the Unplugged album that came out a few years after.

Smells Like Teen Spirit (Jabiz)

I remember the first time I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit I was 16 and in grade 11. I was working at a carousel at the mall and this older guy I didn’t know very well, told me to go to MusicLand and get this single by a band called Nirvana. It was a cassette and a song called Even in His Youth was the  B-side.

I don’t think I had ever heard punk rock music up to that point and if I had, it was nothing like this. I was listening to a lot of Guns and Roses in those days and this music felt like the opposite of that.

I had not seen Kurt Cobain yet, but something about the gritty nature of the music made it feel a lot more real and authentic that anything else that was on the radio or MTV.

I barely understood the lyrics, but I found the chorus very singable.

Years later and 1000’s of listens later, three lines really stand out:

It's fun to lose and to pretend
I feel stupid and contagious
I'm worse at what I do best

Now that I have learned so much about Kurt’s depression and eventual suicide, these lines feel like warning signs of a soul in crisis, or maybe he was just giving voice to the angst we all feel when we are not feeling our best.

When the video finally came out, it all made sense. His look, the way he held the guitar, that iconic sweater all matched the angst of the lyrics and the power of this song. These knew even in the early days that they would change rock culture forever. And that is exactly what they did.

In your post you mentioned "the singer" a few times. His name was Kurt Cobain, that is somehting you need to know for your musical education:

I would recommend you take a look at some more details about the song here and see if anything else stands out. You can leave any interesting insights in the comments below. 

Come As You Are (Kaia)

It seems kind of like a poem as it rhymes quite a bit, and it’s pretty repetitive. It’s a lot calmer compared to the last song (Smells like teen spirit)
I also think it’s shorter than the last song (Smells like teen spirit)

The start of the video (first shot) of a gun is kind of unsettling, also the whole demeanor of the video makes me kind of uncomfortable (so did the last one). I also think that even though this song is calmer than smells like teen spirit the vibe of the video is kind of the same in some parts.

I wonder why they put the gun and money in the water, and I also wonder why water is such a big part of this video. I wonder what makes them choose the shots that they want and the lighting too.

Overall it seems very poetic in the way it’s structured, there’s rhyming and repetitive, etc. It’s a lot calmer compared to Smells like teen spirit in the sense of the melody, the volume, and the overall way he sings it. I also think that it’s shorter than the last song I listened to - Smells like teen spirit - and yet it didn’t seem too short. I liked this song a lot ( a bit better than Smells like teen spirit).

Smells Like Teen Spirit (Kaia)

The music is very catchy yet it brings a certain mood with it and the lyrics seem very random. I know that he writes stuff down and then cuts them up and rearranges them. It seems like they are going kinda crazy in a way and just saying random things and nothing really makes sense, yet it all sounds good like it's supposed to sound like that. He sounds angry and frustrated with himself and everyone else so it’s kinda hard to understand some words Overall it doesn’t really make sense yet it feels very angry and confusing.

I feel kind of uncomfortable watching the video because of the lighting and the way the guy singing is acting. I also feel like it’s a concert type event that they are in but it also feels like a kind of circus and I feel like the lighting makes the mood different that with different types of lighting as well as the camera shots.

I wonder what inspired the song and why he writes stuff down and cuts it up and glues it together. I also wonder what inspired the video (choreography, lighting, camera angles).

The guy singing this is probably feeling a lot of emotions and feels crazy, the music is pretty catchy but it also brings the mood they are trying to portray. The lyrics seem random and they don’t make any sense, however, the song sounds good and pretty normal. It’s kinda hard to understand everything he says because he’s yelling and mushing words together. Overall it doesn’t really make sense yet it portrays an angry and confused feel to the song. I enjoyed it.