Find the Nirvana Quote!
Who's ready for a new game??
FIND THE NIRVANA QUOTE
It's been perhaps the most positive quote ever directed toward "Weird Al" Yankovic. It's been a testament to his popularity, his sustained success, and his unique role in popular music. And most amazingly, it has been attributed to one of the most revolutionary acts in rock and roll history.
The only problem is, nobody seems to know where it came from!
Kurt Cobain has been said to have said it. As has David Grohl. And even Krist Novoselic. But what--what!--is the true origin of this oft-repeated quote?
The most definitive reporting of this legendary praise came from Dr. Demento in the liner notes to Al's 1994 boxed set, Permanent Record: Al in the Box, in which he wrote....
"Kurt Cobain told a Chicago interviewer that was the one moment when he felt he'd really made it, when Weird Al did a parody of him."
So, not to doubt the Good Doctor, but is this true? Was this actually said? Where and when? Or is this just a pop music urban legend, our own version of Mama Cass choking on a ham sandwich?
Here's the challenge: "Simply" find the exact source of this quote. Find the who, the where, and the when.
BUT, you must provide proof. If it was in print, you must include the publication's name, the date, even the page if possible...heck, if possible, even a scan of the original article. If it was televised or otherwise broadcast, the date and/or reporter's name must be included for verification.
Now, without leaving everyone in the wind, here's how we can best whittle down the source....
Per Dr. Demento's liner notes, the quote was told to a "Chicago interviewer." Whether this meant a newspaper journalist, a TV reporter, or even a radio deejay, we don't know.
Wherever the interview was taking place, the quote didn't seem to reach any national platform like the AP wire. This isn't definite, though. It can however be confirmed that, for example, Billboard never ran a piece on the group with anything like that quote.
Kurt Cobain of course killed himself in early April 1994, so if this quote did in fact come from him, then at least that gives us a ballpark of when he might have said it.
Al's boxed set was released in September 1994, so even if the quote did not in fact come from Kurt, then there's only an additional five months at most of possibilities.
Al's parody was released in April 1992, so at most we're looking at a range of April 1992 to September 1994, not even two and a half years.
BUT, an article in the Fresno Bee from May 26, 2020 made a reference to the "made it" declaration from Nirvana, even further whittling the window in which this original statement was made.
The first person to provide concrete proof of the source and privately contact us will get an exclusive research credit on the upcoming documentary Yankoheit 27 and will receive a DVD of the completed movie upon its release.