Unlikely Music Friendships Captured on Film: Nirvana and Peter Gabriel

Originally published: August, 2011

Once you get past the “What’s Wrong with this Picture?” aspects of
this photo here — Kurt with the baby bottle; Peter’s “Look who I’m
getting my picture taken with” smile; both of them wearing tops that
border on mock turtleneck — we are faced with the question of what they
could have possibly discussed in the minutes surrounding this photo.

Kevin Mazur snapped the pic in September of 1993 at the 10th Annual MTV
Video Music Awards. To put these characters in context, at the time,
Peter Gabriel had released “Us” nearly a year before, and it would be
another decade until his next album. Nirvana would release “In Utero” 10
days after this photo was taken, and Kurt Cobain would be dead eight
months later.

While Cobain’s heroin usage has been widely reported, I don’t think that
any narcotic side effects are responsible for his tight wink. It
actually comes across more like he’s giving Gabriel a little bit of
stink eye.

Was Cobain possibly not interested in Gabriel, and feeling like he was
suffering a fool by having his photo taken with him? The late Nirvana
singer once told Rolling Stone, “ I wouldn’t wear a tie-dyed T-shirt
unless it was dyed with the urine of Phil Collins and the blood of Jerry
Garcia.”

Since Gabriel was once in the same band as Collins, did Cobain share a
similar disdain for both gentlemen? Or, come to think of it, does that
quote even convey disdain? If you’re wearing a T-shirt that has swirls
of somebody’s pee, I might suggest that you actually like that person. I
may even venture to say that you like that person a whole heck of a lot
more than the person whose blood is on your shirt.

This is the narrative that I want to think Cobain has going on in his head: “Oh great. Here I am with the other guy
from Genesis. If only it were Mr. Sussudio, I could get him to give me
some tinkle for the coolest rock shirt in history! But no, typical KC
luck, I’ve got Mr. Sledgehammer here instead! Just fantastic, Kurt. You
are so close, but it’s just not the same, is it? Maybe Jerry Garcia is
at this show somewhere. I could get him to give me a little bit of
blood. Wait, why would the Grateful Dead ever be at the MTV
Awards? A-doy! Though their video for ‘Touch of Grey’ sure was cool. Did
that win any awards? I wonder. Maybe good old Peter Gabriel here knows.
Damn, I’ve been thinking to myself for a while now, haven’t I? When I
think too hard I close one eye really tight. I hope I’m not doing that
now. Oh shoot, I think I am! Stop it, Kurt!”

But really, what did they talk about? Did they trade proclamations of
admiration? If so, how specific were they? Was it just Gabriel saying,
“Hey, I like your work” or was he embarrassingly doting over the
26-year-old Nirvana singer?

This is how I like to imagine his side of the conversation: “Hi Kurt,
I’m Peter Gabriel, but you probably know that already. Or do you? I
don’t know! I’m sorry for assuming. That probably came across as
egotistical, didn’t it? Anyway, I’m the guy who sings ‘Shock the
Monkey,’ and I also did the song ‘In Your Eyes,’ which John Cusack’s
character played when he held the boombox over his head in ‘Say
Anything.’ Did you see ‘Say Anything’? I loved that movie. And I swear
I’m not just saying that because my song was in it. Not just saying
that. I say anything, get it? Like the movie I just talked about, ‘Say
Anything,’ you know the one that has ‘In Your Eyes’ in it? That is, of
course ‘In Your Eyes,’ by me, Peter Gabriel. Annnnnnyway, enough about
me, let’s talk about you … what do you think about me? Ha ha ha, I’m
totally kidding. I stole that joke from Bette Midler. Do you like the
divine Miss M? Don’t answer! Because if you don’t I just simply DO NOT
want to hear it. Seriously, though, let’s talk about you! I loved loved
loved the video for ‘In Bloom’! So funny! What a genius idea to get Doug
Llewelyn on there! He is usually so stiff on ‘People’s Court’ but he
was phenomenally funny in that video. Oh my gosh I have been totally
talking for like sooooo long. I am so sorry. Tell me what you’ve been up
to! What’s your new album sound like? Oh, would you look at that, this
Kevin Mazur chap wants to snap a bloody photo of us. Pip pip, Kurt! Open
that left eye, my good man.”