Charismatic Authority: [also lyrical content]

            Charismatic authority is defined by Max Weber as, “a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader How the quality in question would be ultimately judged from an ethical, aesthetic, or other such point of view is naturally indifferent for the purpose of definition” (Weber 1922). There is no better way to describe Kurt Cobain, and no worse way to describe Stephen Malkmus. Cobain is often remembered as larger than life or having something about him that just drew people to him. He was an outspoken and angry person and this drew people to him. He had problems and he wanted to talk about them with other people who might be going through the same thing. Conversely Stephen Malkmus is still credited on his albums as SM, attempting to maintain that small mystery that’s existed since Pavement’s first release. SM and Pavement also attempted to stay below the radar and never even considered signing to a major label or playing on MTV. SM’s introverted personality let loose on stage only while Cobain made headlines left and right. Those close to Malkmus consider him to be humor and charismatic, but his charisma is not a public charisma. This idea of charismatic authority is one of the main reasons Nirvana shot to superstardom and Pavement never did.

            Kurt Cobain always claimed to hate the media though it has been duly noted that he rode around in a limo at times and that he had many other expensive tastes, including his house and a heroin addiction (Sandford 1995). He looked trashy and simple with his long hair, flannel shirts and ripped jeans, but the real Cobain was a sucker for the spotlight. This would render Cobain inauthentic to true insiders of the grunge and lo-fi subculture as he had become bigger than his music. Cobain looked the part but could not reconcile his actions. The media loved Cobain because he was a train wreck. Mainstream people either loved him or loved to hate him. He stood as the ultimate juxtaposition of all that was wrong with mainstream society and all that was wrong with grunge at the same time. He rejected mainstream ideals in his music and appearance, but indulged heavily in heroin. His drug use was common knowledge and one of the many reasons people came to Nirvana, looking for some salvation.

            Conversely there was Stephen Malkmus. A shy, intelligent, indie rock fellow with a bachelors from University of Virginia. Pavement’s music was also innovative. Malkmus’ love of bands like The Velvet Underground and Credence Clearwater Revival as well as numerous British underground bands led Pavement down a road all their own. Kids who didn’t fit in with Phil Collins’ crowd, or the growingly popular grunge crowd saw Pavement as an alternative. Pavement was everything Nirvana started out as. They played small, personable shows. They talked to their fans before and after shows and they worried about little else than making sure that they and their audience was having some fun (Jovanovic 2004). They retained this sense of indie rock authenticity that Nirvana had sacrificed when they sold out to Geffen. Nirvana was now playing to legions of fans that would be considered posers or followers in the lo-fi scene. Kids who had gone out and bought flannel shirts upon seeing Cobain in one on MTV, or ripped their jeans on purpose to look more hardcore and some who even developed drug habits (Sandford 1995).

            This is the kind of affect a person with charismatic authority can wield. They are essentially as powerful as they want to be. Lyrical content fits in with this kind of authority quite well. Nirvana’s lyrics were bold and direct as were their song titles. Nevermind boasted such song titles as, Territorial Pissings, StayAway, Breed, and Drain You. All these track titles are either deal with sex or violence. This is no accident. Their third album was titled In Utero and contained track titles such as, Rape Me, Tourettes’, Milk It, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter and Dumb. Cobain’s anger and frustration can be felt in both the type of music he played and what he said while he was playing it. ‘Rape Me’ is a particularly Cobainesque song with lyrics like:  Rape me/rape me my friend/rape me/rape me again/. Track titles and lyrics like these were a minor attempt to shift attention away from Nirvana and regain them some credibility back. In Utero sold fewer copies than Nevermind, so in a way it was a success.

            Stephen Malkmus and Pavement’s track titles and lyrics were much different than Nirvanas. Malkmus’ lyrics border on non-sensical at times and often times poke fun at the mainstream music industry. Ironically their first big single on MTV was Cut Your Hair, which was their most explicit song against such media outlets. Cut You Hair’s lyrics are more of a metaphor and therefore not as direct as Cobain’s. The lyric: Songs mean a lot/when songs are bought/. Is particularly telling. Later on the same record Malkmus croons, Out on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins/nature kids, yeah they don’t have no function/I really don’t know what they mean/and I really could give a fuck. These lyrics are starkly different than Nirvana.

Mainstream media saw Stephen Malkmus as the next Kurt Cobain, only on the opposite end of the spectrum. They wanted to capitalize on his shy, indie-ness instead of his public self-destruction. MTV saw visions of Nirvana part two when they listened to Pavement’s early records and knew that they could make them the next big thing.

These videos perfectly illustrate the differences between the two musicians. Cobain's interview is spontaneous, rebellious and loud. Malkmus' was soft spoken and tame. 

Cobain in Montreal in 1991:

Malkmus on Morning Becomes Eclectic:

The differences between the two men's interviewing style show why Nirvana had such a draw and Pavement didn't.