![]() Leading up to their 1993 MTV Unplugged performance, Nirvana was the most popular band in the world, but only two years had passed between the time Nirvana hit the mainstream in 1991 and their iconic MTV Unplugged appearance. ![]() With the passage of time and the growth of their legacy, it is easy to forget just how fast and brightly Nirvana’s flame burned. Cobain’s MTV Unplugged performance was a self-disclosure, and his Martin D-18E was at once both instrument and revelation. While at first blush it may seem a peculiar pairing, it should really come as no surprise that Cobain selected a guitar that shared so much of his character for what he intended to be his most intimate and meaningful performance. Cobain saw his art as he saw himself, an outlier, nonconforming, and unassuming. Cobain strove to be authentic, even modest, in a forum previously dominated by the flashy and ostentatious. (Nirvana Hall of Fame Induction 2014)Ī deeply pensive artist, whose disquiet was communicated through his writing and performance, Cobain was particularly ill-at-ease with the celebrity and adulation that came as the result of his music’s commercial success. ![]() “It is the highest calling for an artist to capture a moment, to embrace and define their time.” Much as the Beatles had some 28 years earlier, Nirvana simultaneously changed the musical landscape of Rock ‘N’ Roll and became the voice of their own generation with the 1991 release of their second studio album, Nevermind. With the release of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," popular music was set on a completely different trajectory. Nirvana and their unique music were unlike anything that had come before them. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana gave voice to the social and political angst of a disaffected cohort rising from the shadow of 1980s orthodoxy. Not since John Lennon and The Beatles had a songwriter and his band so completely personified the musical and cultural zeitgeist of an era. Kurt Cobain's 1959 Martin D-18E, played with Nirvana in their historic "MTV Unplugged" performance. Please visit our digital "flip book" special edition catalogue with all details and photography providing the history of this guitar and case by clicking on the catalogue cover image below: Three baggage claim ticket stubs are attached to the handle, along with an Alaska Airlines sticker affixed to the case and the storage compartment contains Cobain’s half-used pack of guitar strings, picks and a suede “stash bag”.Click To Request A Pre-Sale Condition Report It came with the original hard-shell case decorated by the singer-songwriter with a flyer from the punk rock band Poison Idea’s 1990 album Feel The Darkness. The guitar was the seventh of only 302 D-18Es built by Martin and was customised by Cobain, who added a Bartolini pickup to the soundhole. He said he had no limit on what he would have paid.įreedman said: “There were some seriously rich people here and I suppose I could have been completely scared shitless and somebody who has got billions and billions just pays, what, 20, 30 million? But I would have kept going.” We’ve been in that game forever so I’ve been very lucky with Rode and I’ve been able to give away lots of money, quite a few mill.” I paid for it but I’m going to use it to highlight the plight of artists worldwide by touring it around and then I’m going to sell it and use the dough for that as well, later.”įreedman, whose family first opened an electronics shop in Sydney in 1967, added: “The musicians and artists have supported my family since the 60s. He told the PA news agency he was “scared shitless and shaking” when the auctioneer’s gavel dropped, but he is proud to be able to use the guitar to support artists and is already thinking of what to do with it next. Julien’s Auctions said the sale set five world records, including most expensive guitar and most expensive piece of memorabilia.įreedman plans to display the guitar in a worldwide exhibition tour, taking the instrument to galleries and art spaces with all proceeds going to the performing arts.
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