Smells like Pig Bodine

[Natasha M Jarymowycz]

>From message of Thursday, Feb 1:


> This lurking member of this Whole Sick Crew of Pychonphiles reports a mention
> of TRP in Neil Stauss's THE POP LIFE column, New York Times, Thursday,
> February 1, 1996. It reads:
> 
> "ROOTS OF GRUNGE
> 
> Archivists studying the roots of grunge may be suprised to discover striking
> correlations between song and modern literature.
> 
> "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRI," the breakthrough hit by Nirvana...may have been
> inspired by Thomas Pynchon's "GRAVITY'S RAINBOW." The song, fromthe album
> NEVERMIND, contains such lines as "I feel stupid and cotagious" and "well,
> whatever, nevermind." In GR, Pynchon writes, "they do biother him, these free
> women in their teens, their spirits are so cotagious." He then launches into
> spurious song, which contains the lines, "Spirit is so contay,-juss/Nobody
> knows their a-ges" and several references to the lyric "nevermind."
> 
> "i don't think Cobain ever read GRAVITY'S RAINBOW," said Michael Azerrad, the
> author of COME AS YOU ARE: THE STORY OF NIRVANA. It's probably a coincidence,
> but it sure is freaky.' "
> 
> And back to you, with the sports..... Hoka hey, geo scombulis

I had read that that passage had possibly inspired Kurt Cobain somewhere on 
the web back in november (i think it was on the pomona pynchon page if i'm not 
mistaken) and there certainly does seem to be strong evidence in favor of it.  
Nor does it seem very far fetched as the Nirvana song "Scentless Aprentice" is 
based off the novel _The Perfume_ by Patrick Suskind (and no need to wonder at 
the verity of that statement 'cause i read it in an interview with KC -- and 
we all know if they print it, it must be true).  But more seriously, why 
should anyone be surprised that a musician might possibly read and find 
inspiration from literature?  Don't writers listen to music?

Natasha