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LETTERS ''Journals'' contains a number of letters, either early drafts or unsent, that Cobain wrote to friends or peers. Included are friendly letters to Dale Crover of The Melvins and Eugene Kelley of The Vaselines , a tender letter to his wife, Courtney Love , a letter thanking '' The Advocate '' following his interview with the Gay and Lesbian magazine in early 1992 , and even a letter to Simon Fair Timony, the then-9-year-old stepson of Half Japanese member Jad Fair, asking him to contribute artwork for what would become '' In Utero ''. It also includes a letter from Cobain and Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic firing then-drummer Dave Foster from the band, and angry letters from Cobain to MTV and '' Rolling Stone ''. LISTS Like many music fans, Cobain often made lists of his favorite bands and albums, several of which are included in ''Journals''. His lists were generally eclectic and included artists of many genres, from Indie and Alternative Rock ( The Vaselines , Pixies , The Breeders , Sonic Youth , R.E.M. , PJ Harvey , Jane's Addiction ) to Protopunk , Punk Rock and Hardcore ( The Stooges , the Velvet Underground , The Sex Pistols , The Clash , The Slits , Black Flag , Bad Brains , Flipper ) to Hip-hop ( Public Enemy , N.W.A. ) to Blues ( Leadbelly ). On his "Top 50" albums list, offerings from such obscure artists as The Shaggs , Tales Of Terror , The Marine Girls , Swans , Rites Of Spring and The Frogs coexist with albums by The Beatles , David Bowie , and Aerosmith . The 1973 Stooges record '' Raw Power '' is listed at #1 on all of Cobain's "favorite album" lists. NIRVANA-RELATED WRITINGS Contained in ''Journals'' is an assortment of directly Nirvana-related material, including embryonic Lyric drafts, early album tracklists, and even a set of unused Liner Notes Cobain had apparently written for ''In Utero'' in 1993. The lyric sheets are especially revealing, showing that some songs, including the band's biggest hit " Smells Like Teen Spirit ", underwent major revisions before being recorded for release, while others, such as " Come As You Are ", were changed very little, at least from the drafts included. The tracklists are also of interest, revealing, for example, that Cobain had intended to release "girl" and "boy" sides of Nirvana's breakthrough album '' Nevermind '', with songs such as " In Bloom " and " Lithium " on the girl side, and songs like " Sliver " and " Polly " on the boy side. DRAWINGS ''Journals'' contains a number of Cobain's rough called "Mr. Moustache", in which an unborn child kicks through its mother's stomach to kill its Macho father. ''Journals'' also contains a number of drawings of images which would later become a familiar part of Nirvana lore, such as Dante's Vestibule of Hell (which appeared on a Nirvana T-shirt ), a skinny man on a cross (which appeared in the " Heart-Shaped Box " Music Video ), and male Seahorse s "giving birth" (which appeared on the cover of the " All Apologies "/ " Rape Me " Single ). THE "FORBIDDEN PAGE" According to an article written by Tim Appelo in the are six lines Cut-and-paste d from an Alicia Ostriker Poem called "A Young Woman, A Tree". The six lines, which begin the poem, describe a girl who passes a blooming tree, and envies its beauty; it has been suggested that by juxtaposing these lines with his emaciated Self-portrait , Cobain was making a comment on his own loss of creativity and his personal image being in contrast to his public one. TRIVIA
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