Now that the theory of Kurt Cobain’s death as homicide has resurfaced, so has the popular conspiracy that Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is actually Cobain after he faked his death. As a thought experiment, it’s certainly interesting considering the timelines of Nirvana and Weezer. But is there any weight to it?
A very small percentage of fans say yes and are anxiously awaiting the moment when Cuomo will reveal his true identity. But mostly, it’s just an elaborate meme that fans regard with good-natured fondness or exasperated contempt, depending on who you ask.
In a 2021 podcast interview with producer Rick Rubin, Cuomo leaned into the conspiracy as Rubin asked him questions as if he were really Kurt Cobain. Poking fun at the far-fetched theory, the two conducted the interview with Cuomo, telling exactly how he transformed himself into the Weezer frontman.
“First of all, I’d have to stage my death, which seems easy enough,” Cuomo began. He then mentioned that Weezer’s self-titled debut, often called The Blue Album, dropped a month after Cobain died. Pretty convenient, they both noted. The change in style, Cuomo added, could have come from Cobain’s apparent interest in “innocent, naive music.”
He then continued, “I think kind of running the opposite direction from grunge, you know, wear the button-down shirts and cut your hair short and sing with a very pure voice rather than a rock voice.”
Rivers Cuomo Answers Questions As Kurt CObain As Rivers Cuomo After Faking His Death and Forming Weezer
Rick Rubin continued his in-character questioning, asking Rivers Cuomo-as-Kurt Cobain if his songwriting survived the transition from Nirvana to Weezer.
“I think it all came about because I changed my style of singing,” said Cuomo. “When I was singing [with] the very thick rock voice, so many overtones and all this distortion naturally in my vocal cords. I was able to sing one melody four times in a row and call that a verse … and no one would get tired of my voice because it was so rich.
“But once [I] starting singing with a very pure voice, like a choirboy voice that you hear on, say, ‘Buddy Holly’, I had to change my melody writing and my chord writing because the voice just wasn’t as rich. You gotta put the variation and the richness into the composition. So at that point, I started writing a lot more involved chord progressions and melodies.”
After insinuating that he “[didn’t] think anyone’s really ever come close to figuring it out because Weezer is so different from Nirvana,” Cuomo added that his big-framed glasses were actually a subtle clue to his “real” identity.
When Rubin added that the glasses were the perfect camouflage, Cuomo said, “I did wear them in the Nirvana video ‘In Bloom’, so it’s just like a little breadcrumb for people who are paying attention.”
Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis via Getty Images
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