Kurt Cobain’s influence went beyond just the music he created with Nirvana. He also put the masses on to some of his own favorite artists. One particular document from his journals has been instructive to many fans – his top 50 albums. Each week, The Cobain 50 podcast digs into albums from this famous list and how they may have influenced Cobain and Nirvana. While learning the individual histories of the different albums on the list, we gain new insights into artists on the fringes as well as some of the biggest groups of all time. The podcast takes us through the legacies of acts like Sonic Youth, Pixies, The Breeders, Public Enemy, PJ Harvey, Black Flag, Mazzy Star, The Shaggs, Shonen Knife, and more. Episodes drop weekly starting January 10, 2024.
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Signup to Generate a PitchKurt Cobain’s influence went beyond just the music he created with Nirvana. He also put the masses on to some of his own favorite artists. One particular document from his journals has been instructive to many fans, his top 50 albums.
The Cobain 50 is hosted by KEXP. The show has published 126 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "Come As You Are: A Live Finale Episode" (2 May 2025, 73 minutes), "Daniel Johnston, Yip/Jump Music (1983)" (23 April 2025, 50 minutes), and "Half Japanese, We Are They Who Ache with Amorous Love (1990)" (16 April 2025, 46 minutes).
The Cobain 50 publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 39 minutes across 126 episodes.
Booking probability for The Cobain 50 is 35%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. The Cobain 50 requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. The Cobain 50's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for The Cobain 50 are Artists, Writers & Performers. The Cobain 50 has a music audience.
KEXP hosts The Cobain 50, a music show with 126 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Episode #58
<p>This episode marks the end of The Cobain 50 and El Cancionero de Kurt. After going through all 50 albums from Kurt’s list, we celebrated with an event in KEXP’s Gathering Space with a packed house of fans of Nirvana...
Episode #57
<p>On our penultimate episode—and the final album on Kurt Cobain’s list—Martin Douglas dives into Yip/Jump Music by Daniel Johnston. Johnston rose from obscurity by self-recording (and self-dubbing) his own tapes and...
Episode #56
<p>Janice Headley chats with frontman and co-founder Jad Fair for this in-depth look at the Half Japanese album We Are They Who Ache with Amorous Love. Plus, KEXP presents the world premiere of “Lemonade Sunset,” the...
Episode #55
<p>On this week’s episode of The Cobain 50, Dusty Henry digs deep into the two Butthole Surfers albums from Kurt’s list – Pee Pee The Sailor (also known as their self-titled debut EP) and Locust Abortion Technician. In...
Episode #54
<p>In this week’s episode, Dusty Henry digs into one of the more caustic bands on Kurt’s list – Swan’s and their 1984 EP, Young God. The band has one of the more abrasive sounds and stories on the list, making for a...
The Cobain 50
<p>This week on The Cobain 50, we share one last bonus episode before we hit the final stretch of albums on Kurt Cobain’s top albums list. Ray Farrell may not be a familiar name to most, but he’s worked with many of the...
The Cobain 50
<p>This week on The Cobain 50, we’re taking a quick break from our regularly scheduled programming to share an interview with another Seattle music icon – Matt Cameron.</p> <p>Cameron is the drummer for legendary groups...
Episode #53
<p>Roddy Nikpour speaks with Josh Modell about It’s Only Right and Natural by The Frogs. By modern standards, The Frogs created cancel-able album after cancel-able album. Somehow, though, their punk innovation outshined...
Episode #52
<p>What Records? might not be a household name, but the small Los Angeles-based punk label had a cascading effect on punk-yet-to-come. Dusty Henry digs into this somewhat obscure compilation from Kurt Cobain’s albums...
Episode #51
<p>Janice Headley talks with Stuart Moxham of Young Marble Giants about Colossal Youth. This album from the Welsh post-punk trio may seem like a surprising entry on Kurt's list given its minimalist instrumentation, but...
Episode #50
<p>Dusty Henry and Martin Douglas dive into The Faith/Void Split by The Faith and Void. In our last entry from the D.C. punk scene, we relive the youthful spirit that drove these bands to make their mark. </p> <p>Hosts...
Episode #49
<p>Martin Douglas dives into Album – Generic Flipper by Flipper. Despite the name, their debut album is anything but generic. Krist Novoselic (who briefly joined the band in the 2000s) described this Bay Area band as...
The Cobain 50
<p>Following KEXP's recent event celebrating The Gits and Martin Douglas's recent Throwaway Style newsletter, we want to tell you more about these contemporaries of Kurt Cobain. </p> <p>The Gits were an early '90s...
Episode #48
<p>Janice Headley dives into Eternally Yours by The Saints. (In his list, Kurt wrote the name of a single from the album, “Know Your Product.”) This is the story of how The Saints brought punk from “down under,”...
Episode #47
<p >Dusty Henry dives into the self-titled debut from Scratch Acid. This vein of — ahem — “alternative music” helped Nirvana in their own quest to balance abrasiveness with structure. (In the outro, Dusty works in a...
Episode #46
<p >Martin Douglas dives into The Flowers of Romance by Public Image Ltd. After he left the Sex Pistols in 1978, John Lydon created Public Image Ltd. under the influence of dub, resulting in experimental music that was...
Episode #45
<p >We're back! This week, Dusty Henry dives into the self-titled debut from Rites of Spring. They represent the earliest iteration of “emo” music, proving that it would never be just a phase. "Emo" still exists in...
The Cobain 50
<p >The Cobain 50 returns with new episodes January 8, 2025. We’re taking the month to rest with our families and listen to good music. We hope you’ll do the same! </p> <p >In the meantime, let KEXP keep you company...
Episode #44
<p >Disclaimer: This episode deals with topics including domestic abuse, drug use, and murder. </p> <p >Dusty Henry dives into Landshark! by Fang. Vocalist Sam “Sammytown” McBride murdered his girlfriend Dixie Lee...
Episode #43
<p >Martin Douglas dives into Paganicons by Saccharine Trust. Written in Kurt’s list as “1st EP,” Saccharine Trust’s debut is one of the most original releases from the SST catalog, which also includes punk classics...
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