Krist Novoselic’s Alternative Politics

“Krist Novoselic’s Alternative Politics,” produced by
Nick Gillespie and Meredith Bragg. 55 minutes.

Watch above or click the link below for full transcript, links,
and more. 

Original release date was June 19, 2014. Original writeup is
below.

Krist Novoselic is best known as the co-founder and bassist of
Nirvana, one of the most influential music groups of the past
quarter century. The release of the band’s albums Bleach,
Nevermind, and In Uteronot only mainstreamed what became
known as grunge but helped to forever end what was once known as
the mainstream. After Nirvana it seems there is only alternative
music and alternative culture, a transformation that is both
liberating and anxiety-producing.

Born in 1965 in Compton, California, but raised in Aberdeen,
Washington, Novoselic (pronounced know-voe-selitch) embodies the
forces Nirvana helped to unleash. Since the 1994 suicide of band
leader Kurt Cobain, Novoselic has continued to play with various
groups, including a stint with the legendary post-punk band Flipper
and sporadic collaborations with former Nirvana bandmate Dave
Grohl. But the bass player is also pushing to create an alternative
approach to electoral politics.

In 2004, Novoselic published Of
Grunge and Government: Let’s Fix This Broken
Democracy (Akashic), and these days he’s chairman of
FairVote, a nonprofit that lobbies for electoral reform such as
instant runoffs and proportional voting. After serving as chairman
of his county Democratic committee for several years and supporting
Barack Obama early on, he has broken with the Democratic Party, in
part because “it’s a top-down structure” impervious to change from
the grassroots.

Like Nirvana’s music, Novoselic’s politics cannot be easily
categorized: He has donated money over the years to Ron Paul’s
campaigns, and he speaks in favor of the
liberal-loathed Citizens United Supreme Court decision,
which ended limits on non-coordinated political spending by
corporations in federal elections. He’s active in his local chapter
of the fraternal farmer’s organization, the National Grange of the
Order of Patrons of Husbandry, proving you can go from grunge to
Grange.

Novoselic spoke to Reason TV’s Nick Gillespie in May.

View this article.