Yes, the song is about Kurt Cobain. I interpreted the first stanza of this song with him in mind, and his struggles with accepting fame.
"Yeah, all the stars drip down like butter,
Promises are sweet,
We hold out our pans, lift our hands to catch them.
We eat them up, drink them up, up, up, up"
I think Stipe is making a comment on the nature of fame and celebrity here. All the "stars" are celebrities that we put on pedestals, like Cobain often sang about himself ("Rape Me," "Smells like Teen Spirit" in the line "here we are now, entertain us"). The "we" here are us, the general public who take and consume what the "stars" have to give, their talent. "we eat them up, drink them up, up, up, up" It's a lopsided, one-way relationship. They could be said to be "dripping" because of this.
Yes, the song is about Kurt Cobain. I interpreted the first stanza of this song with him in mind, and his struggles with accepting fame.
"Yeah, all the stars drip down like butter, Promises are sweet, We hold out our pans, lift our hands to catch them. We eat them up, drink them up, up, up, up"
I think Stipe is making a comment on the nature of fame and celebrity here. All the "stars" are celebrities that we put on pedestals, like Cobain often sang about himself ("Rape Me," "Smells like Teen Spirit" in the line "here we are now, entertain us"). The "we" here are us, the general public who take and consume what the "stars" have to give, their talent. "we eat them up, drink them up, up, up, up" It's a lopsided, one-way relationship. They could be said to be "dripping" because of this.