Smells Like Independent Spirit: Nirvana's Krist Novoselic and the Fight for Better Elections

Krist Novoselic
David Lee on Flickr. CC license
Created: 18 Mar, 2024
1 min read

Photo Credit: David Lee / Flickr

 

Former presidential candidate and co-founder of the Forward Party Andrew Yang sat down with Nirvana co-founder Krist Novoselic, who went from changing the status quo in music to bringing that independent spirit to the political arena and the fight for better elections.

Novoselic is a well-known figure. Along with being the co-founder of an industry changing and genre re-defining rock band, he transitioned from the music scene to local politics in Seattle and became an advocate for nonpartisan election reforms like ranked choice voting and proportional representation.

In many respects, Novoselic was ahead of the curve on reforming the way the US elects public officials. He even served as chair of the nonpartisan better elections group, FairVote. 

Yang and Novoselic discuss Nirvana, the transition from the independent music scene to independent politics, how elections today fail to inspire and incentivize participation because they are all but pre-determined, and how fair and simple the solution to this is.

"When you talk to people about it, you can get that 1000-yard stare. It's really deep policy," Novoselic said. "There is something about having a message that people can respond to."

Watch the full conversation between Yang and Novoselic above.

IVP Donate

Related articles

Welcome to New Mexico sign.
Open Primaries Were Just the Beginning -- Now New Mexico Needs A New Party to Keep Moving Forward
Editor's Note: This piece on Source NM and has been republished on IVN by request and with permissi...
06 May, 2025
-
4 min read
Someone putting on a i voted sticker.
Forward Party Launches New Mexico Chapter after Open Primaries Success
CORRALES, N.M. - A new party launched Tuesday in New Mexico following the passage of open primaries ...
16 Apr, 2025
-
2 min read
voting line
A New Type of Political Party Has Launched and Is Coming to a City Near You
Third parties have long struggled to break through a political system that is explicitly designed to...
26 Sep, 2022
-
9 min read

Latest articles

New Yorkers in a cafe.
Will New Yorkers Vote on Open Primaries This November?
The New York City Charter Revision Commission, convened by Mayor Eric Adams, released a preliminary report last week in which it states it is considering two potential reforms to city primary elections that exclude a fifth of the city's electorate. ...
09 May, 2025
-
3 min read
Dont tread on me flag.
Libertarian Party Chair Warns Party in Danger of 'Full Collapse'
Elections in the US make it all, but impossible for third party and independent candidates to compete in most elections. Still, for several decades there have been established third parties at the national level, including the Libertarian, Green, and Reform Parties....
07 May, 2025
-
2 min read
People shopping
Are Independent Voters Prepared to Ride Out Tariff Uncertainty?
For millions of independent voters, short-term pain isn’t just uncomfortable—it’s unsustainable....
07 May, 2025
-
2 min read