The book is not much longer than a pamphlet, just 103 pages, but that is appropriate because it is reminiscent of pamphlets that rallied public action in past eras of American history.

Krist Novoselic has similar aims for "Of Grunge and Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy!" (RDV Books, $9.95). The 39-year-old former bass player for Nirvana is intent on rallying fellow citizens, especially younger citizens, to the obscure cause of a revamped electoral process in the United States, with such reforms as instant runoff voting and full representation.

"Our Constitution has evolved over the course of the last two and a quarter centuries, while our election system has remained the same," Novoselic writes. "It's like we've crossed the bridge to the 21st century in an 18th-century horse and buggy."

"Of Grunge and Government" enwraps its political message in the flannel shirts and torn jeans of grunge, with Novoselic opening his book with a brief but engaging look at his humble roots and the disorienting whirlwind of Nirvana.

Novoselic is not one to reveal any great secrets about the punk-influenced trio that got its start in the unlikely environs of Aberdeen, Wash., when Novoselic started jamming with an intense guy named Kurt Cobain.

"Kurt was a completely creative person - a true artist," Novoselic recalls. "He tried to make his own lava lamp out of wax and vegetable oil (it didn't work). He sketched very obscene 'Scooby-Doo' cartoons all over his apartment building hallways. (They were done very well.) He made wild sound montages from obscure records. He sculpted clay into scary spirit people writhing in agony. He played guitar, sang and wrote great tunes that were kind of off-kilter. Punk, pop, or whatever, it was raw creativity."

Revealing reflections
Nirvana's rocket ride has been well chronicled in Charles Cross' Cobain biography, "Heavier Than Heaven." But Novoselic's brief recounting does include some fascinating nuggets, including how he had been working as an industrial painter before he devoted himself to being "a starving musician" full time, how the band was in Berlin on the day after the Wall came tumbling down, and how the bass player viewed "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the band's breakout anthem, as "an observation of a culture mired in boredom amidst relative luxury."

Novoselic's most revealing reflection on Nirvana's rise and fall (after Cobain's suicide in 1994) is: "It was like the whole world came knocking. I was used to stepping out into the world, but now the world wanted to come in. This didn't help the situation with Nirvana.

"There were too many internal and external pressures. It was difficult to reconcile with the mainstream world. The change was so big and so fast. When I look back at those two and a half years of meteoric fame, it feels like it was a span of 10 years. Things were so intense, so compressed. . . ."

It was while Nirvana was raging that Novoselic started his transformation from anti-establishment punk rocker to political activist. He marched against the first Iraq war and its jingoism ("watching society cheer it on like a football game"), while Nirvana played benefit concerts for such causes as abortion rights, gay rights and a benefit for women survivors of the Balkan war.

Going political
Novoselic later became involved in Washington state politics in opposing efforts to impose censorship in the music business and, in 1995, founded a political action committee to represent musicians' interests in the state.

But "Of Grunge and Government" includes Novoselic coming out in favor of speaking at public meetings, of joining political parties and local groups (the musician is a member of the local Grange near his home in southwest Washington) in order to effect change, despite the frustrations. He remains committed to building up, not tearing down.

"Why kick around the argument of being against censorship when you can advocate for freedom of expression?" Novoselic asks. "Why disparage violence when you can promote peace? Essentially, the positive idea is about advancing the possibilities."

About half of the book is devoted to Novoselic's carefully researched and well-reasoned case for fundamental changes in American electoral process, as is his Web site, www.fixour.us. He cites progressive places already implementing such changes as instant runoff voting (in which voters pick candidates in order of preference and the candidate with the highest percentage of first and second preferences usually wins) and full representation (where a party's percentage of legislative seats mirrors its percentage of votes).

Novoselic's platform seeks to remedy what he calls the fundamental flaws in American elections these days: Too few people think their votes matter. Too few people bother to vote.

"People scream about the virtual integration of corporate special interests with our government but ignore the epidemic of lack of civic participation," Novoselic concludes. "Politics abhors a vacuum. Too many are wandering the political wilderness angry, unable to see the way out of the woods."