I few weeks ago, I was asked to write something about Kurt Cobain for Black Table.com, because today is the ten year anniversary of his suicide.
I am always flattered and grateful when someone asks me to contribute to something, because it makes me feel like a “real” writer, but I often have to decline, because writing takes time, and time is something I just don’t have right now.
This was different, though, because I thought I had an interesting take on Kurt Cobain’s death, so I accepted. I wrote it up, re-wrote it, and then got buried in the Star Trek convention and forgot to send it in until one day after the deadline.
So it didn’t make the article, which is a drag, because the other writers are all respected and they all wrote great things. It would have been cool to be alongside them. They tell me it was cut for space . . . but I just read the other contributions, and it’s pretty clear to me that I’m not yet in their league.
I’m thrilled that I’ve had this realization while I’m suffering a crisis of confidence at the tail end of a rewrite, and I’m terrified about the “sophomore slump.”
But since I already put the work into it, it seems stupid to just file it off in the “never got published” directory.
Here it is:
The first time I heard “Nevermind,” I wasn’t impressed. As far as I was concerned, it was just a poor rip off of The Pixies’ “Doolittle.” When “Smells Like Teen Spirit” took over eMpTyVee and every radio station in the country, I got burned out pretty damn fast.
Then I read an interview with Kurt Cobain in . . . I think it was
Rolling Stone. Maybe it was Spin. But he said that there wouldn’t be Nevermind without Doolittle. Kurt Cobain was influenced by The Pixies? Okay, I’ll give it another try.
I listened to the whole album three or four times and I was hooked. The only other album that has completely pulled me in like that was Radiohead’s OK Computer. I bought “Bleach” within a week, and stood in line to pick up “In Utero” when it was released. I still think that Kurt’s version of “The Man Who Sold The World” is one of the most beautiful and haunting things I’ve ever heard.
For as much as I loved the music, I completely hated Kurt Cobain’s antics. The destruction of vintage guitars enraged me, the dresses and outrageous behavior in interviews just annoyed me, and over time it became difficult for me to appreciate the music on its own. By the time Kurt ended his life, I’d lost interest in Nirvana, and I told my friend Dave, “Well, what do you expect? Poor Kurt had all his dreams come true, and he just couldn’t handle it. Maybe he ran out of vintage Strats to destroy.”
Dave did his best to convince me that rock had lost a pioneer. Without Kurt’s music, he said, there wouldn’t be Perl Jam, or Soundgarden, or Alice In Chains. Without Nirvana, he suggested, Guns N Roses may still be sitting atop Rock’s Mount Olympus.
“Meh. There’s one less Junkie in the world,” I said. The truth was, I’d recently lost a dear friend to suicide, and Kurt’s death brought back a lot of unresolved sorrow over my own loss.
Almost a year later, I was listening to Chet Baker, an influential Jazz musician who was also a heroin addict when he fell (some say jumped) out of an Amsterdam hotel window in 1988. Baker was a trumpet player, with a soulful voice. There was always a touch of sadness and longing in his lyrical style — be it musical or vocal. I’d been reading a lot of Burroughs at the time, and I called up my friend Dave to rave about Chet Baker’s “How Deep is the Ocean?”
I told him how I could feel Chet Baker’s sadness, and I wondered if his addiction played a part in his music, the way Burrough’s addiction clearly informed his writing.
“Oh, you mean like Kurt Cobain.” Dave said. A statement, not a question.
I thought for a second. “Yes. Exactly like Kurt Cobain. I never thought of it that way.”
“So you maybe have a different opinion of him now?”
“Yes. Yes, I do.” I surprised myself with my answer. “But I’ll never
forgive him for destroying all those vintage guitars.”
Dave laughed, “You’re such a dick.”
“Yes I am. But I’m a dick who can listen to Nirvana again.”
Here’s the part where I eulogize Kurt Cobain.
I didn’t know Kurt, and his death didn’t greatly impact my life. But I knew his music, and when I came to understand his addiction, and his frustrations with the music industry’s efforts to turn him into just another commodity, I felt sad for him, and mourned his loss.
I don’t think Kurt Cobain was that great a musician, and I can speak from experience, because even I was able to play along with most of Nevermind, without learning any new chords. But he was an amazing writer, and his real legacy can be seen in garage bands and on record store shelves all over the world. Dave was right: without Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, there would be no Perl Jam, no Soundgarden, no Alice in Chains, and Seattle would just be this mysterious city where it rains a lot.
I can’t believe it’s been ten years — a decade! — since Kurt Cobain died. Wherever he is, I hope he’s sipping Pennyroyal Tea.
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I agree with you about the guitar smashing, Wil. These yobbos who think they’re angry like The Who don’t realize that they’re just custodians for these instruments until they get to the next musician. There are only so many old guitars around. What would SRV have sounded like if someone destroyed ol’ Number One before it got around to him? It’s in Jimmie Vaughan’s vault for now, but some time in the future, someone else will get a chance to play it.
Excellent write up. Addiction sucks. I still listen to Nevermind in my 72 impala tape deck – in regular tape rotation after all these years…
Wil: Have you read Orson Scott Card’s “Speaker for the Dead?” (Or maybe the whole Ender’s Game series) Make some time for it if you can. I think that’s what Kurt deserved more than eulogies and memorial services…
that was a really nice piece.
i remember hearing news of his death when i was 10 going on 11. my brother was one of the people greatly influenced by kurt, so i heard the music a lot and liked it myself. i agree that he may not have been the best musician, but the lyrics and the sound that was so new at the time was really something.
the unplugged album is in my top 5
I was never really a Nirvana fan, but I also think that Kurt was a beautiful writer. It would have been interesting to see what he would write with the music industry the way it is now with all the prepackaged sugar-soaked “goodness”.
Wil,
Great story. Very personalized.
I just have to point out that you’re such a computer geek that you spelled the “pearl” in Pearl Jam PERL. 🙂
Your transformation is complete, Wil. Misspelling “Pearl Jam” as “Perl Jam” is the final step in the journey from music junkie to computer geek.
Kurt’s career should have been measured in decades, like Neil Young and David Bowie. Having met Courtney pre-Hole and having dealt with her post-Fame, I blame her for Kurt’s death. Maybe she didn’t pull the trigger, but if she really cared about anyone but herself, she would have gotten him help. As it was, she was chasing after Trent Reznor and Billy Corgan before Kurt’s body was cold. I will never forgive her.
I don’t mean to get all freaked on you, but being a Seattlite, there is more to this city than rain & Nirvana. Hello, a few little companies named Boeing, Microsoft, & Starbucks? And, if you want to talk music, how about Heart (oh yeah, forget I mentioned them), Quincy Jones, & a guitarist named Jimi Hendrix?!?!
I can’t beleive anyone was talking about Kurt Cobain ten years ago and I can’t believe anyone is still talking him ten years later.
He’s often mentioned in lists of names like John Lennon, Sid Vicious, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, even Karen Carpenter. If only he was in the same league as someone like that.
I gotta tell you. I’m 43 years old and just “discovered” Nirvana LAST YEAR. The kid did have brilliant insight. It’s sad that he couldn’t overcome the profound pain of depression. Depression is what killed him, not his wife or dreams coming true. The kid was born depressed, it’s a wonder he survived long enough to achieve as much as he did. Don’t laugh—but I also hear a lot of Beatles influence in his music, too.
Excellent entry, as per usual.
Kurt Cobain symbolized our generation perfectly – eloquently wasted, raw not cooked, torn between activism and futility. The struggle we have faced and survived killed him, for being unable to separate the way he thought things should be from the way they actually were. He couldn’t live with the contradiction inherent in that conflict, and he allowed the weakness of his failing to cause him to behave in a weak and cowardly manner.
Still, his words live on, and he represented (and represents still) a generation of the disaffected, young people who always felt not as if they didn’t fit the mold, but as though the mold didn’t fit them, and should be broken.
“All in all is all we are…”
10 years. I remember the news of his death like it was yetserday.
The day I heard he died,I drove down to Kalino’s Pub, walkman in hand with Unplugged in the deck and repeatedly listened to “All Apologies” and “The Man Who Sold the World” over and over while downing more than a few beers. I was shocked by the reality of it all. I also,in a weird way, wasn’t too surprised because it was no secret he was self destructive but I didn’t expect him to blow his fucking brains out. I truly feel we lost an icon in ’94 and have yet to find one in the present. Like Abby, I wonder what he would make of all this sugar coated goodness passing for music today. If he hadn’t blown his brains out then, he surely would have today.
I never liked Nirvana much, one or two songs when they came on the radio was enough for me. Never having dealt with any addiction of any kind (I quit cigarettes and caffiene with no problems) I just don’t get junkies. I have no sympathy for people who insist on killing themselves slowly with drugs. Wanna hear intelligent, insightful music? Listen to Operation:Mindcrime by Queensryche.
Wil,
I like the writing, but I’m gonna have to disagree on a couple things. First of all, saying Curt Cobain was not a great musician is not true. Just because he was not a virtuoso guitarist or the chord structure of his songs were not incredibly sophisticated does not mean he was a hack as a musician. He did write all those great melodies, melodies that made his sub-par singing voice sound great, as well as being catchy and with tons of emotion engrained in them. It takes a certain genius to be able to do that. After all, most Beatles songs are not that complex or hard to perform, but they are brilliant anyway. I do not compare or equate him with the Beatles at all, but he could write a great melody, that’s for sure. And there are not too many people today who can, sadly enough.
Second, to say without him there would be no Soundgarden or Pearl Jam is not the case. Soundgarden was touring and creating grunge long before Nirvana ever formed. As a matter of fact, Nirvana knew and looked up to them a lot before either of them “made it”. Smells like teen spirit was the first big hit for grunge, but Soundgarden was around since ’85. Not to diminish Nirvana, I’m just a Soundgarden fan who wants to set the record straight. Anyways, that’s my 2 cents on it.
P.S. – What would Kurt have to say about britney spears and all this other crap like it? I can only dream. We need another revolution to get rid of all this like Nirvana did to the hair bands.
Perhaps the people at Black Table.com felt that your article was too direct and truthful for them to not have it published. Not everyone wants a sugarcoated article. I am not a fan of Nirvana per se, but I do enjoy some of their songs. I’m not about to go into a tangent about why he committed suicide, but just to say, Wil, sometimes people cannot handle the truth.
nice, i was hoping you’d mention something about him today wil. the world lost a legend 10 years ago… his legacy continues to grow with each passing day. here’s to his sweet angel of a daughter, frances bean finding more happiness than he ever could.
oh, and i in NO way mean to nitpick i just want to fully appreciate what could be a tongue in cheek comment. 🙂 wil, did you know that pennyroyal tea is an herbal drink meant to induce labour? (for abortion)
Just a quick comment: I would wholeheartedly disagree with the sentiment that without Nirvana there would be no Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc. Soundgarden, for instance, existed before Nirvana and had quite a large following not only throughout the local Seattle scene but across the country thanks to Sub Pop’s backing. Nirvana’s instant fame after the release of Nevermind did force the eyes and ears of critics and major labels (along with a lot of newfound fans) to the Seattle music scene but I would venture to guess that even if Nirvana had never existed these other bands would have been successful since they are comprised of very talented songwriters and musicians.
Thanks for sharing Wil.
IIRC, both Green River (half of which went on to form Pearl Jam after Andy’s death,) and Soundgarden were around before Nirvana. Also Kurt acknowledged Green River as an influence. I would feel comfortable saying that without Green River, Pearl Jam or Soundgarden, there would have been no Nirvana, but definitely not the other way around.
I remember some people claiming that Kurt Cobain was “the John Lennon” of our generation. What a bunch of malarkey. That is such a put down for John. Nirvana were nowhere near as important musically as the Beatles.
It is sad that he is gone, but I’m not sure how much he is missed.
I’m not a fan of Nirvan so have no comment on Kurt as a musician but it is always sad when someone young ends their life. Writing as you did about his addiction and his music was a nice tribute but if you ever publish the article to may want to think of including the comments you recived on your post and the story behind them – to me that is also part of your tribute to him.
just my 2 cents
Thanks for sharing your “unpublishable” (did I just make up a word?) article with us. I’ve never been particularly into Nirvana, but I like the music I’ve heard. I wasn’t personally affected by Cobain’s suicide, and he wasn’t the voice of my personal generation. I’m not distraught that he will never write another song, or wear another dress or cover himself with Christmas garland before an interview. What pisses me off most is that he left behind a wife (and I’m making no judgements about their relationship) and a daughter who never got the chance to know her father.
And I just realized that I’ve outlived him.
:stepping off soapbox:
Which band came first, or how popular they were in Seattle isn’t the point. I’m not saying that Nirvana influenced anyone.
Until the music industry noticed Nirvana, the Seattle Sound was as underground (and, more importantly, commercially unproven) as Emo was until the music industry noticed Dashboard Confessional.
Pennyroyal Tea was an herb used to induce abortion. That was important to the context of the song. That’s why he didn’t sing about Chamomile or Orange Pekoe.
Wherever he is, I hope he’s happy. I doubt, though, that he’s sipping pennyroyal tea.
Nice entry, Wil. I was 14 or so when Cobain died, so I remember it vividly. Just a few short months after we lost River. It shook my little teenage world.. I was reminiscing a few months ago about the days of Nirvana and my youth and wrote a little poem. Here I post it, in memory of Kurt.
“Ear Porn”
Used to sit alone for hours
Pondering this and that
Writing this and that
Memorizing unforgettable lyrics
Writing some of them down on walls
In pencil, mind you, so mother wouldn’t yell.
But love them all, I did
Alone in the world
In my town
In my school
The music was all.
My release, my professor, my counselor
My spiritual advisor, my lover.
It is timeless, limitless
And it continues to surprise my senses.
Rock on, world
Give me some more
Of that precious ear porn.
Turn me on
Make me pissed
Give me something to believe in
That really deserves it
Rock on,
Tortured prophets of song.
May you find solace in screams
And eternally wailing bend notes.
~Diane Marie Rosalie
I wonder if the band would be as infamous if he hadn’t committed suicide. Truth be told, they probably would’ve fizzled out long ago. All I can ever think of is that he was a heroin addict who killed himself and left his child behind with a drug-addict skank.
Then again, we all do make mistakes.
Kurt’s death occured on my birthday.. I don’t know what that means to me, really. I was 17 when it happened and Nirvana just blew up as I had entered high school. Nirvana’s music got me back into rock as opposed to pop and all that other crap that was out at the time. Remember the music scene in 1991? It was quite depressing until SLTS came out.
I’m from Seattle, and i remember the day they found his body. It was a sad and rainy day, when we lost the father of grunge rock and Nirvana in one brief moment. And ten years later its still gray and gloomy and we are still talking about Curt. And Nirvana is being played all day on several radio stations. The sounds of Nirvana and Curt will never go away. Curt (the human being) maybe dead, Courtney maybe strung out on drugs and missing court dates, and Francis Bean may be asking where’s Mommy? But Nirvana will live on in Seattle, the birthplace of grunge.
God bless you Curt, and please someone find some help for Courtney, before Francis Bean looses both parents.
P.S. For anyone in the Washington area, there will be a memorial service this afternoon @ the Seattle Center, and also a gathering near Curt and Courtney’s former residence.
So i misspelled Kurt’s name im sorry, and please don’t shoot me.
I was wondering why I felt so melancholy today. Yesterday was my son’s 10th birthday. I had forgotten about the other anniversary that follows. My son was born the day before Kurt died and it hit me hard in the middle of post-partum blues. I didn’t like Nirvana at first, either. Over the years, however… they definitely filtered into my soul. I saw them on New Year’s Eve when I was six months pregnant. I will never forget Kurt Cobain … even though my mind had not consciously reminded me of this day. I’m glad you did, though. Thanks.
You know I think the REAL reason you didn’t get included was because of your honesty and the fact that you did not just blindly sing the praises of Kurt Kobain… I may be wrong about that, but I am afraid that it was more about building him up as a legend once again to increase sales of his music yet again than anything else..
okay maybe I am a little jaded, but that is the way I see it.
I applaud your honesty, and the fact that you combined the bad with the good and came back with a sincere piece of writing that is definately worth the read.
i have the utmost respect for music, and yes i do feel that it openned a lot of people up to a different genre of music.
I doubt we can all say we are proud of everything we have done in our lives and that theres not one thing we would change! Kurt was a musician, as was John Lennon both artists both troubled.
John Lennon who is now dubbed a legend and musical genuis and yet he was an average guy… working class hero.. he had troubles of his own, he took drugs and he had a love/hate relationship with Elvis and the U.S government…
now we name an airport after him and Maccas trying to live off his glory.. cause lets face it he’s not that great is our paul!!
We forget those who died, true working class heros, and we forget the people that fought and died for something they believe in…. life is funny…
These musicians gave us something and left us a legacy, either way you can be positive or negative about it… i’m glad kurt touched the world, he gave us a lesson and hopefully we can learn from it and his music will live on, whether or not it would have fizzled out had he lived, his music was great and we should remember that.
andrea x
OK, here comes the whacko.
I honestly believe that Kurt was murdered.
This opinion, more often than not, garners scorn and derision. But before you go that way, research it. Just because he was an angry guy who seemed suicidal, does not make suicide a forgone conclusion. And there are a plethora of inconsistancies and errors in the events surrounding his death.
Anyhoo. I also agree with Wil on the point that, without Kurt, there would be no Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, et al. That’s not a who-came-first proclamation. Nirvana opened the door, focused the attention of the world, and the record companies on Seattle. So I suppose, more accurately, without Kurt, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, et al, would not have had the successes they did, when they did.
Tragic waste.
There is no doubt that Kurt was a polarizing force for the grunge music/movement. Can you think of the music that was listened to on the radio pre-Kurt. He certainly deserves the right to be mentioned with John Lennon, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison for he too changed music forever. Here is to you Kurt.
Wil—and anyone who wants to know more about Cobain and his life—you should read Heavier than Heaven by Charles R. Cross. It’s the best biography on Cobain I’ve ever read, possibly the best ever published, and definitely the best researched: Cross had access to Kurt’s journals, interviewed a lot of people close to him, and presents a clear and mostly unbiased view of the man’s life and death.
I have mixed feeling about Kurt Cobain. On one hand he did influence a looser style of music playing as well as having more poetic lyrics. On the other hand, his influence was a detriment to the concept of musicianship. The 90’s were filled with detuned guitars, bleak lyrics with singing and instrument playing that seemed like the musicians were half-hearted. The grunge sound, while trying to overcome the clich
Oh my god I am so sick and tired of hearing about these bands and these artists who died from drugs before their time. If they killed themselves with a shotgun or with a herion overdose then to hell with them. How many bands have one or two albums then retire to obscurity. It’s real nice to give the dead the benefit of the doubt that they MIGHT have made more albums but they DIDN’T. They flaked out and killed themselves and as long as we make all of these losers out to be great then drugs stay cool.
It is always a tragedy when someone dies but when they die because they can’t handle success then how are those of us who trudge away our lives just dreaming of such excess supposed to have pity for them because they have gotten too rich?
Personally, I never thought alot of Nirvana. I mean they were ok but just ok. The other bands such as Pearl Jam were better imho. Just because Nirvana was first doesn’t mean it was the best. Any of those other bands could have been the spark that started that fire so to speak.
Just remember that opinions are like arseholes.
We all have one.
That was awesome what you have written about Kurt. Right with out Kurt you would not have most of the bands that we listen today so hats off to Kurt and his band. Even though he couldn’t handle the fame he did leave us a lot of songs to listen too.
I listened to his music, I had friends who tried to live his life. I honor him for his honesty, but worry about the message he has sent. I now am confused, this whole murder mystery thing is kind of pissing me off. Did he really kill himself? Did courtney do it in a drug fueled haze, to promote herself. She has benifitted more than anyone.
You’re a great writer, but I think writing something like this is new to you. It doesn’t speak quite the way your other writing does. Still very good, though. I think you’re just new to this style, and not very confident about it yet. That could be why it was cut. Don’t let it discourage you, though…it’s not often that the first time you try something, it’s the best you’ll ever do it. 🙂
Sorry you missed your article deadline. It was a good one. I miss Kurt Cobain and it’s scary how much Francis Bean looks like him. I still wonder if Courtney did him in. Even if she didn’t I wouldn’t put it past her.
Although I was never into Kurt Cobain while he was alive, I’ve grown to admire and respect his music and message, as well as the whole garage band scene known as “grunge.”
It’s also nice that Seattle can claim something for themselves other than Microshit and Starbuck$.
i too wanted to comment on pennyroyal tea being an abortifacent, but i see others have beaten me to it.
i enjoyed the article as a whole–i was never overwhelmed w/kurt cobain like everyone else was either–but i do want to say, hey, what’s wrong w/(boy) rock stars who wear dresses? combined w/smashing vintage guitars & having an attitude, all right… but i just wanted to put in a good word for all the perfectly respectable & cute boys-in-dresses out there. 🙂
This is one of the best post-article discussions I have read here in a while. I am glad everyone has shared a little bit. Helps to feel some kinship with others who reflect the pain.
Yes, I remember exactly where I was when I heard it. I grew up in Tacoma and a friend of mine was friends with Kurt. I got to hear them back in 1988, but I didn’t appreciate it then. It took a long while for me to feel what was going on in his music. I moved to L.A. at the same time as grunge was spawned in my birthplace. It sorta washed over me in a gangsta haze.
When River died and then Kurt, my mortality first became apparent to me. Here were hallmarks of my era, icons who I could look up to, spent on a sidewalk or with a shotgun. It really made me feel for the first time in my life that I was not indestructable. That was a big step in my life as I was 23 and on top of the world.
Anyhow, I miss them both. As pennies are flying in pairs around here I have to say that I feel that Kurt’s songwriting was amazing. Hell, You know you’re right came out a couple years ago and blew me away – after years in the vault. It wasn’t just his addiction either. He had a stomach ailment that was excruciatingly painful. He lived in pain most of his life – and not just because of the drugs.
I also heard from a friend with a relative on the Seattle Police Department who was close to the case and all I will say is that the detective felt that it was not a suicide.
Beauty in life is fleeting and having our dreams come true isn’t necessarily the key to happiness. Wil, I admire that you have carved a new niche for yourself and you have balanced writing, family and celebrity in a way that does bring you happiness. No one can answer why Kurt’s balance brought him pain, but I take from this memorial that life should be cherished and the beauty of his art should remind us to be careful what you wish for because you have to live with it.
Rest in peace Kurt.
I think you hit the head on the nail with most of the points you made. I also want to echo the sentiment that if you haven’t read the Ender series you should try to make time for it. This article kinda parallels an idea that arose at the end of the first book about honoring the dead. Anyway, good job, I’ll have to see about setting some money aside to buy your book, I love your writing style. I think I’ll go grab a Guiness now, cheers.
I have read a lot of arguments for both sides of the Cobain as legend argument. As a lifelong John Lennon freak, I don’t know if Cobain is on par. I do think, though, that he did give voice to all of us frustrated Northwestern kids–most of us taught from a very early age that working at the local IP mill was the best we could expect. Every generation is frustrated in some way, and every generation has it’s “voice.” (Okay correct punctuation has never been my strong point) I went to high school in the Northwest when “Grunge” became en vogue. I can tell you why we wore flannel before it became color coordinated and why our feet were housed in Doc Martens (or similar footware after Docs became far too expensive for a bunch of faded blue collar kids to afford). I went to high school with kids who thought Garth Brooks was the second coming and who warshipped the idols of Wrangler and Skol. I can tell you what made a band who came from freakin’ ABERDEEN such a phenomenon….at least to us.
I forget where I first heard this metaphor–but somebody wise once told me that life is a metronome. It swings one way, hits it’s mark and then swings back the other way. For those wondering what Kurt would think of all the Pop Candy out there today, I say that without Kurt and the “Grunge” movement (goddman Melrose trend labellers. Did nobody realize the functionality of flannel and docs?) we wouldn’t HAVE the Pop Candy we have now, or the New Alternative happy garage stuff. Be patient. Pretty soon there will be a new voice coming out of this Ear Crack that says “Screw This Noise” (pun not intended but still amusing) and makes something more….whatever adjective or noun you feel fits. I won’t say Real because to some, Justin Timberlake is the voice of a generation. I find that horrific, but to each their own.
Some say that had Kurt not died Nirvana would have not become the “legend” it is today. To them I ask that time honored question “Is it better to go out with a bang or would you just rather fade away?” Would you rather keep your idol or have him turn into Rex Manning?
Kurt’s no Ian Curtis.
Wil, perhaps the thing that bothers you about the destruction of classic guitars is the same thing that bothers most people about suicide. The senseless waste of it all. We express that loss as anger, hate, disappointment, denial, rationalization or just plain sadness.
The promise of a fully-lived life is never realized, and the heritage of those guitars is never fulfilled. We all lose something.
that was an O.K. piece.
but does anyone think that kurt cobain really cared whether or not we liked his music or him or his covers of meat puppets songs? he didn’t, he just wanted to get fucked up and make fucked up music and trash whatever he wanted. see i think that he knew the real truth, it doesn’t matter and were all going to die anyways. i don’t think he deserves a ten year anniversary eulogy, he is probably grimmacing about it in heaven or hell or wherever he is. lots of music has changed my life, i think it matters when it’s quite personal, not blown up in your face by magazines and television and suicide. i love nirvana’s music, but i think that sometimes people don’t look past the glamourized suicide and popularity and “antics” and love nirvana what they were really out there for. pure fucking noise.
i thought your piece was well written…and from a little different point of view than most i have seen on the topic of KURT COBAIN…and i think you are right…NIVANA was the breakout band that put SEATTLE on the map for music fans…’til then SEATTLE was know by me mostly as the home of major league baseballs ill-fated PILOTS.
what are you talking about with the guitar comment? cobain played guitars no one else wanted when he started – jap jaguars and mustangs that were pawn shop specials – he has made the value of these jump 10-20 times because that’s what nirvana played. no one was crying when he was smashing these up on stage, of course now they do, because if he hadn’t smashed so many they would be auctioned on ebay now, going to the highest bidder.
cobain did form attachments to special vintage guitars over the years, and it seems did not intend to ever smash many of them. but, if you read livenirvana.com, HTH (book) and Come as you are (book) you find that because of intense emotion onstage, anger, drugs, or a combination of all the above he HAD to smash the guitars. That is what made him so f’in great.
Plus, many say that the loss of his favorite guitar (and notebooks) in the “bathtub incident” led to seriously diminished songwriting rates (just a theory but plausible).
But sorry, willie, but who the fuck cares if you are outraged about him smashing some guitars? you are the kind of pretentious prick who i have a feeling cobain would hate.
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