“Who will be the king and the queen of the outcasted teens?” asks an original lyric from Nirvana's 1991 hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, written by Kurt Cobain (Nirvana). Little did Cobain know that he and the lead singer of the punk group Hole, Courtney Love, would soon become the royalty of grunge in the early nineties. While the life of the rich and famous seems glamourous from the outside, a single glance within the lives of these legendary performers would prove otherwise. The pair seems like an odd couple at first; Courtney being a poster child for drugs, alcohol and loud rock music, and Kurt just starting out on the music scene with a brand new band and a bright future ahead (Bio). What brought these two together also drove them apart; both had violent childhoods in the slums of their home states, divorced parents, and alcohol and drug problems that only grew worse. Cobain and Love’s relationship had not only a huge impact on the pair’s well-being, but also their music and the future of grunge music in America.
Kurt Cobain was born on February 20th, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington, a town with high drug and death rates which would later influence Kurts habits. He was forced to move from house to house, staying with relatives, on friends couches, and even in an underbridge passing due to his parents divorce at age eight. Throughout these short stays in many places it is said that Kurt was physically abused and exposed to drug abuse frequently(Gilmore 115). As a young child he was happy and artistic and as he began to play the guitar and other instruments he realized that music would be his “personal victory”(Gilmore 115). In 1987 he formed Nirvana with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic staying mainly in the Seattle “grunge scene” an...
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... that as he exited the world abruptly, but there is no chance that he will fade away due to his great impact on the music world (Cobain quoting Young 94).
Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 26 May 2014. .
Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 26 May 2014. .
Berkenstadt, Jim, and Charles R. Cross. Nevermind: Nirvana. New York: Schirmer, 1998. Print.
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Woodward, Fred. Cobain. Boston: Little, Brown, 1994. Print.
“The Grateful Dead”, Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone; Jann S. Wenner. Edition And publisher, 2014, web, 16 April 2014.
Kurt was in love with music since the age of two. He was brought up in a
Cobain, the lead guitarist, writer and singer for a band called Nirvana shook the groggy music world with the release of Smells Like Teen Spirit from the album Nevermind over twenty years ago on September 10, 1991. Nobody ever imagined that the simple four-chord progression would ever grab so much attention that it would hit number 6, let alone the Nevermind album knocking Michael Jackson’s Dangerous out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboards. (Shmoop) The fact that a grungy, distortion filled song became such a radio hit proved that Nirvana’s shy singer was now the much needed voice for the youth. New found fame hurdled the little known Cobain into the limelight almost instantly; hungry fans gobbled up and imitated everything they could about him. No longer were kids interested in listening the pop music that saturated the 80’s; they now had music that voiced how aloof they felt about their existence. Kids who were misunderstood by their parents and elders, finally...
Suicide is the most accepted theory to Kurt Cobain’s death, gaining support from not only the Seattle Police Department but Cobain’s own family at the time of death. Cobain was reported to have been clinically depressed for the majority of his life and was crippled with severe drug addiction. In photographs taken of the body viewers can plainly see the medical bracelet for the drug rehab center he had broken out of. He was completely dependent on heroin and was quoted saying “This is the only thing saving me from blowing my head off”. Band members also reported that Cobain was disconnected from his friends and family during his final days. Photos of Kurt Cobain’s body have been stated to show Cobain splayed out on the floor with a shotgun firmly gripped in his hand and a box of
Although considered the day Rock ‘n’ Roll was born, many other events in American history have given foundation to this much loved idea. Rock ‘n’ Roll is much more than just music, rather it is the movement which underlines cultural imperialism. Rock had been promoting a culture of comfort and freedom from social constraints as well. Although the style of ‘Rock music’ is easily adaptable into many different sounds, it is still thoroughly identified by its definingly amplified rhythm. The sudden worldwide popularity of rock and roll resulted in an unparalleled social impact. Rock ‘n’ Roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language in a way few other social developments have equaled. The social impact is so large that rock stars are worshipped worldwide. In its early years, many adults condemned the style of music, placing a stigma on its name, and forbid their children from listening and following its ways. Many considered Rock ‘n’ Roll culture as a bad influence to all people, but as the genre aged and the now not-so-young crowds had matured, Rock was respected and
Before diving into Cobain’s musical rebellion, it is important to be briefed on his background to understand his reason, his ability to relate to teens, as well as his essence, of resistance. Cobain grew up in the small down of Aberdeen, Washington where his parents raised him until their divorce when Cobain was only eight. After the divorce, Cobain was shuffled between family members and he soon started exhibiting signs of rebellion-such as his use of drugs- that he later expressed through his music (Spirit Interviews). In high school, Cobain was seen as an outcast because he couldn’t fit the masculine jock persona. Cobain even reflected on his inability to relate to...
Kurt Cobain was at the peak of his career when it all came crashing down. Nirvana was the new band that everyone liked. But it all changed the night Cobain’s body was found in his Washington home. Everyone originally thought it was suicide. But was it really? Looking back on his death more and more people are arguing everyday if it was suicide or homicide.
There possibly isn't an album in history that is as genre defining as Nirvana's Nevermind. Released in 1991, it single handedly was responsible for the birth of what became to be known as grunge and has gone on to sell over 10 million copies in the United States alone (Stuessy, Joe). It reached number 1 in 1991 and was the first album to bring Seattle grunge to the mainstream audience (Stuessy, Joe). Nevermind is a mix of slow, dark songs and fast paced grunge rock songs. With its grinding guitars, pounding drums, and lead singer, Kurt Cobain's distinctive voice, Nevermind found a distinctive way to fuse alternative punk with 70's rock (Nirvana, Nevermind).
He aimed to be like the musicians he admired but he focused on creating his own form of music. Something that he could be proud of, expressing himself like the true rebel he was. Jimi Hendrix was also a form of expression for those who did not know how to express themselves. People could connect with his music, they were also very impressionable due to his music.The song where Jimi wrote, “Purple Haze” it was a form of Jimi Hendrix’s expression through music and many people at the time could find some meaning in these lyrics and connect to the song on an emotional level. This connection was what made Jimi Hendrix so popular and influential to the American people. He made people understand the importance of being at peace with your self and being content in life. He supported finding happiness through drugs and through life and he severely influenced the public and many people followed in his steps and this began the hippie movement. Not only did he have an impact on society but also he had an impact in the individual American’s life giving a sense of hope and freedom to the world. On September 18, 1970, Jimi died in London from drug related complications and while he was only 27 years old at the time of his passing, he left his legendary mark on the world of rock music and remains popular to this
The late 1970s gave birth to a punk culture that further distended into an evolution of the genre during the mid-1980s, particularly in Seattle, USA. A punk inspired movement called grunge became internationally recognized after Nirvana’s debut release album ‘Nevermind’, in 1995. Grunge gained a mass recognition for its punk ideology, attire and music, which stemmed further away, and was in itself a rejection to the mainstream metal and pop boom in the music industry of that time. Grunge incorporated a fusion of cultural and social threads that linked themes like feminism, liberalism, anti-authoritarianism, wry post-modernism, and not least a love of dirty, abrasive music; grunge reconciled all these into a seminal whole. (Standard grunge definition, Internet source)
That happened a few times. We’d be stuck with a dead battery because I’d listen to Freddie Mercury too much,” (Cobain). I feel guilty beyond words about these things. For example, when we're back on stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begins, it doesn't affect me the way it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the love and adoration from the crowd, which is something I totally admire and envy,” (Cobain “Letter”). Along with Kurt Cobain, Freddie inspired his own stand to become a musician.
Grunge owes it's start in part to the area in which it was created, Seattle was isolated, untouched by major record labels and looked over by the major touring acts at the time. It's atmosphere and attitude built up the Grunge sound and allowed it to develop before it was discovered. Then in the early 90's a small trio who called themselves Nirvana burst into the
In high school Cobain befriended a gay student and had to endure bullying from people who though he was gay. Cobain later admitted that he was “gay in spirit” and “probably could be bisexual” (“The Dark Side,” 1992). He dropped out of high school two weeks before graduation because he did not have enough credits, and became a janitor. It was in high school, however, that the beginnings of Cobain’s career were formed. He met Krist Novoselic, and later co...
This article demonstatres how important Kurt Cobain was both as a rock and roll icon and a philosopher. His songs which he recorded himself are still popular today, over 20 years after his death. The author argues how Cobain influences other young artists and his effect on the direction of the music industry.
First, let us define what grunge is and where it comes from. Grunge as defined by web encyclopedia alt.culture is the cumulative influences of punk and ‘70s heavy metal (plus rain, coffee, cheap, potent beer, and occasionally heroin), a cohort of Seattle bands developed a soulful hard rock variant that was instrumental to alternative music’s early-‘90s move underground (altculture. com). Among the bands included in the definition Nirvana would be mainly the one that made this phenomenon popular. Released in 1991, Nevermind—a record by an obscure band working in a genre considered as hopelessly uncommercial—launched the grunge phenomenon and marked an era of unprecedented exposure for alternative acts. Then other bands like Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Candlebox followed the trail that Nirvana started in the grunge w...