Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: essay on kurt cobain
Upon first glance, the disheveled, disappointed, and depressed Kurt Cobain doesn't seem to fit the profile of a martyr, but appearances can be deceiving. Cobain is often called the martyr for Generation X. He is the voice of the underdogs, the misfits, the misunderstood, and anyone else who has been outcast by popular society. Growing up, he struggled to fit in. After his parents divorced when he was seven, his behavior became uncontrollable and his mother sent him to live with relatives. Instead of trying to understand the root of his aggression, his family chose to medicate him with Ritalin and sedatives. Even as a child, the people he loved the most misunderstood him. As he grew up, he continued to be unaccepted. In high school, he was cast off and harassed by his peers. Cobain's solace was his music, his voice. He used his lyrics to stand up for the causes he supported and to speak out against those who had oppressed him. Like many martyrs, he was very vocal about his beliefs while alive, but his genius was not recognized until after his death. Martyrs are often misunderstood, brilliant, and willing to die for their principles. In "8 Fragments for Kurt Cobain," Jim Carroll compares these characteristics of martyrdom to Cobain.
Martyrs and the principles that they stand for are often misunderstood or not accepted by the general public. Many of Cobain's songs reflect his personal angst towards the popular society that rejected him. The song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" skyrocketed his band Nirvana into stardom. Instead of reaching the misfits the song was directed to, his audience was full of the song's antagonists - young, popular kids. These kids didn't understand the true meaning of his lyrics. Instead of comprehending that he was speaking out against them, they believed he the voice of their generation. Cobain's message was distorted and became their teenage anthems. Their "unbearably wholesome misunderstanding" (Carroll 2.18) didn't allow them to see past the trendiness of the music. They not only misinterpreted Cobain's lyrics, they misunderstood Cobain himself. Carroll writes:
From where they sat, you seemed so far up there
High and live and diving
And instead you were swamp crawling
Down, deeper (Carroll 2.19-22)
The audience idolized Cobain. He had been placed on a pedestal so high, that they were unable to see how low he felt about himself.
... around famous band. They were an icon to the U.S by trying to send a message in their music that says drugs aren't bad, to the people. Jerry Garcia was a main part in this band and they wouldn't have been this successful without him. The Grateful Dead made rock and roll history from all of these points.
Jerry Garcia’s life was filled with wonderful things, many of which he never expected in the first place. After an almost fatal heroin overdose in 1986, “ Garcia philosophically stated, ‘ I’m 45 years old, I’m ready for anything, I didn’t even plan on living this long so all this shit is just add-on stuff.’ ” (“Garcia”) This attitude shows why Garcia did all of the things he did and even how some of them came about. Garcia, who “functioned as the preeminent pied piper of the rock era,” led a life of great artistic ability which he used in many ways(“Grateful Dead_ Rockhall”).
The speaker in “Vindicated” by Dashboard Confessional is the teenager inside all of us, and this understanding is vital in comprehending the meaning of the song. The contradictory lines (8-13) and overall sense of confusion helps us to better relate to the way we felt in our teen years. Perplexed and unsure of ourselves, we may not really know which way is up. But no matter what, we are correct, just because we do not want to be wrong.
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
Sheff references Kurt Cobain’s suicide note saying “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” This seems to comes to represent what seems to be Nic’s ending unless he gets the help he needs. Nic was on a path that was seeming to lead to death by overdose, in which he would “burn out” instead of being able to “fade away like an old soldier”. Kurt Cobain is referenced again when Sheff states that he “wants to scream like Kurt Cobain. I want to scream at him.” This gives insight as to how the musical stylings of Kurt Cobain seem to be a trigger for David Sheff’s memories of his addict of a son. These references illustrate the emotion that is being felt by the author while making connections to the life of a famous man who was a great influence on Sheff’s
Still, few musicians have lived more thoroughly the life of their times. Unlike the tie-dyed, good time trip of Jerry Garcia's Grateful Dead, Hendrix felt both the raw, unleashed energy of the sixties, and also the decades terror and confusion. Listening to his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, or the equally powerful Machine Gun one can't help but wonder if this wasn't the most empathic musician to ever pick up a guitar. In those works Hendrix seemed to feel everything for everyone -- black, white, GI, protester, hippie, straight -- he found a place for all of us. American music would never be the same.
Recent speculations have fans, reporters, and investigators questioning the death of musician Kurt Cobain that was a reported suicide case. Cobain’s body was found with shotgun wound to his head on April 8th by an electrician at the couples Washington lake house. The same day Cobain’s body was found, news was released that the singer had committed suicide. With lack of investigation Cobain’s body was cremated 6 days after his body was found. The Seattle P.D. withheld the shotgun for 30 days before it was processed for fingerprints; the shotgun was then given back to Courtney Love to be discarded. The Seattle P.D. also condoned the greenhouse that Kurt Cobain’s body was found be torn down. With that, questions arise on whether or not the death was a suicide or a homicide in the matter. Did Courtney Love the beloved musician’s wife plan and set up the death of her
The biggest influential song on Nirvana’s Nevermind album was the first song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It reached number 6 on the Top 40 Charts. This song was groundbreaking for Nirvana and the alternative music scene as a whole. After the release of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” white, middle-class youth of the United States finally had a style of music to call their own and express their “teenage anthems” (Stuessy, Joe). This was the first song to emerge from alternative rock and to be known in the mainstream of rock and roll, expressing their generation’s expectations, “...here we are now, entertain us”(Stuessy, Joe). “Smells like Teen Spirit” was Curt Cobain’s “attempt to write the ultimate pop song”(Nevermind, Nirvana). He used the soft-loud dynamics of his favorite band, the Pixies. The insidious hooks also showed his admiration for the Beatle’s John Lennon(Nevermind, Nirvana). The style used in this song is simple, plain, loud, and straight-forward. Musically, there is nothing very “innovative” or difficult. However, the reason it is important to rock history is because it brought America’s attention to the once before underground style of grunge. “A driving drum beat, powered by Novelsek’s rhythmic bass, and a memorable guitar riff and solo, mix perfectly with Kurt Cobain’s depressing yet humorous lyrics” (Kastner, Patrick). While it has certainly been overplayed in the past years, it is still an essential part of Rock history.
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...
In this essay I will be comparing the life of two valuable musicians of the entertainment industry, Brad Nowell and Kurt Cobain. Bradley James Nowell was born to Nancy and James Nowell on February 22, 1968. The family resided in Long Beach California. Growing up, Brad was a bright and intelligent boy, but disliked school. In fact, he hated it so much that he would have his younger sister do his homework for him. His parents had concluded that it was just a lack of attention toward one subject at a time. At the age of nine, Brad was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and was prescribed Ritalin to gain control over it. Kurt Donald Cobain was also diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and was prescribed Ritalin. Kurt was born to Donald and Wendy Cobain on February 20, 1967 in Seattle, Washington. Kurt was also a smart boy with high hopes but also with a dislike towards school. Kurt's parents went through a divorce when he was six years old. His mother had taken him and moved a few towns away from Seattle. He had a hard time dealing with the divorce, going back and forth between parents and aunts and uncles. Kurt eventually started becoming rebellious, unlike Brad, who actually enjoyed the time spent with each parent alone after their divorce. When Brad was eleven, his father took him on a trip to the Virgin Islands where Brad was exposed to the reggae culture of music. This is where most of his influences were developed. He began to teach himself to play the guitar and practice reggae and punk-rock music all day everyday, which had later made him famous. Kurt, on the other hand, had come upon his influences in a different way. Growing up near Seattle, the Pacific Northwest had more of a hardcore punk-rock scene. He started smoking marijuana and taking other drugs like LSD and pain killers. He, like Brad, had begun teaching himself chords on the guitar and creating local bands across Seattle. Kurt had also spend a lot of time reading at the local library to gain more information that he knew he wouldn't learn in school. For instance, he would read books on society and cultures around the states, which influenced many of his songs he had written that had led to his fame.
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...
I’ve chosen to write about Kurt Cobain because his life really became difficult for him around the age of nine after his parents divorced and Kurt became seriously withdrawn. There are many changes that Kurt went through in his life and I found it very interesting.
Many people have heard or were even fans of the famous band Nirvana. Even if the name isn't entirely familiar, songs from them are popularly known because of the band's great success. On April 5, 1994, the world lost a legendary rock singer, Kurt Cobain. Being the front man of the successful band Nirvana, he created a new era of rock called grunge. Along with the predictable troubles of fame came difficulties in Kurt's life, struggling with his drug addiction, spasmodic behavior, and medical problems that were never examined nor treated. One might agree and say yes, it is obvious Kurt committed suicide but many others beg to differ. His death greatly affected Nirvana fans and some began to speculate that his death, in fact, was not a suicide. Even though Kurt Cobain's life was difficult with the fame and his bipolar disorder, his death isn't believed to be suicidal because, he and his wife, Courtney Love, were on bad terms; he was leaving behind a two-year-old daughter, and Nirvana was at the height of its success.