“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.
“Why The Grateful Dead Were the Greatest American Rock Band:, BlogCritics, BlogCritics, 2014, web, 16 April 2014
On April 5, 1994, a tragic event that we now know today as the death of Kurt Donald Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, occurred. This sudden and disturbing calamity was since deemed a suicide, but was it really? This topic has become one of the most controversial subjects in the musical industry. After the traumatizing news that Cobain had ended his life transpired, it gained some serious speculation. Theory after theory arose, with the most popular being that Cobain had not passed to suicide, but homicide. After close examination, the evidence leads to one particular person.
Kurt was in love with music since the age of two. He was brought up in a
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”).
In closing, the undoubtable influence of music, more specifically of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society is responsible for a number of changes to the status quo. These range from sexual liberation and racial desegregation all culminating with other influences to create an intergenerational identity. Despite the desperate attempts of older generations to smother these influences, these changes ultimately shaped the years that followed, molding the country into what it is today. Along the way these changes as well as individual involvement in them has also eased the lives of many through empowerment and a feeling of community and purpose. Despite a lull and renewal Rock ‘n’ Roll continues to serve as an agent of influence and change in today’s youth culture and continues to burn in the heart of past generations of loyal fans.
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
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.
Music can also help people, particularly those going through painful times (such as adolescence) to understand that they are not alone and that other people have the same feelings that they do. After grunge-rock superstar Kurt Cobain committed suicide in April 1994, one fan wrote to Rolling Stone magazine describing how the music of Cobain's band, Nirvana, made her feel. "I could be feeling like total shit," wrote Carrie Loy, "and hear a Nirvana song and end up feeling renewed afterward.
In conclusion, I would like to state that even though this paper has marked a clear difference between what is perceived through the eyes of a witness as opposed to a research, the grunge movement, although a media commodity, an ironic mainstream movement whose philosophy was to oppose the mainstream in the first place, has left its mark on the music industry. It should, under no circumstance, be assumed that all there was to the grunge movement was a manipulation. It was the heart and soul of its audience, and remains quite so today, on an international basis. Not for its history, but for the content of its music.
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...
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.
Farrokh Bulsara joined up with the band Queen back in the 70s when the band’s name was originally, Smile. The name of the band was changed to Queen when Freddie thought the name sounded more prestigious and the rest of the band agreed. In all his years of touring he managed to touch and inspire other people into following his footsteps to become a performer. One of the most known for Freddie Mercury inspiring them is the late lead singer of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain. Cobain stated in an interview of how Mercury inspired him. “I used to take naps in the van and listen to Queen. Over and over again and drain the battery on the van, Then we’d be stuck. That happened a few times. We’d be stuck with a dead battery because I’d listen to Freddie Mercury too