Kurt Cobain: The Voice of the 90's

Kurt Cobain Some people called Kurt Cobain the voice of the 90’s, a rock god, even a legend. If you don’t know who Kurt Cobain was, he was the lead singer in a popular 90’s grunge band named Nirvana that included other infamous members such as Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl. According to The Famous People’s “Kurt Cobain Biography”, Kurt was ranked as the twelfth greatest guitarist of all time, seventh in the 22 Greatest Voices in Music by MTV, ranked twentieth on 100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time, and placed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Nirvana won a Grammy for the Best Alternative Music Album in 1996, MTV’s Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 1992, and a string of other awards for videos, songs, and albums. Many

“A golden haired boy of seven could dispel the gloom by marching the streets, beating on a bass drum an aunt gave him and singing ‘Hey Jude’ a song, his mother, Wendy, told Azerrad, that had been in his repertoire since he was a toddler,” (Dougherty 6). His family recalls him as being a joy around the house. “‘He is a happy, smiling baby and his personality is developing as it is because of the attention and love he is receiving,’” (Cross 32). What really socially influenced him and created the grunge music he soon created, was his parents’ divorce. This ruined Kurt and turned a happy boy into a rebellious wreck. He even wrote a hateful poem on his wall saying “I hate Mom, I hate Dad. Dad hates Mom, Mom hates Dad,” (Cross 51). One song that Kurt wrote for Nirvana called “Silver” is about his parents leaving him. When Kurt’s family split up he stayed with his Dad and everything was okay until his Dad broke the promise of not remarrying. Kurt witnessed his mother being beaten by her boyfriend. He started doing drugs and getting in trouble in school, getting bullied and being a bully. However, Kurt wasn’t always influenced badly: his wife Courtney Love made Kurt very happy in the beginning of their relationship. “When you paired the two, ‘You get love...I’m just happier than I’ve ever been. I finally found someone that I am totally compatible with,’” (Dougherty 50). But on the contrary,

Initially he was a normal, happy child in a happy home, but things took a downfall. Once his parents divorced, Kurt’s grunge aesthetic started to form. His anger and resentment towards his parents and life in general fueled the music that people still listen to today. Kurt wasn’t always angry though; he had a few grunge-like love songs. I think he wouldn’t of have made his awesome music unless some things went wrong in his life. People say that musicians and actors and comedians usually aren’t always happy people, but that's what fuels their skills that we admire. As I’m listening to one of Nirvana’s loud guitary songs (which is basically like every song) I wonder if Kurt Cobain thought he would have as much influence on people as the social, economic, and cultural influences in his life affected