Kurt Cobain, songwriter, singer, and guitarist for
Nirvana, and accomplished multi-media artist in his own right, left this mortal
plane 25 years ago yesterday, on April 5th, 1994. His work, his life, and its tragic end have
been studied and analyzed since the day he died, and many theories and discussions with a
range of validity and accuracy have been had and continue even now. Rather than
revisiting the timeline of his final days or discussing drama with his family
or band mates, I would just like to take a few moments to share my own thoughts
and feelings, as Cobain truly introduced me to the world of modern rock music
and culture, inspired me to become a musician, to attempt song writing, and to
form many bands. If not for him and his music and art, my life, personally, and
the lives of countless people around the world, could have been very different.
People remember where they were when they heard Cobain
had died the way they remember hearing about John Lennon or even JFK, depending
on their age. I was on a spring break trip to Washington D.C. with my dad and
brother, and while I had only been introduced to Cobain’s music two-and-a-half
years prior, with the release of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, I understood his
passing had a massive weight and gravity to it. After digging in to Nirvana’s catalog,
many bootlegs, and several books about Cobain that were published during and
after the time of his passing, I discovered more depth, talent, and creativity than
I ever expected, and along the way, it became very clear to me how
significant Cobain was to the evolution of rock music, gen-x culture, and as a
representative of his audience.
Kurt Cobain was an absolute enigma of a person.
He was known to say one thing but do another, for lack of
a better phrase, almost his whole life, and this appeared in his songwriting and
lyrical contradictions and in the way he managed Nirvana’s image compared to
how he truly felt about how their work was being presented, on recordings, on
stage, and in music videos. Cobain seemingly loved most animals and hated most
people, but he had deep bonds with friends and family throughout his life as
well, in addition to starting a family of his own. He demanded privacy but also
craved attention. He dismissed things others deemed important and held what
some might regard as useless in very high esteem. He was staunchly pro-choice and a champion of women's rights and especially gay rights at a time when being so was still viewed as controversial by some.
While he only reached the age of 27, he explored all
corners of art to express his ideas. In
addition to writing music and lyrics, Cobain was an avid painter, both on canvas
and with graffiti art, and experimented with collage art, including print-based,
video tape, and audio tape projects. Cobain was also an avid collector of old
toys and junk he would find at garage sales and flea markets, sometimes using
some of these pieces in his art projects. Occasionally, some of them were
even featured in Nirvana artwork or were lyrically referenced in one of their
songs.
As a songwriter, Cobain is best known for Nirvana’s
biggest hits, aside from “Teen Spirit”, such as “Come as You Are”, “In Bloom”, “Lithium”,
“Heart-Shaped Box,” and “All Apologies”. The band only created three albums,
1989’s Bleach, 1991’s Nevermind, and 1993’s In Utero, yet their cemented legacy is a
permanent staple of rock radio and iconic representation of early 90’s pop
culture. In addition to Nirvana, Cobain attempted additional projects with
other friends which never got off the ground, most-notably, The Jury, with members
of Screaming Trees. Cobain also experimented with home recordings, tape manipulation,
sampling records from his personal collection, and creating shrieking noise and
feedback with his guitar, which also happened in professional recording studios
and onstage alike. Inspired and influenced by the cornerstones of punk, metal,
pop, and classic rock, Cobain’s work reflected 30+ years of rock history from a
disillusioned, 90’s perspective, and sometimes, his reflections were not always
well-received or well-intentioned.
Kurt Cobain’s influence is immeasurable. Aside from the
millions of fans of his music around the globe, both during his final years of
life and since his death, the fact that he inspired so many to pick up an
instrument, write a song, or start a band means that even non-fans still encounter
his spirit, sound, or style when they see or hear some of the artists they may
love the most. He holds a place on the rock and roll history timeline among the
likes of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin,
Black Sabbath, and Ramones, among the other greats. He is arguably not only the
final major rock star of the 20th century, but possibly ever, which
is its own sad addition to his story, in a way.
Cobain means so much to so many because he introduced
people to rock music that existed outside the ‘70s and ‘80s mainstream of pop,
classic rock, and especially hair metal, when those very styles of music had previously
dominated the charts for over a decade. There were younger people playing,
listening to, and buying rock music, and MTV and radio alike took notice after
the smash success of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. This allowed the world to be
introduced to a whole generation of grunge and alternative rock music that came
in waves each year in the early ‘90s and stopped about a year or two after
Cobain’s death, not-coincidentally. He made punk rock music, fashion, and
attitude marketable and big business after its dismissal and disregard going
back nearly 20 years prior to Nirvana. While many regard Cobain as the voice of
his generation, akin to Bob Dylan or John Lennon in the ‘60s, he is notably a
classic rock archetype. He represents the same rebellion, youthful energy, and lust for freedom that all the great rock artists from the ‘50s on also represent,
but from his own time, place, and perspective. He is regarded as a guitar hero,
as a genius songwriter, as an experimental musician, and as the most
significant individual person in rock music over the past 30 years (or longer).
His songwriting, performance, and production styles were imitated for over a
decade after his passing and still make up a portion of rock music that is
recorded and released today. Above all, Kurt Cobain’s music and lyrics appeared
to be honest and sincere within the context of his art, and they represented
his thoughts, feelings, and outlook in a way that listeners, especially of his
age and younger, could understand and to which they could relate. He was up there representing you. Your thoughts. Your feelings. Your emotions.
As long as rock music, distorted electric guitars, and angsty teens still
exist, Cobain and his influence will always continue.
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