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Kurt Cobain
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Kurt Donald Cobain was the leader of
Nirvana, the multi-platinum grunge band that redefined the sound of the
nineties. |
After his parent's divorce Cobain found
himself shuttled back and forth between various relatives and at one stage
homeless living under a bridge.
When Cobain was eleven he heard and was captivated by the Britain's Sex Pistols
and after their self-destruction Cobain and friend Krist Novoselic continued to
listen to the wave of British bands including Joy Division the nihilistic
post-punk band that some say Nirvana are directly descended from in form of
mood, melody and lyrical quality.
Cobain's artistry and iconoclastic attitude didn't win many friends in high
school and sometimes earned him beatings from "jocks" Cobain got even
by spray painting "QUEER" on their pick-up trucks. By 1985 Aberdeen
was dead and Cobain's next stop was Olympia. Cobain formed and reformed a series
of bands before Nirvana came to be in 1986. Nirvana was an uneasy alliance
between Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and eventually drummer and
multi-instrumentalist Dave Grohl
By 1988 Nirvana were doing shows and had demo tapes going around. In 1989
Nirvana recorded their rough-edged first album Bleach
for local Seattle independent label Sub-Pop
In Britain Nirvana received a lot of recognition and in 1991 their contract was
bought out by Geffen, they signed to the mega-label, the first non-mainstream
band to do so. Two and a half years after Nirvana's first C.D. Bleach was
released they released Nevermind,
a series of different, crunching, screaming songs that along with
it's first single Smells Like Teen Spirit
would propel Nirvana to mainstream stardom.
Smells Like Teen Spirit became Nirvana's most highly acclaimed and instantly
recognizable song. Not many people can decipher it's exact lyrics but Cobain
used a seductive hookline to hook the listener. Nevermind went on to sell ten
million copies and make a reported $550 million (US) leaving Nirvana overnight
millionaires. Cobain was shocked at the reception of his highly personal and
passionate music repeatedly telling reporters that none of the band ever, ever
expected anything like this. It quickly became obvious that the obsessively
sickly and sensitive 24yr old was not going to cope well with the rock'n roll
lifestyle. "If there was a rock star 101 course, I'd really have like to
take it," Cobain once observed. Cobain fell into heroin in the early 90's,
he said he used it as a shield against the rigorous demands of touring and to
stop the pain of stomach ulcers or an irritated bowel. Through the touring and
pressure Cobain continued to write his very personal acutely focused lyrics.
Cobain was distressed to find out that what he wrote and how it was interpreted
could quite often be miles apart. He was appalled when he found out that Polly a
heavily ironic anti-rape song had been used as background music in a real
gang-rape. He later appealed to fans on the Incesticide liner
notes "If any of you don't like gays or women or blacks, please
leave us the fuck alone." It was to no avail, Cobain found that as an
overnight millionaire musician control was something he had very little of.
Cobain also worried that his band had sold-out, that it was attracting the wrong
kind of fans (i.e the type that used to beat him up.)
In February 1992 Cobain skipped off to Hawaii to marry the already pregnant
Courtney Love. Later in the year Nirvana released Incesticide and in August
Cobain had hospital treatment for heroin abuse. Shortly after Frances Bean
Cobain was born. In early 1993 In Utero
was released into the top spot on the music charts. In Utero was
widely acclaimed by the music press and it contains some of Cobain's most
passionate work. In Utero was a lot more open than Nirvana's previous albums.
Songs like All Apologies
and
Heart Shaped Box detailed aspects of Cobain's sometimes shaky marriage, other
songs like Scentless Apprentice detailed the agonies and struggles of Cobain's
experiences.
Nirvana embarked on a support tour and recorded and filmed an
"unplugged" (acoustic) performance for MTV in November of 1993.
Nirvana's choice to honour bands and people that had influenced them and
Cobain's passionate and intense vocals especially on "Where Did You Sleep
Last Night?"silenced many of their who had labeled Cobain talentless.
Rumors circulated that the MTV Unplugged compilation would be Nirvana's last
album and the band were splitting up.
Cobain was a gun fanatic and always had several in his possession or in various
forms of confiscation. In the northern winter of 1993-94 Nirvana embarked on an
extensive European tour. Twenty concerts into the tour Cobain developed throat
problems and their schedule was interrupted while he recovered. While recovering
Cobain flew to Rome to join his wife who was also preparing to tour with her own
band.
On March the 4th Cobain was rushed to hospital in a coma after an unsuccessful
suicide bid in which he washed down about fifty prescription painkillers with
champagne. The suicide bid was officially called an accident and was not even
made known to close friends and associates. Several days later he returned to
Seattle. Cobain's wife, friends and managers convinced Cobain, who was still in
deep distress to enter a detox program in L.A. According to a missing person's
report filed by his mother Cobain fled after only a few days of the program.
Cobain was cited in the Seattle area with a shotgun. Days later on the 5th of
April he barricaded himself into the granny flat behind his mansion, put a
shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. On Thursday April the 7th ~ two
days after a medical examiner says Cobain shot himself and the day before his
body was found police say Courtney Love herself was taken to hospital in L.A.
for a drug overdose. Released on bail, Love checked herself into a rehab center
but left soon after a friend called her the next day with news of Cobain's
death.
Cobain's body was found when an electrician visiting the house to install a
security system went round the back of the house when no one answered the front
door and peered through windows. He thought he saw a mannequin sprawled on the
floor until he noticed a splotch of blood by Cobain's ear. When police broke
down the door they found Cobain dead on the floor, a shotgun still pointed at
his chin and on a nearby counter a suicide note written in red ink addressed to
Love and the couples then 19 month old daughter Frances Bean.
The suicide note ended with the words "I love you, I love you." Two
days after Kurt Cobain's body was found about 5,000 people gathered in Seattle
for a candlelight vigil. the distraught crowd filled the air with profane
chants, burnt their flannel shirts and fought with police. They also listened to
a tape made by Cobain's wife in which she read from his suicide note. Several
distressed teenagers in the U.S. and Australia killed themselves. The mainstream
media was lambasted for it's lack of respect and understanding of youth culture.
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