As April 5 marked the anniversary of the death of Kurt
Cobain, perhaps one of the most influential grunge musicians of all time, I
decided to do a spot of research on the talented heartthrob icon that,
considering I list as one of my favourite artists, I know surprisingly little
about.
Lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana, his life was cut short
at just 27, although the circumstances of his death are debated and intriguing.
While most supposed fans can barely list the band’s discography past “Smells Like
Teen Spirit”, Nirvana released three studio albums in its brief time, with
drummer Dave Grohl going on to join the post-grunge band, Foo Fighters.
Cobain was a talented wrestler in junior high school, but
hated it. He would allow himself to be pinned to irritate his father;
similarly, after his father signed him up to a baseball team, he would
intentionally strike out.
Cobain translated his personal experiences very literally to
his song writing. Arguments with his partner of the time, Tracy Marander, influenced
the creation of “About A Girl”. After meeting and before dating Tobi Vail, Cobain
constructed the lyric, “Love you so much it makes me sick,” in the song “Aneurysm”,
as his infatuation for her and his anxiety regarding it caused him to vomit. Now
that’s creative.
Images of Cobain with wife Courtney Love are well
circulated, although their love story is not. For
months, Love attempted to pursue Cobain but his determination to remain single
prompted him to cancel dates and ignore her. By 1991, the couple had become
closer, also bonding through drug use (probably not the best role models, but
hey, the guy was a pure talent).
Love commented on Cobain’s first attempt at suicide. Prior
to overdosing on champagne and Rohypnol, he had been admitted to a Roman
hospital after diagnosis of bronchitis and severe laryngitis.
Following his admittance to a detox program is Los Angeles, he was
visited by friends and showed no negative tendencies or suicidal mindset. He
simply left the facility by climbing over the fence, and flew back to Seattle, being spotted in
various locations.
An electrician discovered Cobain’s body on April 8, 1994, an
estimated 3 days after he died. The electrician initially thought Cobain was just sleeping
until he saw a gun pointing at his chin, and tests revealed a high
concentration of heroin and traces of diazepam in Cobain’s body.
A public vigil saw 7000 mourners attending, on April 10,
1994. I wasn’t even born yet.
While there may be controversy about his death, his impact
on the grunge scene is not debated. He featured in the 2006 list of “100
Greatest Metal Singers of All Time” by Hit
Parader, as well as in MTV’s “22 Greatest Voices in Music”, among other
awards.
While my pitiful contribution to his legacy involves forcing
friends to listen to Nirvana’s music and reblogging Cobain’s portrait on
Tumblr, I hope that he won’t be forgotten any time soon. Just as the grunge
phase has repeated its 90 heydays in my teen life, maybe twenty years from now
it will reemerge, with Cobain leading its rampage once again.
