Thanks for the great piece on Kurt Cobain. Putting the focus on his music and his contribution to the resurrection of the poet-artist in American music was long overdue.

The poignant and head-shaking tragedy of his too-soon departure is somehow in keeping with the ragged brutal honesty of his words...even after all this time.

He haunts me still because he was so vital not only to his own generation- but in holding up a mirror to mine-and giving us a window on "the world" such as we left him.
You nailed it.
Great job- and thanks.

Thanks so much for your very kind words Maggie! I didn't have much time so I couldn't do a lot of research and deep thinking, which sometimes is for the best. Sometimes what makes artists great are exactly what makes them not very successful human beings - I think that was the case with Kurt.

Dave Grohl didn't play drums on Bleach. Chad Channing played on the bulk of the songs, with The Melvin's Dave Crover filling out the rest. Your whole paragraph about the formation of Nirvana is inaccurate. Decent article, but how about doing a little research before writing about one of the greatest rock icons of all time.

I only ever saw Nirvana once at a club date in Montreal after the release of "Bleach", they were just more Sub Pop Black Sabbath recyclclage, so I left after about 3 songs. And later when I heard Cobain opened up his mind, I wasn't surprised.

Cobain never learned that the record business is a business, instead of treating it like a job, he went all Judy Garland.

Since he only encapsulated the rock zeitgeist, I think in another 10 years, Nirvana will be a reference for what is meant by grunge, sort of like Wings for explaining post-Beatles.

I am aware that Grohl joined before Nevermind, I didn't say he played on Bleach, I just named the group members - and certainly this is the only lineup that 95% of the reader's know or care about - and then started talking about the albums. I agree that it is somewhat misleading as written, though. Thanks for pointing it out.

"Cobain never learned that the record business is a business, instead of treating it like a job"

what is that supposed to mean? would he have been better off? would the music have been as straight-from-the-gut? would he have lived longer? would he have been happier?

From the sounds of it, it seems like you'd be fine with substituting Cobain's name with any other artist alive or dead that struggled to produce art they liked rather than art they knew would be a good business decision.

"Pollack never learned that the art business is a business, instead of treating it like a job"

How does that sound to you?

From what I hear, Neal Pollack is doing just fine. What I said, is what I said. Nirvana was a fluke. There were a couple of buncha bands who were doing exactly the same thing at the same time, but for the flip of corporate radio - major label synergy would have been Nirvana. They weren't anything special, they were just in the right place at the right time.

"Pollack never learned that the art business is a business, instead of treating it like a job"

What a horrible article about a rock legend! How can Kurt Kobain be all of the thihngs this reterded critic says? A person cannot be both "small, frail and handsome". Nor can a person be both "hoarse and delicate, straining and resigned." It is due to the psuedo intellectual tripe from critics like Olsen that the spirit of rocker's like Cobain becomes softened instead of personofied. GET A NEW JOB YOU PSUEDO INTELLECTUAL POSER! Stop infecting the world with your Junior High commentary and opinion, PLEASE! YOU ARE WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE MUSIC INDUSTRY!!!!

Cobain wrote a few outstanding songs, but "changed the course of rock history?" How? Neil Young invented grunge long before Kurt. What band is playing how now that would be different if Cobain never existed?

"Neal Pollack is doing just fine."

I was referring to Jackson Pollack. I should have been more specific.

"couple of buncha bands who were doing exactly the same thing at the same time"

whether it was "a couple" or "a buncha," i challenge you to name any other band that made a record like Bleach in its time, or like Nevermind in its time, or like In Utero in its time. Let's remember it not only has to be heavy, it has to be poppy, and it has to be well-written. Lyrics ought to be geared towards a medical theme.

"Neil Young invented grunge long before Kurt. What band is playing how now that would be different if Cobain never existed?"

If what we're after is proof that Nirvana changed music, take a look at all of the major rock bands that broke after 1991. PJ, Soundgarden, AIC, SP, Green Day, etc etc. Denying that Nirvana changed rock and roll is willfully ignoring a shift in the musical climate. Take a look at the bands that were regularly cropping before 1991 and you'll see what i mean.

Either way, claiming that Nirvana's presence had no effect on other bands is, well, blindness. You can still hear it in today's bands.

Here's a couple o' buncha:
Soundgarden, The Replacements, Mudhoney, The Melvins, The Minutement, Great Plains, The Pixies, Mother Love Bone, The Nils, Naked Raygun, Come, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Husker Du, Dinosaur Jr., Scrawl, Squirrel Bait, Jesus Lizard, Teenage Fanclub, Primal Scream, Zodiac Mindwarp, My Bloody Valentine, Meat Puppets ...
und zo on ...

What Nirvana primarily accomplished was to sell a metric shitload of records by being in the right place at the right time. They won the crapshoot - get a copy of CMJ from the week "Nevermind" was released, and you'll find dozens of other coulda-been contenders.

And while we're talking about paint daubed artists, remember, nobody ever called Pablo Picasso an asshole ...

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, because all of those bands have a lot less in common with Nirvana than you imply.

I don't think 'timing' alone can bring that kind of national recognition that quickly.

Right place, right time may mostly explain what happened at the time - I was DJing an alt-rock radio show and I wouldn't have necessarily picked Nirvana out of the bunch based upon my own or my listener's reactions. But Nirvana has stood the test of time - that is not arbitrary or random.

Rob, besides being a semi-literate shitlick and an obvious bed-wetter, if you don't understand how contradictions work within human beings, and in particular within art, then no wonder you feel threatened by a simple article like this. And Cobain is such a legend to you that you can't even spell his fucking name right, you drooling slug.

I'm not exactly sure why people feel they can get away with talking to me over the Internet in a manner that if we were together in person would result in my beating them to a pulp.

Beautiful Pain...love it. You did an excellent job Eric.

Thanks Sheri.

Those lists of bands influenced by Nirvana in comments 10 and 11 don't impress one with the earth shaking influence of the band.

I remember telling someone at the time when they were popular, the thing about Nirvana was that KC had a very fine melodic sense - I think if you stripped away the distorted guitars and stream of comsciousness angst filled lyrics, you're basically left with Beatles' melodies. You know, the kid of tunes you can just instantly recognize & hum along with whether you wnant to or not. The tunes are forever - all the rest of the controversy surrounding KC & Nirvana is just a discussion of a time, a place, and a fashion sense.

Good point Vern. And it is so obvious when you hear the songs that were stripped away. Something in the Way, All Apologies, Pennyroyal Tea and most of unplugged showed just how much attention Kurt played to conventional melody, if he presented it in different packaging.

well.. i never saw or herd or kurt cobain before until a couple of years ago and its becasue iw as to younge to know who he was!!! and i am sad taht i have missed a big part in history in music and i am sooo confused with if he shot himself or cournty shot him i have read so many things i havent gotten it all strated out yet!!! but i am a big fan f his now and 2 bad that i can never go to one of his consters!! oo well..... i have fun listing to his music anyways!!!

I don't think there is any convincing evidence he didn't shoot himself.

for everyone, kurt cobain was murder he will always be the best rock ledgen ever and most of all he should of inspired each and every one of you that trash talk him.and from the words of kurt cobain "peace,love,empithy"

thanks for the piece and comments. i was just thinking of cobain last night, so that's odd. maybe it's the anniversary coming up and i subconsciously remember that? I thought it was in winter, but can't remember. In any event, i think cobain did change music in huge ways and i'm glad that someone pointed that out. Nirvana had this incredible sound that really, most of us anyway, had not heard before - even if we were spending our lives at shows at the Channel and the like, it was new. I don't think that committing suicide is what made Cobain so famous - He was quite successful already with the release of Smells Like Teen Spririt. If anything, it seems that the success may have been part of the reason behind his death as we know, he had very strong, mixed feelings about it - and the fact that he was on and off of heroin, which in and of itself is enough to make you batshit. I heard that he was manic depressive. Can anyone verify/deny this? I'm curious - so if anyone has definitive information. I thought I saw that in his journals, but maybe not - that he was on Lithium but that it made him feel so sick that he couldn't take it -- but then again, I could very easily be mixing him up with someone else I'm researching at the moment (too many crazy, brilliant people to keep straight).

Thanks for reminding us...

hhhmmm...Mr. Cobain must have some sort of icon status because look at all the response articles get on the subject.

Being a Seattlite, I saw the whole thing come together, but I never did see Nirvana in the early days. Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone, Alice In Chains, etc. I did see in infant stages.

I guess that the difference is that Kurt really put his soul out there. And their music is actually really good. The "Unplugged" CD is my favorite of theirs as it displays the quality of the writing.

The thing that gets me is people getting on his case for suicide and all those other things. The grip of a mind that became miswired (or just came that way) is powerful. How could he kill himself with all that money or having a child? I hear that alot. Suicide, a behavior that one has to re-wire the mind or unlearn the process. His music was his suicide note. Putting your soul out there with the music sure gives on the edge over others in "making it big". That is if the music is quality as well.

Now that I think of it, maybe the same could be said about Andrew (Landrew) Wood of Mother Love Bone which became Pearl Jam after his passing. Heroin did him in. A great guy with a sensitive heart. MLB 'Apple" I say is the best disc from the so called 'grunge' era.

Anyway,
peaceloveguidance

Has anyone seen the new Kurt Cobain film that has just been released?

-- Eugene
Kurt Cobain Suicide

Has anyone seen the new Kurt Cobain film that has just been released?

-- Eugene
Kurt Cobain Suicide

Kurt Cobain was murdered in 1990, later Courtney Love (whose real mother is actually "Wendy" who falsly claims to be Cobain's mother) was paid-off to pretend to be married and have a child, all so that the Hollywood 3 could share in the reported 6 billion Nirvana has thus far grossed. Geffen was delighted by all of this, helping Courtney with her transgendering (She was once a male). The hundreds (no doubt thousands) that were and are involved in this horrid Sacrafice are paying-with their lives! Oh, how they shall pay for those crimes.
We love you Kurt.
It is just another Cult admission of guilt, a silly one at that (there is no G-d, and no jesus, but those are the cults false idols).
Just a hyme, a crust of bread thrown on the trail of murderers...

i think you did a great job on writting about the most beutiful icon ever.