Perpetuating the Kurt Cobain Legend
Published June 09, 2006
Consider my friend Luke who, in eighth grade, had spent weeks worth of after-school hours in our school's new computer lab researching "the truth": one of my most absurd (and therefore, one of my fondest) memories of our friendship occurred one evening while Luke was having dinner with our family, during which he spent no less than a half hour explaining to my parents and two little brothers exactly why it was impossible for Kurt Cobain to have committed suicide. While I found it entertaining enough (even though I'd heard the rant tens of times before), the same didn't necessarily hold true for my brothers, who were five and nine years old, as their usual "So, how was your day at school?" banter was replaced by the clinically certifiable ramblings of an overly enthused adolescent making assertions like, "See, the way his brains were splattered on the greenhouse wall totally shows that, like, he couldn't have shot himself, because like, the gun was way too big for him to be able to reach the trigger. Kurt was, like, all, uh, short. And stuff."
My parents, they mostly stared on slack-jawed, confused as to who the hell all these people were he kept naming but not curious enough to inquire about it, probably content enough to know that at least Luke now had a hobby besides growing ditch weed in his front yard. My mother in particular excused herself from the table an inordinate number of times that evening, "checking the pot roast" every five minutes or so, more than likely going into the kitchen and contemplating suicide herself.
This was 1996, mind you, when the buzz surrounding the mystery of Cobain's death was still relatively novel, as the musical tides were starting to turn and self-proclaimed grunge vigilantes were drafting petitions to the Seattle Police Department on their Angelfire sites, calling for a reopening of the Cobain investigation. We would sit in Luke's upstairs bedroom surfing the net 'round the clock, signing as many of these petitions as could be found by day, downloading super-imposed naked pictures of Alicia Silverstone by night; the times were simple, and while students of the case were unquestionably devoted, it seemed content to remain a hobby of Internet wackjobs and thirteen year-old boys who had recently purchased copies of Nevermind and had nothing better to worry about.
But that wasn't the case. In the following years, there emerged rumors of a massive treasure trove of unreleased Nirvana material that was simply collecting dust in David Geffen's vaults, just hankering to be released. But wouldn't you know it, that pesky Courtney Love was at it again! As if her reputation needed additional sullying, here she was trying to prevent the legacy of her husband, the genius, THE MOST CULTURALLY RELEVANT MUSICAL FIGURE OF OUR TIME, from being fully realized. Rolling Stone published news briefs every couple months documenting the status of the increasingly elusive Nirvana rarities box set, but every time they thought they'd pinpointed a release date, along would come Courtney with her team of million dollar lawyers to kick things back another couple of months.
- Perpetuating the Kurt Cobain Legend
- Published: June 09, 2006
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Alternative Rock, Music: Indie Rock
- Writer: Rockbeatstone
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- Rockbeatstone's personal site
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Are you kidding me with this sh!t?? Mr. Cobain commercialized the use of Heroin and the way it ends your life!! The only thing Nirvana's music did was line the pockets of the conglomerate to kill "Hair" Metal...As for pioneering rock....PUHLEEZE, Spare Me!! Let's celebrate all the smelly neo-hippies and their drug ridden three chord garbage...*Smirk*
Nice work, really enjoyed this piece.
With the Lights Out contains quite a few gems in my opinion -- White Lace and Strange, D-7, Old Age, Blandest, Verse Chorus Verse, Pay to Play (early version of Stay Away) to name just a few. The rough version of Do Re Mi is essential listening for fans, I'd loved to have heard what the final mix would have sounded like.
(A minor error, Christopher Cross did not write the biography Heavier than Heaven, it was Charles Cross)
Your article reminded me of the first time I saw Nirvana. Nirvana play back up for Sonic Youth in Dublin, Ireland before Nevermind came out. They were a funny looking band with Cobain so small and petite and David so much taller and larger. They were extremely ugly with their greasy long hair and dirty hand me down clothes. All three members looked as if they needed showers for sure. All three looked like skinny junkies. Courtney Love was back stage with Kurt wearing a wedding dress of sorts, something antique looking. She was also bigger and taller than Cobain. They cuddled and kissed and looked like a happy couple. Courtney seemed to talk endlessly as Kurt listened. They reminded me of Sid and Nancy. Nirvana played so loud it hurt. Nirvana also played far better than Sonic Youth. Thank you for your article. You are right Kurt did kill himself leaving his junkie wife to care for his daughter on her own. I have always thought that he was rather selfish in doing such a thing.
If you're gonna talk about the "Legend" man...
You didn't mention the Journals or the Fender Jag-Stang. Or even the SLTS action figure ;)
Very well-written and insightful article. As both a musician and a class of 1992 alum, I still ponder the significance of Cobain and Nirvana. My current conclusion (though still open to revision) is that popular music has a long heritage of "sucking", with only a few breaths of fresh air scattered throughout the timeline. We'd like to think that Nirvana could have kept popular music fresh and exciting for decades to come had Cobain not pulled the trigger. But, it's easy to see that throughout rock history there are only short bursts of originality followed by long periods of disappointing imitation. I have to admit, however, that I miss the days between the mid-80's and early 90's where it seemed as though even quirky, left-field bands could get a shot at a gold record and a decent following. That sort of thing seems all but extinguished in present-day popular music.
polly, molly, penny royalty....yeah....
Kevin,
Great article. However, I think you might want to rethink your view on the apparent suicide of Kurt Cobain. I'm a reasonably intelligent man of 32 and I have to say, there are many more questions than answers surrounding Kurt's Death.
That being said, I was not a Nirvana "Fan" per se, I bought "Nevermind" but that's it. I have absolutely no stake in proving Kurt didn't kill himself. I'm just stating what I believe to be the obvious; there are too many weird coincidences, oversights and anomalies surrounding his death.
By the way, when the doctor debunked that 3x the amount drug claim in the video you referenced, there were many problems with the way he did it. Apparently, he used methodone, not heroin. Yes, same effect, turns to morphine in the blood, but, one BIG difference: that doctor had his subject swallow it, and Kurt SHOT IT UP. BIG DIFFERENCE. That amount when ingested will not leave a person incapacitated immediately. Shooting it, absolutely WILL and probably before the person even gets the needle out of his/her arm, not to mention that Kurt somehow neatly put the needle away and THEN shot himself.
-S
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"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a trailblazer, opening the floodgates for countless rock bands to do what they do and expect to have a fair chance at being accepted commercially.
Funny thing is, that's the way it seemed, but it wasn't the way it worked out in real life, so far as I can see.
Nirvana was the second coming of Punk; on that I think we all agree. But the same thing happened as happened on the first go-round: the musicians came in pointing the way to the future, saying, "Be who you are! Be yourself! Do whatever you want and make your music that way!"
The followers heard it as, "Be who we are! Be like us! Turn up the guitar amps on the hooky pop numbers and make your music that way!"
Rock may have been VERY different if Cobain lived, but only because he might have taken a different direction than we heard and caused the legions of imitators to go that way.