Perpetuating the Kurt Cobain Legend
Published June 09, 2006
This went on for a number of years, yielding nothing until 2002, when Love finally decided it would be okay for the world to at least have a taste of what they'd been missing, in turn allowing Geffen to release the fantastic single "You Know You're Right" as the bait track on a greatest hits collection. Predictably this only served to whet everyone's appetite for what may still have been out there, and Love proceeded to drag this out for two more excruciating years. She finally allowed the long-awaited lost tapes of Kurt Cobain to be released in 2004, as a box set titled With the Lights Out (a set of music whose sheer worthlessness I will be complaining about in several minutes here).
Courtney Love, regardless of what you think about her, was (is?) the single most important component to the mythology of Kurt Cobain (and provided she didn't mind being hated by everyone in the world - and all signs seemed to indicate that she didn't - she was quite possibly its largest benefactor as well). She was (is?) the antagonist to a protagonist who could no longer fight for himself, which is where we - the internet petition-signers - came in. Every one of Kurt's mistakes from his drug addiction to the improper way he folded his underpants has at one time or another been blamed extensively on Courtney, because to admit that Cobain was simply an idiot who made a handful of major life fuckups is to demystify his legend, and where's the fun in that? Of course, it doesn't hurt that Courtney Love is quite possibly the worst rock and roll wife ever, with only Yoko Ono giving her any real competition. But at least Yoko was only accused of breaking up her husband's band; Love, on the other hand, was the ideal person to actually blame outright for her husband's death.
Undoubtedly the circumstances were different, and if John Lennon had committed suicide, Yoko might very well have been prime suspect in the nutjob theories, but Love was just too perfect; she had what could be looked on as a handful of motives, she certainly appeared soulless and cold enough to do it (or at least hire someone to do it, which was the more sensible nonsense proposed by countless speculators), and on top of it all, she was a just a fun person to hate.
Sadistic though it may be, Courtney Love is the type of individual whose misfortune you look forward to reading about in Peoplemagazine. Conversely, for fans of Nirvana, it was baffling how Kurt Cobain could be so inherently brilliant at music yet so mind-bogglingly stupid at life, so the logical thing to do was to make a him a victim to a conveniently located victimizer. Many Nirvana fans I've known have said, "if you were married to Courtney Love, wouldn't you be addicted to heroin, too?" My answer is invariably yes, I would most certainly turn to smack out of necessity, but then, I'd never marry someone like Courtney Love in the first place, and this immediately becomes where most of us have to stop measuring Cobain by our own yardsticks. He was making shitty decisions long before he married Love; indeed, marrying Love was merely one in a long line of shitty decisions.
- 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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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.