How could I have forgotten? Today is the tenth anniversary of Kurt Cobain's suicide. Or if you are in the "Kurt was God and Courtney Killed Him" camp, the anniversary of his homicide.
Either way, he's dead ten years. Unless, of course, he pulled an Elvis and he's actually working tables at a Denny's somewhere, his hair dyed black and his oversized sweaters traded in for a poly-cotton blend uniform.
I've only written about Cobain a couple of times. Once, to tell the tale of how Kurt spoke to me in a dream and once to share the conversation I had with DJ in which this exchange took place:
Mom?
Yes?
Do you think Kurt Cobain lived long enough to see his brains splatter everywhere?
No idea, DJ.
I bet he did. And I bet he thought, damn, I could have written a really great song called Brains On The Wall if I didn't JUST KILL MYSELF! I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!! [said in a screaming tone that sounded very much like Kurt's voice on Lithium]
You really need to read the whole tihng for context. It was a completely educational experience, I assure you. However, the long trail of comments (the last batch, anyhow) on that post read like a slang dictionary for oxygen-deprived youth.
When the subject of Kurt Cobain comes up, you can often hear me stating my opinion that the man was totally overrated. That is to say, he a) was not the savior of rock and roll and b) was not the greatest living musician/songrwiter to ever walk the face of the earth (now the greatest dead songwriter to do so).
That doesn't mean I don't think the guy was talented. He wrote some damn fine songs and made some decent music. Conversely, he wrote some really stupid lyrics as well.
Example:
Album: Bleach
Good Song: About a Girl.Not the most interesting lyrics, but it's got a nice tune and I like the way Kurt's voice sounded on this one: plaintive - stopping just short of being whiny.
Mediocre song: Negative Creep. Excellent music, fun to sing while driving, stupid lyrics.
Article comments
1 - JR
Well, I'm thinking that while his retinas might have registered the image of his brains splattered everywhere, but he couldn't possibly have "seen" it because his brain would no longer be attached to his optic nerves.
Anyway, since thought is the result of lots of neurons talking to each other, "he" must have been gone the instant all those neurons separated from each other.