Came as he was

 Posted by on 5 April 2009  Music
Apr 052009
 

It was 15 years ago today that Kurt Cobain ended his life. If any of you are like me, you had completely forgotten. This Jezebel story clued me in, which asks if Cobain is still influential on kids today.

I was only 8 at the height of Nirvana’s fame in 1994. I don’t even remember knowing about his death when it happened. It wasn’t until a few years later in middle school that I really realized who Nirvana was, and that was only because “Smells like Teen Spirit” would be played at our dances.

When I was in grade 8 or 9 I finally picked up a copy of Nevermind, which I listened to compulsively for a year or so. Wanting to hear more of their music, I picked up their first album Bleach, which I wasn’t a huge fan of; I never really listened to In Utero. For me, it was always Nevermind.

That is why I believe Cobain will always be influential. I didn’t pick up a Nirvana album until 5 or 6 years after his death, and it really directed my musical tastes from then on. Just like people are continually discovering Hendrix or The Doors, people will always discover Nirvana, and learn about the talent and the torture of Kurt Cobain.

I loved the covers Nirvana did for their unplugged album. Here is my favourite:

And another favourite, this time from Nevermind:

Amy Breen

  • Wynston

    Ugh. I was at work the other day and I overheard this girl talking about a cover “of that nirvana song the man who sold the world”, I can’t remember what the artist doing the cover was (though not Bowie), but it still makes me sad. Nirvana blows.

  • Colin Corneau

    I remember where I was when I first heard this news. In the newsroom of the Free Press, when one of the deskers, reading the wire for that day, exclaimed “Oh my god, Kurt Cobain shot himself!”
    At the risk of sounding like a wheezed out baby boomer, that moment’s burned into my memory — where I was, what I was doing, when I heard it.
    The “In Bloom” video was really funny and showed their sense of humour as decidedly sardonic. Kurt also did the displays/dioramas for the In Utero album cover art, BTW.

    I find it interesting that a lot of the Foo Fighter videos have a very similar humour to them.