During his final years, Cobain struggled with a heroin addiction, stomach pain, and chronic depression.[4] He also struggled with the personal and professional pressures of fame, and was often in the spotlight for his tumultuous marriage to fellow musicianCourtney Love, with whom he had a daughter namedFrances.[5] In March 1994, he overdosed on a combination of champagne andRohypnol, subsequently undergoing anintervention and detox program. On April 8, 1994,he was found dead in the greenhouse of hisSeattle home at theage of 27,[6] with police concluding that he had died around three days earlier from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.[7]
Cobain was posthumously inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Nirvana bandmates Novoselic and Grohl, in their first year of eligibility in 2014.Rolling Stone included him on its lists of the100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, 100 Greatest Guitarists, and 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.[8] He was ranked 7th byMTV in the "22 Greatest Voices in Music", and was placed 20th byHit Parader on their 2006 list of the "100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time".
Early life
Grays Harbor Hospital inAberdeen, Washington, where Cobain was bornCobain's childhood home in 2020
Kurt Donald Cobain was born at Grays Harbor Hospital inAberdeen, Washington, on February 20, 1967,[9] the son of waitress Wendy Elizabeth (née Fradenburg; 1947–2021) and car mechanic Donald Leland Cobain (born 1946).[10] His parents married inCoeur d'Alene, Idaho, on July 31, 1965. Cobain had Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.[11]: 13 [12][13]: 7 The Cobain surname comes from his Irish ancestors, who emigrated in 1875 fromCarrickmore, a village nearOmagh in County Tyrone inUlster, the northernprovince in Ireland.[13]: 7 Researchers found that they were shoemakers, originally surnamed Cobane, and wereUlster Scots people who came from the Inishatieve area of Carrickmore. They first settled in Canada, where they lived inCornwall, Ontario, before moving toWashington.[14] Cobain mistakenly believed that his Irish ancestors came fromCounty Cork.[15] His younger sister, Kimberly, was born on April 24, 1970.[10][12]
Cobain's family had a musical background. His maternal uncle, Chuck Fradenburg, played in a band called the Beachcombers; his aunt, Mari Earle, played guitar and performed in bands throughoutGrays Harbor County; and his great-uncle, Delbert, had a career as an Irish tenor, making an appearance in the 1930 filmKing of Jazz. Cobain was described as a happy and excitable child, who also exhibited sensitivity and care. His talent as an artist was evident from an early age, as he would draw his favorite characters from films and cartoons, such as theCreature from the Black Lagoon andDonald Duck, in his bedroom.[9][13]: 11 He was encouraged by his grandmother, Iris Cobain, a professional artist.[16] Cobain developed an interest in music at a young age. According to his aunt Mari, he began singing at the age of two. At age four, he started playing the piano and singing, writing a song about a trip to a park. He listened to artists includingElectric Light Orchestra (ELO),[17] and, from a young age, would sing songs includingArlo Guthrie's "Motorcycle Song",the Beatles' "Hey Jude",Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun", and thetheme song to theMonkees television show.[13]: 9
When Cobain was nine years old, his parents divorced.[13]: 20 He later said the divorce had a profound effect on his life, and his mother noted that his personality changed dramatically; Cobain became defiant and withdrawn.[11]: 17 In a 1993 interview, he said he felt "ashamed" of his parents as a child and had desperately wanted to have a "typical family ... I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that."[18] His parents found new partners after the divorce. Although his father had promised not to remarry, he married Jenny Westeby, to Cobain's dismay.[13]: 24 Cobain, his father, Westeby, and her two children, Mindy and James, moved into a new household. Cobain liked Westeby at first, as she gave him the maternal attention he desired.[13]: 25 In January 1979, Westeby gave birth to a boy, Chad Cobain.[13]: 24 This new family, which Cobain insisted was not his real one, was in stark contrast to the attention Cobain was used to receiving as an only boy, and he became resentful of his stepmother.[13]: 24, 25 Cobain's mother dated a man who was abusive; Cobain witnessed thedomestic violence inflicted upon her, with one incident resulting in her being hospitalized with a broken arm.[13]: 25, 26 His mother refused to press charges, remaining committed to the relationship.[13]: 26
Cobain behaved insolently toward adults during this period and began bullying another boy at school. His father and Westeby took him to a therapist who concluded that he would benefit from a single-family environment.[13]: 26 Both sides of the family unsuccessfully attempted to reunite his parents. On June 28, 1979, Cobain's mother granted full custody to his father.[13]: 27 Cobain's teenage rebellion quickly became overwhelming for his father who placed him in the care of family and friends. While living with theborn-again Christian family of his friend Jesse Reed, Cobain became a devout Christian and attended church services regularly. He later renounced Christianity, engaging in what were described as "anti-God" rants. Cobain claimed that "Lithium" was about his experience while living with the Reed family. He also stated in a 1992 interview that it was a fictionalized account of a man who "turned to religion as a last resort to keep himself alive" after the death of his girlfriend, "to keep him from suicide".[19] However, spirituality remained an important part of Cobain's personal life and beliefs.[11]: 22 [13]: 196 [13]: 69
Although uninterested in sports, Cobain was enrolled in a junior high schoolwrestling team at the insistence of his father. He was a skilled wrestler but despised the experience. Because of the ridicule he endured from his teammates and coach, he allowed himself to be pinned in an attempt to sadden his father. Later, his father enlisted him in aLittle League Baseball team, where Cobain would intentionallystrike out to avoid playing.[11]: 20–25 Cobain befriended a gay student at school and was bullied by peers who concluded that he was gay. In an interview, he said that he liked being associated with a gay identity because he did not like people, and when they thought he was gay they left him alone. He said, "I started being really proud of the fact that I was gay even though I wasn't." Cobain backed away in an occasion where this friend tried to kiss him, explaining to his friend that he was not gay, though they remained friends. According to Cobain, he used to spray paint "God Is Gay" on pickup trucks in the Aberdeen area. Police records show that Cobain was arrested for spray painting the phrase "ain't got no how watchamacallit" on vehicles.[13]: 68
Cobain playing snare drum at Montesano High School in 1981
Cobain often drew during classes. When given a caricature assignment for an art course, Cobain drewMichael Jackson but was told by the teacher that the image was inappropriate for a school hallway. He then drew an image of then-PresidentRonald Reagan that was seen as "unflattering".[13]: 41 Through art and electronics classes, Cobain metBuzz Osborne, singer and guitarist of theMelvins, who became his friend and introduced him topunk rock andhardcore music.[20]: 35, 36 [21] As attested to by several of Cobain's classmates and family members, the first concert he attended wasSammy Hagar andQuarterflash, held at theSeattle Center Coliseum in 1983.[9][13]: 44 Cobain, however, claimed that the first live show he attended was the Melvins, when they played a free concert outside theThriftway supermarket where Osborne worked. Cobain wrote in his journals of this experience, as well as in interviews, singling out the impact it had on him.[13]: 45 [22] As a teenager living inMontesano, Washington, Cobain eventually found escape through the thrivingPacific Northwest punk scene, going to punk rock shows in Seattle.[11]
During his second year in high school, Cobain began living with his mother in Aberdeen. Two weeks prior to graduation, he dropped out ofAberdeen High School upon realizing that he did not have enough credits to graduate. His mother gave him an ultimatum: find employment or leave. After one week, Cobain found his clothes and other belongings packed away in boxes.[11]: 35 Feeling banished, Cobain stayed with friends, occasionally sneaking back into his mother's basement.[11]: 37 Cobain also claimed that during periods of homelessness, he lived under a bridge over theWishkah River,[11]: 37 an experience that inspired the song "Something in the Way". Though family and friends cast doubt of this claim, with his future bandmateKrist Novoselic later saying, "He hung out there, but you couldn't live on those muddy banks, with the tides coming up and down. That was his own revisionism."[23] In late 1986, Cobain moved into an apartment, paying his rent by working at the Polynesian Resort, a themed resort on the Pacific coast atOcean Shores, Washington approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Aberdeen.[11]: 43 During this period, he traveled frequently toOlympia, Washington, to go to rock concerts.[11]: 46 During his visits to Olympia, Cobain formed a relationship with Tracy Marander. Their relationship was close but strained by financial problems and Cobain's absence when touring. Marander supported the couple by working at the cafeteria of theBoeing plant inAuburn, Washington, often stealing food. Cobain spent most of his time sleeping into the late evening, watching television, and concentrating on art projects.
Marander's insistence that he get a job caused arguments that influenced Cobain to write the song "About a Girl", which appeared on Nirvana's debut album,Bleach. Marander is credited with having taken the cover photo for the album, as well as the front and back cover photos of theirBlew single. She did not become aware that Cobain wrote "About a Girl" about her until years after his death.[13]: 88–93, 116–117, 122, 134–136, 143, 153 Soon after his separation from Marander, Cobain began datingTobi Vail, an influentialpunk zinester of theriot grrrl bandBikini Kill who embraced theDIY ethos. After meeting Vail, Cobain vomited, overwhelmed with anxiety caused by his infatuation with her. This event inspired the lyric "love you so much it makes me sick" in the song "Aneurysm".[13]: 152 While Cobain regarded Vail as his female counterpart, his relationship with her waned; he desired the maternal comfort of a traditional relationship, which Vail regarded as sexist within acountercultural punk rock community. Vail's lovers were described by her friend Alice Wheeler as "fashion accessories".[13]: 153 Cobain wrote many of his songs about Vail.[13]
Career
Early musical projects
On his 14th birthday, February 20, 1981, Cobain's uncle offered him the choice of either a bike or a used guitar; Cobain chose the guitar. Soon, he was trying to playLed Zeppelin's song "Stairway to Heaven". He also learned how to play "Louie Louie",Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust", andthe Cars' "My Best Friend's Girl", before he began working on his own songs. Cobain played left-handed, despite being forced to write right-handed.[11]: 22
In early 1985, Cobain formedFecal Matter after he had dropped out ofAberdeen High School.[20] One of "several joke bands" that arose from the circle of friends associated with theMelvins,[20] it initially featured Cobain singing and playing guitar, Melvins drummerDale Crover playing bass, and Greg Hokanson playing drums.[24] They spent several months rehearsing original material and covers, including songs bythe Ramones,Led Zeppelin, andJimi Hendrix.[20][25]
During high school, Cobain rarely found anyone with whom he could play music. While hanging out at the Melvins' practice space, he metKrist Novoselic, a fellow devotee of punk rock. Novoselic's mother owned a hair salon, and the pair occasionally practiced in the upstairs room of the salon. A few years later, Cobain tried to convince Novoselic to form a band with him by lending him a copy of a home demo recorded by Fecal Matter.[11][page needed] After months of asking, Novoselic agreed to join Cobain, forming the beginnings of Nirvana.[11]: 45 Religion appeared to remain a significant muse to Cobain during this time as he often used Christian imagery in his work and developed an interest inJainism andBuddhist philosophy.
Cobain became disenchanted after early touring because of the band's inability to draw substantial crowds and the difficulty in supporting themselves financially. During their first few years playing together, Novoselic and Cobain were hosts to a succession of drummers. Eventually, the band settled onChad Channing with whom Nirvana recorded the albumBleach, released onSub Pop Records in 1989. Cobain, however, became dissatisfied with Channing's style and subsequently fired him. He and Novoselic eventually hiredDave Grohl to replace Channing. Grohl helped the band record their 1991 major-label debut,Nevermind. WithNevermind's lead single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Nirvana quickly entered the mainstream, popularizing a subgenre ofalternative rock called "grunge".[citation needed] Since their debut, Nirvana has sold over 28 million albums in the United States alone and over 75 million worldwide.[26][27] The success ofNevermind provided numerous Seattle bands, such asAlice in Chains,Pearl Jam, andSoundgarden, access to wider audiences. As a result, alternative rock became a dominant genre on radio and music television in the U.S. during the first half of the 1990s. Nirvana was considered the "flagship band ofGeneration X", and Cobain found himself reluctantly anointed by the media as the generation's "spokesman".[28] He resented this characterization since he believed his artistic message had been misinterpreted by the public.[29]
When you're in the public eye, you have no choice but to be raped over and over again – they'll take every ounce of blood out of you until you're exhausted. ... I'm looking forward to the future. It will only be another year and then everyone will forget about it.
—Kurt Cobain on the overwhelming media attention afterNevermind, 1992[30]
Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana with hisunderground roots and vision. He also felt persecuted by the media, comparing himself toFrances Farmer whom he nameda song after.[31] He began to harbor resentment against people who claimed to be fans of the band yet refused to acknowledge, or misinterpreted, the band's social and political views. A vocal opponent of sexism, racism, sexual assault, and homophobia, he was publicly proud that Nirvana had played at agay rights benefit concert that was held to opposeOregon's 1992 Ballot Measure 9, which would have directed Oregon schools to teach that homosexuality was "abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse".[32][33] Cobain was a vocal supporter of thepro-choice movement, and Nirvana was involved inL7'sRock for Choice campaign.[34] He receiveddeath threats from a small number ofanti-abortion activists for participating in the pro-choice campaign, with one activist threatening to shoot Cobain as soon as he stepped on a stage.[13]: 253
Other collaborations
In 1989, members of Nirvana and fellow Americanalternative rock bandScreaming Trees formed a side project known as the Jury. The band featured Cobain on vocals and guitar,Mark Lanegan on vocals,Krist Novoselic on bass, andMark Pickerel on drums. Over two days of recording sessions, on August 20 and 28, 1989, the band recorded four songs also performed byLead Belly; "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?", an instrumental version of "Grey Goose", "Ain't It a Shame", and "They Hung Him on a Cross", the latter of which featured Cobain performing solo.[35] Cobain was inspired to record the songs after receiving a copy ofLead Belly's Last Sessions from friendSlim Moon; after hearing it, he "felt a connection to Leadbelly's almost physical expressions of longing and desire."[36]
In 1990, Cobain and his girlfriend,Tobi Vail of theriot grrrl bandBikini Kill, collaborated on a musical project called Bathtub is Real in which they both sang and played guitar and drums. They recorded their songs on afour-track tape machine that belonged to Vail's father. InEverett True's 2009 bookNirvana: The Biography, Vail is quoted as saying that Cobain "would play the songs he was writing, I would play the songs I was writing and we'd record them on my dad's four-track. Sometimes I'd sing on the songs he was writing and play drums on them ... He was really into the fact that I was creative and into music. I don't think he'd ever played music with a girl before. He was super-inspiring and fun to play with."[37] The musicianSlim Moon described their sound as "like the minimal quiet pop songs that Olympia is known for. Both of them sang; it was really good."[38]
In 1992, Cobain contactedWilliam S. Burroughs about a possible collaboration. Burroughs responded by sending him a recording of "The Junky's Christmas"[39] (which he recorded in his studio inLawrence, Kansas).[40] Two months later at a studio inSeattle, Cobain added guitar backing based on "Silent Night" and "To Anacreon in Heaven". The two would meet shortly later in Lawrence, Kansas and produce "The 'Priest' They Called Him", a spoken word version of "The Junky's Christmas".[39][40]
Musical influences
The Beatles were an early and lasting influence on Cobain; his aunt Mari remembers him singing "Hey Jude" at the age of two.[13]: 9 "My aunts would give me Beatles records", Cobain toldJon Savage in 1993, "so for the most part [I listened to] the Beatles [as a child], and if I was lucky, I'd be able to buy a single."[41] Cobain expressed a particular fondness forJohn Lennon, whom he called his "idol" in his posthumously releasedjournals,[42] and he said that he wrote the song "About a Girl", from Nirvana's 1989 debut albumBleach, after spending three hours listening toMeet the Beatles!.[13]: 121
Cobain was also a fan of 1970shard rock andheavy metal bands, includingLed Zeppelin,AC/DC,Black Sabbath,Aerosmith,Queen, andKiss. Nirvana occasionally played cover songs by these bands, including Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker", "Moby Dick" and "Immigrant Song", Black Sabbath's "Hand of Doom", and Kiss' "Do You Love Me?" and wrote theIncesticide song "Aero Zeppelin" as a tribute to Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith. Recollecting touring with his band, Cobain stated, "I used to take a nap in the van and listen to Queen. Over and over again and drain the battery on the van. We'd be stuck with a dead battery because I'd listened to Queen too much".[43]
He was introduced to punk rock and hardcore music by his Aberdeen classmateBuzz Osborne, lead singer and guitarist of theMelvins, who taught Cobain about punk by loaning him records and old copies of the Detroit-based magazineCreem.[44] Punk rock proved to be a profound influence on a teenaged Cobain's attitude and artistic style. His first punk rock album wasSandinista! bythe Clash,[13]: 169 but he became a bigger fan of fellow 1970s British punk band theSex Pistols, describing them as "one million times more important than the Clash" in his journals.[42] He quickly discovered contemporary American hardcore bands likeBlack Flag,Bad Brains,Millions of Dead Cops andFlipper.[44] The Melvins themselves were a major early musical influence on Cobain; his admiration for them led him to drive their van on tour and help them to carry their equipment.[20]: 42 [9]: 153 He and Novoselic watched hundreds of Melvins rehearsals and "learned almost everything from them", as stated by Cobain.[45][30] The Melvins' heavy,grungey sound was mimicked by Nirvana on many songs fromBleach; in an early interview given by Nirvana, Cobain stated that their biggest fear was to be perceived as a "Melvins rip-off".[13]: 153 After their commercial success, the members of Nirvana would constantly talk about the Melvins' importance to them in the press.[46][30]
Cobain was an admirer ofJimi Hendrix, and said in reference to the growing media attention on theSeattle scene at the time, "I mean, we had Jimi Hendrix. Heck. What more do we want?".[47] In a 1993 interview Cobain called Hendrix "a great musician and a great composer," and noted that, "I have great respect for him."[48]
Cobain was also a fan ofprotopunk acts likethe Stooges, whose 1973 albumRaw Power he listed as his favorite of all time in his journals.[42]
The 1980s Americanalternative rock bandPixies were instrumental in helping an adult Cobain develop his own songwriting style. In a 1992 interview withMelody Maker, Cobain said that hearing their 1988 debut album,Surfer Rosa, "convinced him to abandon his more Black Flag-influenced songwriting in favor of theIggy Pop/Aerosmith-type songwriting that appeared onNevermind.[49] In a 1993 interview withRolling Stone, he said that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt at "trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band—or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard".[50]
Cobain's appreciation of early alternative rock bands also extended toSonic Youth andR.E.M., both of which the members of Nirvana befriended and looked up to for advice. It was under recommendation from Sonic Youth'sKim Gordon that Nirvana signed toDGC in 1990,[11]: 162 and both bands did a two-week tour of Europe in the summer of 1991, as documented in the 1992 documentary,1991: The Year Punk Broke. In 1993, Cobain said of R.E.M.: "If I could write just a couple of songs as good as what they've written... I don't know how that band does what they do. God, they're the greatest. They've dealt with their success like saints, and they keep delivering great music".[50]
Nirvana'sUnplugged set includes renditions of "The Man Who Sold the World", byDavid Bowie, and the American folk song, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", as adapted byLead Belly. Cobain introduced the latter by calling Lead Belly his favorite performer, and in a 1993 interview revealed he had been introduced to him from reading the American authorWilliam S. Burroughs, saying: "I remember [Burroughs] saying in an interview, 'These new rock'n'roll kids should just throw away their guitars and listen to something with real soul, like Leadbelly.' I'd never heard about Leadbelly before so I bought a couple of records, and now he turns out to be my absolute favorite of all time in music. I absolutely love it more than any rock'n'roll I ever heard."[52] The albumMTV Unplugged in New York was released posthumously in 1994. It has drawn comparisons to R.E.M.'s 1992 release,Automatic for the People.[53] In 1993, Cobain had predicted that the next Nirvana album would be "pretty ethereal, acoustic, like R.E.M.'s last album".[50]
"Yeah, he talked a lot about what direction he was heading in", Cobain's friend, R.E.M.'s lead singerMichael Stipe, toldNewsweek in 1994. "I mean, I know what the next Nirvana recording was going to sound like. It was going to be very quiet and acoustic, with lots of stringed instruments. It was going to be an amazing fucking record, and I'm a little bit angry at him for killing himself. He and I were going to record a trial run of the album, a demo tape. It was all set up. He had a plane ticket. He had a car picking him up. And at the last minute he called and said, 'I can't come.'" Stipe was chosen as the godfather of Cobain's andCourtney Love's daughter,Frances Bean Cobain.[54]
According to Grohl, Cobain believed that music comes first and lyrics second; he focused primarily on the melodies.[55] He complained when fans and rock journalists attempted to decipher his singing and extract meaning from his lyrics, writing: "Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second-rateFreudian evaluation of my lyrics, when 90 percent of the time they've transcribed them incorrectly?"[13]: 182 Though Cobain insisted on the subjectivity and unimportance of his lyrics, he labored and procrastinated in writing them, often changing the content and order of lyrics during performances.[13]: 177 Cobain would describe his own lyrics as "a big pile of contradictions. They're split down the middle between very sincere opinions that I have and sarcastic opinions and feelings that I have and sarcastic and hopeful, humorous rebuttals toward clichébohemian ideals that have been exhausted for years."[56]
Cobain originally wantedNevermind to be divided into two sides: a "Boy" side, for the songs written about the experiences of his early life and childhood, and a "Girl" side, for the songs written about his dysfunctional relationship with Vail.[13]: 177 Charles R. Cross wrote, "In the four months following their break-up, Kurt would write a half dozen of his most memorable songs, all of them about Tobi Vail." Though Cobain wrote "Lithium" before meeting Vail, he wrote the lyrics to reference her.[13]: 168–169 Cobain said in an interview withMusician that he wrote about "some of my very personal experiences, like breaking up with girlfriends and having bad relationships, feeling that death void that the person in the song is feeling. Very lonely, sick."[57] While Cobain regardedIn Utero as "for the most part very impersonal",[58] its lyrics deal with his parents' divorce, his newfound fame and the public image and perception of himself andCourtney Love on "Serve the Servants", with his enamored relationship with Love conveyed through lyrical themes of pregnancy and the female anatomy on "Heart-Shaped Box."
Cobain's model of Fender Jaguar
Cobain was affected enough to write "Polly" fromNevermind after reading a newspaper story of an incident in 1987, when a 14-year-old girl was kidnapped after attending a punk rock show, then raped and tortured with ablowtorch. She escaped after gaining the trust of her captorGerald Friend through flirting with him.[13]: 136 After seeing Nirvana perform,Bob Dylan cited "Polly" as the best of Nirvana's songs, and said of Cobain, "the kid has heart".[13]: 137 Patrick Süskind's novelPerfume: The Story of a Murderer inspired Cobain to write the song "Scentless Apprentice" fromIn Utero. The book is a historical horror novel about aperfumer's apprentice born with no body odor of his own but with a highly developed sense of smell, and who attempts to create the "ultimate perfume" by killing virginal women and taking their scent.[59]
Cobain immersed himself in artistic projects throughout his life, as much so as he did in songwriting. The sentiments of his artwork followed the same subjects of his lyrics, often expressed through a dark and macabre sense of humor. Noted were his fascination withphysiology, his own rare medical conditions, and the human anatomy. According to Novoselic, "Kurt said that he never liked literal things. He liked cryptic things. He would cut out pictures of meat from grocery-store fliers, then paste these orchids on them ... And all this stuff on [In Utero] about the body—there was something about anatomy. He really liked that. You look at his art—there are these people, and they're all weird, like mutants. And dolls—creepy dolls."[60]
Cobain contributed backing guitar for aspoken word recording of beat poetWilliam S. Burroughs' entitledThe "Priest" They Called Him.[13]: 301 Cobain regarded Burroughs as a hero. During Nirvana's European tour Cobain kept a copy of Burroughs'Naked Lunch, purchased from a London bookstall.[13]: 189–190 Cobain met with Burroughs at his home in Lawrence, Kansas in October 1993. Burroughs expressed no surprise at Cobain's death: "It wasn't an act of will for Kurt to kill himself. As far as I was concerned, he was dead already."[61]
Equipment
In aGuitar World retrospective, Cobain's guitar tone was deemed "one of the most iconic" in the history of the electric guitar, while noting that rather than relying on expensive or vintage items, Cobain used "an eccentric cache of budget models, low-end imports and pawn shop prizes." Cobain stated in a 1992 interview, "Junk is always best," but denied this was a punk statement and claimed it was a necessity, as he had trouble finding high quality left-handed guitars.[62]
Cobain's first guitar was a used electric guitar fromSears that he received on his 14th birthday. He took guitar lessons long enough to learnAC/DC's "Back in Black" and began playing with local kids. Cobain found the guitar smashed after leaving it in a locker, but he was able to purchase new equipment, including aPeavey amp, by recovering and selling his stepfather's gun collection, which his mother had dumped in a river after discovering his infidelity.[62] Upon forming what would be Nirvana, Cobain was playing aFenderChamp amplifier and a right-handedUnivoxHi-Flier guitar he flipped over and strung for left-handed playing.[62]
For the recording ofBleach, Cobain needed to borrow aFenderTwin Reverb due to his main amplifier, a solid-stateRandall, being repaired at the time, but as the Twin Reverb's speakers were blown, he was forced to pair it with an external cabinet featuring two 12" speakers. He used aBoss DS-1 for distortion, while playing Hi-Flier guitars, which cost him$100 each. Nirvana embarked on their first American tour in 1989, at the start of which Cobain played anEpiphone ET270; however, he destroyed the guitar onstage during a show, a subsequent habit that forced label Sub Pop to have to call local pawn shops looking for replacement guitars.[62] Cobain's first acoustic guitar, aStella 12-string, cost him$31.21. Cobain strung it with six (or sometimes five) strings, and while the guitar's tuners had to be held together with duct tape, it sounded good enough that the guitar was later used to record theNevermind tracks "Polly" and "Something in the Way."[62]
Despite receiving a$287,000 advance upon signing with Geffen Records, Cobain retained a preference for inexpensive gear.[62] He became a fan of Japanese-made Fender guitars ahead of recordingNevermind, due to their slim necks and wide availability in left-handed orientation. These included severalStratocasters fitted withhumbucker pickups in the bridge positions, as well as a 1965Jaguar withDiMarzio pickups and a 1969Competition Mustang, the latter of which Cobain cited as his favorite, despite noting, "They're cheap and totally inefficient, and they sound like crap and are very small."[62] For the album, Cobain used a rackmount system featuring aMesa/Boogie Studio preamp, a Crown power amp, andMarshall cabinets. He also used aVoxAC30 and a FenderBassman. Producer Butch Vig preferred to avoid pedals, but allowed Cobain to use his Boss DS-1, which Cobain considered a key part of his sound, as well as anElectro-HarmonixBig Muff fuzz pedal and aSmall Clone chorus, which can be heard on songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come As You Are," and "Aneurysm."[62]
Cobain used his '69 Mustang, '65 Jaguar, a custom Jaguar/Mustang, and a Hi-Flier for theIn Utero recording sessions. To tour behind the album, Cobain placed an order for 10 Mustangs split between Fiesta Red and Sonic Blue. As theFender Custom Shop was new, the guitars were to be shipped out two at a time over a period of months. By the time of his death, Cobain had received six of the guitars. The remaining four, waiting to be shipped, were instead sold as regular stock at Japanese music stores without informing buyers the guitars had been made for Cobain.[63]
For Nirvana'sUnplugged performance, Cobain played a righthanded 1959Martin D-18E acoustic guitar modified for left-handed playing. The guitar became the most expensive ever sold when it fetched over$6 million at auction in 2020.[64] Cobain's 1969 Competition Mustang, which he also played in the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video, sold at a 2022 auction toJim Irsay, owner of theIndianapolis Colts, for$4.5 million, with an original estimate of$600,000.[65]
Personal life
Relationships and family
There are differing accounts of exactly when and how Cobain first metCourtney Love. In his 1993 authorized biography of Nirvana,Michael Azerrad cites a January 21, 1989,Dharma Bums gig inPortland where Nirvana played as support,[66] while theCharles R. Cross 2001 Cobain biography has Love and Cobain meeting at the sameSatyricon nightclub venue in Portland but a different Nirvana show, January 12, 1990,[67][13]: 201 when both still led ardent underground rock bands.[68] Love made advances soon after they met, but Cobain was evasive. Early in their interactions, Cobain broke off dates and ignored Love's advances because he was unsure if he wanted a relationship. Cobain noted, "I was determined to be a bachelor for a few months [...] But I knew that I liked Courtney so much right away that it was a really hard struggle to stay away from her for so many months."[11]: 172–173 Everett True, who was an associate of both Cobain and Love, disputes those versions of events in his 2006 book, claiming that he himself introduced the couple on May 17, 1991.[69][70]
Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 filmStraight to Hell. According to True, the pair were formally introduced at anL7 andButthole Surfers concert in Los Angeles in May 1991.[71] In the weeks that followed, after learning from Grohl that Cobain shared mutual interests with her, Love began pursuing Cobain. In late 1991, the two were often together and bonded through drug use.[11]: 172
On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana's "Pacific Rim" tour, Cobain and Love were married onWaikiki Beach in Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by Frances Farmer, and Cobain donned a Guatemalan purse and wore green pajamas, because he had been "too lazy to put on a tux." Eight people were in attendance at the ceremony, including Grohl, but not Novoselic.[72] Love said she was warned by theSonic Youth bassistKim Gordon that marrying Cobain would "destroy her life"; Love responded: "'Whatever! I love him, and I want to be with him!' ... It wasn't his fault. He wasn't trying to do that."[68]
The couple's daughter,Frances Bean Cobain, was born August 18, 1992.[73] Asonogram was included in the artwork for Nirvana's single, "Lithium."[74] In a 1992Vanity Fair article, Love admitted to a drug binge with Cobain in the early weeks of her pregnancy.[75] At the time, she claimed thatVanity Fair had misquoted her. Love later admitted to using heroin before knowing she was pregnant.[73][76] The couple were asked by the press if Frances was addicted to drugs at birth.[11] The Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services visited the Cobain's days after Love gave birth and later took them to court, stating that their drug usage made them unfit parents.[11][77][78] Frances was removed from her parents' care for a "short period of time"[79] in the first few weeks of her life.[80]
Sexuality
In October 1992, when asked, "Well, are you gay?" byMonk Magazine, Cobain replied, "If I wasn't attracted to Courtney, I'd be a bisexual."[81] In another interview, he described identifying with the gay community inThe Advocate, stating, "I'm definitely gay in spirit and I probably could be bisexual" and "if I wouldn't have found Courtney, I probably would have carried on with a bisexual lifestyle", but also that he was "more sexually attracted to women".[82][83] He described himself as being "feminine" in childhood, and often wore dresses and other stereotypically feminine clothing. Some of his song lyrics, as well as phrases he would use to vandalize vehicles and a bank, included "God is gay",[82] "Jesus is gay", "HOMOSEXUAL SEX RULES",[82] and "Everyone is gay". One of his personal journals states, "I am not gay, although I wish I were, just to piss off homophobes."[42]
Cobain advocated for LGBTQ+ rights, including traveling to Oregon to perform at a benefit opposing the1992 Oregon Ballot Measure 9,[82] and supported local bands with LGBTQ+ members. He reported having felt "different" from the age of seven, and was a frequent target of homophobic bullying in his school due to his having a "gay friend".[84] Cobain was interviewed by two gay magazines,Out andThe Advocate;[85] the 1993 interview withThe Advocate being described as "the only [interview] the band's lead singer says he plans to do forIncesticide",[82] an album whoseliner notes included a statement decryinghomophobia, racism andmisogyny:[82]
If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of different color, or women, please do this one favor for us—leave us the fuck alone! Don't come to our shows and don't buy our records.
Health and addiction
At school Cobain was diagnosed withattention deficit disorder and was prescribedRitalin.[86] Throughout most of his life, Cobain had chronicbronchitis and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition.[11]: 66 In an interview withJon Savage in 1993 he said, "Every time I've had an endoscope, they find a red irritation in my stomach. But it's psychosomatic, it's all from anger. And screaming". He then goes on to mention that he, "had minor scoliosis in junior high".[87] According toThe Telegraph, Cobain haddepression.[88] In 1993, he told Michael Azerrad that he hadnarcolepsy andmanic depression.[89] His cousin brought attention to the family history of suicide, mental illness and alcoholism, noting that two of her uncles had died by suicide with guns.[90]
According toCross, Cobain suffered amental breakdown midway through Nirvana's show in Rome on November 27, 1989. After smashing his guitar, he climbed a 30 ft speak stack and shouted, "I'm going to kill myself!".[91] Eventually he climbed down and took the following day off, sightseeing withSub Pop manager,Bruce Pavitt.[92] Cobain completed the remaining five European tour dates and returned to the USA.
He first drank alcohol in 7th grade (c. 12 yrs)[93] and he often drank to excess throughout his life. His first drug experience was withcannabis in 1980, at age 13. He regularly used the drug during adulthood.[13]: 76 Cobain also had a period of consuming "notable" amounts ofLSD, as observed by Marander,[13]: 75 and had been involved insolvent abuse as a teenager.[13] Novoselic said he was "really into getting fucked up: drugs, acid, any kind of drug".[13]: 76 He occasionally experimented with methamphetamine and cocaine when the band were on tour.[94] One example was when Novoselic and Cobain took cocaine after their gig in New York on July 18, 1989.[95] Cobain first took heroin in 1986, administered to him by a dealer inTacoma, Washington, who had previously supplied him withoxycodone andaspirin.[11]: 41 Cobain used heroin sporadically for several years; by the end of 1991, his use had developed intoaddiction. Cobain claimed that he was "determined to get a habit" as a way to self-medicate his stomach condition. "It started with three days in a row of doing heroin and I don't have a stomach pain. That was such a relief," he said.[11]: 236 However, his long-time friendBuzz Osborne disputes this, saying that his stomach pain was more likely caused by his heroin use: "He made it up for sympathy and so he could use it as an excuse to stay loaded. Of course he was vomiting—that's what people on heroin do, they vomit. It's called 'vomiting with a smile on your face'."[96] Cobain told Novoselic in 1990 that he had used heroin and he spoke to Grohl about it in January 1991.[97]
Cobain's heroin use began to affect Nirvana'sNevermind tour. During a 1992 photoshoot withMichael Lavine, before their firstSaturday Night Live performance on January 11, he fell asleep several times, having used heroin beforehand. Cobain told biographerMichael Azerrad: "They're not going to be able to tell me to stop. So I really didn't care. Obviously to them it was like practicing witchcraft or something. They didn't know anything about it so they thought that any second, I was going to die."[11]: 241
The morning after the band's performance onSaturday Night Live in 1992, Cobain experienced his first near-deathoverdose after injecting heroin; Love resuscitated him.[98]
On May 2, 1993 Cobain overdosed at his home in Seattle and Love called the paramedics. He was taken toHarborview Medical Center, but was discharged the same day.[99]
Prior to a performance at the New Music Seminar in New York City on July 23, 1993, Cobain suffered another overdose. Rather than calling for an ambulance, Love injected Cobain withnaloxone to resuscitate him. Cobain proceeded to perform with Nirvana, giving the public no indication that anything had happened.[13]: 296–297
By March 1994, Love had "seen Kurt close to death from heroin overdoses on more than a dozen occasions," according to Cross.[100]
Following a tour stop atTerminal Eins in Munich, Germany, on March 1, 1994, Cobain was diagnosed withbronchitis and severelaryngitis. He flew to Rome the next day for medical treatment, and was joined there by his wife, Courtney Love, on March 3. The next morning, Love awoke to find that Cobain had overdosed on a combination of champagne andRohypnol. Cobain was rushed to the hospital and was unconscious for the rest of the day. Dave Grohl mentioned in his memoir[101] that he received a phone call at this time saying Cobain had died. However, a few minutes later he was called again and told that the singer was hospitalized but stable.[102] Love later said that the incident was Cobain's firstsuicide attempt.[103] After five days, Cobain was released and returned to Seattle.[10]
On March 18, 1994, Love phoned theSeattle police informing them that Cobain was suicidal and had locked himself in a room with a gun. Police arrived and confiscated several guns and a bottle of pills from Cobain, who insisted that he was not suicidal and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love.[104]
Love arranged anintervention regarding Cobain's drug use on March 25, 1994. The ten people involved included musician friends, record company executives, and one of Cobain's closest friends,Dylan Carlson. Cobain reacted with anger, insulting and heaping scorn on the participants, and locked himself in the upstairs bedroom. However, by the end of the day, Cobain agreed to undergo adetox program, and he entered a residential facility in Los Angeles for a few days on March 30, 1994.[105][106] The same day he left for Los Angeles, Cobain asked his friend,Dylan Carlson, to buy a shotgun for him saying it was for "self-protection". This weapon is the one Cobain used in his suicide.[107][13]
On the evening of April 1, 1994, Cobain escaped the facility and flew to Seattle. On the flight, he sat nearDuff McKagan ofGuns N' Roses. Despite Cobain's animosity towards Guns N' Roses, Cobain "seemed happy" to see McKagan. McKagan later said that he knew from "all of my instincts that something was wrong".[13]: 331 Most of Cobain's friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts. On April 6, amid rumors of Nirvana breaking up, the band pulled out of the 1994Lollapalooza festival.[108]
Cobain's former home, and the site of his death
On April 8,[109] Cobain's body was discovered at hisLake Washington Boulevard home by an electrician,[110] who had arrived to install a security system. Asuicide note was found, addressed to Cobain's childhoodimaginary friend Boddah, that stated that Cobain had not "felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing ... for too many years now". Cobain's body had been there for days; the coroner's report estimated he died on April 5, 1994, at theage of 27.[111]
Aftermath
A public vigil was held on April 10, at a park atSeattle Center, drawing approximately 7,000 mourners.[11]: 346 Prerecorded messages by Novoselic and Love were played at the memorial. Love read portions of the suicide note to the crowd, crying and chastising Cobain. Near the end of the vigil, Love distributed some of Cobain's clothing to those who remained.[11]: 350 Grohl said that the news of Cobain's death was "probably the worst thing that has happened to me in my life. I remember the day after that I woke up and I was heartbroken that he was gone. I just felt like, 'Okay, so I get to wake up today and have another day and he doesn't.'"[112][113]
Billboard, reporting from Seattle on April 23, stated that within a few hours of Cobain's death being confirmed on April 8, the only remaining Nirvana titles at Park Ave Records on Queen Anne Avenue were two "Heart-Shaped Box" import CD singles. A marketing director at the three-store Cellophane Square chain said that "all three stores sold about a few hundred CDs, singles, and vinyl by the morning of April 9". A buyer atTower Records on Mercer Street said: "It's a pathetic scene, everything is going out the door. If people were really fans, they would've had this stuff already."[114] In the United Kingdom, sales of Nirvana releases rose dramatically immediately after Cobain's death.[115]
Grohl believed that he knew Cobain would die at an early age, saying that "sometimes you just can't save someone from themselves", and "in some ways, you kind of prepare yourself emotionally for that to be a reality".[116] Dave Reed, who for a short time had been Cobain's foster father, said that "he had the desperation, not the courage, to be himself. Once you do that, you can't go wrong, because you can't make any mistakes when people love you for being yourself. But for Kurt, it didn't matter that other people loved him; he simply didn't love himself enough."[13]: 351
A final ceremony was arranged by Cobain's mother on May 31, 1999, and was attended by Love and Tracy Marander. As a Buddhist monk chanted, daughter Frances Bean scattered Cobain's ashes intoMcLane Creek in Olympia, the city where he "had found his true artistic muse".[13]: 351 In 2006, Love said she retained Cobain's ashes, kept in a bank vault in Los Angeles because "no cemetery in Seattle will take them".[68]
A bench in Viretta Park, through tributegraffiti, has become an improvised memorial to Cobain.
Cobain's death became a topic of public fascination and debate.[117] His artistic endeavors and struggles with addiction, illness and depression, as well as the circumstances of his death, have become a frequent topic of controversy. According to a spokesperson for the Seattle Police Department, the department receives at least one weekly request to reopen the investigation, resulting in the maintenance of the basic incident report on file.[118]
In March 2014, the Seattle police developed four rolls of film that had been left in an evidence vault; no reason was provided for why the rolls were not developed earlier. According to the Seattle police, the 35mm film photographs show the scene of Cobain's dead body more clearly than previousPolaroid images taken by the police. Detective Mike Ciesynski, acold case investigator, was instructed to look at the film because "it is 20 years later and it's a high media case". Ciesynski stated that Cobain's death remains a suicide and that the images would not have been released publicly.[118] The photos in question were later released, one by one, weeks before the 20th anniversary of Cobain's death. One photo shows Cobain's arm, still wearing the hospital bracelet from the drug rehab facility he had left just a few days prior to returning to Seattle. Another photo shows Cobain's foot resting next to a bag ofshotgun shells, one of which was used in his death.[119]
Legacy
Cobain is remembered as one of the most influential rock musicians in the history of alternative music.[120] His angst-fueled songwriting[121] and anti-establishment persona[122] led him to be referenced as the spokesman ofGeneration X. In addition, Cobain's songs widened the themes[123] of mainstream rock music of the 1980s to discussion of personal reflection and social issues.[124] On April 10, 2014, Nirvana was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame. Grohl, Novoselic and Love accepted the accolade at the ceremony, where Cobain was also remembered.[125] Cobain is one of the best-known members of the27 Club,[126] a list of musicians who died when they were 27 years old.
Music & Media reporting on April 23, 1994, after Cobain had died, stated that Jørgen Larsen, the president ofMCA Music Entertainment International was asked where he thought Cobain stood in terms of his contribution to contemporary music, and Larsen replied that "If anybody comes out of nowhere to sell 11 or 12 million albums you have to conclude that there's something there. He wasn't just a one-hit wonder."[127]
According to music journalistPaul Lester, who worked atMelody Maker at the time, Cobain's suicide triggered an immediate reappraisal of his work. He wrote: "The general impression offered byIn Utero was that Cobain was some kind of whiny, self-absorbed, grunge, misery guts who could make routinely powerful music but was hardly a suffering godhead. You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief after April 5, 1994, that Cobain could no longer further sully his reputation; that the myth-making machinery could finally be cranked into action."[128]
Billy Corgan ofthe Smashing Pumpkins referred to Cobain as "theMichael Jordan of our generation".[129]Lars Ulrich ofMetallica reflected on Cobain's influence stating that "with Kurt Cobain you felt you were connecting to the real person, not to a perception of who he was—you were not connecting to an image or a manufactured cut-out. You felt that between you and him there was nothing—it was heart-to-heart. There are very few people who have that ability."[130] In 1996, theChurch of Kurt Cobain was established in Portland, Oregon,[131][132] but it was later claimed by some media outlets to have been a media hoax.[133][134] Reflecting on Cobain's death over 10 years later,MSNBC'sEric Olsen wrote, "In the intervening decade, Cobain, a small, frail but handsome man in life, has become an abstractGeneration X icon, viewed by many as the 'last real rock star'... a messiah and martyr whose every utterance has been plundered and parsed."[135]
In 2003,David Fricke ofRolling Stone ranked Cobain the 12th greatest guitarist of all time.[136] He was later ranked the 73rd greatest guitarist and 45th greatest singer of all time by the same magazine,[137][8] and byMTV as seventh in the "22 Greatest Voices in Music".[138] In 2006, he was placed at number twenty byHit Parader on their list of the "100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time".[139]
In 2005, a sign was put up in Aberdeen, Washington, that read "Welcome to Aberdeen—Come As You Are" as a tribute to Cobain. The sign was paid for and created by the Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee, a non-profit organization created in May 2004 to honor Cobain. The Committee planned to create aKurt Cobain Memorial Park and a youth center in Aberdeen. Because Cobain was cremated and his remains scattered into theWishkah River in Washington, many Nirvana fans visitViretta Park, near Cobain's formerLake Washington home to pay tribute. On the anniversary of his death, fans gather in the park to celebrate his life and memory.[140] Controversy erupted in July 2009 when a monument to Cobain in Aberdeen along the Wishkah River included the quote "... Drugs are bad for you. They will fuck you up." The city ultimately decided to sandblast the monument to replace the expletive with "f---",[141] but fans immediately drew the letters back in.[142] In December 2013, the small city ofHoquiam, where Cobain once lived, announced that April 10 would become the annual Nirvana Day.[143] Similarly, in January 2014, Cobain's birthday, February 20, was declared annual "Kurt Cobain Day" in Aberdeen.[143]
Prior to Cobain's death,Michael Azerrad publishedCome as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, a book chronicling Nirvana's career from its beginning, as well as the personal histories of the band members. The book explored Cobain's drug addiction, as well as the countless controversies surrounding the band. After Cobain's death, Azerrad republished the book to include a final chapter discussing the last year of Cobain's life. The book involved the band members themselves, who provided interviews and personal information to Azerrad specifically for the book. In 2006, Azerrad's taped conversations with Cobain were transformed into a documentary about Cobain, titledKurt Cobain: About a Son. Though this film does not feature any music by Nirvana, it has songs by the artists that inspired Cobain.
JournalistsIan Halperin andMax Wallace published their investigation of any possible conspiracy surrounding Cobain's death in their 1998 bookWho Killed Kurt Cobain?. Halperin and Wallace argued that, while there was not enough evidence to prove a conspiracy, there was more than enough to demand that the case be reopened.[146] The book included the journalists' discussions with Tom Grant, who had taped nearly every conversation that he had undertaken while he was in Love's employ. Over the next several years, Halperin and Wallace collaborated with Grant to write a second book, 2004'sLove and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain.
In 2001, writerCharles R. Cross published a biography of Cobain, titledHeavier Than Heaven. For the book, Cross conducted over 400 interviews, and was given access by Courtney Love to Cobain's journals, lyrics, and diaries.[147] Cross' biography was met with criticism, including allegations of Cross accepting second-hand (and incorrect) information as fact.[148] FriendEverett True—who derided the book as being inaccurate, omissive, and highly biased—saidHeavier than Heaven was "the Courtney-sanctioned version of history"[149] or, alternatively, Cross's "Oh, I think I need to find the newBruce Springsteen now" Kurt Cobain book.[150] However, beyond the criticism, the book contained details about Cobain and Nirvana's career that would have otherwise been unknown. In 2008, Cross publishedCobain Unseen, a compilation of annotated photographs and creations and writings by Cobain throughout his life and career.[151]
In 2002, a sampling of Cobain's writings was published asJournals. The book fills 280 pages with a simple black cover; the pages are arranged somewhat chronologically (although Cobain generally did not date them). The journal pages are reproduced in color, and there is a section added at the back with explanations and transcripts of some of the less legible pages. The writings begin in the late 1980s and were continued until his death. A paperback version of the book, released in 2003, included a handful of writings that were not offered in the initial release. In the journals, Cobain talked about the ups and downs of life on the road, made lists of what music he was enjoying, and often scribbled down lyric ideas for future reference. Upon its release, reviewers and fans were conflicted about the collection. Many were elated to be able to learn more about Cobain and read his inner thoughts in his own words, but were disturbed by what was viewed as aninvasion of his privacy.[152]
I think that in terms of icons, Kurt was kind of the last icon of the rock era and then the hip-hop era started.
Then, obviously, in our kid's generation, hip-hop has been a dominant voice for adolescence. It's not the only one, there were still rock artists but not only was he iconic in terms of depth in which he touched people, that music was pop. Those songs were as big asRihanna,Travis Scott orJustin Bieber or anything today.
They were pop hits as well as touching the underground culture. That fusion of pop and underground, I don't think rock has produced someone else who could do that since Kurt. I think he's arguably the last of that era.
You could almost havebookends of an era that started withThe Beatles and ended with Kurt. I mean, yeah, there was rock and roll before The Beatles but The Beatles broadened it and I think you can make that argument.[153][154][155]
Film and television
In the 1998 documentaryKurt & Courtney, filmmakerNick Broomfield investigated Tom Grant's claim that Cobain was actually murdered. He took a film crew to visit a number of people associated with Cobain and Love; Love's father, Cobain's aunt, and one of the couple's former nannies. Broomfield also spoke toMentors bandleaderEldon "El Duce" Hoke, who claimed Love offered him$50,000 to kill Cobain. Although Hoke claimed he knew who killed Cobain, he failed to mention a name, and offered no evidence to support his assertion. Broomfield inadvertently captured Hoke's last interview, as he died days later, reportedly hit by a train. However, Broomfield felt he had not uncovered enough evidence to conclude the existence of a conspiracy. In a 1998 interview, Broomfield summed it up by saying:
I think that he committed suicide. I don't think there's a smoking gun. And I think there's only one way you can explain a lot of things around his death. Not that he was murdered, but that there was just a lack of caring for him. I just think that Courtney had moved on, and he was expendable.[156]
Broomfield's documentary was noted byThe New York Times to be a rambling, largely speculative and circumstantial work, relying on flimsy evidence as was his later documentaryBiggie & Tupac.[157]
Gus Van Sant loosely based his 2005 movieLast Days on the events in the final days of Cobain's life, starringMichael Pitt as the main character Blake who was based on Cobain.[162]
Soaked in Bleach is a 2015 Americandocudrama directed by Benjamin Statler. The film details the events leading up tothe death of Kurt Cobain, as seen through the perspective of Tom Grant, the private detective who was hired byCourtney Love to find Cobain, her husband, shortly before his death in 1994. It also explores the premise that Cobain's death was not a suicide. The film stars Tyler Bryan as Cobain andDaniel Roebuck as Grant, with Sarah Scott portrayingCourtney Love andAugust Emerson asDylan Carlson.[170] Love's legal team issued a cease-and-desist letter against theatres showing the documentary.[171]
Regarding the depiction of Nirvana, and in particular Kurt Cobain, the indie rock author Andrew Earles wrote:
Never has a rock band's past been so retroactively distorted into an irreversible fiction by incessant mythologizing, conjecture, wild speculation, and romanticizing rhetoric. The Cobain biographical narrative – specifically in regard to the culturally irresponsible mishandling of subjects such as drug abuse, depression, and suicide – is now impenetrable with inaccurate and overcooked connectivity between that which is completely unrelated, too chronologically disparate, or just plain untrue.
Matt Reeves' filmThe Batman depicts a version ofBruce Wayne, performed byRobert Pattinson, that was loosely inspired by Cobain. Reeves stated, "when I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana's 'Something in the Way,' that's when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne theplayboy version we've seen before, there's another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become arecluse. So I started making this connection to Gus Van Sant'sLast Days, and the idea of this fictionalised version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor."[173] "Something in the Way" was used in trailers to promoteThe Batman prior to its release and is featured twice in the film.[174][175]
In September 2009, theRoy Smiles playKurt and Sid debuted at theTrafalgar Studios in London's West End. The play, set in Cobain's greenhouse on the day of his suicide, revolves around the ghost ofSid Vicious visiting Cobain to try to convince him not to kill himself. Cobain was played byShaun Evans.[179]
Cobain was included as a playable character in the 2009 video gameGuitar Hero 5; he can be used to play songs by Nirvana and other acts. Novoselic and Grohl released a statement condemning the inclusion and urging the developer,Activision, to alter it, saying they had no control over the use of Cobain's likeness. Love denied that she had given permission, saying it was "the result of a cabal of a few assholes' greed", and threatened to sue. The vice-president of Activision said that Love had contributed photos and videos to the development and had been "great to work with".[180]
In 1989, members of Nirvana and fellow bandScreaming Trees formed a side project known as the Jury (aLead Belly cover band).[35]
"Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" was later released onMark Lanegan's album,The Winding Sheet, in 1990.[192] "Grey Goose", "Ain't It a Shame" and "They Hung Him on a Cross" were later released on Nirvana's B-sides collection,With the Lights Out, in 2004.[192]
Lead vocals for song "Divine Bright Extraction"[193] and backing vocals for "A Bureaucratic Desire For Revenge".[194] Lead vocals for a cover song "Private Affair" (original byThe Saints), but that was never released.[195]
^abcdeGillian G. Gaar.Entertain Us!: The Rise of Nirvana Penguin, 2012
^Hankey, Rick (December 13, 1993).Kurt Cobain: "These kids really like our band". Seattle, WA: MTV.Question: So it was your friend, the Melvins' Buzz Osborne, who introduced you to punk rock? Cobain: Yeah, ... I was living in Aberdeen, and I was going to school in Montesano, which is about 30 miles away. I had him in an art class and electronics class and I remember just hanging out with him. He had a few punk rock magazines, and I would look at them and just like... "Oh." I was just mesmerized. ...
^Arnold, Gina (January–February 1992). "Better Dead Than Cool".Option.Kurt Cobain: [The Melvins] started playing punk rock and had a free concert right behind Thriftways supermarket where Buzz worked, and they plugged into the city power supply and played punk rock music for about 50 redneck kids. When I saw them play, it just blew me away. I was instantly a punk rocker. I abandoned all my friends, 'cause they didn't like any of the music. Then I asked Buzz to make me that compilation tape of punk rock songs and got a spike haircut. ...
^Cross, Charles R. "Requiem for a Dream."Guitar World. October 2001.
^Michael Azerrad.Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday, 1993.ISBN0-385-47199-8.
^Gillian G. Gaar.The Rough Guide to Nirvana. Penguin, 1993.
^abGuarino, Mark (October 12, 2001)."Heavy heaven New Cobain bio sheds light on fallen hero".Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois). Archived fromthe original on February 22, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 3, 2013.Soon band member Roger "Buzz" Osborne started Cobain's schooling, loaning him records and old copies of the '70s rock magazineCreem.
^Sorge, Claudio[in Italian] (March 1992). "Kurt Cobain, Il Punk Da Un Milione Di Dollari".Rumore (in Italian). Mezzago, Italy.Kurt Cobain: Ci aggregammo subito ai Melvins, che erano anche loro di Aberdeen. Definitivamente sono il gruppo che ci ha maggiormente influenzato. Andavamo alle loro prove, ai loro concerti. Abbiamo suonato con loro in vari show. Abbiamo imparato quasi tutto da loro.
^Classic Albums—Nirvana: Nevermind (DVD). Isis Productions. 2004.Kurt used to say that music comes first and lyrics comes second, and I think Kurt's main focus was melody
^Cross, Charles R. (March 7, 2019).Heavier than Heaven. Sceptre.ISBN9781473699632.
^Pavitt, Bruce (2013).Experiencing Nirvana - Grunge in europe, 1989. 2014-04-24. pp. The photo on the front cover is from this sightseeing trip.ISBN9781935950103.
^Azerrad, Michael (October 1, 1993).Come As You Are - The story of nirvana. Doubleday.ISBN9780385471992.
^Cross, Charles (March 7, 2019).Heavier than Heaven. Sceptre.ISBN9781473699632.
^Azerrad, Michael (October 1, 1993).Come As You Are - the story of nirvana. Doubleday.ISBN9780385471992.
^Neil Strauss (June 2, 1994)."Kurt Cobain's Downward Spiral: The Last Days of Nirvana's Leader".Rolling Stone.Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. RetrievedSeptember 2, 2017.she told them...he was going to kill himself. Cobain told them that he hadn't actually been planning to take his own life.
^Mazullo, Mark (2000). "The Man Whom the World Sold: Kurt Cobain, Rock's Progressive Aesthetic, and the Challenges of Authenticity".The Musical Quarterly.84 (4):713–749.doi:10.1093/mq/84.4.713.ISSN0027-4631.JSTOR742606.
^Clark-Meads, Jeff; Sullivan, Julia (April 23, 1994)."Cobain"(PDF).Music & Media. p. 30.Archived(PDF) from the original on June 2, 2021. RetrievedMay 30, 2021.continued from page 1
^Chaplin, Julian (September 6, 1996)."Kurt Comes Alive".Spin. Vol. 12. p. 50.Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. RetrievedDecember 22, 2021.
