Cobain was the lead-singer of the rock band Nirvana.
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Kurt Cobain
Nirvana was part of what was then an emerging rock sub-genre called grunge, which came out of Seattle.
Grunge had element of punk, alternative and heavy metal, all mixed in a style that matched Seattle's gloomy, grey-skyed image.
Other bands in the grunge scene included Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Meat Puppets and Candlebox
Nirvana started making records in the late 1980s but didn't hit mainstream until late 1991 when their biggest hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit". While that song had a more heavy metal sound, it was a symbol of the rise of alternative rock.
Scenes from
"Smells Like Teen Spirit"
video
Around the same time, the most popular rock genre was hair metal, in which male rock stars had long, blonde hair. Those bands included Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Warrant, and Poison.
Metallica was also popular, but they're were more like trash metal, whereas hair metal tend were more "pop + metal".
But with the rise of the grunge and alternative scenes, the "hair metal" scene started to fade.
MTV (which played music videos back then) started to play more grunge and alternative rock.
While grunge has its masculine elements, alternative rock had a more feminized, soft image, which offended many heavy metal fans who believed rock music should be macho, tough, hard core and be ready for a fight. Alternative was more about feeling sad and melancholy. Many heavy metal fans had a problem with that. As you could see, this was part a major rivalry between various rock scenes.
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As for Kurt Cobain, he just wanted to play music.
When he started, his style of rock music wasn't mainstream.
But with his "Smell Like Teen Spirit" song and the "Nevermind", he became a rock star. He wasn't mentally prepared for that. He wasn't mentally prepared to be recognized everywhere he went. It bothered him greatly.
Also, the fame and fortune could never erase his childhood traumas. His parents divorced and he moved around a lot when he was a child. He had a hard pleasing his father who demanded to he played sports, when he preferred art & music.
Cobain also had chronic stomach-aches. The one thing that " helped"? Heroin. Of course, that brought in another set of problems. He got addicted and survived an overdose in 1993.
He also had a troubled relationship with his wife, Courtney Love, who had her own band "Hole". Courtney Love behaved erratically.
Kevin Mazur / WireImage
Kurt Cobain , Courtney Love with daughter Frances Bean in 1993
While Cobain proclaimed himself a "feminist" and criticized other rock stars for being misogynistic, he got into a fight with his wife, and the police arrested him. Based on what how Courtney Love usually acts, most people would later believe that she started the fight and Cobain defended himself.
Cobain was also a supporter of LGBT rights before it was even considered "cool". At the time, gay rights was still considered a fringe thing. Cobain didn't care. Even though he was a heterosexual, he wasn't ashamed to have gay friends.
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In early April 1994, Kurt Cobain was missing. His bandmates couldn't find him. His wife couldn't find him. His friends and family couldn't find him
Then an electrician saw Kurt Cobain's body lying inside his home. Then he saw his shotgun. Then he saw the note.
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I still remember where I was when I heard the news. I was in 7th grade. I just came home and watched MTV, expecting to see music videos. Instead, there was news coverage of his suicide.
Then my friend Russell (who was a major rock fan) called. I thought "he is going to tell me that Kurt Cobain died." He didn't even know, he just was calling to have another everyday conversation. He then turned on the TV and saw it for real.
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Cobain's death was heavily memorialized by many rock fans who lost their icon. Cobain was compared to other rock stars who died young like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison and John Lennon.
However, even in death, his death was mocked.
Andy Rooney, who was the "60 Minutes" comic relief, had his segment mocking Cobain's fashion sense and his music. I still remember watching it and my dad being angry at Andy Rooney. My dad knew of Nirvana but wasn't a major fan. But the fact that Rooney mocked Cobain so shortly after his death was bad enough.
Rush Limbaugh called Kurt Cobain "worthless piece of human debris". But it was Rush Limbaugh, like Kurt Cobain, who turned to drugs to cure his pain. Whereas Cobain turned to heroin to cure his chronic stomach pains, Limbaugh turned to painkillers after multiple surgeries.
Lesson: Be careful what you make fun of, it might soon be you!
