15 Years Later: Reflections on Kurt Cobain & Nirvana

by Albert Costill

As many of you probably know, April 5, 2009 marked fifteen years since Kurt Cobain committed suicide.

Nirvana wasn’t the first of the so called “grunge” bands, but they were the band that brought Seattle to the world.

See, in 1991 we didn’t have the access that we have now to music. We had to rely on the radio, and yes, even MTV. Unless you were tapped into a live music scene, or even college radio, there was little exposure to music outside of the radio and MTV.

When I got turned onto Nirvana by a friend, I would patiently listen to the radio waiting for their music or news. This inadvertently turned me onto a slew of other bands. While I was discovering all this great music, Nirvana still remained my band. The reason that they struck a chord with so many people was because of their raw, simplistic emotion. This was a band that got how so many of us felt. It was a breath of fresh air that quickly erased the cheesy hair bands that didn’t relate to us. And, it made me pick up a pen and a guitar so that I could write down how I felt. Because, if Nirvana could do it, then anyone could.

Needless to say, I was crushed when I heard the news about Kurt Cobain. The friend that introduced me to Nirvana called my house and told me the news. At first, I thought it was a cruel joke. It wasn’t until I turned on MTV that I realized that it wasn’t a joke.

Kurt Cobain was the voice of our generation, so it isn’t shocking that his death was the beginning of the end. You have to remember that during the time of his suicide, there was no one ready to step up to the plate. Pearl Jam was battling Ticketmaster, and was drifting away from all the bullshit that fame had brought them. Soundgarden would disband within three years. Alice in Chains was crumbling because of Layne Staley’s own demons. Whether or not he wanted it, Kurt was the voice, and without him, there became a void.

Over the years I have drifted further and further away from Nirvana. I just don’t feel the same emotions that I once did when I hear their music. While they may have been replaced, Nirvana will always hold a place in my heart because they were a series of first for me. My first musical love. The first band that my parents hated, and couldn’t understand. The first band that I wanted to become. The first band that my little garage band covered. The first band that opened my mind, and ears. The first band to be my muse.

I can honestly say that without Kurt Cobain a lot of us wouldn’t be here today. Whether you’re a musician, blogger or just a music lover. And, because of that, we should never forget him. To quote Kurt, “the sun is gone, but I have a light”.

I should also remind everyone that April 5, 2009 marks the seventh anniversary of Layne Staley’s death. But, on a brighter note, it was also Mike McCready’s 43rd birthday.

To remember Kurt, and his band, let’s take a walk down memory lane from the beginning:

• Kurt Cobain meets Krist Novoselic in 1985 through The Melvins.
• Kurt and Krist go through a bunch of drummers and band names over the next couple of years.
• Early band names included: Skid Row, Bliss, Throat Oyster, Pen Cap Chew, Windowpane and Ted Ed Fred.
• In early 1988 Nirvana records their first demo with Melvins drummer Dale Crover.
• Drummer Chad Channing joins the band in 1988.
• Sup Pop releases the band’s first single, “Love Buzz/Big Cheese”, in November of 1988.
• Nirvana’s debut album, Bleach, was released in June, 1989 through Sub Pop.
• The working title for Bleach was Too Many Humans.
• Jason Everman loaned the band the money to pay for the studio expenses for Bleach; which is why he receives credit for playing guitar on the album, although he didn’t.
• Everman did join the band for a small time; he was also in Soundgarden for a short time.
• Chad Channing is kicked out the band in the spring of 1990 during recording sessions with producer Butch Vig.
• The band record “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters in July of 1990.
• Dave Grohl is introduced to the Kurt and Krist through Buzz Osbourne of the Melvins; on October 11, 1990 Nirvana plays their first show with Dave.
• Nirvana signs with Geffen Records on April 30, 1991; at the recommendation of Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon.
• Nevermind is released on September 24, 1991.

Here’s the story for the title for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: One day Kurt and a friend were having a discussion about teenage revolution, they later got drunk and his friend wrote on the wall ‘Kurt smells like teen spirit.’ Kurt was inspired, he thought she meant he would be the type of person who could incite a teen rebellion. He went and wrote the song. She thought that he just smelled like the deodorant. Kurt hadn’t heard of the deodorant at the time, and he claimed to have rarely used it himself.

• The original title for “Breed” was “Imodium”.
• The original title for “Stay Away” was “Pay To Play”, which appeared on the DGC Rarities, Vol. 1.
• Nirvana, Pearl Jam and The Red Hot Chili Peppers tour together in December of 1991.
• January 11, 1992 Nevermind hits Number 1 on the Billboard Album chart; knocking off Michael Jackson’s Dangerous.
• On August 30, 1992 Nirvana headlines the Reading Festival.
• The band releases Incesticide, an album of b-sides and rarities, on December 15, 1992.
• In Utero is released on September 21, 1993.
• The album went through two name changes, I Hate Myself and Want to Die and Verse, Chrous, Verse; which are also song titles.
• Cobain claimed that originally “Heart-Shaped Box” was inspired by a documentary he saw on children with cancer.
• “All Apologies” was written by Cobain in 1990.
• On October 18, 1993 Nirvana begins their first major U.S. tour in almost two years.
• Guitarist Pat Smear joins Nirvana for the tour.
• On November 18, 1993 Nirvana records Unplugged.
• Nirvana plays their final show on March 1, 1994 in Munich, Germany.
• Cobain’s body is found on April 8, 1994.
• Unplugged In New York is released on November 1, 1994.
• The live compilation From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah is released on October 1, 1996.
• The best of compilation, Nirvana, is released on October 29, 2002.
• “You Know You’re Right” was recorded during the band’s final studio session in January, 1994.
• The box set With the Lights Out is released on November 23, 2004.
• MTV Unplugged is released on DVD on November 20, 2007.