...Kurt Cobain The number one cause of death in teens is suicide? Looking back to one of the most commonly known and most devistating suicides, of Kurt Cobain lead singer of the former band Nirvana. In his time of music he had the world in his hands. He used personal turmoil as fuel for great music. Suprisingly, he seemed unusually tortured by success. The author of Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana said, "He was a very bright, sweet, generous, and caring person, perhaps a little too sweet and sensitive for the business he was in." One of Cobain's biggest worries was that his band had sold out. In one line of a not-so-popular song he says, "I'd rather be dead than be cool." It seemed like the once unknown punkish Seattle band moved mainstream overnight. Nirvana caught on fast and changed rock and roll music forever. Nirvana, along with a few other Seattle bands, molded the music of the 90's, alternative. Where did it all start for Kurt? Kurt Donald Cobain was born February 20, 1967. He was a happy child living with his mother and father in Aberdeen, Washington. But the happiness, soon interrupted in 1975 when Kurt's parents got divorced. Kurt was ashamed. He longed for the typical "Brady Bunch" family, but instead he lived in a trailor with his mother. In result of this Cobain became extremely anti-social, he had few friends, and was beat up alot. On his 14th birthday Kurt recieved his first guitar. He had been writing poetry since he was 13, so he started using...
Words: 934 - Pages: 4
...Alexandria Chavez English 68 Professor Tolliver Essay #3 2 December 2014 A Mystery Unsolved Kurt Cobain: Suicide or Murder? Early morning April 8, 1994, 27 year-old Kurt Cobain, lead singer of rock band Nirvana, is found dead inside the greenhouse of his Seattle mansion. After checking himself out of a rehab facility located near Los Angeles, Cobain traveled back to his home in Lake Washington, Seattle – only a few days later did his wife, Courtney Love, file a missing persons report for her husband. Allegedly stuck in Los Angeles for business, Love could not search for Cobain on her own time; she hired a private investigator named Tom Grant to go out on the hunt for the Rock and Roll sensation. Grant and best friend of Cobain, Dylan Carlson, began an investigation that led nowhere; they searched the Lake Washington house several times, visited numerous hotels along the Aurora strip, and even checked out a few of Cobain’s drug dealers. When the morning of April 8 flew around, it took an electrician hired by Love to discover the deceased body of Kurt Cobain. Positioned on his back, Cobain was recognized with a shotgun cemented between his fingertips and a purported suicide note settled on a planter just feet away. Immediately, police officers ruled his death as suicide, but Nirvana fans, close friends and family, and Grant suggested that was not the case – they believed Kurt Cobain was indeed murdered. Although it may sound preposterous, there is evidence directly related...
Words: 1360 - Pages: 6
...doesn’t.”- Dave Grohl, band member of Nirvana What would music have been like in the 1990s without Kurt Cobain? Or maybe the question to ask is, “What would music be like today if Kurt Cobain was alive?” The grunge movement was brought to life by the front man of the band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain (Kurt and Courtney).He was what most believed to be an iconic man in the 1990s for the music genre known as alternative rock/grunge. Kurt Cobain passed away on April 5th, 1994, in his home, when he was only 27 years old (“April 05”). He recently started a family with his wife Courtney Love, who was also a musician in a band called Hole (Kurt and Courtney). Kurt was in and out of rehabilitation centers for his drug addiction, and soon before his death had, what people considered at the time, an accidental overdose in Rome. The day his corpse was found an electrician reports his findings. The police and fire department arrive. Pictures are taken of the scene, and then handed to detectives to enhance the report of the incident that took place on the street of Lake Washington Boulevard. As news spreads of the musician’s tragedy fans gather at his house and a memorial service is performed in his honor (Kurt and Courtney). I now tell you the story of how and when Kurt Donald Cobain’s body was found. An electrician, Gary Smith, from the company Veca Electric arrives at the lavish home of Kurt Cobain, as previously scheduled on April 8th, 1994 (McNerthney). It’s an early Saturday morning in Seattle...
Words: 2697 - Pages: 11
...conservative while stirring the ire of the liberals who opposed them. 1960s-1990s problems were reflected in the pop-culture and music created then.. Kurt Cobain, a singer and Stan Lee, an artist, were creating work that reflects the tremendous impact of the social and economic conditions of their times. The Vietnam War escalated in 1965 right along with the Cold War which ended in the early 1970s. The Civil Rights Movement picked up steam with the activities of notable greats like Dr....
Words: 1396 - Pages: 6
...Sam Mizerek Mr. Quici Block 2 October 23, 2015 Kurt Cobain Suicide Conspiracy Theory On April 5th, 1994, Kurt Cobain took a gun to the roof of his mouth in the greenhouse of his Lake Washington home. His body was found three days later. The medical examiner of Cobain’s body, Dr. Nikolas Hartshone, stated, “‘The autopsy has shown that Kurt Cobain died of a gunshot wound to the head, and at this time the wound appears to be self-inflicted.” Or was it? The conspiracy theory revolving around his alleged suicide blames Courtney Love, his wife at the time. This paper is to explore and explain that theory with multiple points of evidence. This paper has been organized into two main sections: before and after the body was found. In the first section,...
Words: 1257 - Pages: 6
...Kat Kramer The Legacy of Kurt Cobain Lead singer and guitarist of grunge band, Nirvana, Kurt Cobain left a lasting legacy. He defiantly made an appearance in the world. Cobain was known across the globe for his accomplishments. Cobain became the face and enduring icon of alternative rock. Kurt Cobain started the trend of ‘grunge’. “[His] impact on fashion” (Rama paragraph 1) the fashion trend was very popular throughout the world. People who were referred to as grunge wore loose, layered shirts and ripped jeans. Kurt Cobain and his band mates started this trend in the late 80s when their band was beginning to be popular it is a clothing trend that some teens wear even now. If you walk around the mall you can see the ‘grunge’ trend still in stores and on kids Grunge is also referred to as a type of music. It’s a style of rock music identified by a harsh sounding guitar sound, lazy vocal delivery, and heavy drumming. At first Nirvana was considered alternative rock but later their music was called grunge. “Lasting influence on popular music”(Rama paragraph 1). Their music was listen to [then and is still popular in 2015. Kurt Cobain made an outlet for kids who were outcast and weren’t accepted like he was in high school. “Nirvana electrified a stagnant hit parade with anthems chronicling the angst and disaffection felt by youngsters throughout the nation.” Cobain and his band made a difference in people’s lives. Cobain made mistakes in his life some that were not over...
Words: 471 - Pages: 2
...“Paranoia can destroy your life”, is a quote by the world famous lead singer of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, and paranoia is exactly the topic of the text ”5 ’Crazy People’ Who Were Right All Along. The genre of the text is an article by Gavin Jamieson, which is published on cracked.com. This website calls itself “America’s only humor site”, which clearly states that the main purpose of the site is to delight the reader. Humour and irony both plays a big part in the article. An example of the irony can be found in the introduction to the article: “…Guru Cobain was shortly thereafter taken from us by the Ant People who secretly rule our media.” The irony clearly appears in this quote, because as a reader, you know that the author does not mean what he writes, he more likely means the opposite. Furthermore, you see the author’s use of humour in his colourful language. He uses expressions like “kick a battleship’s ass” and “he wasn’t just full of hot air”, which both are metaphors to interest and entertain the reader. Both of the quotes are from paragraph #5, but playful language is used during the entire text. The used language is overall very casual, and the author makes use of an informal tone. In the text you also find intertextuality, which is references to other movies or texts, the readers know. For example the author makes a reference to the character James Bond from the movies of the same name, when he says “Asian 007’s” and he references to the American pop-culture when he...
Words: 478 - Pages: 2
...have been known to go through. It refers to the very moment when immense emotion is pent up in our mind our souls and most importantly our hearts so we need to find a way to channel these emotions calmly and peacefully through a listening ear. The Vent, like anyone else who has gone through this was a moment in this man's life where he had all of these emotions, these mental aches and pains, and what he goes through when he can no longer repress these emotions and needs to get something off his chest . The writer uses allusion in some parts of the lyrics, trying to explain the rational mind of a sane person for advice or some type of guidance . For instance in the verse “ask Kurt Cobain why, cause I need to know, he stopped when he had such a long way to go” (KRIT), if the reader is not a Kurt Cobain fan, then this sentence may be rendered mute. What he means by making this allusion is that he wanted to know what went through Kurt's mind during his time of...
Words: 879 - Pages: 4
...their change in music, whether it would be noisy but calm music. This became the grunge they had started that still travels into today (Loss, 2006) Lead singer Kurt Cobain didn’t always have a stable life growing up. Don and Wendy, Kurt’s parents, had seperated and had him...
Words: 794 - Pages: 4
...Music…. Life Within “Music is life”, what does the quoted line state? You may have heard this phrase from mostly many of the youth in your society especially now that the rate of change and ‘rebelliousness’ is exceeding so prominently. But, just because they say this, does it really mean that music really means the life to them? Do they really understand what the idea behind this phrase is? As Jason M. Kemper says, ‘music is a reflection of the deepest emotions of its composers.’ Therefore, in order to understand any type of music it is essential not only to examine its musical content but also its historical context. Where does ‘music’ fit in a society? And, how the society treats music and everything connected to it? A question to be asked don’t you think, but then again does it have a definite answer? One may argue that this article has so many questions well isn’t life, or the place of music in a society a question itself? As we know, music is generally accepted in all the societies, not exactly. Music has countless genres out of which only a few are accepted by our society. The media says that rap should be blamed for the gang violence, drugs, devaluing women and male control; rock and metal is blamed for satanic rituals, suicides as an “alternative” or “solution,” sadism, and masochism. Do you think this is true? I believe not. You see, music can become a culture and a culture that has, is and will only develop or rather change but never end. Gustave E. Von Grunebaum...
Words: 1003 - Pages: 5
...admire him. His success has shaped the character of the man he is today. At the age of 15, Grohl dropped out of high school to play drums in his adolescent band “Scream.” In 1990, after the band split, Grohl traveled to Seattle in hopes of becoming Nirvana’s new drummer, joining the band members Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. “All I really had was a suitcase and my drums. So I took them up to Seattle and hoped it would work,” Dave said describing his leap of faith into the music industry. Later that year, Grohl was accepted into the band and moved in with Cobain—he stayed there years after the band’s success. In 1994, Cobain, victim of fame and drugs, committed suicide. With the loss of a best friend and band member, Grohl was left confused and lonely with such a sudden pull from the world of music. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl appeared lost for words. He wrote: "My soul went dead to music. It's like a defense mechanism. When music touches a place in you that's so deep that it can cause pain, you build walls around it and shut yourself off. In 1994 music represented everything to me. My relationships with people. My state of mind. My well-being. So when something like Kurt dying happens, the music reminds you of everything, and you've just gotta turn it off. It was just too... overwhelming. But then what happens is, music becomes healing. Still, to this day, one of...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...A great band Actually I am a zealous person when it comes to rock music. Although there are many great bands and singers who have done great things in the past, the most impressive one for me is nirvana. They represent the working class and the singer kurt cobain went through a lot of depression and pain and eventually kill himself. When it comes to nirvana we have to invoke the soul of band kurt cobain who he had an un happy childhood. And place he grow up is Seattle was always violence, but when he touched the guitar , it brought peace and relieved him stress and pain. Lately he formed the band and had some performance . gradually he got more and more success and won some fame that he could never image before. I know the fame and money is supposed to bring great joy to a person in a short time . but if you are not suitable to bear these invisiable things . it will devour your soul. Especially like Cobain suffered much pain, he was very clear about what he needed. For some people have a fragile spirit. Love is key medicine . but fame dosen’t consist of love and only has profits. Naturally , when he met his lover and fell in love with her, they had a baby. That was possibly the happiest memory of his whole life. But good things never last forever. The taste of the mainstream had changed and he was now gaining popularity in the alternative movement. As a consequence, they were not satisfied with the albums produced under the direction of their record company, who still wanted...
Words: 453 - Pages: 2
...Tragic Hero Kurt Cobain A tragic hero is a person who is an inspiration or a hero, but they too have their flaws. Kurt Cobain was a tragic hero because his music spoke to those who were going through a tough time. However, his drug use was his mistake and his depression was his flaw. In the end, he made an impact on society when he was alive and after his death. Kurt Cobain’s life was his art and music, he put his pain into his lyrics, his drug use and death caused his downfall, and the impact his music had on society after his death makes him the tragic hero he was. Kurt Cobain, born February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington, excelled in art and taught himself guitar when times turned rough. “His parents divorced when he was nine years old. He went to live with his dad and his sister went to live with his mom” (Biography). As a child, he was troubled and angry and got in trouble with the law for his drug use, drinking, and vandalizing property, even getting into fights at school. After his parents married his step-parents, he lived with other relatives and friends. During...
Words: 918 - Pages: 4
...Exhibition Review The exhibition that I went to see was Kurt at the Seattle Art Museum. I’m really glad that Hadley and Maxwell came to give us their artist talk before I went to see the exhibit because there were several components of the exhibit (including their own) that I could completely relate to their works. The first exhibit that really caught my attention (partially because it’s the first thing you see in the Kurt exhibit) was Hadley and Maxwell’s sound booth. It was an interesting set up to give the feeling of being in Kurt Cobain shoes. I was slightly confused by the studio-feeling of the booth combined with the sound of a cheering crowd playing, but nonetheless still a cool feeling piece that gave the impression of what Cobain experienced when he went onstage. As I moved through the exhibit I came across a smashed-apart drum set covered in stalagmites. The piece was titled “Deathstar Memorial” by Banks Violette. This piece was the perfect epitome of what Nirvana was all about and the dark feelings that they conveyed to their fans and the feelings that were present (even still today) about the tragic death of Cobain himself. The piece was cool because it gave the impression that it had been broken apart for a while and the stalagmites had grown onto the drum set, as if when Cobain died Nirvana was smashed apart and then the set was left to let nature takes its course. Then, moving forward I came to Sam Durant’s “Upside Down and Backwards Completely Unburna”...
Words: 511 - Pages: 3
...I heard that you're settled down, That you found a girl and you're married now, I heard that your dreams came true, Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you, Old friend, why are you so shy? Ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light, I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited, But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it, I had hoped you'd see my face, And that you'd be reminded that for me it isn't over, Never mind, I'll find someone like you, I wish nothing but the best for you, too, Don't forget me, I beg, I remember you said, "Sometimes it lasts in love, But sometimes it hurts instead," Sometimes it lasts in love, But sometimes it hurts instead, yeah, You know how the time flies, Only yesterday was the time of our lives, We were born and raised in a summer haze, Bound by the surprise of our glory days, I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited, But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it, I had hoped you'd see my face, And that you'd be reminded that for me it isn't over, Never mind, I'll find someone like you, I wish nothing but the best for you, too, Don't forget me, I beg, I remember you said, "Sometimes it lasts in love, But sometimes it hurts instead," Nothing compares, No worries or cares, Regrets and mistakes, they're memories made, Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste? Nevermind, I'll find someone like you, I wish nothing but the best for you, Don't forget me, I beg, I...
Words: 358 - Pages: 2
