Kurt Cobain: Still Dead (And Other Observations)

Intellectual Conservative ^ | 06 April 2004 | Brian S. Wise

[presidio9]

Spin magazine was the first by my observation to put the very dead Kurt Cobain on its April cover to mark the tenth anniversary of his suicide, on 05 April 1994 (his body was found on 08 April). Though he’s nearly twenty-five in this picture, he looks all of seventeen and decidedly sober, one of those rarities. It’s hard to say how often Cobain was photographed sober, but since his death very few publications have thought to publish a decent photo of the man, for fear of not portraying him as a tragic figure.

But at least we have tragic texts. “Kurt Cobain was many things while he was alive – punk, pop star, hero, victim, junkie, feminist, geek avenger, wiseass. But ten years after his death, he’s something else entirely. He’s a ghost [emphasis original] …. [The] bitter finality of Cobain’s end became an indelible part of his story …. No other chapter in pop music history has so much darkness at its center. And no other artist still haunts us in such a powerful, subliminal way.” And so forth.

Chris Norris, who wrote “The Ghost of Saint Kurt” for Spin, may or may not be a fine writer in everyday life, but the article goes on as though beehived old blue hairs are lining up outside Cobain’s house to see his furniture. Easy, Norris. We understand that some journalistic liberties are taken when it comes to writing tribute pieces about popular figures, but come on. If you’re going to say no other chapter in pop music history has so much darkness at its center (and in doing so, at least ignoring the likes of Syd Barrett, the former Pink Floyd lead singer who went crazy and stayed there, a different consideration from being addicted, depressed and ending it all), you’re implying that since “Rock Around the Clock” there has been nothing worse, which is more than a little silly.

But Kurt Cobain was what he was, and a decade later we are left to consider the question (“Was Cobain a performer of real significance or an over-hyped flash in the pan?”) with the full benefit of retrospect. Helpful to remember that what makes a performer unique isn’t just his abilities but the moment in time in which he is “discovered.” Consequently, what made Cobain special wasn’t necessarily his ability to write and perform the catchiest hooks in popular music (which he certainly did), but the confluence of musical events that made him palatable to very large, young audiences.

If released either five years before or after the actual release dates in 1991, both the song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the album Nevermind would have come and gone without one-twentieth the fanfare. In 1986, bubblegum pop was still big enough to overwhelm anything different; in 1996, Nirvana would have been thought of as just another band arriving too late to the party, in the way we today consider some of the other capable bands that surrounded Nirvana, such as Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.

Instead, what happened was that Nirvana signed with Geffen (from a fine little label called Sub Pop; for its loss, Sub Pop negotiated what proved to be a tremendously profitable percentage deal against Nirvana sales, after a certain number of units), a company that had so little faith in the band it printed only fifty thousand copies of Nevermind for its initial release, and didn’t hurt itself in promotion. That was, until MTV got hold of the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the rest being history.

Nearly lost in the Norris article is the fact that a radio station in San Diego, KBZT, now plays “all your favorite grunge hits,” meaning that it has switched to an alternative music format; also meaning that Nirvana has once again taken center stage. Is anyone surprised that Cobain has found a new audience? The dynamics that made his music so fashionable thirteen years ago are in place again today, just as they were then.

Modern popular music is a repetitive, plastic, tedious wasteland directed primarily at teenage babysitters and their babysitting money; an industry in desperate need of several shots in the arm from something large, intrusive and different. And while there are bands making large, original strides forward – Queens of the Stone Age comes to mind, as does Slipknot – they aren’t striking the sort of nerve Nirvana struck, most likely because not enough people aren’t fed up, yet. Hopefully they will be very soon.

[qam1]

Thanks for the Ping

Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social aspects that directly effects Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1982) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

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[Richard Kimball]

bump for later

[Houmatt]

Sigh. I really don't know why I'm bothering to keep this up, but what I actually said was:

"the details of Cobain's death are not mentioned in the article"

What I said was true.

Presenting post #67:

I can assure you that the nature and the details of Cobain's death are not mentioned in the article. Even in passing.

Would you like to rephrase that?

[presidio9]

Would you like to rephrase that?

Not really. If you want to call it hyperbole, I'll grant you that. The article said it was a suicide, and when. It did not say, how, why or speculate on Cobain's state of mind. I said that in response to this idiotic statement by you, in :

"Now you hold on a second. Cobain's musical contribution is absolutely not relevant. What exactly are we observing? The tenth anniversary of Cobain's death. That's what the bloody article you posted is about. NOT his music."

Generally intellectually defeating mental lilliputians provides me with little satisfaction. I am still here only because of your earlier and particularly mean-spirited attack on a vunerable human being. To repeat: You are without class.

[Houmatt]

I know what I said, and I stand by it.

Generally intellectually defeating mental lilliputians provides me with little satisfaction.

Then heaven knows the last thing you should be doing is talking to yourself.

I am still here only because of your earlier and particularly mean-spirited attack on a vunerable human being.

That is the second time you have made that ludicrous allegation. And you have yet to demonstrate by way of proof how this is so.

[presidio9]

That is the second time you have made that ludicrous allegation. And you have yet to demonstrate by way of proof how this is so.

Why don't you ask Jacqui? Oh that's right, because shes not speaking to you. I'm glad to hear that you "stady by" what you have written in this thread. I invite all interested parties to take a closer look.

[Houmatt]

Don't play games with me. You know damned good and well I was making reference to the quote attributed to me in post #63, which you in turn referred to in post #83. Your attempt to assassinate my character through your intellectual dishonesty and outright slander is not being tolerated.

And since you cannot back up your BS allegation of attacking a "recent widow", I think a nice, tall, cool glass of Shut The Hell Up would go down real good, don't you?

[Admin Moderator]

Knock off the personal attacks

[Revolting cat!]

I can't even say that I've heard this band. What I have heard of grunge (Green Day and others I cannot name, so perhaps I have heard Nirvana) impressed me as anti-musical, intentionally so, bored, uninteresting male voices droning slight melodies out of tune against unrelated, anarchic and amateurish noise of electric guitars. Trite lyrics. Grunge seemed to be a rebellion against the very demands that music be, well, musical, rebellion against whatever came before it, just like rock'n'roll of the 1950s was a rebellion against what came before it in pop music: pretty voices and schlocky pseudo-poetic lyrics.

And if, as someone suggested above, grunge gave rise to [c]rap, which, unfortunately, I or anyone in the urban environment cannot avoid hearing, then that makes sense as [c]rap) is the ultimate nihilistic rebellion against the musicality of popular music!

[Revolting cat!]

Am I allowed to personally attack m'self? This thread is, after all, about the very essence of self-attack - grunge!

[dr_who_2]

OK, make that two famous, wasted lives.

[presidio9]

And since you cannot back up your BS allegation of attacking a "recent widow", I think a nice, tall, cool glass of Shut The Hell Up would go down real good, don't you?

I will leave it at "you have no class" and be done with you. Be glad I don't forward your offensive private emails to the moderator. I learned a valuable lesson today: there's one more FReeper I should not bother wasting my time with. Have a nice life.

[ffusco]

Just saw it last month! Not enough JD or New Order, but I had never heard of the Happy Mondays. Also read Debra's book, Touching From a Distance. Has complete lyrics and some pics.

[lavrenti]

Interesting how ten years later, Kurt's wifeypoo still makes news.

As for my views about their music. Kurt's use of compression in his guitar sound made that band. Nirvana did change the course of alternative music, though for ill.

Fortunately, it seems to have come back to its senses.

[MrsTWN]

Houmatt, Presidio: I think this painting by Van Gogh is symbolically extremely appropriate, in reference to people such as Kurt Cobain and his death -- and should serve to show a concrete example of the statistics -- that many, many artists are bipolar. Educate yourself to know that bipolars commit suicide one in five, and that's a whopping percentage.

So think. When one is a performer, one is more likely to come into contact with not only the pressures of being treated in the entertainment business like a spoiled, trained monkey, but likely the person feels there's less substantiation for the fame and attention one is seeking (unless also a narcissist) and typically, bipolars have low self-esteem and don't feel they "deserve" or warrant such approval. Often they get the thought that "People would be better off without me", even when they have children who need them. Clearly in the case of Cobain, who had recognizable talent by so many -- it wasn't true, but psychotic depression in Bipolar I can put these thoughts in a salient place that can't be denied by the sufferer. Unfortunately, rock and roll has a mix of the precise elements that can lead someone who is a bipolar individual down that empty, lonely road at the top to suicide -- Kurt, from his writings, felt he was "fooling everyone", a common pattern -- that is truly tragic. But the biggest point is that no matter how successful the artists became, it wasn't enough to squelch the aching depression that racked their minds and bodies. And because their managers and record labels and such are not more prepared to help the artist deal with this condition and should be; it's a real waste in the long run. Although, it's almost as if they do this purposely because the suffering of the disorder spurs creativity, heightens productivity, much like locking up a race horse in a stall and feeding it sugar until it wants to run like crazy. In fact, it's downright cruel. And in this day and age of remission for bipolar, and sophisticated, effective treatment, there's really no excuse.

Bipolars are at risk for suicide when avoiding help or being misdiagnosed, misprescribed, and mistreated medically. And, socially. Managers don't deal with this, nor their artist's health and well-being, from Marilyn Monroe to Robert Downey Jr. What exacerbates the condition is the late nights, bad diet, no exercise, no sleep, alcohol, drugs... their habits in self-medication often lead to death. Hence, John Bonham, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison... a long list of musicians have died this way, along with all the other artists who choose to end their life. Thomas Dylan, the writer, lined up forty shots of booze and fell over dead after the last one. Hemingway shot himself; since it's genetic, his granddaughter, actress Margeaux Hemmingway did the same thing, by using bipolar medication itself to overdose. Considering about half of all musicians, painters, writers, poets, dancers ... and a surprisingly high number emergency room doctors (bipolar people seem to be able to stay awake nights more easily with a different circadian rhythm) are all bipolar... if you're going to discount their value as human beings, dismiss their craft, or discredit their talent, simply because they have succumbed to this disease in death at their own hands, through no real fault of their own -- I must say you are not only ignorant, but judgmental and an insensitive fellow human being. "Lithium", one of the songs centered around the painful feelings a bipolar individual experiences, that was penned by Kurt Cobain, shows that his difficult, haunting emotional demons were not ones that were self-indulgent, nor was his suicide one that was avoidable, unless someone could help him sensitively and appropriately... he couldn't help himself, even though his personal notes show him trying so hard to do so. He was likely used by his own record company, ignored except for what he produced, much like Mozart was -- his angst making some of the more memorable lyrics and music ever produced. The same can be said of so many others. In art, you would be bashing not only Van Gogh, but artists and famous leaders, all the way from Winston Churchill to Georgia O'Keefe. In writing, poets to novelists, from Walt Whitman to Stephen King. As I said, this list is very long... you can google it if you like. But in the meantime, I think that Cobain's death isn't a good subject for your subjective analysis and opinion, if you are to posses a shred of validity, since you haven't got the knowledge behind you to understand his particular circumstances, life, or feelings, which are most commonly misunderstood by the public and the press. Let's just be glad that he left a legacy behind him that some people cherish in his music, that they relate to -- even if you don't. For those with a lot of insight, or, some who identify with that music precisely because they share the same physical, chemical, and structural orientation as Cobain did -- he left something behind that is valuable.

Thanks. And, I pray you might have a bit of sympathy for a talented man (whether you personally liked his music, or not...) who was suddenly thrust into the limelight when in reality he wanted to hide his own imagined failings (delusions, of course, he was a great success) and personal struggles. One look at Courtney Love and you can see that woman proves what medical books from schools such as Johns Hopkins say: That bipolars "associatively marry" very often. Since she recently overdosed, and had to go through life carrying the death of her husband, it's no wonder her life might take the very same path toward self-inflicted demise.

Best to you.

Lilly

[PurVirgo]

You have no knowledge of modern music, then?

Nirvana in no way cntributed to the rock-rap of the likes of Limp Bizkit or Kid Rock, neither of which I can stand.

Rather, they and the rest of the grunge movement influenced outstanding musicians such as Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, and now Audioslave.

Or the heart-stopping vocals of Amy Lee of Evanescence.

What about Scott Stapp of Creed, whose awesome lyrics have helped me return to my faith?

And POD, another great Rock band with a great message?

If you want to compare apples to apples, try the annoying Beastie Boys. They helped "white boys" become rappers.

[PurVirgo]

I was in school... the eighth grade!!!

I remember the school administrators allowed us to watch the news coverage, since so many of us were fans.

I always thought that was pretty cool of them to let us do that.

[PurVirgo]

I am barely an X-er, more like hanging onto your coattails.

I have never been bothered with CATV either. I'm in college, getting my degree, so I can have a career, and so I can independently afford my retirement as well.

It irks me that some ppl on this forum blame all of society's ills on us.

[Lee'sGhost]

"You have no knowledge of modern music, then?
Nirvana in no way cntributed to the rock-rap. . ."

Uh, that's not what I said. It's not even close. Take another look at my post.