FEATURE:
Kurt Cobain at Fifty-Five
One the Greatest Songwriters of His Generation
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ON 20th February…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kurt Cobain with Nirvana’s Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic
the world will mark what would have been Kurt Cobain’s fifty-fifth birthday. He died tragically young at the age of twenty-seven in 1994. He was the kind of artist one could have seen taking Nirvana to new heights, Maybe they would only have recorded another album after 1993’s In Utero, but Cobain could have had a successful solo career. I also envisage him in films and having a successful career in that area. Socially-minded and conscientious, he would have been more involved in politics and injustices in society. All of this could have been realised…but sadly we will never know how far he could have done. Cobain left so much behind. He is often seen as a voice of his generation – maybe a tag he would not have agreed with or liked -, and he was the peerless lead of one of the world’s great bands. One of the great frontmen and guitarists, he had this voice that could convey anger and spleen one moment; flipping to something sensitive and almost sensual the next. He was a remarkable singer and musical presence. To me, Kurt Cobain’s greatest strength was his songwriting. Someone who could pen timeless and hugely affecting lyrics, he was as much a poet as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell or Leonard Cohen. He could also write superb and memorable melodies. A complete songwriter with a voice that one would have loved to have hears for years more, there has been nobody since who has Cobain’s talent and command. I almost think that some part of music’s past died with Cobain in 1994. We do not really have bands who are that iconic and can be provocative. No leads who have the same sense of chaos, enigmatic and mysterious. Cobain was sensitive and thoughtful, though he was troubled and pained.
I feel he brought all of this into his work. Whatever you consider to be his best lyrics, there are so many golden examples of his genius and rarefied ability! Last year, his former bandmate Dave Grohl stated how Cobain was the greatest songwriter of his time. This NME piece tells us more:
“Dave Grohl has reflected on Kurt Cobain‘s seismic musical impact, as well as discussing the emotional toll of Nirvana‘s untimely split.
Speaking on Apple Music’s Medicine At Midnight Radio, Grohl also reflected on how the band were initially surprised by their rise to global fame in the early 1990s.
“We were still in our van and we were just watching this happen in front of us,” he said.
“The shows were getting bigger,” he explains. “The crowds were getting bigger. The crowds outside of the shows were bigger than the crowds inside the shows. We could see that something was happening, but we really never expected that it would turn out to be as big as it was. I don’t think any of us expected that.”
Reflecting on the band’s split after Kurt Cobain took his own life in 1994, Grohl said their untimely break-up was one of his “life’s greatest heartbreaks”.
“Of course, it was an incredibly challenging experience and ultimately one of the greatest heartbreaks of my life that Nirvana isn’t still here today making music,” he said.
“Whether it would be called Nirvana or something else. It is one of my life’s greatest heartbreaks that Kurt isn’t still here to write more amazing songs because it’s pretty clear that he was blessed with a gift.
I think it’s safe to say that he was the greatest songwriter of our generation. I’m very proud to say that I got to be his drummer and play those songs every night”.
When thinking about Kurt Cobain – as we will on 20th February -, many consider this tragic figure, or a life cut short. Others looks at Nirvana as a whole and how he helped inspire a generation of fans. Many might think of his feminism and how he was very progressive. Quite different from a lot of the stunted, sexist and idiotic peers around him, he was someone who wanted equality and a bigger voice for women. He was loved and respected by so many people. I want to end with a feature from College Times. They looked at the greatest songwriters from the past twenty-five years. They made a case for Kurt Cobain being among the elite:
“The 1980s was perhaps the tackiest decade of the 20th Century. Hairspray galores, Charles Haughey, MJ with a chimp and Cher entertaining a bunch of sailors at her age (and still going now); it was no '60s or '70s. By the decade's close however, a ray of light was shining. Nearer to us, it was with the advent of the Stone Roses. Across the shores, in the city of Seattle, it was with Nirvana. This was the band that would bring rock n' roll back to the fore, not with flashy synths and gimmicks but with a raw edge, nearer to punk. The '90s was a time when the world would rock once more!
Bleach was released in 1989 and its a rough listen, not for the lack of quality in songwriting but for the lack of production. What strikes most prominently is the simplicity of the songs. "About a Girl" was written by Cobain after a binge-day of Beatles' listening and although it has that famous Nirvana-sound, it is at its core, written with a pop mentality. Cobain actually enjoyed a fair-share of pop music, or what he considered to be "pop," referencing R.E.M. as an influence. This may have been his key to greater success above other grunge acts. While that song went on to garner a legacy in their catalogue however, Bleach would not be the album that would bring Nirvana to the mainstream.
Nevermind is often cited as the album of the '90s, at least alongside OK Computer and Definitely Maybe. Its impact was such that grunge would dominate the music scene in both America and the UK until Britpop took prominence in 1994. Anyone reading any music magazines back in late 2011 for the 20th anniversary will understand what a classic it has become. Recorded in Sound City Studios (which Dave Grohl would later make a documentary about), it took the Nirvana grit and added some polish for accessibility. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became the radio hit that would never go away, parodied by Weird Al for the barely distinguishable vocals of Kurt. "Come As You Are," "Lithium" and "In Bloom" would also become staples of their career and still, there was even more to be excited about. In "Polly" and "Something In The Way," we get a taste of the more sensitive, brooding side of Cobain, an all too eerily true picture of what was to come. There were no fillers on this one. As it replaced MJ's Dangerous at the top of the Billboard Charts in early 1992, it became clear that a new band was ready (though not literally, as Cobain would often note) to take the world by storm.
Incesticide was the next release, a minor one because it was a compilation of outtakes and demos but a jewel for fans and critics alike, who would only get to hear one more full studio album of Nirvana. This was In Utero, which is 20 years and a month old now. Reacting to the pop-image they had obtained, Cobain once again revisited his demons to create a heavier sound. The idea to obscure themselves from the mainstream failed however as the album sold in masses once again. Featuring "Heart Shaped Box," "Pennyroyal Tea" and "Rape Me," this was the swan-LP of a band whose career, whilst speeding towards new heights was bound to crash under the pressure.
Cobain, whose lyrics pervaded the charts were haunted with depression and disenchantment, could no longer take it and took his life in April 1994. His legacy has only increased since and not just for the interesting life story but for the timeless songs, which stood distinctly against the dissipating pop environment of before. Simple melodies with honest lyrics did it for Lennon and likewise for Cobain. It was a short career but longeitivity is not necessarily a good thing as far as legacy is concerned”.
On 20th February, fans around the world will mark Kurt Cobain’s fifty-fifth birthday. His incredible impact and brilliance keep on shining and resonating. From artists following his lead and influenced by his genius, through the stations playing the music of Nirvana, we will always remember the great Kurt Cobain. He was a songwriter who spoke from his soul and heart, and yet his words connected with so many people. Not only confined to angsty and angry teens or people he thought was like him, his lyrical gift and wonderful melodic sensibility meant that he created a catalogue that has struck and seduced people of all ages. Definitely one of the very greatest writers music has ever witnessed, Dave Grohl was right when he said it is so sad that the world will never hear more songs from Cobain. What we can do to keep his memory and huge talent alive is playing those songs. From the iconic Nevermind (1991) to Nirvana’s awesome debut, Bleach (1989), to In Utero, there is so much to enjoy. Even the rare tracks are far stronger than what other songwriters can produce! A remarkable artist whose importance and relevance will never fade; I am ending with a playlist of Nirvana’s best. Although there are a few covers, we can hear what a diverse and hugely consistent writer Cobain was. On 20th February, I hope that every fan of his will play a song that means the most to them. I will definitely take part and remember the…
GREAT Kurt Cobain.