Kurt Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ca. April 5, 1994) was the lead singer and guitarist of the American rock band, Nirvana. He served not only as the band's frontman, but as its "leader and spiritual center" {{ref|spiritualcenter}}. With the band's success, Cobain became a major national and international celebrity, an uncomfortable position for someone who claimed to be "ill at ease with fame and ill-equipped to handle the responsibility that accompanies success" {{ref|fame}}.

Nirvana

Cobain received his first guitar from his uncle at age fourteen. He was given the choice of a guitar or a bicycle, and chose the guitar. From there, he tried to form bands with friends, generally noodling on songs by AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. When he moved back in with his mother in high school, he found himself without anyone to jam with, as none of his friends had any musical talent.

Related Topics:
AC/DC - Led Zeppelin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later in high school, Cobain met Krist Novoselic, a fellow devotee of punk rock. A few years later, Cobain tried to convince Novoselic to form a band with him by lending him a copy of a home demo recorded by Cobain's earlier band, Fecal Matter. After months of prodding, Novoselic finally agreed to join Cobain, forming the beginnings of Nirvana.

Related Topics:
Krist Novoselic - Punk rock - Fecal Matter - Nirvana

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For the first few years of Nirvana, Novoselic and Cobain found themselves host to a rotating list of drummers. Eventually, the band settled on Chad Channing, with whom the band recorded the album Bleach, released on Sub Pop Records in 1989. Cobain, however, became dissatisfied with Channing's style, eventually leading the band to Dave Grohl. With Grohl, the band found their greatest success via their 1991 major-label debut, Nevermind.

Related Topics:
Chad Channing - Bleach - Sub Pop Records - Dave Grohl - Nevermind

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana with his underground roots. He also felt persecuted by the media, comparing himself to Frances Farmer, and harbored resentment for people who claimed to be fans of the band but who completely missed the point of the band's message. One particularly distressing incident to Cobain involved two men who raped a woman while singing the Nirvana song "Polly". Cobain condemned the episode in the liner notes of the US release of the album Incesticide: "Last year, a girl was raped by two wastes of sperm and eggs while they sang the lyrics to our song 'Polly.' I have a hard time carrying on knowing there are plankton like that in our audience. Sorry to be so anally P.C. but that's the way I feel."

Related Topics:
Underground - Frances Farmer - Rape - Polly - Liner notes - Incesticide - Plankton - Anally - P.C.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~