Kurt Cobain was one of the most influential musicians of his generation and the lead singer/guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana. He was born on February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. Cobain struggled throughout his life with depression, addiction, and chronic pain. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 5, 1994, at the age of 27.
Table of Contents:
1. Early Life
2. Musical Career
3. Personal Life
4. Death
5. Legacy
6. Top Kurt Cobain Quotes
Early Life
Kurt Cobain was born on February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. He was the son of Wendy Elizabeth (Fradenburg) and Donald Leland Cobain. His parents divorced when he was nine years old, and he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents. Cobain was a sensitive and introspective child and was often bullied by his classmates. He became interested in music at an early age and began playing the drums when he was four.
Musical Career
In 1985, Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic formed the band Nirvana. The following year, they released their first album, Bleach. Nirvana’s breakthrough album, Nevermind, was released in 1991 and propelled the band to international fame. With its popular single “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nevermind became a symbol of the Generation X. Nirvana’s third and final album, In Utero, was released in 1993.
Personal Life
Cobain married musician Courtney Love in 1992. They had one daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, who was born in August of that year. Cobain and Love were often the target of media scrutiny and were nicknamed “the poison couple.”
Death
On April 5, 1994, Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle, Washington. He had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 27 years old.
Legacy
Cobain’s death had a profound impact on the music industry and on the Generation X. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
Top Kurt Cobain Quotes
“The finest day I ever had was when tomorrow never came.”
“The duty of youth is to challenge corruption.”
“It’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
“I like to have strong opinions with nothing to back them up with besides my primal sincerity. I like sincerity. I lack sincerity.”
“The worst crime is faking it.”
“A friend is nothing but a known enemy.”
“The sun is gone, but I have a light.”
“I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.”
“You can’t buy happiness”
“They laugh at me because I’m different; I laugh at them because they’re all the same.”
“Before I die many will die with me and they’ll deserve it. See you in Hell.”
“If my eyes could show my soul, everyone would cry when they saw me smile.”
“Do your own thing. Others own their own thing. If you copy too much, you’ll find yourself in late night cocktail lounge cover band limbo.”
“I’m not well-read, but when I read, I read well.”
“Life is a waste of time and time is a waste of life, so let’s all get wasted and have the time of our lives.”
“I’ve always had a problem with the average macho man – they’ve always been a threat to me.”
“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”
“I would like to get rid of the homophobes, sexists, and racists in our audience. I know they’re out there and it really bothers me.”
“I like to complain and do nothing to make things better.”
“Thank you for the tragedy. I need it for my art.”
“We have no right to express an opinion until we know all of the answers.”
“Throughout my life, I’ve always been really close with girls and made friends with girls. And I’ve always been a really sickly, feminine person anyhow, so I thought I was gay for a while because I didn’t find any of the girls in my high school attractive at all. ”
“I have a daughter who reminds me too much of what I used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function.”
“Forever in debt to your priceless advice.”
“I started to be really proud of the fact I was gay even though I wasn’t”
“I had a really good childhood up until I was nine, then a classic case of divorce really affected me.”
“I like to make people feel happy and superior in their reaction towards my appearance.”
“I’m so happy because today I found my friends – they’re in my head.”
“If you’re really a mean person you’re going to come back as a fly and eat poop.”
“There are a lot of things I wish I would have done, instead of just sitting around and complaining about having a boring life.”
“I really haven’t had that exciting of a life. There are a lot of things I wish I would have done, instead of just sitting around and complaining about having a boring life. So I pretty much like to make it up. I’d rather tell a story about somebody else.”
“I mean I like to be passionate and sincere but I also like to have fun and act like a dork. Geeks unite.”
“I don’t care what you think unless it is about me.”
“Come as you are. As you were. As I want you to be.”
“I don’t need to be inspired any longer, just supported.”
“I just hope I don’t become so blissful I become boring. I think I’ll always be neurotic enough to do something weird.”
“Dreaming of the person you want to be is wasting the person you already are.”
“There’s good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too ing sad.”
“I am not gay, although I wish I were, just to piss off homophobes.”
“We’re so trendy we can’t even escape ourselves.”
“If you ever need anything please don’t hesitate to ask someone else first.”
“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are”
“Practice makes perfect, but nobody’s perfect, so why practice?”
“I knew I was different. I thought that I might be gay or something because I couldn’t identify with any of the guys at all. None of them liked art or music. They just wanted to fight and get laid. It was many years ago but it gave me this real hatred for the average American macho male.”
“Life isn’t nearly as sacred as the appreciation of passion.”
“I was tired of pretending that I was someone else just to get along with people, just for the sake of having friendships.”
“If you die you’re completely happy and your soul somewhere lives on. I’m not afraid of dying. Total peace after death, becoming someone else is the best hope I’ve got.”
“If it’s illegal to rock and roll, then throw my as in jail.”
“Nobody dies a virgin. Life ks us all.”
“I didn’t know how to deal with success. If there was a Rock Star 101, I would have liked to take it. It might have helped me.”