Imagining a 50-Year-Old Kurt Cobain
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 1:22 pm
Imagining a 50-Year-Old Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain, lead singer for the US grunge rockers Nirvana, performing at the Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo during their 1992 Asian-Pacific tour (AFP Photo/RICHARD A. BROOKS)
Paris (AFP) - Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who defined grunge and the rise of alternative rock, would have turned 50 on Monday. He remains an enduring cultural presence even for many young people -- but what would he be doing if he were alive?
The 27-year-old shot himself at his home in Seattle on April 5, 1994, ending his life, his suffering and, at least symbolically, the grunge movement. Rock has kept evolving since his suicide yet Nevermind, Nirvana's brutal 1991 masterpiece, is still widely considered one of the most influential albums in history.
"He remains the most important musician of the last two decades in music, with an album that is still one of the last great rock records," said Charles R. Cross, who has written three books on the artist including Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain.
To Cross, Cobain's key contribution is opening the way for songwriters to tackle a wider emotional range. Nirvana's songs included "Lithium," a frank exploration of Cobain's manic depression, and the searing "Rape Me."
https://www.yahoo.com/music/imagining-5 ... 12675.html
Kurt Cobain, lead singer for the US grunge rockers Nirvana, performing at the Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo during their 1992 Asian-Pacific tour (AFP Photo/RICHARD A. BROOKS)
Paris (AFP) - Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who defined grunge and the rise of alternative rock, would have turned 50 on Monday. He remains an enduring cultural presence even for many young people -- but what would he be doing if he were alive?
The 27-year-old shot himself at his home in Seattle on April 5, 1994, ending his life, his suffering and, at least symbolically, the grunge movement. Rock has kept evolving since his suicide yet Nevermind, Nirvana's brutal 1991 masterpiece, is still widely considered one of the most influential albums in history.
"He remains the most important musician of the last two decades in music, with an album that is still one of the last great rock records," said Charles R. Cross, who has written three books on the artist including Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain.
To Cross, Cobain's key contribution is opening the way for songwriters to tackle a wider emotional range. Nirvana's songs included "Lithium," a frank exploration of Cobain's manic depression, and the searing "Rape Me."
https://www.yahoo.com/music/imagining-5 ... 12675.html