Aleem Adatia
This being the 10th anniversary of Kurt Cobain�s death, I felt compelled to write a little bit about this highly disturbed but always entertaining music icon. First a little background for all those ignorant non-music listeners out there�hahaha�just kidding. Anyways�Kurt was the guitarist, vocalist and creative force behind the band Nirvana, one of the most influential bands of the �90�s. They were one of the pioneers of music genre known as grunge and put an end to the hair metal of the 80�s (even though hair metal was great).
Signing with Geffen records they emerged from the Seattle music scene in 1991 with their breakthrough album �Nevermind�. The album contained many hits including the masterpiece �Smells like Teen Spirit�. It was said that on the highways of Seattle that year, that song was blasting out of the stereos of every other car (OK�maybe that�s exaggerated a bit hehe). I advise everyone to check out the songs on that album.
What made Cobain great was that he was able to channel his emotions (from a scarred childhood) into his music and create classics that will be remembered long after his death. And even though I am not a big Nirvana or Cobain fan, it is this creative talent and musical/songwriting ability that I admire. Although most people tend to remember him for his extreme drug abuse and untimely death from suicide, I feel that he should definitely be remembered as well for his musical contributions.
On April 5th 1994 he threw the rest of his life down the drain and joined the fairly large group of rock stars who died under or around the age of 27 (Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix). Even today people who don�t enjoy his music much, still acknowledge his influence; he has surely secured a place in music history.
*Published with permission from the author. All rights reserved.