15 Years Ago...

On April 5th 1994, Kurt Cobain killed himself. Or so they say. His body was discovered on April 8th but 'they' said he had been dead for days. And April 5th is the day that they estimate he ended his life. He was only 27 years old. You know how people knew exactly where they were/what they were doing when important (yet tragic) events happened like when JFK was assassinated or when 9/11 happened? Well, this was one of those moments in my life, as I'm sure many people of my generation. And it was interesting because I happened to be watching TV (MTV to be exact) when I first heard the news.

I was over at my cousin's house and we were watching Woodstock '94 and then there was 'breaking news' all of a sudden. They said the unfortunate news and I can't remember too much after that THAT day. But I do remember driving with my other cousin's wife later that day and she heard of the news too and she was like he's about "___" age (her husband). She also said it was sad that he had a baby too. Frances Bean Cobain was only 1-2 years old. I felt very sad for her that she would grow up without her dad.

Then there's speculation speculation speculation. Why did he do it? Did his wife Courtney Love do it? All kinds of rumors. And the thing with most suicides is--->it's hard to know exactly why someone did it, even with a suicide note. Back to rumors for a sec, people even said he had too much heroin in his system to pull the trigger. Again, who knows for sure?

So I'd like to talk about what he did for music for a little bit now. Believe it or don't believe it, he changed things with "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The day that song came out, music went into a completely new direction. "Grunge" & "Alternative" music was born. I got the album NEVERMIND a couple months after it came out and it was my first introduction to this kind of sound. I remember listening to the tape (yes, THE CASSETTE!) over & over again. Think I wore it out. Then came a flood of new music out of Seattle as well as other alternative bands like the STP, Bjork, Breeders, & Smashing Pumpkins, who ended up being my favorite band throughout high school (1994-97).

I remember my friend Jenny and I used to wonder what things would be like in 10-20 years after his death. Both how would our lives be and how would music & life in general be. And I have to say I think music is in desperate need of a change. And has needed a BIG change for quite a while. I'm talking about 'mainstream' music more so. I don't listen to the radio at all these days & that was a big source for music for me back in high school. I find out about new music in other ways nowadays but things just aren't the same. It's kinda depressing...

Example: turn on MTV right now & I can almost guarantee you'll see anything BUT a music video. Kurt Cobain would be turning over in his grave if he saw the state of the music industry right now. I can't distinguish one band from the next...I think it's sad.

The above pic is of Frances Bean Cobain. She's so pretty. She looks a lot like her mom but I can see Kurt Cobain's features too...mainly her lovely blue eyes. It's terrible that she never got to know her dad and she's probably had (and continues) to hear a lot of crap about both of her parents. I hope she'll turn out well and live a normal life. I think that's what her dad would've wanted most of all for her. RIP Kurt Cobain.

One of my fave Nirvana songs off of their last CD In Utero