Nirvana, The 90s and The Drug Scene

In the birth place of grunge rock during the late 80s, heroine was the drug of choice. Being isolated from the american music scene, artists turned to hard drugs, quite often for inspiration for their music and lyrics.

When the grunge artists became rock stars the drug use turned to a higher level, with many artists dying from overdoses including Andy Wood and Stephanie Sergeant. Many artists wrote songs about their struggles with drugs, Alice in Chains "Drug of Choice" was one such song. It seemed wrong that people liked these songs and the artists, who were singing about their troubles and problems with drugs.

Despite the large number of deaths of artists, heroine was still the number one drug for the rock stars of the 90s, with a number of deaths occurring because of it.

Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain was one such artist who suffered the perils of drug addiction, using heroine as an escape from the rock star world he despised so much. While Cobain did check himself into a rehab clinic, he left 4 days later.

Cobain's troubles with fame and heroine ended when he committed suicide. He had used a huge amount of heroine then shot himself in the head.

While one could never say the outcome of drug use or addiction is in anyway anything but horrific, the gunge music scene would have been so different if it weren't for the drugs. Can you imagine what the grunge genre would have produced without the drugs?

Courtney Loves Kurt Cobain

Courtney Love is the widow of Kurt Cobain. She is also a musician. She was the lead singer of rock band Hole, then went solo in her first album 'Mono' in 2004. Love's album features sounds similar to those of her late husband. They all have elements of grunge rock in them, dirty sounding guitar, mixed with the minor, raspy vocals similar to Cobain's. However her song Mono, is more rock than grunge, featuring a steady bass chord structure and drum pattern. 

She has also been known to sing some of Nirvana's songs such as Penny Royal Tea, putting her own spin of grunge on the music. While the song is the same, the female vocals, and even more droned out sounds make the song completely different to the original.  

If you love Nirvana, give Courtney Love a try, while she does have her own style, you can see some elements of Cobain in her songs, making them well worth the time...

This YouTube clip shows photos of Love, Cobain and Nirvana, while Love's version of Penny Royal Tea provides a soundtrack.

Kurt Cobain: Was Kurt Cobain Murdered?

On 5th April 1994 Kurt Cobain was found dead in his home. Reports said Cobain had died of a gun shot to the head. He had committed suicide. After finding out about this fans gathered to mourn the loss of the famous musician.

Since then conspiracy theories have developed questioning whether Cobain did in fact commit suicide, suggesting that perhaps he was murdered!

A website called 'Justice For Kurt' has been created by unsatisfied fans who believe the investigation of Kurt's death did not bring him justice. The site contains documents, police reports, Cobain's 'alleged' suicide note, television shows, newspaper stories and many more pieces of evidence which are said to point to a murder.

The site also looks at a timeline of events, hoaxes and myths, case documents, unanswered questions, media coverage and theory rebuttals, allowing everyone to investigate the case and decide for themselves.

For fans of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, this site is very interesting to look through. The idea of conspiracy theories has always interested the public and this one is no different. Visit this site and decide for yourself, perhaps you will find the missing piece to the puzzle and discover the truth behind the death of one of the most influential musicians of the 90s.

www.justiceforkurt.com

Nirvana Live

When presented with the opportunity to see your absolute favourite band or singer perform live, the only questions you ask are WHERE? and WHEN?! Unfortunately for me this opportunity will never present itself.

With the assistance of YouTube, however, i am able to see Nirvana play live... via a video clip! While this is in NO WAY going to be the same experience as it would be if i were 21 during the early 90s, i am still going to happily watch it and pretend I'm one of the lucky people to have seen the band of a generation perform.

Every time i listen to Nirvana (which has become a weekly event) i think about how amazing it would have been to see this band play live. The question is though... why is it so important to me to see a band play live when i can listen to the same music in the comfort of my own home, for the price of a couple of cheese pizzas?

This desperation, this desire you experience when presented with the opportunity to see your favourite band is summed up quite academically by Nirvana themselves in this YouTube clip (while also addressing a number of other important social and cultural issues present in today's world)...

Well there you go, straight from Dave, Kurt and Khris... the desire comes from "vibes". Both the audience and the performers like to play catch with these vibes. That is what makes seeing a band perform live worth the cash! 

The V I B E S!

Definition: Vibes plural noun colloquial the quality, mood or atmosphere of a place or person, thought of as producing vibrations to which one unconsciously responds.

Synonyms - Vibes: emotion, mental state, sensation, inspiration, commotion.

Anyone who has been to a concert, gig, music festival or any other music related activity where the music is performed live, can agree with the Nirvana's choice of "vibes" to describe the nature of a live musical performance. Actually being at the place of the source of music completely changes the reactions you have to the music, the "vibes" relayed between musician and audience are more personal than those transmitted from an audio source such as a CD.

So next time you are lucky enough to witness the musical talents of your favourite artists don't forget about the VIBES you will surely experience and appreciate being able to see an artist perform live as you play catch with those irreplaceable vibes being sent your way and back again.

"Slack off, big deal, you know... have fun, smoke pot, drink beer, booze, inhale, reproduce... yeah reproduce!!"

Kurt Cobain Journals - If YOu ReAD YOu'll JuDge

"Don't read my diary when I'm gone. Ok, I'm going to work now, when you wake up this morning, please read my diary. Look through my things, and figure me out."

While the entries made in most diaries are written with the "my eyes only" sentiment, the journals of Kurt Cobain were written with the invitation of outside viewing. This invitation by Cobain was extended in 2002 when 20 of his many journals survived to be published in a book, unleashing the thoughts of the tortured soul of one of the most influential artists of the 1990s, frontman of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain.

The journals consist of personal feelings, treats of suicide, political protests, drawings, lyrics and much more. The journals provide readers with the very essence of Kurt Cobain, showing the intelligence and abstract mind of the man behind a band that shaped a generation.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the visuality of it, with the original journal entries being simply copied and fastened together into a hard cover book. Even the front cover of the book is a copy of the front cover of one of Cobain's journals. Readers are given the opportunity to feel like they are actually reading the original journals of Nirvana's frontman.

All fans of Nirvana would be aware of the issues Cobain had during his years of fame and while the music he composed will shed some insight into his state of mind during this time, this book allows his fans to really connect with and appreciate the concerns Cobain faced as both an individual and as an artist in the society of the 90s.

On Slate.com Entertainment Weekly's grunge reporter Tim Appelo has published an article entitled How to read Kurt Cobain's Journals - A guide for the perplexed. In this article, Appelo gives background information on Cobain's life, which helps in unscrambling the somewhat confusing and random ideas written throughout the journal. Appelo draws on his knowledge of Cobain's life, experiences, and personal interaction with Cobain to explain a number of reasons behind the choices and issues which concerned Cobain during the final years of his life.

The decision to publish the journals of Kurt Cobain was important in that the fans of both the man himself and Nirvana can begin to understand the reasons behind the choices which somewhat influenced the social workings of a decade, which are still shaping the ideas of individuals today. Kurt Cobain Journals is a valuable book, published in the most effective way, which allows fans to get to know a man they could otherwise not know, through a personal account of Cobain's life, written by himself.

This is a recording of Kurt Cobain discussing his moodiness, drug use and more.

To read Appelo's article go to http://www.slate.com/id/2074093/

Nirvana

Friday, April 8th 1994, Kurt Cobain, frontman of Nirvana, was found dead in his Seattle home.


In 1987, the alternative rock band Nirvana was born. Kurt Cobain and Kris Novoselic were the original members of Nirvana, with a long line of drummers, the longest lasting being Dave Grohl, who joined the band on 1990.

Nirvana produced a new genre of alternative rock, called "grunge". With the introduction of other grunge bands such as Pearl Jam, alternative rock became the most popular genre to be played on US radios and music television in the 1990s. The artistic visions and messages of Nirvana were being heard by the whole world. Grunge became a movement of the 90s.

The success of Nirvana was huge in the 90s, with Cobain being referred to as the "spokesperson of a generation" and Nirvana being called the "flagship band" of Generation X. His success was overwhelming, which inevitably lead to his suicide in 1994.

Since Cobain's death, however, the popularity of Nirvana has soared. Nirvana's brief run ended with Cobain's death in April 1994, but the band's popularity continued in the years that followed. In 2002, "You Know You're Right", an unfinished demo from the band's final recording session, topped radio playlists around the world. Since their debut, the band has sold over twenty-five million albums in the US alone, and over fifty million worldwide! (The music video of "You Know You're Right" cannot be embedded in my blog, however you can see it at this address - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB5YcnsotZI).


"Kurt Cobain quite simply saved rock music. Without him we would all be listening to packaged junk rather than his legacy of creative, angry and ultimately social music." Pete M, Bristol (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3599769.stm).