Kurt Cobain died 20 years ago today

Maybe not one of those "where were you" moments like JFK or John Lennon, but it is the closest thing my generation has (graduated high school in 1996). I was in English class when I heard about it ... I wasn't one of those kids who went into a full-on depression, but looking back, he had an indelible mark on the music we listen to.

Someone had mentioned it on a thread a few days ago, about what would have happened if Cobain hadn't died and Nirvana carried on. We may not ever know just how talented Dave Grohl would be. And if a band like Pearl Jam would be as big as they are, considering they've carried the torch for the past 20 years.

http://www.spin.com/articles/nirvana-kurt-cobain-dead-spin-june-1994-cover-story-into-the-black/

 

Grohl was too ambitious and talented to stay relatively anonymous on the drum kit for too long. But Cobain's death and the end of Nirvana inspired most of that first Foo Fighter's album. Who knows what direction his career would have taken.

 

I think I remember hearing the first chords of Everlong more than I remember the exact moment I learned of Cobain's death. He had tried to kill himself a couple of weeks earlier. He really wanted to die.

 

There's certainly no way of knowing if Cobain hadn't pulled the trigger that night, if he wouldn't have done it anyway in another two weeks (or 18 years).

I guess, taking the optimistic view, if KC had pulled himself together, got past his demons, given Courtney Love the boot (an absolute must if he had any hope of living a useful life), he and Grohl could have developed into the Lennon-McCartney of the grunge era (not really in co-writing songs per se but more likely in taking turns spurring each other to increase their creativity).

Or, who knows, Cobain could have succumbed to Axl Rose Disease, dumped Grohl and Novoselic, hired his own designated studio dudes and continued Nirvana on as strictly the Kurt Show. That probably wouldn't have been an environment which would have encouraged Cobain to continue to put out music on any kind of regular basis (again, see Axl).

 

Ever long is so goddamn good.

 

Novoselic and Grohl might not have minded if Cobain wanted/needed to take long breaks from Nirvana. They both really seem to enjoy doing their own thing and playing with a variety of bands. We might not have ever had the Foo Fighters as we know them, but Grohl could have spent the past 20 years playing with Nirvana and a bunch of other supergroups.

 

I always thought this was one of the most senseless celebrity deaths in history. Drugs and a nut job wife aside, if Cobain just wanted to rid himself of his lifestyle, it would have been simple. He could had gotten a haircut, bought some new clothes that were actually new, grabbed his checkbook and faded into the night as an anonymous person.

 

I think the band was pretty much done by the time Kurt killed himself. They could have trudged on a few more years possibly, but I don't believe there would have been any touring presence and perhaps there might have been an Axl Rose-like break from Cobain.

Grohl should thank Cobain every day for pulling that trigger. He's sold a lot of records and has done a lot of business, but none of that would have been possible if he wasn't "the guy from Nirvana who carried on after Kurt died". I don't believe his song-writing is as strong as some people have suggested and if Cobain was still kicking about, the Foo Fighters would be something along the lines of Slash's Snakepit (a mere curiosity that could sell out theaters).

Novoselic never seemed comfortable doing the rock thing and probably would have done exactly what he ended up doing anyway.

Pat Smear most likely would have never had the MTV House of Style gig and all the Foo Fighter fringe benefits if KC lived. Hell, I wonder if he would even still be alive if KC didn't pluck him from post-punk obscurity and inject him in to one of the biggest bands in the world. If ever there was a clear winner in all of this mess, it's Pat.

 

Say they just broke up and the Foo Fighters were just a band "fronted by the guy from Nirvana." They didn't need Cobain to die to be a huge band. I didn't follow music news all that much back then and I fuckin' loved I'll Stick Around the first time I heard it. I had no idea that was Nirvana's drummer singing.

 

Agree with you about Nirvana not lasting much longer, but you're dead wrong about Grohl.

The first Foo Fighters album was largely ignored. The Foo Fighters' popularity was a steady growth, not a leftover from the 'drummer from Nirvana" connection. Foo Fighters may be the best rock band to come along since Cobain died.

I suspect had Cobain lived, he would have a Bowie or Lou Reed career -- the occasional solo album, erratic with moments of brilliance.

 

I've thought about posting on the "your favorite band's peak" thread, but the Foo Fighters are my favorite and I can't decide what the peak is or if it's been reached. They've been remarkably consistent for two decades.

 

I don't think Cobain's death was close to matching the "What if" qualities of the death of Duane Allman. Cobain's form of music was already dominant. Allman's could have been, but never quite was.