David
Fufkin:
April,
2004

Kurt Cobain: the Tenth Anniversary

On the tenth anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death, the debate of Cobain's importance is at a fever pitch. There is not much to add to the debate except for each one of us to contribute what we experienced or experience when we listen to his music.

I am in the camp that feels that Cobain is in the select category of important artists in the history of rock 'n roll. He saved us from hair metal. His music had brimstone intensity like a Coltrane sax solo, a Jerry Lee Lewis glissando, a B.B. King turnaround or a Beatles chorus. Cobain shook you to the bones with power, melody and smart, gripping, real lyrics. He was the real deal just like Elvis, Lennon and others who just have the gift. He had it, and if you disagree, you just don't get it. I am sorry.

Last year, I visited Seattle. They have a rock 'n roll museum there. I saw Hendrix' guitar. There was some cool Sonics memorabilia. But the highlight was a video of one of the first Nirvana performances with Dave Grohl on drums. Honestly, that tape showed me all I needed to know about Cobain. From the first note, Cobain led the band like an Indian chief leading a tribal war dance. He was as charismatic as Manson with his people. The melodic instinct of his playing, his innate sense of crowd mood and how to change it and the way he inspired Grohl and the bass player made an impact on me.

This was no fluke; what you were seeing was a guy with a gift, a guy who was born to whip crowds into a crazed frenzy. By the end of the tape, the crowd was so out of control that the cameraperson couldn't shoot anymore. As I watched the tape, I wanted to pick up and break something. It was at that moment that I realized that Cobain was in the elite class. Not that he incited violence in me, but that he inspired me to care and to feel something. Jaded guys like me just don't care that much anymore unless it is truly, truly special. This was special and so was he. He did this every night in every town for every single crowd.

It was a tragedy that he took his own life. I think we all hoped he would open the world's eyes to real music because we knew that he had the power to do it. As a piece in Magnet recently pointed out, it seemed like everything after Nirvana went underground in a retreat of depression after losing its leader. It is not that great music ceases to exist; it just fell off the major label radar screen. You see, it was not Cobain's responsibility to make the major labels wake up. They may never. What he left us with is a legacy of music that is truly special and important, one that all of us should be grateful for that we lived in an era to see it. I am one of the grateful ones. Rest in peace, Kurt.

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