April 5, 1994

Speaking from the toungue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complainee. This note should be pretty easy to understand. All the warnings from punk rock 101 courses over the years. Since my first introduction to the, shall we say, ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community has proven to be very true. I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guilty beyond words about these things. For example, when we’re backstage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowd begins it doesn’t affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury who seemed to love, relish in the love and adoration from the crowd. Which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is I can’t fool you. Any one of you. It simply isn’t fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I’m having 100 percent fun. Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch in time clock before I walk out on stage. I’ve tried everything within my power to appreciate it, and I do, God believe me I do, but it’s not enough. I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. I must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they’re gone. I’m too sensitive. I need to be slightly numb in order to regain the enthusiasm I once had as a child. On our last three tours I’ve had much better appreciation for all the people I’ve known personally and as fans of our music, but I still can’t get over thbe frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There’s good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much. So much that it makes me feel too fucking sad. The sad little, sensitive, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man! Why don’t you just enjoy it? I don’t know. I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what I used to be. Full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point where I can barely function. I can’t stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable self-destructive, death rocker that I’ve become. I have it good, very good, and I’m grateful, but since the age of seven I’ve become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along, and have empathy. Empathy! Only because I love and feel for people too much I guess. Thank you all from the pit of my burning nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I’m too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don’t have the passion anymore and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.

Febuary 20, 1967 - April 5, 1994

I’m not like them, but I can pretend
the sun is gone, but I have a light
the day is done, but I’m having fun
I think I’m dumb, or maybe just happy

it’s better to burn out than fade away… ain’t that from a therapy song?

Biggest.
Penis.

<font size=“7”>EVER!!!</font>

No seriously, what’s this supposed to be about?

kurt cobain, whoopity la de fuggin woo. He wasn’t that great IMO, only liked one song. No not smells like teen spirit ;p Eck thats only like somewhat decent as background music but i’ll take Weird Al’s verison over it. The song i liked is heart shaped box? Maybe he AND his band, nirvana were one of the ones to pioneer grunge, but grunge sucked IMO of course.

Nirvana was a good band.

Kurt Cobain blew his fucking brains out.

Listen to the music and shut up about it. I don’t go posting Ian Curtis’ death over and over again. Sheesh. I think that Cobain honestly would want you not to give less than half a shit about it THIS long, and he wouldn’t even be remembered by nearly as many people today if he DIDN’T kill himself.

That being said, his diary is very interesting; get it from the library though (I did). Not worth the exhorbitant amount of money to pay for it.

Hot damn, 10 years ago. o_o. I wish I had more to say…

for their genre they were topnotch but the genre itself really blows…
i’m not too fond of mista K D Cobain… He’s just one big publicity stunt… he prolly isn’t even dead… just like 2pac…

…how is he one big publicity stunt? Suicide is a publicity stunt?

o.O?

Starting counting at the point where he “came into the public eye” Kurt has been dead for more than twice as long as he was alive. Most of the people here are too young to have really “been there” back when he was a contemporary figure and not this deceased “icon” with this annoying little church built up around him. Hell, I was in 8th grade when he offed himself, and I consider myself even “too young” to really remember what it was like back then, untainted by memories of the year since and the Revisionist Church of Kurt. I certainly don’t expect anyone who was just like 7 years old or thereabout in '94 to remember or separate Kurt the man from Kurt the posthumous icon.

What most people remember is the shitty knockoff bands that have been plaguing our radios since 1995 that major labels “discovered” and manufactured in the wake of Kurt’s death to continue to milk the franchise – which, yes, IS a shitty genre – but don’t blame Kurt for that. They do that to anybody who dares strike a chord and becomes a successful commodity. The Beatles break big? Some suit manufactures the Monkees. Punk becomes hot amongst the kids? Malcom McLaren puts the Sex Pistols together. Just like Motley Crue leads to Poison, Ratt, and Quiet Riot. Just like Debbie Gibson leads to Tiffany (and later, Britney Spears leads to Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, and Anastacia). Korn leads to Limp Bizkit and Staind. Anybody who connects will be imitated and copied shamlessly by major labels (It’s their idea of “legal file sharing” I suppose).

And thus, the “genre” is created. And once there’s a genre, a handy label to describe a “movement” or “scene” then the box is created, bands start being stuffed into them, restrictions abound, creativity is strangled. Once any scene becomes a genre or movement, then it all starts to suck. The formula is created, bands are made with said formula, and presto, you’ve got shitty soundalikes.

And the sad thing is I can’t really listen to Nirvana anymore, even though I enjoy the music. Because of all the trendier than thou thoughtless religious worship that’s sprung up since. “oh, Kurt was great, he was the father of alternative, let’s make “teen spirt” number one on our all-time countdown” and nobody ever asks why, they just go along to look cool.

“Grunge” was never used by any of those bands to describe themselves. That was a total fabrication by record labels and music “journalists.” And before the label got beaten into everyone’s heads, you could keep your ears peeled and hear how different sounding Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam were both from Nirvana and each other. Just like you could have with Blondie, Talking Heads, and The Ramones back in 1976 before they all got lumped into “punk” and the “how to sound like a punk” guide got created. And, probably, if you were into that scene early enough, you can probably tell just how different Korn, RATM, Tool, and The Deftones sounded from each other until the Nu-Metal how-to guide got written (and the term “nu-metal” got invented, not-coincidentally enough) though I wasn’t into that so I wouldn’t know, but I figure there was a time BEFORE everyone had to sound like fucking Limp Bizkit or Kid Rock to get in the door.

Final assessment: Kurt wrote and performed some pretty good rock n’ roll. Judging by personality that came through in interview footage, he seems to me like he was a pretty cool guy. But he, like ALL of us, had issues. Just so happens that he didn’t have the right combination of strength and luck to overcome his “issues” and survive them; thus they consumed and destroyed him. That’s a shame. But it doesn’t warrant blanket lionization nor does it warrent blanket condemnation.

The simplicity of the music does not downplay it’s meaning or importance.

I like Alice in Chains more. Heh their singer died too.

Nobody implied that it did…

Cobain is dead, and that was sad.

But biggie and tupac? Yea, they’re on some island.

It’s really a pity that Kurt did blow his brains out. Nirvana was, and still is one of the greatest grunge bands out there.

Of course, that’s just in my opinion.

When I first heard about Kurt Cobain’s death, I was in second grade and I didn’t know who Nirvana or Kurt Cobain were, but surprisingly a lot of my classmates seemed to. I really got into Nirvana when I was in 7th grade, but after about a year I didn’t listen to them so much.

You mentioned the Deftones…! My friends were so into them in 1998. I even went to one of their concerts, even though I really didn’t like them at all. I heard they had a song being played on pop channels about three years ago, and I saw a picture of Chio around the same time(he had gained a lot of weight), but after that they seemed to disapper.

Just because someone wasn’t “into” it at the time doesn’t mean crap.

Yes, but I never said it did.

Kaiser, I want you to have my children.

Tupac is currently living on Neptune as King of the Neptunians. Yeah, he moved.

Edit: Oh yeah, sucks that Kurt Cobain killed himself and all. Did anyone see that retarded thing in Spin Magazine about what Kurt would have done for the past ten years if he hadn’t killed himself? It was really dumb.