This past week, generations of rock fans remembered the 17 years that have passed since the death of rock legend, Kurt Cobain.
With the help of Cobain, Nirvana became one of the first bands to define alternative rock, essentially creating a whole new genre of rock music. Nirvana had three hit albums before the fall of their run. The end of their band run was the result of the random death of Cobain.
Starting out as a low-key grunge band, Nirvana never expected to find very sudden, yet unintended success that quickly. At the top of the Nirvana craze, the entertainment media dubbed the Nirvana front-man, Cobain, as the “spokesman of a generation,” and a defining voice of Generation X.
Fans from all over the world paid tribute to his death. Twitter flooded with the outcries from Cobain fans. The fans honored the fallen rock icon by getting the words “RIP Kurt Cobain,” to trend world-wide.
His hometown unveiled a statue of a giant guitar in honor of his life and career. The statue was placed right beside Young Street Bridge, which is speculated to be the very spot that Cobain had written many of his hit songs. The guitar statue was engraved with the words “One more special message to go and then I’m done and I can go home,” which came from the Nirvana hit, “On a Plan.”
Among the fan-made tributes on YouTube was the Cobain tribute by actor and musician, Jared Leto. Leto, the front-man of the Grammy award-winning band 30 Seconds to Mars, felt a powerful connection to Cobain which inspired his short-film tribute.
Leto took to his blog to remember Cobain by posting a short film of him dressing, acting and performing exactly like Cobain, along with a message of thanks.
During the course of his career, Cobain was able to really connect with Generation X and became idolized by teenagers and young people everywhere. Cobain’s music was able to speak to its audience meaningfully with an intensity that was responsible for sending grunge music mainstream.
While Cobain was at the top of his fame, his public image and personal domestic issues with singer Courtney Love began to take a toll on his life, resulting in an addiction to heroin. Cobain battled his heroin addiction until his suicide on April 5, 1994. The tragic suicide ensured that Cobain will always be a rock ‘n roll icon.
