Kurt Cobain RIP at 30

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana died 30 years ago today. At the time it felt hugely significant as he was the unwitting figurehead for alternative/indie music bludgeoning its way into the mainstream.

Top o' the grunge heap.

I was lucky enough to see them live at their one and only New Zealand gig in 1992 (check out gig prices 30 years ago!). Even cooler I got two free tickets care of my first proper boss. I recall them stuck to the whiteboard in the computer room where I was trapped everyday with the hum of outdated hardware.

Kurt was clearly not doing well and they played a fairly perfunctionary set. The 3Ds were easily the band of the night and Second Child were great also. Nevertheless, I recall enjoying it and was particularly happy they played "Lounge Act". Here's a terrible sounding bootleg that gives an impression of being there.

While never a huge fan, Cobain and Nirvana were a cultural phenomenon and hard to ignore. This is evidenced by events such as the In Utero release party at Bob's bar in High Street, Auckland. This was I think an exclusive event where attendees got to hear the album from start to finish before it was released.

Weird concept and the only one of these I've ever attended.

I was also asked to cover a DJ slot at bFM on Saturday April 9th (Cobain's body was found on the 8th) afternoon by Graeme Hill. I had coincidentally seen him at The Lure of Shoe gig the night before where both of us were pretty drunk. Part of my duties that afternoon was announcing the death and updating listeners with any breaking changes.

Then nothing for years until my next encounter with the band this century. My son developed a healthy obsession with the band and Kurt in particular when very young. This inspired him to play guitar (see an early birthday gift below) and announce his future job as a rock star. He's since progressed to wider music interests outside punk rock including making noise with his old man.

Michael Azerrad wrote a really insightful article about Cobain's death for the New Yorker in 2021. It does the best job explaining the before and after with an untainted personal connection. I highly recommend working through it (it's long!).

He also wrote a must have book called "Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991" . This excellent book covers the formation of distinctive guitar bands such as: Hüsker Dü , Sonic youth, Mission of Burma, Fugazi, and more.

Many of these bands were obvious inspiration for Nirvana and to be honest, were heaps better.