WHO KILLED GRUNGE?

          In the late 1980’s and the early 1990’s, nothing was bigger in the music world then the Seattle based grunge movement. Band like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam were all bands from the Washington state area during this time, but none of them would reach the status of the band Nirvana. Nirvana’s front man Kurt Cobain enjoyed a few years in the spotlight before being found dead in his Seattle home on April fifth, 1994. Many people speculated what happened to the Nirvana singer/guitarist, the most popular and most backed theories are that Kurt Cobain; committed suicide, was murdered by the electrician that came to install security lighting around his home, and that Cobain’s wife, Courtney Love, murder or hired a hitman on Cobain. All though nothing is certain in the case, the most famous member of the 27 club’s legacy and mystery lives on to this day.

          Kurt Cobain was the famed 1990’s singer and guitarist for the grunge band Nirvana. Before Cobain began playing under the name Nirvana, he was a high school dropout. After failing to complete high school, Cobain recruited Krist Novoselic to play the bass guitar and Aaron Burckhard to play the drums. Burckhard wouldn’t stay as he was replaced by Chad Channing prior to the release of their first album. Channing also wouldn’t stay with Nirvana as he left and was finally replaced by the final drummer Dave Grohl who appeared on Nirvana’s second and third album. Cobain and Nirvana struggled to keep drummers, but his strop them from topping charts and becoming the band of the nineties.

          Kurt Cobain and Nirvana’s popularity was unquestionable during the early 1990’s. Kurt Cobain’s stardom came from Nirvana’s second album entitled Nevermind. Nirvana’s first album Bleach was a commercial failure as it didn’t sell when compared to their other releases such as Nevermind (“Gold and Platinum”). Nevermind was the album that defined the 1990’s as the new grunge sound took its footing the music industry. Nevermind has gone 10 times platinum and sold over 10 million units (“Gold and Platinum”). Some of the important tracks off Nevermind are Come As You Are and Lithium. Come As You Are’s slow chorus guitar followed by the slow drums to compliment the guitar, and Lithium’s similar slow melodic guitar and slow drums show some of the unique sounds in grunge. Neither of those songs would be the standout song, that title belongs to Smells Like Teen Spirit. The dry and scratchy guitar tone and the powerful drum fills pushed the song into the stratosphere. When Nirvana would play the song live, the roar of the crowd would exceed the hysteria of any other song. In total, Nirvana sold millions units in the USA, solidifying its position of greatest selling bands in America (“Gold and Platinum”).

          Beyond the awards, Kurt Cobain’s intelligence displayed in his songwriting is another attribute that sets him apart. Kurt Cobain was the main songwriter for Nirvana and songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit, Rape Me, All Apologies, Dumb, and Polly, all showcase Cobain’s ability to write well-crafted music. Smells Like Teen Spirit is the best song of the 1990’s and arguable the greatest song of all time, the song that has defined Nirvana. Smells Like Teen Spirit is a unique song not only in its sound, but in its lyrical contents. The lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit have no concrete meaning. The lyrics contain oxymorons and random words strung together like “a mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, and my libido” all in the same song (Nirvana. “Smells Like Teen Spirit, 1:22-1:30). Cobain’s music sometimes didn’t have a concrete meaning in some section. Nirvana’s music didn’t need to make since or have meaning as it is what made Nirvana unique in the early 1990’s. Rape Me is one of the songs that display the decay in Kurt Cobain’s mental state. Kurt Cobain asked his friend to rape him, hate him, and waste him (Nirvana. “Rape Me, 0:46- 1:02). Cobain also states that he’s not the only one, showing that he is not the only victim of his friend’s violence (Nirvana. “Rape Me, 0:29-0:45). Cobain’s relationship with his then wife, Courtney Love, was slowly unravelling and Cobain wrote music to capture the feelings.

          Nirvana’s third album shifted from what Cobain could write and screaming the lyrics, to an expression of his feelings with everything in the world. The repeated shouting of the words “rape me” only add to the mystery of the song. All Apologies is a song that displays his worsening mental state and relationship with Courtney Love. Cobain says “What else should I be? All apologies”, a directed apology towards his wife (Nirvana. “All Apologies”, 0:16- 0:24). This is confirmed because of the usage of the word married in the song, and Cobain was married to Courtney Love at release of the song. Cobain is apologizing for something he did to try and defuse a situation with his wife. Cobain is try to keep the relationship with his wife and the song All Apologies is capturing the experience that Cobain is having. Dumb is another song which the shows the worsening of Cobain. Cobain sings “My heart is broke, but I have some glue” which shows a change in Cobain’s character (Nirvana. “Dumb”, 0:35- 0:38). Cobain has a serious issue but intends to implement a temporary fix but gluing it back together. This song is most likely related to Cobain’s drug addiction Cobain has a serious problem in his life and plans to fix the problem with drugs, or in the case of Dumb, glue. Another Nirvana song with notable songwriting is Polly. Polly is Nirvana’s darkest song as it depicts a girl being raped told through the perspective of the rapist (Nirvana. “Polly”). The song Polly tells the story of a girl being suspended, burnt with a blowtorch, and raped the pleasure of the rapist. Nirvana and Kurt Cobain were known feminist and were advocates for informing people of the global issue of rape and women’s rights.

          Throughout Nirvana’s limited discography, Kurt Cobain displayed his popularity in American pop culture and his intelligence through his song writing ability. Nirvana struggled with keeping with drummers but was still able to ascend into rock and roll stardom after the acquisition of Dave Grohl. Kurt Cobain grew from local rock musician to global sensation comparable to names like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones.

On April eighth, 1994, Kurt Donald Cobain was found dead in his Seattle residency by an electrician who came to install security lighting around the property. There are three theories on what could have happened to the grunge superstar. The first theory is that Cobain committed suicide. The second theory is that his then wife, Courtney Love, murdered Cobain. The third theory is that the electrician who discovered Cobain’s body killed Cobain, either through his own will or through Courtney Love.

          Kurt Cobain was found dead on April eighth and was believed to have committed suicide closer to April fifth, accord to medical experts (Strauss). The events and experiences prior to Cobain’s fatal shooting are just as important in setting the precedent for Cobain’s disappearance and then his death. The first thing to look at is Cobain’s mental wellbeing. As previously mentioned, Nirvana’s music went from whatever Cobain could string together to a reflection of Cobain’s life and experiences with his wife. The music reflects that Cobain’s life was slowly falling apart as a result of his marriage beginning to go under.

Another issue Cobain experienced was drug abuse. Cobain was a heroin addict throughout his career and lead to his eventual placement into a drug-treatment center just prior to his disappearance and death. Before making it to his Seattle residency, Cobain first escaped the drug-treatment center that he was placed in presumable by jumping over the fencing around the compound (Whitely). The drug addiction problems faced by Cobain and the extreme events he endured during his final weeks could have a factor into him eventually taking his own life.

          On April eighth, 1994, Kurt Cobain was founded dead by an electrician who came to work on the house. Cobain being found was a massive event as he had gone missing for a significant time before then. Eventually, the Seattle police department arrived to pull evidence from the crime scene. The first piece of evidence was the “20-gauge shotgun” found on site along with a box of shotgun shells, with only one shells missing from the box (Crimesider). This alongside the head wounds sustained by Cobain, confirm that he was fatally shot, most likely by the shotgun. Gun wounds have been determined as the cause of death but the person who shot the gun, while suspected to be Cobain is still unknown. Another piece of evidence that shows what could have happened is the heroin kit “complete with syringes and other paraphernalia” (Crimesider). Throughout Cobain entire career and especially towards the end of his career, drug abuse was a recurring issue with not only himself but with his wife, Courtney Love. Although he didn’t overdose on heroin, his mind-altered state could have forced him into making the decision to ultimately end his own life. A “clouded mental function” is one of the side effects of heroin and could have been involved in Cobain taking his own life knowingly or unknowingly as a direct result of the heroin (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Cobain committing suicide is the most plausible theory when looking at the evidence but over people’s involvement is also important.

          Throughout the investigation of Cobain’s death, Courtney Love was a person of interest throughout the entirety of the investigation. One issue faced during the investigation was the source of information. Most of the facts came from Courtney Love which isn’t particularly useful when trying to verifying the facts and testimonies (Browne). Love’s ability to shape the case into her favor is a tool she could have used but can not be confirmed, as well as more importantly, most everything said by Love could not be confirmed nor be confirmed by Love herself. During interviews, Love would be asked about information given by herself and when it was linked to her, she blanked and was unable to give an answer (Browne). Although silence can not be used as evidence in the American court system, her silence without question brings suspect to her name. This can to an extent confirm that Love could be behind Kurt Cobain’s passing although nothing is certain.

          Another possibility is that the electrician who discovered Cobain’s body murdered Cobain either through his own will or through Courtney Love. The electrician willfully choosing to murder Cobain is unlikely because he discovered the body on April eighth and the medical expert concluded that he was most likely shot on April fifth. The electrician being hired as a hitman on Cobain is plausible because Love attempted to hire another hitman prior to have Cobain murdered, but this is unlikely. The electrician being involved in another manner outside of simply discovering the body is unlikely but is still noteworthy.

          Kurt Cobain’s passing is most likely a result of his own will but being murdered by his wife or a hitman placed on Cobain is also possible. The passing of Cobain of April fifth, 1994 has forever changed the reputation of Courtney Love as many believe that she murdered Cobain and the modern music scene was greatly impacted by the loss of one of the greatest to ever do it.

          The discovery of Kurt Cobain’s body on April eighth, 1994 greatly altered the music scene but more importantly the reputation of his wife Courtney Love. Kurt Cobain’s death was the first event that killed the Seattle Grunge movement, but his death also led many people to believe that Love murdered Cobain. While the gun wounds sustained by Cobain make it apparent that he was killed by gunshot with the shotgun found alongside his body, the person who fired the gun is still up to question. While experts point to suicide, the theories and evidence prove what experts believe as well as point to Love being a potential killer. However, like Nirvana’s lyrics, nothing can be said with certainty in the case of Kurt Cobain.