May 18, 1986
arrested for trespassing
he was wandering on the roof of an abandoned building

September 1, 1986
he moved into his first house and lived alone
he made rent working part-time as a school janitor

circa 1986, he became addicted to Percodan (a painkiller)
he read a lot in the local library
had an interest in S.E. Hinton and William S. Burroughs

Kurt’s philosophy included:
SCUM Manifesto by Valerie Solanas
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac,
and Perfume by Patrick Süskind
as well as works by:
Samuel Beckett,
Charles Bukowski,
Jon Savage,
and Camille Paglia.

Kurt focused on art in school
he would often draw during class
he had a gay friend in school
which caused a bit of bullying from homophobic students
he started to think he was gay himself

Olympia, Washington, 1987
Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic formed Nirvana
Kurt lived with a girlfriend, Tracy Marander
the inspiration for “About a Girl”

in 1990, they broke up
next girl, Tobi Vail
a drummer from Bikini Kill
she broke it off after a short time

January 1992, Nirvana appeared on Saturday Night Live
Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic “made out” as a joke
the segment was cut from the show, and was only shown once
as a teenager, he thrived in the punk scene
formed a strong friendships with The Melvins
a heavy influence of Nirvana’s sound

Kurt had a small tattoo of a shiled with a “K” inside it on his forearm

February 1992, in an interview with The Advocate
Kurt claimed to have spraypainted “God is Gay” on trucks around Aberdeen
Aberdeen police records show that he was actually arrested for writing
“Ain’t got no how watchamacallit.”
[Cross, Charles - Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain]

“I’m definitely gay in spirit, and I probably could be bisexual”
“But I’m married, and I’m more attracted to Courtney…”
“…than I ever have been toward a person, “
“so there’s no point in trying to sow my oats at this point.”
“If I wouldn’t have found Courtney, “
“I probably would have carried on with a bisexual lifestyle.”

1993, in an interview he said
“I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason”
“I was ashamed of my parents”
“I couldn’t face some of my friends at school anymore, “
“bacause I desperately wanted to have the classic typical family”
“Mother, father”
“I wanted that security, “
“so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that.”
[Savage, Jon - Kurt Cobain: The Lost Interview]
his musical influences
November 1993
Kurt performed with Nirvana on MTV Unplugged
he would often refer to other alternative rock bands
one of his favorite bands was The Meat Puppets

he recruited Pat Smear, of The Germs, as a secondary guitarist
Curt and Cris Kirkwood of The Meat Puppets
appeared with him during the live taping of MTV Unplugged
and performed three of their songs with him on stage

he shared his influences and favorite bands in interviews
mentioning acts such as:
The Bay City Rollers,
Boston,
The Knack,
Leadbelly,
The Meat Puppets,
The Melvins,
Daniel Johnston,
The Pixies,
The Raincoats,
The Vaselines,
Young Marble Giants,
and The Wipers

he noted that “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
had sounds similar to The Pixies
as Sonic Youth had helped Nirvana gain broader success,
Nirvana did likewise for other indie acts

1992, Kurt told Melody Maker
after hearing Surfer Rosa for the first time
it convinced him to abandon influences by:
Black Flag and The Sex Pistols
and do songwriting more like “Iggy Pop / Aerosmith”
like in in the album Nevermind
[Melody Maker - "Kurt Cobain of Nirvana Talks About the Records That Changed His Life"]

on a split-single album with The Jesus Lizard (from Chicago)
“Oh, the Guilt” helped credibility with indie music
while giving The Jesus Lizard a wider audience

The Beatles were an early influence for Kurt
he called John Lennon an idol in his diary
at the core, Cobain/Nirvana was influenced by punk rock
but had early influences by bands of the 70s:
Black Sabbath,
KISS,
and Led Zeppelin

Nirvana did a studio recording of KISS’ “Do You Love Me?”
“Where Did You Sleep Last Night” was a song made popular by Leadbelly,
“Polly” may have been influenced by “Pretty Polly”,
a murder ballad by Dock Boggs in 1927
in the band, Nirvana
1982, age 15, Cobain received got first guitar
a gift from his from his uncle
bought at Rosevear’s Music Center in Aberdeen, Washington
it was either that or a bicycle

he tried to form bands with friends,
borrowing from songs by AC/DC and Led Zeppelin
but usually found himself alone,
because none of his friends had much musical talent

he met Novoselic, a fellow punk rock enthusiast
Krist Novoselic lived down by the Young Street bridge
Krist’s mother, owner of Maria’s Hair Design,
let them practice in the above room of her salon
later, with a demo copy of his earlier band, Fecal Matter,
Kurt tried to convince Krist to form a band

Novoselic finally agreed to join him
so began the forming of Nirvana
1989, in the beginning,
they went through a lot of drummers,
but settled on Chad Channing
and the album Bleach was released on Sub Pop Records

1991, Cobain became dissatisfied with Channing’s style
and they brought on Dave Grohl
it was then they found success with the debut of Nevermind

Kurt struggled to retain the success of Nirvana with his underground roots
he felt persecuted by the media
compared himself to Frances Farmer
he really didn’t like new fans of the band
that got their message completely wrong

2 men raped a woman while singing the song “Polly”,
a hit off the Nevermind album
in the US release of the album Incesticide he proclaimed:
“Last year, a girl was raped by two wastes of sperm and eggs”,
“while they sang the lyrics to our song Polly.”
“I have a hard time carrying on”,
“knowing there are plankton like that in our audience”
“Sorry to be so anally P.C. but that’s the way I feel”

some famous songs:
“Come as You Are”, Nevermind
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Nevermind
“Dumb”, In Utero

Nirvana is:
Kurt Cobain,
Krist Novoselic,
Dave Grohl
also noteworthy:
Aaron Burckhard,
Dave Foster,
Chad Channing,
Dale Crover,
Dan Peters,
Jason Everman,
Pat Smear

discography:
Bleach,
Blew,
Nevermind,
Hormoaning,
Nevermind: It’s An Interview,
Incesticide,
In Utero,
MTV Unplugged in New York,
From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah,
Nirvana,
Sliver: The Best of the Box

singles:
“Love Buzz”,
“Sliver”,
“Molly’s Lips”,
“Here She Comes Now”,
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”,
“Come as You Are”,
“Lithium”,
“On a Plain”,
“In Bloom”,
“Oh, the Guilt”,
“Heart-Shaped Box”,
“All Apologies”/”Rape Me”,
“Pennyroyal Tea”,
“About a Girl (Unplugged)”,
“The Man Who Sold the World (Unplugged)”,
“Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”,
“Lake of Fire (Unplugged)”,
“Aneurysm (live)”,
“Drain You (live)”,
“You Know You’re Right”
about his wife, Courtney
February 24, 1992,
Cobain and Courtney Love
married on Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

1988, she first sees him perform
they were supposedly introduced at a concert
with L7 and The Butthole Surfers playing
in Los Angeles, May 1991
some say it was Portland of 1989,
but Everett True maintains it was 1991,
and references a 1992 interview by Sassy Magazine:
the pair remarked meeting at the L7 / Butthole Surfers concert

shortly after, David Grohl informs them of mutual crushes
Fall 1991, Love begins pursuing Cobain
in an off-and-on again relationship
they find themselves together, bound by drug use

1992, Love finds she’s pregnant with their child

August 18, 1993 Frances Bean Cobain is born
Kurt thought she looked like a kidney bean,
after seeing the first sonogram of her
Cobain was a big fan of Frances McKee of The Vaselines
hence her peculiar middle and first names

Love’s harshest critics were some of Nirvana’s fans
touting she was using him to make herself famous
critics also liked to compare the two,
being the likes of John Lennon and Yoko Ono
rumors sprouted that Cobain wrote most of the songs,
on Love’s breakthrough album Live Through This
she was the lead singer of the band Hole

“Asking for It” contains Cobain singing backup vocals
but there is no evidence to prove Kurt wrote any songs
one Hole song is known to actually be written by Cobain,
but “Old Age” is credited as a Hole song
it appeared on the B-side of a 1993 single for Beautiful Son

1998, a shotty boombox recording of the song surfaced
thanks to The Stranger, a Seattle newspaper
in the article, Novoselic confirmed the recording
“Old Age” was a Nirvana song made in 1991
this lead to more speculation about Cobain writing for Hole

“Old Age” was cut from the Nevermind album,
because the band had run out of studio time
2004, an incomplete recording appeared on With the Lights Out
the song is credited to Cobain

guitarist Eric Erlandson, of Hole, thought Cobain wrote the music
and Love had written the lyrics for the version Hole used
[Garofalo, Reebee - Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA]

1992, Love admits to using heroin while (unknowingly) pregnant
[Vanity Fair]
this further damages her public standing
her romance with Kurt had been a media attraction,
but they were soon harassed by tabloid reporters
reporters wanted to know if Frances was born an addict

notoriety causes a child welfare services investigation
begging the question, is the couple fit to be parents?
eventually the allegations are dismissed,
but not without significant legal hassle
Love and Cobain claim Vanity Fair took her words out of context
drugs and addiction
most of his life, Cobain battles:
depression,
chronic bronchitis,
and intense physical pain

due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition
his emotional state is severly debilitated
he spends years trying to figure it out
perhaps childhood scoliosis or stresses of performing are to blame

he self-medicated with heroin,
but that’s not the reason for his heroin use
1986, Cobain gets a taste of the drug
thanks to a local drug dealer trafficking Percodan

late 1991, his use affects the band
Cobain passes out during photo shoots
1992, on Saturday Night Live
Nirvana has a shoot with photographer, Michael Levine
Cobain nods off several times during the shoot
he later overdoses that night after the performance

Cobain tells biographer Michael Azerrad,
“I mean, what are they supposed to do?”
“They’re not going to be able to tell me to stop”
“So I really didn’t care”
“Obviously to them it was like practicing witchcraft or something”
“They didn’t know anything about it”,
“so they thought that any second”,
“I was going to die”

1992, his heroin addiction increases
he makes his first attempt at rehab
this is soon after he learns he’s becoming a dad
after rehab, Nirvana goes on tour in Australia
he’s pale and gaunt
suffering from withdrawals

his addiction resurfaces after returning home
this abuse affected his family life
a judge orders the Cobain’s to release custody of their daughter
Frances Bean is placed in care of Courtney’s sister Jamie for several weeks
they later obtain custody again,
but not without urine tests and regular visits from a social worker
eventually, after much legal manuevering,
they are granted full custody of their daughter

July 1993, at the New Music Seminar in New York City
Cobain suffers a heroin overdose prior to performaing
Love injects Cobain with illegally acquired Narcan
this brings him out of his unconscious state
instead of receiving vital medical attention
he is back on his feet to perform that night
this is one of their more memorable performances
fans never knew anything was out of the ordinary
his last days
March 1, 1994
on tour at Terminal Eins in Munich, Germany
Cobain is diagnosed with bronchitis and laryngitis
he is treated the next day in Rome
and joined by Courtney on March 3

March 4
Love wakes to find that Cobain overdosed
an apparent combination of champagne and Rohypnol
Love had filled a prescription for Rohypnol after arriving in Rome
he is immediately rushed to the hospital again
he spends the rest of the day unconscious
he spends 5 days in the hospital
he is released and returned to Seattle
[Halperin, Ian & Wallace, Max - Who Killed Kurt Cobain?]
Love claims this was Kurt’s first suicide attempt

March 18
the alleged suicide note

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cobainnote.jpg

Love phones police and says Kurt is suicidal
she said he locked himself in a room with a gun

police arrive
they confiscate several guns and a bottle of pills from Cobain
Kurt insists he was not suicidal,
and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love
when questioned by police, Love admittes:
Kurt had never mentioned that he was suicidal,
and that she had not seen him with a gun
[Seattle Police Department]

March 25
Love arranged an intervention concerning Cobain’s drug use
10 people were involved:
musician friends,
record company executives,
and 1 of Cobain’s closest friends, Dylan Carlson

Former Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg describes Cobain:
“extremely reluctant”,
“denied that he was doing anything self-destructive.”
still, Cobain agreed to undergo a detox program
[The Seattle Times - Questions Linger After Cobain Suicide]

March 30
Cobain arrived at the Exodus Recovery Center in Los Angeles, California

April 1
one of Frances Bean’s nannies brought her to the facility
she stay for 1 hour visiting with Cobain
that night, Cobain walked outside to have a cigarette
he climbed over a six-foot-high fence to leave the facility
he took a taxi to the airport and flew back to Seattle

the next morning, he stopped by his Seattle home
he had a conversation with Michael “Cali” DeWitt
Michael lived at Cobain’s house
Over the next several days, Cobain was spotted in various locations around Seattle
most of his friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts

April 3, Love contacted a private investigator, Tom Grant
he was hired to find Cobain
the next day Love filed a missing person report
but she used Cobain’s mother’s name without her permission
she added in the file that Cobain was suicidal,
and was in possession of a shotgun
[Seattle Police Department - Missing Person Report]

April 8,
Cobain’s body was discovered in the spare room above the garage
this room is referred to as “the greenhouse” at his Lake Washington home
says Veca Electric employee Gary Smith
The address on Lake Washington
171 Lake Washington Blvd E, Seattle, WA 98112

Smith arrived at the house that morning to install security lighting,
and saw the body lying inside
Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain’s ear,
Smith reported seeing no visible signs of trauma,
and initially believed that Cobain was asleep
Smith found what he thought might be a suicide note
it had a pen stuck through it beneath an overturned flowerpot

A shotgun, purchased for Cobain by Dylan Carlson,
was found at Cobain’s side
an autopsy report later concluded Cobain’s death was a result of:
a “self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.”
the report estimates Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994

in the alleged suicide note,
ostensibly written to Cobain’s imaginary childhood friend “Boddah”,
Cobain quoted a lyric from Neil Young’s song “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)”:
“It’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
Cobain’s use of the lyric had a profound impact on Young,
who recorded portions of his 1994 album Sleeps with Angels in Cobain’s memory
the note also evoked the name of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury,
who Cobain felt could revel in the adoration of an audience
a way that Cobain himself could not

Cobain’s body was cremated
one third of his ashes were scattered:
at the Namgyal tibetan buddhist monastery in Ithaca, New York,
another third in the Wishkah River,
and the rest left in Love’s possession
was it suicide?
the note

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cobainnote.jpg

Kurt Cobain is legally recognized to have committed suicide
there are unanswered questions within the Seattle Police Department’s report
their investigative approach suggests Cobain may have been murdered

Richard Lee was the first to publicly object to the suicide
Lee hosted a Seattle public access show on cable
the ongoing documentary was called “Kurt Cobain Was Murdered”

he noted several discrepancies in the police reports:
several changes in the nature of the shotgun blast,
there was an absence of blood for a “point-blank shotgun blast to the head”

pathology experts have noted that a shotgun blast,
inside the mouth often results in less blood,
unlike a shotgun blast to the head
[Halperin, Ian & Wallace, Max - Who Killed Kurt Cobain?]
Lee’s TV series focused on general issues regarding the SPD

Tom Grant, the private investigator was employed by Courtney Love
she retained his services after Cobain’s disappearance from rehab
Grant believes that Cobain’s death was a homicide
Grant cites from an article in the April 14, 1994, Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
from the official toxicology report,
“the level of heroin in Cobain’s bloodstream was 1.52 milligrams per liter”
[Merritt, Mike & Maier, Scott - "Cobain Lay Dead for 3 Days", Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

Grant cites the figure as the key piece of evidence for murder
Grant argues that Cobain could not have injected himself
with such a dose he would not have been able to pull the trigger
an assertion supported by several notable experts on heroin addiction
[Halperin, Ian & Wallace, Max - Who Killed Kurt Cobain?]

Grant does not believe that Cobain was killed by the heroin dose
he suggests that it was used to incapacitate Cobain,
before the final shotgun blast was administered by the perpetrator
critics note it’s difficult to determine how much heroin an addict can tolerate

Grant believes the suicide note is announcing Cobain’s intent to leave:
Love, Seattle, and the music business
handwriting experts say the final lines of the note,
that most sound like a suicide note,
are written in a style that varies from the rest of the letter
the official report simply concludes that Cobain wrote the note

Grant says Cobain’s arm would have been too short for him to reach the trigger
Cobain would have had to fire the weapon with his toe,
yet he was found with both shoes still in place

critics dismiss Grant’s assertions
they claim that many of them are unproven hypotheses based on unconfirmable information
critics also see Grant as an opportunist
they point out that he sells “kits” about the alleged conspiracy

the kits are called “Case Study Manuals” on Grant’s website
Grant counters that any profit from the kits is to offset the costs of his investigation
Grant said,
“I wrestled with that…but if I go broke”,
“I’ll have to give up my pursuit and Courtney wins.”
[Halperin, Ian & Wallace, Max - Who Killed Kurt Cobain?]

Kurt’s cause of death is the subject of film in 1998:
Nick Broomfield’s documentary, “Kurt & Courtney”
Filmmaker Nick Broomfield decided to investigate the story for himself

he took a film crew to visit a number of people associated with Cobain and Love
the list includes:
Love’s father,
Cobain’s aunt,
and one of the couple’s former nannies

most notably, Broomfield spoke to Mentors bandleader El Duce
El Duce claimed that Love had offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain
he passed a polygraph administered by Dr. Edward Gelb
Broomfield inadvertently captured El Duce’s last interview,
who died only days later
Broomfield thought there was not enough evidence to prove a conspiracy

Journalists Ian Halperin and Max Wallace investigated the conspiracy themselves
the 1999 book “Who Killed Kurt Cobain?” drew a similar conclusion to Broomfield’s film
there is more than enough evidence to demand the case be reopened
a notable element of the book includes their discussions with Grant

Grant taped nearly every conversation he had in Love’s company
Grant played some of the tapes for the journalists to prove his claims
Halperin and Wallace later collaborated with Grant to write a second book
in 2004 “Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain”, claims to prove that Cobain was murdered

After Cobain’s death, Love insisted Cobain’s overdose in Rome was a suicide attempt
several people contested this
Dr. Osvaldo Galletta, who treated Cobain, told Newsday,
“After [Cobain] woke up, he told me it was an accident”
“He said he had been confused”
“He had taken pharmaceuticals and alcohol together”
“He said it was just a mistake”
[Henican, Ellis - "Doctor Saw Cobain's Suicide Coming", Newsday]

Galletta explained to Halperin and Wallace,
“We can usually tell a suicide attempt”
“This didn’t look like one to me”
Galletta denied Love’s claim that 50 Rohypnol pills were removed from Cobain’s stomach
[Halperin, Ian & Wallace, Max - Who Killed Kurt Cobain?]

others still believe there is conclusive proof of suicide from:
persistent drug addiction,
clinical depression,
and the handwritten suicide note
members of Cobain’s family also noted a history of depression and suicide in the family
it is notable that Grohl and Novoselic have remained silent in the matter

recently, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon was interviewed by UNCUT magazine regarding Cobain’s death
when asked for a motive to commit suicide, Gordon answered,
“I don’t even know that he killed himself”
“There are people close to him who don’t think that he did”
when asked if she thought someone else had killed him, Gordon answered,
“I do, yes”
Gordon is one of few friends to declare, on the record, that Cobain was murdered
[Dalton, Stephen - "Suicide Blond", Uncut Magazine]

2001, Writer Charles R. Cross published a biography of Cobain titled “Heavier Than Heaven”
Cross contacted many of Cobain’s friends and family
he received a significant amount of input from Love
the book is possibly the most detailed account of Cobain’s life on record
it is arguably the “definitive” Cobain biography
but neither Dave Grohl nor Cobain’s mother contributed to the book

many criticized Cross for including anything and everything related to Cobain
including details that were inaccurate:
“On the Mountain” is not the first working title of “You Know You’re Right”
Grohl had introduced the song as “All Apologies”
“You Know You’re Right” wasn’t on the written setlist that night in a 1993 live recording
Cross also included an “artist’s rendering” of Cobain’s final days
he claimed he learned enough about Cobain to guess his state of mind in his last week of life
many felt his fictional insight in a non-fiction book was an insult to Cobain’s memory

Cobain wrote in a journal often
he left 22 notebooks filled with his writing when he died
in November 2002, a sampling of these writings was published as journals

the book is 280 pages with a simple black cover
the pages are arranged somewhat chronologically
Cobain generally did not date his journals
the pages are reproduced in color
there is a section in the back that explains some of the illegible pages

his writings begin in the late 1980s
this is around the time the band started
they end in 1994
a paperback version of the book was released in 2003
it included a handful of writings not previously released

in the journals, Cobain talked about the ups and downs of life on the road
he made lists of what music he was enjoying
he often scribbled down lyric ideas for future reference
fans were elated to be able to learn more about Cobain
they were able to read his inner thoughts in his own words,
but were disturbed by what was viewed as an invasion of his privacy
[Hartwig, David - "Nirvana releases a hit and miss"]
his legacy and legendary status
2005, a sign is put up in Aberdeen, Washington
it reads “Welcome to Aberdeen – Come As You Are”
it is a tribute to Cobain
the sign was paid for and created by the Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee
this non-profit organization was created in May 2004 to honor Cobain

Cobain has no gravesite
many Nirvana fans visit, to pay tribute to Cobain at Viretta Park
it is near Cobain’s former Lake Washington home
171 Lake Washington Blvd E, Seattle, WA 98112
these tributes often occur on the anniversary of his death
they gather in the park to celebrate his life and memory

Cobain’s life captured the eyes of filmmakers
the 2005 movie “Last Days” by Gus Van Sant
it is based on what might have happened in the final hours of Cobain’s life

Kurt Cobain About A Son shows Kurt himself narrating us through his life
it uses the backdrop of Aberdeen, Olympia and Seattle where Kurt lived and flourished

Cobain continues to intrigue and inspire fans
8 years after his death Nirvana’s releases “You Know You’re Right”
it tops playlists worldwide
it brings on a new generation of Nirvana fans
“Nevermind” is still popular world wide and synonymous with alternative music
Cobain’s contributions have permanently changed the landscape of popular music and music history
he is one of the most influential songwriters in rock music history

Cobain was the reluctant poster-child of Generation X
most of his songs tend to express frustration, anger, depression, and fear
many teenagers and those in angst feel his pain
they consider Cobain a hero and an idol
he will always be and is still missed

Sumber: http://www.cobain.com/bio_aboutkurt.html