autobiography kurt cobain

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Kurt Cobain

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• Lambiek Comiclopedia - Kurt Cobain
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• HistoryLink.org - Biography of Kurt Cobain (1967-1994)
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Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain Hardcover – August 15, 2001

• Print length 381 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Hachette Books
• Publication date August 15, 2001
• Reading age 18 years and up
• Dimensions 6.25 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• ISBN-10 0786865059
• ISBN-13 978-0786865055
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com review.

Cross uncovers plenty of news, mostly grim and gripping. As a teen, Cobain said he had "suicide genes," and his clan was peculiarly defiant: one of his suicidal relatives stabbed his own belly in front of his family, then ripped apart the wound in the hospital. Cobain was contradictory: a sweet, popular teen athlete and sinister berserker, a kid who rescued injured pigeons and laughingly killed a cat, a talented yet astoundingly morbid visual artist. He grew up to be a millionaire who slept in cars (and stole one), a fiercely loyal man who ruthlessly screwed his oldest, best friends. In fact, his essence was contradictions barely contained. Cross, the coauthor of Nevermind: Nirvana , the definitive book about the making of the classic album, puts numerous Cobain-generated myths to rest. (Cobain never lived under a bridge--that Aberdeen bridge immortalized in the 12th song on Nevermind was a tidal slough, so nobody could sleep under it.) He gives the fullest account yet of what it was like to be, or love, Kurt Cobain. Heavier Than Heaven outshines the also indispensable Come As You Are . It's the deepest book about pop's darkest falling star. --Tim Appelo

From Publishers Weekly

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hachette Books; First Edition (August 15, 2001)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 381 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786865059
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786865055
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• #669 in Rock Band Biographies
• #698 in Rock Music (Books)

About the author

Charles r. cross.

Charles R. Cross graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle with a degree in creative writing. At the UW, he served as editor of the Daily in 1979, and caused a major ruckus when he left the front page of the newspaper blank. The only type was a small line that read “The White Issue,” in deference to the Beatles’ White Album.

After college, Cross served as editor of The Rocket, the Northwest’s music and entertainment magazine, from 1986 through 2000. The Rocket was hailed as “the best regional music magazine in the nation” by the L.A. Reader, and it was the first publication ever to run a story on Nirvana. Cross wrote stories on such seminal Northwest bands as The Wailers, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and hundreds, if not thousands, of lesser-known bands. In addition to The Rocket, Cross’s writing has appeared in hundreds of magazines, including Rolling Stone, Esquire, Playboy, Spin, Guitar World, Q, Uncut, and Creem. He has also written for many newspapers and alternative weeklies, including the London Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Seattle Times, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He has lectured and read at universities and colleges around the world, and has frequently been interviewed for film, radio, and television documentaries, including VH1’s "Behind the Music."

Cross is the author of seven books, including 2005’s Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix (published by Hyperion in the U.S., and Hodder in the U.K.). His 2001 release, Heavier Than Heaven: The Biography of Kurt Cobain (Hyperion/Hodder), was a New York Times bestseller and was called “one of the most moving and revealing books ever written about a rock star” by the Los Angeles Times. In 2002, Heavier Than Heaven won the ASCAP Timothy White Award for outstanding biography. Cross’s other books include the national bestseller Cobain Unseen (Little Brown), Backstreets: Springsteen, the Man and His Music (Harmony, 1989); Led Zeppelin: Heaven and Hell (Harmony, 1992); and Nevermind: The Classic Album (Schirmer, 1998).

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Customers find the content great, enlightening, profound, and real. They also describe the writing quality as very well written and interesting. Readers describe the plot as informative and captivating. Opinions are mixed on the emotional tone, with some finding it enthralling and profound, while others say it's dark and sad.

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Customers find the book comprehensive, definitive, and in-depth. They also say it's extremely well told, and the author did an amazing job with research and interviews. Readers also describe the book as an eye opener, enlightening, profound, and real.

"...much more than what was in the tabloids since Cross' level of interviewing goes very deep ...." Read more

"This is a comprehensive and definitive biography of Kurt Cobain, the sensitive, conflicted and brilliant leader of the band Nirvana, chronicling his..." Read more

"...It was a great biography , and was challenging in some aspects - that is, the work itself was both detailed and sparse, objective and subjective,..." Read more

"...I think the author did a fantastic job of telling Kurt's story and I found it thoughtful and engaging throughout...." Read more

Customers find the writing quality of the book very well written, amazing, and cogent. They also appreciate the excellent structure and great detail. Readers also say the book is raw and emotional.

"From the beginning, the flow of the text was enjoyable and Cross' description of Kurt was dead on...." Read more

"...this biography proves worthy of its subject, one of the greatest rock musicians of all time ...." Read more

"...It did make an interesting story , however, and as a whole I was able to get a good handle on a portrait of a man that I truly did not understand,..." Read more

"... Cross writes well and the flow of the story is excellent...." Read more

Customers find the plot captivating, touching, and engrossing. They also say it's the best book they've ever read.

"...With thorough research and great psychological depth this biography proves worthy of its subject, one of the greatest rock musicians of all time...." Read more

"...An engrossing and well researched book by Charles Cross that will keep the reader totally absorbed while already anticipating the bitter end to come...." Read more

"...job of telling Kurt's story and I found it thoughtful and engaging throughout ...." Read more

"This book is very haunting , but in a good way...." Read more

Customers appreciate the book's craftsmanship. They say it's in good condition and well written.

"...I purchased it used. it is in good condition , well read. it came in the mail quickly, faster than I expected...." Read more

"Purchased as a gift for my brother. Was in good condition and appeared to be well written." Read more

" Great condition " Read more

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Customers are mixed about the emotional tone of the book. Some find it profound, compassionate, and nonbiased. They also say it brings a perspective unlike any other and provides great insight into the life of a legend. However, some readers feel the tone is dark and sad, and casts Kurt in a negative light.

"...aspects - that is, the work itself was both detailed and sparse, objective and subjective, truthful and anecdotally uncertain in many portions...." Read more

"By far the most depressing book I’ve ever read…grew up on Nirvana and expected some sad stories. I wasn’t ready...." Read more

"...author did a fantastic job of telling Kurt's story and I found it thoughtful and engaging throughout...." Read more

"...thought this was a fantastic biography... Difficult reading at times, tragic , heart-breaking, hard to understand...." Read more

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Your complete Kurt Cobain reading guide: Journals, biographies, and more

Reading to remember

On the 25th anniversary of Kurt Cobain 's death, HarperCollins ' Ecco published Serving the Servant , a fascinating biography of the Nirvana frontman by none other than Danny Goldberg, the band's iconic manager. ( Available for purchase. ) The book works to reframe Cobain's legacy by blending Goldberg's memories with information and files that have previously not been public. As Cobain is remembered, it's vital reading—though hardly the only book out there worth your time. Here, EW has rounded up the essential Cobain reading list.

Journals by Kurt Cobain

Arranged in close chronological order and kept in their rawest form, Journals is a necessary read for any Cobain fan: a collection of his writings, from scrapped notes and letter drafts to wild sketches and shopping lists, which offer unparalleled access into his interior life. The No. 1 New York Times best-seller was originally published in 2002. "The publication of this unintentional autobiography of the famously talented and infamously troubled artist is a vast leap in the mythologizing and marketing of Kurt Cobain," EW wrote at the time of release. "And the journey from Cobain's hands to a store near you involves healthy measures of the serendipitous and the surreal."

Heavier Than Heaven by Charles R. Cross

Charles R. Cross' definitive biography of Cobain traces his life story via more than 400 interviews and intimate access to the Nirvana frontman's private journals and lyrics. Despite its breadth and close sourcing, Heavier Than Heaven drew criticism for Cross' subjective account of Cobain's final hours.

Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain by Max Wallace and Ian Halperin

This 2004 best-selling book, co-written by Ian Halperin and Max Wallace, arrived as a controversial work of investigative journalism. Drawing on dozens of hours of conversation audiotapes obtained by the authors, Love & Death makes the argument that Cobain was murdered, with his then-wife Courtney Love a potential conspirator. The book is a product of a rigorous decade-long process for Halperin and Wallace.

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck by Brett Morgen

A companion to the HBO documentary of the same name, Montage of Heck includes extensive interviews, gorgeous animation stills, and previously-unseen photography as filmmaker Brett Morgen put on screen. It doesn't shed a ton of new light on Cobain, but it's perfect reading for those who've yet to check out the heartbreaking, illuminating documentary.

Godspeed by Barnaby Legg & Jim McCarthy & Flameboy

This explicit, starkly visual homage to Cobain combines biographical details with interpretations of the artist's internal struggles. Barnaby Legg and Jim McCarthy constructed their story accordingly, while the vivid, nightmarishly provocative art came courtesy of Flameboy.

Kurt Cobain: The Last Session by Jesse Frohman & Glenn O'Brien & Jon Savage

Get inside of Cobain's final photoshoot with Nirvana, which took place in August 1993. In The Last Session , 90 stunning photographs present a dazzling final visual memory of the man, capturing him in a plethora of extreme, intense emotional states.

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Heavier than heaven : a biography of Kurt Cobain

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Kurt Cobain

• Born February 20 , 1967 · Aberdeen, Washington, USA
• Died April 5 , 1994 · Seattle, Washington, USA (suicide by gunshot)
• Birth name Kurt Donald Cobain
• Height 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
• Kurt Cobain was born on February 20 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. Kurt and his family lived in Hoquiam for the first few months of his life then later moved back to Aberdeen, where he had a happy childhood until his parents divorced. The divorce left Kurt's outlook on the world forever scarred. He became withdrawn and anti-social. He was constantly placed with one relative to the next, living with friends, and at times even homeless. Kurt was not the most popular person in high school as he was in public school. In 1985 Kurt left Aberdeen for Olympia where he formed the band Nirvana in 1986. In 1989 Nirvana recorded their debut album Bleach under the independent label Sub-Pop records. Nirvana became very popular in Britain and by 1991 they signed a contract with Geffen. Their next album Nevermind became a 90s masterpiece and made Kurt's Nirvana one of the most successful bands in the world. Kurt became trampled upon with success and found the new lifestyle hard to bear. In February 1992 Kurt married Courtney Love , the woman who was already pregnant with his child, Frances Bean Cobain . Nirvana released their next album Incesticide later that year. The album appealed to many fans due to the liner notes, which expressed Kurt's open-mindedness. In September 1993 Nirvana released their next album, 'In Utero', which topped the charts. On March 4, 1994, Kurt was taken to hospital in a coma. It was officially stated as an accident but many believe it to have been an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Family and friends convinced Kurt to seek rehab. Kurt was said to have fled rehab after only a few days from a missing person's report filed by Courtney Love . On April 8th Kurt's body was found in his Seattle home. In his arms was a shotgun, which had been fired into his head. Near him laid a suicide note written in red ink. It was addressed to his wife Courtney Love and his daughter Frances Bean Cobain . Two days after Kurt's body was discovered people gathered in Seattle, they began setting fires, chanting profanities, and fighting with police officers. They also listened to a tape of Courtney reading sections of the suicide note left by Kurt. The last few words were "I love you, I love you". - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Russomanno <[email protected]>
• Spouse Courtney Love (February 24, 1992 - April 5, 1994) (his death, 1 child)
• Children Frances Bean Cobain
• His unclean hair and unshaven appearance
• Raw agonizing voice
• Smashing instruments and stage equipment after shows
• Garbled,Incomprehensible Singing
• Shoulder-length blonde hair
• Said he eventually wanted to experiment with filmmaking. He even wrote a script for a horror movie.
• The last movie he watched before his death was The Piano (1993) .
• During a Nirvana concert, he witnessed a girl being groped in the audience. Without missing a beat, he threw his guitar to the ground (a Martin D-18E electric guitar, one of the rarest electric guitars ever made and worth a significant amount of money), dived into the audience and angrily confronted the man who groped the woman. Upon returning to the stage, Cobain and the other band members openly mocked the man as he was being forcibly led out by security.
• Died at 27 years old, making him a member of the "27 Club"; The 27 Club is a group of prominent musicians who died at the age of 27. Other members include Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones , guitarist Jimi Hendrix , singer Janis Joplin , guitarist Alan Wilson , The Doors frontman Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse .
• John Lennon 's song "In my Life" was played at his funeral.
• Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.
• I'm not well-read, but when I read, I read well.
• I'm not a death rocker, and I don't wear black.
• I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not.
• I think people who glamorize drugs are f**king *ssholes and if there's hell they'll go there.

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Kurt Donald Cobain  (February 20, 1967-April 5, 1994) was the lead singer and guitarist for Nirvana. Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington and helped establish the Seattle music scene, as well as the style known as Grunge. He was married to the Lead Singer of the band Hole Courtney Love in which in 1992 the couple had a daughter named Frances Bean Cobain. In 1994 Cobain committed suicide in his home’s greenhouse, despite all of the rumors spoken about his death the police deemed it suicide and left the case closed until briefly reopening it in 2014.

In 2014, Cobain along with his band mates Krist and Dave were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame during the first year they were eligible.

Kurt Cobain was born on February 20, 1967 in Grays Harbor County Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington. His parents were Wendy Fradenburg (born 1948), a waitress, and Donald Leland Cobain (born 1946), a mechanic. The family lived in Hoquiam, Washington. On April 24, 1970 his sister Kimberley was born. In 1976 his parents divorced after 11 years of marriage. Kurt lived with his dad in Montesano, Washington. Both of his parents got remarried and Kurt had step siblings In 1979 he went to live with his mom in Aberdeen.

Kurt attended Aberdeen High School and befriended a gay student there. He later stated he was gay, just to “piss off homophobes. He dropped out when he realized he didn’t have enough credits to graduate.

Later in 1985, Cobain formed his first band “Fecal Matter”, with Dale Crover, Greg Hokanson, Buzz Osborne, and Mike Dillard. The band lasted for a year. The group’s sole recording was issued as the  Illiteracy Will Prevail  demo tape, which remains unreleased officially with exception of the song “Spank Thru”.

Kurt and Krist had a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band that was not successful. They later founded Nirvana in 1987.

Nirvana Years

During the early days of the band Kurt was very unhappy with the band’s inability to draw in large crowds that lead he band to rotate drummers on almost a regular basis. Eventually after sometime the band settled on Chad Channing, whom they recorded their first album with Sub Pop Records in 1989, titled Bleach. It was however after the recording of this album Cobain became unhappy with Channing’s drumming style which eventually lead them to let him go and hire Dave Grohl in his place. The band didn’t return to the studio to record again until April of 1990 where they recorded the song “Polly” that was to take its place on their next studio album Nevermind that was to be released the next year.

In 1991, of May 2nd through June of the same year the band would return to the studio once again to create the album that would change the Seattle music scene forever. It was during this period the Album Nevermind was created that put out the star single “Smells like Teen Spirit” that became a hit song upon its release. It was this album that pushed Micheal Jackson’s Dangerous album off the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Along with the star single “Smells like Teen Spirit” the album also produced three other top hit singles “Come as you are”, “Lithium”, and “In Bloom”. Upon the release of the album in September 24, 1991 the album opened up a whole new audience for the new genre of music opening the pathway for bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. During this period Nirvana was considered the “Flagship band of Generation X” and frontman Cobain found himself reluctantly anointed by the media as the generation’s “spokesman.” Cobain’s discomfort with the media attention prompted him to focus on the band’s music and, believing their message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, challenged the band’s audience with its third studio album  In Utero .

Political Views

Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana to his underground roots. He also felt persecuted by the media, comparing himself to Frances Farmer. He began to harbor resentments for people who claimed to be fans of the band yet refused to acknowledge, or misinterpreted, the band’s social and political views. A vocal opponent of sexism, racism and homophobia, he was publicly proud that Nirvana had played at a gay rights benefit supporting No-on-Nine in Oregon in 1992, in opposition to Ballot Measure Nine, a ballot measure, that if passed, would have prohibited schools in the state from acknowledging or positively accepting LGBT rights and welfare.

Cobain was a vocal supporter of the pro-choice movement, and had been involved in Rock for Choice from the campaign inception by L7. He received death threats from a small number of anti-abortion activists for doing so, with one activist threatening Cobain that he would be shot as soon as he stepped on stage.

Personal Life

In 1990, Cobain started dating Courtney Love after they have met at a club. Two years later, Cobain and Love got married after learning that Love was pregnant with their only child, Francis Bean Cobain. The couple remained married until Cobain committed suicide in 1994.

Legal Issues

In 1985, Cobain was arrested for spray painting the words “God is gay” on a building in a town near Seattle.

A year later, Cobain was arrested again for spray painting. Instead of spraying words, he painted Shaggy and Scooby-Doo have “relations”.

In 1993, Cobain was arrested for assaulting his then-wife, Courtney Love, at their Seattle house. Police reports said that they found guns at the time of the arrest. Courtney Love denied Cobain ever assaulted her.

On April 5, 1994 Kurt Cobain died in his Seattle home. His body remained in his home for three days before it was discovered. The truth of his death remains unknown. Many people speculate that he did not commit suicide and was murdered. Many people also believe that Kurt did commit suicide. However, facts surrounding his death strongly point to his wife murdering him for the money. In a note found in his wallet, he talks about how he hates his wife and calls her bad names. He died from a shot gun wound, but it is not known if he shot himself in the head or somebody else killed him.

“I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not.” -Not from Kurt Cobain, True source unknown

“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are.” -Not from Kurt Cobain, True source unknown

“It’s better to burn out than fade away.” -On Suicide Note, but from the song “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)” by Neil Young.

“Nobody’s a virgin. Life f*cks us all” -Not from Kurt Cobain, True source unknown

“I’m a much happier guy than a lot of people think I am.” -From Kurt

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Kurt Cobain Biography

Birthday: February 20 , 1967 ( Pisces )

Born In: Aberdeen, Washington, United States

Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter who rocked the music world with his band ‘Nirvana.’ He displayed artistic traits since early childhood. However, he had a troubled youth because of his parents’ separation. Finding solace in music, he started with playing the guitar and eventually went deeper into the world of music. Albums, such as ‘Bleach,’ ‘Nevermind,’ and ‘In Utero’ were some of his very popular ones. ‘Nirvana’ signing with ‘Geffen Records’ came as a major accomplishment in his career. Although he continued to grow exponentially on the professional front, his personal life was marred by his severe drug addiction. Plagued by health and family issues, he constantly struggled with depression and drug addiction issues throughout his life. However, his exemplary song writing skills helped ‘Nirvana’ sell over 25 million copies in the U.S. and over 75 million records all over the world, making him an iconic personality in the field of rock music.

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Also Known As: Kurt Donald Cobain

Died At Age: 27

Spouse/Ex-: Courtney Love (m. 1992)

father: Donald Leland Cobain

mother: Wendy Elizabeth (née Fradenburg)

children: Frances Bean Cobain

Born Country: United States

Died Young Guitarists

Height: 5'9" (175 cm ), 5'9" Males

Died on: April 5 , 1994

place of death: Seattle, Washington, United States

U.S. State: Washington

Cause of Death: Suicide By Firearm

You wanted to know

What was kurt cobain's impact on the music industry, what were some of kurt cobain's most memorable quotes, what inspired kurt cobain's songwriting, what was the significance of nirvana's album nevermind.

Nirvana's album "Nevermind," released in 1991, is widely regarded as a landmark in the history of rock music. The album's raw energy, catchy melodies, and emotional depth catapulted Nirvana to mainstream success and played a major role in popularizing grunge music globally.

How did Kurt Cobain's legacy continue after his death?

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He is a well-known member of the ‘27 Club,’ a list of musicians and actors who died at the age of 27. Numerous books, documentaries, and films, based on Cobain’s life and death, were released after his death.

See the events in life of Kurt Cobain in Chronological Order

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He Wrote the First Nirvana Bio. 30 Years Later, He Has a Few Changes

By Brian Hiatt

Brian Hiatt

For a music journalist in the Nineties, there could have been no better phone call. Not long after Michael Azerrad hung out with Kurt Cobain for Nirvana ’s first Rolling Stone cover story, Courtney Love reached out to ask him if he wanted to write a book about Nirvana. He agreed, and after nine months of breakneck work, he managed to get Come As You Are out in 1993, just in time to coincide with Nirvana’s Nevermind follow-up, In Utero .

Thirty years later, Azerrad (also the author of the beloved indie/punk history Our Band Could Be Your Life ) has a new version of his Nirvana book out. The Amplified Come As You Are more than doubles the length of the original edition with new material from Azerrad’s interviews, fact-checking, and fresh revelations.

Azerrad looked back on the book, the making of In Utero (which is also out in a new 30th anniversary edition), and more in an interview that also appears in a recent episode of Rolling Stone Music Now .

(To hear the full interview, go here for the podcast provider of your choice, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify , or just press play above.)

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There’s been a lot of books about Nirvana, but yours was first, which made things harder in some ways. That meant you had to lay down a lot of this story for the very first time. I did have the advantage of talking to all the people in the band, which subsequently no one else did. That was a coup. That was a very helpful thing for constructing this story. But yeah, I didn’t have the benefit of years and years of articles about the band and many other interviews and several other books and just the power of the internet to search for YouTube clips and all those things when I was writing the original Come As You Are .

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Another thing I think that we learned for the first time in your new edition of the book is that there were these two British writers who were working on a Nirvana book that caused a lot of upset in the Nirvana camp. In your first edition, Kurt admitted to calling them up and basically threatening their lives. And now we learn that Come As You Are started as an attempt by Kurt and Courtney Love to preempt that book. When Courtney called me about this, I said, “Oh, that’s great. But can I talk to Kurt about this?” And she hands the phone to Kurt. I had already done a Rolling Stone cover story about Nirvana, focusing on Kurt. We already were familiar with each other. I said, “Hey, what’s up, what’s the story with this book?” And he told me, “We want you to write a biography of Nirvana.” And I said, “It can’t be authorized.” He knew exactly what authorized meant, that the subject has basically final cut over the book. And he said, “No way. That would be too Guns N’ Roses.” He said, “Just tell the truth, and that would be better than anything else that’s been written about us.” So I took that as my marching orders. That’s how it started. 

“Scentless Apprentice” is an interesting case because Dave Grohl wrote the guitar riff as well as playing the drums. You highlight the fact that Kurt felt the need to insult the riff, which does suggest a little bit of insecurity about the fact that he had used something Dave came up with. He said, “I was thinking this is kind of boneheaded, and we worked on it, and it turned out great.” I just thought that was a little bit condescending, frankly. 

You mention that Kurt said in a sing-song voice that “Dave is the most well-adjusted boy I know.” It feels like there’s sort of a mix of condescension and perhaps even envy in that. I think Kurt partly was mocking Dave for being, you know, fairly together and normal. He’s a popular, well-adjusted guy, he really is. I think partly Kurt was making fun of that because he wasn’t a freak like Kurt. And I think Kurt was a little bit jealous of Dave because Dave did have his act together.

Using “ Serve the Servants” as an album opener feels like an example of Kurt’s brilliance and savviness — he knew how apropos and quotable “teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old” would be as the first thing you hear on this particular album. He thought a lot about these things. He may have worn torn jeans and not washed his hair very often, but he was very meticulous as an artist. And that’s a really great example. The very beginning moments of In Utero are Dave clicking his sticks to cue in the rest of the band to start the song. That’s something that’s usually cut out of a professional recording, but they left it in as a very clear signifier that this was something raw and real. And then that huge, dissonant, gorgeous, ugly guitar chord that begins the song. It’s so beautiful. That’s a mission statement right there. And that all happens in the space of, like, five seconds. You already know what the whole record’s gonna be like just from that.  

You also solve the mystery in the new book of what the chorus line means. It refers to feeling obligated to do whatever music-industry types asked or forced them to do,

“Very Ape” apparently owes something to a band from Argentina. Yeah, there’s a band called Los Brujos who opened for Nirvana at a huge stadium show in Argentina in 1993. They had a big hit with a song called “Kanishka.” And if you listen to “Kanishka” and then listen to “Very Ape,” I think you’ll hear perhaps some similarities. But again, I think Kurt took a very basic idea and embroidered it and made it into something completely different, though it is one of the lesser songs on In Utero .

 But it’s got some pretty interesting lines in it. He calls himself “the king of illiterature.” Kurt was extremely self-conscious about not being educated and cultured. He first got a taste of taking it to the next level by moving to Olympia, Washington and hanging out with all these affluent, cultured kids from the Evergreen State College. And he realized he was really curious and he wanted to leave the provincialism of his life in Aberdeen behind and become a more cultured, artistic person. Those kids taught him a lot. Then soon Courtney, who’s another extremely cultured person, taught him a lot. And the people in Sonic Youth taught him a lot.

“Tourette’s,” appropriately for the song title, doesn’t have real lyrics. Kurt was obsessed with psychological and neurological disorders. He claimed he had narcolepsy and manic depression. I don’t think he thought he had Tourette’s, but that was maybe sort of a fantasy of him just losing his mind and being someone out on the street who stands on a corner and wears shaggy, shabby clothes. He was caricaturing the idea that he was being driven to a point where he would just swear uncontrollably. 

As honest as he was with you in these interviews, he ducked your question about the inspiration for  “All Apologies.” In writing this book, I learned the difference between honest and candid. Honest means you’re telling the truth and candid means you’re saying stuff that’s pretty intense, but may or may not be true. I think Kurt was more candid than honest sometimes.

There were reports at the time that Nirvana’s label and management were forcing them to remix Steve Albini’s original mixes of In Utero , but you personally saw Krist Novoselic ’s dissatisfaction with the mix — which helped lead to the band seeking out R.E.M. producer Scott Litt to remix a few songs. Krist was driving me out to Kurt’s house, where I was supposed to give him a Leadbelly biography, and then on the drive back, Krist put the tape of the freshly mixed In Utero in his car stereo, and listened through it for the first time in his car, as opposed to the studio. He was listening to it, and I remember distinctly, he said during “All Apologies” that the bass could sound more musical.

In the original mix, the bass sounded a little bit more like a tuned bass drum, like more thump-y. And then a couple other songs he said, “I think the vocals could be louder.” And those turned out to be the songs that they raised the vocals on. This all happened before anyone else heard the album. So I think that the ensuing brouhaha was just a bunch of BS as far as I can tell. 

It became a national story because of the power of the idea of selling out in the Nineties. Now you complain that someone is selling out and no one knows what the heck you’re talking about. But in 1993, that was a huge deal for someone who had championed independence and underground values to appear to cave to the major-label Man. So it was a really big deal. People thought, “Oh, we’re catching the world’s biggest band out on a major hypocrisy.”

To your point, you write in the book that there were two people who had an advance cassette of In Utero — you and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. It’s almost like he made In Utero in part so that he could present it proudly to Thurston Moore and say, “See what a noisy album we made?” Yes, Thurston Moore and Sonic Youth in general being more of those arbiters I mentioned. I think that record was made for his community. The idea being that maybe he could turn millions of minds to a new mindset.

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To really progress, Kurt might have had to get over his aversion to craft. He did work somewhat on instinct. He would often use chords that didn’t belong technically in the key of the song. I shouldn’t presume to say whether he knew he was breaking the rules or not, but he certainly did come up with some genius moves like that. Maybe he would have found an arranger, some sort of collaborator who could help walk him down a new musical path. I don’t know. 

There’s that famous quote Dave gave, where he said being the drummer in Nirvana is like being the kid who masturbated in the school bathroom. That’s all you’ll ever be known for. I think he was dropping hints right and left, consciously or not. But I think talent and ambition and charisma like that would not have lasted very long just sitting behind the drummer’s chair. He was not satisfied just being the drummer, and history has vindicated that feeling completely. 

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Inside Kurt Cobain's Final Days Before His Suicide

Lanegan’s intuition proved to be correct. On the morning of April 8, an electrician found 27-year-old Cobain dead of an apparent suicide in a greenhouse above the garage of his Seattle home. According to Rolling Stone , a 20-gauge shotgun was lying across his chest, and, as a medical examiner’s report later revealed, Cobain, who had already been dead two and a half days at that point, had a high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium in his bloodstream. The magazine also reported that he was identifiable only by his fingerprints.

Cobain wanted to quit Nirvana

Because he had been missing for six days prior to his dead body being discovered, many tried to piece together the last days of Cobain’s life. By all accounts, he had already been in a downward spiral for years before he died, battling depression and chronic drug addiction. In an interview with MTV, Cobain’s wife, Courtney Love , claimed that not long before her husband’s suicide, he told her that he hated being in Nirvana and couldn’t play with them anymore and only wanted to work with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. All things considered, his loved ones’ alarm reached a fever pitch.

His loved ones staged an intervention

In fact, following Cobain’s failed suicide attempt in March 1994, Love, along with several of his friends and bandmates, enlisted the help of intervention counselor Steven Chatoff. “They called me to see what could be done,” Chatoff explained to Rolling Stone . “He was using, up in Seattle. He was in full denial. It was very chaotic. And they were in fear for his life. It was a crisis.”

In late March, Love, Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear, along with several other friends went through with staging an intervention at Cobain’s home. During the meeting, Love reportedly threatened to leave Cobain , with whom she shared daughter Frances Bean , and his band also issued an ultimatum of breaking up the band, should he not agree to seek treatment at a rehabilitation facility.

READ MORE: The Destructive Romance of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love

Cobain bought a shotgun six days before using it to kill himself

Several days later, Cobain would do just that, but first, he paid a visit to pal Dylan Carlson, who also participated in the aforementioned intervention, at his Seattle home on March 30. Citing problems with trespassers on his property, Cobain asked for help securing a firearm. “He seemed normal, we’d been talking,” Carlson later said. “Plus, I’d loaned him guns before.”

Per Carlson, Cobain gave him about $300 to buy a 20-gauge shotgun and a box of ammunition from Stan’s Gun Shop. Knowing that Cobain was about to depart for treatment near Los Angeles, Carlson said that his friend’s need for the purchase did give him pause: “It seemed kind of weird that he was buying the shotgun before he was leaving. So I offered to hold on to it until he got back.”

Cobain, however, insisted on keeping the weapon himself, and, according to police, he likely dropped off the gun at his home before traveling to Exodus Recovery Center in Marina del Rey, California, later that day.

He spent two days in rehab before fleeing the treatment center

On April 1, Cobain phoned Love with a cryptic message. According to an account, the Hole frontwoman gave a local Seattle newspaper, he said, in part, “Just remember no matter what, I love you.” Later that night — after spending just two days in rehab — staffers said he alerted them that he was stepping out to smoke a cigarette on the patio. Love explained that’s when he allegedly jumped over a more than six-feet-high brick wall and disappeared.

Police suspect he flew back to Seattle where he spent his final days wandering, with neighbors claiming to have spotted an ill-looking Cobain in a park near his home dressed in a heavy coat, which they deemed inappropriate for the April weather. Others have suggested he may have spent a night with an unidentified friend at his nearby summer home.

READ MORE: Kurt Cobain: The Inspiration and Meaning Behind Nirvana's Hit 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'

An electrician discovered Cobain's body more than two days after he shot himself

By April 5, however, law enforcement officials believe Cobain had barricaded himself inside the greenhouse where an electrician who came to the home to install a security system discovered his body, days later. Love later recounted to MTV that after taking drugs, Cobain used the shotgun Carlson had helped him purchase days earlier to shoot himself in the head, thus ending his short life. She also said that her husband left a note in red ink that she read from at a Seattle memorial service.

The loss of the talented musician remained unimaginable for his adoring fans, as well as all of those who knew him personally. "I remember the day after that I woke up and I was heartbroken that he was gone,” Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl later recalled. "I just felt like, 'Okay, so I get to wake up today and have another day and he doesn't.'"

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Kurt Cobain Biography

Kurt Cobain

musician Born: 2/20/1967 Birthplace: Hoquiam, Washington

Lead singer and guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Nirvana . Cobain's raw voice and heavy use of guitar feedback exemplified the popular “grunge”rock sound of the early 90s. The guitarist began playing in bands in Olympia, Washington after dropping out of high school in 1985. Nirvana signed with the indie label Sub Pop Records, and releasing Bleach (1989) and Nevermind (1991), which went gold. Instant fame did not sit well with Cobain, and rumors of his heroin use added to the media pressure. After the release of In Utero (1993), Cobain checked into drug-rehab briefly (1994). He committed suicide on April 5, 1994. Cobain was married to actress/musician Courtney Love , with whom he had one child, Frances Bean (b. 1992).

Died: 4/5/1994

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Charles R. Cross, Biographer of Cobain and Hendrix, Dies at 67

He tracked the rise of grunge as the editor of the Seattle music magazine The Rocket. He also wrote acclaimed books about two of the city’s most celebrated rock luminaries.

By Alex Williams

Charles R. Cross, a Seattle music writer who edited The Rocket, a local rock bible, during the city’s grunge-era flowering in the 1990s, and who wrote acclaimed biographies of two of the city’s most venerated musical figures, Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, died on Aug. 9 at his home in Shoreline, Wash., He was 67.

His death was announced in a statement from his family. No cause was given.

Mr. Cross was the editor of The Rocket, a biweekly magazine, from 1986 through 2000, a period when Seattle bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam redefined rock. It was considered a must-read for musicians looking to join the wave.

It would be “impossible to imagine the music or community of Seattle in the 80s and 90s without charles r. cross,” Chris Walla, a former member of Death Cab for Cutie, the critically acclaimed alternative rock band from Bellingham, Wash., wrote on social media .

Mr. Cross was also a well-known sage to fans of Bruce Springsteen: He turned his self-produced fanzine into Backstreets Magazine , a trove of Springsteen arcana that was well known to the artist himself.

At a concert in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Mr. Springsteen paid tribute to Mr. Cross, telling the audience that his “help in communicating between our band and our fans will be sorely missed” before launching into his song “Backstreets.”

Mr. Cross published the first of his nine books, “Backstreets: Springsteen, the Man and His Music,” in 1989, followed two years later by “Led Zeppelin: Heaven and Hell,” an illustrated history that he wrote with Erik Flannigan, with photographs by Neal Preston.

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Charles R. Cross, Kurt Cobain Biographer and Revered Chronicler of Seattle Music Scene, Dies at 67

Charles R. Cross, an instrumental figure in the Seattle music scene who wrote the definitive 2001 biography of Kurt Cobain, “Heavier than Heaven,” has died at age 67, his family confirmed on Sunday night.

“We are sorry to share that Charles Cross has passed. He died peacefully of natural causes in his sleep on August 9, 2024.  We are all grief-stricken and trying to get through this difficult process of dealing with the next steps,” his family said in a statement shared with the media.

Nancy Wilson of Heart wrote on Facebook, “Whadda one-of-a-kind guy. His passion and purpose was to make it his life’s work to celebrate and chronicle the beautiful global renaissance that started with our local Seattle music scene.”

She noted on Facebook that Cross was “never salacious, never invasive” in his 2012 biography, “Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock & Roll.” Cross also wrote biographies of another Seattle icon, Jimi Hendrix, as well as Led Zeppelin.

Cross served as editor of the influential Seattle music monthly “The Rocket,” from 1986 through 2000, just as bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney were poised to explode on the national stage.

As he said in a recent video about the digitization of all 300 issues of “The Rocket,” When you look back on the history of the paper, we’re the first people to cover Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam.” He also mentioned that Cobain — in a now-famous listing looking for a drummer— was one of the many musicians who advertised in the magazine’s classified ads.

On a personal note, he was also a friend and mentor of mine, who gave me one of my entertainment journalism gigs at The Rocket. I last spoke with him on the phone a year ago when he generously shared his insight for TheWrap’s story about suicide prevention in Hollywood . As an expert on the Seattle music scene, he was also, sadly, an authority on the subject, and frequently gave lectures on suicide prevention.

Served as editor of the University of Washington’s Daily in 1979, where he worked with future “Rocket” editor and collaborator John Keister of “Almost Live!” fame.

He also founded the Bruce Springsteen fanzine “Backstreets,” selections of which were published in 1989 as “Springsteen: the Man and His Music.”

The Seattle music community mourned Cross’ unexpected death. No Depression co-founder Grant Alden recalled how. Cross gave him a “ringside seat to the grunge circus” and how his industry connections helped Alden create the roots music journal. He also noted Cross’ generosity after selling “The Rocket.”

“Some years later a check arrived. I was no longer desperately broke and in debt because ND actually took off, but it was still a welcome kindness. He didn’t have to do that. I know how capitalism works,” wrote Alden.

Pacific Northwest Archives founder Karl Braun wrote on Facebook, “[He] probably knew more about Seattle music than anyone on earth … he was in progress on his memoir/autobiography which he told me would have many additional stories that had not made their way into any of his previous works.”

Cross had previously described the book as “a little bit about my life and a little bit about Seattle music history.”

He also wrote for The Seattle Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, Esquire, Playboy, the Los Angeles Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

He is survived by his son, Ashland.

The post Charles R. Cross, Kurt Cobain Biographer and Revered Chronicler of Seattle Music Scene, Dies at 67 appeared first on TheWrap .

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