Additional information
by Charles River (Author)
Includes pictures of Kurt and important people in his life.
Includes a Suggested Playlist of 15 songs.
"It's really not hard to keep your dignity and sign to a major label...Most people don't have any dignity in the first place." - Kurt Cobain
The dark and dusty high school gymnasium seemed like a weird place for a musical revolution. The cheerleaders look like mannequins, and the bleacher bums look like they haven't taken a bath in years. A janitor looks like he's adding to the mess instead of cleaning it up. As the music starts slowly, the crowd is still asleep, but as the tempo and volume of the music gradually increase until the chorus is unleashed at full force, the crowd transforms into a head-banging mob full of crowd surfers.
In the middle of it all is Kurt Cobain, the dirty blond who could have been mistaken for one of the crowd if he wasn't holding a guitar. The song and the music video both end in full-throated chaos, as the frontman for Nirvana and the crowd start ripping up the gym.
Cobain later noted that he tried to model the song after one The Pixies might have done, but "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and its accompanying music video ushered in rock's "grunge" movement at the start of the 1990s, and the song, ironically named after a deodorant, captured the culture in its entirety. A reaction to the likes of the previous decade's yuppies and acts like M.C. Hammer, grunge became a sound and culture for angst-ridden teens and the disaffected youth who were proud to be plain. Combining punk, metal, and hard rock, the grunge sound emanated out of Seattle from groups like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, giving the young decade its trademark sound.
Whether these groups intended for it or not, grunge became the most popular music of the decade, and the look and sound both became trendy fads. Long, unkempt hair and flannel shirts were suddenly in, and there was no need for shampoo, soap, or even Teen Spirit. Almost overnight, even well-to-do teenagers from the suburbs mimicked the look, wearing ripped jeans, boots, and knitted caps no matter the weather.
Although "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came at the beginning of the decade, it remained the most recognizable track of the '90s, and grunge remained popular through the middle of the decade. By the end of the '90s, however, the popularity of the grunge sound and its accompanying fashion trends were in steady decline, no doubt thanks in large measure to Cobain's suicide in April 1994. Others may have liked the look, but Cobain was living the part, and he struggled during those years with depression, a heroin addiction, and the unusual situation and fame that his music had brought him. Though conspiracy theories surrounding his death continue to linger, a result of the fact that nobody would want to believe that he would kill himself, Cobain's death has continued to be ruled and considered a suicide by most.
As the man most responsible for the grunge movement and its most memorable band, Cobain became a rock star, but his death and entry into the "27 Club" ensured that he became and remained an icon and legend. Legends of Music: The Life and Legacy of Kurt Cobain covers the Nirvana frontman's life and career in detail, both in and out of the studio, while also discussing his death and analyzing his lasting legacy. Along with a suggested playlist of Cobain's songs and pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Kurt like you never have before, in no time at all.
