Kurt Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain (19 December 1967 – ca. 5 April 1994) was the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the American grunge band, Nirvana.

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 * In Aberdeen, I hated my best friends with a passion, because they were idiots.
 * As quoted in The Daily Of The University Of Washington (1989-05-05).


 * I'd like to live off the band, but if not, I'll just retire to Mexico or Yugoslavia with a few hundred dollars, grow potatoes, and learn the history of rock through back issues of Creem magazine.
 * As quoted in The Daily Of The University Of Washington (1989-05-05).


 * 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.
 * As quoted in Sounds (1990-10).


 * Rap music is the only vital form of music introduced since punk rock.
 * As quoted in M.E.A.T (1991-09).


 * I knew I was different. I thought that I might be gay or something because I couldn't identify with any of the guys at all. None of them liked art or music, they just wanted to fight and get laid. It was many years ago but it gave me this real hatred for the average American macho male.
 * As quoted in Melody Maker (1991-09-14).


 * Rape is one of the most terrible crimes on earth. And it happens every few minutes.
 * As quoted in New Musical Express (1991-11-23).


 * Hope I die before I turn into Pete Townshend.
 * As quoted in BAM (1992-01-10).


 * I would like to get rid of the homophobes, sexists, and racists in our audience. I know they're out there and it really bothers me.
 * As quoted in SPIN (1992-01).


 * We sound like the Bay City Rollers after an assault by Black Sabbath. And, we vomit onstage better than anyone.
 * As quoted in Guitar World (1992-01).


 * If I went to jail, at least I wouldn't have to sign autographs.
 * As quoted in Details (1992-02).


 * I just can’t believe anyone would start a band just to make the scene and be cool and have chicks. I just can’t believe it.
 * As quoted in Option (1992-01-02).


 * I can’t comment on Soundgarden because I know them personally and I really like them a lot, but I have strong feelings towards Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains and bands like that. They’re obviously just corporate puppets that are just trying to jump on the alternative bandwagon - and we are being lumped into that category.
 * As quoted in Flipside (1992-03).


 * Zits are beauty marks.
 * As quoted in Sassy (1992-04).


 * All drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with your self-esteem. They’re no good at all. But I’m not going to go around preaching against [them].
 * As quoted in Rolling Stone (1992-04-16).


 * I wouldn’t wear a tie-dyed tee-shirt unless it was dyed with the urine of Phil Collins and the blood of Jerry Garcia.
 * As quoted in Melody Maker (1992-07-18).


 * Yeah, I was run out of town. They chased me up to the castle of Aberdeen with torches. Just like the Frankenstein monster. And I got away in a hot air balloon. And I came here to Seattle.
 * As quoted in Monk Magazine (1992-10).


 * If you're really a mean person you're going to come back as a fly and eat poop.
 * As quoted in Monk Magazine (1992-10).


 * Jocks have completely taken over music... And just to get back at them, I’m going to start playing basketball.
 * As quoted in Musician (1993-10).


 * I wouldn't have been surprised if they had voted me Most Likely To Kill Everyone At A High School Dance.
 * As quoted in Howl (1993-07-22).


 * The thrill and embarrassment of becoming international pop stars was too much, so we opened our mouths and put our foot in sometimes.
 * As quoted in Details (1993-11).


 * I'm a much happier guy than a lot of people think I am.
 * As quoted in Rolling Stone (1993-01-27).


 * I can't play [guitar] like Pete Townshend. The flip side of that is that Pete Townshend could probably never have played like me.
 * As quoted in Fender Frontline Magazine (Fall 1994).


 * If it was up to me, I'd get more oil tanker drivers drunk. I don’t value music much. I like the Beatles, but I hate Paul McCartney. I like Led Zeppelin, but I hate Robert Plant. I like the Who, but I hate Roger Daltrey.
 * As quoted in The NIRVANA Reader: 1988 – 1992 (Published December 2008).

Video

 * They're claiming that [the grunge bands] finally put Seattle on the map, but, like, what map? ...I mean, we had Jimi Hendrix. Heck, what more do we want?
 * From an interview with Marc Coiteux on Musique Plus, 1991-09-21, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.


 * They (Extreme) surround themselves with these professional, dickhead, commercial rock and roll guys...when they show up at an airport, their manager runs ahead of them and yells at the people greeting them, 'No video! We want a path straight to the van!  We don't want any pictures taken!'  Y'know, I'm like, "So what?"
 * Date unknown, but believed to be 1992-06-30 in Sweden.


 * Same thing happened in the punk movement in the late 70's...a punk band would start, play one gig, and get signed to a major label right away, 'cause it [was] a trend. That just shows there are a lot of old school dinosaurs in the record industry who need to be weeded out.
 * Date unknown, but believed to be 1992-06-30 in Sweden.


 * Music comes first; lyrics are secondary. Most of my lyrics are contradictions. I'll write a few sincere lines, and then I'll have to make fun of [them]. I don't like to make it too obvious, because if it is too obvious, it gets really stale. You shouldn't be in people's faces 100% all the time. We don't mean to be really cryptic or mysterious, but I just think that lyrics that are different and weird and spacey paint a nice picture. It's just the way I like art.
 * Date unknown, but appears on Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!.


 * I would like to think there's some purity in us, yeah. Naive - y'know, purposely naive.
 * From an interview on MTV with Zeca Camargo, 1993-01-21, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


 * It’s sad to think what the state of rock and roll will be twenty years from now. It just seems like when rock and roll is dead the whole world’s gonna explode. It’s already so rehashed and so plagariazed that it’s barely alive now. It’s disgusting. I mean, kids don’t even really care about rock and roll as much as they used to, as the other generations have. It’s already turned into nothing but a fashion statement and an identity for kids to use as a tool for them to fuck and have a social life. And at that point I really can’t see music being of any importance to a teenager, really.
 * to Michael Azerrad in an interview from 1992 or 1993, in Kurt Cobain: About a Son


 * I think they’ll use sounds and tones and music and use it in their virtual reality machines. And just listen to it that way and get the same emotions from it. And then go to a party. There’ll be a virtual reality machine there with a whole bunch of headphones and if you wanna talk to people and listen to the virtual reality machine you can do that and go into the other bedroom and fuck and drink and… but actually I think virtual reality machines will get you high. Technology will be that good. And then there’ll be like virtual reality junkies lying there dead on their couch from OD’ing.
 * to Michael Azerrad in an interview from 1992 or 1993, in Kurt Cobain: About a Son

Incesticide liner notes (1992)

 * Punk Rock (while still sacred to some) is, to me, dead and gone. We just wanted to pay tribute to something that helped us to feel as though we had crawled out of the dung heap of conformity.


 * I'll be the first to admit that we're the 90's version of Cheap Trick or the Knack but the last to admit that it hasn't been rewarding.


 * At this point I have a request for our fans. If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of different color, or women, please do this one favor for us - leave us the fuck alone! Don't come to our shows and don't buy our records.


 * 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.

Journals (2002)
ISBN 1-57322-359-X
 * To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important, sacred or valuable. To be negative at all times is to be threatened by ridiculousness and instant discredibility. [p. 18]


 * I use bits and pieces of others [sic] personalities to form my own. [p. 95]


 * John Lennon has been my idol all my life but he's dead wrong about revolution... find a representative of gluttony or oppression and blow the motherfuckers [sic] head off. [p. 130]


 * Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second rate Freudian evaluation on my lyrics when 90% of the time they've transcribed the lyrics incorrectly? [p. 190]


 * I mean it seems like there are only two options for songwriters [sic] personalities either theyre [sic] sad, tragic visionaries like morrissey or michael stipe or robert smith or theres [sic] the goofy, nutty white boy, Hey lets party and forget everything people like Van Halen or all that other Heavy metal crap. [p. 44]


 * Birds...scream at the top of their lungs in horrified hellish rage every morning at daybreak to warn us all of the truth. They know the truth. Screaming bloody murder all over the world in our ears, but sadly we don't speak bird. [p. 224]


 * When I hear the term Right wing I think of Hitler and Satan and Civil war. [p. 259]


 * I am not well read, but when I do read, I read well. [p. 124]

Bleach (1989)

 * I need an easy friend I do, with an ear to lend.
 * About a Girl.


 * The lady whom I feel maternal love for Cannot look me in the eyes But I see hers and they are blue And they cock and twist and masturbate.
 * Paper Cuts.


 * She loves him more than he will ever know He loves her more than he will ever show
 * Swap Meet.


 * Yes I eat cow I am not proud.
 * Mr Moustache.


 * Thank you, dear God For putting me on this Earth I feel very privileged In debt for my thirst
 * Downer

Nevermind (1991)

 * Load up on guns, bring your friends.


 * With the lights out, it's less dangerous Here we are now, entertain us I feel stupid, and contagious Here we are now, entertain us.


 * A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido.


 * I'm worst at what I do best


 * I found it hard, It was hard to find Oh well, whatever, never mind.


 * Smells Like Teen Spirit.


 * Sell the kids for food weather changes moods spring is here again reproductive glands


 * He's the one Who likes all our pretty songs And he likes to sing along And he likes to shoot his gun But he knows not what it means.


 * We can have some more nature is a whore bruises on the fruit tender age in bloom
 * In Bloom.


 * Come as you are, as you were As I want you to be As a trend, as a friend, as a known enemy Take your time, hurry up The choice is yours, don't be late.
 * Come As You Are.


 * I'm so happy 'Cause today I found my friends They're in my head. I'm so ugly, that's okay 'Cause so are you, Broke our mirrors.
 * Lithium.


 * Polly wants a cracker Think I should get off her first Think she wants some water To put out the blow torch.


 * She's just as bored as me she caught me off my guard it amazes me, the will of instinct
 * Polly.


 * Just because you're paranoid Don't mean they're not after you.
 * Territorial Pissings.


 * One baby to another says I'm lucky to have met you


 * Chew your meat for you pass it back and forth in a passionate kiss from my mouth to yours i like you


 * With eyes so dilated I've become your pupil
 * Drain You.


 * I love myself better than you I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
 *  On A Plain.


 * It's OK to eat fish 'Cos they don't have any feelings
 * Something In The Way

In Utero (1993)

 * Teenage angst has paid off well Now I'm bored and old.
 * Serve the Servants.


 * Meat eating orchids forgive no one just yet Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath Broken hymen of your highness, I'm left black Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back.
 * Heart-Shaped Box.


 * Hate me Do it and do it again Waste me Rape me, my friend.
 * Rape Me.


 * I miss the comfort in being sad.


 * She'll come back as fire burn all the liars leave a blanket of ash on the ground
 * Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle.


 * I'm not like them But I can pretend The sun is gone But I have a light the day is done I'm having fun I think I'm dumb or maybe just happy
 * Dumb.


 * I take pride as the king of illiterature.
 * Very Ape.


 * Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld So I can sigh eternally.
 * Pennyroyal Tea.


 * Hate your enemies Save your friends Find your place Speak the truth.
 * Radio Friendly Unit Shifter.


 * All in all is all we are.
 * All Apologies

B-sides and compilation tracks (1989-1993)

 * And the flowers sing in D minor And the birds fly happily.
 * Spank Thru.


 * And if you save yourself You will make him happy.
 * Sappy

Posthumously released (post-1994)

 * Things have never been so swell I have never failed to fail
 * You Know You're Right.


 * Something in her eyes Must be the smoke in my lungs.
 * Clean Up Before She Comes.


 * I need you around To remind me what not to become.
 * Blandest.


 * Congratulations, you have won It's a year's subscription of bad puns.
 * Opinion.


 * Neither side is sacred; no one wants to win Feeling so sedated; think I'll just give in.
 * Verse Chorus Verse.


 * If I may, and if I might Lay me down, weeping.
 * Do Re Mi

Stage banter
Note: All stage banter sourced from The Live Nirvana Tour History.


 * We're Nirvana and we really don't particularly like heavy metal.
 * 1990-08-17 at the Palladium, Hollywood, California


 * Hello, we're major label corporate rock sell outs.
 * 1991-04-17 at the OK Hotel, Seattle, Washington


 * There is plenty of Hühnerfleisch in the Kühlschrank. (There is plenty of chicken in the fridge.)
 * 1991-08-27 at Bremen, Germany


 * Hi, my name is Kurt Cobain, I'm homosexual, I'm a pagan, I'm a drug abuser, and I like to fuck pot-bellied pigs!
 * 1991-12-02 at Newcastle, UK


 * We're waiting for the dinosaurs to die out. They will die. And then we'll move into their homes.
 * 1992-02-14 at Kokusai Koryu Centre, Osaka, Japan


 * I've been waiting for that! (After an audience member requests "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.)
 * 1993-11-18 at Sony Music Studios, New York City, New York (MTV Unplugged).


 * I don't think MTV would let us play that. (After an audience member requests "Rape Me.")
 * 1993-11-18 at Sony Music Studios, New York City, New York (MTV Unplugged).


 * What are they tuning, a harp? I thought we were a big rich rock band. We should have a whole bunch of extra guitars.
 * 1993-11-18 at Sony Music Studios, New York City, New York (MTV Unplugged).


 * Fuck you all, this is the last song of the evening.
 * 1993-11-18 at Sony Music Studios, New York City, New York (MTV Unplugged).


 * What's the matter with all you people at the back, did you come here to see Gloria Estefan?
 * 1993-11-27 at AT&T Bayfront Park Amphitheater, Miami, Florida


 * OK, you trained monkeys, everybody jump up and down. Let's bring back the good old pogo!
 * 1993-12-31 at Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California, in between "About a Girl" and "Lithium".


 * I spent all of my life trying to stay away from sports and here I am in a sporting arena.
 * 1993-12-30 at the Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California


 * This song is dedicated to Frank Zappa, and River Phoenix, Fred Gwynne who played Herman Munster, Dixie Lee Ray, Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neil, and you, dumb ass, who just threw water on me.
 * 1994-01-07 at Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington

Misattributed

 * It's better to burn out than to fade away.
 * Quoted by Cobain in his suicide note, this is from the song  My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) by Neil Young, from his album Rust Never Sleeps (1979)

Quotes about Cobain

 * Genius is a weird and inappropriate word, and hard work is underrated, but Kurt Cobain had a distinct and personal take on the world, and generally, when someone strikes a chord with his audience, that’s what people respond to...I have to admit that I wasn’t particularly a fan of Nirvana when I was asked to work on In Utero, but during the course of making the record I came to appreciate that they were genuine about their band and their music, that Kurt was capable of sophisticated thinking, and that they and their music were unique.
 * Steve Albini, quoted in "Steve Albini Drops Anonymity, Answers Questions In Poker Forum", Stereogum (2007-10-06).


 * Nirvana were like...power-chord music with the occasional Sonic Youth-y flip-out in it. But the power of that band is Kurt Cobain's voice, which is just fucking caramel–a beautiful rock voice.
 * Lou Barlow, quoted by Marc Hawthorne in "Interview: Dinosaur Jr.", The A.V. Club (2005-07-20).


 * He had a touch most guitarists would kill for.
 * Chuck Berry, according to Kurt Cobain by Christopher Sandford, Orion Press, 1995.


 * People were trying to call me to do interviews on the anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. They want me to say some poignant shit about some poor guy who blew his head off. It's just like, "Give me a fuckin' break, man"...Just say the guy made some good records, and let's get on with it.
 * Frank Black, quoted by Scott Gordon in "Interview: Frank Black", The A.V. Club (2006-10-19).


 * I remember watching Kurt come through and thinking, "God, this music is nuclear," This is really splitting the atom. They raised the temperature for everybody. Manufactured pop never looked so cold as when that heat was around. Nirvana made everything else look silly.
 * Bono, quoted in Lorraine Ali, "Cries From The Heart," Newsweek (2002-10-28).


 * I was simply blown away when I found out that Kurt Cobain liked my work, and I always wanted to talk to him about his reasons for covering "Man Who Sold The World." It was a good straightforward rendition and sounded somehow very honest. It would have been nice to have worked with him, but just talking would have been real cool.
 * David Bowie, quoted in "A Fan's Notes," SPIN (1995-04).


 * Cobain was very shy, very polite, and obviously enjoyed the fact that I wasn’t awestruck at meeting him. There was something about him, fragile and engagingly lost.
 * William S. Burroughs, according to Nirvana: The Day-By-Day Chronicle by Carrie Borzillo.


 * Kurt's got a literary bent, and jokes that he likes "anything that starts with a B. I think I like Burroughs best, and I'm into Bukowski and Beckett."
 * Katherine Turman, 'Smells Like...NIRVANA', in: RIP Magazine February 1992.


 * I'm sorry I couldn't have spoken to the young man. I see a lot of people at the Zen Center, who have gone through drugs and found a way out that is not just Sunday school. There are always alternatives, and I might have been able to lay something on him. Or maybe not.
 * Leonard Cohen, quoted by Peter Howell, Addicted To Noise (1995-08-06).


 * That kid has heart.
 * Bob Dylan, after hearing the Nirvana song "Polly", according to Heavier Than Heaven by Charles R. Cross, Hyperion, 2001.


 * A couple weeks ago, one of my students gave me a mixed tape of Kurt Cobain and there was a version of "Black Girl" of great artistry. Great vocal control and subtlety, it's almost as good as Leadbelly's.
 * Allen Ginsberg, quoted by George Petros in "ALLEN GINSBERG. GROOVIN' GURU. Beat laureate ALLEN GINSBERG goes bananas," Seconds, Issue 28 (1994).


 * He's the most talented person I ever worked with because he was talented in so many different ways. He's a guitar player and a lead singer and he wrote all the songs. He did everything for Nirvana that it took Jimmy Page and Robert Plant to do for Led Zeppelin. Kurt also designed the album covers and wrote treatments for the videos. He even designed the t-shirts. He was really a comprehensive genius when it came to the art of rock and roll.
 * Danny Goldberg, quoted by Stephen Elliott in Shorty Q&A with Kurt Cobain's Former Manager Danny Goldberg", The Rumpus, (2009-01-30).


 * I suddenly realized Michael [Pitt] was much taller than Kurt, and much more buff, actually. Kurt was a wee little man, with these big piercing blue eyes and this tremendous smile — and that's one thing that nobody can replicate.
 * Kim Gordon, quoted by Rodrigo Perez and Courtney Reimer in "Sonic Youth Revisit Their Friend Kurt Cobain In 'Last Days'", MTV.com (2005-07-22).


 * I still dream about Kurt. Every time I see him in a dream, I’ll be amazed and I get this feeling that everyone else thinks he’s dead. It always feels totally real, probably because I’m a very vivid dreamer. But, in my dreams, Kurt’s usually been hiding - we’ll get together and I’ll end up asking him, "God, where have you been"
 * Dave Grohl, quoted in "I still dream about Kurt" NME (2007-10-31).


 * I met him a few times. As a writer I had enormous respect for him. He was an incredible writer and an incredible singer. And when I met him I found him to be a very special person. He was one of those special people. There was a light inside him that you could see. He had a charisma that went beyond his physical presence.
 * PJ Harvey, quoted by Barney Hoskyns in "AUDIO: AUDIO: PJ Harvey (2004)", Rock's Backpages Audio (2004-04-14).


 * Kurt really reminded me a lot of John [Lennon] in his writing, singing, and guitar playing. More attitude than technique, but he had incredibly strong rhythm and a great solo sense.
 * Jim Keltner, according to Classic Rock Albums: Nevermind by Jim Berkenstadt and Charles Cross, Schirmer, 1998.


 * Rage and aggression were elements for Kurt to play with as an artist, but he was profoundly gentle and intelligent.
 * Thurston Moore, quoted in "When The Edge Moved To The Middle," The New York Times (2004-04-08).


 * I went to see Nirvana at a small club called the Pyramid on Avenue A in New York City. It was hard to hear the guitar, but the guy playing and singing had a vibe; he hopped around like a muppet or an elf or something, hunched over his guitar, hop hop hop, hippety hippety hop. I loved that. When he sang, he put his voice in this really grating place, and it was kind of devilish sounding. At the end of the set he attacked the drum kit and threw the cymbals, other bits and finally himself into the audience. Later I saw the same guy passing the bar. He was little, with stringy blond hair and a Stooges T-shirt. I felt proud.
 * Iggy Pop, quoted in "A Fan's Notes," SPIN (1995-04).


 * [Cobain] was a revealing symbol. He called himself passive-aggressive. There was self-pity, whining. There was a diminishment, a diminution. He was sitting there in his sweater, hunched over his guitar, looking like a little lost boy. Compare that with the great figures of my generation: Jimi Hendrix. Pete Townshend. Keith Richards.
 * Camille Paglia, Playboy interview, March 1995


 * Kurt Cobain represents a very legit, realistic outlook. Before that, in my head, to be a white artist was to be privileged. You celebrated the glamor and you got respect. But here's someone that was really taking a hip-hop stance on all of that. Who doesn't play their hit single in concert? Are you crazy? He took that nihilistic Sonic Youth approach, that tortured-everyday-guy thing, to the hilt
 * ?uestlove, quoted by Ryan Dombal in "?uestlove: 15 Years", Pitchfork (2011-08-19).


 * Cobain changed the course of where the music went. There are certain people where you can see the axis of musical history twisting on them: Hendrix was pivotal, Prince was pivotal, Cobain was pivotal.
 * Vernon Reid, quoted in The "Immortals - The Greatest Artists Of All Time", Rolling Stone (2004-04-15).


 * In Kurt’s voice I could hear his love of bluegrass music, of Bill Monroe and Leadbelly. It’s in the twang of his voice.
 * Patti Smith, quoted by Jim Farber in "Patti Smith still doesn’t change horses midstream," Pop Matters (2007-10-13).


 * Yeah, he talked a lot about what direction he was heading in. I mean, I know what the next Nirvana recording was going to sound like. It was going to be very quiet and acoustic, with lots of stringed instruments. It was going to be an amazing fucking record, and I’m a little bit angry at him for killing himself. He and I were going to record a trial run of the album, a demo tape. It was all set up. He had a plane ticket. He had a car picking him up. And at the last minute he called and said, "I can't come."
 * Michael Stipe, quoted by Jeff Giles in "Everybody Hurts Sometimes," Newsweek (1994-09-26).


 * I was in Pioneer Square - I went to see some band, I don't know if it was the the Melvins. Kurt was there - I think Kurt was by himself and I was by myself. I went over to tell him how much I loved Bleach. He was very quiet and subdued. He said, "Thanks - that means a lot coming from you. Consider yourself our biggest influence."
 * Kim Thayil, quoted by Greg Prato in Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music, ECW Press, 2009.


 * And like I said I love Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, the lyrics are so deep--stuff like "The animals I've trapped have now become my pets".
 * Tricky, quoted by David Trueman in "Tricky Business - An interview with Tricky" on Amazon.co.uk.


 * He's your archetypal small guy - wiry, defiantly working class and fiery.
 * Everett True, in "Everett True Thrashes It Out With The Latest Wizards From Seattle's Sub Pop Label Who Arrive In Britain Next Week," Melody Maker (1989-10-21).


 * Kurt's wounds were so deep that when the music floated to the surface after being filtered through his soul, it was incorporeal.
 * Steven Tyler, quoted in "A Fan's Notes," SPIN (1995-04).


 * ...With Kurt Cobain you felt you were connecting to the real person, not to a perception of who he was - you were not connecting to an image or a manufactured cut-out.
 * Lars Ulrich, quoted in "Lars Ulrich: Kurt Cobain Didn't Want to Share the Stage with Guns N' Roses," Blabbermouth.net (2004-04-01).


 * You know, I always thought I'd go first. I don't know why I thought that, it just seemed like I would. I mean, I didn't know him on a daily basis - far from it. But, in a way, I don't even feel right being here without him. It's so difficult to really believe he's gone. I still talk about him like he's still here, you know. I can't figure it out. It doesn't make any sense.
 * Eddie Vedder, quoted in "I'm Not Your Fuckin' Messiah", Melody Maker Magazine (1994-05-21).


 * We came offstage and were about to go on for the encore, and I think the bass player of Tad came in and told us [about Cobain's death]. He just kind of barged in and was emotional, and started talking about the reports that they had found Kurt but they weren't sure if it was him or not, but it was. We all got very emotional; it was very surreal. We weren't home; we weren't around any people we knew. I guess, in a sense, we could all take solace in the fact that — especially Soundgarden — that we were born from this idea that we played kind of dark, moody music. Our identity … kind of was a band that created a soundtrack for that type of weird, awful scenario.
 * Chris Cornell, quoted in "Chris Cornell on Seattle's grunge era", CNN (September 26, 2013).


 * I didn't really know Kurt that well, but there was a guy I always admired. We didn't spent much time together, but the few times we did spend together, you know, were times I'll always remember. You know, he was a really sweet guy, and a really genuine soul, you know, and an incredibly talented artist.
 * Jerry Cantrell, quoted in


 * He really, really inspired me. He was so great. Wonderful. One of the best, but more than that. Kurt was one of the absolute best of all time for me.
 * Neil Young, quoted in "Reflective Glory" NME (1995-07-15).

Cobain in song

 * Kurt Cobain, we was good friends Ozzy Osbourne too.
 * A Baltimore Love Thing by 50 Cent.


 * Everything I love the most get taken away. My momma and music is next. And if that happens before I turn 28. Then I'm going out with Kurt Cobain.
 * The Book of Soul by Ab-Soul.


 * I think I'm Jimi Hendrix, I think I'm Kurt Cobain I think I'm John Lennon, gone insane Someone take this gun, before I blow out my brains (BANG).
 * Gone Insane by Ab-Soul.


 * And KDC you were much too young And you changed my life But I draw the line at suicide. Here's to Life!
 * Here's to Life by Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution.


 * Bloody ink on my pen spelled suicide Kurt Cobain even died cause you scrutinize
 * Phoenix by ASAP Rocky.


 * I remember doing nothing on the night Sinatra died And the night Jeff Buckley died And the night Kurt Cobain died And the night John Lennon died.
 * You Were Right by Badly Drawn Boy.


 * You can hear them crying down the lane From Portland to Maryland From Greece to Spain.
 * Kurt by Dan Bern.


 * A transvestite in trouble, gee We can make a double CD People want to see blood, To see 'em messed up like a Kurt Cobain.
 * So You Want Me To Bleed by Billie the Vision and the Dancers.


 * I'll spend my days with J.F.K., Marvin Gaye, Martha Raye, and Lawrence Welk, And Kurt Cobain, Kojak, Mark Twain and Jimi Hendrix's poltergeist.
 * Fire Water Burn by The Bloodhound Gang.


 * And going for the clincher, a girl cries out in vain How Jesus lived 6 years longer than Kurt Cobain And Jesus' hair was longer, and Jesus' arms were stonger And Jesus's eyes were bluer, and Jesus' thoughts were truer.
 * Jesus Lived 6 Years Longer Than Kurt Cobain by Bollock Brothers.


 * Thanks to Elvis and Kurt Cobain The world will never be the same.
 * One Day At A Time by Deana Carter.


 * Just because they knew your name Doesn't mean they know from where you came What a sad trick you thought that you had to play.
 * I Don't Blame You by Cat Power.


 * It's a shame about your future It's a crime about your past.
 * The Fall (Kurt's Blues) by Cher.


 * Blown away by fame We could all feel the shotgun hit the floor.
 * The Day Seattle Died by Cold.


 * What of Kurt Cobain, will his presence still remain?
 * I'm Still Remembering by The Cranberries.


 * Where did you sleep last night With the angels locked up tight Love was his only light Did she have another one?
 * Dimebag by Cross Canadian Ragweed.


 * My sister, she says she knows Elvis Presley She knows Jesus, John Lennon, and Kurt Cobain personally.
 * Maybe Angels by Sheryl Crow.


 * Kurt Cobain was so young Sad to see this poet's gone.
 * Sacred Life by The Cult.


 * A whole generation of kids blowin' out their fuckin' brains to this Kurt Cobain music.
 * Devils's Night by D12.


 * See niggas, they want my name next to Kurt Cobain But I don’t sniff cocaine, I sniff propane.
 * I’ma Smack This Muthafucka by DJ Kay Slay featuring Noreaga.


 * A daily dose of eMpTyV Will flush your mind right down the drain Shannon Hoon and Kurt Cobain, Make yourself a household name.
 * Just Let Me Breathe by Dream Theater.


 * My favorite color is red, like the blood shed from Kurt Cobain's head, when he shot himself dead.
 * Cum On Everybody by Eminem.


 * Get your brains bashed in so bad You gone have Kurt Cobain asking To autograph a bloodstained napkin.
 * Untitled by Eminem.


 * Nigga that's no lie, no joke, no game, no fabrication Last name must be Cobain.
 * Suicide 2 by Fabolous featuring Paul Cain & Freck Billionaire.


 * And I want it so bad I'd shoot the sunshine into my veins. I can't remember the good old days.
 * 27 by Fall Out Boy.


 * He lies in an empty room With his hair burnt to the back It sure sounds funny When you say his name like that.
 * Mighty K.C. by For Squirrels.


 * Or take me away like a bullet from Kurt Cobain.
 * My Life by Game.


 * I hang with John and Kurt and Jimi too With Sandy, Jannie, Albert, Charlie, the whole departed crew.
 * Silent Revolution by Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams.


 * Kurt Cobain's rich as fuck He's buried in the ground.
 * Self Suicide by Goldie Lookin' Chain.


 * Y hoy me encuentro tan solo y tristeCual hoja al vientoQuisiera llorar, quisiera morir,Como Kurt Cobain, de sentimiento.(And today I am so alone and sadLike a leaf in the windI wish to cry, I wish to dieLike Kurt Cobain, of feeling.)
 * Decadencia (en vivo) by Héroes del Silencio.


 * I'll finish with a bang like Kurt Cobain's biography.
 * Hard Road by Hilltop Hoods.


 * Now I'ma pull a fuckin' Jeffrey Dahmer Now he's suicidal, just like Nirvana.
 * Natural Born Killaz by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre


 * They all stand straight and swing to the sideNo heads, but they feet still glideTake a step back, twist and diveI even seen Kurt Cobain get live.
 * Headless Boogie by Insane Clown Posse


 * The whole world was crying when Kurt's gun went bangWhen Eazy-E died though, it wasn't no thangRapper dies of A.I.D.S. but you hardly mentionRocker blows his face off and becomes a legend.
 * Terrible by Insane Clown Posse


 * Just one bitch don't feel the same no moreAnd Henny don't really kill the pain no moreNow I'm Cobain with a shotgun aimed at my brainCause I can't maintain no more
 * Rich Niggaz by J. Cole


 * Want my whole name spelled out, my own pain spilled out<BR>No pain, no gain, I blow brains, Cobain
 * Sideline Story by J. Cole


 * Get that type of media coverage Obama get, spit that Kurt Vonnegut That blow your brain Kurt Cobain, that Nirvana shit
 * Exhibit A by Jay Electonica


 * Trained, raw, like Big Daddy Kane Plus I’m born on the same day as Kurt Cobain
 * Commandante by k-os


 * What's coursing through my veins? Horrible, hurts the brain Listen to Jimi Hendrix, worshiping Kurt Cobain The ghetto Edgar Allan Poe
 * Time to Die by King Gordy


 * Frightening, so fucking frightening Enough to drive a man insane, a woman insane The reason Lauryn Hill don't sing, or Kurt Cobain Loaded that clip and then said bang, the drama it bring is crazy
 * HiiiPower by Kendrick Lamar.


 * Give me vanity, give me Kurt Cobain sanity
 * Is This Love by Kendrick Lamar.


 * This is crack co-caine, I'm Kurt Co-bain And I bang like a C-R-I-P, P-I-R-U high you Ima I-V
 * Night of the Living Junkies by Kendrick Lamar.


 * They say that white phantom look so cocaine I hop out the suicide lookin' so Cobain.
 * Addiction by Ryan Leslie featuring Cassie & Fabolous.


 * Hollywood's dead Elvis is crying Lennon wake up Cobain stop lying there In the light you're sickeningly beautiful
 * Hollywood's Dead by Lana del Rey.


 * And a memory that can ease your pain Like a melody from Kurt Cobain.
 * Creamer (Radio Is Dead) by Limp Bizkit.


 * Cobain, Cobain She blows my brain.
 * Pusha by Lloyd.


 * But it's all entertainment Wonder when Cobain blew out his brains, did he blame it? And if those snakes in the industry helped him aim it Started pressing up records before the bullet left the chamber
 * Lupe Back by Lupe Fiasco.


 * Ne me parle pas de travail à la chaîne<BR>Je veux pas finir comme Kurt Cobain.<BR>(Don't talk to me about working on the assembly line I don't wanna end like Kurt Cobain.)
 * Paradisiaque by MC Solaar.


 * Yo, I blow your mind like Kurt Cobain.
 * Walk On by Method Man featuring Redman.


 * Way out in Seattle Young Kurt Cobain Snuck out to the greenhouse Put a bullet in his brain.
 * Love Love Love by the Mountain Goats


 * Keep them high like Kurt Cobain.
 * Am I High by N.E.R.D..


 * Some believe that you are God, Others say you were an idiot. But I only see a good, sad man, Whose name was K. Cobain.
 * K. Cobain by No Future.


 * Johnny wishes he was famous Spends his time alone in the basement With Lennon and Cobain And a guitar and a stereo.
 * Innocent by Our Lady Peace.


 * Low budget hoes trynna knock ya game, like Did Courtney Love kill Kurt Cobain, from close range Turn his brain to shrimp lo mein?
 * Sign of the Power by Outsidaz.


 * Maybe I'm crazy, addicted to pain Maybe the cocaine destroyed my brain Private conversations with Kurt Cobain I'm drownin' my fears in the acid rain.
 * Acid Rain (In Loving Memory of Kurt Cobain) by Pastor Troy.


 * And so I parallel the brains of Cobain.
 * Are You Gonna Go Our Way by Public Enemy.


 * He gathered up his loved ones And he brought them all around To say, "Goodbye, nice try."
 * Let Me In by R.E.M.


 * Cobain, can you hear the spheres Singing songs off station to station?
 * Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.


 * Left on the floor Leaving your body When highs are the lows And lows are the way.
 * Tearjerker by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.


 * Maybe if I put a bullet in my brain<BR>They'd remember me like Kurt Cobain<BR>And the parasites on MTV<BR>Would wipe their eyes and act like they knew me.
 * The Aging Musician by The Residents.


 * Yeah the whole Byrd gang's in here, like Kurt Cobain was here.
 * Santana's Town (Dipset) by Juelz Santana.


 * Sometimes I wonder what goes on inside her mind When she said she thought Dave Grohl had died, and Kurt Cobain was still alive.
 * Murdered In The Mosh by Son of Dork.


 * Hard luck god, he never had a chance, you know. Incurable romantics never do.
 * Heart by Stars.


 * There was this boy who played in a rock n' roll band And he wasn't half bad at saving the world She said he could do no right, so he took his life The story is true.
 * Too Cool Queenie by Stone Temple Pilots.


 * Toward another, he has gone To breathe an air beyond his own.
 * About a Boy by Patti Smith.


 * Disturbed by the fame Just like Kurt Cobain.
 * I Try by Talib Kweli.


 * Kurt Cobain reincarnated Sighs and licks his face.
 * Don't Wake Daddy by The Tragically Hip.


 * See the whites of their eyes, white skin, white lies House of Pain white, Everlast, Kurt Cobain white Elvis, simple and plain white, John Wayne white.
 * Black and White by R.A. the Rugged Man.


 * So I watched pay per view and polished my shoes and my gun Was diggin' on Kurt Cobain sing about lithium.
 * Me and My Monkey by Robbie Williams.


 * He rocked the United States by flying all over the country and playing that rock and roll He is a good singer He is my rock star.
 * Kurt Cobain by Wesley Willis.


 * Xzibit easily dispersed like crack cocaine See I lent my shotgun to Kurt Cobain And the motherfucker never brought it back (Ah, that's wack)
 * Enemies & Friends by Xzibit.


 * Too late, He sleeps with angels Too soon, He's always on someone's mind.
 * Sleeps With Angels by Neil Young.


 * You said you liked my Cobain shirt.
 * End Up Here by 5 Seconds of Summer.