Kurt Cobain would have been 44 years old if he hadn’t shot himself seventeen years ago. He was the face of grunge and Generation X, my music and generation when I was in college. This is still one of my favorite songs by Nirvana in many ways.
As I want you to be
As a friend, as a friend
As an old enemy
Take your time, hurry up
The choice is yours, don’t be late
Take a rest as a friend
As an old
Memoria, memoria
Memoria, memoria
Come doused in mud, soaked in bleach
As I want you to be
As a trend, as a friend
As an old
Memoria, memoria
Memoria, memoria
And I swear that I don’t have a gun
No I don’t have a gun
No I don’t have a gun
Memoria, memoria
Memoria, memoria
(No I don’t have a gun)
And I swear that I don’t have a gun
No I don’t have a gun
No I don’t have a gun
No I don’t have a gun
No I don’t have a gun
Memoria, memoria
17 years ago! Geez, I'm getting ancient. Call me The Sphinx.
But I guess he did have a gun after all . . .
I was on the college radio staff at Northwestern with Nirvana's _In Utero_ producer (and Big Black co-founder) Steve Albini. He is what you would expect from a shaker and mover in the Gen X punk/alternative/grunge scene: kind of jerky, colorful, with a strong vision, all with an overlay of angry-cool to hide the reality that he felt just as lost, scared and alienated as the rest of us (Kurt being the martyr for us Gen X fringe-dwellers). I was a young "born-again" at the time, and my show was on the jazz programming side of the station, so I didn't have a lot in common with Albini. But the energy and talent and nerve of people like Kurt and Steve — without the comforts of a foundation of faith to provide hope– strikes me as equal parts burden and blessing. Nirvana released just 3 studio albums, over 4 years. But they obviously touched a nerve.
Thanks for sharing Mark. You got that right in terms of the burden and the blessing. People like Cobain fascinate me because their stories are so tragic. So much talent yet such a waste. But the world still celebrates his music and "legacy". If this world really is a blink in light of eternity, that's not much of a legacy then. I say all that and yet–I blast one of their songs I can't help but be moved (usually to break something). 🙂