Remembering an Authentic Music Icon Thirty Years Later

For those of us that are Gen X, the day the world lost Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain is etched into our memories forever. Thirty years ago this weekend, we learned that Kurt had died by suicide in his Seattle area home.

I remember April 8th, 1994 vividly. It was a Friday during spring break. A gentleman named John was painting our family home. He emerged from my a bathroom to inform me that a body had been found in Kurt Cobain's house. I didn't believe him, there must have been some mistake.

My mother had plans for the day, we lived close to Woodbury Common in southern New York State, and apparently there was shopping to be done. I remember the ride up the Thruway, flipping around radio stations trying to get some news. Sure enough, an announcement came through confirming Cobain's death.

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It's hard to quantify the effect that Nirvana's music had on me then, and now, all these years later. I was at the right age, place, and time to be swept up by what the corporates dubbed "the Seattle Sound". The first time I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" I was all in. I collected all their records, watched all the MTV specials, and explored music in a way I hadn't before.

Without hesitation, the most important thing I took from Kurt was a diverse interest in obscure music. Before suggestions were fed to us on the internet, the musicians we looked up to subtly turned us on to music we might not have heard. I may not have heard bands like the Bad Brains, Scratch Acid, the Vaselines, the Raincoats, Flipper, Black Flag, and so many more. Kurt once said that punk rock is freedom, that's something I still live by today.

Kurt may be gone thirty years, but Nirvana's legacy lives on. I love seeing kids wearing Nirvana shirts and listening to their music. It means it's timeless, just like the Beatles and Doors were for us.

For a good, comprehensive idea of what Nirvana really sounded like, check out their full show from the Reading Festival in England in 1992. It's considered among their best work.