Kurt Cobain

The original pressing of Nevermind was 50,000 copies; by the end of the year it was selling 400,000 copies a week, and by January 1992 it had reached the number one spot on the Billboard chart. "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the lead track, became one of the most frequently played songs on college and alternative radio. The music video, featured on MTV, drew a record number of requests. A member of the popular 1980s heavy-metal band Motley Crue, in Los Angeles for a recording session, heard it one day as he headed home on the freeway. He was quoted later as saying he knew then that rock in the style of the Crue was over. Something new had begun. It was another of those events in the history of popular music, like the emergence of Elvis and the Beatles, that seemed inevitable. nirvana / noun: (in Buddhism) a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism. a state of perfect happiness; an ideal or idyllic place. Kurt Cobain was born in Hoquiam, Washington, the first child of Donald and Wendy Cobain. When Kurt was six months old the Cobains moved to nearby Aberdeen. Kurt Cobain was born into a working-class family in an economically depressed community in the state of Washington. An apparently happy child who showed considerable artistic ability, he saw his family fall apart by the time he was eight years old. "His parents' separation and divorce were traumatic events for the young Kurt. Thereafter he lived at times with both parents, than with other relatives and friends. During his teens he endured periods of homelessness, sleeping wherever he could. By the ninth grade he was into alcohol and marijuana, soon followed by harder drugs. Eventually all that seemed to matter was composing music and playing it on the guitar, skills in which he was largely self-taught." Cobain dropped out of high school and began singing and playing guitar with several local punk bands. He formed Nirvana with bassist Krist Novoselic around 1986; the band was completed with the addition of drummer Dave Grohl in 1990. A hero must possess strength, and no I am not referring to strength in how much one can bench or press I am talking about the strength to at least try to overcome your own brokenness and problems and make a difference for others. to make an impact on them and aim to achieve the same impact or more on the world. A hero must also have individuality. The definition of individuality is the quality or character of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others of the same kind, especially when strongly marked; separate existence. A hero needs individuality because they are supposed to be set apart from others. They are not ones to go with the crowd they do what they believe is right and make their mark on the world. Strength and individuality are two qualities Kurt Cobain happened to possess excluding all his other amazing characteristics, and because of that he is a hero. He is my hero.

Kurt Cobain is considered a hero for his individuality. Cobain never lost sight of his beliefs and did not let the intense rush of his fame get to his head or alter his values. However he used it to his advantage, to help. "Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." -Kurt Cobain: "Never fully comfortable with his fame, Cobain nevertheless used his new celebrity to rail against sexism and homophobia in music and society; he reserved some of his most passionate criticism, however, for corporate America and the values of capitalism." Cobain grew up in an area where values of sexism existed greatly along with homophobia and I wouldn't doubt racism. Growing up with these things all around him he observed these things and saw that they were wrong. That this isn't how things are supposed to be and he hated it, and wanted nothing more but to let people know their opinions were wrong and that he wanted to change these narrow minded values. Kurt Cobain was a strong believer in everyone having their own independence and equality and he was a relatable teen youth. This was shown when it is said that: "Cobain gave a voice to those who felt cheated by what their parents and society had told them they had to believe in. As a result, they grew angry over their failed search for something to replace those false values." Teens in that generation found an explanation to feelings they couldn't comprehend themselves through Cobain, and felt they were like someone they idolized. That they were similar. This made them feel valuable and gave them motivation and a want to fight and stand for a meaningful cause. Cobain stayed true to himself and because of his individuality he shared his beliefs with others around him.

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Kurt Cobain is considered a hero for his strength. He went through so much growing up, and still he pushed his depression as far away as he could and tried to make the world a better place putting all he had into his music. "Punk rock made me so much more aware.. it reminded me that I've had an identity all along." -Kurt Cobain: "His parents' divorce in 1975, however, resulted in a bitter custody dispute that caused Kurt to be shuffled from the homes of both of his parents, as well as those of several relatives...Cobain dropped out of high school to pursue music, a decision that resulted in expulsion from his mother's house. Cobain bounced from home to home, crashing on the couches of friends and even sleeping beneath an Aberdeen bridge. Kurt Cobain's family life was no where near perfect and happy or fairytale like. He watched as the two people he thought were supposed to love each other forever stop and separate causing him to be in the middle and fought over and moved like a rag doll. He however found an escape through his music and put everything he had into it all his frustration, creativity, and any other emotion he felt. He expressed himself in the only way he knew possible. Cobain was real and he made sure his music reflected that as well too he wanted to show the public real life problems and to not sugar coat everything. He wanted people to get a taste of reality, of life. This was also the goal of other grunge musicians when said that: "Far from the superficial romantic lyrics that dominated pop music, grunge musicians sang about surviving child abuse and broken homes, drug addiction, obsessive love, and occasionally, just having a good time." These were just a few of the real life problems that Cobain wanted to show and to be seen and not ignored as if they didn't exist. He to a lot of people seemed wild and hysteric for his not caring attitude and blunt persona, but in all honesty he was real. He took some of the horrible situations he or others have been in and turned them into a musical story. Kurt Cobain had a really tough home life and growing up was not easy but still he chose to be the best he could as what he loved and he put his time and effort and motivation towards his music and creating something that was a part of him. He also has strength for trying to fix other things before himself.

Kurt Cobain is an inspiration not only for his strength and individuality but also because of the person he was. He changed music forever and left quite the impression while doing so. He was very talented and a lot of his skills were self taught which that alone shows his dedication. "I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain: "When Nirvana appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1992 as its album reached the top of the charts, Cobain defiantly wore a shirt with a slogan he had scrawled across it: "Corporate Magazines Still Suck."" This is another example of how he used his fame to his advantage and publicly fought things he saw as wrong and stayed true to himself. He is an inspiration because he had the courage and bravery to do what he thought was right and did not care how people viewed him. Cobain was not perfect however and he was into drugs and committed suicide which is are reasons why people would doubt as to why he would be considered a hero, but he was still a good person, a good father even if it was for a short amount of time. This is evident when said: "On February 24, 1992, Cobain married Courtney Love, the outspoken leader of the feminist punk-rock band Hole. The union would prove to be loving but tumultuous. Frances Bean Cobain was born on August 18, and was by all accounts the light of her father's life." Yes, Cobain did make mistakes but everyone has. He loved his daughter and adored her, but he was a very depressed person and who asks for depression?? He tried to overcome and to be better, but it's not always that easy. You can't fix everything with a bunch of colorful pills with fancy names. Sometimes even facilities don't cut it. Kurt Cobain was also scared because it is written in his suicide note that his daughter reminded him of himself when he was younger and he didn't want her to end up like he did. He didn't want her to feel the things he did. I am not justifying that what he did was right, but he is still an inspiration to me. He still was a good person with many great characteristics, but he just couldn't deal. He was just human.

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Kurt Cobain is my hero for him simply being himself and for his amazing music. Cobain made mistakes but he was also a feminist, against homophobia, against corporate, and what I found heroic was that he fought against the darkness of depression for so long. Kurt Cobain inspires me because he stuck to himself. and by that I mean he didn't lose his dignity or beliefs, and he stayed true to himself and put everything into his music. He forever changed music and brought something entirely new to the table, He brought himself. A perfect expression of Kurt Cobain would be mentos and coke he put himself out publicly and watched as it exploded till finally it burnt out, and there was nothing left but the excitement and memories of the rush. He inspires me because throughout everything he went through growing up through multiple quotes of people who knew him personally he affected them and he just made an impression that made a person want to know him. Even after his death he will be remembered for generations on end. I want to be remembered like Kurt Cobain. "It's better to burn out than to fade away" as he once said. Today Nirvana hasn't released any new music for obvious reasons and there is nothing new happening, but Nirvana is a legacy that will live on forever. Just like Kurt Cobain.. Rest In Peace.