The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is in danger of losing its accreditation. This is because of a problem KIRO 7 first told you about last week: Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab is dealing with a growing backlog of blood to process, and it’s taking months to get out results. KIRO 7’s Deedee Sun told you how the problem is impacting prosecutors’ ability to prosecute DUI suspects. The problem is impacting medical examiner offices too.
Blood test delays put King County Medical Examiner’s Office at risk of losing accreditation King County Medical Examiner’s Office in danger of losing accreditation Share By Deedee Sun Updated: October 3, 2018 – 6:36 PM
“Thank you for your message regarding the interview you conducted with Dr. Cyril Wecht. Your original request on February 12th did not make it to Dr. Harruff, and the other people you mention sending it to are not in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. I’m responding to your latest message on behalf of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of our public health department. As Dr. Wecht pointed out in the article, in order for him to review the autopsy report, Mr. Cobain’s next of kin would need to request the report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and forward it to him. This would be the same situation for any other pathologist or group of pathologists. At the time of this case, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office worked with local law enforcement, conducted a full autopsy, and followed all of its procedures in coming to the determination of the manner of death as suicide. As the autopsy records are private under state law, we cannot provide details about what informed our conclusion. I can tell you that two pathologists went to the scene and reviewed the case, including Dr. Hartshorne and Dr. Donald Reay, then the chief medical examiner for King County. At the time of this case, Dr. Reay had been with the King County Medical Examiner’s Officer for 19 years with extensive experience prior to that. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is always open to revisiting its conclusions if new evidence comes to light, but we have seen nothing to date that would warrant re-opening the case and our previous determination of death. Thanks, James Apa Communications Director Public Health – Seattle & King County” After receiving the statement from Communications Director James Apa we requested copies of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office death investigation procedures from 1994, copies of any accreditation applications KCMEO submitted for 1994, and copies of any accreditation KCMEO possessed in 1994. King County Public Records Officer Julie Kipp responded on March 11, 2020: “I confirmed with the Medical Examiner’s Office that the documents you requested have been destroyed in accordance with retention schedules and therefore there are no responsive records.” In light of the lack of responsive records we asked on what King County based their statement that the Medical Examiner’s Office “followed all of its procedures.” Mr. Apa responded on March 19, 2020: “Based on knowledge of staff who were in the King County Medical Examiner’s Office at the time of Kurt Cobain’s death, we know that the office’s procedures at that time were followed.” In the course of further correspondence regarding the current accreditation requirements for the King County Examiner’s Office, Public Records Officer Julie Kipp wrote on March 18, 2020: “We received only provisional accreditation this year related to the timeliness of receiving toxicology reports from the state lab. Cases are supposed to be cleared in no more than 90 days, but toxicology takes longer, due to a backlog at the state lab. We currently have equipment in house which we can use for preliminary results, but the office did not have that in 1994.” Between February 19, 2020 and February 27, 2020, we reached out to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Sean Whitcomb and Seattle mayor’s spokesperson Kamaria Hightower. We requested a brief phone interview with the Chief of Seattle Police Carmen Best, or a comment from SPD regarding our interview with Dr. Cyril Wecht. All of our four emails remain unanswered.
FBI DIRECT US TO STATE POLICE!
The FBI will only look into this matter if they have something solid to go on, whatever that is supposed to mean? The evidence is there all they have to do look through it and Surly they will see all the holes in this CASE!! Time to concentrate on the state police first & work from there, at least there answering us and not ignoring the Case altogether. Keep signing & sharing people thanks,
Use the link below to sign Petition to the medical centre to change the cause of death on Kurt’s death certificate. Use the link below that & send your complaint together with it,
Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain formally met in a nightclub in Portland, Seattle, on 12 January 1990, but Love had apparently developed a crush on the Nirvana frontman after seeing him perform at a gig the year before.
Cobain appeared to dismiss Love’s advances at first, commenting: “I was determined to be a bachelor for a few months […] but I knew I liked Courtney so much right away that it was a really hard struggle to stay away from her for so many months.”
By the time the pair met, Love was already known for having starred in the Joe Strummer movie Straight to Hell,and Nirvana were growing in fame.
Kurt and Courtney lying in bed in Roppongi Prince Hotel in Tokyo, Japan, during an interview, 19th December 1992. Picture: Gutchie Kojima/Shinko Music/Getty Images
When did Kurt Cobain die?
During Nirvana’s tour stop in Munich in 1994, Kurt was diagnosed with bronchitis and severe laryngitis. He was then sent to Rome for medical treatment, where he met wife Courtney Love.
According to Love, she awoke to find Cobain had overdosed on Champagne and Rohypnol. The singer was then rushed to hospital, where he stayed for five days.
After that incident, Cobain and Love had a domestic issue, whereby Love called the police to their Seattle home. Authorities confiscated three guns and some pills from Cobain, who had locked himself in a bedroom upstairs. According to Cobain, he wasn’t trying to take his own life, but was hiding from Courtney.
Love and some of Cobain’s close friends then staged an intervention to convince Kurt to seek help for his drug use and depression. After some time, Kurt finally agreed to go to rehab in LA.
Cobain then broke out of rehab and got a flight back to Seattle, but friends and family were unaware of whereabouts.
On 8 April 1994, an electrician who was installing an alarm discovered Kurt’s body at his home on Lake Washington Boulevard.
At the time of their wedding, Courtney was already pregnant with daughter Frances.
their daughter Frances Bean Cobain?
The image of the sonogram is on Nirvana’s Lithium single artwork.
Their daughter was born on 18th August 1992. The same year Frances was born, Love gave an interview with Vanity Fair, where she reportedly admitted to using heroin while pregnant, unaware of her condition. Love later claimed she had been misquoted and also stated she had stopped taking drugs upon the news of her pregnancy.
Later, the coroner report stated that Cobain had actually died on the 5 April.
Following Kurt’s death, Courtney held a vigil for her late husband on 10 April 1994.
The vigil took place at the Seattle Center, with over seven thousand mourners and fans coming to pay their respects to Kurt.
At the vigil, Love read parts of Kurt’s suicide note out to the crowd, she also handed out items of Cobain’s clothing.
Courtney also gave an interview withRolling Stone, where she explained: “I used to be able to talk to Kurt more, wherever he is. But now he’s really gone.
“I used to feel like mourning him was really selfish because it would make him feel guilty. And the best thing to do was to pray for him and show him joy, so he could feel the vibration of the joy.
“But now I know he’s dissipated, and he’s gone. There’s not anything left. Not even to talk to.”
FRANCES BEAN COBAIN WAS FAMOUS BEFORE SHE WAS EVEN BORN. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU’RE THE PROGENY OF TWO OF THE MOST FAMOUS ROCK STARS IN THE WORLD: KURT COBAIN AND COURTNEY LOVE.
BUT UNLIKE THE ARRIVAL OF MANY CELEBRITY BABIES, FRANCES’S BIRTH WASN’T ANTICIPATED WITH JUST EXCITEMENT AND FASCINATION, BUT ALSO CONCERN AND DISMAY. THAT’S BECAUSE KURT AND COURTNEY’S RELATIONSHIP HAD BEEN PLAGUED WITH RUMORS, EVEN ADMISSIONS, OF BAD BEHAVIOR. MANY OF THE COUPLE’S FRIENDS AND FANS WORRIED THAT COBAIN AND LOVE’S HEROIN USE WOULD RESULT IN PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS OR, WORSE, A DRUG-ADDICTED BABY. THE PAIR’S DRUG USE HAD ALREADY CAUSED FRICTION AMONG THEIR FRIENDS AND BANDMATES.
25 YEARS AGO: FRANCES BEAN COBAIN BORN TO KURT COBAIN AND COURTNEY LOVEHTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/EMBED/VLW7YCXINVW?WMODE=TRANSPARENT
COBAIN AND LOVE BECAME A COUPLE IN THE FALL OF 1991, JUST AS NIRVANA AND THE BAND’S NEVERMIND WAS BEGINNING TO EXPLODE. SOME OF THOSE CLOSE TO KURT SUSPECTED COURTNEY WAS HITCHING HER STAR TO HIS, WHILE ACCUSING HER OF GETTING COBAIN HOOKED ON HEROIN. NIRVANA BASSIST KRIST NOVOSELIC EVEN REFUSED TO ATTEND THE COUPLE’S WEDDING IN FEBRUARY 1992, REPORTEDLY BECAUSE HE WAS DISTURBED BY THEIR DRUG INTAKE.
MANY MORE FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES BECAME UPSET ABOUT THE NEWLYWEDS’ HEROIN HABIT WHEN THEY LEARNED THAT LOVE HAD GOTTEN PREGNANT IN JANUARY – THE SAME MONTH THAT SHE LATER DESCRIBED GOING ON A HEROIN BINGE WITH KURT IN NEW YORK CITY WHEN NIRVANA PLAYED SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. “WE DID A LOT OF DRUGS,” LOVE TOLD VANITY FAIR IN AN ARTICLE THAT SHE LATER TRIED TO DISMISS. “WE GOT PILLS AND THEN WE WENT DOWN TO ALPHABET CITY AND KURT WORE A HAT, I WORE A HAT, AND WE COPPED SOME DOPE. THEN WE GOT HIGH AND WENT TO SNL.
AFTER THAT, I DID HEROIN FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS.” ALTHOUGH LOVE WAS KNOWN TO BE PRONE TO EXAGGERATION, THOSE AROUND HER TOOK THESE CLAIMS SERIOUSLY (AND OTHERS CAME FORWARD TO LEND CREDENCE TO HER CLAIMS). SOME FRIENDS ENCOURAGED HER TO HAVE AN ABORTION TO PREVENT ANY DRUG-RELATED PREGNANCY ISSUES, BUT COURTNEY AND KURT WERE ADAMANT ABOUT KEEPING THE BABY. SUPPOSEDLY, LOVE UNDERWENT ROUNDS OF TESTING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FETUS HADN’T BEEN HARMED. “KURT’S THE RIGHT PERSON TO HAVE A BABY WITH,” LOVE SAID. “WE HAVE MONEY. I CAN HAVE A NANNY. THE WHOLE FEMININE EXPERIENCE OF PREGNANCY AND BIRTH – I’M NOT INTO IT ON THAT LEVEL. BUT IT WAS A BAD TIME TO GET PREGNANT AND THAT APPEALED TO ME. BESIDES, WE NEED NEW FRIENDS.”
BUT IT WAS THE COUPLE’S OLD FRIENDS THAT STEPPED IN TO KEEP LOVE AND HER UNBORN CHILD HEALTHY. WHEN THE COUPLE ENTERED, AND QUICKLY DITCHED, REHAB FACILITIES, INDUSTRY PALS LIKE JIMMY BOYLE (THEN WORKING FOR DEF AMERICAN) TRIED TO KEEP COURTNEY AND KURT CLEAN. SOME OF THEM COMPLAINED ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT THAT TASK WAS, DESCRIBING THEIR APARTMENT AS A “SICK SCENE.” EVEN LOVE TOOK A SWIPE AT HER NEW HUSBAND IN THE PRESS FOR TEMPTING HER WITH DRUGS. “SHE WANTED TO GET OFF DRUGS,” BOYLE SAID. “I BROUGHT HER HERBS TO EASE THE KICK, SO SHE WOULDN’T FREAK OUT SO BADLY. I WAS BRINGING STUFF OVER TO HER HOUSE EVERY DAY BECAUSE IT’S A WHACKED-OUT THING TO DO TO A KID.” AMIDST THE CHAOS, THE COUPLE REMAINED EXCITED ABOUT THE FORTHCOMING ADDITION TO THEIR FAMILY. AFTER LEARNING THE BABY WOULD BE A GIRL, KURT NAMED HER FRANCES AFTER FRANCES MCKEE OF THE VASELINES. HER MIDDLE NAME BECAME BEAN AFTER THE NIRVANA SINGER DECIDED THAT SHE LOOKED LIKE A KIDNEY BEAN IN A SONOGRAM. HE ALSO MADE PAINTINGS OF THOSE ULTRASOUND IMAGES IN ANTICIPATION OF FRANCES BEAN’S ARRIVAL.
FRANCIS BEAN COBAIN
BEFORE COBAIN’S BIRTH, THERE WERE RUMORS SUGGESTING THAT HER MOTHER USED HEROIN DURING THE PREGNANCY. THIS SCANDAL INTENSIFIED WHEN VANITY FAIR PUBLISHED LYNN HIRSCHBERG’S ARTICLE “STRANGE LOVE,” WHICH ALLEGED THAT LOVE ADMITTED TO USING HEROIN EVEN AFTER LEARNING OF HER PREGNANCY.
LOVE AND KURT COBAIN MAINTAINED THAT VANITY FAIR TOOK HER WORDS OUT OF CONTEXT.EVENTUALLY, CHILD WELFARE SERVICES LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION INTO THEIR PARENTING ABILITIES.THE INVESTIGATION WAS ULTIMATELY DISMISSED, BUT NOT WITHOUT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF LEGAL WRANGLING AND FRANCES BEING REMOVED FROM HER PARENTS’ CUSTODY FOR A SHORT TIME, BEGINNING WHEN SHE WAS TWO WEEKS OLD.
ON APRIL 1, 1994, FRANCES VISITED HER FATHER AT THE EXODUS RECOVERY CENTER, A REHAB CENTER IN MARINA DEL REY, CALIFORNIA, WHERE THEY PLAYED TOGETHER. THIS WAS THE LAST TIME SHE SAW HER FATHER ALIVE.
ON THE MORNING OF APRIL 5, 1994, KURT COBAIN WAS FOUND DEAD AT HIS HOME IN SEATTLE.
A FINAL CEREMONY WAS ARRANGED FOR HIM BY HIS MOTHER ON MAY 31, 1999, ATTENDED BY BOTH LOVE AND TRACY MARANDER. FRANCES WAS SUBSEQUENTLY RAISED BY HER MOTHER, AUNTS, AND PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER.
SHE SPENT HER EARLY YEARS IN SEATTLE AND LOS ANGELES, AND WAS PLACED IN HER GRANDMOTHER’S CARE FOR A TIME AFTER HER MOTHER’S DRUG-RELATED ARREST IN OCTOBER 2003. HOURS AFTER THE ARREST, LOVE OVERDOSED ON PAINKILLERS. LOVE REGAINED CUSTODY OF FRANCES IN 2005.
MODELING
IN AUGUST 2006, SHE WAS PHOTOGRAPHED FOR ELLE MAGAZINE IN HER FATHER’S FAMOUS BROWN CARDIGAN AND PAJAMA PANTS AS PART OF AN ARTICLE FEATURING CHILDREN OF ROCK STARS IN THEIR PARENTS’ CLOTHING. SHE EXPLAINED, “I WORE HIS PAJAMAS BECAUSE HE GOT MARRIED IN THEM TO MY MOM IN 1992 IN HAWAII SO I THOUG
HT THEY WOULD BE CUTE IF I WORE THEM TODAY. HE WAS TOO LAZY TO PUT ON A TUX SO HE GOT MARRIED IN PAJAMAS!” IN FEBRUARY 2008, SHE APPEARED IN A PHOTO SPREAD FOR HARPER’S BAZAAR DRESSED AS EVITA.
COBAIN MODELED FOR HEDI SLIMANE FOR A WEB PHOTO SERIES RELEASED AUGUST 2, 2011.
IN 2016, SHE MODELED ALONGSIDE ALICE GLASS IN A SPREAD FOR SCHÖN! MAGAZINE SHOT BY FLORIA SIGISMONDI.
IN 2017, SHE WAS ANNOUNCED AS THE FACE OF MARC JACOBS’S SPRING/SUMMER 2017 CAMPAIGN, SHOT BY DAVID SIMS.
IN SEPTEMBER 2005, 13-YEAR-OLD COBAIN GAVE HER FIRST INTERVIEW, TO TEEN VOGUE, IN WHICH SHE DISCUSSED HER PERSONAL STYLE AND MENTIONED HER PARENTS.
ANOTHER APPEARED IN THE JANUARY 2006 ISSUE OF I-D, IN WHICH SHE LAMENTED TABLOID PORTRAYALS OF HER MOTHER: “WHEN YOU SEE A LOT OF LIES ABOUT HER IN THE TABLOIDS … IT CAN BE HURTFUL.”
ON DECEMBER 11, 2009, A CALIFORNIA SUPERIOR COURT IN LOS ANGELES APPOINTED WENDY O’CONNOR, HER PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, AND KIMBERLY COBAIN, HER FATHER’S SISTER, AS COBAIN’S TEMPORARY CO-GUARDIANS.
ON DECEMBER 16, 2009, A JUDGE HAD ISSUED A RELATED TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER PROHIBITING LOVE FROM HAVING ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT CONTACT WITH HER DAUGHTER.
THE PAPERS WERE FILED UNDER THE HEADING “MOTION TO SEAL ALL DOCUMENTS… RELATING TO A MINOR AND ALLEGATIONS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE”. AMONG THOSE DOCUMENTS ARE FRANCES COBAIN’S MEDICAL RECORDS, ACCORDING TO THE FILING.
ON AUGUST 18, 2010, COBAIN INHERITED 37% OF HER LATE FATHER’S ESTATE.COBAIN, NOT LOVE, NOW CONTROLS THE PUBLICITY RIGHTS TO HER FATHER’S NAME AND IMAGE.
IN 2011, COBAIN BOUGHT HER FIRST HOME, A $1.8 MILLION SPANISH-STYLE VILLA IN WEST HOLLYWOOD, A FEW BLOCKS FROM SUNSET STRIP.
COBAIN HAS SAID SHE IS NOT A FAN OF NIRVANA OR OTHER GRUNGE BANDS, INSTEAD PREFERRING THEIR CONTEMPORARIES OASIS, THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE AND MERCURY REV, BUT SHE HAS SAID SHE LIKES THE SONGS “TERRITORIAL PISSINGS” AND “DUMB”
BUT TO MANY NIRVANA FANS, SHE’LL ALWAYS BE KURT’S BABY GIRL, WHO SOMEHOW ARRIVED HEALTHY INTO A SITUATION THAT WAS ANYTHING BU READ MORE:
COBAIN AND MUSICIAN ISAIAH SILVA MARRIED ON JUNE 29, 2014,THOUGH THE WEDDING DATE WAS WIDELY MISREPORTED AS AROUND SEPTEMBER 2015.
KURT HAD 2 YEARS WITH FRANCIS, BUT LOOKING AT PICTURES HE ADORED HERHTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/EMBED/ALTFT4XYMTM?WMODE=TRANSPARENT
KURT WITH FRANCIS AT MTV AWARDS FIGHTING OVER COOKIE..
ALTHOUGH SHE WASN’T DUE UNTIL SEPTEMBER, FRANCES BEAN COBAIN WAS BORN WITH LITTLE INCIDENT ON AUG. 18, 1992 AT CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER IN LOS ANGELES. TO THE RELIEF OF FANS AND FRIENDS ALIKE, THE BABY WAS HEALTHY. R.E.M.’S MICHAEL STIPE AND ACTRESS DREW BARRYMORE WERE CHOSEN AS HER GODPARENTS. THAT INITIAL SENSE OF SECURITY WOULD BE SHORT-LIVED. WITHIN WEEKS OF THE BIRTH, FRANCES WAS TAKEN AWAY FROM LOVE AND COBAIN BY CHILD SERVICES BASED ON MEDIA REPORTS OF AN INAPPROPRIATE HOME LIFE FOR A NEWBORN. THE CASE WAS EVENTUALLY DROPPED, WITH THE LITTLE GIRL RETURNED TO HER PARENTS. AND THEN, WHEN FRANCES WAS ONLY A YEAR AND A HALF, KURT TOOK HIS OWN LIFE. IN HIS SUICIDE NOTE, HE PLEADED, “PLEASE KEEP GOING COURTNEY FOR FRANCES. FOR HER LIFE WILL BE SO MUCH HAPPIER WITHOUT ME.” FRANCES’S CHILDHOOD STRUGGLES DIDN’T END THERE, SPECKLED WITH INCIDENTS THAT PLACED HER IN THE CARE OF HER GRANDMOTHER (KURT’S MOM, WENDY O’CONNOR) WHEN LOVE WAS SEEN AS AN UNFIT PARENT. THEY WERE LATER REUNITED AND, REPORTEDLY, MOTHER AND DAUGHTER HAVE MAINTAINED A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP AS THE LATTER BECAME AN ADULT. MOSTLY RAISED OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT, FRANCES HAS SLOWLY ENTERED THE PUBLIC EYE IN RECENT YEARS, WORKING AS A MODEL, AN ARTIST AND AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF A 2015 DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HER DAD, MONTAGE OF HECK.
In Cobain’s case, the Seattle Police Department lifted 4 prints from the shotgun, 2 prints from the casing and shells, and 1 print from the pen. After the analysis, all of them resulted in no legible latent prints. This means that there were indeed 7 prints in the scene, but they were not clear enough to be identified. Grant says that since the shotgun was handled by at least 3 people, (the seller, the buyer, and Cobain), and none of them can be identified, a person wiped the fingerprints off the weapon. If that was the case, no latent fingerprints would have been lifted at all. With all the information collected above, it is more plausible to think that:SWEAT: sweaty palms due to the usual nervousness in suicidal people, damaged fingerprints.ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT: raindrops destroy prints, and Cobain’s corpse lay dead for 3 days, exposing the prints to changes in temperature and humidity.CONTACT: the recoil of the shotgun when fired leaves a smudge, and friction of the casing and clothes while carrying the shotgun destroys prints too.POOR HANDLING: in 1994, the use of plastic bags to collect evidence was frequent, damaging the plastic pen because of evaporation
Best Known For: Model Frances Bean Cobain is the only daughter of guitarist Kurt Cobain and singer Courtney Love.
Industries
Music
Astrological Sign: Leo
Frances Bean Cobain was born on August 18, 1992, in Los Angeles, California to musicians Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. Her parents’ rumored drug use threw her immediately into the spotlight. In 1994, her father committed suicide and her mom was arrested for drug use in 2003. Frances has modeled and performed, but her family life remains rocky. In 2009, she placed a restraining order against her mother.
Model Frances Bean Cobain is the only daughter of guitarist Kurt Cobain and singer Courtney Love.UPDATED: SEP 30, 2022
Early Life
Model and singer Frances Bean Cobain was born on August 18, 1992, in Los Angeles, California. Daughter of the late singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain from Nirvana and singer and actress Courtney Love, Frances Bean Cobain has spent much of her young life in the spotlight because of her parents.
Cobain was making headlines soon after she was born. Since both of her parents had struggled with drugs over the years, there was a lot of speculation about Frances’s health. One tabloid newspaper went so far as to run a story titled “Rock Star’s Baby is Born a Junkie.” Contrary to such reports, Frances Bean Cobain was a healthy, normal baby with the same blue eyes as her father.
Battle for Custody
Two days after her birth, her parents were visited in the hospital by a social worker from the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services. The investigation had been launched after a profile about Courtney Love came out in Vanity Fair magazine. In the interview, Love admitted to doing drugs while pregnant. The article also seemed to imply that the couple was still using drugs. As a result, the department of children’s services sought to have Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love declared unfit parents, according to Heavier than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
After a lengthy legal battle, Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love were able to regain custody of their daughter. They employed several nannies over the next two years to help them care for her. Both of her parents, unfortunately, were still battling their drug problems during this time. In March 1994, Frances went to visit her father at a rehabilitation center in Los Angeles with her nanny, according to Cross. This may have been the last time she saw her father.
Kurt Cobain’s Suicide
Leaving rehab, Kurt Cobain eventually returned to Seattle and killed himself at the family’s home on April 5, 1994. Frances was not even two years old by this time. After her father’s death, Frances developed a close relationship with her paternal grandmother, Wendy O’Connor. She went on to tell Harper’s Bazaar that O’Connor is “the most constant thing I’ve ever had.”
Cobain was placed in her grandmother’s care for a time after her mother’s drug-related arrest in October 2003. Hours after her arrest, Love overdosed on painkillers. During the overdose, Cobain was present and made her mother some tea while they waited for an ambulance to take Love to the hospital, according to People magazine.
In the resulting custody battle, Cobain spent some time in the care of her nanny and family members while Love was allowed regular visits with her daughter. Love regained custody of Cobain in 2005. Later that year, Cobain gave her first interview to the press, which appeared in Teen Vogue. She said that “I don’t want to be titled as Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain’s daughter. I want to be thought of as Frances Cobain.”
Creating Her Own Identity
Cobain was featured in a photo spread for the March 2008 issue of Harper’s Bazaar. She modeled a series of outfits based on characters from popular musicals, such as Evita, Grease and Beauty and the Beast. In the accompanying article, Cobain discussed how she liked to perform in musicals, but was initially apprehensive about it. “The first time I’d ever been onstage, singing by myself, I was shaking,” she explained. Cobain also expressed an interest in pursuing the visual arts including fashion and photography. She also interned at the rock music publication Rolling Stone.
Cobain is a little nonplussed by all of the media attention she has received as well as the number of Web pages devoted to her online. “These people are fascinated by me, but I haven’t done anything yet… People need to wait until I’ve done something valid with my life,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
In 2009, Wendy O’Connor, Kurt Cobain’s mother and Kimberly Dawn Cobain, Kurt’s sister were granted temporary guardianship of Frances. A restraining order was also placed against Courtney Love prohibiting her from contact with her daughter.
Cobain wed musician Isaiah Silva on June 29, 2014, but filed for divorce from him in March 2016. The divorce was finally settled in May 2018. In the settlement, Cobain had to forfeit the guitar that her dad, Kurt Cobain, famously played in his MTV Unplugged performance in November 1993, just five months before he committed suicide. Silva claimed she gave him the guitar, that is worth million of dollars, as a gift.
Kurt Cobain – vocals, guitar Krist Novoselic – bass Aaron Burkhart – drums 1986 Chad Channing – drums 1987 Dan Peters – drums 1988 (borrowed from Mudhoney for “Sliver 7”) David Grohl – drums 1988 until the end
Nirvana
Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) met Chris Novoselic (born Krist Novoselic) (bass) in 1985 in Aberdeen, WA, a small logging town 100 miles away from Seattle. While Novoselic came from a relatively stable background, Cobain’s childhood had been thrown into a turmoil when his parents divorced when he was eight. Following the divorce, he lived at the homes of various relatives, developing a love for the Beatles and then heavy metal in the process. Eventually, American hardcore punk worked its way into dominating his listening habits and he met the Melvins, an Olympia-based underground heavy punk band. Cobain began playing in punk bands like Fecal Matter, often with the Melvins’ bassist Dale Crover. Through the Melvins’ leader Buzz Osborne, Cobain met Novoselic, who also had an intense interest in punk, which meant that he, like Cobain, felt alienated from the macho, redneck population of Aberdeen. The duo decided to form a band called the Stiff Woodies, with Cobain on drums, Novoselic on bass, and a rotating cast of guitarists and vocalists. The group went through name changes as quickly as guitarists, before deciding that Cobain would play guitar and sing. Renamed Skid Row, the new trio featured drummer Aaron Burkhart, who left the band by the end of 1986 and was replaced by Chad Channing. By 1987, the band was called Nirvana.
Nothing was ever quite the same after Nirvana. The band’s second album, 1991’s Nevermind, revolutionized popular music by bringing alternative rock above ground, introducing mainstream audiences to sounds and concepts that had previously existed only in shadowy record store corners and on low-frequency college radio airwaves. Nevermind‘s noisy, dissonant guitar rock, mumbled or howled surrealistic lyrics, and generally angsty punk attitudes were unlikely candidates for chart success, but the band undercut their grungy songs with enough pop melodicism to create a sound unlike anything average listeners had ever heard before, striking at the exact right moment to become an unprecedented success.
Since Nirvana were rooted in an indie aesthetic but loved pop music, they fought their stardom while courting it, becoming some of the most notorious anti-rock stars in history. They consciously attempted to shed their audience with 1993’s abrasive, Steve Albini-produced third album In Utero, but vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Kurt Cobain‘s growing mental health and substance abuse issues led to his death by suicide in 1994. Though Nirvana’s story was cut tragically short, their legacy stands as one of the most influential in rock & roll history.
Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) met Chris Novoselic (born Krist Novoselic) (bass) in 1985 in Aberdeen, Washington, a small logging town 100 miles away from Seattle. While Novoselic came from a relatively stable background, Cobain‘s childhood had been thrown into turmoil when his parents divorced when he was eight. Following the divorce, he lived at the homes of various relatives, developing a love for the Beatles and then heavy metal in the process. Eventually, American hardcore punk worked its way into dominating his listening habits and he met the Melvins, an Olympia-based underground heavy punk band. Cobain began playing in punk bands like Fecal Matter, often with the Melvins‘ bassist Dale Crover. Through the Melvins‘ leader, Buzz Osborne, Cobain met Novoselic, who also had an intense interest in punk, which meant that he, like Cobain, felt alienated from the macho, redneck population of Aberdeen. The duo decided to form a band called the Stiff Woodies, with Cobain on drums, Novoselic on bass, and a rotating cast of guitarists and vocalists. The group went through name changes as quickly as guitarists, before deciding that Cobain would play guitar and sing. Renamed Skid Row, the new trio featured drummer Aaron Burkhart, who left the band by the end of 1986 and was replaced by Chad Channing. By 1987, the band was called Nirvana.
Nirvana began playing parties in Olympia, gaining a cult following. Around 1987, the band made ten demos with producer Jack Endino, who played the recordings to Jonathan Poneman, one of the founders of the Seattle-based indie label Sub Pop. Poneman signed Nirvana, and in December of 1988, the band released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue‘s “Love Buzz.” Sub Pop orchestrated an effective marketing scheme, which painted the band as backwoods, logging-town hicks, which irritated Cobain and Novoselic. While “Love Buzz” was fairly well-received, the band’s debut album, Bleach, was what got the ball rolling. Recorded for just over $600 and released in June 1989, Bleach slowly became a hit on college radio, due to the group’s consistent touring. Though Jason Everman was credited as a second guitarist on the sleeve of Bleach, he didn’t appear on the record; he only toured in support of the album before leaving the band at the end of the year to join Soundgarden and then Mindfunk. Bleach sold 35,000 copies and Nirvana became favorites of college radio, the British weekly music press, and Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, and Dinosaur Jr., which was enough to attract the attention of major labels.
In July 1990, Nirvana recorded “Sliver”/”Dive” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters on drums and producer Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. In August, they hit the road with Sonic Youth‘s Goo tour (including Crover on drums). That September, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, became Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in June of 1991. Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson‘s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. From the moment Nirvana were met with mainstream visibility, Cobain used his newfound fame to relentlessly push his favorite independent artists as if their music was more important than his own. This took the form of bringing Japanese alt-pop trio Shonen Knife on tour, covering lesser-known but formative artists like the Wipers, the Vaselines, and Meat Puppets, or wearing a homemade Daniel Johnston t-shirt during television appearances and high-profile concerts. Cobain‘s enthusiastic fandom introduced untold numbers of Nirvana fans to artists they most likely wouldn’t have known to seek out on their own, and in the process, energized those artists’ careers.
It soon became apparent that Nirvana wasn’t quite sure how to handle its success. Around the time of Nevermind‘s release, Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbangers Ball in drag; the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops, with Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis; and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss. By early 1992, questions began to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child. A few months later, Nirvana canceled several concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. While he went through these problems,DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 U.S. and number 14 U.K.
As Nirvana prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, they recorded In Utero, in two weeks during. Februrary 1993. Later in the year, reports, including an article in Newsweek, circulated that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, and making accusations that Nirvana deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini‘s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M. producer Scott Litt, who also remixed the singles “Heart Shaped Box” and “All Apologies.” In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with an American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing.
After wrapping up their U.S. tour on January 8, 1994 with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide. When he returned to Seattle, his mental illness grew worse. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain‘s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he left the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. On April 5, Cobain died by suicide at his Seattle home.After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
By the late ’90s, Novoselic began research for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal issues delayed its release. Finally, the Nirvana LLC partnership — which included Grohl, Novoselic, and Love — came to an agreement and the album-length compilation Nirvana was released in October of 2002. Although that release included only one unreleased song, the long-awaited box set, titled With the Lights Out, appeared in late 2004, including three discs of rare and unreleased material plus a live DVD that featured material filmed as early as 1988. The band’s 1992 set at the Reading Festival was released in 2009 as Live at Reading. The same year, Sub Pop began a Nirvana studio album reissue campaign with Bleach; special 20th-anniversary editions of Nevermind and In Utero followed in 2011 and 2013, respectively. In 2014, Nirvana was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe. Cobain‘s place in the induction performance was taken by several vocalists, including Joan Jett and Kim Gordon
NIRVANA TIMELINE
May 10, 1965: Krist Novoselic is born.
February 20, 1967: Kurt Cobain is born.
January 14, 1969: Dave Grohl is born.
Fall 1985: Kurt meets Krist. They play in several bands together, including Stiff Woodies.
December 1987: Kurt, Krist and drummer Aaron Burckhard form the original lineup of Nirvana in Aberdeen, Washington.
January 23, 1988: Nirvana records a 10-song demo with the “Godfather of Grunge,” legendary Seattle producer Jack Endino. Sub Pop co-honcho Jonathan Poneman hears the tape and offers to put out a Nirvana single. The band accepts.
October 30, 1988: Kurt smashes his first guitar.
June 1989: Bleach is released on Sub Pop. Nirvana embarks on a month-long U.S. tour.
September 25, 1990: Dave Grohl, former drummer for Washinton, D.C.’s Scream, joins Nirvana.
October 1990: Nirvana briefly tours England with L7.
Winter 1991: Nirvana signs with DGC Records.
August 1991: Nirvana opens for Sonic Youth on a European festival tour, which includes a landmark performance at the Reading Festival. The tour is documented in the film 1991: The Year Punk Broke.
September 24, 1991: Nevermind is released.
October 12, 1991: Nevermind is certified a gold album.
November 1991: The band starts a six-week European tour as Nirvanamania sweeps the United States. MTV airs “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video constantly; the song is hailed as an anthem for a generation.
January 11, 1992: Nevermind hits No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
January/February 1992: Nirvana tours Australia, Japan and Hawaii.
April 1992: Nirvana appears on the cover of Rolling Stone.
June/July 1992: Nirvana tours Europe.
December 15, 1992: Incesticide, a collection of B-sides and rarities, is released. It goes gold the following spring.
April 9, 1993: Nirvana plays a concert at San Francisco’s Cow Palace to raise awareness of and generate aid for rape survivors in Bosnia-Herzegovina. L7, the Breeders and Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy are also on the bill.
September 21, 1993: In Utero is released.
October 18, 1993: Nirvana starts a three-month tour of North America.
November 19, 1993: Nirvana tapes an all-acoustic show for “MTV Unplugged” at Sony Studios in New York. Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets sit in on three Meat Puppets songs.
December 16, 1993: MTV airs Nirvana’s “Unplugged” show.
January 7, 1994: Nirvana plays the Seattle Arena. It will be the band’s last U.S. show.
February 6, 1994: Nirvana embarks on a tour of Europe
Nirvana began playing parties in Olympia, gaining a cult following. During 1987, the band made ten demos with producer Jack Endino, who played the recordings to Jonathan Poneman, one of the founders of the Seattle-based indie label Sub Pop. Poneman signed Nirvana, and in December of 1988, the band released their first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz.” Sub Pop orchestrated an effective marketing scheme, which painted the band as backwoods, logging-town hicks, which irritated Cobain and Novoselic. While “Love Buzz” was fairly well-received, the band’s debut album, Bleach, was what began the ball rolling. Recorded for just over 600 dollars and released in the spring of 1989, Bleach slowly became a hit on college radio, due to the group’s consistent touring. Though Jason Everman was credited as a second guitarist on the sleeve of Bleach, he didn’t appear on the record; he only toured in support of the album before leaving the band at the end of the year to join Soundgarden and then Mind Funk. Bleach sold 35,000 copies and Nirvana became favorites of college radio, the British weekly music press, and Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, and Dinosaur Jr., which was enough to attract the attention of major labels.
Nirvana timeline
05-16-65 Krist Anthony Novoselic born to Krist and Maria Novoselic
01-31-67 Chad Channing born to Wayne and Burnyce Channing
02-20-67 Kurt Donald Cobain born to Wendy and Donald Cobain
01-14-69 David Eric Grohl born to James and Virginia Grohl
01-23-88 Nirvana records demo with Dale Crover
11-??-88 First single: Love Buzz/Big Cheese released 06-??-89
Bleach – CD-Album released 10-23-89
Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England 12-30-89
Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma on 04-17-91
Nirvana first plays Smell Like Teen Spirit 04-30-91
Smells Like Teen Spirit – CD-Single Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records 08-?? -91
The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made 09-20-91
Tour for Nevermind – Japan – Vinyl- Album Nevermind – CD- Album Nevermind – Vinyl-Album begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-12-91 Nevermind goes Gold
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live,
Nevermind hits #1 01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
08-18-92 Francis Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana headlines Reading Festival
09-08-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
12-15-92 Insecticide Insecticide – Japan – Vinyl- Album Insecticide – CD-Album released
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
11-18-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero in Utero – Vinyl-Album In Utero – CD-Album released in US
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
03-01-94 The Final Nirvana show is played in Munich
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from a coma, asks for a milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power the body of Kurt Cobain is found, he committed suicide 3 days ago.
04-10-94 Memorial Service held in Seattle, Courtney reads from a suicide note.
09-??-94 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video for Heart-Shaped Box
11-01-94 Nirvana: Unplugged in New York Unplugged in New York – Vinyl-Album Unplugged in New York – CD-Album is released in the US
11-15-94 Nirvana: Live! Tonite! Sold Out! is released in US
07-04-95 Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighter’s Album released 10-01-96 From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Japan – Vinyl-Album from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album released
During the summer, Nirvana released “Sliver”/”Dive,” which was recorded with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums and produced by Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. By the end of the summer, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, had become Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in the summer. Following a European tour supporting Sonic Youth in the late summer, Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson’s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Story of the band from there sub pop days right through to that day in apriI 94
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. It soon become apparent that the band wasn’t quite sure how to handle their success. Around the time of Nevermind’s release, the band was into baiting their audience — Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in drag, the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops by Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis, and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss — but by the spring, questions had begun to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child in the fall. Shortly after the marriage, rumors that the couple were heavy heroin users began to circulate and the strength of the rumors only increased when Nirvana canceled several summer concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. But, heroin rumors continued to surface, especially in the form of a late-summer Vanity Fair article which implied that Love was using during her pregnancy. Both Love and Cobain denied the article’s allegations, and publicly harassed and threatened the article’s author. Love delivered Frances Bean Cobain, a healthy baby girl, on August 18, 1992, but the couple soon battled with Los Angeles’ children’s services, who claimed they were unfit parents on the basis of the Vanity Fair article. The couple was granted custody of their child by the beginning of 1993.
Since Cobain was going through such well-documented personal problems, Nirvana was unable to record a follow-up to Nevermind until the spring of 1993. In the meantime, DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 in the U.S. and number 14 U.K. As the group prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split-single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, Nirvana recorded their third album, In Utero, in two weeks during the spring of 1993. Following its completion, controversy began to surround Nirvana again. Cobain suffered a heroin overdose on May 2, but the event was hidden from the press. The following month, Love called police to their Seattle home after Cobain locked himself in the bathroom, threatening suicide. Prior to debuting In Utero material during the New Music Seminar at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, Cobain had another covered-up overdose. By that time, reports began to circulate, including an article in Newsweek, that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, accusing that the band deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini’s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt.
In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with a fall American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up the U.S. tour on January 8, 1994, with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Rohypnol and drinking champagne. While the attempt was initially reported as an accidental overdose, it was known within the Nirvana camp that the vocalist had left behind a suicide note.
Cobain returned to Seattle within a week of his hospitalization and his mental illness began to grow. On March 18, the police had to again talk the singer out of suicide after he locked himself in a room threatening to kill himself. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain’s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he escaped from the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. The following day, Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle home. His body wasn’t discovered until April 8, when an electrician contracted to install an alarm system at the Cobain house stumbled upon the body. After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
Novoselic and Grohl planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band’s Nevermind-era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to Cobain’s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers).
In 1996, its electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters (early rumors that Novoselic would also be a member of the band ultimately proved to be false) — releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. Novoselic formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra and former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live From the Battle in Seattle under the name the No W.T.O. Combo.
By the late ’90s, research began by Novoselic for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal problems began to surface. In 1997, Grohl and Novoselic formed the Nirvana L.L.C. partnership with Courtney Love (who manages Cobain’s estate) — a company that required a unanimous vote by all three regarding future albums, photos, and anything else Nirvana-related. When all three couldn’t agree on the songs to be included on the box set, the matter was taken to court as Love attempted to dissolve the partnership. The project was ultimately shelved indefinitely as any legal decision was tied up in court. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
NIRVANA LINE UP !(1985-1994)
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar (1985-1994)
Krist (Chris) Novoselic (1985-1994)
Aaron Burckhard (1985-1986)
Dale Crover: drums (1988)
Chad Channing (1986-1990)
Jason Everman: guitar (1989)
Dave Foster: drums (1988)
Dan Peters: drums (1990)
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals (1990-1994)
John Duncan: guitar (1993)
Pat Smear: guitar (1993-1994)
Early releases (1988–1990)
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz”, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first-ever interview with John Robb in Sounds who also made the release single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins and Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman, who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they “wanted to make him feel more at home in the band”. Just prior to the album’s release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Following the release of Bleach in June 1989, Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, and the album became a favourite of college radio stations. Due to increasing differences between Everman over the course of the tour, Nirvana cancelled the last few dates and drove back to Washington. No one told Everman he was fired, while Everman later said he had actually quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it was a steady seller and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label’s lack of promotion and distribution for the album. In late 1989, the band recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. In a late 1989 interview with John Robb in Sounds, Cobain noted that the band’s music was changing. He said, “The early songs were really angry… But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings”. Grohl performing in 1989 In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing’s drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana” demos with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana’s seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl, whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”
Grohl told Q: “I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks… I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You’re kidding me’.”
Mainstream breakthrough (1991–1992)
Disenchanted with Sub Pop and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana decided to look for a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy the group out of its contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana’s demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon,
Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990.
Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth’s Goo. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide
In Utero, final months, and Cobain’s death (1993–1994)
In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 1993.Time’s Christopher John Farley wrote in his review of the album, “Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn’t gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana”. In Utero went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as a second guitarist. In November, they recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the band broke convention for the show by choosing not to play their most recognizable songs. Instead, they performed several covers and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Nirvana’s final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1
The tour is cancelled when Kurt gets ill and checks into rehab where he leaves couple of days after, he is missing and reported missing by wife Courtney love using kurts mothers name suspiciously? His body is found April 8th dead by self-inflicted gunshot wound according to police. Nirvana fans dispute this and with good evidence to back them up also.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtWkahNquWc?wmode=transparent
about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong
resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.
The Nirvana Logo Font The font
style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.
The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring
Legacy Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.
Behind the album.. “incesticide”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-rDihTILjA?wmode=transparent
Behind the album..”in-utero”https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxPFNMMWYvE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yCrVWXNSw?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/kuYfAwwgCjI?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YBODze-zhbE?wmode=transparent
Reading festival ’92https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RmlOAjYmCo?wmode=transparent
“POLLY”
A look into Kurt’s songwriting as he sings about a girl who gets attacked after a concert..
POLLY UN-OFFICIAL
PAT SMEAR ON FINAL TOUR
Pat talks about how he loved nirvana & can’t believe he’s playing with them! Also speaks of the last leg of in-utero tour & the Rome “incident”!!
KURT’S LYRICS
MTV’S UNPLUGGED
Short but brilliant unedited clips from unplugged..
THE LAST PHOTO SESSION
NIRVANA FACTS!!!
KURT COBAIN SMILING
Every one thinks kurt was a depressed suicidal junkie! He was anything but that! He was a special person with a talent for anything he tried, poetry music art etc.. sit back & enjoy his smile & remember the music.. thanks kurt & nirvana
Nirvana began playing parties in Olympia, gaining a cult following. During 1987, the band made ten demos with producer Jack Endino, who played the recordings to Jonathan Poneman, one of the founders of the Seattle-based indie label Sub Pop. Poneman signed Nirvana, and in December of 1988, the band released their first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz.” Sub Pop orchestrated an effective marketing scheme, which painted the band as backwoods, logging-town hicks, which irritated Cobain and Novoselic. While “Love Buzz” was fairly well-received, the band’s debut album, Bleach, was what began the ball rolling. Recorded for just over 600 dollars and released in the spring of 1989, Bleach slowly became a hit on college radio, due to the group’s consistent touring. Though Jason Everman was credited as a second guitarist on the sleeve of Bleach, he didn’t appear on the record; he only toured in support of the album before leaving the band at the end of the year to join Soundgarden and then Mind Funk. Bleach sold 35,000 copies and Nirvana became favorites of college radio, the British weekly music press, and Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, and Dinosaur Jr., which was enough to attract the attention of major labels.
Nirvana timeline
05-16-65 Krist Anthony Novoselic born to Krist and Maria Novoselic
01-31-67 Chad Channing born to Wayne and Burnyce Channing
02-20-67 Kurt Donald Cobain born to Wendy and Donald Cobain
01-14-69 David Eric Grohl born to James and Virginia Grohl
01-23-88 Nirvana records demo with Dale Crover
11-??-88 First single: Love Buzz/Big Cheese released 06-??-89
Bleach – CD-Album released 10-23-89
Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England 12-30-89
Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma on 04-17-91
Nirvana first plays Smell Like Teen Spirit 04-30-91
Smells Like Teen Spirit – CD-Single Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records 08-?? -91
The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made 09-20-91
Tour for Nevermind – Japan – Vinyl- Album Nevermind – CD- Album Nevermind – Vinyl-Album begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-12-91 Nevermind goes Gold
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live,
Nevermind hits #1 01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
08-18-92 Francis Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana headlines Reading Festival
09-08-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
12-15-92 Insecticide Insecticide – Japan – Vinyl- Album Insecticide – CD-Album released
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
11-18-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero in Utero – Vinyl-Album In Utero – CD-Album released in US
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
03-01-94 The Final Nirvana show is played in Munich
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from a coma, asks for a milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power the body of Kurt Cobain is found, he committed suicide 3 days ago.
04-10-94 Memorial Service held in Seattle, Courtney reads from a suicide note.
09-??-94 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video for Heart-Shaped Box
11-01-94 Nirvana: Unplugged in New York Unplugged in New York – Vinyl-Album Unplugged in New York – CD-Album is released in the US
11-15-94 Nirvana: Live! Tonite! Sold Out! is released in US
07-04-95 Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighter’s Album released 10-01-96 From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Japan – Vinyl-Album from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album released
During the summer, Nirvana released “Sliver”/”Dive,” which was recorded with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums and produced by Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. By the end of the summer, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, had become Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in the summer. Following a European tour supporting Sonic Youth in the late summer, Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson’s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Story of the band from there sub pop days right through to that day in apriI 94
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. It soon become apparent that the band wasn’t quite sure how to handle their success. Around the time of Nevermind’s release, the band was into baiting their audience — Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in drag, the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops by Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis, and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss — but by the spring, questions had begun to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child in the fall. Shortly after the marriage, rumors that the couple were heavy heroin users began to circulate and the strength of the rumors only increased when Nirvana canceled several summer concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. But, heroin rumors continued to surface, especially in the form of a late-summer Vanity Fair article which implied that Love was using during her pregnancy. Both Love and Cobain denied the article’s allegations, and publicly harassed and threatened the article’s author. Love delivered Frances Bean Cobain, a healthy baby girl, on August 18, 1992, but the couple soon battled with Los Angeles’ children’s services, who claimed they were unfit parents on the basis of the Vanity Fair article. The couple was granted custody of their child by the beginning of 1993.
Since Cobain was going through such well-documented personal problems, Nirvana was unable to record a follow-up to Nevermind until the spring of 1993. In the meantime, DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 in the U.S. and number 14 U.K. As the group prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split-single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, Nirvana recorded their third album, In Utero, in two weeks during the spring of 1993. Following its completion, controversy began to surround Nirvana again. Cobain suffered a heroin overdose on May 2, but the event was hidden from the press. The following month, Love called police to their Seattle home after Cobain locked himself in the bathroom, threatening suicide. Prior to debuting In Utero material during the New Music Seminar at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, Cobain had another covered-up overdose. By that time, reports began to circulate, including an article in Newsweek, that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, accusing that the band deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini’s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt.
In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with a fall American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up the U.S. tour on January 8, 1994, with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Rohypnol and drinking champagne. While the attempt was initially reported as an accidental overdose, it was known within the Nirvana camp that the vocalist had left behind a suicide note.
Cobain returned to Seattle within a week of his hospitalization and his mental illness began to grow. On March 18, the police had to again talk the singer out of suicide after he locked himself in a room threatening to kill himself. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain’s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he escaped from the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. The following day, Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle home. His body wasn’t discovered until April 8, when an electrician contracted to install an alarm system at the Cobain house stumbled upon the body. After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
Novoselic and Grohl planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band’s Nevermind-era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to Cobain’s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers).
In 1996, its electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters (early rumors that Novoselic would also be a member of the band ultimately proved to be false) — releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. Novoselic formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra and former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live From the Battle in Seattle under the name the No W.T.O. Combo.
By the late ’90s, research began by Novoselic for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal problems began to surface. In 1997, Grohl and Novoselic formed the Nirvana L.L.C. partnership with Courtney Love (who manages Cobain’s estate) — a company that required a unanimous vote by all three regarding future albums, photos, and anything else Nirvana-related. When all three couldn’t agree on the songs to be included on the box set, the matter was taken to court as Love attempted to dissolve the partnership. The project was ultimately shelved indefinitely as any legal decision was tied up in court. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
NIRVANA LINE UP !(1985-1994)
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar (1985-1994)
Krist (Chris) Novoselic (1985-1994)
Aaron Burckhard (1985-1986)
Dale Crover: drums (1988)
Chad Channing (1986-1990)
Jason Everman: guitar (1989)
Dave Foster: drums (1988)
Dan Peters: drums (1990)
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals (1990-1994)
John Duncan: guitar (1993)
Pat Smear: guitar (1993-1994)
Early releases (1988–1990)
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz”, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first-ever interview with John Robb in Sounds who also made the release single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins and Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman, who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they “wanted to make him feel more at home in the band”. Just prior to the album’s release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Following the release of Bleach in June 1989, Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, and the album became a favourite of college radio stations. Due to increasing differences between Everman over the course of the tour, Nirvana cancelled the last few dates and drove back to Washington. No one told Everman he was fired, while Everman later said he had actually quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it was a steady seller and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label’s lack of promotion and distribution for the album. In late 1989, the band recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. In a late 1989 interview with John Robb in Sounds, Cobain noted that the band’s music was changing. He said, “The early songs were really angry… But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings”. Grohl performing in 1989 In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing’s drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana” demos with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana’s seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl, whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”
Grohl told Q: “I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks… I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You’re kidding me’.”
Mainstream breakthrough (1991–1992)
Disenchanted with Sub Pop and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana decided to look for a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy the group out of its contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana’s demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon,
Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990.
Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth’s Goo. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide
In Utero, final months, and Cobain’s death (1993–1994)
In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 1993.Time’s Christopher John Farley wrote in his review of the album, “Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn’t gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana”. In Utero went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as a second guitarist. In November, they recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the band broke convention for the show by choosing not to play their most recognizable songs. Instead, they performed several covers and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Nirvana’s final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1
The tour is cancelled when Kurt gets ill and checks into rehab where he leaves couple of days after, he is missing and reported missing by wife Courtney love using kurts mothers name suspiciously? His body is found April 8th dead by self-inflicted gunshot wound according to police. Nirvana fans dispute this and with good evidence to back them up also.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtWkahNquWc?wmode=transparent
about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong
resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.
The Nirvana Logo Font The font
style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.
The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring
Legacy Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.
Behind the album.. “incesticide”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-rDihTILjA?wmode=transparent
Behind the album..”in-utero”https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxPFNMMWYvE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yCrVWXNSw?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/kuYfAwwgCjI?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YBODze-zhbE?wmode=transparent
Reading festival ’92https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RmlOAjYmCo?wmode=transparent
“POLLY”
A look into Kurt’s songwriting as he sings about a girl who gets attacked after a concert..
Pat talks about how he loved nirvana & can’t believe he’s playing with them! Also speaks of the last leg of in-utero tour & the Rome “incident”!!
KURT’S LYRICS
MTV’S UNPLUGGED
Short but brilliant unedited clips from unplugged..
THE LAST PHOTO SESSION
NIRVANA FACTS!!!
KURT COBAIN SMILING
Every one thinks kurt was a depressed suicidal junkie! He was anything but that! He was a special person with a talent for anything he tried, poetry music art etc.. sit back & enjoy his smile & remember the music.. thanks kurt & nirvana
NIRVANA INTERVIEWS
KURT SCREAM MEDLEY
KURT TRIBUTE
Collection of pictures with music by the amazing “foo fighters”
DR HUNTER takes a look at the events leading up to Kurts’s death & examines how
report to see Is there something worth investigating more, I’ve watched this several times & i think Dr Hunter only agrees with police reports & his findings don’t match with the video clips they show to correspond, in my opinion, they contradict him,
“Seattle police reports indicate that Kurt Cobain was found with a shotgun upside down, with his left hand around the barrel in a vice-like grip known as a cadaveric spasm, a cadaveric spasm is a form of muscular stiffening that only occurs in death. This occurrence is indispensable to forensic investigation, as it clearly shows the precise orientation of the deceased at the EXACT moment of death…”
The Reason why Courtney demolished the Greenhouse
Shotgun
Sean T. O’Donnell of the Seattle Police Department didn’t think so:
Police found no legible fingerprints on the shotgun, the shotgun shells, or the pen used to write the suicide note. Could they have been wiped clean?
Dr. Hartshorne
Courtney had become good friends with Hartshorne when he had worked as a rock promoter years before. Dr. Hartshorne was in the business of promoting punk rock groups and happened to book Nirvana at the Central Tavern in Seattle in 1988. Courtney talked a lot about her friend.
According to Wallace and Halperin authors of “Who killed Kurt Cobain?”, she called Dr. Hartshorne “my rock-and-roll medical examiner.” He, in turn, had described her as a “great girl” but assured them this did not represent a conflict of interest in his investigation.
After a cursory investigation, Hartshorne told reporters that Cobain’s death was an “open-and-shut case of suicide.” Hartshorne was seen in public with Courtney Love on several occasions up until his accidental death in 2002.
Another mysterious death. Hartshorne died August 6, 2002, in a B.A.S.E jumping accident in Switzerland. He jumped off a cliff known as “The Nose”. The canopy opened facing the cliff and Nik is turning it away when he landed on a ledge. At that point, he had already turned the canopy 90 degrees away from the wall. The canopy collapsed and Nik fell backward from the ledge. He impacted a second ledge with his head (this is the fatal injury) and the canopy re-inflated and flew into the wall a third time and hung there a moment. The canopy then dropped beneath him and he fell into it. He fell down the remaining part of the wall (several hundred feet) wrapped in the canopy and hit the wall 6-8 more times. It is really remarkable that so many people around Courtney died such mysterious deaths. Certainly when it’s all connected to Kurt Cobain
medical examinar
CADAVERIC SPASM
CADAVERIC SPASM
The gun that the singer used to kill himself, a Remington Model 11 20 gauge, was not checked for fingerprints until May 6, 1994. According to the Fingerprint Analysis Report, four cards of latent prints were lifted but contained no legible prints.
“Seattle police reports indicate that Kurt Cobain was found with a shotgun upside down, with his left hand around the barrel in a vice-like grip known as a cadaveric spasm, a cadaveric spasm is a form of muscular stiffening that only occurs in death. This occurrence is indispensable to forensic investigation, as it clearly shows the precise orientation of the deceased at the EXACT moment of death…”
“Seattle police reports indicate that Kurt Cobain was found with a shotgun upside down, with his left hand around the barrel in a vice-like grip known as a cadaveric spasm, cadaveric spasm is a form of muscular stiffening that only occurs in death. This occurrence is indispensable to forensic investigation, as it clearly shows the precise orientation of the deceased at the EXACT moment of death…” as Tom Grant states. He then goes on to say “Now this all seems straightforward until you take into account that the shotgun shell was found to Cobain’s LEFT side, opposite of where one would expect to find a shell, on his right side…” But of course, Seattle PD has an explanation for this as well, they claim that the gun was fired right side up; but then flipped, COMPLETELY disregarding the legitimacy of the cadaveric spasm. And that the only way that that would make sense would be if his wrist twisted at an impossible rate which then caused the shotgun to be flipped upside down. As a people who have shot shotguns, we can say that when that shell gets ejected it really flies, so the only explanation we can think up is someone or some kind of disruption was to Cobain’s right causing the shotgun shell to ricochet and land on his left side.
smoking gun police files
police files
police files
police files
police files
police files
police files
police files
police files
“I think it’s clear that anyone who is familiar with firearms and their use would know that as they hold a weapon, that frequently that weapon will move in their hand. Additionally, when that weapon is discharged, that causes a jerking motion, which causes the hands to move over the surface of the weapon. And all of those factors could cause any fingerprints that may have been left on the weapon to be unusable.
it is impossible to know if Cobain injected himself a dose of heroin before dying or if his last take was 3 days before his death. Regarding diazepam, Cobain was in a rehab facility in Marina del Rey, CA. In this facility, he was given Valium for the last time in the afternoon of April 1st. It is possible that the traces of diazepam found in his system were just the remains of the Valium ingestion while staying at the rehab facility.
. On April 13th, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a Seattle-based newspaper, claims to have spoken with a source close to the investigation. The next day, an article with the headline “Cobain lay dead for 3 days” is published claiming the source said Cobain had 1,52 mg/l of morphine in his system and that there were traces of diazepam (Valium). It is possible that the source disclosed the results of the first test, which is instantaneous, but it is impossible that in less than in a couple of days officials knew the exact quantity of morphine present in Cobain’s system.
Considering morphine, the substance heroin turns into when metabolized, remains in the system up to 3 days after the last take, and diazepam remains up to 5 days, it is impossible to know if Cobain injected himself a dose of heroin before dying or if his last take was 3 days before his death.
Bleach is the debut studio album by American rock band Nirvana, released on June 15, 1989, by Sub Pop. After the release of their debut single “Love Buzz” on Sub Pop in November 1988, Nirvana rehearsed for two to three weeks in preparation for recording a full-length album. The main recording sessions for Bleach took place at Reciprocal Recording in Seattle, Washington between December 1988 and January 1989. It is the only Nirvana album released on the Sub Pop label and their only studio album to feature drummer Chad Channing.BleachStudio album by
Bleach did not chart upon initial release, but was well received by critics. When reissued internationally by Geffen Records in 1992 following the breakthrough success of Nirvana’s second album, Nevermind, Bleach peaked at number 89 on the Billboard 200, number 33 on the UK Albums Chart, and number 34 on the Australian albums chart. In 2009, Sub Pop released a 20th anniversary edition of Bleach featuring a live recording of a 1990 Nirvana performance in Portland, Oregon as bonus material.
Bleach had sold 40,000 copies in North America before the release of Nevermind. It has since been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold more than 1.9 million copies in the United States alone.[12] It is Sub Pop’s best-selling album to date and is unlikely to be surpassed by competitors.[13] Frontman Kurt Cobain’s death in April 1994 also led to a resurgence in the album’s popularity, reaching number one on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart.[14] In April 2019, Bleach was ranked No. 13 on Rolling Stone‘s “50 Greatest Grunge Albums” list.[15]
Written primarily by frontman Kurt Cobain, Nevermind is noted for channeling a range of emotions, being noted as dark, humorous, and disturbing. It includes anti-establishment views, anti-sexism, frustration, alienation, and troubled love inspired by Cobain’s broken relationship with Bikini Kill‘s Tobi Vail. Contrary to the popular hedonistic themes of drugs and sex at the time, writers have observed that Nevermind re-invigorated sensitivity to mainstream rock. According to Cobain, the sound of the album was influenced by bands such as Pixies, R.E.M., the Smithereens, and Melvins. Though the album is considered a cornerstone of the grunge genre, it is noted for its musical diversity, which includes acoustic ballads (“Polly” and “Something in the Way“) and punk-inspired hard rock (“Territorial Pissings” and “Stay Away”).[5]
Nevermind became an unexpected critical and commercial success, reaching the top 10 on charts across the world. By January 1992, it reached number one on the US Billboard 200 and was selling approximately 300,000 copies a week. The lead single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit“, reached the top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100and went on to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Its music video was also heavily rotated on MTV. Three other successful singles were released: “Come as You Are“, “Lithium“, and “In Bloom“. The album was voted the best album of the year in Pazz & Jop critics’ poll, while “Smells Like Teen Spirit” also topped the single-of-the-year and video-of-the-year polls. The album also garnered the band three Grammy Award nominations in total across the 34th and 35th Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Music Album.
Nevermind made Nirvana one of the biggest bands of the 1990s, with Cobain being dubbed the “voice of his generation”. It brought grunge and alternative rock to a mainstream audience while ending the dominance of hair metal, drawing similarities to the early 1960s British Invasion of American popular music. It is also often credited with initiating a resurgence of interest in punk culture among teenagers and young adults of Generation X, becoming seminal to the counterculture of the decade. It has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. In March 1999, it was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Among the most acclaimed and influential albums in the history of music, Nevermind was added by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry in 2004 for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”, and is frequently ranked highly on lists of the greatest albums of all time, including being ranked number six on Rolling Stone‘s 2020 list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time“. The album has since been reissued with alternate takes and live performances.
. Reissued in April 1996 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as a 24-carat gold CD and on 200g high-definition vinyl
. Reissued in July 1998 by Simply Vinyl on high-quality vinyl
Additional Information:
Recoded and produced by Butch Vig. Mixed by Andy Wallace.
Dave plays all the drums on the album. ‘Polly’ was taken from Nirvana’s April 1990 Smart Studios session (also with Butch Vig) when the drummer was Chad Channing, but at the ‘Nevermind’ session the drums for ‘Polly’ were re-recorded. The first batch of American pressings (46,251) on CD and cassette lacked ‘Endless Nameless’, the uncredited secret track which appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once ‘Something in the Way’ has ended, because of a pressing error.
The band put the ‘secret track’ on the album as a way of playing with the CD format, just as the Beatles, for example, put indecipherable messages in the runout grooves of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover shot was inspired by Kurt and Dave having seen a documentary on underwater birth during recording sessions. They investigated pictures of babies being born underwater, but they were too graphic. Therefore, they chose a stock graphic of a baby swimming, but it was too expensive. As a result, the art director, Robert Fisher, got Kirk Weddle, an underwater photographer to take some shots himself of a baby underwater. The baby in the final picture chosen was Spencer Elden. Kurt recommended the adding of a dollar on a fish-hook and thus a famous album cover was born.
Inside the inlay is a page of random lyrics from the songs on ‘Nevermind’ mashed together in no particular order. Two of the lines amongst them were made up by Kurt and do not feature in the lyrics of any of the songs (“The second coming came in last and out of the closet” and “At the end of the rainbow and your rope”). The back-cover features a meat-and-diseased vagina collage by Cobain behind the Chim (above the head of which is a picture of Kiss). Cobain’s name appears on photo credits as ‘Kurdt Kobain’. Later reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were both taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1996 CD and vinyl releases by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold of the CD is less susceptible to corrosion than the aluminium used on regular CDs. The MFSL LP booklet for this release misspelled Nirvana (‘Nirvana’) and CD releases do contain ‘Endless Nameless’ although, as with ordinary releases, this is not credited on the cover.
The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy card (300g) sleeve. The song credits on this vinyl release are different to those on the regular CD
INSECTICIDE
(1992)
INSECTICIDE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Stain September 1989 Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Been A Son November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK
Turnaround October 21, 1990, Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Molly’s Lips October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London,
UK Son Of A Gun October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
(New Wave) Polly November 9, 1991 BBC Studios, London, UK
Beeswax January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle,
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Mexican Seafood
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Hairspray Queen
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Aero Zeppelin
January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Big Long Now
December, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK Three of the fifteen songs on ‘Insecticide’ cover.
The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On: Turnaround Devo We Are Not Men, We Are Devo Molly’s Lips Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Son of a Gun Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Released: 12/14/92 (Europe), 12/15/92 (US) Releases: Released on vinyl (with a limited edition of 15,000 on blue vinyl), cassette and CD. Additional Information: A collaborative enterprise by ‘Sub Pop’ and ‘Geffen’ (originally planned as two separate releases, one by each label), partly as an attempt to beat the bootleggers. The collaboration was intended to ensure a definite compilation, as well as give the band more control over it and ensure greater distribution than ‘Sub Pop’ could muster. The cover art is a painting by Cobain.
The sticker on it reads “Inside Insecticide: Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Stuff Never Before Available”, and six of the fifteen tracks were unreleased at the time (‘Hairspray Queen’, ‘Aero Zeppelin’, ‘Big Long Now’, ‘Been A Son’, ‘(New Wave) Polly’ and ‘Aneurysm’). ‘Mexican Seafood’ was previously made available on ‘Teriyaki Asthma’, ‘Beeswax’ on ‘Kill Rock Stars’, ‘Downer’ on CD versions of ‘Bleach’, ‘Stain’ on the ‘Blew’ EP, ‘Dive’ and ‘Sliver’ on the ‘Dive/Sliver’ single (note: the phone call outro to ‘Sliver’ between Krist and Jonathon Poneman on the single was omitted for its appearance on CD) and ‘Turnaround’, ‘Molly’s Lips’ and ‘Son Of A Gun’ appeared on the ‘Hormoaning’ EP. ‘Been A Son’ on ‘Insecticide is a different version to that on the ‘Blew’ EP, as are the versions ‘Aneurysm’ from their respective previous releases. According to Endino ‘Hairspray Queen’ and ‘Aero Zeppelin’ were not remastered for their release on this CD, virtually being the one-hour mix versions, he did on the day of their recording. Some American copies include liner notes written by Kurt. In trading circles complete versions of the October 21, 1990 and the November 9, 1991 radio sessions are available. Complete session tapes also exist for the January 23, 1989 and April 1990 sessions. Other outtakes from the September 1989 Music Source and December 1989 Reciprocal studio sessions have also surfaced.
(1993)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
Serve The Servants February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Scentless Apprentice February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Very Ape February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
Tourette’s February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
All Apologies February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip January 22, 1993, Ariola Ltda BMG,
Rio de Janeiro Released:
09/14/93 (Europe), 09/21/93 (US), 01/97, 11/98 Releases: Issued on vinyl (including a 15,000 limited edition on clear vinyl), cassette and CD in 1993. Reissued by MFSL in January 1997 on 24-carat gold CD and high-quality vinyl.
All Apologies’
In November 1998 it was reissued on high-quality vinyl by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Steve Albini, who was paid $100,000 on top of $24,000 recording costs. ‘All Apologies’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ were remixed again in May by Scott Litt. ‘Sappy’ was also re-recorded at this session and this is the version that features on the ‘No Alternative’ compilation. European releases included a bonus track (‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip’), referred to on releases as ‘Devalued American Dollar Purchase Incentive Track’, which appears 25 minutes after the end of ‘All Apologies’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, except for ‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol’ (stating ‘whatever’ in its place) and Tourette’s (with the lyrics being given as ‘Cuff, Tish, Sips’). The disc features Michael DeWitt in drag, a former nanny employed by Kurt and Courtney.
Wal-Mart and K-Mart versions of the artwork were altered with Cobain’s acceptance (given that to refuse the changes would mean the album would be more difficult to get hold of) when these outlets refused to sell them, deeming them ‘offensive’. They also changed the title of ‘Rape Me’ to ‘Waif Me’. A remixed version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ (also available on the ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ single), different from on ordinary versions of ‘In Utero’, was used on these re-issued copies and ‘Gallons’ was omitted. Both the reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1997 release by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold is less susceptible to corrosion. These releases do not contain ‘Gallons’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy (300g) card sleeve. The guitar solo intro on ‘Very Ape’ on this vinyl release is longer than on other versions. ‘In Utero’ enters the Billboard chart at #1 with first week sales of 180,000 units.
Compilation Albums
NIRVANA
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
Previously unreleased About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Bleach Been a Son September 1989 Music Source Studios – Seattle, WA
Blew EP Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Insecticide Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come as You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea (remix version) February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero (K-Mart/Wal-Mart version) Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero All Apologies November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Something In The Way (vinyl & Japanese CD releases only) November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Released: 10/28/02 (outside US), 10/29/02 (US) Releases: CD, Vinyl (2 LPs). Additional Information: Features the previously unreleased song ‘You Know You’re Right’. All the other tracks, taken from the NIRVANA back catalog, have been “newly mastered” for this release. Includes a forward by David Fricke.
The vinyl version is a double LP release. Only the vinyl release and Japanese versions of the CD contain ‘Something in the Way’.
Review:
Almost six years to the day since the last NIRVANA album came the release of the greatest hits package, simply titled ‘Nirvana’. Fans had long believed the next album would be a box set of unreleased songs and demo versions, indeed a 45-track two-disc set was reportedly assembled for launch to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of the band’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’. Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, was displeased by her lack of input on the box set, and made a legal challenge to block the release. Coincidentally, she was also in court trying to extricate herself from her legal obligations to her record label with her former band ‘Hole’. Love threatened to withhold Cobain’s last known song, an unreleased anthem titled “You Know You’re Right” from any future releases, which would be the one and only unique selling point of any future release. Deadlock ensued as wild accusations concerning sanity and precise contributions to the band were presented in court. However, Love’s position of power was effectively undermined by two factors. First, Universal decided they would release a ‘greatest hits’ album with or without the new song, and secondly on May 10th a Spanish fan shocked the online fan community by claiming and then proving he had a copy of the song. Jim Barber, Courtney’s lawyer and boyfriend, responded by firing off emails to all online fans concerned threatening legal action, but it proved impossible to force the genie back into the bottle, and the song leaked on the internet in mid-September. Radio stations across the world started airing the track, and once again the band’s lawyers faxed legal threats to the stations demanding they cease and desist playing the song. Some radio stations were undeterred, and continued playing the track anyway. Fearing a public relations disaster on an unprecedented scale, the record company executives realised their position was hopeless, and shipped out promotional CD-Rs of the song.
Love was thus forced to negotiate, and was able to force the delay of the box set (which was finally released in 2004 – see our comprehensive guide to ‘With The Lights Out’) to be overtaken by a greatest hits package. The date originally suggested was October 22nd 2002, but Love feared her own new material would receive little attention and demanded the CD be held back until 2003. However, with all concerned realising the need to capitalize quickly on the media uproar over the new song, the release date was pushed forward to November 12th and incredibly then again to October 29th. The track list was published at online retailer Amazon, but was quickly removed as the band realised that bootleggers would be able to assemble the album themselves and release counterfeits early. Jim Barber proclaimed that the track listing was incorrect, but of course this turned out to be obfuscation. The first track, “You Know You’re Right” (recorded by Adam Kasper) is the sole previously unreleased song, recorded at NIRVANA’s last studio session in January 1994 just before the start of their final tour. The song is clearly one of the very best ones in the band’s oeuvre, and is hoped to propel album sales into the tens of millions.
“About A Girl” (recorded by Jack Endino) is the one representative of NIRVANA’s debut album, the 1989 release ‘Bleach’.
Next up is “Been A Son” (recorded by Steve Fisk), but the rendition selected is the one from the very rare ‘Blew EP’, and not the common Goodier Session version from ‘Insecticide’.
Following this is “Sliver” (recorded by Jack Endino), a Sub Pop single did a feature on ‘Insecticide’. Next are the four ‘Nevermind’ singles (all recorded by Butch Vig) in order of release, followed by four songs from the band’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ (recorded by Steve Albini), and concluding with three songs from NIRVANA’s November 1993 appearance on ‘MTV’s Unplugged’.
The track list has been much debated on the internet and in some quarters much-derided: just as anyone with a passing knowledge of English football (soccer) thinks he/she could select a better national team than the current manager, any fan with all the albums could select his/her dozen favorite songs. It is clear, however, that the songs chosen are the result of politics and commercial considerations.
The ‘Bleach’ rendition of “About A Girl” is unsteady and inferior to the acoustic version released on the ‘Unplugged In New York’ album, but was presumably included so that there would be some representative of the band’s debut. Had this release ignored ‘Bleach’ entirely, accusations would undoubtedly have surfaced accusing the band of ignoring its roots and the contribution of Chad Channing (the drummer on most early releases).
“Been A Son” was selected for those collectors who cannot afford to pay $100 to track down a copy of the scarce ‘Blew EP’, and is an extra purchase incentive for fans who have not heard this rendition. However, it sounds very uncouth and raw nestling beside the band’s genuine hits, and is probably the weakest song on the album, and so those collectors who were supposed to benefit from the addition of this song have ended up criticising its inclusion.
The next six songs are those for which NIRVANA produced music videos, and are uncontroversial choices. Indeed, only the four singles from ‘Nevermind’ are included, which surprised many: this album is widely considered their best work. The reasoning is easy to divine. The record label do not want to cannibalise new sales of ‘Nevermind’ by including too much on this album.
The Scott Litt remix of “Pennyroyal Tea” neuters the bass roar present in the choruses of the ‘In Utero’ album track, but is otherwise unspectacular. The liner notes claim this version to be “previously unreleased”, but it has actually been available for many years on the censored Wal-Mart version of ‘In Utero’. Next follow two further album tracks from ‘In Utero’, bringing the total up to four.
This CD then rounds off with two or three songs (depending on where you live) from the band’s fabulous quasi-acoustic concert recorded for MTV Unplugged. The pre-and post-song applause is muted as much as possible between the songs to allow this release to flow better. All three of the songs were aired extensively by radio stations on account of being pressed on promotional CDs. All songs selected, bar “Been A Son” and “Dumb”, are the standard NIRVANA songs played on the radio, and were therefore obvious candidates for inclusion on this record: that is precisely what a greatest hits CD should contain, by definition. The fact that none of the band’s less commercial / pop-influenced, more punk/metal-style songs have been included should not be a surprise either: they do not belong on a commercial CD such as this one. Those who bemoan the lack of rare song “Oh, The Guilt” or the popular “Sappy” similarly miss the point of a greatest hits compilation: with a new rareties release planned for next year, these songs have rightly been retained for that. Those who criticise the CD as being too short are also wide of the mark. Songs such as “Aneurysm” may be fine songs, but would seem out of place on such a pop-oriented compilation. A strong case could be made for making this release even shorter still, removing perhaps tracks 2, 3 and 4 to leave an even more definitive selection. The author is ambivalent on the subject of the remastering of the songs for this release: the pre-‘Nevermind’ songs now feature much greater separation between instruments and do sound clearer, but this causes their jagged edges (especially on “Been A Son”) to be more prominent. The stark contrast with the following Butch Vig produced numbers makes one wonder if the effort was wasted. The packaging of the CD is, as usual, excellent: Robert Fisher always seemed to be able to guide the band into selecting beautiful images and stunning photos, which were arguably one factor in the band’s success. This time the release is monochrome, but this is in keeping with the reverential tone of the release. This is not to say ‘Nirvana’ is faultless:
the editing of the CD is atrocious, with “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” starting over two seconds before the track marker, and the gaps between songs seeming in some cases too short and others too ponderous. Those responsible for this should be roundly condemned for their sloppiness. The liner notes are also egregious: the author David Fricke lacks both eloquence and erudition on the subject of NIRVANA. He misquotes the lyrics to “You Know You’re Right” (using instead those sung by Ms Love during her rendition) and astounded the online fan community by referring to the song as “Autopilot” and “On The Mountain”, both of which were bootleggers’ titles resulting from them mishearing Dave Grohl’s muffled introduction to the previously known live version, “This is our last song. It’s called ‘All Apologies’.� Cobain changed his mind and played “You Know You’re Right” instead. These quibbles do not detract from the album as a whole, which remains an excellent introduction to the band, surely the main purpose of this CD. Complaints from hardcore fans about the lack of rare material selected for their delectation are utterly ridiculous in the context of a greatest hits release.
Compilation Albums
Sliver – The Best of the Box Released:
1st November 2005 Releases: CD only Additional Information
: This is a compilation of tracks taken from NIRVANA’s 2004 boxset release With The Lights Out. To maximize sales and tempt owners of the boxset to buy it this compilation also includes 3 exclusive tracks that do not feature on the boxset itself which are indicated below.
Track: Date / Location: Exclusive To Sliver – Best of the Box?
Comments Spank Thru (home demo) December 1985 – Music room, Earl residence, Burien, WA, US Yes Sourced from the infamous ‘Fecal Matter’ demo!
Heartbreaker (live) 03/xx/87 – 17 Nussbaum Road (house party), Raymond, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Unknown (home demo) Summer, 1987 – Cobain residence, Aberdeen, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Floyd The Barber (Live) 01/23/88 – Community World Theater, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
About A Girl (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Blandest (studio) June�September 1988 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Ain’t It A Shame (studio) August 20 & 28, 1989 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track
. Sappy January 2�3, 1990 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US Yes This track was produced by Jack Endino and took a whopping 10 hours to record what is paradoxically one of the worst renditions of this song!
Opinion (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Lithium (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Sliver (home demo) Summer, 1990 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Come As You Are (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US Yes This is a boom box demo which was recorded at the same time as the SLTS demo above. Old Age (studio) May�June 1991 – Sound City Studios, Van Nuys & Devonshire Studios, Burbank, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Oh, The Guilt April 7, 1992 – Laundry Room Studio, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (home demo) May 1991 – Oakwood Apartment, Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (studio) 25�26 October 1992 – Word Of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Heart-Shaped Box (studio) January 19�21, 1993 – Studio B, BMG Ariola Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, BR No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Do Re Mi (home demo) Early 1994 – Bedroom, Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
You Know You’re Right (home demo) Mid 1993�Early 1994 – Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
All Apologies (home demo) 1991�1992 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US/Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this tr
Compilation Albums
ICON
.Released: 31st August 2010 Releases: CD only Additional Information:
NIRVANA’s second “greatest hits” compilation. Part of the Icon series by Universal Music Enterprises which featured greatest hits releases “from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B, and country”. Interestingly it does not include any tracks from NIRVANA’s first album ‘Bleach’ which may have been done to avoid having to pay fees to Sub Pop
. Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Album:
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY Unplugged In New York
Live Albums
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Come As You Are November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Pennyroyal Tea November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Dumb November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Polly November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
On A Plain on November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Something In The Way November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Plateau November 18, 1993 Sony Studios, New York, NY
Oh Me November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Lake Of Fire November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie The Man Who Sold The World (Ryko)
Six of the fourteen songs performed covered. The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Vaselines Way Of The Vaselines (Sub Pop)
Plateau Meat Puppets II (SST) Oh Me Meat Puppets II (SST) Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets II (SST)
Where Did You Sleep Last Night ‘Leadbelly’ Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Released: 11/01/94, 11/98 Releases: Released on vinyl, cassette, and CD in 1994. Reissued on LP in November 1998 by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Produced and remixed by Scott Litt. It contains two-songs which were cut from the original television broadcast. All songs were done in one take. Although the official release is technically complete at 46 minutes (containing all the songs that were recorded), the show was actually about 69 minutes long, with all breaks between songs, jamming, tuning, and interaction with the crowd cut from this release. Conceived originally as disc one of a two-CD release, the second CD containing other live tracks spanning the band’s life. However, the band was unable to complete the project, feeling it was too close to Kurt’s death. The ‘second CD’ in effect would appear in 1996 as ‘From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy quality sleeve. Enters the Billboard Chart at #1 and sells more than 300,000 copies in its first week.
Live Albums
FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WHISKAH
Released: 10/01/96 Releases: Released on vinyl (2 LPs, in a single sleeve), cassette and CD.
Additional Information: Nirvana’s third release to enter the Billboard chart at #1 and their fourth #1 album. The liner notes were written by Krist Novoselic. They contain errors, as detailed in the CD guide to this release above. Side four of the vinyl version contains additional stage banter which is transcribed in the vinyl guide above.
About this release, Dave Grohl, in an interview (from the interview CD ‘Foo Fighters In Conversation’ on Chatback) said: Interviewer: What do you think of the live album, the Nirvana live album that came out? Were you happy with the result? Dave Grohl: Yeah I thought it was cool, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean there were so many songs, like … so many tapes … and so many songs, just so much stuff we could have released and we released one thing … the just live thing. Yeah I thought it was good … I mean I have live tapes at home that are better than that, but those are mine! (Laughs). Interviewer: Did you have much input in so far as what songs are going on the album? Dave Grohl: Yeah, Krist … Krist and I … Krist actually did most of the pick and choose and I think he did a really great job, but yeah, ultimately we had like total control over what was happening.
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT
DGC RECORDS,18 VERSIONS (2011)
LIVE AND LOUD
DGC RECORDS,13 VERSIONS (2013)
Live Albums
LIVE IN READING
Released: 3rd November 2009 Releases: CD-only, DVD-only, and CD+DVD set
Additional Information: Official release of NIRVANA’s legendary performance at the 1992 Reading Festival which was circulating amongst traders in various forms prior to this official release. Unfortunately, the CD-only version is incomplete: it is missing ‘Love Buzz’, various jams and between-song banter as well as most of the destruction. The DVD is complete and also features a short clip after the credits of Cobain interacting with a fan after the show. It features camera angles not present on any trading circle version. More information can be found here. Song: Intro Breed Drain You Aneurysm School Silver Sliver In Bloom Come As You Are Lithium About A Girl Tourette’s Polly Lounge Act Smells Like Teen Spirit On A Plain Negative Creep Been A Son All Apologies Blew Dumb Stay Away Spank Thru Love Buzz The Money Will Roll Right In D-7 Territorial Pissings Credits
Anniversary/Deluxe Edition Reissues
20TH ANNIVERSARY BLEACH
Released: 3rd November 2009
Releases: CD, regular vinyl (black) and limited-edition vinyl (white) Additional Information: Reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Bleach’. Features a 13-track remaster of the ‘Bleach’ album (remastered from the original tapes by ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino) as well as NIRVANA’s live performance at the Pine Street Theatre recorded on 9th February 1990. Both the CD and vinyl releases include a booklet with never before seen photographs of the band plus other pertinent images from NIRVANA Sub Pop years (for example, the original session tapes, a scan of NIRVANA’s Sub Pop contract, etc.).
In relation to the vinyl release, it is not known precisely how many copies of the limited-edition white version were produced. NOTE: the live show included on this release was circulating amongst traders prior to this release from an alternate soundboard source and whilst the version on this official release does sound better, unfortunately, the between-song banter has been cut.
CD ONE/SIDE A Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Blew December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Floyd the Barber January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
School December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Paper Cuts January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Negative Creep December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Scoff December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Swap Meet December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Mr Moustache December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Sifting December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Downer January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
CD TWO/SIDE B Song: Date Recorded/Venue: Intro 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
School 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Floyd The Barber 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Dive 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Love Buzz 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Spank Thru 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Molly’s Lips 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Sappy 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Scoff 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
About A Girl 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Been A Son 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Blew 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
SLIVER
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI
About A Girl (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR
Spank Thru (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland OR
Released: 09/??/90 (US), 01/??/91 (UK) Releases: First 3,000 7″ American releases were on blue vinyl in fold-over sleeves and was subsequently reissued in many colours in solid sleeves, being the only Nirvana single on Sub Pop still in print. British releases on Tupelo were originally on 7″ vinyl (with the first 2,000 on green vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve. The 12″ vinyl features ‘About A Girl’, live from 02/09/90. The CD-version had included ‘About A Girl’ and also ‘Spank Thru’, again from 02/09/90. Additional Information: ‘Spank Thru’ on the CD versions is incorrectly spelled ‘Spank Through’. The A-side of the 7″, after ‘Sliver’, also features a 45-second phone conversation outro, between a very hung-over Krist Novoselic and Jonathon Poneman, which Krist accidentally recorded on his answerphone. This was excluded when this version of ‘Sliver’ appeared on ‘Incesticide’, rather like the intro to ‘Love Buzz’ was culled from vinyl versions when it made its transition to a CD. An incomplete soundboard version of the 02/09/90 show featured on this release is available in trading circles. A complete session tape of all the finalized versions of songs from the April 1990 studio appearance is also circulating.
TEEN SPIRIT
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Drain You May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Even In His Youth January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 09/09/91 (UK), 09/10/91 (US) Releases: American 7″ vinyl and cassette releases included ‘Even In His Youth’. The American 12″, a second cassette and CD also featured ‘Aneurysm’. UK 7″ and cassette releases included ‘Drain You’, 12″ versions ‘Even In His Youth’ and the CD all four songs. Whilst all American versions lack ‘Drain You’ it was included on some European releases. Additional Information: The back cover shot was taken by Charles Petersen at Nirvana’s 03/08/91 appearance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
COME AS YOU ARE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Endless, Nameless May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
The school (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Drain You (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA Released: 03/02/92 (UK), 03/03/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ was backed with a live ‘Drain You’, whilst US cassettes, 12″‘s and CD’s also had a live version of ‘School’ from the same show. In the UK the 7″ featured ‘Endless Nameless’, the 12″ also included the live version of ‘School’. CDs had a fourth track, a live ‘Drain You’. German 12″ picture discs contain ‘Endless Nameless’ and a live version of ‘Drain You’. Additional information: A complete soundboard version of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles.
LITHIUM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Been A Son (live) October 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Curmudgeon April, 1992 Laundry Room Studios, Seattle, WA
D-7 October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK Released: 07/20/92 (UK), 07/21/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ and cassette was backed with a live version of ‘Been A Son’, whilst the 12″ and CD also included ‘Curmudgeon’. In the UK the 7″ was backed with ‘Curmudgeon’, the 12″ added the live version of ‘Been A Son’ and CDs included a fourth track, ‘D-7’. Additional Information: The cover was designed by Kurt and the single includes a sonogram of Frances Bean Cobain. Contains all the lyrics to ‘Nevermind’. A complete soundboard of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles. The complete 10/21/90 radio session is also circulating amongst traders.
IN BLOOM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Sliver (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA
Polly (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA Released: 11/30/92 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. The 7″ and cassette included a live version of ‘Polly’. The 12″ and CD had a third track, a live version of ‘Sliver’. Additional Information: A complete soundboard of the 12/28/91 performance is available in trading circles
HEART-SHAPED BOX
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Marigold February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN Released: 08/30/93 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. 7″ and cassette featured ‘Marigold’ and the 12″ and CD also included ‘Milk It’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
LOVE BUZZ
test pressing
numbered
red slash
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 11/88 Releases: This single launched the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’. Limited to 1000 hand-numbered (in red ink) copies, in a fold-over sleeve, on black vinyl.
Additional Information: On this release, only ‘Love Buzz’ features a 10-second sound collage intro made by Kurt from various children’s records spliced together and a similar collage dubbed into the instrumental break. This comes from a much longer collage made by Kurt, which is 34-minutes long, known as ‘The Montage of Heck’, which is available in trading circles. ‘Love Buzz’ was originally performed by ‘Shocking Blue’. The version of ‘Love Buzz’ on this single is a different mix to those on all ‘Bleach’ and ‘Blew EP’ releases, being remixed for other releases and lacking the aforementioned collages. It was remixed to increase its collectibility and lacked the collages because Kurt forgot to bring the home-made tape with it on to the remixing session! Alice Wheeler took the photo on the front of the album in Tacoma’s ‘Never Never Land’ (a park) close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kurt’s name is given as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ on the credits and on the ‘Love Buzz’ side is etched ‘Why don’t you trade those guitars for shovels?’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
Sliver (1990)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Come As You Are (1992)
Lithium (1992)
In Bloom (1992)
Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
All Apologies (1993)
Pennyroyal Tea (1994 but withdrawn)
About A Girl (1994)
.Split Singles:
Candy/Molly’s Lips (1991)
Here She Comes Now/Venus In Furs (1991)
BOXSETS
Puss/Oh, The Guilt (1992)Singles
(1995) With The Lights Out (2004)
EP`S
Blew EP (1989)
Hormoaning EP (1992)
COMPLAMATION APP,
HE LIVE NIRVANA COMPANION TO OFFICIAL RELEASES:
COMPILATION APPEARANCES
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop Rock City
Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. 1
/Teriyaki Asthma, Vols. 1-5
Hard To Believe Heaven And Hell: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground
, Volume 1 The Grunge Years Kill Rock Stars
Eight/Fourteen Songs For Greg Sage and the Wipers
No Alternative
The Beavis and Butthead Experience
Geffen Rarities Vol. 1
Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defence
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack/Hype!
Fender 50th Anniversary Guitar Legends Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Volume 1
They had already made some waves on Sub Pop with their debut, “Bleach”.
But it wasn’t until their major-label debut for DGC/Geffen Records, 1991’s “Nevermind” – perhaps, more specifically, the first 30 seconds of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – that they broke into the mainstream of America.
1. Bleach (1989)
Nirvana recorded Bleach in December 1988 and January 1989, during several sessions.
Nirvana consisted of Kurt Cobain (guitar and vocals),
Krist Novoselic (bass),
and Chad Channing (drums).
Although he never actually played on the album, Jason Everman, who had previously played guitar in another band with Channing, paid the $616 for recording costs. Everman later joined Nirvana in February 1989 for the band’s west coast tour.
Kurt & Tracey
The photograph of Nirvana performing at the Reko/Muse art gallery in Olympia, WA on April 1st, 1989, was taken by Cobain’s girlfriend, Tracy Marander.
2. Nevermind (1991)
One of the most recognized albums covers in alt-rock music, Nevermind with new drummer Dave Grohl) came up with the concept. Available stock images of water births were too graphic, stock photos of swimming babies were expensive, so art director Robert Fisher hired photographer Kirk Weddle to do a photo shoot at a pool. The image of three-month-old Spencer Elden, the son of Weddle’s friend, was selected by Nirvana. DGC Records art department later added the dollar bill and fishhook. The Onyx logo was reused, using a wave-like effect to accompany the water theme. To avoid controversy, DGC Records wanted to cover up the image, but Cobain objected. The cover is often included on lists of “shocking” album artwork, and it was even banned by Facebook in 2011 (a decision they quickly reversed). The image has often been parodied, most notably by “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 1992 album, Off the Deep End
3. Insecticide (1992)
Kurt Cobain agreed to officially release this material on a compilation, since Nirvana fans were now taping and trading low-quality recordings of live radio shows, demos, and B-sides. He insisted on retaining complete artistic control over the cover artwork. This oil-on-canvas painting made entirely by Cobain, was the result, including lettering which didn’t have their usual logo. The poppy flower symbolized Cobain’s increasing use of heroin. The cover, while unusual, wasn’t considered too controversial to be used.
4. In Utero (1993)
On the other hand, In Utero was anything but uncontroversial.
Robert Fisher, the art director for DGC Records again designed the front cover, using ideas from Kurt Cobain. An anatomical teaching aid – a mannequin with transparent “skin” to display the organs inside – had angel wings added. The tour in support of the album used similar mannequins as props, which were then abused and destroyed on stage. The familiar Onyx logo was used, with a typewritten font for the album title. Cobain created the back cover collage, photographed by Charles Peterson, who was familiar to the local music scene. Objects related to birth and death, including several plastic fetuses, were used.
It was decided by Kmart and Wal-Mart that this artwork, as well as the accompanying text, wasn’t suitable for store displays. DGC Records employed alternate images and text, along with strategically-placed stickers to sell the album at major retailers.
. Reissued in April 1996 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as a 24-carat gold CD and on 200g high-definition vinyl
. Reissued in July 1998 by Simply Vinyl on high-quality vinyl
Additional Information:
Recoded and produced by Butch Vig. Mixed by Andy Wallace.
Dave plays all the drums on the album. ‘Polly’ was taken from Nirvana’s April 1990 Smart Studios session (also with Butch Vig) when the drummer was Chad Channing, but at the ‘Nevermind’ session the drums for ‘Polly’ were re-recorded. The first batch of American pressings (46,251) on CD and cassette lacked ‘Endless Nameless’, the uncredited secret track which appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once ‘Something in the Way’ has ended, because of a pressing error.
The band put the ‘secret track’ on the album as a way of playing with the CD format, just as the Beatles, for example, put indecipherable messages in the runout grooves of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover shot was inspired by Kurt and Dave having seen a documentary on underwater birth during recording sessions. They investigated pictures of babies being born underwater, but they were too graphic. Therefore, they chose a stock graphic of a baby swimming, but it was too expensive. As a result, the art director, Robert Fisher, got Kirk Weddle, an underwater photographer to take some shots himself of a baby underwater. The baby in the final picture chosen was Spencer Elden. Kurt recommended the adding of a dollar on a fish-hook and thus a famous album cover was born.
Inside the inlay is a page of random lyrics from the songs on ‘Nevermind’ mashed together in no particular order. Two of the lines amongst them were made up by Kurt and do not feature in the lyrics of any of the songs (“The second coming came in last and out of the closet” and “At the end of the rainbow and your rope”). The back-cover features a meat-and-diseased vagina collage by Cobain behind the Chim (above the head of which is a picture of Kiss). Cobain’s name appears on photo credits as ‘Kurdt Kobain’. Later reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were both taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1996 CD and vinyl releases by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold of the CD is less susceptible to corrosion than the aluminium used on regular CDs. The MFSL LP booklet for this release misspelled Nirvana (‘Nirvana’) and CD releases do contain ‘Endless Nameless’ although, as with ordinary releases, this is not credited on the cover.
The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy card (300g) sleeve. The song credits on this vinyl release are different to those on the regular CD
INSECTICIDE
(1992)
INSECTICIDE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Stain September 1989 Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Been A Son November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK
Turnaround October 21, 1990, Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Molly’s Lips October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London,
UK Son Of A Gun October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
(New Wave) Polly November 9, 1991 BBC Studios, London, UK
Beeswax January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle,
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Mexican Seafood
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Hairspray Queen
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Aero Zeppelin
January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Big Long Now
December, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK Three of the fifteen songs on ‘Insecticide’ cover.
The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On: Turnaround Devo We Are Not Men, We Are Devo Molly’s Lips Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Son of a Gun Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Released: 12/14/92 (Europe), 12/15/92 (US) Releases: Released on vinyl (with a limited edition of 15,000 on blue vinyl), cassette and CD. Additional Information: A collaborative enterprise by ‘Sub Pop’ and ‘Geffen’ (originally planned as two separate releases, one by each label), partly as an attempt to beat the bootleggers. The collaboration was intended to ensure a definite compilation, as well as give the band more control over it and ensure greater distribution than ‘Sub Pop’ could muster. The cover art is a painting by Cobain.
The sticker on it reads “Inside Insecticide: Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Stuff Never Before Available”, and six of the fifteen tracks were unreleased at the time (‘Hairspray Queen’, ‘Aero Zeppelin’, ‘Big Long Now’, ‘Been A Son’, ‘(New Wave) Polly’ and ‘Aneurysm’). ‘Mexican Seafood’ was previously made available on ‘Teriyaki Asthma’, ‘Beeswax’ on ‘Kill Rock Stars’, ‘Downer’ on CD versions of ‘Bleach’, ‘Stain’ on the ‘Blew’ EP, ‘Dive’ and ‘Sliver’ on the ‘Dive/Sliver’ single (note: the phone call outro to ‘Sliver’ between Krist and Jonathon Poneman on the single was omitted for its appearance on CD) and ‘Turnaround’, ‘Molly’s Lips’ and ‘Son Of A Gun’ appeared on the ‘Hormoaning’ EP. ‘Been A Son’ on ‘Insecticide is a different version to that on the ‘Blew’ EP, as are the versions ‘Aneurysm’ from their respective previous releases. According to Endino ‘Hairspray Queen’ and ‘Aero Zeppelin’ were not remastered for their release on this CD, virtually being the one-hour mix versions, he did on the day of their recording. Some American copies include liner notes written by Kurt. In trading circles complete versions of the October 21, 1990 and the November 9, 1991 radio sessions are available. Complete session tapes also exist for the January 23, 1989 and April 1990 sessions. Other outtakes from the September 1989 Music Source and December 1989 Reciprocal studio sessions have also surfaced.
(1993)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
Serve The Servants February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Scentless Apprentice February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Very Ape February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
Tourette’s February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
All Apologies February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip January 22, 1993, Ariola Ltda BMG,
Rio de Janeiro Released:
09/14/93 (Europe), 09/21/93 (US), 01/97, 11/98 Releases: Issued on vinyl (including a 15,000 limited edition on clear vinyl), cassette and CD in 1993. Reissued by MFSL in January 1997 on 24-carat gold CD and high-quality vinyl.
All Apologies’
In November 1998 it was reissued on high-quality vinyl by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Steve Albini, who was paid $100,000 on top of $24,000 recording costs. ‘All Apologies’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ were remixed again in May by Scott Litt. ‘Sappy’ was also re-recorded at this session and this is the version that features on the ‘No Alternative’ compilation. European releases included a bonus track (‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip’), referred to on releases as ‘Devalued American Dollar Purchase Incentive Track’, which appears 25 minutes after the end of ‘All Apologies’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, except for ‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol’ (stating ‘whatever’ in its place) and Tourette’s (with the lyrics being given as ‘Cuff, Tish, Sips’). The disc features Michael DeWitt in drag, a former nanny employed by Kurt and Courtney.
Wal-Mart and K-Mart versions of the artwork were altered with Cobain’s acceptance (given that to refuse the changes would mean the album would be more difficult to get hold of) when these outlets refused to sell them, deeming them ‘offensive’. They also changed the title of ‘Rape Me’ to ‘Waif Me’. A remixed version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ (also available on the ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ single), different from on ordinary versions of ‘In Utero’, was used on these re-issued copies and ‘Gallons’ was omitted. Both the reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1997 release by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold is less susceptible to corrosion. These releases do not contain ‘Gallons’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy (300g) card sleeve. The guitar solo intro on ‘Very Ape’ on this vinyl release is longer than on other versions. ‘In Utero’ enters the Billboard chart at #1 with first week sales of 180,000 units.
Compilation Albums
NIRVANA
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
Previously unreleased About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Bleach Been a Son September 1989 Music Source Studios – Seattle, WA
Blew EP Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Insecticide Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come as You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea (remix version) February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero (K-Mart/Wal-Mart version) Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero All Apologies November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Something In The Way (vinyl & Japanese CD releases only) November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Released: 10/28/02 (outside US), 10/29/02 (US) Releases: CD, Vinyl (2 LPs). Additional Information: Features the previously unreleased song ‘You Know You’re Right’. All the other tracks, taken from the NIRVANA back catalog, have been “newly mastered” for this release. Includes a forward by David Fricke.
The vinyl version is a double LP release. Only the vinyl release and Japanese versions of the CD contain ‘Something in the Way’.
Review:
Almost six years to the day since the last NIRVANA album came the release of the greatest hits package, simply titled ‘Nirvana’. Fans had long believed the next album would be a box set of unreleased songs and demo versions, indeed a 45-track two-disc set was reportedly assembled for launch to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of the band’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’. Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, was displeased by her lack of input on the box set, and made a legal challenge to block the release. Coincidentally, she was also in court trying to extricate herself from her legal obligations to her record label with her former band ‘Hole’. Love threatened to withhold Cobain’s last known song, an unreleased anthem titled “You Know You’re Right” from any future releases, which would be the one and only unique selling point of any future release. Deadlock ensued as wild accusations concerning sanity and precise contributions to the band were presented in court. However, Love’s position of power was effectively undermined by two factors. First, Universal decided they would release a ‘greatest hits’ album with or without the new song, and secondly on May 10th a Spanish fan shocked the online fan community by claiming and then proving he had a copy of the song. Jim Barber, Courtney’s lawyer and boyfriend, responded by firing off emails to all online fans concerned threatening legal action, but it proved impossible to force the genie back into the bottle, and the song leaked on the internet in mid-September. Radio stations across the world started airing the track, and once again the band’s lawyers faxed legal threats to the stations demanding they cease and desist playing the song. Some radio stations were undeterred, and continued playing the track anyway. Fearing a public relations disaster on an unprecedented scale, the record company executives realised their position was hopeless, and shipped out promotional CD-Rs of the song.
Love was thus forced to negotiate, and was able to force the delay of the box set (which was finally released in 2004 – see our comprehensive guide to ‘With The Lights Out’) to be overtaken by a greatest hits package. The date originally suggested was October 22nd 2002, but Love feared her own new material would receive little attention and demanded the CD be held back until 2003. However, with all concerned realising the need to capitalize quickly on the media uproar over the new song, the release date was pushed forward to November 12th and incredibly then again to October 29th. The track list was published at online retailer Amazon, but was quickly removed as the band realised that bootleggers would be able to assemble the album themselves and release counterfeits early. Jim Barber proclaimed that the track listing was incorrect, but of course this turned out to be obfuscation. The first track, “You Know You’re Right” (recorded by Adam Kasper) is the sole previously unreleased song, recorded at NIRVANA’s last studio session in January 1994 just before the start of their final tour. The song is clearly one of the very best ones in the band’s oeuvre, and is hoped to propel album sales into the tens of millions.
“About A Girl” (recorded by Jack Endino) is the one representative of NIRVANA’s debut album, the 1989 release ‘Bleach’.
Next up is “Been A Son” (recorded by Steve Fisk), but the rendition selected is the one from the very rare ‘Blew EP’, and not the common Goodier Session version from ‘Insecticide’.
Following this is “Sliver” (recorded by Jack Endino), a Sub Pop single did a feature on ‘Insecticide’. Next are the four ‘Nevermind’ singles (all recorded by Butch Vig) in order of release, followed by four songs from the band’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ (recorded by Steve Albini), and concluding with three songs from NIRVANA’s November 1993 appearance on ‘MTV’s Unplugged’.
The track list has been much debated on the internet and in some quarters much-derided: just as anyone with a passing knowledge of English football (soccer) thinks he/she could select a better national team than the current manager, any fan with all the albums could select his/her dozen favorite songs. It is clear, however, that the songs chosen are the result of politics and commercial considerations.
The ‘Bleach’ rendition of “About A Girl” is unsteady and inferior to the acoustic version released on the ‘Unplugged In New York’ album, but was presumably included so that there would be some representative of the band’s debut. Had this release ignored ‘Bleach’ entirely, accusations would undoubtedly have surfaced accusing the band of ignoring its roots and the contribution of Chad Channing (the drummer on most early releases).
“Been A Son” was selected for those collectors who cannot afford to pay $100 to track down a copy of the scarce ‘Blew EP’, and is an extra purchase incentive for fans who have not heard this rendition. However, it sounds very uncouth and raw nestling beside the band’s genuine hits, and is probably the weakest song on the album, and so those collectors who were supposed to benefit from the addition of this song have ended up criticising its inclusion.
The next six songs are those for which NIRVANA produced music videos, and are uncontroversial choices. Indeed, only the four singles from ‘Nevermind’ are included, which surprised many: this album is widely considered their best work. The reasoning is easy to divine. The record label do not want to cannibalise new sales of ‘Nevermind’ by including too much on this album.
The Scott Litt remix of “Pennyroyal Tea” neuters the bass roar present in the choruses of the ‘In Utero’ album track, but is otherwise unspectacular. The liner notes claim this version to be “previously unreleased”, but it has actually been available for many years on the censored Wal-Mart version of ‘In Utero’. Next follow two further album tracks from ‘In Utero’, bringing the total up to four.
This CD then rounds off with two or three songs (depending on where you live) from the band’s fabulous quasi-acoustic concert recorded for MTV Unplugged. The pre-and post-song applause is muted as much as possible between the songs to allow this release to flow better. All three of the songs were aired extensively by radio stations on account of being pressed on promotional CDs. All songs selected, bar “Been A Son” and “Dumb”, are the standard NIRVANA songs played on the radio, and were therefore obvious candidates for inclusion on this record: that is precisely what a greatest hits CD should contain, by definition. The fact that none of the band’s less commercial / pop-influenced, more punk/metal-style songs have been included should not be a surprise either: they do not belong on a commercial CD such as this one. Those who bemoan the lack of rare song “Oh, The Guilt” or the popular “Sappy” similarly miss the point of a greatest hits compilation: with a new rareties release planned for next year, these songs have rightly been retained for that. Those who criticise the CD as being too short are also wide of the mark. Songs such as “Aneurysm” may be fine songs, but would seem out of place on such a pop-oriented compilation. A strong case could be made for making this release even shorter still, removing perhaps tracks 2, 3 and 4 to leave an even more definitive selection. The author is ambivalent on the subject of the remastering of the songs for this release: the pre-‘Nevermind’ songs now feature much greater separation between instruments and do sound clearer, but this causes their jagged edges (especially on “Been A Son”) to be more prominent. The stark contrast with the following Butch Vig produced numbers makes one wonder if the effort was wasted. The packaging of the CD is, as usual, excellent: Robert Fisher always seemed to be able to guide the band into selecting beautiful images and stunning photos, which were arguably one factor in the band’s success. This time the release is monochrome, but this is in keeping with the reverential tone of the release. This is not to say ‘Nirvana’ is faultless:
the editing of the CD is atrocious, with “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” starting over two seconds before the track marker, and the gaps between songs seeming in some cases too short and others too ponderous. Those responsible for this should be roundly condemned for their sloppiness. The liner notes are also egregious: the author David Fricke lacks both eloquence and erudition on the subject of NIRVANA. He misquotes the lyrics to “You Know You’re Right” (using instead those sung by Ms Love during her rendition) and astounded the online fan community by referring to the song as “Autopilot” and “On The Mountain”, both of which were bootleggers’ titles resulting from them mishearing Dave Grohl’s muffled introduction to the previously known live version, “This is our last song. It’s called ‘All Apologies’.� Cobain changed his mind and played “You Know You’re Right” instead. These quibbles do not detract from the album as a whole, which remains an excellent introduction to the band, surely the main purpose of this CD. Complaints from hardcore fans about the lack of rare material selected for their delectation are utterly ridiculous in the context of a greatest hits release.
Compilation Albums
Sliver – The Best of the Box Released:
1st November 2005 Releases: CD only Additional Information
: This is a compilation of tracks taken from NIRVANA’s 2004 boxset release With The Lights Out. To maximize sales and tempt owners of the boxset to buy it this compilation also includes 3 exclusive tracks that do not feature on the boxset itself which are indicated below.
Track: Date / Location: Exclusive To Sliver – Best of the Box?
Comments Spank Thru (home demo) December 1985 – Music room, Earl residence, Burien, WA, US Yes Sourced from the infamous ‘Fecal Matter’ demo!
Heartbreaker (live) 03/xx/87 – 17 Nussbaum Road (house party), Raymond, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Unknown (home demo) Summer, 1987 – Cobain residence, Aberdeen, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Floyd The Barber (Live) 01/23/88 – Community World Theater, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
About A Girl (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Blandest (studio) June�September 1988 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Ain’t It A Shame (studio) August 20 & 28, 1989 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track
. Sappy January 2�3, 1990 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US Yes This track was produced by Jack Endino and took a whopping 10 hours to record what is paradoxically one of the worst renditions of this song!
Opinion (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Lithium (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Sliver (home demo) Summer, 1990 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Come As You Are (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US Yes This is a boom box demo which was recorded at the same time as the SLTS demo above. Old Age (studio) May�June 1991 – Sound City Studios, Van Nuys & Devonshire Studios, Burbank, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Oh, The Guilt April 7, 1992 – Laundry Room Studio, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (home demo) May 1991 – Oakwood Apartment, Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (studio) 25�26 October 1992 – Word Of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Heart-Shaped Box (studio) January 19�21, 1993 – Studio B, BMG Ariola Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, BR No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Do Re Mi (home demo) Early 1994 – Bedroom, Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
You Know You’re Right (home demo) Mid 1993�Early 1994 – Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
All Apologies (home demo) 1991�1992 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US/Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this tr
Compilation Albums
ICON
.Released: 31st August 2010 Releases: CD only Additional Information:
NIRVANA’s second “greatest hits” compilation. Part of the Icon series by Universal Music Enterprises which featured greatest hits releases “from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B, and country”. Interestingly it does not include any tracks from NIRVANA’s first album ‘Bleach’ which may have been done to avoid having to pay fees to Sub Pop
. Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Album:
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY Unplugged In New York
Live Albums
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Come As You Are November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Pennyroyal Tea November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Dumb November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Polly November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
On A Plain on November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Something In The Way November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Plateau November 18, 1993 Sony Studios, New York, NY
Oh Me November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Lake Of Fire November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie The Man Who Sold The World (Ryko)
Six of the fourteen songs performed covered. The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Vaselines Way Of The Vaselines (Sub Pop)
Plateau Meat Puppets II (SST) Oh Me Meat Puppets II (SST) Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets II (SST)
Where Did You Sleep Last Night ‘Leadbelly’ Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Released: 11/01/94, 11/98 Releases: Released on vinyl, cassette, and CD in 1994. Reissued on LP in November 1998 by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Produced and remixed by Scott Litt. It contains two-songs which were cut from the original television broadcast. All songs were done in one take. Although the official release is technically complete at 46 minutes (containing all the songs that were recorded), the show was actually about 69 minutes long, with all breaks between songs, jamming, tuning, and interaction with the crowd cut from this release. Conceived originally as disc one of a two-CD release, the second CD containing other live tracks spanning the band’s life. However, the band was unable to complete the project, feeling it was too close to Kurt’s death. The ‘second CD’ in effect would appear in 1996 as ‘From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy quality sleeve. Enters the Billboard Chart at #1 and sells more than 300,000 copies in its first week.
Live Albums
FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WHISKAH
Released: 10/01/96 Releases: Released on vinyl (2 LPs, in a single sleeve), cassette and CD.
Additional Information: Nirvana’s third release to enter the Billboard chart at #1 and their fourth #1 album. The liner notes were written by Krist Novoselic. They contain errors, as detailed in the CD guide to this release above. Side four of the vinyl version contains additional stage banter which is transcribed in the vinyl guide above.
About this release, Dave Grohl, in an interview (from the interview CD ‘Foo Fighters In Conversation’ on Chatback) said: Interviewer: What do you think of the live album, the Nirvana live album that came out? Were you happy with the result? Dave Grohl: Yeah I thought it was cool, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean there were so many songs, like … so many tapes … and so many songs, just so much stuff we could have released and we released one thing … the just live thing. Yeah I thought it was good … I mean I have live tapes at home that are better than that, but those are mine! (Laughs). Interviewer: Did you have much input in so far as what songs are going on the album? Dave Grohl: Yeah, Krist … Krist and I … Krist actually did most of the pick and choose and I think he did a really great job, but yeah, ultimately we had like total control over what was happening.
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT
DGC RECORDS,18 VERSIONS (2011)
LIVE AND LOUD
DGC RECORDS,13 VERSIONS (2013)
Live Albums
LIVE IN READING
Released: 3rd November 2009 Releases: CD-only, DVD-only, and CD+DVD set
Additional Information: Official release of NIRVANA’s legendary performance at the 1992 Reading Festival which was circulating amongst traders in various forms prior to this official release. Unfortunately, the CD-only version is incomplete: it is missing ‘Love Buzz’, various jams and between-song banter as well as most of the destruction. The DVD is complete and also features a short clip after the credits of Cobain interacting with a fan after the show. It features camera angles not present on any trading circle version. More information can be found here. Song: Intro Breed Drain You Aneurysm School Silver Sliver In Bloom Come As You Are Lithium About A Girl Tourette’s Polly Lounge Act Smells Like Teen Spirit On A Plain Negative Creep Been A Son All Apologies Blew Dumb Stay Away Spank Thru Love Buzz The Money Will Roll Right In D-7 Territorial Pissings Credits
Anniversary/Deluxe Edition Reissues
20TH ANNIVERSARY BLEACH
Released: 3rd November 2009
Releases: CD, regular vinyl (black) and limited-edition vinyl (white) Additional Information: Reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Bleach’. Features a 13-track remaster of the ‘Bleach’ album (remastered from the original tapes by ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino) as well as NIRVANA’s live performance at the Pine Street Theatre recorded on 9th February 1990. Both the CD and vinyl releases include a booklet with never before seen photographs of the band plus other pertinent images from NIRVANA Sub Pop years (for example, the original session tapes, a scan of NIRVANA’s Sub Pop contract, etc.).
In relation to the vinyl release, it is not known precisely how many copies of the limited-edition white version were produced. NOTE: the live show included on this release was circulating amongst traders prior to this release from an alternate soundboard source and whilst the version on this official release does sound better, unfortunately, the between-song banter has been cut.
CD ONE/SIDE A Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Blew December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Floyd the Barber January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
School December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Paper Cuts January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Negative Creep December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Scoff December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Swap Meet December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Mr Moustache December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Sifting December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Downer January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
CD TWO/SIDE B Song: Date Recorded/Venue: Intro 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
School 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Floyd The Barber 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Dive 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Love Buzz 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Spank Thru 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Molly’s Lips 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Sappy 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Scoff 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
About A Girl 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Been A Son 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Blew 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
SLIVER
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI
About A Girl (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR
Spank Thru (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland OR
Released: 09/??/90 (US), 01/??/91 (UK) Releases: First 3,000 7″ American releases were on blue vinyl in fold-over sleeves and was subsequently reissued in many colours in solid sleeves, being the only Nirvana single on Sub Pop still in print. British releases on Tupelo were originally on 7″ vinyl (with the first 2,000 on green vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve. The 12″ vinyl features ‘About A Girl’, live from 02/09/90. The CD-version had included ‘About A Girl’ and also ‘Spank Thru’, again from 02/09/90. Additional Information: ‘Spank Thru’ on the CD versions is incorrectly spelled ‘Spank Through’. The A-side of the 7″, after ‘Sliver’, also features a 45-second phone conversation outro, between a very hung-over Krist Novoselic and Jonathon Poneman, which Krist accidentally recorded on his answerphone. This was excluded when this version of ‘Sliver’ appeared on ‘Incesticide’, rather like the intro to ‘Love Buzz’ was culled from vinyl versions when it made its transition to a CD. An incomplete soundboard version of the 02/09/90 show featured on this release is available in trading circles. A complete session tape of all the finalized versions of songs from the April 1990 studio appearance is also circulating.
TEEN SPIRIT
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Drain You May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Even In His Youth January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 09/09/91 (UK), 09/10/91 (US) Releases: American 7″ vinyl and cassette releases included ‘Even In His Youth’. The American 12″, a second cassette and CD also featured ‘Aneurysm’. UK 7″ and cassette releases included ‘Drain You’, 12″ versions ‘Even In His Youth’ and the CD all four songs. Whilst all American versions lack ‘Drain You’ it was included on some European releases. Additional Information: The back cover shot was taken by Charles Petersen at Nirvana’s 03/08/91 appearance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
COME AS YOU ARE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Endless, Nameless May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
The school (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Drain You (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA Released: 03/02/92 (UK), 03/03/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ was backed with a live ‘Drain You’, whilst US cassettes, 12″‘s and CD’s also had a live version of ‘School’ from the same show. In the UK the 7″ featured ‘Endless Nameless’, the 12″ also included the live version of ‘School’. CDs had a fourth track, a live ‘Drain You’. German 12″ picture discs contain ‘Endless Nameless’ and a live version of ‘Drain You’. Additional information: A complete soundboard version of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles.
LITHIUM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Been A Son (live) October 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Curmudgeon April, 1992 Laundry Room Studios, Seattle, WA
D-7 October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK Released: 07/20/92 (UK), 07/21/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ and cassette was backed with a live version of ‘Been A Son’, whilst the 12″ and CD also included ‘Curmudgeon’. In the UK the 7″ was backed with ‘Curmudgeon’, the 12″ added the live version of ‘Been A Son’ and CDs included a fourth track, ‘D-7’. Additional Information: The cover was designed by Kurt and the single includes a sonogram of Frances Bean Cobain. Contains all the lyrics to ‘Nevermind’. A complete soundboard of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles. The complete 10/21/90 radio session is also circulating amongst traders.
IN BLOOM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Sliver (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA
Polly (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA Released: 11/30/92 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. The 7″ and cassette included a live version of ‘Polly’. The 12″ and CD had a third track, a live version of ‘Sliver’. Additional Information: A complete soundboard of the 12/28/91 performance is available in trading circles
HEART-SHAPED BOX
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Marigold February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN Released: 08/30/93 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. 7″ and cassette featured ‘Marigold’ and the 12″ and CD also included ‘Milk It’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
LOVE BUZZ
test pressing
numbered
red slash
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 11/88 Releases: This single launched the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’. Limited to 1000 hand-numbered (in red ink) copies, in a fold-over sleeve, on black vinyl.
Additional Information: On this release, only ‘Love Buzz’ features a 10-second sound collage intro made by Kurt from various children’s records spliced together and a similar collage dubbed into the instrumental break. This comes from a much longer collage made by Kurt, which is 34-minutes long, known as ‘The Montage of Heck’, which is available in trading circles. ‘Love Buzz’ was originally performed by ‘Shocking Blue’. The version of ‘Love Buzz’ on this single is a different mix to those on all ‘Bleach’ and ‘Blew EP’ releases, being remixed for other releases and lacking the aforementioned collages. It was remixed to increase its collectibility and lacked the collages because Kurt forgot to bring the home-made tape with it on to the remixing session! Alice Wheeler took the photo on the front of the album in Tacoma’s ‘Never Never Land’ (a park) close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kurt’s name is given as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ on the credits and on the ‘Love Buzz’ side is etched ‘Why don’t you trade those guitars for shovels?’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
Sliver (1990)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Come As You Are (1992)
Lithium (1992)
In Bloom (1992)
Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
All Apologies (1993)
Pennyroyal Tea (1994 but withdrawn)
About A Girl (1994)
.Split Singles:
Candy/Molly’s Lips (1991)
Here She Comes Now/Venus In Furs (1991)
BOXSETS
Puss/Oh, The Guilt (1992)Singles
(1995) With The Lights Out (2004)
EP`S
Blew EP (1989)
Hormoaning EP (1992)
COMPLAMATION APP,
HE LIVE NIRVANA COMPANION TO OFFICIAL RELEASES:
COMPILATION APPEARANCES
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop Rock City
Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. 1
/Teriyaki Asthma, Vols. 1-5
Hard To Believe Heaven And Hell: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground
, Volume 1 The Grunge Years Kill Rock Stars
Eight/Fourteen Songs For Greg Sage and the Wipers
No Alternative
The Beavis and Butthead Experience
Geffen Rarities Vol. 1
Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defence
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack/Hype!
Fender 50th Anniversary Guitar Legends Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Volume 1
Live at Reading Releases NIRVANA Feature On 1991: The Year Punk Broke Hype! Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances Volume 4
Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) met Chris Novoselic (born Krist Novoselic) (bass) in 1985 in Aberdeen, WA, a small logging town 100 miles away from Seattle. While Novoselic came from a relatively stable background, Cobain’s childhood had been thrown into a turmoil when his parents divorced when he was eight. Following the divorce, he lived at the homes of various relatives, developing a love for the Beatles and then heavy metal in the process. Eventually, American hardcore punk worked its way into dominating his listening habits and he met the Melvins, an Olympia-based underground heavy punk band. Cobain began playing in punk bands like Fecal Matter, often with the Melvins’ bassist Dale Crover. Through the Melvins’ leader Buzz Osborne, Cobain met Novoselic, who also had an intense interest in punk, which meant that he, like Cobain, felt alienated from the macho, redneck population of Aberdeen. The duo decided to form a band called the Stiff Woodies, with Cobain on drums, Novoselic on bass, and a rotating cast of guitarists and vocalists. The group went through name changes as quickly as guitarists, before deciding that Cobain would play guitar and sing. Renamed Skid Row, the new trio featured drummer Aaron Burkhart, who left the band by the end of 1986 and was replaced by Chad Channing. By 1987, the band was called Nirvana.
Timeline
Nirvana began playing parties in Olympia, gaining a cult following. During 1987, the band made ten demos with producer Jack Endino, who played the recordings to Jonathan Poneman, one of the founders of the Seattle-based indie label Sub Pop. Poneman signed Nirvana, and in December of 1988, the band released their first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz.” Sub Pop orchestrated an effective marketing scheme, which painted the band as backwoods, logging-town hicks, which irritated Cobain and Novoselic. While “Love Buzz” was fairly well-received, the band’s debut album, Bleach, was what began the ball rolling. Recorded for just over 600 dollars and released in the spring of 1989, Bleach slowly became a hit on college radio, due to the group’s consistent touring. Though Jason Everman was credited as a second guitarist on the sleeve of Bleach, he didn’t appear on the record; he only toured in support of the album before leaving the band at the end of the year to join Soundgarden and then Mind Funk. Bleach sold 35,000 copies and Nirvana became favorites of college radio, the British weekly music press, and Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, and Dinosaur Jr., which was enough to attract the attention of major labels.
Nirvana timeline
05-16-65 Krist Anthony Novoselic born to Krist and Maria Novoselic
01-31-67 Chad Channing born to Wayne and Burnyce Channing
02-20-67 Kurt Donald Cobain born to Wendy and Donald Cobain
01-14-69 David Eric Grohl born to James and Virginia Grohl
01-23-88 Nirvana records demo with Dale Crover
11-??-88 First single: Love Buzz/Big Cheese released 06-??-89
Bleach – CD-Album released 10-23-89
Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England 12-30-89
Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma on 04-17-91
Nirvana first plays Smell Like Teen Spirit 04-30-91
Smells Like Teen Spirit – CD-Single Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records 08-?? -91
The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made 09-20-91
Tour for Nevermind – Japan – Vinyl- Album Nevermind – CD- Album Nevermind – Vinyl-Album begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-12-91 Nevermind goes Gold
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live,
Nevermind hits #1 01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
08-18-92 Francis Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana headlines Reading Festival
09-08-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
12-15-92 Insecticide Insecticide – Japan – Vinyl- Album Insecticide – CD-Album released
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
11-18-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero in Utero – Vinyl-Album In Utero – CD-Album released in US
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
03-01-94 The Final Nirvana show is played in Munich
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from a coma, asks for a milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power the body of Kurt Cobain is found, he committed suicide 3 days ago.
04-10-94 Memorial Service held in Seattle, Courtney reads from a suicide note.
09-??-94 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video for Heart-Shaped Box
11-01-94 Nirvana: Unplugged in New York Unplugged in New York – Vinyl-Album Unplugged in New York – CD-Album is released in the US
11-15-94 Nirvana: Live! Tonite! Sold Out! is released in US
07-04-95 Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighter’s Album released 10-01-96 From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Japan – Vinyl-Album from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album released
During the summer, Nirvana released “Sliver”/”Dive,” which was recorded with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums and produced by Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. By the end of the summer, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, had become Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in the summer. Following a European tour supporting Sonic Youth in the late summer, Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson’s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Story of the band from there sub pop days right through to that day in apriI 94
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. It soon become apparent that the band wasn’t quite sure how to handle their success. Around the time of Nevermind’s release, the band was into baiting their audience — Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in drag, the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops by Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis, and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss — but by the spring, questions had begun to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child in the fall. Shortly after the marriage, rumors that the couple were heavy heroin users began to circulate and the strength of the rumors only increased when Nirvana canceled several summer concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. But, heroin rumors continued to surface, especially in the form of a late-summer Vanity Fair article which implied that Love was using during her pregnancy. Both Love and Cobain denied the article’s allegations, and publicly harassed and threatened the article’s author. Love delivered Frances Bean Cobain, a healthy baby girl, on August 18, 1992, but the couple soon battled with Los Angeles’ children’s services, who claimed they were unfit parents on the basis of the Vanity Fair article. The couple was granted custody of their child by the beginning of 1993.
Since Cobain was going through such well-documented personal problems, Nirvana was unable to record a follow-up to Nevermind until the spring of 1993. In the meantime, DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 in the U.S. and number 14 U.K. As the group prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split-single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, Nirvana recorded their third album, In Utero, in two weeks during the spring of 1993. Following its completion, controversy began to surround Nirvana again. Cobain suffered a heroin overdose on May 2, but the event was hidden from the press. The following month, Love called police to their Seattle home after Cobain locked himself in the bathroom, threatening suicide. Prior to debuting In Utero material during the New Music Seminar at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, Cobain had another covered-up overdose. By that time, reports began to circulate, including an article in Newsweek, that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, accusing that the band deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini’s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt.
In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with a fall American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up the U.S. tour on January 8, 1994, with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Rohypnol and drinking champagne. While the attempt was initially reported as an accidental overdose, it was known within the Nirvana camp that the vocalist had left behind a suicide note.
Cobain returned to Seattle within a week of his hospitalization and his mental illness began to grow. On March 18, the police had to again talk the singer out of suicide after he locked himself in a room threatening to kill himself. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain’s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he escaped from the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. The following day, Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle home. His body wasn’t discovered until April 8, when an electrician contracted to install an alarm system at the Cobain house stumbled upon the body. After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
Novoselic and Grohl planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band’s Nevermind-era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to Cobain’s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers).
In 1996, its electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters (early rumors that Novoselic would also be a member of the band ultimately proved to be false) — releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. Novoselic formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra and former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live From the Battle in Seattle under the name the No W.T.O. Combo.
By the late ’90s, research began by Novoselic for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal problems began to surface. In 1997, Grohl and Novoselic formed the Nirvana L.L.C. partnership with Courtney Love (who manages Cobain’s estate) — a company that required a unanimous vote by all three regarding future albums, photos, and anything else Nirvana-related. When all three couldn’t agree on the songs to be included on the box set, the matter was taken to court as Love attempted to dissolve the partnership. The project was ultimately shelved indefinitely as any legal decision was tied up in court. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
NIRVANA LINE UP !(1985-1994)
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar (1985-1994)
Krist (Chris) Novoselic (1985-1994)
Aaron Burckhard (1985-1986)
Dale Crover: drums (1988)
Chad Channing (1986-1990)
Jason Everman: guitar (1989)
Dave Foster: drums (1988)
Dan Peters: drums (1990)
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals (1990-1994)
John Duncan: guitar (1993)
Pat Smear: guitar (1993-1994)
Early releases (1988–1990)
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz”, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first-ever interview with John Robb in Sounds who also made the release single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins and Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman, who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they “wanted to make him feel more at home in the band”. Just prior to the album’s release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Following the release of Bleach in June 1989, Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, and the album became a favourite of college radio stations. Due to increasing differences between Everman over the course of the tour, Nirvana cancelled the last few dates and drove back to Washington. No one told Everman he was fired, while Everman later said he had actually quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it was a steady seller and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label’s lack of promotion and distribution for the album. In late 1989, the band recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. In a late 1989 interview with John Robb in Sounds, Cobain noted that the band’s music was changing. He said, “The early songs were really angry… But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings”. Grohl performing in 1989 In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing’s drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana” demos with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana’s seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl, whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”
Grohl told Q: “I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks… I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You’re kidding me’.”
Mainstream breakthrough (1991–1992)
Disenchanted with Sub Pop and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana decided to look for a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy the group out of its contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana’s demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon,
Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990.
Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth’s Goo. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide
In Utero, final months, and Cobain’s death (1993–1994)
In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 1993.Time’s Christopher John Farley wrote in his review of the album, “Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn’t gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana”. In Utero went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as a second guitarist. In November, they recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the band broke convention for the show by choosing not to play their most recognizable songs. Instead, they performed several covers and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Nirvana’s final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1
The tour is cancelled when Kurt gets ill and checks into rehab where he leaves couple of days after, he is missing and reported missing by wife Courtney love using kurts mothers name suspiciously? His body is found April 8th dead by self-inflicted gunshot wound according to police. Nirvana fans dispute this and with good evidence to back them up also.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtWkahNquWc?wmode=transparent
about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong
resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.
The Nirvana Logo Font The font
style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.
The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring
Legacy Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.
Behind the album.. “incesticide”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-rDihTILjA?wmode=transparent
Behind the album..”in-utero”https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxPFNMMWYvE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yCrVWXNSw?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/kuYfAwwgCjI?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YBODze-zhbE?wmode=transparent
Reading festival ’92https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RmlOAjYmCo?wmode=transparent
KURT
KURT COBAIN EARLY LIFE
Kurt Donald Cobain February 20, 1967, Aberdeen, Washington, U.S. Died April 5, 1994 (Aged 27) Seattle, Washington, U.S. Cause Of Death By Gunshot, (Police Call It Suicide)
Singer-Songwriter Musician, Married To Courtney Love. With One Child Francis Cobain Was Born At Grays Harbor Hospital In Aberdeen, Washington On February 20, 1967,
the son of waitress Wendy and automotive mechanic Donald Leland Cobain). His parents were married on July 31, 1965, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. His ancestry included Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, and Scottish. His Irish ancestors emigrated from Carrickmore, County Tyrone in 1875. Researchers found that they were shoemakers, originally named “Cobane”, who came from Initiative, a townland within Carrickmore. They first settled in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, and then in Washington. Cobain himself believed his family came from County Cork.
Family History
His Younger Sister, Kimberly, Was Born On April 24, 1970. Cobain’s Family Had A Musical Background. His Maternal Uncle, Chuck Fradenburg, Played In A Band Called The Beachcombers; His Aunt, Mari Earle, Played The Guitar And Performed In Bands Throughout Grays Harbor County; And His Great-Uncle, Delbert, Had A Career As An Irish Tenor, Making An Appearance In The 1930 Film King Of Jazz. Kurt Was Described As Being A Happy And Excitable Child, Who Also Exhibited Sensitivity And Care. His Talent As An Artist Was Evident From An Early Age, As He Would Draw His Favourite Characters From Films And Cartoons, Such As The Creature From The Black Lagoon And Donald Duck, In His Bedroom. This Enthusiasm Was Encouraged By His Grandmother, Iris Cobain, Who Was A Professional Artist. Cobain Began Developing An Interest In Music At A Young Age. According To His Aunt Mari, He Began Singing At The Age Of Two. At Age Four, He Started Playing The Piano And Singing, Writing A Song About A Trip To A Local Park. He Listened To Artists Like The Ramones And Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), And, From A Young Age, Would Sing Songs Like Arlo Guthrie’s “Motorcycle Song”, The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, Terry Jacks’ “Seasons In The Sun”, And The Theme Song To The Television Show Of The Band The Monkes.
School Award
Hosptial Bracelet
Birth Cert
Family History
School Award
Hosptial Bracelet
Throughout most of his life, Cobain suffered from chronic bronchitis and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition. His first drug experience was with cannabis in 1980, at age 13. He regularly used the drug during adulthood. Cobain also had a period of consuming “notable” amounts of LSD, as observed by Marander, and was “really into getting fucked up: drugs, acid, any kind of drug”,
When Cobain was nine years old, his parents divorced. He later said the divorce had a profound effect on his life, and his mother noted that his personality changed dramatically; Cobain became defiant and withdrawn. In a 1993 interview, he said he felt “ashamed” of his parents as a child, and had desperately wanted to have a “typical family … I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that.”
Baby Kurt
Kurt & Xmas
Young Kurt
Kurt & Santa
Kurt 93
Baby Kurt
Kurt & Xmas
Kurt 93
Cobain’s parents found new partners after the divorce. Although his father had promised not to remarry, he married Jenny Westaby, to Kurt’s dismay. Cobain, his father, Westby, and her two children, Mindy and James, moved into a new household. Cobain liked Westby at first, as she gave him the maternal attention he desired. In January 1979, Westeby gave birth to a boy, Chad Cobain. This new family, which Cobain insisted was not his real one, was in stark contrast to the attention Cobain was used to receiving as an only boy, and he became resentful of his stepmother. Cobain’s mother dated a man who was abusive; Cobain witnessed the domestic violence inflicted upon her, with one incident resulting in her being hospitalized with a broken arm. Wendy refused to press charges, remaining committed to the relationship.
During High School, Cobain Rarely Found Anyone With Whom He Could Play Music. While Hanging Out At The Melvins’ Practise Space, He Met Krist Novoselic, A Fellow Devotee Of Punk Rock. Novoselic’s Mother Owned A Hair Salon, And The Pair Occasionally Practised In The Upstairs Room Of The Salon. A Few Years Later, Cobain Tried To Convince Novoselic To Form A Band With Him By Lending Him A Copy Of A Home Demo Recorded By Cobain’s Earlier Band, Fecal Matter. After Months Of Asking, Novoselic Finally Agreed To Join Cobain, Forming The Beginnings Of Nirvana Cobain Was Disenchanted After Early Touring, Due To The Band’s Inability To Draw Substantial Crowds And The Difficulty Of Sustaining Themselves.
In Late 1986, Cobain Moved Into An Apartment, Paying His Rent By Working At The Polynesian Resort, A Themed Resort On The Pacific Coast At Ocean Shores, Washington Approximately 20 Mi Aberdeen. Duri Aberdeen. During This Period, He Traveled Frequently To Olympia, Washington, To Go To Rock Concerts During His Visits To Olympia, Cobain Formed A Relationship With Tracy Marander. Their Relationship Was Close, But Strained By Financial Problems And Cobain’s Absence When Touring. Marander Supported The Couple By Working At The Cafeteria Of The Boeing Plant In Auburn, Washington, Often Stealing Food. Cobain Spent Most Of His Time Sleeping Into The Late Evening, Watching Television, And Concentrating On Art Projects. Marander’s Insistence That He Get A Job Caused Arguments That Influenced Cobain To Write The Song “About A Girl“, Which Appeared On The Nirvana Album Bleach; Marander Is Credited With Having Taken The Cover Photo For The Album. She Did Not Become Aware That Cobain Wrote “About A Girl” About Her Until Years After His Death.
In Late 1986, Cobain Moved Into An Apartment, Paying His Rent By Working At The Polynesian Resort, A Themed Resort On The Pacific Coast At Ocean Shores, Washington Approximately 20 Mi Aberdeen. Duri Aberdeen. During This Period, He Traveled Frequently To Olympia, Washington, To Go To Rock Concerts During His Visits To Olympia, Cobain Formed A Relationship With Tracy Marander. Their Relationship Was Close, But Strained By Financial Problems And Cobain’s Absence When Touring. Marander Supported The Couple By Working At The Cafeteria Of The Boeing Plant In Auburn, Washington, Often Stealing Food. Cobain Spent Most Of His Time Sleeping Into The Late Evening, Watching Television, And Concentrating On Art Projects. Marander’s Insistence That He Get A Job Caused Arguments That Influenced Cobain To Write The Song “About A Girl“, Which Appeared On The Nirvana Album Bleach; Marander Is Credited With Having Taken The Cover Photo For The Album. She Did Not Become Aware That Cobain Wrote “About A Girl” About Her Until Years After His Death.
THE REACTIONS OF KURTS FRIENDS.
Several Of Cobain’s Friends Have Accepted That It Was Suicide But Were Surprised When It Happened. Mark Lanegan, A Long-Time Friend Of Cobain, Told Rolling Stone:
“I Never Knew [Cobain] To Be Suicidal. I Just Knew He Was Going Through A Tough Time.” In The Same Article, Carlson Stated That He Wished Cobain Or Someone Close To Him Had Told Him That Rome Was A Suicide Attempt.
Goldberg, The Husband Of Carroll And Founder Of Gold Mountain Records, Refers In His Book Dispatches From The Culture Wars: How The Left Lost Teen Spirit To “The Crazy Internet Rumors That Kurt Cobain Had Not Committed Suicide But Had Been Murdered,” Stating That Cobain’s Suicide “Haunts [Him] Every Day”.
4 / 6
(1994) Music Stars Quotes About Kurt
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 I mourn for Kurt. A once beautiful, then pathetic, lost and heroically stupid boy. Pete Townshend (The Who)
That kid had heart. Bob Dylan, I don’t know why everyone on earth felt so close to that guy; he was beloved and endearing and inoffensive in some weird way. For all his screaming and all of his darkness, he was just lovable.
FLEA FROM THE CHILI’S
Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) Rage and aggression were elements for Kurt to play with as an artist, but he was profoundly gentle and intelligent.
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) I think Kurt was one of the deepest thinkers we’ve had in popular music over the last 20 years and if anyone deserves to have his songs dwelled upon it’s him.
Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds) The only person I have any respect for as a songwriter over the last 10 years is Kurt Cobain. He was the perfect cross between Lennon and McCartney…but he was a miserable f*ck at the same time.
Noel Gallagher (Oasis) I only met Kurt once…I was touched by him. He seemed a little shell shocked as though he felt yet another show might drop at any time.
Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) He had a touch most guitarists would kill for.
Chuck Berry, I think one of Kurt’s strengths was his simplicity. He knew how to write really catchy songs that said a lot without doing too much.
Steve Diggle (Buzz Cocks) He had a wonderful balance of raw, dangerous anger, but also, he was this delicate, fun person…He was brilliant, but he played dumb. And you know, Kurt was funny as shit.
Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters; ex-Nirvana drummer) He had an amazing ear for melody.
(1992) 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.
(1992) If you’re a really mean person you’re going to come back as a fly and eat poop.
(1992) I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.
(1993) I can’t play [guitar] like Segovia. The flip side of that is that Segovia could probably never have played like me.
(1994) I just think there’s a breed of people who honestly like music. And there aren’t very many of ’em, really. Those are the people who usually become musicians. It doesn’t really matter what environment you grow up in. It’s just some environments are more restrictive than other
Nirvana changed the music industry forever back in 1991. From Nirvana, came two of the most well-known names of the grunge-era, Kurt Cobain and David Grohl. Wait a minute, wasn’t there three people in Nirvana? Oh yes, the bass player, Krist. Most Nirvana fans agree that Krist was by far the loudest of the three, but also, the least known. I’m sure some of you will say that it’s his fault because he waited so long before he became involved in music again. Well, you’re wrong, Dave’s new band,The Foo Fighters played a gig on March 3, 1995 which would be their first, but, what most of you don’t know is that Krist’s new band, Sweet 75 played a gig only 2 weeks after The Foo Fighter’s first,on March 17, 1995. The sad thing is that The Foo Fighters released a single and an album almost immediately, while Krist took a deeper dive into politics, and Sweet 75 didn’t release their first album till late 1997. What does all this have to do with Krist in Nirvana? Actually, nothing… I was just blabbering I guess. While in Nirvana, Krist took up the more important role of being the spokes-person for the band. While Kurt and Dave were clearly the more well-known of the 3, Krist took every chance he got to step into the spotlight. Remember the MTV Awards? Krist was always there to stick up for Kurt, as demonstrated in the infamous bouncer fight at The Trees Club in Dallas. Krist would also help Kurt with just about anything. I forget who said this, but during the recordings of Nevermind and In Utero, if Kurt didn’t know how to work something, Krist would jump right in, lend a helping hand, and say “here, this is how you do it.” Krist was also, by far, the funniest of the three. Everybody loves to hear Krist say something stupid during a concert. Dave was quoted as saying that Krist has brain spasms, which in turn, impairs Krist’s ability to make sense…ha. Nirvana concerts were great, you get to go see an awesome band play, and listen to some huge guy make an ass of himself. I myself went to a concert, and one of the things I can remember is one-word Krist said, “Boo!” Many people complain that Krist is going into hiding, and that he doesn’t want anything to do with Nirvana. Hmm, well that’s because he’s got better things to do then answer some of those stupid Nirvana questions. Krist is trying now though, his Murky Slough Home Page now have a Nirvana page on it. The page isn’t much, but atleast it shows that he still cares for the band. I know all of you came to Krist in Nirvana to see all these cool pictures of him playing, go look in the pictures section, and you all hoped that you would learn some cool unknown information…forget it
Chris Was Into Bands Like Led Zeppelin, Devo, Black Sabbath, And Aerosmith While His Peers Were Into Top Forty, Perhaps Because That Was All The Local Radio Station Played. By June Of L980, Chris’s Parents Got So Worried About His Depression That They Sent Him To Live With Relatives In Croatia, Chris. Had Picked Up Croatian “Around The House,” And Is Still Fluent In It. He Loved Living, There–He Made Lots Of Friends And The Schools Were, Excellent. He Even Heard Something There Called “Punk Rock,” And Discovered The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, And Even Some Yugoslavian Punk Bands. It Didn’t Make Too Much Of A Dent, However. “It Was Just Music To Me.” Chris Recalls. “It Didn’t Really Mean Anything” To Me–It Was Just Music That I Liked.” After A Year, His Parents Called Him Back Home. “I Was Just In A Weird Limbo.” Chris Says. He Began Drinking And Smoking Pot Heavily. “I’ve Always Been A Big Drinker.” Says Chris, “When I Drink, I Just Don’t Stop. I Like To Drink Because You’re In Some Weird Cartoon Land Where Anything Goes. Your Vision Is Blurry And Nothing And Everything Makes Sense. It’s Crazy. It’s A Different Reality And A Different World Of Consciousness.” Chris Became Well Known On The Party Circuit. “You’d Go To Parties And People Would Be Like ‘Hey, Novie!’” Says Matt Lukin. “They Always Knew Him As The Big, Wacky Guy Because He, Was Always Doing Weird Things. They Just Thought He Was Kind Of Weird. He’d Go To Parties And Jump Around.” He Had Some People To Hang Out With, But He Was Hard Pressed To Call Them Friends. “I Hung Out With Them Because I Had No Where Else To Go,” Says Chris. “It Was Kind Of Odd And And Uncomfortable.”
He Finally Got A Job At The Local Taco Bell And Threw Himself Into Work, Working Every Night And Not Socializing, Just Saving Money. By Senior Year Of High School, He Had Bought A Car, Some Stereo Speakers, And A Guitar. He Look Some Lessons Along With His Brother Robert And Told His Teacher, Warren Mason–The Same Guy Who Taught Kurt That He Really Wanted To Play The Blues. He Quit After A Few Months And Then Woodshedded Intensively In His Bedroom, Patiently Working Out The Licks To Old B.B. King Records With Bis Brother. Around This Time Chris’s Brother Robert Brought His Friend Kurt Cobain Over To The Novoselic House. When Kurt Asked About The Racket Emanating From The Upstairs Stereo, Robert Replied, “Oh, Thats My Brother Chris, He Listens To Punk Rock.” Kurt Thought That Was Very Cool And Filed The Information Away. Chris Graduated From High School In 1983. Soon After, His Parents Got Divorced. It Was A Rough Enough Time As It Was, But He Also Had Some Plastic Surgery Done On His Face–Doctor’s Cut A Small Section Of Bone Out Of Chris’s Jaw And Moved Some Teeth Forward To Correct A Severe Underbite (“I Looked Like ‘Jay Leno,” He Says). Chris’s Jaw Was Wired Shut For Six Weeks. He Still Went Out To Parties, Except He Had To Carry A Pair Of Wire Cutters With Him In Case He Threw Up Or Something Got Caught In His Throat. “He’d Go Out And Get All Fucked Up.” Lukin Recalls. “And He’d Be Puking And It Would Be Draining Through His Wires. He Said He Never Did Have To Cut Them, But All The Food Was Like Milkshakes Anyway, No Solid Food. Still, It Was Somewhat Reckless Of Him.” “Then The Swelling, Went Down.” Says Chris, “And I Had A New Face.” One Day During His Senior Year In High School, He Had Been Walking Behind Two Junior Girls In The Hall Hall Who Were Raving About The Album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols. “Yeah, They’re Really Great!” He Piped Up.Shelli Remembered Him As A “Class Clown-Type Guy, Always Joking.” They Talked A Little And Made Friends. Shelli Dropped Out Her Senior Year And Took A Job At McDonald’s And Got Her Own Apartment On Market Street, Across From The Fire Department. On Her Way To Work, She Would Walk Past The Foster Painting Company Where Chris Worked And She Would Talk To Him. She Got His Phone Number And Started Calling Him Up. They Had A Lot In Common–Shelli Had Been An Odd-Ball In School, Too–And By March 1985, They Had Started Hanging Out As Friends At Shelli’s Apartment, Listening To Punk Rock Records And Going To Shows. Soon They Started Going Out.
The Matter Of When Kurt And Krist Finally Met And Started Nirvana Has Been Debated For Quite Some Time Now. I Will Tell You Right Away That I Do Not Have A Definite Answer. What We Do Know Is That Kurt And Krist Were Playing Together Sometime During 1985. We Also Know That It Took Some Time After Kurt Gave Krist A Demo Tape Before They Finally Got Together. This Demo Tape Is Known As The Fecal Matter Demo. In The Book Come As You Are It Says That Kurt Gave Krist The Fecal Matter Demo, But It Took Almost A Year Before Krist Actually Listened To It. If They Did Get Together In 1985 Which Is Most Likely True, That Would Mean The Kurt Made The Fecal Matter Demo In 1984. Most Nirvana Fans Claim That It Was Made In 1985, Which Could Not Work If They In Fact Played In 1985. My Theory Is That They Met Sometime In 1983, At The Time Krist Was A Senior In High School. Kurt’s Aunt Mari Clearly States That Kurt Made A Demo At Her House In 1982 Which She Calls “Organized Confusion.” I Would Rather Believe Kurt’s Aunt Then A Nirvana Fan As To When A Demo Was Produced. In Picture In People Magazine, Kurt Is Actually Playing A Bass Guitar. Mari Says That The Photo Was Taken In 1982. So Whoever Says That Someone Else Must’ve Played Bass Because Kurt Didn’t Know How To Is Wrong. Kurt Did Know How To Play Bass. As A Matter Of Fact, He Played Guitar, Drums, And Bass. So That Means With The Proper Equipment, Which Mari Had At Her House, He Could’ve Easily Mixed All 3 Instruments Together To Come Up With A Demo. Kurt And Krist Both Hung Out With Buzz Osborne During This Time, So They Could’ve Easily Met. The Only Person Who Would Know The Answer To This Question Of When They Met Would Be Krist. And Unfortunately That’s Not At The Top Of The List Of His Things-To-Do Now.
Nirvana Changed The Music Industry Forever Back In 1991. From Nirvana, Came Two Of The Most Well-Known Names Of The Grunge-Era, Kurt Cobain And David Grohl. Wait A Minute, Wasn’t There Three People In Nirvana? Oh Yes, The Bass Player, Krist. Most Nirvana Fans Agree That Krist Was By Far The Loudest Of The Three, But Also, The Least Known. I’m Sure Some Of You Will Say That It’s His Fault Because He Waited So Long Before He Became Involved In Music Again. Well, You’re Wrong, Dave’s New Band,The Foo Fighters Played A Gig On March 3, 1995 Which Would Be Their First, But, What Most Of You Don’t Know Is That Krist’s New Band, Sweet 75 Played A Gig Only 2 Weeks After The Foo Fighter’s First,On March 17, 1995. The Sad Thing Is That The Foo Fighters Released A Single And An Album Almost Immediately, While Krist Took A Deeper Dive Into Politics, And Sweet 75 Didn’t Release Their First Album Till Late 1997. What Does All This Have To Do With Krist In Nirvana? Actually, Nothing… I Was Just Blabbering I Guess. While In Nirvana, Krist Took Up The More Important Role Of Being The Spokes-Person For The Band. While Kurt And Dave Were Clearly The More Well-Known Of The 3, Krist Took Every Chance He Got To Step Into The Spotlight. Remember The MTV Awards? Krist Was Always There To Stick Up For Kurt, As Demonstrated In The Infamous Bouncer Fight At The Trees Club In Dallas. Krist Would Also Help Kurt With Just About Anything. I Forget Who Said This, But During The Recordings Of Nevermind And In Utero, If Kurt Didn’t Know How To Work Something, Krist Would Jump Right In, Lend A Helping Hand, And Say “Here, This Is How You Do It.” Krist Was Also, By Far, The Funniest Of The Three. Everybody Loves To Hear Krist Say Something Stupid During A Concert. Dave Was Quoted As Saying That Krist Has Brain Spasms, Which In Turn, Impairs Krist’s Ability To Make Sense…Ha. Nirvana Concerts Were Great, You Get To Go See An Awesome Band Play, And Listen To Some Huge Guy Make An Ass Of Himself. I Myself Went To A Concert, And One Of The Things I Can Remember Is One-Word Krist Said, “Boo!” Many People Complain That Krist Is Going Into Hiding, And That He Doesn’t Want Anything To Do With Nirvana. Hmm, Well That’s Because He’s Got Better Things To Do Then Answer Some Of Those Stupid Nirvana Questions. Krist Is Trying Now Though, His Murky Slough Home Page Now Have A Nirvana Page On It. The Page Isn’t Much, But Atleast It Shows That He Still Cares For The Band. I Know All Of You Came To Krist In Nirvana To See All These Cool Pictures Of Him Playing, Go Look In The Pictures Section, And You All Hoped That You Would Learn Some Cool Unknown Information…Forget It
Dave
Dave
Born To James And Virginia Grohl, Along With 3-Year Older Sister Lisa, Dave Was Brought Up In A Divorced Home. While Living In Springfield VA, His Parents Separated And He Was Raised From Then On By His Mother, A High School English Teacher.
Dave, Much Like Kurt And Chris, Took To Music At A Very Young Age. He Spent A Few Years Taking Guitar Lessons, But Lost Interest In Them And Decided To Play With Local Bands Doing Cover Songs Instead Of Formally Learning. Seeing A Performance By The New-Wave 80s Group The B52’S, He Got Drawn Towards The Genre And Away From The Classic Rock Style He Was Commonly Covering In The Bands He Played With.
Taking To Punk Rock In The Summer Of 1982 Following His Cousin’s Lead, Dave Found Himself Enjoying Music More Than Before. The Entire Lifestyle That Was Punk, And The High Energy Music Was An Instant Attraction And Luckily For All Of Us, It Kept Its Hold On Him.
With The Band He Played In, Freaky Baby, Going Through The Removal Of Their Drummer And A Subsequent Shift Of The Lineup, Dave Ended Up Behind The Drum Set And They Began To Play Fast Hardcore Punk. The Name Of The Band Eventually Even Became Simply, Fast. After They Disbanded In 1986 Dave Went On To Play In Another Band Called Dain Bramage, Which He Was Still In When He Auditioned To Be The New Drummer For A Favorite Band Of His, Scream. After A Few Months Of Playing With His Band After That Audition, Dave Landed Behind The Drum Set Of Scream.
Touring With Scream Around The US Landed Dave In Many Situations, Including Playing Shows With The Melvins, And Even Crossing Paths With Kurt And Chris A Few Times. After The Abrupt Parting Of Scream’s Bass Player From The Tour, Dave Found Himself Stranded In L.A. And Called Buzz Osborne, Who Put Him In Touch With The Pair In Seattle After They Remarked About Liking The Drummer At The Scream Show. A Few Days And A Flight Later, Dave Was Picked Up In Seattle By The Two.
Moving In With Chris And Shelli, Dave Spent Time Seeing Shows In The Seattle And Tacoma Areas, And Eventually Replaced The Then Current Drummer Of The Band, Dan Peters.
Today, Dave Is Playing For Foo Fighters.
COBAINS
COBAINS
The Cobain Family
THE COBAIN FAMILY KURT, COURTNEY & FRANCIS BEAN COBAIN
THE STORY OF KURT & COURTNEY MEETING
Courtney Love And Cobain Met On January 12, 1990, In Portland’s Satyricon Nightclub, When They Both Still Led Ardent Underground Rock Bands. Love Made Advances, But Cobain Was Evasive Early In Their Interactions, Cobain Broke Off Dates And Ignored Love’s Advances Because He Was Unsure If He Wanted A Relationship. Cobain Noted, “I Was Determined To Be A Bachelor For A Few Months But I Knew That I Liked Courtney So Much Right Away That It Was A Really Hard Struggle To Stay Away From Her For So Many Months.
“Love first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in Portland, Oregon. They talked briefly after the show and Love developed a crush on him. Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 film Straight to Hell. According to True, the pair were formally introduced at an L7 and Butthole Surfers concert in Los Angeles in May 1991. In the weeks that followed, after learning from Grohl that Cobain shared mutual interests with her, Love began pursuing Cobain. In late 1991, the two were often together and bonded through drug use. On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana’s “Pacific Rim” tour, Cobain and Love were married on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by Frances Farmer, and Cobain donned a Guatemalan purse and wore green pajamas, because he had been “too lazy to put on a tux.” Eight people were in attendance at the ceremony, including Grohl.
In an interview with The Guardian, Love revealed the opposition to their marriage from various people: Kim Gordon [of Sonic Youth] sits me down and says, “If you marry him your life is not going”Love first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in Portland, Oregon. They talked briefly after the show and Love developed a crush on him. Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 film Straight to Hell. According to True, the pair were formally introduced at an L7 and Butthole Surfers concert in Los Angeles in May 1991. In the weeks that followed, after learning from Grohl that Cobain shared mutual interests with her, Love began pursuing Cobain. In late 1991, the two were often together and bonded through drug use. On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana’s “Pacific Rim” tour, Cobain and Love were married on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by Frances Farmer, and Cobain donned a Guatemalan purse and wore green pajamas, because he had been “too lazy to put on a tux.” Eight people were in attendance at the ceremony, including Grohl. to happen, it will destroy your life.” But I said, “Whatever! I love him, and I want to be with him!” …
It wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t trying to do that. Love was already pregnant, and the couple’s daughter Frances Bean Cobain was born August 18, 1992. A sonogram of the couple’s as-yet-unborn baby was included in the artwork for Nirvana’s single, “Lithium”.In a 1992 article in Vanity Fair, Love admitted to using heroin, not knowing that she was pregnant; however, Love claimed that Vanity Fair had misquoted her, but the event created a media controversy for the couple. While Cobain and Love’s romance had always been a media attraction, they found themselves hounded by tabloid reporters after the article was published, many wanting to know if Frances was addicted to drugs at birth. The Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services took the Cobains to court, stating that the couple’s drug usage made them unfit parents Love later claimed to have ceased heroin use upon learning of her pregnancy.
Frances Bean Cobain was famous before she was even born. That’s what happens when you’re the progeny of two of the most famous rock stars in the world: Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
But unlike the arrival of many celebrity babies, Frances’s birth wasn’t anticipated with just excitement and fascination, but also concern and dismay. That’s because Kurt and Courtney’s relationship had been plagued with rumors, even admissions, of bad behavior. Many of the couple’s friends and fans worried that Cobain and Love’s heroin use would result in pregnancy complications or, worse, a drug-addicted baby. The pair’s drug use had already caused friction among their friends and bandmates.
Cobain And Love Became A Couple In The Fall Of 1991, Just As Nirvana And The Band’s Nevermind Was Beginning To Explode. Some Of Those Close To Kurt Suspected Courtney Was Hitching Her Star To His, While Accusing Her Of Getting Cobain Hooked On Heroin. Nirvana Bassist Krist Novoselic Even Refused To Attend The Couple’s Wedding In February 1992, Reportedly Because He Was Disturbed By Their Drug Intake.
25 Years Ago: Frances Bean Cobain Born To Kurt Cobain And Courtney Lovehttps://Www.Youtube.Com/Embed/Vlw7YcxiNvw?Wmode=Transparent
Many more friends and acquaintances became upset about the newlyweds’ heroin habit when they learned that Love had gotten pregnant in January – the same month that she later described going on a heroin binge with Kurt in New York City when Nirvana played Saturday Night Live. “We did a lot of drugs,” Love told Vanity Fair in an article that she later tried to dismiss. “We got pills and then we went down to Alphabet City and Kurt wore a hat, I wore a hat, and we copped some dope. Then we got high and went to SNL.
After That, I Did Heroin For A Couple Of Months.” Although Love Was Known To Be Prone To Exaggeration, Those Around Her Took These Claims Seriously (And Others Came Forward To Lend Credence To Her Claims). Some Friends Encouraged Her To Have An Abortion To Prevent Any Drug-Related Pregnancy Issues, But Courtney And Kurt Were Adamant About Keeping The Baby. Supposedly, Love Underwent Rounds Of Testing To Make Sure That The Fetus Hadn’t Been Harmed. “Kurt’s The Right Person To Have A Baby With,” Love Said. “We Have Money. I Can Have A Nanny. The Whole Feminine Experience Of Pregnancy And Birth – I’m Not Into It On That Level. But It Was A Bad Time To Get Pregnant And That Appealed To Me. Besides, We Need New Friends.”
But It Was The Couple’s Old Friends That Stepped In To Keep Love And Her Unborn Child Healthy. When The Couple Entered, And Quickly Ditched, Rehab Facilities, Industry Pals Like Jimmy Boyle (Then Working For Def American) Tried To Keep Courtney And Kurt Clean. Some Of Them Complained About How Difficult That Task Was, Describing Their Apartment As A “Sick Scene.” Even Love Took A Swipe At Her New Husband In The Press For Tempting Her With Drugs. “She Wanted To Get Off Drugs,” Boyle Said. “I Brought Her Herbs To Ease The Kick, So She Wouldn’t Freak Out So Badly. I Was Bringing Stuff Over To Her House Every Day Because It’s A Whacked-Out Thing To Do To A Kid.” Amidst The Chaos, The Couple Remained Excited About The Forthcoming Addition To Their Family. After Learning The Baby Would Be A Girl, Kurt Named Her Frances After Frances McKee Of The Vaselines. Her Middle Name Became Bean After The Nirvana Singer Decided That She Looked Like A Kidney Bean In A Sonogram. He Also Made Paintings Of Those Ultrasound Images In Anticipation Of Frances Bean’s Arrival.
Although She Wasn’t Due Until September, Frances Bean Cobain Was Born With Little Incident On Aug. 18, 1992 At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center In Los Angeles. To The Relief Of Fans And Friends Alike, The Baby Was Healthy. R.E.M.’S Michael Stipe And Actress Drew Barrymore Were Chosen As Her Godparents. That Initial Sense Of Security Would Be Short-Lived. Within Weeks Of The Birth, Frances Was Taken Away From Love And Cobain By Child Services Based On Media Reports Of An Inappropriate Home Life For A Newborn. The Case Was Eventually Dropped, With The Little Girl Returned To Her Parents. And Then, When Frances Was Only A Year And A Half, Kurt Took His Own Life. In His Suicide Note, He Pleaded, “Please Keep Going Courtney For Frances. For Her Life Will Be So Much Happier Without Me.” Frances’s Childhood Struggles Didn’t End There, Speckled With Incidents That Placed Her In The Care Of Her Grandmother (Kurt’s Mom, Wendy O’Connor) When Love Was Seen As An Unfit Parent. They Were Later Reunited And, Reportedly, Mother And Daughter Have Maintained A Close Relationship As The Latter Became An Adult. Mostly Raised Out Of The Spotlight, Frances Has Slowly Entered The Public Eye In Recent Years, Working As A Model, An Artist And An Executive Producer Of A 2015 Documentary About Her Dad, Montage Of Heck.
But To Many Nirvana Fans, She’ll Always Be Kurt’s Baby Girl, Who Somehow Arrived Healthy Into A Situation That Was Anything Bu Read More:
KURT & FRANCIS
FRANCIS BEAN COBAIN
Before Cobain’s Birth, There Were Rumors Suggesting That Her Mother Used Heroin During The Pregnancy. This Scandal Intensified When Vanity Fair Published Lynn Hirschberg’s Article “Strange Love,” Which Alleged That Love Admitted To Using Heroin Even After Learning Of Her Pregnancy.
Love And Kurt Cobain Maintained That Vanity Fair Took Her Words Out Of Context.Eventually, Child Welfare Services Launched An Investigation Into Their Parenting Abilities.The Investigation Was Ultimately Dismissed, But Not Without A Significant Amount Of Legal Wrangling And Frances Being Removed From Her Parents’ Custody For A Short Time, Beginning When She Was Two Weeks Old.
On April 1, 1994, Frances Visited Her Father At The Exodus Recovery Center, A Rehab Center In Marina Del Rey, California, Where They Played Together. This Was The Last Time She Saw Her Father Alive.
On The Morning Of April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain Was Found Dead At His Home In Seattle.
A Final Ceremony Was Arranged For Him By His Mother On May 31, 1999, Attended By Both Love And Tracy Marander. Frances Was Subsequently Raised By Her Mother, Aunts, And Paternal Grandmother.
She Spent Her Early Years In Seattle And Los Angeles, And Was Placed In Her Grandmother’s Care For A Time After Her Mother’s Drug-Related Arrest In October 2003. Hours After The Arrest, Love Overdosed On Painkillers. Love Regained Custody Of Frances In 2005.
Modeling
In August 2006, She Was Photographed For Elle Magazine In Her Father’s Famous Brown Cardigan And Pajama Pants As Part Of An Article Featuring Children Of Rock Stars In Their Parents’ Clothing. She Explained, “I Wore His Pajamas Because He Got Married In Them To My Mom In 1992 In Hawaii So I Thought They Would Be Cute If I Wore Them Today. He Was Too Lazy To Put On A Tux So He Got Married In Pajamas!” In February 2008, She Appeared In A Photo Spread For Harper’s Bazaar Dressed As Evita.
Cobain Modeled For Hedi Slimane For A Web Photo Series Released August 2, 2011.
In 2016, She Modeled Alongside Alice Glass In A Spread For Schön! Magazine Shot By Floria Sigismondi.
In 2017, She Was Announced As The Face Of Marc Jacobs’s Spring/Summer 2017 Campaign, Shot By David Sims.
In September 2005, 13-Year-Old Cobain Gave Her First Interview, To Teen Vogue, In Which She Discussed Her Personal Style And Mentioned Her Parents.
Another Appeared In The January 2006 Issue Of I-D, In Which She Lamented Tabloid Portrayals Of Her Mother: “When You See A Lot Of Lies About Her In The Tabloids … It Can Be Hurtful.”
On December 11, 2009, A California Superior Court In Los Angeles Appointed Wendy O’Connor, Her Paternal Grandmother, And Kimberly Cobain, Her Father’s Sister, As Cobain’s Temporary Co-Guardians.
On December 16, 2009, A Judge Had Issued A Related Temporary Restraining Order Prohibiting Love From Having Any Direct Or Indirect Contact With Her Daughter.
The Papers Were Filed Under The Heading “Motion To Seal All Documents… Relating To A Minor And Allegations Of Domestic Violence”. Among Those Documents Are Frances Cobain’s Medical Records, According To The Filing.
On August 18, 2010, Cobain Inherited 37% Of Her Late Father’s Estate.Cobain, Not Love, Now Controls The Publicity Rights To Her Father’s Name And Image.
In 2011, Cobain Bought Her First Home, A $1.8 Million Spanish-Style Villa In West Hollywood, A Few Blocks From Sunset Strip.
Cobain Has Said She Is Not A Fan Of Nirvana Or Other Grunge Bands, Instead Preferring Their Contemporaries Oasis, The Brian Jonestown Massacre And Mercury Rev, But She Has Said She Likes The Songs “Territorial Pissings” And “Dumb”
Cobain And Musician Isaiah Silva Married On June 29, 2014,Though The Wedding Date Was Widely Misreported As Around September 2015.
‘Who Courtney Knew Was A Very Different Person To Who They Intimately Knew’
– Frances Bean On Kurt Cobain Exhibition Curated By His Mother And Sister
Kurt Cobain’s Mother Wendy O’Connor Is Recounting A Story About Her Son To Illustrate What He Was Like As A Child;
‘The Sweetest, Funniest Little Devil’. “He’d Come In The Kitchen And Say, ‘Hey Mom!’ And He Got Me Every Time With This – He’d Take Thread And Thread It Through His Fingers And Pull The String And Make His Hand Go Back And Forth, And I’d Turn Around And Go, ‘Aaargh!’ And It Would Make Me Sick To My Stomach. He Just Loved Doing It!” She Laughs. Kurt’s Younger Sister Kim Remembers All The Kids Doing It, “We’d Take The Rough Skin, Just The First Layer. I Don’t Know What Our Deal Was In The Seventies, Stringing Our Fingers Together,” She Laughs. Wendy, Kim, And Kurt And Frances Bean Cobain, Kurt’s Daughter With Courtney Love, Are In Conversation With RTE Broadcaster Dave Fanning At The Museum Of Style Icons In Newbridge To Launch Growing Up Kurt Cobain, An Exhibition Of His Personal Belongings Including Hand-Written Lyrics, His 1965 Dodge Dart, Clothes, Awards, But Mostly Items From His Childhood – Photos, Sketches, Notes And Stories, Toys, And Some Home Video. Brett Morgan’s 2015 Documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck Touched On His Childhood And His Burgeoning Creative Genius And The Exhibition Builds On That, Painting A Picture Of Him As A Fun-Loving, Talented Kid. The Items Have Been Lovingly Selected By Kim And Wendy In The Hope Of Providing Some Balance In The Narrative Of His Life, Which, Having Ended Abruptly With His Tragic Suicide On April 5, 1994, At The Height Of Nirvana’s Success, Has Been Viewed Through That Dark Prism In The Intervening Years. “This Was Really Beautiful, To Go And See Our Childhood That We Had Together,” Says Kim. Although Frances (25) Had No Part In Curating The Items For The Exhibition, She Wanted To Support Her Grandmother And Her Aunt On Their Trip To Ireland, As She Says She Found It A “Healing Place” To Visit As A Child. “This Is The First Time They’ve Ever Really Extended Themselves In Such A Way That They Curated It And Creatively Informed Their Idea Of Kurt And Who They Knew Him To Be And That To Me Is The Purest Form Of Him, Because Everything We’ve Heard Or Seen Is A Saturated Version Because It’s A Part Of Mythology,” She Says. “We Love To Think Of Him As This Mysterious, Dark Poet Laureate And He Was But He Was Also Quite Funny And Warm And A Brother And Son And I Think This Is More Reflective Of That. And I Think It’s Important To The Narrative To Recognise That Those Were Equally As Important Aspects Of His Personality As The Darker Serious Poet Laureate We Know Him To Be.” Having The Exhibition Open In Ireland (It’s At The Museum Of Style Icons Until September 30 Before Heading To Santiago, Chile) Was Important To The Family. “I Think That It Was Important For All Of Us Three To Come To Ireland. This Is Where Our Roots Are. It’s A Very Healing Place,” She Says. “I’ve Been Here Before And It Was Super Healing For Me As A Child And I Wanted To Come And Be A Part Of This Experience With Them. I Don’t Know If We Could Recreate The Energy Of This Specific Trip Again. The Reason That This Is So Healing Is Because It’s In Ireland. That’s A Huge Component Of It I Believe.” Kurt Believed His Ancestors Had Come To The United States From Cork, But In Recent Years Courtney Traced The Family’s Irish Roots To Tyrone And A Man Called Samuel Cobain Who Emigrated On A ‘Graveyard Ship’ With His Wife Letitia And Brother Kevin In The Late 1800s. As Frances Reads A Text Message From Courtney With This Information She Laughs,
Growing up Kurt Cobain
As The Child Of Famous Parents, Frances Was Famous Even Before She Was Born. She Does Not Remember Her Father As She Was Just 20 Months Old When He Died. She Has Lived A Nomadic Life – Living In 27 Houses In 25 Years And Dropping Out Of High School In Tenth Grade ‘Because Standardised Curriculum Just Didn’t Mesh With My Brain’. “I Really Reverted Into Myself And Really Became Obsessed With Horror Movies And Comic Books And Drawing, “ She Reveals Of That Time. “I Defaced My Room, All The Walls And Doors And Ceiling. I Defaced It. “That Was Kind Of Me Attempting To Take Back A Sense Of Self, By Creating My Own Environment I Could Go Into Every Day And Feel As Though I Was Like In My Own World, Because Oftentimes For Me Fantasy Has Felt More Like Reality. Escaping Into My Own Head Space Has Been More Comforting Than Having To Deal With My Reality At Times.” She Has Battled Her Own Addiction Issues And In An Instagram Post Earlier This Year She Revealed That She Has Been Sober For Two Years. “The Most Gratifying Thing About Making That Post Was Getting Messages From People Not Only Saying They Understood And Related To What I Was Going Through, Or They Themselves Were Dealing With It, But The Most Powerful Thing Was People Telling Me That Via That Post And Via Me Expressing That And Having The Capacity To Share That With The World, That That Had Encouraged Them To Face Their Own Addiction Issues,” She Says. “That Is Super. I Don’t Think There’s Anything More Powerful Than That, Somebody Saying, ‘You Helped Me Reclaim My Life’. It’s An Amazing Superpower.” She Says She Always Take Accountability For Her Actions, Because She “Grew Up In A Circumstance Where Accountability Wasn’t Really A Thing, Like It Was Always Really Disregarded As Somebody Else’s Fault Even Though It Wasn’t Always Somebody Else’s Fault.” Of Her Struggles, She Adds, “It’s Given Me A Sense Of Empathy And Compassion That I Would Never Have Had Any Other Way, And It’s One Thing To Observe That Kind Of Behaviour But It’s Another Thing To Live A Similar Kind Of Behaviour Because You Have A Different Kind Of Understanding Of What It Is That Informed Other People’s Behaviour. “It’s Given Me Connectivity To People In My Life That I Didn’t Think I Would Connect To Again. It’s Given Me A Sense Of Empathy I Didn’t Know I Had.” She Says She Uses The Phrase, ‘Peace, Love, Empathy’, Which Her Father Used In His Suicide Note, “Often, Because I Want To Reclaim The Peace, Love, Empathy Thing As Something That’s Meant For Health And For Compassion And For True Peace, Love, And Empathy. “Yeah, The Association Comes From A Super Dark Place. Referencing That Is Kind Of Screwed Up But At The Same Time Taking The Power Back Is My Way Of Dealing With It.”
Growing up Kurt Cobain
It’s Clear That Her Grandmother Wendy Has Been A Hugely Positive And Stable Influence In Frances’ Life. Wendy Becomes Emotional When Speaking About How Frances Never Knew Her Father And How Important It Was For Her To Let Her Know Who He Was. As A Child Frances Would Visit The Farm In Olympia Where Wendy Lived And “Healed” Following Kurt’s Death, Working In The Garden. “Nothing Was Consistent In My Day To Day Life At All But When I Would Go To The Farm In Olympia It Was Like The Most Grounding Experience,” Says Frances, Who Reveals That When People Now Comment On How Well Adjusted She Is She Puts It Down To The Stability Wendy And Kim Provided For Her Throughout Her Childhood. “The Reason I Got To The Point Of Being Well-Adjusted Is Because I Had Roots In Something Normal And Healthy,” She Says. “It’s Given Me A Sense Of What I Want My Day To Day Life To Look Like Outside All The Hubbub And BS, How I Want My Day To Day Life To Look Like With Normalcy With Consistency And Love. That Is Super Important. I Don’t Think I Would Know What That Looks Like Without Them.” Wendy Admits It Was Hugely Difficult To Take A Step Back When Frances Was Going Through Her Self-Destructive Phase, But Says She Had Learned From Her Previous Experiences With Kurt And Courtney. “Absolutely I Knew She Would Make It, But It Was Very Hard Not To Over Insert Myself Into The Whole… When It Was Not Good. That Was The Hardest Part,” She Says. “I Knew That I Had To Do That, I Had To Step Back And Kind Of Let It Run Its Course.” She Adds, “It Was Really Hard For Me Because I Can Be Really Pushy. It Was So Hard For Me To Keep My Peace And Not Start Pounding On Her, ‘This Is What You Have To Do, This Is What You Have To Do’. Everybody Was Mad At Me Because I Wasn’t Doing What They Thought I Should Be Doing. I Said, ‘No, She Will Come To Me. I Know Who’s Inside.” Frances Did Come To Her. She Says, “I Think That She Learned With Kurt And Courtney, When She Tried To Insert Herself It Made Them Isolate More And As A Reaction Of Her Not Inserting Herself And Kind Of Letting Me Do My Self-Destructive Thing And Be An Asshole She Allowed Me The Room To Come To Her When I Needed Her And That Means That I Felt Comfortable Expressing What I Had Been Through And What I Was Going Through Outside Of That At That Point. I’m Really Appreciative That She Allowed Me To Heal Myself First.”
Frances Says Courtney Is “Supportive” Of The Exhibition As She “Recognises That It’s Their Version Of Kurt And This Is Not Reflective Of Her Husband – It’s Reflective Of Her Son And Her Brother. Who She Knew Was A Very Different Person Than Who They Intimately Knew.” She Adds, “I Also Think Kurt Tended To Put On A Facade With Courtney A Little Bit. He Tended To Play Up Certain Aspects Of His Mystery And His Darkness Because It Was Trying To Match Her Mystery And Her Darkness, And That’s Awesome And That’s What They Had.” However, She Says “He Didn’t Get To Choose” Which Kurt His Mother And Sister Saw, “With My Grandmother And My Aunt That Was Just Who He Was And Who They Knew Him To Be. It’s Important This Exhibition Is Reflective Of That. This Is His Childhood And It’s Coming From A Pure Place.”
Little Was Known About Cobain’s Heritage Until July 1993, When Guitar World’s Jon Savage Interviewed The Musician On His World Tour. When The Question Of Identity Arose, The Musician Said That He Had Recently Found Out That His Surname Was Irish. “My Parents Have Never Bothered To Find That Stuff Out,” He Said, “I Found Out By Looking Through Phone Books Throughout America For Names That Were Similar To Mine. I Couldn’t Find Any Cobain’s At All, So I Started Calling Coburns. I Found This One Lady In San Francisco Who Had Been Researching Our Family History For Years.”He Later Discovered That ‘Coburn’ Had Originally Been ‘Cobain’, But The Family Name Changed When They Emigrated From Co. Cork.
The Cork Connection Was “A Weird Coincidence” He Said, “Because When We Toured Ireland, We Played In Cork And The Entire Day I Walked Around In A Daze. I’d Never Felt More Spiritual In My Life.” Cobain Was Referring To Their 1991 Tour With Sonic Youth When Nirvana Played Support In Cork And Dublin. The Gig Took Place Weeks Before The Release Of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ Catapulted The Band To International Attention. He Said The Experience Had Left Him Feeling “More Spiritual” Than Ever Before, “It Was The Weirdest Feeling And I Have A Friend Who Was With Me Who Could Testify To This. I Was Almost In Tears The Whole Day. Since That Tour, Which Was About Two Years Ago, I’ve Had A Sense That I Was From Ireland.
The first 1000 American copies were on white vinyl and the next 2000 copies on black vinyl included a limited-edition poster. Subsequent pressings can be found in many colours.
The album was released in the UK on Tupelo, with the first 300 copies on white viny, the next 2000 on green and an unknown quantity on black vinyl. After that various colour were used for reissues as for the American releases.
In Australia it was released by Waterfrontss, with the first 500 copies on blue vinyl. The American vinyl release had 11 tracks, including ‘Love Buzz’, but omitting ‘Big Cheese’ (because it was the ‘Love Buzz’ B-side).
The 11-track British vinyl, however, contained ‘Big Cheese’ rather than ‘Love Buzz’ because this was exclusive to the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’.
‘Love Buzz’ was then added to the ‘Blew EP’ as NIRVANA got bigger but the single was not easily available.
Love Buzz
The 13-track American CD release, however, has ‘Big Cheese’ and ‘Love Buzz’, as well as the CD incentive bonus track ‘Downer’.
The first British CD release (with 11 tracks) contained ‘Big Cheese’, but lacked ‘Love Buzz’ and ‘Downer’. Future British releases contained all 13 tracks.
Bleach
September 1992 saw Geffen re-release ‘Bleach’ on CD and cassette (with the 7″ version of ‘Big Cheese’), containing all the tracks. All tracks were remastered. Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Jack Endino. The limited-edition poster included with the vinyl release features a photo of ‘Nirvana’ taken by Charles Peterson at their 02/25/89 show at the HUB Ballroom at the University of Washington, which features Jason Everman. Jason was credited in the linear notes of the album as second guitarist, but did not in fact play on the album. It was a good-will gesture as he paid the $606.17 recording costs (the bill for 30 hours of studio time). The cover-shot of the album, of Nirvana at the Recko-Muse gallery in Olympia, was taken by Tracy Marander.
CD versions included another of Peterson’s photos from 02/25/89 in the insert, as well as one of his pictures from Nirvana’s 02/15/90 show at Raji’s in Los Angeles on the back inner sleave.
‘Floyd The Barber’ and ‘Paper Cuts’ were taken from the 01/23/88 session with Dale Crover due to dissatisfaction with the Chad Channing versions. Both were remastered for the album release, and backing vocals added to ‘Paper Cuts’. Endino can’t remember if ‘Downer’ was also remixed for CD releases. Kurt spelled his name ‘Kurdt Kobain’ as on the ‘Love Buzz/Big Cheese’ single. The album was completely re-sequenced at Pavitt’s demand.
This release saw the first appearance of the ‘NIRVANA’ logo (Bodoni Extra Bold Condensed type). The typesetter was rushed which explains why the spacing is not graphically correct k
They had already made some waves on Sub Pop with their debut, “Bleach”.
But it wasn’t until their major-label debut for DGC/Geffen Records, 1991’s “Nevermind” – perhaps, more specifically, the first 30 seconds of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – that they broke into the mainstream of America.
1. Bleach (1989)
Nirvana recorded Bleach in December 1988 and January 1989, during several sessions.
Nirvana consisted of Kurt Cobain (guitar and vocals),
Krist Novoselic (bass),
and Chad Channing (drums).
Although he never actually played on the album, Jason Everman, who had previously played guitar in another band with Channing, paid the $616 for recording costs. Everman later joined Nirvana in February 1989 for the band’s west coast tour.
Kurt & Tracey
The photograph of Nirvana performing at the Reko/Muse art gallery in Olympia, WA on April 1st, 1989, was taken by Cobain’s girlfriend, Tracy Marander.
2. Nevermind (1991)
One of the most recognized albums covers in alt-rock music, Nevermind with new drummer Dave Grohl) came up with the concept. Available stock images of water births were too graphic, stock photos of swimming babies were expensive, so art director Robert Fisher hired photographer Kirk Weddle to do a photo shoot at a pool. The image of three-month-old Spencer Elden, the son of Weddle’s friend, was selected by Nirvana. DGC Records art department later added the dollar bill and fishhook. The Onyx logo was reused, using a wave-like effect to accompany the water theme. To avoid controversy, DGC Records wanted to cover up the image, but Cobain objected. The cover is often included on lists of “shocking” album artwork, and it was even banned by Facebook in 2011 (a decision they quickly reversed). The image has often been parodied, most notably by “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 1992 album, Off the Deep End
3. Insecticide (1992)
Kurt Cobain agreed to officially release this material on a compilation, since Nirvana fans were now taping and trading low-quality recordings of live radio shows, demos, and B-sides. He insisted on retaining complete artistic control over the cover artwork. This oil-on-canvas painting made entirely by Cobain, was the result, including lettering which didn’t have their usual logo. The poppy flower symbolized Cobain’s increasing use of heroin. The cover, while unusual, wasn’t considered too controversial to be used.
4. In Utero (1993)
On the other hand, In Utero was anything but uncontroversial.
Robert Fisher, the art director for DGC Records again designed the front cover, using ideas from Kurt Cobain. An anatomical teaching aid – a mannequin with transparent “skin” to display the organs inside – had angel wings added. The tour in support of the album used similar mannequins as props, which were then abused and destroyed on stage. The familiar Onyx logo was used, with a typewritten font for the album title. Cobain created the back cover collage, photographed by Charles Peterson, who was familiar to the local music scene. Objects related to birth and death, including several plastic fetuses, were used.
It was decided by Kmart and Wal-Mart that this artwork, as well as the accompanying text, wasn’t suitable for store displays. DGC Records employed alternate images and text, along with strategically-placed stickers to sell the album at major retailers.
. Reissued in April 1996 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as a 24-carat gold CD and on 200g high-definition vinyl
. Reissued in July 1998 by Simply Vinyl on high-quality vinyl
Additional Information:
Recoded and produced by Butch Vig. Mixed by Andy Wallace.
Dave plays all the drums on the album. ‘Polly’ was taken from Nirvana’s April 1990 Smart Studios session (also with Butch Vig) when the drummer was Chad Channing, but at the ‘Nevermind’ session the drums for ‘Polly’ were re-recorded. The first batch of American pressings (46,251) on CD and cassette lacked ‘Endless Nameless’, the uncredited secret track which appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once ‘Something in the Way’ has ended, because of a pressing error.
The band put the ‘secret track’ on the album as a way of playing with the CD format, just as the Beatles, for example, put indecipherable messages in the runout grooves of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover shot was inspired by Kurt and Dave having seen a documentary on underwater birth during recording sessions. They investigated pictures of babies being born underwater, but they were too graphic. Therefore, they chose a stock graphic of a baby swimming, but it was too expensive. As a result, the art director, Robert Fisher, got Kirk Weddle, an underwater photographer to take some shots himself of a baby underwater. The baby in the final picture chosen was Spencer Elden. Kurt recommended the adding of a dollar on a fish-hook and thus a famous album cover was born.
Inside the inlay is a page of random lyrics from the songs on ‘Nevermind’ mashed together in no particular order. Two of the lines amongst them were made up by Kurt and do not feature in the lyrics of any of the songs (“The second coming came in last and out of the closet” and “At the end of the rainbow and your rope”). The back-cover features a meat-and-diseased vagina collage by Cobain behind the Chim (above the head of which is a picture of Kiss). Cobain’s name appears on photo credits as ‘Kurdt Kobain’. Later reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were both taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1996 CD and vinyl releases by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold of the CD is less susceptible to corrosion than the aluminium used on regular CDs. The MFSL LP booklet for this release misspelled Nirvana (‘Nirvana’) and CD releases do contain ‘Endless Nameless’ although, as with ordinary releases, this is not credited on the cover.
The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy card (300g) sleeve. The song credits on this vinyl release are different to those on the regular CD
INSECTICIDE
(1992)
INSECTICIDE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Stain September 1989 Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Been A Son November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK
Turnaround October 21, 1990, Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Molly’s Lips October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London,
UK Son Of A Gun October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
(New Wave) Polly November 9, 1991 BBC Studios, London, UK
Beeswax January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle,
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Mexican Seafood
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Hairspray Queen
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Aero Zeppelin
January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Big Long Now
December, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK Three of the fifteen songs on ‘Insecticide’ cover.
The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On: Turnaround Devo We Are Not Men, We Are Devo Molly’s Lips Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Son of a Gun Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Released: 12/14/92 (Europe), 12/15/92 (US) Releases: Released on vinyl (with a limited edition of 15,000 on blue vinyl), cassette and CD. Additional Information: A collaborative enterprise by ‘Sub Pop’ and ‘Geffen’ (originally planned as two separate releases, one by each label), partly as an attempt to beat the bootleggers. The collaboration was intended to ensure a definite compilation, as well as give the band more control over it and ensure greater distribution than ‘Sub Pop’ could muster. The cover art is a painting by Cobain.
The sticker on it reads “Inside Insecticide: Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Stuff Never Before Available”, and six of the fifteen tracks were unreleased at the time (‘Hairspray Queen’, ‘Aero Zeppelin’, ‘Big Long Now’, ‘Been A Son’, ‘(New Wave) Polly’ and ‘Aneurysm’). ‘Mexican Seafood’ was previously made available on ‘Teriyaki Asthma’, ‘Beeswax’ on ‘Kill Rock Stars’, ‘Downer’ on CD versions of ‘Bleach’, ‘Stain’ on the ‘Blew’ EP, ‘Dive’ and ‘Sliver’ on the ‘Dive/Sliver’ single (note: the phone call outro to ‘Sliver’ between Krist and Jonathon Poneman on the single was omitted for its appearance on CD) and ‘Turnaround’, ‘Molly’s Lips’ and ‘Son Of A Gun’ appeared on the ‘Hormoaning’ EP. ‘Been A Son’ on ‘Insecticide is a different version to that on the ‘Blew’ EP, as are the versions ‘Aneurysm’ from their respective previous releases. According to Endino ‘Hairspray Queen’ and ‘Aero Zeppelin’ were not remastered for their release on this CD, virtually being the one-hour mix versions, he did on the day of their recording. Some American copies include liner notes written by Kurt. In trading circles complete versions of the October 21, 1990 and the November 9, 1991 radio sessions are available. Complete session tapes also exist for the January 23, 1989 and April 1990 sessions. Other outtakes from the September 1989 Music Source and December 1989 Reciprocal studio sessions have also surfaced.
(1993)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
Serve The Servants February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Scentless Apprentice February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Very Ape February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
Tourette’s February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
All Apologies February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip January 22, 1993, Ariola Ltda BMG,
Rio de Janeiro Released:
09/14/93 (Europe), 09/21/93 (US), 01/97, 11/98 Releases: Issued on vinyl (including a 15,000 limited edition on clear vinyl), cassette and CD in 1993. Reissued by MFSL in January 1997 on 24-carat gold CD and high-quality vinyl.
All Apologies’
In November 1998 it was reissued on high-quality vinyl by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Steve Albini, who was paid $100,000 on top of $24,000 recording costs. ‘All Apologies’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ were remixed again in May by Scott Litt. ‘Sappy’ was also re-recorded at this session and this is the version that features on the ‘No Alternative’ compilation. European releases included a bonus track (‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip’), referred to on releases as ‘Devalued American Dollar Purchase Incentive Track’, which appears 25 minutes after the end of ‘All Apologies’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, except for ‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol’ (stating ‘whatever’ in its place) and Tourette’s (with the lyrics being given as ‘Cuff, Tish, Sips’). The disc features Michael DeWitt in drag, a former nanny employed by Kurt and Courtney.
Wal-Mart and K-Mart versions of the artwork were altered with Cobain’s acceptance (given that to refuse the changes would mean the album would be more difficult to get hold of) when these outlets refused to sell them, deeming them ‘offensive’. They also changed the title of ‘Rape Me’ to ‘Waif Me’. A remixed version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ (also available on the ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ single), different from on ordinary versions of ‘In Utero’, was used on these re-issued copies and ‘Gallons’ was omitted. Both the reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1997 release by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold is less susceptible to corrosion. These releases do not contain ‘Gallons’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy (300g) card sleeve. The guitar solo intro on ‘Very Ape’ on this vinyl release is longer than on other versions. ‘In Utero’ enters the Billboard chart at #1 with first week sales of 180,000 units.
Compilation Albums
NIRVANA
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
Previously unreleased About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Bleach Been a Son September 1989 Music Source Studios – Seattle, WA
Blew EP Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Insecticide Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come as You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea (remix version) February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero (K-Mart/Wal-Mart version) Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero All Apologies November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Something In The Way (vinyl & Japanese CD releases only) November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Released: 10/28/02 (outside US), 10/29/02 (US) Releases: CD, Vinyl (2 LPs). Additional Information: Features the previously unreleased song ‘You Know You’re Right’. All the other tracks, taken from the NIRVANA back catalog, have been “newly mastered” for this release. Includes a forward by David Fricke.
The vinyl version is a double LP release. Only the vinyl release and Japanese versions of the CD contain ‘Something in the Way’.
Review:
Almost six years to the day since the last NIRVANA album came the release of the greatest hits package, simply titled ‘Nirvana’. Fans had long believed the next album would be a box set of unreleased songs and demo versions, indeed a 45-track two-disc set was reportedly assembled for launch to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of the band’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’. Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, was displeased by her lack of input on the box set, and made a legal challenge to block the release. Coincidentally, she was also in court trying to extricate herself from her legal obligations to her record label with her former band ‘Hole’. Love threatened to withhold Cobain’s last known song, an unreleased anthem titled “You Know You’re Right” from any future releases, which would be the one and only unique selling point of any future release. Deadlock ensued as wild accusations concerning sanity and precise contributions to the band were presented in court. However, Love’s position of power was effectively undermined by two factors. First, Universal decided they would release a ‘greatest hits’ album with or without the new song, and secondly on May 10th a Spanish fan shocked the online fan community by claiming and then proving he had a copy of the song. Jim Barber, Courtney’s lawyer and boyfriend, responded by firing off emails to all online fans concerned threatening legal action, but it proved impossible to force the genie back into the bottle, and the song leaked on the internet in mid-September. Radio stations across the world started airing the track, and once again the band’s lawyers faxed legal threats to the stations demanding they cease and desist playing the song. Some radio stations were undeterred, and continued playing the track anyway. Fearing a public relations disaster on an unprecedented scale, the record company executives realised their position was hopeless, and shipped out promotional CD-Rs of the song.
Love was thus forced to negotiate, and was able to force the delay of the box set (which was finally released in 2004 – see our comprehensive guide to ‘With The Lights Out’) to be overtaken by a greatest hits package. The date originally suggested was October 22nd 2002, but Love feared her own new material would receive little attention and demanded the CD be held back until 2003. However, with all concerned realising the need to capitalize quickly on the media uproar over the new song, the release date was pushed forward to November 12th and incredibly then again to October 29th. The track list was published at online retailer Amazon, but was quickly removed as the band realised that bootleggers would be able to assemble the album themselves and release counterfeits early. Jim Barber proclaimed that the track listing was incorrect, but of course this turned out to be obfuscation. The first track, “You Know You’re Right” (recorded by Adam Kasper) is the sole previously unreleased song, recorded at NIRVANA’s last studio session in January 1994 just before the start of their final tour. The song is clearly one of the very best ones in the band’s oeuvre, and is hoped to propel album sales into the tens of millions.
“About A Girl” (recorded by Jack Endino) is the one representative of NIRVANA’s debut album, the 1989 release ‘Bleach’.
Next up is “Been A Son” (recorded by Steve Fisk), but the rendition selected is the one from the very rare ‘Blew EP’, and not the common Goodier Session version from ‘Insecticide’.
Following this is “Sliver” (recorded by Jack Endino), a Sub Pop single did a feature on ‘Insecticide’. Next are the four ‘Nevermind’ singles (all recorded by Butch Vig) in order of release, followed by four songs from the band’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ (recorded by Steve Albini), and concluding with three songs from NIRVANA’s November 1993 appearance on ‘MTV’s Unplugged’.
The track list has been much debated on the internet and in some quarters much-derided: just as anyone with a passing knowledge of English football (soccer) thinks he/she could select a better national team than the current manager, any fan with all the albums could select his/her dozen favorite songs. It is clear, however, that the songs chosen are the result of politics and commercial considerations.
The ‘Bleach’ rendition of “About A Girl” is unsteady and inferior to the acoustic version released on the ‘Unplugged In New York’ album, but was presumably included so that there would be some representative of the band’s debut. Had this release ignored ‘Bleach’ entirely, accusations would undoubtedly have surfaced accusing the band of ignoring its roots and the contribution of Chad Channing (the drummer on most early releases).
“Been A Son” was selected for those collectors who cannot afford to pay $100 to track down a copy of the scarce ‘Blew EP’, and is an extra purchase incentive for fans who have not heard this rendition. However, it sounds very uncouth and raw nestling beside the band’s genuine hits, and is probably the weakest song on the album, and so those collectors who were supposed to benefit from the addition of this song have ended up criticising its inclusion.
The next six songs are those for which NIRVANA produced music videos, and are uncontroversial choices. Indeed, only the four singles from ‘Nevermind’ are included, which surprised many: this album is widely considered their best work. The reasoning is easy to divine. The record label do not want to cannibalise new sales of ‘Nevermind’ by including too much on this album.
The Scott Litt remix of “Pennyroyal Tea” neuters the bass roar present in the choruses of the ‘In Utero’ album track, but is otherwise unspectacular. The liner notes claim this version to be “previously unreleased”, but it has actually been available for many years on the censored Wal-Mart version of ‘In Utero’. Next follow two further album tracks from ‘In Utero’, bringing the total up to four.
This CD then rounds off with two or three songs (depending on where you live) from the band’s fabulous quasi-acoustic concert recorded for MTV Unplugged. The pre-and post-song applause is muted as much as possible between the songs to allow this release to flow better. All three of the songs were aired extensively by radio stations on account of being pressed on promotional CDs. All songs selected, bar “Been A Son” and “Dumb”, are the standard NIRVANA songs played on the radio, and were therefore obvious candidates for inclusion on this record: that is precisely what a greatest hits CD should contain, by definition. The fact that none of the band’s less commercial / pop-influenced, more punk/metal-style songs have been included should not be a surprise either: they do not belong on a commercial CD such as this one. Those who bemoan the lack of rare song “Oh, The Guilt” or the popular “Sappy” similarly miss the point of a greatest hits compilation: with a new rareties release planned for next year, these songs have rightly been retained for that. Those who criticise the CD as being too short are also wide of the mark. Songs such as “Aneurysm” may be fine songs, but would seem out of place on such a pop-oriented compilation. A strong case could be made for making this release even shorter still, removing perhaps tracks 2, 3 and 4 to leave an even more definitive selection. The author is ambivalent on the subject of the remastering of the songs for this release: the pre-‘Nevermind’ songs now feature much greater separation between instruments and do sound clearer, but this causes their jagged edges (especially on “Been A Son”) to be more prominent. The stark contrast with the following Butch Vig produced numbers makes one wonder if the effort was wasted. The packaging of the CD is, as usual, excellent: Robert Fisher always seemed to be able to guide the band into selecting beautiful images and stunning photos, which were arguably one factor in the band’s success. This time the release is monochrome, but this is in keeping with the reverential tone of the release. This is not to say ‘Nirvana’ is faultless:
the editing of the CD is atrocious, with “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” starting over two seconds before the track marker, and the gaps between songs seeming in some cases too short and others too ponderous. Those responsible for this should be roundly condemned for their sloppiness. The liner notes are also egregious: the author David Fricke lacks both eloquence and erudition on the subject of NIRVANA. He misquotes the lyrics to “You Know You’re Right” (using instead those sung by Ms Love during her rendition) and astounded the online fan community by referring to the song as “Autopilot” and “On The Mountain”, both of which were bootleggers’ titles resulting from them mishearing Dave Grohl’s muffled introduction to the previously known live version, “This is our last song. It’s called ‘All Apologies’.� Cobain changed his mind and played “You Know You’re Right” instead. These quibbles do not detract from the album as a whole, which remains an excellent introduction to the band, surely the main purpose of this CD. Complaints from hardcore fans about the lack of rare material selected for their delectation are utterly ridiculous in the context of a greatest hits release.
Compilation Albums
Sliver – The Best of the Box Released:
1st November 2005 Releases: CD only Additional Information
: This is a compilation of tracks taken from NIRVANA’s 2004 boxset release With The Lights Out. To maximize sales and tempt owners of the boxset to buy it this compilation also includes 3 exclusive tracks that do not feature on the boxset itself which are indicated below.
Track: Date / Location: Exclusive To Sliver – Best of the Box?
Comments Spank Thru (home demo) December 1985 – Music room, Earl residence, Burien, WA, US Yes Sourced from the infamous ‘Fecal Matter’ demo!
Heartbreaker (live) 03/xx/87 – 17 Nussbaum Road (house party), Raymond, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Unknown (home demo) Summer, 1987 – Cobain residence, Aberdeen, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Floyd The Barber (Live) 01/23/88 – Community World Theater, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
About A Girl (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Blandest (studio) June�September 1988 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Ain’t It A Shame (studio) August 20 & 28, 1989 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track
. Sappy January 2�3, 1990 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US Yes This track was produced by Jack Endino and took a whopping 10 hours to record what is paradoxically one of the worst renditions of this song!
Opinion (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Lithium (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Sliver (home demo) Summer, 1990 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Come As You Are (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US Yes This is a boom box demo which was recorded at the same time as the SLTS demo above. Old Age (studio) May�June 1991 – Sound City Studios, Van Nuys & Devonshire Studios, Burbank, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Oh, The Guilt April 7, 1992 – Laundry Room Studio, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (home demo) May 1991 – Oakwood Apartment, Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (studio) 25�26 October 1992 – Word Of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Heart-Shaped Box (studio) January 19�21, 1993 – Studio B, BMG Ariola Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, BR No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Do Re Mi (home demo) Early 1994 – Bedroom, Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
You Know You’re Right (home demo) Mid 1993�Early 1994 – Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
All Apologies (home demo) 1991�1992 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US/Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this tr
Compilation Albums
ICON
.Released: 31st August 2010 Releases: CD only Additional Information:
NIRVANA’s second “greatest hits” compilation. Part of the Icon series by Universal Music Enterprises which featured greatest hits releases “from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B, and country”. Interestingly it does not include any tracks from NIRVANA’s first album ‘Bleach’ which may have been done to avoid having to pay fees to Sub Pop
. Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Album:
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY Unplugged In New York
Live Albums
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Come As You Are November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Pennyroyal Tea November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Dumb November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Polly November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
On A Plain on November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Something In The Way November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Plateau November 18, 1993 Sony Studios, New York, NY
Oh Me November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Lake Of Fire November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie The Man Who Sold The World (Ryko)
Six of the fourteen songs performed covered. The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Vaselines Way Of The Vaselines (Sub Pop)
Plateau Meat Puppets II (SST) Oh Me Meat Puppets II (SST) Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets II (SST)
Where Did You Sleep Last Night ‘Leadbelly’ Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Released: 11/01/94, 11/98 Releases: Released on vinyl, cassette, and CD in 1994. Reissued on LP in November 1998 by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Produced and remixed by Scott Litt. It contains two-songs which were cut from the original television broadcast. All songs were done in one take. Although the official release is technically complete at 46 minutes (containing all the songs that were recorded), the show was actually about 69 minutes long, with all breaks between songs, jamming, tuning, and interaction with the crowd cut from this release. Conceived originally as disc one of a two-CD release, the second CD containing other live tracks spanning the band’s life. However, the band was unable to complete the project, feeling it was too close to Kurt’s death. The ‘second CD’ in effect would appear in 1996 as ‘From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy quality sleeve. Enters the Billboard Chart at #1 and sells more than 300,000 copies in its first week.
Live Albums
FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WHISKAH
Released: 10/01/96 Releases: Released on vinyl (2 LPs, in a single sleeve), cassette and CD.
Additional Information: Nirvana’s third release to enter the Billboard chart at #1 and their fourth #1 album. The liner notes were written by Krist Novoselic. They contain errors, as detailed in the CD guide to this release above. Side four of the vinyl version contains additional stage banter which is transcribed in the vinyl guide above.
About this release, Dave Grohl, in an interview (from the interview CD ‘Foo Fighters In Conversation’ on Chatback) said: Interviewer: What do you think of the live album, the Nirvana live album that came out? Were you happy with the result? Dave Grohl: Yeah I thought it was cool, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean there were so many songs, like … so many tapes … and so many songs, just so much stuff we could have released and we released one thing … the just live thing. Yeah I thought it was good … I mean I have live tapes at home that are better than that, but those are mine! (Laughs). Interviewer: Did you have much input in so far as what songs are going on the album? Dave Grohl: Yeah, Krist … Krist and I … Krist actually did most of the pick and choose and I think he did a really great job, but yeah, ultimately we had like total control over what was happening.
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT
DGC RECORDS,18 VERSIONS (2011)
LIVE AND LOUD
DGC RECORDS,13 VERSIONS (2013)
Live Albums
LIVE IN READING
Released: 3rd November 2009 Releases: CD-only, DVD-only, and CD+DVD set
Additional Information: Official release of NIRVANA’s legendary performance at the 1992 Reading Festival which was circulating amongst traders in various forms prior to this official release. Unfortunately, the CD-only version is incomplete: it is missing ‘Love Buzz’, various jams and between-song banter as well as most of the destruction. The DVD is complete and also features a short clip after the credits of Cobain interacting with a fan after the show. It features camera angles not present on any trading circle version. More information can be found here. Song: Intro Breed Drain You Aneurysm School Silver Sliver In Bloom Come As You Are Lithium About A Girl Tourette’s Polly Lounge Act Smells Like Teen Spirit On A Plain Negative Creep Been A Son All Apologies Blew Dumb Stay Away Spank Thru Love Buzz The Money Will Roll Right In D-7 Territorial Pissings Credits
Anniversary/Deluxe Edition Reissues
20TH ANNIVERSARY BLEACH
Released: 3rd November 2009
Releases: CD, regular vinyl (black) and limited-edition vinyl (white) Additional Information: Reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Bleach’. Features a 13-track remaster of the ‘Bleach’ album (remastered from the original tapes by ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino) as well as NIRVANA’s live performance at the Pine Street Theatre recorded on 9th February 1990. Both the CD and vinyl releases include a booklet with never before seen photographs of the band plus other pertinent images from NIRVANA Sub Pop years (for example, the original session tapes, a scan of NIRVANA’s Sub Pop contract, etc.).
In relation to the vinyl release, it is not known precisely how many copies of the limited-edition white version were produced. NOTE: the live show included on this release was circulating amongst traders prior to this release from an alternate soundboard source and whilst the version on this official release does sound better, unfortunately, the between-song banter has been cut.
CD ONE/SIDE A Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Blew December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Floyd the Barber January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
School December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Paper Cuts January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Negative Creep December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Scoff December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Swap Meet December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Mr Moustache December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Sifting December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Downer January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
CD TWO/SIDE B Song: Date Recorded/Venue: Intro 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
School 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Floyd The Barber 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Dive 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Love Buzz 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Spank Thru 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Molly’s Lips 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Sappy 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Scoff 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
About A Girl 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Been A Son 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Blew 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
SLIVER
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI
About A Girl (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR
Spank Thru (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland OR
Released: 09/??/90 (US), 01/??/91 (UK) Releases: First 3,000 7″ American releases were on blue vinyl in fold-over sleeves and was subsequently reissued in many colours in solid sleeves, being the only Nirvana single on Sub Pop still in print. British releases on Tupelo were originally on 7″ vinyl (with the first 2,000 on green vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve. The 12″ vinyl features ‘About A Girl’, live from 02/09/90. The CD-version had included ‘About A Girl’ and also ‘Spank Thru’, again from 02/09/90. Additional Information: ‘Spank Thru’ on the CD versions is incorrectly spelled ‘Spank Through’. The A-side of the 7″, after ‘Sliver’, also features a 45-second phone conversation outro, between a very hung-over Krist Novoselic and Jonathon Poneman, which Krist accidentally recorded on his answerphone. This was excluded when this version of ‘Sliver’ appeared on ‘Incesticide’, rather like the intro to ‘Love Buzz’ was culled from vinyl versions when it made its transition to a CD. An incomplete soundboard version of the 02/09/90 show featured on this release is available in trading circles. A complete session tape of all the finalized versions of songs from the April 1990 studio appearance is also circulating.
TEEN SPIRIT
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Drain You May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Even In His Youth January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 09/09/91 (UK), 09/10/91 (US) Releases: American 7″ vinyl and cassette releases included ‘Even In His Youth’. The American 12″, a second cassette and CD also featured ‘Aneurysm’. UK 7″ and cassette releases included ‘Drain You’, 12″ versions ‘Even In His Youth’ and the CD all four songs. Whilst all American versions lack ‘Drain You’ it was included on some European releases. Additional Information: The back cover shot was taken by Charles Petersen at Nirvana’s 03/08/91 appearance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
COME AS YOU ARE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Endless, Nameless May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
The school (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Drain You (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA Released: 03/02/92 (UK), 03/03/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ was backed with a live ‘Drain You’, whilst US cassettes, 12″‘s and CD’s also had a live version of ‘School’ from the same show. In the UK the 7″ featured ‘Endless Nameless’, the 12″ also included the live version of ‘School’. CDs had a fourth track, a live ‘Drain You’. German 12″ picture discs contain ‘Endless Nameless’ and a live version of ‘Drain You’. Additional information: A complete soundboard version of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles.
LITHIUM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Been A Son (live) October 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Curmudgeon April, 1992 Laundry Room Studios, Seattle, WA
D-7 October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK Released: 07/20/92 (UK), 07/21/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ and cassette was backed with a live version of ‘Been A Son’, whilst the 12″ and CD also included ‘Curmudgeon’. In the UK the 7″ was backed with ‘Curmudgeon’, the 12″ added the live version of ‘Been A Son’ and CDs included a fourth track, ‘D-7’. Additional Information: The cover was designed by Kurt and the single includes a sonogram of Frances Bean Cobain. Contains all the lyrics to ‘Nevermind’. A complete soundboard of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles. The complete 10/21/90 radio session is also circulating amongst traders.
IN BLOOM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Sliver (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA
Polly (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA Released: 11/30/92 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. The 7″ and cassette included a live version of ‘Polly’. The 12″ and CD had a third track, a live version of ‘Sliver’. Additional Information: A complete soundboard of the 12/28/91 performance is available in trading circles
HEART-SHAPED BOX
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Marigold February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN Released: 08/30/93 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. 7″ and cassette featured ‘Marigold’ and the 12″ and CD also included ‘Milk It’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
LOVE BUZZ
test pressing
numbered
red slash
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 11/88 Releases: This single launched the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’. Limited to 1000 hand-numbered (in red ink) copies, in a fold-over sleeve, on black vinyl.
Additional Information: On this release, only ‘Love Buzz’ features a 10-second sound collage intro made by Kurt from various children’s records spliced together and a similar collage dubbed into the instrumental break. This comes from a much longer collage made by Kurt, which is 34-minutes long, known as ‘The Montage of Heck’, which is available in trading circles. ‘Love Buzz’ was originally performed by ‘Shocking Blue’. The version of ‘Love Buzz’ on this single is a different mix to those on all ‘Bleach’ and ‘Blew EP’ releases, being remixed for other releases and lacking the aforementioned collages. It was remixed to increase its collectibility and lacked the collages because Kurt forgot to bring the home-made tape with it on to the remixing session! Alice Wheeler took the photo on the front of the album in Tacoma’s ‘Never Never Land’ (a park) close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kurt’s name is given as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ on the credits and on the ‘Love Buzz’ side is etched ‘Why don’t you trade those guitars for shovels?’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
Sliver (1990)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Come As You Are (1992)
Lithium (1992)
In Bloom (1992)
Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
All Apologies (1993)
Pennyroyal Tea (1994 but withdrawn)
About A Girl (1994)
.Split Singles:
Candy/Molly’s Lips (1991)
Here She Comes Now/Venus In Furs (1991)
BOXSETS
Puss/Oh, The Guilt (1992)Singles
(1995) With The Lights Out (2004)
EP`S
Blew EP (1989)
Hormoaning EP (1992)
COMPLAMATION APP,
HE LIVE NIRVANA COMPANION TO OFFICIAL RELEASES:
COMPILATION APPEARANCES
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop Rock City
Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. 1
/Teriyaki Asthma, Vols. 1-5
Hard To Believe Heaven And Hell: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground
, Volume 1 The Grunge Years Kill Rock Stars
Eight/Fourteen Songs For Greg Sage and the Wipers
No Alternative
The Beavis and Butthead Experience
Geffen Rarities Vol. 1
Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defence
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack/Hype!
Fender 50th Anniversary Guitar Legends Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Volume 1
Vintage & bootleg Nirvana shirts are in high demand for collectors & with prices going crazy & people selling fakes. the websites/shops below are excellent for vintage shirts… NIR94
KURT COBAIN SUICIDE WAS ‘THE PERFECT CRIME’ CLAIMS JOURNALIST
Kurt Cobain was found dead in his home in Seattle, Washington, US, on April 5, 1994, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Max Wallace, a Canadian journalist and historian, questioned Cobain’s cause of death after seeing the deceased star’s toxicology report.
It showed how the 27-year-old contained a high concentration of heroin in his body at the time he took his own life.
Max spoke in 2015 documentary “Soaked in Bleach” about his theory, saying: “For me, the most compelling piece of evidence that convinces me almost to a certainty that Kurt was murdered, was the level of heroin in his body.
‘PERFECT CRIME’: Cobain’s death was a perfect crime, a journalist claimed (Pic: NC) (Image: NC)
“There has never been a documented case in the history of law enforcement where somebody could have the level of heroin in his body and still remain conscious and still lead to a suicide.”
He spoke to an FBI expert, who told him that the suicide was a “perfect crime”.
“If you want to get away with murder, you kill a junkie,” Max added.
“It’s very easy to make a murder look like an accidental overdose or suicide, it’s the perfect crime and it happens all the time.”
The startling claims have come to light once more ahead of the 25th anniversary of Cobain’s death next month.
The grunge icon was discovered by an electrician three days after his death on April 5.
But while official police reports confirmed he died by suicide, conspiracy theories have whirled for years over the nature of the iconic singer’s death.
Author John Potash suggested his addiction to heroin and subsequent death could have been down to the CIA.
ROCKSTAR: Nirvana’s frontman died from a self inflicted gunshot wound (Pic: GETTY ) (Image: GETTY)
In his book Drugs as Weapons Against Us, he said Cobain was targeted to stop a leftist ideology spreading through the US using music and entertainment.
Cobain was catapulted to worldwide fame with the release of his band’s second album Nevermind in 1991.
Smash hit Smells Like Teen Spirit became one of the most recognisable tracks of the 90s.
Chilling pictures of the weapon that Cobain reportedly killed himself with were released only a few years ago.
The police report was censored, having the paragraph of where Courtney admitted to drugging Kurt and the drugs she used, blacked out. The contents of the censored portion were leaked to P.I. Tom Grant by an anonymous informant. The identity of the person in the Seattle Police Department who censored the police report is not known; however, P.I. Tom Grant believes that Det. Terry, one of Courtney’s friends, censored the police report after Kurt’s death.
For the record, Courtney Love freely admits she drugged Kurt Cobain and she believes her actions saved his life.
***Note:
Tom Grant is a private investigator Courtney Love hired to find her missing husband. Over time he became convinced that Courtney Love and the male nanny, Michael DeWitt were involved in a conspiracy to murder Kurt Cobain.
***Note:
Det. Terry was a narcotics officer in the Seattle Police Department who had a very strange “friendship” with Courtney Love. Det. Terry was murdered circa two months after Kurt Cobain’s death
March 3-4, 1994 –
The Rome Incident – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On March 3, 1994, Kurt Cobain flew to Rome in order to see his family whom he hadn’t seen in almost a month. They stayed at the luxurious Excelsior hotel. The people present were Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, their infant daughter Frances Bean Cobain, and the male nanny, Michael DeWitt.
A few hours before Courtney arrived at the hotel she gave an interview to Select magazine. During the interview Courtney Love brought out a box of rohypnol and placed it on the table in front of the journalist. She then popped several of the pills. Rohypnol is considered a “date rape drug” as side effects from ingestion include incapacitation and anterograde amnesia. The prescription was in Courtney’s name.
On March 4, 1994, at circa 6:30 AM, Courtney calls the front desk and asks for an ambulance, claiming that Kurt is unresponsive. According to Courtney Love, she awoke to find Kurt slumped over at a table, with a note and a wad of cash in his hands. Kurt’s nose was bleeding. There is some discrepancy as to what time Courtney Love found Kurt unresponsive. Courtney may not have called for the ambulance until 30 minutes after finding Kurt or as long as an hour after finding Kurt, depending upon what story from Courtney one chooses to believe.
Kurt Cobain is rushed to the Umberto I Polyclinic Hospital. CNN incorrectly reports that Kurt Cobain has died. In reality Kurt Cobain is in a deep coma. Courtney later has him transferred, against the advice of the doctor, to the American Hospital. Courtney would later tell the media that the doctors pumped 50 pills from Kurt’s stomach. According to Dr. Osvaldo Galletta this is not true, that Kurt’s stomach was not pumped and that there was no way to determine how many pills Kurt ingested. Kurt finally recovers and is released from the hospital.
At the time everyone involved, including Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, and the doctors, claimed it was an accident. According to Dr. Osvaldo Galletta, it was an accidental overdose.
****Note: After Kurt’s death Courtney Love would claim that the Rome Incident was actually a failed suicide attempt. Courtney claims the note Kurt wrote in Rome was a suicide note and gives it to the Seattle Police Department to be used as a copy of Kurt’s handwriting to compare to the official “suicide note” found at the death scene. Courtney Love herself admits the Rome note mentions that Kurt wanted to leave her. Courtney Love claims she was told by Sgt. Cameron, the lead detective in Kurt’s death investigation, that the Rome note would only cause her problems and that she should get rid of it. Courtney Love admits to burning the Rome note.
Circa March, 1994 –
Post Rome Incident – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
In March, 1994, after the Rome Incident, Kurt Cobain contacts the family attorney, Rosemary Carrol, and asks for a will to be drawn up excluding Courtney Love. During this time frame Courtney Love also contacts Rosemary Carrol and asks her to find her a divorce attorney and to inquire if it was possible for her to get out of the prenuptial agreement she had with Kurt Cobain.
****Note: Kurt and Courtney had a prenup. The details of the prenup are not known but it is safe to assume that if Courtney Love was attempting to get out from under it that the prenup did not favor her. Ironically it was Courtney Love’s idea for the prenup as she believed that she would be the one to become famous and wealthy.
March 25, 1994 –
The Intervention – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
kurt wanted a divorce
On March 25, 1994, Courtney Love staged a drug intervention for Kurt Cobain. Many of the people present at the intervention, including Courtney Love, were drug users. Among the people present were Courtney Love, Dylan Carlson (Kurt’s best friend), Krist Noveselic (Nirvana), Pat Smear (Nirvana), Patty Schemel (Hole), Rosemary Carrol (the family attorney), and people from Geffen Records and Gold Mountain. Dave Grohl (Nirvana) chose not to attend the intervention as he did not agree with it. At one point during the intervention Kurt ran upstairs and locked himself in a room and had to be talked back down. During the intervention Courtney Love threatened him with not being able to see his daughter if he didn’t seek treatment. The intervention lasted circa 5 hours. At the end of the intervention, Kurt finally agreed to get treatment.
March 30, 1994 – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On March 30, 1994, Kurt Cobain and Dylan Carlson, Kurt’s best friend, drove to Stan Baker Sports in order to purchase a shotgun. According to Dylan Carlson, Kurt wanted the gun for the protection of his family and wanted Dylan to purchase it as Kurt’s other guns were confiscated by the police on March 18, 1994. Kurt chooses a Remington M-11 Sportsman, 20 gauge semi-automatic shotgun that was set for light-load. A box of shotgun cartridges was also purchased. The two then drove back to the Seattle home and placed the shotgun in a secret compartment in the closet in the bedroom. After stashing the gun in the closet, Dylan then accompanies Kurt to the airport. Upon arriving at the airport Kurt realized that he forgot to stash the shotgun cartridges with the gun in the closet. Kurt decided to give the cartridges to the limo driver, Harvey Ottinger. Kurt then boards a flight for LA. Upon arriving in LA Kurt was then escorted to the Exodus rehab center and was checked in for a program lasting 28 days.
****Note: “Light-load” means that the gun was less powerful and that the bullets would normally not go through walls and potentially injure people in the house.
March 31, 1994 – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On March 31, 1994, Kurt Cobain officially began his treatment at the Exodus rehab center. Kurt met with his counselor, Nial Stimson. Jackie Farry, the female nanny, brought Frances to the center for a visit with Kurt.
April 1, 1994 – Kurt Cobain Leaves Rehab – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On Friday, April 1, 1994, Jakie Farry, the female nanny, brought Frances once again to see Kurt. Gibby Haynes (Butthole Surfers), was likewise in treatment at Exodus and he and Kurt met and talked off and on throughout the day. Pat Smear (Nirvana) and artist Joe Mama Nizburg also paid Kurt a visit. Nizburg was surprised that Kurt looked good.
At circa 7pm Kurt Cobain hopped the wall of the Exodus center and then purchased two plane tickets with his SeaFirst card back to Seattle. One ticket was for himself and the other ticket was for a mystery woman. The identity of the mystery woman has currently not been released.
At 8:47 PM, Kurt Cobain calls the Peninsula Hotel and leaves a message for Courtney Love. The message reads, “Elizabeth’s phone number is 213 (censored)”. Courtney Love never tells anyone about this message.
April 2, 1994 – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On Saturday, April 2, 1994, Kurt arrived back in Seattle at circa 12:47 AM. He is met by Linda Walker of the Seattle Limousine service and is dropped off at the Seattle home at circa 1:30 AM. According to what Michael “Cali” DeWitt, the male nanny, originally told the the police, Kurt came into his room at circa 6:00 AM, sat on his bed and awoke him and his girlfriend, Jessica Hopper, who was spending the night. Kurt and Michael DeWitt talked for a few minutes and Michael DeWitt told Kurt to call Courtney. Michael DeWitt admitted he called Courtney later in the day to tell her that Kurt was at the house. Michael DeWitt’s story would later change.
At circa 7:30 AM a cab from Gray Top Cab company picked someone up at the home. The taxi driver could not identify the person but thought that the person’s appearance did not match the residence. The person told the taxi driver that they needed to purchase bullets because the home had recently been broken into. The taxi driver was unable to locate a place to buy bullets. The person then asked the taxi driver to drop him off near 145th and Aurora so that he could get something to eat.
Courtney Love plants a false story in the media that she has suffered a drug overdose. She claims she did this in order to get Kurt’s attention and make him call her.
April 3, 1994 – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
At some time after Kurt purchased two airline tickets on April 1, 1994, and between the afternoon of April 3, 1994, Courtney Love called the credit card company and canceled Kurt’s SeaFirst credit card.
In the afternoon of Sunday, April 3 (Easter Sunday), Courtney Love calls private investigator Tom Grant. According to Grant, Courtney Love told him over the phone that someone was using Kurt’s credit card and that she wanted to find out who it was. She asked Grant to come over to the Peninsula Hotel to meet with her. Tom Grant, along with his then partner Ben Klugman, arrived at Courtney Love’s room. Once inside Grant claims that Courtney admitted that Kurt is actually the one trying to use the card but that she really wanted to hire them to find out where Kurt is. Courtney Love allegedly asks Grant to contact the credit card company and have them trace Kurt’s location. However, canceling the card prevented Kurt from being tracked by this method as after the card was cancelled only generic information was logged by the credit card company.
During the meeting Courtney reveals to Grant and Kugman that Kurt wanted a divorce, that she and Kurt had a prenup, that he was suicidal, and that by cancelling his credit card she was able to cut him off from his money. Courtney allegedly went on to say that Kurt had no friends and that he was practically helpless. At one point Courtney even allegedly claimed that Kurt was so helpless that he couldn’t even call a cab for himself*. Courtney also admitted to planting a false story in the media about her having a drug overdose and claims she did it to scare Kurt and to force him to call her. Courtney would go on to complain about money, of how Kurt was turning down Lollapalooza and possibly walking away from a 9 million dollar deal. Courtney also allegedly inquired if it was possible to find out the identify of the woman whose name was on the second airline ticket that Kurt purchased on April 1. Grant claims that Courtney asked him if it was possible to hack the airline’s computers to find out. Grand informs her that hacking is illegal and out of the question. Courtney allegedly tells Grant that she believes that Kurt may be at a drug dealer’s house in Seattle or that he may have gone east to stay with Michael Stipe of REM, as the two of them had made plans to work on a project. Grant makes plans to subcontract out the surveillance of the drug dealer’s home, per Courtney’s request.
April 4, 1994 – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On Monday, April 4, 1994, Courtney Love, pretending to be Kurt’s mother Wendy, filed a missing person’s report with the Seattle Police Dept. Courtney, posing as Wendy, claims that Kurt escaped from rehab on April 1, 1994, bought a shotgun, and may be suicidal. She tells the police that Kurt may be at a drug dealer’s house (the same house that she asked Grant to have under surveillance).
P.I. Tom Grant meets with Courtney Love at her hotel room. Grant’s sleuthing has unveiled that someone is continuing to try to make charges on Kurt’s cancelled credit card.
In response to the missing person’s report the police drove by the Seattle home on several occasions on April 4 and April 5, 1994.
The Seattle Police would later believe that Kurt was given a ride by an unknown woman to the Cobains’ second property, the Carnation property, sometime on April 3 or April 4, 1994. Their reason in believing this has nothing to do with any type of Investigation, Rather, it is what Courtney Love told them and they simply chose to believe it.
****Note: Courtney Love does not tell the police that Kurt was seen at the home on April 2, 1994. Instead, she makes it appear as if Kurt disappeared on April 1, 1994, and that she didn’t know any of his whereabouts since that date. There is more than enough evidence to suggest this is not the case and that Courtney knew Kurt was at the Seattle home on April 2, 1994.
****Note: Courtney Love does not tell the police about the message that Kurt left for her at the hotel on April 1, 1994. That message read, “Elizabeth’s phone number is 213 – (censored)”. Why?
****Note: Courtney Love freely admits that she posed as Wendy Cobain. She claims she did this so the police would take it seriously.
****Note: The shotgun was purchased on March 30, 1994, not after Kurt fled rehab, as Courtney made it seem to appear.
April 5, 1994 – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
The ME lists on Kurt Cobain’s autopsy report that the estimated day of death was Tuesday, April 5, 1994. Keep in mind that there is a 24 hour window or margin of error so it is possible that Kurt may have died on April 4 or April 6, 1994.
Courtney Love hires an electrician to work on the security lights on the greenhouse. Courtney allegedly claims she is concerned that “unauthorized” people are staying at her home. The only “unauthorized” person staying at the home was Michael DeWitt’s (the male nanny) girlfriend, Jessica Hopper. However, since Michael DeWitt was in constant communication with Courtney it is far more likely that Courtney knew that Jessica was staying at the house. It’s also not clear why Courtney Love would think that security lights would deter “unauthorized” people from staying at the home when these “unauthorized” people seemingly knew that the owners of the home were not there.
According to Tom Grant, Courtney believes Kurt may have been staying at hotels in Seattle. Courtney allegedly claims that Kurt only stays at the finest hotels. Courtney gives Kurt a fake name of Bill Bailey, a name she claims that Kurt sometimes uses. Grant begins to search upscale hotels in Seattle for any person checked in under that name of Bill Bailey. Courtney tells Grant not to make any contact with Kurt or to approach him as she didn’t want Kurt to know that she was having him tracked. Circa 2:50 PM, Grant locates a person checked into the West Evergreen hotel under the name of Bill Bailey. Grant calls Courtney and asks her if she wishes to have the room be put under surveillance. Circa one hour later Courtney returns the call and says that she called the room and spoke to the man and that it’s not Kurt. This seemingly violated her desire of not wanting Kurt to know that he was being tracked. Grant reaches the conclusion that Courtney has sent him on a goose chase.
Courtney Love allegedly asks Eric Erlandson (Hole) to search the Seattle home. Eric Erlandson allegedly makes Michael DeWitt and his girlfriend, Jessica Hopper help. The trio apparently did not search the greenhouse and find no sign of Kurt being at the home.
The police believe that Kurt somehow travelled from the Carnation property back to the Seattle home before going into the greenhouse and killing himself. Remember, the belief of the police that Kurt was at the Carnation property is not based on any investigation they performed. Instead, Courtney Love told them that Kurt was at the Carnation property and they simply chose to believe her.
****Note: Tom Grant believes that Kurt died either late April 3 or early April 4, 1994.
****Note: According to Dylan Carlson, Kurt’s best friend, Kurt hated upscale hotels and usually stayed at “dumps”.
April 6, 1994 – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On Wednesday, April 6, 1994, Courtney Love contacted the electrians and asked them to start on the security lights on the greenhouse. Later in the day electricians would show up to make a preliminary look at the home.
Jessica Hopper, Michael DeWitt’s girlfriend, finally left the Seattle home and does not return.
Michael DeWitt allegedly calls Dylan Carlson and asks him if he has seen Kurt.
Courtney finally told Tom Grant that Michael DeWitt saw Kurt at the Seattle home on April 2, 1994. Grant immediately boards a plane and heads for Seattle planning to personally search the home and other places. Grant claims that someone in the room then asked Courtney why she didn’t go back to Seattle to look for Kurt and then Courtney responded that she has to stay in California for “business reasons”.
At circa 11:30 PM, Grant has arrived in Seattle and has picked up Dylan Carlson. The two stop to get a bite to eat and Grant questions him. Dylan Carlson allegedly tells Grant that Kurt was not suicidal, which contradicts Courtney’s claim that “everyone” believed he was suicidal. In truth, only Courtney was making these claims during these events. According to Grant, Dylan then goes on to tell him that he had bought the shotgun for Kurt because Kurt wanted it for protection. The pair talk about places Kurt may be at and Grant claims he asked Dylan if it was true that Kurt always stayed at fancy hotels. Dylan allegedly said it wasn’t true, the Kurt usually stayed at “dumps”. The pair decide to check out the drug dealer’s apartment to see if Kurt is there or was there recently.
April 7, 1994 –
Tom Grant’s & Dylan Carlson’s Search Of The Home
– Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
At circa 2:15 AM, on Thursday, April 7, 2012, Tom Grant and Dylan Carlson arrived at the Seattle home. Dylan got out of the car and walked around the property. Grant parked away from the property as he didn’t want to scare or anger Kurt if he was at the house. Circa five minutes later Dylan returned to the car and told Grant that no one is home. The two then drive to a payphone. Dylan calls Courtney and asked her to turn off the alarm.
Courtney spent the night at her attorney Rosemary Carrol’s house. Rosemary Carrol was present at the time that Dylan called her. According to Rosemary Carrol, Courtney specifically asked Dylan to check the closet for the shotgun and to check the greenhouse. Both Courtney and Dylan deny this.
Grant and Dylan drove back to the Seattle home at circa 2:45 AM, enter through an unlocked kitchen window and searched the home. There is no indication Kurt is or ever was at the house. However, there was indication that Michael DeWitt was recently at the home as his television was on and his bed was unmade. Dylan Carlson comments on how clean the house was and stated that it is the cleanest he has ever seen the home. Grant did not search the greenhouse as it was dark, raining, and he didn’t suspect that there was a room above the garage. Dylan knew about the greenhouse but didn’t tell Grant.
The remainder of the day Tom Grant and Dylan Carlson check around various locations Kurt was rumored to hang out at, and people Kurt was believed to hang out with.
During the day, someone in Courtney’s hotel room had called 911 and said someone had overdosed. Courtney Love was taken to the hospital and then was released two and half hours later. She was then immediately arrested for possession of drugs, drug paraphernalia, and stolen property (a prescription pad). It is believed that Courtney called 911 on herself and purposefully got herself arrested.
Michael DeWitt boards a plane and flies to be with Courtney in California.
Later that evening Tom Grant decided he wanted to search the Carnation property, the second property owned by the Cobains. The two quickly became lost and Dylan wasn’t quite sure how to get out to the property. After stopping at a gas station Dylan got out and used the payphone. Dylan came back to the car and told Grant that he spoke to Courtney and that Courtney got arrested. Dylan told Grant that Courtney wanted them to go back to the Seattle home and check to see if a shotgun Kurt had purchased was in the closet where it was supposed to be.
At circa 9:45 PM, Grant and Dylan arrived back to the Seattle Home. They searched the house again but this time they found rohypnol and a note that was left on the stairs. The note was not there on the first search. The note was written by Michael DeWitt and states the following:
“Kurt – I can’t believe you managed to be in this house without me noticing. You’re a fucking asshole for not calling Courtney & at least letting her know you’re o.k. She’s in a lot of pain kurt and this morning she had another “accident” & now she’s in the hospital. She’s your wife and she loves you & you have a child together. Get it together to at least tell her you’re o.k. Or she is going to die. It’s not fair man. Do something now!”
April 8, 1994 – Kurt’s Body Is Discovered – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On Friday, April 8, 1994, electrician Gary Smith begins working on the greenhouse of the Seattle home. At circa 8:40 AM, Smith looks through the balcony windows of the greenhouses and sees a body lying on the floor. At first Smith thinks that it is a mannequin. Slowly Smith makes out that there is blood on the ear of the body and a shotgun lying across it’s chest. Gary Smith calls his boss who then instead of calling the police calls a local radio station, KXRX-FM, where he speaks to radio DJ Marty Reimer. The station employees believe the call is a hoax; however, and just to be safe, the police are called. Within an hour the news that a body was discovered at the Seattle home of Kurt Cobain spreads around the world.
Tom Grant and Dylan Carlson decide to make a daylight attempt to drive to the Carnation property in order to search for Kurt. Along the way the pair stop at a gas station. Dylan leaves to make a phone call and then quickly returns saying that a body was just found at the greenhouse of the Seattle home. Grant turns on the radio and listens to confirmation on the radio. Grant claims there was no reaction in Dylan. Grant then allegedly asks Dylan what the greenhouse was and why didn’t he tell him about it. Dylan simply responds that it was a dirty room on top of the garage that the Cobains used to store lumber in.
Tom Grant calls his partner, Ben Klugman. Klugman tells Grant that someone is still continuing to attempt to make charges on Kurt’s credit card. The most recent attempted charge occurred this morning, April 8, 1994, on the day that Kurt’s body was found. This would ultimately be the last attempt made.
At circa 10:15 AM, three Seattle Police officers arrive at the scene. The door to the greenhouse is locked, via a push-lock, meaning that technically anyone could have locked it and then closed the door behind them. The Fire Department arrives a few minutes later and breaks the glass of the door so that the officers can get in. Within minutes official documents are written indicating that this is the scene of a suicide. The police records reveal that Kurt’s car, a Volvo, has four flat tires. There is no follow-up on this. The police officers remove Kurt’s wallet and set out his driver’s license. There is a tray with dirt and plant bulbs. In this tray is a note that was written on the back of an IHOP menu. The note had a red pen stuck through it. The police automatically claim this is a suicide note and they note in the police records that it was directed to Courtney Love.
On the floor there is Kurt’s jacket, the cigar box with drug paraphernalia, a lighter, a pack of cigarettes and cigarette butts, two towels, sunglasses, a 2/3 full can of root beer, a paper bag full of shot gun shells, and a wad of cash totalling $120.
In the pockets of Kurt’s jacket is the receipt for the shotgun.
In Kurt’s pants pockets there is a note with an address for a gun shop, a note with the model of shotgun and type of ammo needed, various papers, an address planner book, a receipt for his plane ticket, and $63 in cash.
The shotgun was fully loaded.
According to the police reports there were marks on Kurt’s hands proving that Kurt fired the weapon. Sgt. Cameron, the lead detective on the case, would later claim that this part of the police record is not accurate and that there were no marks on Kurt’s hands.
The SeaFirst credit card that should have been on the body was missing. It has never been located.
At 11:05 AM, coroners arrive to the scene. Dr. Nikolas Hartshorne examines and photographs the body and informs homicide detectives that have arrived that this is a suicide. Information is leaked to the media that Kurt has indeed killed himself.
Courtney Love is released from jail and flies back to Seattle. Grant calls Courtney Love and talks to her. According to Grant, Courtney behaves as if she thinks Kurt died the night before yet is not angry that no one found Kurt.
Tom Grant calls the Seattle Police to voice his suspicions on the case. Grant is brushed off by claims implying it had to be a suicide because the door was locked from the inside and the fire department had to break the glass to get in. (The doors were the “push-lock” variety meaning that anyone could lock them and shut the doors on their way out.)
Tom Grant flies back to LA.
****Note: Dylan would later tell reporters that he didn’t even know about the greenhouse.
****Note: A police officer would later tell the media that Kurt Cobain took out his driver’s license before killing himself so that his body could be identified. This was not true. Sgt. Cameron, the lead detective on the case, claims it was just a “rookie error”.
April 13, 1994 –
Tom Grant Meets With Rosemary Carrol – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On April 13, 1994, independent journalist Richard Lee speaks to Seattle Police Department spokesperson, Vinette Tichi. According to Lee, Tichi claims that Kurt’s death was a suicide and that there was a suicide attempt a month previous. Richard Lee would be the first person to go public with accusations that Kurt Cobain was murdered after he uncovered evidence that the Seattle Police department and the media were spreading false information concerning the circumstances of Kurt’s death.
Tom Grant meets with Rosemary Carrol, Kurt and Courtney’s entertainment attorney and then godmother of Frances. According to Grant, Rosemary Carrol tells Grant the following;
– Kurt was not suicidal.
– Kurt called her and asked her to have a new will drawn up excluding Courtney Love.
– Courtney Love called her asking her to get the “meanest most vicious divorce attorney” she could find.
– Courtney Love inquired of her if it was possible to get out of the prenup she had with Kurt.
– After Kurt’s body was found Rosemary Carrol found it suspicious that Courtney would not let anyone see the actual suicide note.
– Rosemary Carrol claims that despite what Courtney Love said, that she had no business to attend to in California. All of the business on her new album was already completed.
– Rosemary Carrol claims she specifically heard Courtney Love tell Dylan Carlson to check the closet for the shotgun and check the greenhouse. Both Courtney and Dylan deny this.
– Courtney Love left a backpack at her house. When Rosemary picked it up some papers fell out. One of the papers appeared to be a practice sheet for forgery. It had letters written out in different styles. The second sheet of paper was a “to do” list that included the phrase, “get arrested”.
– Rosemary Carrol believed that Courtney may have called the police on herself to purposefully get herself arrested.
-Rosemary Carrol would later tell Grant that it is her belief that the suicide note was cobbled together or traced from various things Kurt had written in the past.
-Rosemary Carrol would later state that the note that Michael DeWitt left on the stairs seemed phony, as if it was planted specifically for Grant to find.
-Rosemary asks Grant to continue digging into Kurt’s death and Grant agrees. Rosemary Carrol asks Grant not to tell Courtney Love anything about what she has told him.
At circa 6:30 PM, Tom Grant takes a flight back out to Seattle.
April 14, 1994 –
The Heroin Level And The Carnation Property – Kurt Cobain Death Timeline
On April 14, 1994, the Seattle Post Intellengencer published an article with information on the level of blood morphine in Kurt’s system at death (heroin is transformed into morphine in the body). An anonymous source from the King’s County Medical Examiner’s office leaked the figure of 1.52 mg/l. This is 3 times the average lethal dose seen at autopsy. In addition to the heroin, diazepam (Valium) was also found in Kurt’s system.
April 14, 1994, is listed as the day that Kurt Cobain was cremated. His ashes would later be divided up and scattered in multiple places and a portion was used to create Buddhist statues. Courtney also kept a portion for herself. Some of the ashes would be sprinkled around a tree at the Seattle home. These ashes were allegedly recovered after Courtney moved out and sold the house.
The police speak to the taxi driver who was called to the Seattle home on April 1, 1994. The driver could not identify the passenger but included the detail that he had dark hair. The driver admits he has been called to the home on several occasions.
On April 14, 1994, Tom Grant returned to the Seattle home and met with Courtney Love and Kurt’s mother, Wendy. According to Grant, Wendy was friendly and open to him at first and voiced her concern over why Dylan didn’t search the greenhouse. Later Grant claimed that Courtney came up to Wendy and whispered something to her. From that time on Grant felt that Wendy responded coldly to him. Later when Grant would ask to speak to Wendy, Wendy allegedly refused and said she had nothing to say to Grant.
Grant claims that Courtney asked him to come upstairs with her. Courtney talked about events while sitting on her bed. Grant claims he took advantage of the opportunity and was able to trick Courtney into allowing him to both see the alleged suicide note and make a copy of it. After Grant made a copy of it he claims Courtney’s demeanor changed and that she seemed upset. She then asked Grant to go back downstairs and wait for her. Grant believes she was upset because she knew he had tricked her.
Later that day Grant pressured Courtney to go with him to search the Carnation property. Courtney had convinced the police that while Kurt was missing he was actually at the Carnation property. The Carnation property consisted of an unfurnished mansion that was Courtney’s and a small cabin by a pond that was Kurt’s. Courtney finally agreed and a gang of people is formed to all go together to search the Carnation property. The gang included Courtney Love, Tom Grant, Eric Erlandson (Hole), and Kat Bjelland (Babes In Toyland). Grant claims that before they left Courtney pulled Eric Erlandson aside into another room and talked to him. Eric then left the home. Grant claims he then asked Courtney about Eric leaving as Eric was supposed to go with them to the Carnation property. Grant claims that Courtney told him that Eric will go on ahead of them and meet them at the property. Grant, Courtney, and Bjelland set out for the Carnation property. During the trip Courtney got lost driving to her own property. She then insisted on stopping for snacks twice. During one of the stops Grant hears on the radio a report that Kurt’s death was part of a failed “suicide pact” between Kurt & Courtney.* When they arrived at the Carnation property Eric Erlandson was no where to be seen and he never showed up while the trio were there.*
Courtney Love calls her friend Det. Terry from Grant’s cell phone.
The trio decided to search the cabin first. According to Grant, there was no sign that anyone had recently stayed in the cabin and the cabin itself was covered in moss. There were dead rats in the toilette. Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland decided to go upstairs to search. Within a few minutes they returned. Grant claims Courtney opens her coat and pulls out a cloth pouch. Inside the cloth pouch is a syringe. Courtney insisted this was proof that Kurt had been at the cabin while he was missing.*
The trio then searched the unfurnished mansion. Inside they find a sleeping bag, soda pop cans, and cigarette butts. Grant claims that Courtney insisted on having the items fingerprinted.
After arriving back at the Seattle home Eric Erlandson returned. Grant told Courtney he wants to speak to Dylan Carlson and Michael Dewitt. Courtney Love asks Eric Erlandson to call Michael DeWitt to have him fly back as he was out of town. Dylan Carlson comes over but before Grant could speak with him he goes upstairs to talk to Courtney. When he came back downstairs it was obvious that Dylan had shot up heroin. He nods off in the middle of being questioned. Grant asks Eric Erlandson to call him when Michael DeWitt arrives and then leaves. Grant claims that later that night he called the Seattle home and talked to Eric Erlandson. Grant claims that Eric told him that right after Grant left that Courtney called Michael DeWitt and told him not to fly back.
COURTNEY LOVE IS ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL CELEBRITIES. SHE IS FAMOUS FOR HER PUNK ROCK MUSIC, HARD DRUG USE AND THE MANY ACCUSATIONS OF FOUL PLAY THAT SURROUND THE ALLEGED SUICIDE OF HER LATE HUSBAND, KURT COBAIN.
MOST PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW ABOUT COURTNEY LOVE’S LONG AND SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH SEATTLE LAW ENFORCEMENT A RELATIONSHIP THAT COMPROMISED THE INVESTIGATION INTO HER HUSBAND’S DEATH, AND PERHAPS RUINED ANY CHANCE OF EVER KNOWING WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO KURT COBAIN.
THE SPD’S LEAD DETECTIVE, SGT. DON CAMERON, COURTNEY’S FRIEND, CONCURRED SHE TOLD TOM GRANT (THAT SHE HIRED TO FIND KURT) SHE GOT “BROWNIE POINTS” FOR TIPPING OFF HIS COLLEAGUE, NARCOTICS DETECTIVE ANTONIO TERRY, ABOUT SEATTLE DEALERS, SOME OF THEM HER OWN. IN TURN, CAMERON PROVIDED HER HELPFUL PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. WHEN SHE SHOWED HIM KURT’S ROME “DIVORCE” LETTER, CALLING IT SUICIDAL, THE DETECTIVE ADVISED HER, ACCORDING TO WALLACE AND HALPERIN, “THIS WILL NEVER DO YOU ANY GOOD. I’D GET RID OF THIS IF I WERE YOU.”
Matthew Richer
Recently, investigative journalist Matthew Richer unearthed a more complete version of the March 18th disturbance call when he contacted Seattle Police Department Detective Everett Edwards for an interview.
A veteran of the force 21 years, Detective Edwards is recognized throughout the Seattle community. His current position is the detective in charge of the Seattle Police Department’s Property Recovery Unit.
He was the first patrol officer on the scene at Lake Washington that fateful evening on March 18th, 1994.
Grant claims that while he was working for Courtney Love he came across the suicide note that Cobain wrote for Courtney Love. He believes that the letter reads as a note announcing he is leaving his wife and the music business.
not as a farewell to life.
He claims the final few lines at the bottom – which do imply suicide – were added afterwards by an unknown individual.
But the more Tom Grant discovered, the more he became convinced that the official cause of death was wrong. Grant believes that he found important inconsistencies in the case. For instance, Grant said Cobain’s credit card appeared to have been used after his death:
“There was an attempt made on April 6, there was another attempt made on April 8th. Kurt had died sometime on April 5, the previous Tuesday. Who was using the credit card?”
Kurt’s wallet was found by medical examiners and re-positioned for a picture of his driver’s license. The wallet was NOT left by Kurt in this position.
But Grant didn’t find Cobain soon enough. His lifeless body was discovered by an electrician working at Cobain’s Seattle home three days after he died. Tom Grant said that the police told him that the death was a suicide:
“I contacted the police the day the body was found. They basically told me on the phone, ‘Hey, we know a suicide when we see a suicide.’
Stool / Door
“Courtney asked us, of course, not to contact him, not to make any contact with him, just to report back where he was and what was going on.”
There has been some controversy because one does not have to be an expert to notice the last lines are written in a different way than the rest of the note. Some claim the gross of the note was a note written by Cobain with no suicide intentions, and that the last lines were forged in order to make the note “a suicide letter”. On April 8th, 1994, the Seattle Police Department made a copy of the note for the Cobain family. The real note was sent to the forensic document examiner of the Washington State Patrol, Janis J. Parker, who spent 2 weeks analysing the sheet of paper. That weekend, Tom Grant asked Cobain’s widow to see the copy of the note. Grant faxed the copy to his phone number, leaking the note to the media. As a result, the leaked note is a copy of the copy of the real note. On April 22nd, 1994 Parker determined that the note was written by Mr Cobain. Since Grant was not satisfied with the results, in 1997 the television show “Unsolved Mysteries” asked expert Reginald Alton to analyse the leaked note. Alton said there was a suspicion of a second hand involved, but “the copies are not good enough to make any firm pronouncement”. As it was stated above, the real note (penned in red ink) is needed to complete the analysis. The meaning of the note has been discussed too. Grant believes that the gross of the note was a retirement letter because Cobain shares how he felt like a rock star. However, Cobain not only expresses concerns about his career in the music business, but he also shares details of his family (wife and daughter) and of his persona (feeling hate and empathy towards all humans), information the casual Nirvana fan does not have to know to understand “a retirement letter”. The following extract does not match the personality of a rational person who just wants to leave a job: “Jesus man! Why don’t you just enjoy it? I don’t know. I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what I used to be. Full of love and joy kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can’t stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable self-destructive, death rocker that I’ve become. I have it good, very good, and I’m grateful, but since the age of seven, I’ve become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along, and have empathy. Empathy! Only because I love and feel for people too much I guess“ . There are numerous possibilities to explain why there is a change in handwriting. For example, Cobain wrote the gross of the note while he was sober and added the suspicious lines while being intoxicated. Another possibility is that given Cobain’s ambidextrously he changed his usual writing with the right hand to the left as a consequence, for example, of feeling pain in the right hand. As a conclusion, it can be said that the most rational option, for people who choose to believe in the reliability of pseudo-science, is to believe in what the only expert who has ever analysed the real note determined.
The stool was another piece of evidence that was used in the favor of the suicide theory. The media, and one of the police reports state that stool was propped up against the door to be used as some sort of lock when that was not the case. John Fisk, First responder on the scene says when he arrived the door was locked, but simply by twisting the lock shut and closing the door behind them the door could easily be locked by someone not inside the room.
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
In March 2014, the Seattle Police Department developed four rolls of film that had been left in an evidence vault. According to the Seattle police, the photographs depict the scene of Cobain’s corpse more clearly than previous Polaroid images taken by the police. Detective Mike Ciesynski, a cold case investigator, was asked to look at the film because “it is 20 years later and it’s a high media case”. Ciesynski stated that the official cause of Cobain’s death remains suicide and that the images would not be released to the public, but in 2016, the images were released. According to a spokesperson for the Seattle police, the department receives at least one request weekly, mostly through Twitter, to reopen the investigation. This resulted in the maintenance of the basic incident report on file.
‘Lasting Memory’ – The Lake Washington greenhouse was reportedly demolished by 1998. (Photo seattlepi)
MEDIA INVOLVEMENT
The media spread the information that Kurt Cobain left the rehab center, then bought a gun and was suicidal. Kurt wasn’t suicidal and he and his friend purchased the gun before Kurt left. If Kurt wanted to end his own life, why didn’t he do this on the day he and his friend bought the gun? Why wait to go to rehab? And why go to rehab in the first place if he was so ‘suicidal?’
The Seattle Post-Intelligence reported that Cobain “was shot once in the left ear.” But in a nationally televised photo that shows the rear right shoulder of Cobain’s body, not one drop of blood can be seen on Cobain’s white shirt or on the floor around him. If Cobain was shot in the left ear or anywhere else on his head, the right side of his body should have been covered with blood. Despite these inconsistencies, Dr.Hartshorne, issued a death certificate citing as cause of death a “perforating gunshot wound to the head (mouth).” If this is true, all the blood must have exited from the left side of his body. More importantly, this specious death certificate allowed Courtney Love to cremate Cobain’s body only one week after it was discovered, thus permanently destroying the most important piece of evidence in the investigation. In response to media incredulity over the mystery wound, in June 1994 the medical examiner’s office modified its verdict by saying that there actually was “no exit wound” and that “all of the shot stayed inside the skull.” Dr. Hartshorne and his colleague Dr. Donald Reay then released a remarkable document that says Cobain suffered both a “contact penetrating shotgun wound to the head” and a “contact perforating shotgun wound to the head.” But a “penetrating” wound is one where the bullet enters, but does not exit the body. A “perforating” wound is one where the bullet both enters and exits the body. Why couldn’t they make up their minds?
MISSING PERSONS REPORT
.Love had filed a missing person’s report using her mother-in-law’s name, Wendy O’Connor, on April 4th.
This falsely filed report claimed that Cobain had recently ‘fled’ from drug rehab in Marina Del Ray on April 1st, flew back to Seattle, quickly purchased a shotgun, and “may be suicidal.”
MISSING PERSONS REPORT
Love would later admit she filed the report impersonating Cobain’s mother Wendy O’ Connor, which has led some critics of the case to believe that her assertions about her husband’s state of mind may not be accurate, and could also be a convenient red herring for the authorities and media alike.
In another article, published by Rolling Stone Magazine in June of 1994 by the well-known author Neil Strauss, there also appears to be some glaring misconceptions with regard to not only the evening of March 18th – but of Cobain’s accidental overdose in Rome on March 4th, just two weeks before the March 18th police call. The article characterized that Cobain’s overdose in Rome, was a “failed suicide attempt, however, this media analysis differed quite a bit from Dr. Osvaldo Galleta, the attending doctor who treated Cobain:
“We can usually tell a suicide attempt, “He did not seem like a young man who wanted to end it all.” Adding that Cobain, “will fully recover with no lingering problems.”
The Rome incident, has often been cited as additional evidence of Cobain’s alleged ‘mental state’ and in many ways, it has also been grafted onto the events of March 18th and his eventual death, but without any serious qualification. This becomes even more clear, when you consider the Rolling Stone article written by Strauss, confidently proclaiming that the “domestic dispute escalated into a near disaster,” on the evening of March 18th. Both the incident in Rome and the March 18th disturbance call, set the stage for an intervention held for Cobain on March 25th. How much of a factor did both events play in Cobain being urged to go to rehab? More recently, with the release of the HBO co-produced documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (MOH) this past May, viewers were given a glimpse into the private life of Cobain via archival footage and other previously unreleased material. Although the ‘authorized’ documentary-drama had been billed by its creators as a celebration of Cobain’s life, the film was laced with what seemed to be heavy speculative commentary and well-edited emotionally charged interviews – all focusing on Cobain’s perceived ‘suicidal’ tendencies – without ever challenging, much less mentioning, the forensic details of the singer’s death.
Cobain, lead singer and guitarist for the grunge rock band Nirvana, was found dead Friday at his Seattle home of a self-inflicted shotgun blast to the head.
Cobain, 27, went into a coma for nearly 24 hours after the Rome overdose. His record company, David Geffen Co., said he inadvertently overdosed on a mix of prescription medication and alcohol while suffering from severe influenza and fatigue.
The Times said Cobain, a sensitive man uncomfortable with his stardom, took drugs like low-level opiates, tranquilizers and, at times, heroin, to block depression and ease stomach pains that plagued him for years and were aggravated by touring.
On March 18, after Cobain had returned to his luxury home overlooking Seattle’s Lake Washington, he locked himself in a room, and Love told police she feared a suicide.
Police found three pistols, a rifle and 25 boxes of ammunition, but Cobain denied he was suicidal and told officers he had locked himself in the room after an argument with Love. Police confiscated the weapons, but took no other action.
Love went to Los Angeles on March 25 to prepare for the release of a new album by her band, Hole. She urged Cobain to come with her and check into a recovery program.
He initially stayed in Seattle, the Times said, but gave in and on March 28, checked into a recovery program at Marina del Rey, Calif.
Three days later, he left the facility without warning. Love, fearful that he was in a suicidal depression, hired private investigators to find him, but they were unsuccessful, the newspaper said.
Cobain’s body was discovered Friday by an electrician who had come to install a security system in his home.
Police said the shotgun Cobain used to kill himself was lent to him by a friend. They said the friend, who wasn’t identified, purchased the gun with Cobain’s money.
In a recent interview, Love told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that she had become increasingly frustrated with police inability to shut down Cobain’s drug sources.
She said she gave information to Seattle police about a person who regularly provided Cobain with drugs. “It’s like apples in an orchard,” Love said. “It’s falling off the … trees. … The Seattle police won’t do anything about it. I asked them, ‘Don’t you get embarrassed when you (hear) that Seattle is famous for grunge, cappuccino and heroin?’ “
Narcotics Capt. Dan Bryant wouldn’t comment Tuesday on what he described as an ongoing investigation.
More Mythology in Rome?
On April 8th, 1994
Cobain’s body was discovered. It was a Friday. That same afternoon, a police spokesman informed the media that the medical examiner was going to perform toxicology tests to know if there were drugs in Cobain’s system. The spokesman also said that the results were going to be available in about 3 weeks, and since private medical records cannot be disclosed, only officers involved in the investigation and Cobain’s relatives were going to know them. On April 13th, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a Seattle based newspaper, claims to have spoken with a source close to the investigation. The next day, an article with the headline “Cobain lay dead for 3 days” is published claiming the source said Cobain had 1,52 mg/l of morphine in his system and that there were traces of diazepam (Valium). It is possible that the source disclosed the results of the first test, which is instantaneous, but it is impossible that in less than in a couple of days officials knew the exact quantity of morphine present in Cobain’s system. Considering morphine, the substance heroin turns into when metabolized, remains in the system up to 3 days after the last take, and diazepam remains up to 5 days, it is impossible to know if Cobain injected himself a dose of heroin before dying or if his last take was 3 days before his death. Regarding diazepam, Cobain was in a rehab facility in Marina del Rey, CA. In this facility, he was given Valium for the last time in the afternoon of April 1st. It is possible that the traces of diazepam found in his system were just the remains of the Valium ingestion while staying at the rehab facility.
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
(all the police reports from the months before kurts death & reports of his death)
DET. MIKE CIESYNSKI
I had no involvement in the original investigation aside from taking a taped statement two years after Cobain’s death. I also knew that a couple rolls of 35 mm film, backup evidence photos from the death scene, were never processed. So, I ordered up the case file from our records vault, closed my private office door and read the entire file for the first time One of the original case detectives, Steve Kirkland, had passed away, as did the scene sergeant Don Cameron. Steve and his partner Jim Yoshida were the best homicide detectives in the unit. Jim was retired, so I gave him a call and told him what I was up to. Jim told me that Courtney Love was very cooperative throughout the investigation and that they had spent a lot of time on the case. I asked Jim who had made the decision not to develop all of the film. He said it was Cameron’s call to not develop the film and to have it placed in the records room safe along with the case file so that no one would swipe anything. Obviously, the media attention was making a few folks a little paranoid. Dr. Nikolas Hartshome was the assistant medical examiner who conducted the autopsy. Nick was a great guy who passed away in 2002. When I received the autopsy report I remembered leaning back in my chair and giving a “whoa” after seeing the morphine level Kurt had in his system. It also showed track marks, and there were several grams of black tar heroin left in his kit. Black tar heroin is found on the west coast west of the Mississippi as compared to Brown or white heroin found on the eastern part of the U.S. I knew I had to develop the film. The supervisor of the crime lab grimaced when I explained it was 20 years old. Film becomes deteriorates with each passing year and becomes very brittle — something I know from working old cold cases — and I wasn’t about to let the film get anymore fouled on my watch. We would have to take the film to the sheriff’s photo unit since Seattle Police Department stopped developing 35mm film since transitioning to digital. Once developed, it was obvious the film had deteriorated, leaving a green tint to all of the photos. The note recovered from the scene was examined by a Washington State Patrol Forensic Document Examiner who concluded the note was written by Cobain. Detectives Kirkland and Yoshida had met with Kurt’s mother, Wendy O’Connor, and showed her the note. She had said she believed the note was written by Cobain. Det. Mike Cieysinski is pictured holding the shotgun I also decided to have a look at the shotgun. Some conspiracy theorists had suggested that Seattle Police Department had turned the shotgun over to Courtney Love or had destroyed it. When the rusted weapon was brought to me and after I inspected it, I had a warehouseman photograph me holding the weapon. Did I find any earth-shattering evidence that would change the medical examiner’s conclusion that Kurt committed suicide? No. In fact, I found evidence that strengthened that finding. I located the receipt of the purchased shotgun shells from a Seattle Gun store that matched the time and location where a Seattle cab driver said he dropped off a male matching Cobain’s description after picking him up from the Cobain residence. Also, when I had questions about the positioning of the shotgun found in Cobain’s hand and the location of the spent shell casing, I interviewed an experienced weapons armorer who explained the dynamics of what had likely occurred. Why would a millionaire musician with a bright future of unlimited potential take his own life? I wish we could ask all the the others who have done so who have seemed outwardly “fine.” “He or she would never commit suicide,” is one of the most common things we hear when working a case that turns out to be a suicide. It has been my experience as a homicide detective that depression is the most
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
Dr. Cyril Wecht
In this interview Dr. Wecht talks about different aspects of his expertise and renders his opinion on the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
The musician died in 1994 at the age of twenty-seven. The official ruling of suicide has been publicly questioned since the week after the news broke of Mr. Cobain’s death.
(1) Why do you believe that Mr Cobain’s death was a homicide staged as a suicide?
I have never seen a case of someone with such an exceptionally high level of heroin, enough to kill a lot of people, who were able to do what the authorities say Kurt Cobain did. It does not make any sense at all from a physiological, neurological or psychological standpoint. Number one, that he would inject himself with such a huge amount of heroin and then take all of the assembly used to inject the drug and clean them and carefully put them back into the special little case: the needle, the syringe, and then set it aside, and then in this state of bliss and contentment, which is why these drug addicts take these drugs – to then pick up the shotgun and shoot himself. It is just absurd. Most of these people die with the needle still in them, the tourniquet on their arm, or the needle and syringe lying close by. Or they recover after a state of unconsciousness. Or they are resuscitated if someone is called to the scene. But for someone to make this injection and then take apart everything and put it back into a case carefully and take a shotgun and shoot themselves, it is just – I have never seen anything like that.
(2) Are you aware of any recorded cases of deceased persons with the blood morphine level comparable to Mr. Cobain’s?
I have seen some cases with a very high level. But this certainly was in a very high range. Of course, addicts develop what is called tolerance and they can handle a much larger dose than people who are not long-term addicts, so it is not the quantity alone. It is the circumstances that go along with that kind of quantity. As I already said, what was there at the scene, and then the commission of suicide itself needs to be considered. If you take the drug, the drug at that level probably is going to lead you into a state of semi-consciousness very quickly. And what is the purpose of taking the drug if you are going to kill yourself? The reason people take these drugs is to make themselves feel much more placid much more contented, to eliminate troubled feelings, their sense of depression, anxiety or whatever it may be. So it just does not fit.
(3) You have also expressed some doubts about the position of the shotgun on Mr. Cobain’s body.
Yes. The position of the shotgun did not fit either with someone having shot himself with a shotgun. That was very important too. When you go to a scene and you have someone who has been found shot you have to be very careful. This leads me to another big point which is that the scene was not at all properly investigated. They made a quick assumption of a very premature nature that it was a suicide. You do not do that. You treat every case as if it were homicide and most of the time it will prove to be a suicide or maybe an accident. The percentage of homicides will below, but you make sure that you treat it as one. You collect everything that you can: footprints, fingerprints, trace evidence, physical evidence, hair, and so on. And then if it all proves to be unnecessary, the only thing is that you have spent some time, some energy. But this was not done, and the scene was not properly investigated.
(4) In your practice how often have you come across staged suicides?
Not frequently, but I have dealt with several over the years. In fact, I will be testifying in one in the next couple of weeks in Philadelphia. So, while they are not frequent, they do occur. It is just not something that you would never see. I have dealt with a couple dozen over the years in which I rendered reports and testified. Could you walk us through the proper procedure of determining the cause and manner of death, the role of the police department and the medical examiner in the process, as well as the sequence and timeline for the process? The procedures are very straightforward. Homicide detectives are called to the scene, not just plain regular cops.
Number two: forensic scientists are called. Criminalists come to the scene before anything is touched or moved. The forensic pathologist if available should go, but certainly a forensic scientist, to look for physical evidence and collect it before anybody else contaminates the scene. Then photographs are taken with everything in place before anything is moved. After all, that is done, and it may take hours, the body is taken to the medical examiner’s office, photographs are taken there, and then the body is examined. Things may be collected for further studying externally like hair and fingernails and so on. And testing is done to see if there is any evidence of the individual having fired a weapon, by testing the hands and fingers and so on. After all that is done, the autopsy is done in great detail, with emphasis, of course,on the shotgun wound itself in terms of the angle, the trajectory and determining the distance that the muzzle would be away from the body.
(5) You walked us through the proper procedure and now how was this procedure not followed in Mr. Cobain’s case?
The scene was not properly investigated by homicide detectives and by criminalists. There was no detailed study and examination of the physical surroundings. The body was just moved and taken to the medical examiner’s office so those things were not done.
(6) What can be done to have this case reinvestigated now?
The legal next of kin would have to become very active in pushing for this. There isn’t any process available to have this case reinvestigated by another agency? No, it would have to come from law enforcement. There is no statute of limitations on homicide, so from a legal standpoint you could revisit, but it would have to emanate from the district attorney or a law enforcement agency. Dr. Nikolas Hartshorne signed Kurt Cobain’s death certificate calling his death a suicide one day after the body was discovered. This was despite the fact that the full toxicology results would not be available for weeks. Hartshorne was employed by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office on a fellowship. He had not yet taken the accreditation examination necessary to become a certified examiner. Hartshorne died in 2002 in a BASE jumping accident. Autopsy reports are not a matter of public record in Washington State, where Mr. Cobain died. Only the next of kin can request their copies. If you had access to Mr. Cobain’s autopsy report either because it was forwarded to you by his family or you found yourself in its possession in some other manner, would you be willing to examine it and render a professional opinion? read the full interview below
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
Director Benjamin Statler’s docudrama “Soaked In Bleach” ends with former Seattle Police chief Norm Stamper saying he would reopen the investigation into the death of Kurt Cobain, if he were calling the shots today. But Stamper was the guy in charge from 1994 to 2000, including the time of Cobain’s death. He now insists that Seattle Police should “have taken steps to study patterns involved in the behavior of key individuals who had a motive to see Kurt Cobain dead.” He went on to to say that, “If in fact Kurt Cobain was murdered, as opposed to having committed suicide, and it was possible to learn that, shame on us for not doing that. That was in fact our responsibility. It’s about right and wrong. It’s about honor. It’s about ethics.” Stamper hammered home his point, adding: “If we didn’t get it right the first time, we damn well better get it right the second time, and I would tell you right now if I were the Chief of Police, I would reopen this investigation.” The movie, which is told from the perspective of private investigator Tom Grant, (who was hired by Cobain’s wife Courtney Love to find her husband after he went missing from a rehab center in Los Angeles), is woven together through reenactments of the the hours of recorded conversations between Grant and Love, and interviews with experts who refuse to believe Cobain died by suicide.
The present-day Seattle Police Department do not share their sentiments. Last year, just before the 20th anniversary of Cobain’s death, rumors began flying that authorities were about to reopen an investigation after it was reported they had developed four rolls of film from the crime scene that had been sitting in an evidence vault. While the photos were released to the public, the Seattle PD made it very clear they were not reopening the case. “No change, no developments, no new leads,” a police spokeswoman said, while the department tweeted, “Our detective reviewed the case file anticipating questions surrounding the closed Cobain case as the 20 yr anniversary approaches.”
The movie addressed the undeveloped film and reenacts a scene in which Grant is told the photos will probably never be developed because they “don’t develop photos on suicides.” “Soaked In Bleach” goes on to claim that “by their negligent death investigation,” the Seattle Police:
Allowed Kurt Cobain to be cremated 6 days after being discovered. Waited 30 days to process the shotgun for fingerprints. Gave Courtney Love the shotgun to have it melted down. Allowed the greenhouse crime scene to be torn down and destroyed
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
interview with Nick about his thoughts on the movie Rivaling the tabloid documentaries of Nick Broomfield in the realm of boldness and imagination are personal, in house motives which propel him into ever more raw, nervy and in your face moviemaking. Broomfield revealed to me in an intriguing two-way conversation how he casts himself in his own fantasy scenarios as the embodiment of the modern adventurer, in the tradition of guys like Jack London and Melville. But the go for broke director of Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam and Aileen Wuornos: The Selling Of A Serial Killer may have met his match, not to mention his white whale, with Kurt And Courtney. Cobain widow and rocker Courtney Love went on the offensive against Broomfield and nearly succeeded in shutting his showdown through her corporate influences in the rock world. Of course, this just added fuel to Broomfield’s creative mission, and he explained why.
PRAIRIE MILLER:
After going through the whole experience of making Kurt And Courtney, what is your personal take on the reasons behind Kurt Cobain’s death?
NICK BROOMFIELD:
I think that he committed suicide. I don’t think that there’s a smoking gun. And I think there’s only one way you can explain a lot of things around his death. Not that he was murdered, but that there was just a lack of caring for him. I just think that Courtney had moved on, and he was expendable.
PM: Did the process of making this movie change any of your preconceived notions about either Kurt or Courtney?
NB: I fully expected Courtney to take part in the film, and to use it in a positive way to explain a lot of things that were being said about Kurt’s death. And I fully expected her to be very likeable and charismatic, in the same way for example that Heidi Fleiss was in my film about her. I was really astonished when Courtney tried to control the film. You know, with the BBC and MTV, and trying to block me from getting any of the music. I was really astonished and amazed. That gave a lot more credibility to some of the stories that people were saying about her. I thought a lot of the things that were being said were very extreme, but after a while, I came to believe them. And that was directly borne out of my own experiences in making this film. It was really like a diary. I didn’t go into this thinking anything negative at all about Courtney. It was actually made with a lot of reluctance. I mean, for me it would have been much more satisfying to make a film about someone whom I could say, all these bad things are being said, but she’s such a wonderful person. I didn’t get any satisfaction out of making what I believe to be a truthful, but very dark portrait of someone.
PM: Is she still harassing you in any way?
NB: No.
PM: She gave up?
NB: Yeah.
PM: And what about your preconceived notions related to Kurt Cobain?
NB: With him, it was probably the opposite. The people who were close to him were incredibly moved by him. And I think he was a very sensitive character who grew up under very difficult conditions. You know, he grew up in a logging town among big, tough loggers, and he was a very sensitive creature. He was an artist. He wrote poems and painted. He liked to play his guitar and didn’t fit in, and he frequently got beaten up. He didn’t really have a mother past the age of eight or nine and was shunted around between friends and relatives. You know, he was a lonely, unhappy child, and he really moved a lot of people. I think women wanted to mother him. I think there was a heart in him that really cried out for help, and women especially responded to that.
Filmmaker Nick Broomfield,
IᑎTEᖇᐯIEᗯ ᗷETᗯEEᑎ ᑎIᑕK & ᗪYᒪᗩᑎ ᑕᗩᖇᒪSOᑎ
In the film, Kurt and Courtney Nick Broomfield interviewed Dylan Carlson. His introduction to this interview is as follows:
“I found Dylan to be evasive and in a very defensive position. As Kurt’s best friend it was crazy for him to have bought the gun if he thought Kurt was suicidal. At the same time, he didn’t want to appear to be supporting Tom Grant’s murder theory…..”
Broomfield:
And what about his relationship with Courtney?
Carlson:
Um, obviously it was going through turbulence, some turbulence. Whether it was going to end or not we don’t know. I don’t think we ever will, I mean, you know, but I mean all marriages go through their ups and downs.
Broomfield:
Did he ever say anything to you about, I mean, he did say it to plenty of other people…
Carlson:
Said what?
Broomfield:
That he was going to finish the relationship.
Carlson:
Divorce? I mean, he never, he flat out said anything like that or any implication about it to me, you know. I mean, he didn’t even make any hints as far as I know about any kind of divorce or anything like that.
Broomfield:
I mean, it’s like, I’m just saying it’s like, why?…
I mean, if you are his best friend and he didn’t say anything about being depressed or suicidal, he just wanted the gun for prowlers, and that Rome was just an accident, you know, maybe you would think also he could have been murdered?
Carlson:
Mmm, why? I mean, who? I mean, it’s like…..
Broomfield:
Well if you were his best friend and he never said anything about anything being wrong, and he’d seen you just before- you know, maybe Tom Grant is right, maybe he was murdered.
Carlson:
But I mean he doesn’t have to say anything about it being wrong. I mean, it’s like, you know, when you are friends with someone there is like subtler forms of information transfer than just flat out, you know…
Broomfield:
So what did he subtly communicate to you?.
Carlson:
Broomfield:
I’m just trying to get a sense of what he did communicate to you. What you understood.
Carlson:
I mean, the thing is it’s like, the time he would have been communicating any sort of, you know, a sense that he wanted to kill himself was already….was when he came back from Exodus when I didn’t see him, you know.
Broomfield:
But if you bought the gun before he went and you think he was now suicidal.
.. Carlson:
I don’t think he was necessarily like planning to kill himself at that point necessarily, I mean, I don’t know though…I mean…
Broomfield:
It was just a coincidence.
Carlson:
I mean, it’s like if he had been totally like suicidal from the outset he would have used the gun that day probably, you know what I mean, why did he like try to go down and go through treatment?
Broomfield:
Why do you think?
Carlson:
You know, well ’cos there was all the fucking pressure on him to go through treatment. His wife is telling him he needs to go through treatment, his record company, his management, you know. So he goes and he tries to get off drugs and he can’t or he doesn’t want to. I mean it’s like basically, he doesn’t want to cos it’s like, you know, there is no reason for him to get off drugs. You know, it’s not like he’s poverty-stricken and robbing grocery stores to supply his habit.
Broomfield:
But how was Courtney telling him to be off drugs when she was on them anyway?
Carlson:
I dunno, ’cos she was the one who was all gung-ho for him to quit. I mean, they were both constantly like, I mean, trying to hide it from one another. I mean, the most ridiculous example was one time Kurt called me up to get some speed and then the other line rang and I answered the other line and it was Courtney asking me to get her dope, and both of them were like, “Oh, don’t let the other one know (smiles), I mean.
. Broomfield:
I don’t know what I think about the whole murder conspiracy.
Carlson:
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
NORM STAMPER & THE SEATTLE PD
Put it this way, if I seriously thought Kurt had been murdered, the people… if I thought Courtney was involved or if I thought, they would be dead now, flat out( small laugh.) I would kill them. If I thought that was the case, I mean,…
Broomfield:
But don’t you think it’s curious that if Courtney, as you said, loved Kurt so much, and she was really so worried about him, she knew he had a gun and thought he was suicidal. That she didn’t come up to Seattle to look for him? At this point, Carlson looks thoughtful but says nothing.
Nick Broomfield, deciding to investigate the theories himself, brought a film crew to visit a number of people associated with both Cobain and Love, including Love’s estranged father, Cobain’s aunt, and one of the couples’ former nannielsThe Mentors’ bandleader Eldon “El Duce” Hoke, who claimed that Love had offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain.
Although Hoke claimed that he knew who killed Cobain, he did not mention a name and offered no evidence to support his assertion. However, he mentioned speaking to someone called “Allen” (Allen Wrench), before quickly interjecting, “I mean, my friend”, then laughing, “I’ll let the FBI catch him.”
Broomfield incidentally captured Hoke’s final interview, as he died days later when he was struck by a train in the middle of the night. Although El Duce passed a lie detector test no action was taken & his death was ruled an accident.https://www.youtube.com/embed/QRlxE03c5Rk?wmode=transparent
Jessica was at Kurt’s home quite possibly the day he died, and Rene was also a friend. I ran across some entries from Everett True’s book, Nirvana. Check out these excerpts from Cali DeWitt’s girlfriend at the time, Jessica Hopper, and Rene. The excerpts below are from Everett True’s Bookhttps://www.youtube.com/embed/bFYtxlp2IeQ?wmode=transparent
HANK HARRISON
Hank Harrison, Courtney love’s father was not afraid to have his say about what he thinks happened to Kurt, he never openly blames Courtney but believes she was involved. Which he goes to great detail on Kurt & Courtney story in his latest book “love kills” which is a great read for any Nirvana fan.https://www.youtube.com/embed/m-7XveiIFs0?wmode=transparent
On April 8, shortly before 9 a.m., Kurt Cobain’s body was found in a greenhouse above the garage of his Seattle home. Across his chest lay the 20-gauge shotgun with which the 27-year-old singer, guitarist and songwriter ended his life. Cobain had been missing for six days.
Gary Smith, an electrician installing a security system in the house, discovered Cobain dead. “At first I thought it was a mannequin,” Smith said afterward. “Then I noticed it had blood in the right ear. Then I saw a shotgun lying across the chest, pointing up at his chin.”
Though the police, a private-investigation firm and friends were on the trail, his body had been lying there for two and a half days, according to a medical-examiner’s report. A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were found in Cobain’s bloodstream. He was identifiable only by his fingerprints.
Mark Lanegan, a member of Screaming Trees and a close friend of Cobain’s, says he didn’t hear from Cobain that last week. “Kurt hadn’t called me,” he says. “He hadn’t called some other people. He hadn’t called his family. He hadn’t called anybody.” Lanegan says he had been “looking for [Kurt] for about a week before he was found. . . . I had a feeling that something real bad had happened.”
Mark Lanegan and Cobain.
Cobain’s friends, family and associates had been worried about his depression and chronic drug use for years. “I was involved in trying to get Kurt professional help on numerous occasions,” says former Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg, now president of Atlantic Records. It wasn’t, however, until eight days after Cobain returned to Seattle from Rome to recuperate from a failed suicide attempt in March that those close to him realized that it was that it was time to resort to drastic measures. Cobain had gone “cuckoo,” says a spokesperson for Gold Mountain Entertainment, the company that manages Nirvana and Courtney Love’s band Hole.
Those who were friends with Cobain and his wife, Courtney Love, report an increase in domestic disputes during that period, including instances when Love was forced to spend nights away from the house in order to escape Cobain’s erratic behavior. Cobain had even told a few friends that he was worried Love was having an affair.
His relationship with Nirvana was just as rocky. In fact, Love told MTV that Cobain said to her in the weeks after Rome: “I hate it. I can’t play with them anymore.” She added that he only wanted to work with Michael Stipe of R.E.M.
“In the last few weeks, I was talking to Kurt a lot,” Stipe said in a statement. “We had a musical project in the works, but nothing was recorded.”
On March 18, a domestic dispute escalated into a near disaster. After police officers arrived at the scene, summoned by Love, she told them that her husband had locked himself in a room with a .38-caliber revolver and said he was going to kill himself. The officers confiscated that gun as well as a bottle of “assorted,” unidentified pills that the singer had on him. Love told the officers where Cobain had stashed a Beretta .380 handgun, a Taurus .38 handgun, a Colt semiautomatic rifle, and 25 boxes of ammunition, all of which were confiscated. Though, later that night, Cobain told officers that he hadn’t actually been planning to take his own life, the police report nonetheless described the incident as a “volatile situation with the threat of suicide.” No one was arrested, and Cobain “left the residence” afterward.
Four days later, Cobain and Love took a taxi from their home in Seattle’s Madrona neighborhood to the American Dream used-car lot near downtown Seattle. The taxi driver, Leon Hasson, says the couple fought the whole ride there. Still arguing, Cobain and Love entered the lot. According to lot owner Joe Kenney, Love was upset because, two days after they had purchased a Lexus on January 2, Cobain had returned it. Love wanted the car, but Cobain wanted something less ostentatious. Kenney adds that Love appeared unstable, and dropped several pills while walking toward a bathroom.
By this time, Cobain’s family members, band mates and management company, had begun talking to a number of intervention counselors about treating Cobain’s increasing heroin and psychological problems. One of these specialists was Steven Chatoff, executive director of Anacapa by the Sea, a behavioral health center for the treatment of addictions and psychological disorders, in Port Hueneme, Calif. “They called me to see what could be done,” says Chatoff. “He was using, up in Seattle. He was in full denial. It was very chaotic. And they were in fear for his life. It was a crisis.”
Chatoff began interviewing friends, family members and business associates in preparation for enacting a full-scale intervention. According to Chatoff, someone then tipped off Cobain, and the procedure had to be canceled. Nirvana’s management, Gold Mountain, claims that it found another intervention counselor and told Chatoff a small lie to turn down his services politely.
Meanwhile, Roddy Bottum, an old friend of Love and Cobain’s and the keyboardist for Faith No More, flew from San Francisco to Seattle to care for Cobain. “I really loved Kurt,” Bottum says, “and we got along really well. I was there to be with him as a friend.”
Nirvana guitarist Krist Novoselic staged his own separate intervention with Cobain, but the most grueling confrontation took place on March 25. That afternoon,, roughly 10 friends, including band mates Novoselic and Pat Smear, Nirvana manager John Silva, longtime friend Dylan Carlson, Love, Goldberg, and Janet Billig, manager of Love’s band Hole (Bottum had already gone home) gathered at Cobain’s home on Seattle’s Lake Washington Boulevard to take a different approach with a new intervention counselor. As part of the intervention, Love threatened to leave Cobain, and Smear and Novoselic said they would break up the band if Cobain didn’t check into rehab. At first, Cobain was unwilling to admit he had a drug problem, and did not believe that his recent behavior had been self-destructive. However, by the end of the tense five-hour session, Cobain’s resolve had weakened and he agreed to enter a detox program in Los Angeles later that day. He then retired to the basement with Smear, where they rehearsed some new material.
Cobain and Novoselic.
However, once at the Seattle airport, Cobain changed his mind and refused to board the flight. Love had hoped to coax Cobain into flying to Los Angeles with her so that the couple could check into rehab together. Instead, she wound up on a plane with Billig. (The couple’s daughter, Frances Bean, and a nanny followed the next day.) Love would say that she regretted leaving Cobain alone (“That ’80s tough-love bullshit, it doesn’t work,” she said in a taped message during a memorial vigil for Cobain two weeks later). After a stop in San Francisco, Billig and Love flew to Los Angeles, and on the morning of the 26th, Love checked into a $500-a-night suite in the Peninsula Hotel, in Beverly Hills, and began an outpatient program to detox from drugs (Gold Mountain says it was tranquilizers).
Back in Seattle that evening, Cobain stopped by a woman friend and drug dealer’s house in the upscale, bohemian Capitol Hill district. “Where are my friends when I need them?” she told a Seattle newspaper Cobain said to her. “Why are my friends against me?”
Capitol Hill neighborhood on the northeastern edge of downtown Seattle.
Cobain stayed in Seattle five more days before agreeing to go to Los Angeles for treatment on March 30th. Before leaving, he stopped by Dylan Carlson’s condominium in the Lake City area of Seattle to ask for a gun because, Carlson says Cobain told him, there were trespassers on his Madrona property.
“He seemed normal, we’d been talking,” Carlson, who was the best man at Cobain and Love’s wedding, says. “Plus, I’d loaned him guns before.” Though there is no registration or waiting period for shotguns in Seattle, Carlson believes Cobain didn’t want to buy the shotgun himself because he was afraid the police would confiscate it, since they had taken his other firearms after the domestic dispute that had occurred 12 days earlier.
Cobain and Carlson headed to Stan’s Gun Shop nearby and purchased a six-pound Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun and a box of ammunition for roughly $300, which Cobain gave Carlson in cash.
Cobain’s gun receipt from Stan’s Gun Shop, March 30, 1994.
“He was going out to L.A.,” Carlson says. “It seemed kind of weird that he was buying the shotgun before he was leaving. So I offered to hold on to it until he got back.” Cobain, however, insisted on keeping the shotgun himself. The police believe that Cobain brought the weapon home and stashed it in a closet. Novoselic reportedly drove Cobain to the airport. Smear and a Gold Mountain employee met Cobain in Los Angeles and drove him to the Exodus Recovery Center, in the Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital, in Marina del Rey, Calif. Cobain had spent four miserable days detoxing at Exodus in 1992, but left the center before his treatment was completed.
Despite his inability to proceed with his plan, Chatoff says he spoke with Cobain by phone several times before Cobain left for Los Angeles. “I was not supportive of that at all,” says Chatoff of Cobain’s admittance to Exodus, “because that was just another detox ‘buff and shine.'”
Cobain spent two days at the 20-bed clinic. He talked to several psychologists there, none of whom considered him suicidal. Though Frances Bean and her nanny visited him, Love never did. On April 1 Cobain called Love, who was still at the Peninsula. “He said, ‘Courtney, no matter what happens, I want you to know that you made a really good record,'” she later told a Seattle newspaper. “I said, ‘Well, what do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Just remember, no matter what, I love you.'” (Hole were due to release their second album, Live Through This, 11 days later.) That was the last time Love spoke to her husband.
According an artist known as Joe Mama, a longtime friend of the couple’s who was the last to visit Cobain at Exodus, “I was ready to see him look like shit and depressed. He looked so fucking great.” An hour later, Cobain, in Love’s words, “jumped the fence.” Actually, it was a six-foot-plus brick wall surrounding the center’s patio.
Though Exodus is a low-security clinic, and Cobain could have walked out the door if he had wanted to, he had something else in mind. One of Cobain’s visitors remembers, “When I went to visit him, Gibby Haynes [of the Butthole Surfers] was in there with him. I don’t know Gibby, but he’s a nute. He was jabbering a mile a minute about people who had jumped over the wall there, stuff like ‘Bob Forest went over the wall five times.’ Kurt probably thought it would be funny.”
Gibby Haynes and Cobain.
At 7:25 p.m., Cobain told the clinic staff he was stepping out onto the patio for a smoke and scaled the wall. “We watch our patients really well,” says a spokesperson for Exodus. “But some do get out.” Most of Cobain’s friends and business associates who were in L.A. were at a concert by another Gold Mountain client, the Breeders, oblivious to the fact that he had escaped.
“After Kurt left, I was on the phone with Courtney all the time,” says Mama. “She was really freaked out, so we drove around looking for him at all the places he might have gone. She was really scared from the beginning. I guess she could tell.”
But Cobain was already on his way back to Seattle. He returned home on a Delta flight five and a half hours after his escape. By the time Love cancelled his Seafirst bank credit card and hired private investigator Tom Grant to track him down the following day, it was too late. In fact, according to police, cancelling the credit card made it even more difficult to find Cobain because Seafirst only records the type of business and amount of money for attempted charges on cancelled cards, not the precise location of the business. Love also reportedly hired a second private investigator to watch Cobain’s drug dealer’s home, a woman Love is said to have been jealous of to begin with.
When Cobain returned to his Madrona home, he found his former nanny, Michael DeWitt (whose nickname is Cali), staying there. “I talked to Cali, who said he had seen [Kurt] on Saturday [April 2],” says Carlson, adding that DeWitt described Cobain as looking ill and acting weird, “but I couldn’t get ahold of him myself.”
Neither could anybody else. The police believe Cobain wandered around town with no clear agenda in his final days. A taxi supervisor reports that Cobain was driven to a gun shop to buy shotgun shells (a receipt for the ammo was later found at Cobain’s house). Neighbors say they spotted Cobain in a park near his house during this period, looking ill and wearing an incongruously thick jacket. Cobain reportedly spent time with some junkie friends, shooting up so much that they kicked him out because they were worried that he’d OD on them. Cobain is also believed to have spent time at his second home, in Carnation, Wash, where a sleeping bag was found. Next to it was a picture of the sun drawn in black ink above the words “cheer up,” and an ashtray filled with cigarettes–one brand was Cobain’s, the other wasn’t.
On Sunday, April 3, someone (possibly Cobain) attempted to make several charges to his credit card. The amounts, ranging from $1,100 to $5,000, were apparent attempts to get cash. The following day, two more charge attempts were made, this time to get $86.60 worth of flowers. It was this same day that Cobain’s mother, Wendy O’Connor, filed a missing-person’s report. She told police that Cobain might be suicidal and suggested that they look for him at a particular three-story brick building, described as a location for narcotics, in Capitol Hill.
L to R: Cobain’s mother Wendy O’Connor, newborn Frances Bean, Cobain, and half-sister Breanne O’Connor.
Sometime on or before the afternoon of April 5, Cobain barricaded himself in the greenhouse above his garage by propping a stool against its French doors. The evidence at the scene suggests that he removed his hunter’s cap–which he wore when he didn’t want people to recognize him–and dug into the cigar box that contained his drug stash. He completed a one-page note in red ink. The top of the note was written in small handwriting, and never directly referred to suicide, leading some to believe it had been written ahead of time. The second half of the note was in much larger writing, and made direct reference to suicide (police handwriting experts have determined that both halves were written entirely by Cobain). Writing to Love, daughter Frances Bean, friends and fans, Cobain spoke of the great empty hole he felt had opened inside him. He also expressed his hope that Frances Bean’s life would not turn out like his own.
Cobain’s suicide note.
“I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing something for too many years now,” Cobain scrawled, adding that “when we’re backstage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowd goes out, it doesn’t affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury. . . . I’ve tried everything that’s in my power to appreciate it, and I do, God, believe me, I do. But it’s not enough. I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. I must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they’re alone. I’m too sensitive. I need to be slightly numbed in order to regain the enthusiasm I had as a child. On our last three tours I’ve had a much better appreciation of all the people I’ve known personally and as fans of our music. . . . I love and feel for people too much, I guess. Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the last years. I’m too much of an erratic, moody person, and I don’t have the passion anymore, so remember it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
Cobain tossed his wallet on the floor, open to his Washington driver’s license, which friends believe was to help the police identify him. Love reconstructed the rest of the tragedy for MTV: Cobain drew a chair up to the window, sat down, took some more drugs (most likely heroin), pressed the barrel of the 20-gauge shotgun to his head and–evidently using his thumb–pulled the trigger.
Though the county medical examiner has determined that Cobain died on the afternoon of April 5, someone tried to charge a $1517.56 cash advance on his credit card the following morning. The attempt was either made over the phone, or in person without the card. The police also report that two people say that Cobain’s Capitol Hill heroin dealer told them Cobain had come by her apartment the night of April 5. The dealer denies the incident.
In a cruel twist of fate, it wasn’t until April 6 that Love’s private investigator, Tom Grant, arrived in Seattle. I was working with [Grant],” Carlson says, “and the day we were going to Carnation to look for him, we found out he was dead.”
Carlson and Grant, a former deputy sheriff, also checked Cobain’s Madrona home twice, but failed to search the greenhouse where Cobain’s body lay. DeWitt left the main house and flew to Los Angeles on the afternoon of April 7, still unaware of the body nearby. Police say they never entered the house before Cobain’s body was found, satisfying themselves with asking workers outside his house if they had seen Cobain.
Elsewhere on April 7, an emergency phone call was placed to 911 about a possible overdose victim at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles. The police, the fire department and ambulances arrived at the scene, where they found Love and Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson. (Frances Bean and her nanny were staying in the room next door.) Love was taken to Century City Hospital, arriving around 9:30 a.m. She was released two and a half hours later. Lt. Joe Lombardi of the Beverly Hills Police says that Love was arrested immediately after her discharge and “booked for possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a hypodermic syringe and possession/receiving stolen property.”
Criminal lawyer Barry Tarlow, Love’s attorney, says that contrary to published reports, Love “wasn’t under the influence of heroin” and “didn’t overdose.” He says that “she had an allergic reaction’ to the tranquilizer Xanax. Tarlow says the stolen property was a prescription pad that “her doctor . . . left there when he was visiting. . . . There were no prescriptions written on it.” And the controlled substance? “It was not narcotics,” says Tarlow. “It’s Hindu good-luck ashes, which she received from her entertainment lawyer Rosemary Carroll.
Love was released at about 3 p.m. after posting $10,000 bail. (All charges against Love were later dropped.) She immediately checked herself into the Exodus Recovery Center, the same rehabilitation facility from which her husband had escaped a week earlier. The following day, April 8, she checked out when she received word that her husband had been found.
The first time Cobain’s troubles made tabloid headlines was in August 1992, after an infamous Vanity Fair article was published in which its writer, Lynn Hirschberg, reported that Love had used heroin while pregnant with Frances Bean. (Love has denied this.) As a result of subsequent media attention, the Cobains were not allowed to be alone with their newborn daughter for one month.
After a long and taxing battle with children’s services in Los Angeles, where they were then living, the couple regained custody of the girl. In a September 1992 Los Angeles Times article, Cobain admitted to “dabbling” in heroin and detoxing twice in the past year–a strategic move, according to an insider, to mollify children’s services. In subsequent interviews, Cobain never admitted to using heroin after he and Love had detoxed before Frances Bean was born.
In the spring of 1993, after the band had recorded In Utero with producer Steve Albini in Minnesota, another frightening series of events began to unfold. First came good news: On March 23, 1993, following a Family Court ruling in Los Angeles, children’s services stopped its supervision of the Cobains’ child-rearing. But just six weeks later, on May 2, Cobain came home (then in Seattle’s Sand Point area) shaking, flushed and dazed. Love called 911. According to a police report, Cobain had taken a large dose of heroin. As Cobain’s mother and sister stood by, Love injected her husband with buprenorphine, an illegal drug that can be used to awaken someone after a heroin overdose. She also gave Cobain a Valium, three Benadryls and four Tylenol tablets with codeine, which caused him to vomit. Love told the police this kind of thing had happened before.
A month later, on June 4, the police arrived at the Cobains’ home again after being summoned by Love. The two had been fighting over Cobain’s drug use, a source says Cobain later told him. However, Love told the police that she and Cobain had been arguing over guns in the house.
Cobain was booked for domestic assault (he spent three hours in jail), and three guns found at the house were confiscated. One of those weapons, a Taurus .380, had been loaned to Cobain by Carlson. (Cobain picked up the guns a few months later; they were again confiscated in the March 1994 domestic dispute.)
Seven weeks later, on the morning of July 23, Love heard a thud in the bathroom of the New York hotel where the couple was staying. She opened the door and found Cobain unconscious. He had overdosed again. Nevertheless, Nirvana performed that night at the Roseland Ballroom. Fans never knew the difference.
A few days later, Cobain returned to Seattle. One friend says: “He just kept to himself. Every time he came back after a tour, he would get more and more reclusive. The only people that saw him a lot were Courtney, Cali and Jackie [Farry, a former babysitter and assistant manager].”
Though, according to Gold Mountain, Cobain’s clinical depression had been diagnosed as early as high school, according to Gold Mountain, the singer never seemed to fully believe he had a problem. “Over the last few years of his life,” says Goldberg, “Kurt saw innumerable doctors and therapists.”
Many who were close to Cobain remember that the musician frequently suffered dramatic mood swings. “Kurt could just be very outgoing and funny and charming,” says Butch Vig, who produced Nevermind, “and a half-hour later he would just go sit in the corner and be totally moody and uncommunicative.” “He was a walking time bomb, and nobody could do anything about it,” says Goldberg.
Butch Vig, producer of Nirvana’s album Nevermind.
On Sept. 14, In Utero was released. Even though Cobain had vowed not to “go on any more long tours” unless he could keep his chronic stomach pain from acting up, he detoxed from heroin, according to sources, and hit the road for a long stretch of U.S. Nirvana dates.
On Jan. 8, 1994, Nirvana performed what would be their last American show, at the Seattle Center Arena. The band then spent the next couple of weeks relaxing in Seattle. During that time, in a move considered uncharacteristic by many, Cobain authorized Geffen to make a few changes to In Utero. In order to get chains such as Kmart and Wal-Mart to carry the album, which the stores had previously rejected, Geffen decided to remove Cobain’s collage of model fetuses from the back cover.
Nirvana’s final show in the United States.
Geffen also changed the song title “Rape Me” to “Waif Me,” a name that Cobain picked, according to Ray Farrell of Geffen’s sales department. “At first, Kurt wanted to call it ‘Sexually Assault Me,'” Farrell says, “but it took up too much room. In the end he decided on ‘Waif Me’ because waif, like rape, is not gender specific. Waif represents somebody who is at the mercy of other people.” The altered version was also shipped to Singapore–the only country where In Utero was banned.
Nirvana (minus Pat Smear, who was still at home in Los Angeles) emerged from hibernation on the weekend of Jan. 28 and spent three days in the studio. On Feb. 2, the band members left for Europe. They stopped in France to appear on a TV show and began their tour in Lisbon, Portugal, on Feb. 5. It was the first time Nirvana had scheduled so many consecutive dates in Europe. The band and crew traveled by bus. Cobain and Smear traveled in one bus; Grohl and Novoselic rode in another. According to road manager Alex Macleod, two buses were a matter of luxury, not animosity.
L to R: Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Cobain, and Pat Smear.
“The shows went really well,” recalls Macleod. “But Kurt was tired; I mean, we were traveling a lot.”
About 10 to 12 days into the tour, heading back through France, Cobain began to lose his voice. For a while, a throat spray purchased in Paris and administered before shows helped ease his discomfort.
Cobain in Rome, Italy.
While Nirvana was in Paris–a week before Cobain’s 27th birthday–photographer Youri Lenquette witnessed a chilling scene. Cobain showed up for a photo shoot for the French magazine Globe and struck up different poses with a sports pistol he had recently purchased. On one occasion, Cobain foreshadowed his own suicide by pressing the gun against his temple, pretending to squeeze the trigger, and miming the impact of the gunshot to his head. (Lenquette has decided not to release the photos.)
After a swing through a handful of French and Italian cities–including Rome–Nirvana performed in Ljubjana, in the former Yugoslavia, on Feb. 27 and, two days later, at Terminal Einz, in Munich, Germany. It would be Nirvana’s final show. Cobain lost his voice halfway through the performance and, says Macleod, went to see an ear, nose and throat specialist the next day. “[Cobain] was told to take two to four weeks’ rest,” Macleod says. “He was given spray and [medicine] for his lungs because he was diagnosed as having severe laryngitis and bronchitis”
According to Macleod, the doctor who prescribed the throat spray to Cobain told him: “‘You shouldn’t be singing the way you’re singing,’ the same as they always say. “‘You have to take at least two months off and learn to sing properly.’ And he was like ‘Fuck that.'”
The band postponed two more German shows–in Munich and Offenbach–until April 12 and 13 and took a rest. Novoselic flew back to Seattle the following day to oversee repair work on his house; Grohl stayed in Germany to participate in a video shoot for the film Backbeat (he played drums on the soundtrack); and Cobain and Smear headed for Rome. The band had made it through 15 shows with another 23 to go.
Cobain decided to stay in Europe. The plane trip and jet lag were too much to take in his condition. “He as much as anyone else was bummed out that they had to pull these two shows,” says Macleod. “But there was no way that he could have gone on the next night.”
On March 3, Cobain checked into Rome’s five-star Excelsior Hotel. That same day, in a London hotel room, a writer for the British monthly Select was interviewing Love, who was preparing for an English tour with her band Hole. The writer says that during their talk, Love was popping Rohypnol, a tranquilizer manufactured by Roche, which also makes Valium. According to pharmacists, the drug is used to treat insomnia. It has also been used to treat severe anxiety and alcohol withdrawal and as an alternative to methadone during heroin withdrawal. (Gold Mountain denies withdrawal as an issue in Love’s and Cobain’s cases.) Known in some parts of Europe as Roipnol, the drug is not available in the United States. “Look, I know this is a controlled substance,” Love said in the interview. “I got it from my doctor. It’s like Valium.
Kurt in Rome
According to Gold Mountain, Love, Frances Bean and Cali met Cobain in Rome the next afternoon. That evening, Cobain sent a bellboy out to fill a prescription for Rohypnol. In an uncharacteristic move, Cobain also ordered two bottles of champagne from room service. (“He never drank,” his friends confirm.)
At 6:30 the following morning, Love found Cobain unconscious. “I reached for him, and he had blood coming out of his nose,” she told Select in a later interview, adding, “I have seen him get really fucked up before, but I have never seen him almost eat it.” At the time, the incident was portrayed as an accident. It has since been revealed that some 50 pills were found in Cobain’s stomach. Rohypnol is sold in tinfoil packets; each pill must be unwrapped individually. A suicide note was found at the scene. Gold Mountain still denies that a suicide attempt was made. “A note was found,” says a company spokesperson, “but Kurt insisted that it wasn’t a suicide note. He just took all of his and Courtney’s money and was going to run away and disappear.”
Rome doctor
Cobain was rushed to Rome’s Umberto I Polyclinic Hospital for five hours of emergency treatment and then transferred to the American Hospital just outside the city. He awoke from his coma 20 hours later and immediately scribbled his first request on a note pad: “Get these fucking tubes out of my nose.” Three days later, he was allowed to leave the hospital. Cobain’s doctor, Osvaldo Galletta, says that the singer was suffering “no permanent damage” at the time.
Inside the ambulance with Courtney in Rome.
“He’s not going to get away from me that easily,” Love later said. “I’ll follow him through hell.”
The couple then returned to Seattle. “I saw [Kurt] the day he got back from Rome,” says Carlson. “He was really upset about all the attention it got in the media.” Carlson didn’t notice anything abnormal about Cobain’s health or behavior. Like many of Cobain’s friends, he regrets that neither Cobain nor anyone close to Cobain told him that Rome had been a suicide attempt.
Sonic Youth guitarist and longtime Nirvana supporter Lee Ranaldo, who, like Nirvana, is managed by Gold Mountain, agrees. “Rome was only the latest installment of [those around Cobain] keeping a semblance of normalcy for the outside world,” he says. “But I feel like I was good enough friends with Kurt that I could have called him up and said, ‘Hey, how are you? Do you want to talk?'”
Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth.
“I never knew [Cobain] to be suicidal or anything like that,” Mark Lanegan recalls. “I just knew that he was going through a really tough time.”
The days after Cobain’s death were filled with grief, confusion and finger pointing for all concerned. “Everyone who feels guilty, raise your hand,” Love told MTV the morning after Cobain was found. She said she was wearing Cobain’s jeans and socks and carrying a lock of her husband’s blond hair. According to Gold Mountain, a doctor was summoned to stay with Love at all times.
“She’s a strong enough person that she can take it,” says Craig Montgomery, who was scheduled to manage a since-canceled spring tour for Hole.
“It was hard to imagine Kurt growing old and contented,” adds Montgomery. “For years, I’ve had dreams about it ending like this. The thing that weirds me out is how alone and shut out he felt. It was him that shut out a lot of his friends.
Novoselic later said that he believed Cobain’s death was the result of inexplicable internal forces: “Just blaming it on smack is stupid. . . . Smack was just a small part of his life.”
“I think drugs tampered with his life,” Faith No More’s Bottum agrees, “but they weren’t as huge a part of his life as people make it out to be.”
The news of Cobain’s death was first reported on Seattle’s KXRX-FM. A co-worker of Gary Smith, the electrician who found Cobain’s body, called the station with what he claimed was the “scoop of the century,” adding, “you’re going to owe me a lot of concert tickets for this one.”
“Broadcasting this information was kind of an eerie decision to make,” says Marty Reimer, the on-air personality who took the call. “We’re not a news station.” Cobain’s sister, Kim, first heard of her brother’s death through radio reports, as did his mother, Wendy O’Connor. “Now he’s gone and joined that stupid club,” O’Connor said to a reporter, referring to Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones and Jim Morrison. “I told him not to join that stupid club.”
After Reimer called the Associated Press with the story, MTV played reruns of Nirvana’s Unplugged performance and Seattle DJs took to the airwaves. “He died a coward,” barked one Seattle DJ on KIRO-FM, “and left a little girl without a father.
“I don’t think any of us would be in this room tonight if it weren’t for Kurt Cobain,” Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder told a capacity audience during a Washington, D.C., concert the night that Cobain’s death was announced. Vedder left the crowd with the admonition: “Don’t die. Swear to God.”
Outside Cobain’s Seattle house the afternoon after his body was found, 16-year-old Kimberly Wagner sat on a wall for four hours, crying and fielding queries from news-hungry TV stations and magazines. “I just came here to find an answer,” she sobbed. “But I don’t think I’m going to.”
Nearby, Steve Adams, 15, stood with a friend. As a Gray Line tour bus full of curiosity seekers passed by, he explained what Cobain’s music meant to him. “Sometimes I’ll get depressed and get mad at my mom or my friends, and I’ll go and listen to Kurt. And it puts me in a better mood. . . . I thought about killing myself a while ago, too, but then I thought about all the people that would be depressed about it.”
The Seattle Crisis Clinic received roughly 300 calls that day, 100 more than usual. Dr. Christos Dagadakis, director of emergency psychiatry at Harborview Medical Center, says, however, that “there was no particular increase in overdoses or suicide attempts coming in to our emergency room.
The following evening, on April 10, Seattle mourned Cobain as some 5,000 fans gathered in the park near the Space Needle to commemorate him. Love read excerpts from Cobain’s suicide note in a taped message to the crowd, interspersing her own emotional responses to the confessions and doubts of her “sad little sensitive underappreciative Pisces Jesus man.” “I should have let him, we all should have let him have his numbness,” she sobbed. “We should have let him have the thing that made him feel better.”
Vigil in Seattle, April 10, 1994.
It wasn’t until hours after this candlelight vigil that Seattle experienced its first possible Cobain-related suicide. After returning home from the vigil, Daniel Kaspar, 28, ended his life with a single bullet.
The effects of Cobain’s suicide reverberated around the globe. In Australia, a teenager committed suicide in an apparent tribute to Cobain. In southern Turkey, a 16-year-old fan of Cobain’s locked herself in her room, cranked Nirvana music and shot herself in the head. Friends said she had been depressed ever since hearing about Cobain’s death.
Elsewhere, on the evening of the vigil, Cobain’s family scheduled a private memorial service at the Seattle Unity Church a few blocks away from the Seattle Center. There was no casket; Cobain’s body was still in the custody of the medical examiners (he was later cremated). The Rev. Stephen Towles began the service by telling some 150 invited guests: “A suicide is no different than having our finger in a vise. The pain becomes so great that you can’t bear it any longer.”
Novoselic delivered a short eulogy afterward. “We remember Kurt for what he was: caring generous, and sweet,” he said. “Let’s keep the music with us. We’ll always have it forever.”
Carlson read verses from a Buddhist poet. Love, clad in black, read passages from the Book of Job and some of Cobain’s favorite poems from Arthur Rimbaud’s Illuminations. She told anecdotes about Cobain’s childhood and read from his suicide note. She included parts that she had not read on tape for the vigil. “I have a daughter who reminds me too much of myself,” Cobain had written.
Gary Gersh, who signed Nirvana when he was with Geffen (he is now president of Capitol Records), read a faxed eulogy from Michael Stipe. Last to speak was Danny Goldberg. “I believe he would have left this world several years ago,” Goldberg said, “if he hadn’t met Courtney.”
When the service ended, Love headed to the Seattle Center nearby, where the vigil had just ended. Fans were burning flannel shirts, shouting for Nirvana music (which they got) and taunting the police, who were trying unsuccessfully to keep them out of the public fountain. Love mingled almost unnoticed in the sea of mourners, clutching her husband’s suicide note in her hand. She disappeared and then reappeared with an armload of Cobain’s old clothes and possessions, which she distributed to his fans. She described herself to bystanders as “angry” and emotionally “messed up.”
Kim Warnick of the local group Fastbacks surveyed the scene with KNDD-FM music director Marco Collins, who had helped organize the mass memorial. “He would have loved this,” she told him.
“All these kids,” Collins replied, as he surveyed the undernourished teens with dyed hair, troubled eyes and torn jeans milling around him, “they look like they came from his world.”
As of this writing, neither Grohl nor Novoselic has told his story to the press, though, along with Cobain’s family and Gold Mountain, they will be setting up a scholarship fund for Aberdeen, Wash., high-school students with “artistic promise regardless of academic performance.”
Children’s services departments in both Seattle and Los Angeles confirmed that they had no caseworkers assigned to Frances Bean. Though Cobain did have a will, it was unsigned and therefore invalid at the time of his death. With no will, Love and Frances Bean have become the only heirs to his estate (which includes assets of over $1.2 million and debts of less than $740,000). Love, meanwhile, donated all of Cobain’s guns, including the one he used to kill himself, to Mothers Against Violence in America.
Kurt Cobain Memorial Park, Aberdeen, Washington.
Love spent time holed up in Seattle for a while before flying to New York, where she went on a lingerie shopping spree. After Love returned to Seattle, another tragedy unfolded around her. Kristen Pfaff, the bassist in her band, Hole, was preparing to move from Seattle to Minneapolis on the evening of June 15 when she locked herself in her bathroom around 9:30 p.m. The following morning, Paul Erickson, the bassist in the Minneapolis band Hammerhead, who had spent the night at the house, found her slumped over the side of the tub, kneeling in five inches of water. Police say they found “syringes and what appeared to be narcotic paraphernalia” in a purse on the bathroom floor, but were unable to determine the cause of her death.
“It was an accident,” Hole drummer Patty Schemel told a Seattle newspaper afterward. “She loved life and this shouldn’t have happened.”
Courtney Love communicated her grief on online, where she had been engaging in an active discourse with fans, friends, and enemies for several weeks. “Pray for [Kurt] and Kristen,” she wrote. “They hear it i know . . . . My friend has been robbed of her stellar life my baby has no dad . . . . Thank you for respecting the finest man who ever lived, that he loved a scum like me is testament enough to his empathy.”
In the middle of Nirvana’s 1994 European tour, Cobain overdosed on pills and alcohol in Rome on March 4th. The overdose caused Cobain to relapse into his heroin addiction, and in the ensuing years, Cobain’s wife Courtney Love opinioned that the overdose was his first suicide attempt. Cobain’s family had a history of suicide, with two of Cobain’s uncles committing suicide using guns.
An attempted intervention led Cobain to check into the Exodus Recovery Center in Los Angeles on March 30th. That day, he saw Love and his daughter, Frances Bean, for the last time. Less than 24 hours later, Cobain hopped the six-foot fence that surrounded the rehab centre and got on a plane to Seattle. Sat near Cobain was Duff McKagen, bassist for eternal Nirvana enemies Guns ‘N Roses. However, McKagen recalls a friendly interaction with Cobain, despite being quoted in Charles Cross’ Heavier Than Heaven as having felt from “all of my instincts that something was wrong.”
After a week of questions surrounding Cobain’s whereabouts, an electrician entered his Seattle home to install a security system. It was then that Cobain’s body was found with a shotgun and a small pool of blood by his head. During the initial investigation, the coroner reported that Cobain had likely been dead for days when he was found, estimating the exact date of death as April 5th, 1994.
Here is a timeline chronicling the final days of Kurt Cobain…
March 30th
Cobain checks into rehab in Los Angeles
On March 25th, Love and a small number of friends staged an intervention for Cobain. Although he refused and initially locked himself in a bedroom, Cobain was convinced at the end of the day to finally admit himself into a drug rehabilitation program.
Cobain flew into Los Angeles and checked into the Exodus Recovery Center on March 30th. He was visited by friends and family, including his infant daughter Frances Bean. By all accounts, Cobain seemed to be making a positive step towards recovery
Courtney Love is one of America’s most controversial celebrities. She is famous for her punk rock music, hard drug use and the many accusations of foul play that surround the alleged suicide of her late husband, Kurt Cobain. Most people do not know about Courtney Love’s long and special relationship with Seattle law enforcement; a relationship that compromised the investigation into her husband’s death, and perhaps ruined any chance of ever knowing what really happened to Kurt Cobain. The SPD’s lead detective, Sgt. Don Cameron, Courtney’s friend, concurred. She told Tom Grant (That she hired to find Kurt) she got “brownie points” for tipping off his colleague, Narcotics Detective Antonio Terry, about Seattle dealers, some of them her own. In turn, Cameron provided her helpful professional advice. When she showed him Kurt’s Rome “divorce” letter, calling it suicidal, the detective advised her, according to Wallace and Halperin, “This will never do you any good. I’d get rid of this if I were you.”
.On April 13th, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a Seattle-based newspaper, claims to have spoken with a source close to the investigation. The next day, an article with the headline “Cobain lay dead for 3 days” is published claiming the source said Cobain had 1,52 mg/l of morphine in his system and that there were traces of diazepam (Valium). It is possible that the source disclosed the results of the first test, which is instantaneous, but it is impossible that in less than in a couple of days officials knew the exact quantity of morphine present in Cobain’s system. Considering morphine, the substance heroin turns into when metabolized, remains in the system up to 3 days after the last take, and diazepam remains up to 5 days, it is impossible to know if Cobain injected himself a dose of heroin before dying or if his last take was 3 days before his death.Regarding diazepam, Cobain was in a rehab facility in Marina del Rey, CA. In this facility, he was given Valium for the last time in the afternoon of April 1st. It is possible that the traces of diazepam found in his system were just the remains of the Valium ingestion while staying at the rehab facility.
The most relevant piece of evidence towards the ruling of a suicide would have to be the note. Norm Stamper, Chief of police at the time of the investigation says
“The fact that the handwriting looks to my untrained eye, different at the bottom of that note than it does during the body certainly does suggest that putting that note in the hands of a trained documents examiner or someone who really understands a lot more than we do as cops…”
Carole Chaskin a forensic linguist gives her thoughts on the note
“one of the perhaps surprising characteristics of this note is that the largest section of the note talks so much about his relationship to music, and it’s only the very small part, the last few lines that actually talk about his relationship to his family.
But there’s another linguistically interesting thing about the second to, and final four lines of the note, and that is that; that is what most of us would consider a stereotypical suicide note…”.
In our personal opinions, the note looks and sounds phony and according to the experts, we’re not the only ones.
“. It means that the activity in Kurt’s card is delayed, doesn’t show real-time transactions.
Courtney has friends and connections in the Seattle Police Department.
Narcotics Detective, Antonio Terry, was one of her “friends” at the time. Courtney talked to Detective Terry on Tom Grant’s car phone once while he was with her.
Terry was the one Courtney called when she got angry and wanted a drug buddy arrested. As mentioned in the Summary of Events, Detective Terry was even referred to in Cobain’s Missing Person’s Report as someone to see for “further info.” Of course, Detective Terry can’t talk now. As mentioned earlier he was later murdered two months after Cobain’s death in an off-duty incident. Why would the police blackout this entire paragraph before releasing the report? They seemed to have done this in order to protect Courtney Love and to conceal their negligence in this overdose incident and in their later so-called “suicide” investigation. This reminds us of the Rome incident, where Kurt had an overdose while Courtney with him in the same room.
rome
The pills (Rohypnol) that were found in his stomach came from a prescription from Courtney. Rohypnol is a tranquillizer about ten times more potent than Valium. The drug is available as a white or olive-green pill and is usually sold in the manufacturer’s bubble packaging. Rohypnol has the effect of making the victim incapable of resisting, giving it the reputation of a “date-rape” drug. Rohypnol users often describe its effects as “paralyzing.” The effects start twenty to thirty minutes after taking the drug, peak within two hours and may persist for eight or even twelve hours.
The reason why this reminds us so much of the Rome incident in march 1994, is because Courtney had Rohypnol prescribed on her name and that she took the pills with her to Rome. Kurt said that his overdose was an accident, so not intentionally. Everyone claimed this was an accident: Kurt, his doctor, his friends, family, the music company, even his wife, Courtney Love said it was an accident. Nobody ever mentioned Kurt being suicidal. Courtney came with the suicide story only after Cobain was dead. Courtney said that Cobain had: “Swallowed 50 pills” but in order to do so, you have to press the pills out separately 50 times, and swallow 50 pills, which would make it a suicide attempt. Everyone around Kurt denied Kurt was suicidal after the Rome incident. The whole Rome incident is in itself very suspicious. (Later Courtney used the incident to make Kurt appear suicidal) Courtney was with Kurt in one room and had Rohypnol with her. It is very much possible that Courtney overdosed Kurt in Rome by mixing Rohypnol with alcohol. Courtney burnt the note from Rome on advice from Sgt. Cameron because “It was a nasty letter, it wouldn’t do you any good” If you look at the report on May 2, 1993, the Seattle police literally says that Courtney: had given Kurt Cobain 50 ml of Buprenorphine Intramuscularly, Valium, 3 Benadryl, and four codeine Tylenol tablets. Courtney gives Kurt another overdose with pills after Kurt already overdosed on heroin.
So we have an overdose from May 2, 1993. We have the Rome overdose in March 1994, and then Kurt’s death on April 8, 1994. Kurt had three times the lethal dose of heroin and Valium in his blood system. Do you see a pattern? Courtney love walks around with drugs and every time she is with Kurt, she puts his life at risk with more drugs. She doesn’t seem to be careful about the well-being of her husband. She creates incidents, assaults, suicide stories that never happen and that she cannot prove, all to make it appear that Kurt wanted to kill himself. You can wonder why Courtney would do something like that? Courtney Love has definitely a motive here. She wants to get away from Cobain and it would be very convenient for Courtney if she would create a reality where Kurt was suicidal and killed himself, so she could inherit his money, his fame. Kurt’s death was an overkill. The gunshot was not necessary. The heroin alone killed Cobain in seconds. The gun and the gunshot wound had to be there to make sure Kurt was dead and to make it a self-inflicted gunshot, + the note that was found. As if Kurt committed suicide. The whole combination of the enormous amounts of heroin and the Valium found in Kurt’s blood, the gun and the shotgun wound + the suspicious note is the work of Courtney love and of no other. This report proves that Courtney gave Kurt another overdose before his death. She put his life in danger and all that the Seattle Police Department does is back up her story, hiding her dangerous behaviour.
Police said the shotgun Cobain used to kill himself was lent to him by a friend. They said the friend, who wasn’t identified, purchased the gun with Cobain’s money.
In a recent interview, Love told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that she had become increasingly frustrated with police inability to shut down Cobain’s drug sources.
She said she gave information to Seattle police about a person who regularly provided Cobain with drugs. “It’s like apples in an orchard,” Love said. “It’s falling off the … trees. … The Seattle police won’t do anything about it. I asked them, ‘Don’t you get embarrassed when you (hear) that Seattle is famous for grunge, cappuccino and heroin?’ “
Three days later, he left the facility without warning. Love, fearful that he was in a suicidal depression, hired private investigators to find him, but they were unsuccessful, the newspaper said.
Narcotics Capt. Dan Bryant wouldn’t comment Tuesday on what he described as an ongoing investigation.
Gary Smith
Cobain’s body was discovered Friday by an electrician who had come to install a security system in his home.
COURTNEY LOVES DRUG INVOLVEMENT
Courtney Love said she had given Kurt Cobain 50 ml of Buprenorphine Intramuscularly, Valium, 3 Benadryl, and four codeine Tylenol tablets, causing him to vomit 25 minutes after she gave the pills to him. There was never any question that this incident involved an accidental overdose. Courtney Love has spoken openly about this incident since Cobain’s death. She succeeded in convincing several naïve journalists that her heroic efforts here actually saved Kurt’s life. How did she save him? And what information was contained in that paragraph blocked out by the police?
The police report actually says that Courtney, claiming she was trying to revive Kurt, injected him with Buprenorphine. She also force-fed him Valium; Codeine-based Tylenol which also contains Acetaminophen, and Benadryl.
It is really weird behaviour to give a person who has an overdose, more heavy pills. The fact that Kurt threw up the pills 25 minutes after Courtney gave them to him proves that she gave Kurt another overdose, but now with pills. According to our medical research, Buprenorphine is especially lethal when combined with Valium. Codeine is an opiate. Courtney reportedly gave Kurt four pills (32 mg), which undoubtedly added significantly to his total opiate threshold.
The Cobains
Benadryl is basically an antihistamine and is well-known to produce a variety of negative complications when combined haphazardly with other drugs. The combination of all these additional drugs after his overdose would have made Cobain’s condition much worse and would have endangered his life.
Why wasn’t Courtney arrested for possessing, injecting and administering illegal drugs to her husband?
‘Lasting Memory’ – The Lake Washington greenhouse was reportedly demolished by 1998. (Photo Seattle Pi)
MEDIA INVOLVEMENT
The media spread the information that Kurt Cobain left the rehab center, then bought a gun and was suicidal. Kurt wasn’t suicidal and he and his friend purchased the gun before Kurt left. If Kurt wanted to end his own life, why didn’t he do this on the day he and his friend bought the gun? Why wait to go to rehab? And why go to rehab in the first place if he was so ‘suicidal?’
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Cobain “was shot once in the left ear.” But in a nationally televised photo that shows the rear right shoulder of Cobain’s body, not one drop of blood can be seen on Cobain’s white shirt or on the floor around him. If Cobain was shot in the left ear or anywhere else on his head, the right side of his body should have been covered with blood. Despite these inconsistencies, Dr.Hartshorne, issued a death certificate citing as cause of death a “perforating gunshot wound to the head (mouth).
” If this is true, all the blood must have exited from the left side of his body. More importantly, this specious death certificate allowed Courtney Love to cremate Cobain’s body only one week after it was discovered, thus permanently destroying the most important piece of evidence in the investigation. In response to media incredulity over the mystery wound, in June 1994 the medical examiner’s office modified its verdict by saying that there actually was “no exit wound” and that “all of the shot stayed inside the skull.”
Dr. Hartshorne and his colleague Dr. Donald Reay then released a remarkable document that says Cobain suffered both a “contact penetrating shotgun wound to the head” and a “contact perforating shotgun wound to the head.” But a “penetrating” wound is one where the bullet enters, but does not exit the body.
A “perforating” wound is one where the bullet both enters and exits the body.
In another article, published by Rolling Stone Magazine in June of 1994 by the well-known author Neil Strauss, there also appears to be some glaring misconceptions with regard to not only the evening of March 18th – but of Cobain’s accidental overdose in Rome on March 4th, just two weeks before the March 18th police call. The article characterized that Cobain’s overdose in Rome, was a “failed suicide attempt, however, this media analysis differed quite a bit from Dr. Osvaldo Galleta, the attending doctor who treated Cobain:
and Love told police she feared a suicide.
Police found three pistols, a rifle and 25 boxes of ammunition, but Cobain denied he was suicidal and told officers he had locked himself in the room after an argument with Love. Police confiscated the weapons, but took no other action.
He initially stayed in Seattle, the Times said, but gave in and on March 28, checked into a recovery program at Marina del Rey, Calif.
Love went to Los Angeles on March 25 to prepare for the release of a new album by her band, Hole. She urged Cobain to come with her and check into a recovery program.
In March 2014, the Seattle Police Department developed four rolls of film that had been left in an evidence vault. According to the Seattle police, the photographs depict the scene of Cobain’s corpse more clearly than previous Polaroid images taken by the police. Detective Mike Cieszynski, a cold case investigator, was asked to look at the film because “it is 20 years later and it’s a high media case”. Cieszynski stated that the official cause of Cobain’s death remains suicide and that the images would not be released to the public, but in 2016, the images were released. According to a spokesperson for the Seattle police, the department receives at least one request weekly, mostly through Twitter, to reopen the investigation. This resulted in the maintenance of the basic incident report on file.
DET. MIKE CIESYNSKI
DET. MIKE CIESZYNSKI
I had no involvement in the original investigation aside from taking a taped statement two years after Cobain’s death. I also knew that a couple of rolls of 35 mm film, backup evidence photos from the death scene, were never processed. So, I ordered up the case file from our records vault, closed my private office door, and read the entire file for the first time One of the original case detectives,
Steve Kirkland, had passed away, as did the scene sergeant Don Cameron. Steve and his partner Jim Yoshida were the best homicide detectives in the unit. Jim was retired, so I gave him a call and told him what I was up to. Jim told me that Courtney Love was very cooperative throughout the investigation and that they had spent a lot of time on the case. I asked Jim who had made the decision not to develop all of the film. He said it was Cameron’s call to not develop the film and to have it placed in the records room safe along with the case file so that no one would swipe anything. Obviously, the media attention was making a few folks a little paranoid
. Dr. Nikolas Hartshome was the assistant medical examiner who conducted the autopsy. Nick was a great guy who passed away in 2002. When I received the autopsy report I remembered leaning back in my chair and giving a “whoa” after seeing the morphine level Kurt had in his system. It also showed track marks, and there were several grams of black tar heroin left in his kit. Black tar heroin is found on the west coast west of the Mississippi as compared to Brown or white heroin found on the eastern part of the U.S. I knew I had to develop the film. The supervisor of the crime lab grimaced when I explained it was 20 years old. Film becomes deteriorates with each passing year and becomes very brittle — something I know from working old cold cases — and I wasn’t about to let the film get anymore fouled on my watch. We would have to take the film to the sheriff’s photo unit since Seattle Police Department stopped developing 35mm film since transitioning to digital. Once developed, it was obvious the film had deteriorated, leaving a green tint to all of the photos. The note recovered from the scene was examined by a Washington State Patrol Forensic Document Examiner who concluded the note was written by Cobain.
Dr. Wecht
In this interview Dr. Wecht talks about different aspects of his expertise and renders his opinion on the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
(1) Why do you believe that Mr Cobain’s death was a homicide staged as a suicide?
I have never seen a case of someone with such an exceptionally high level of heroin, enough to kill a lot of people, who were able to do what the authorities say Kurt Cobain did. It does not make any sense at all from a physiological, neurological or psychological standpoint. Num
(2) Are you aware of any recorded cases of deceased persons with the blood morphine level comparable to Mr. Cobain’s?
Not frequently, but I have dealt with several over the years. In fact, I will be testifying in one in the next couple of weeks in Philadelphia. So, while they are not frequent, they do occur. It is just not something that you would never see. I have dealt with a couple dozen over the years in which I rendered reports and testified. Could you walk us through the proper procedure of determining the cause and manner of death, the role of the police department and the medical examiner in the process, as well as the sequence and timeline for the process? The procedures are very straightforward. Homicide detectives are called to the scene, not just plain regular cops.
(3) You have also expressed some doubts about the position of the shotgun on Mr. Cobain’s body.
Yes. The position of the shotgun did not fit either with someone having shot himself with a shotgun. That was very important too. When you go to a scene and you have someone who has been found shot you have to be very careful. This leads me to another big point which is that the scene was not at all properly investigated. They made a quick assumption of a very premature nature that it was a suicide. You do not do that. You treat every case as if it were homicide and most of the time it will prove to be a suicide or maybe an accident. The percentage of homicides will below, but you make sure that you treat it as one. You collect everything that you can: footprints, fingerprints, trace evidence, physical evidence, hair, and so on. And then if it all proves to be unnecessary, the only thing is that you have spent some time, some energy. But this was not done, and the scene was not properly investigated.
(4) In your practice how often have you come across staged suicides?
(5) You walked us through the proper procedure and now how was this procedure not followed in Mr. Cobain’s case?
(6) What can be done to have this case reinvestigated now?
The legal next of kin would have to become very active in pushing for this. There isn’t any process available to have this case reinvestigated by another agency? No, it would have to come from law enforcement. There is no statute of limitations on homicide, so from a legal standpoint you could revisit, but it would have to emanate from the district attorney or a law enforcement agency. Dr. Nikolas Hartshorne signed Kurt Cobain’s death certificate calling his death a suicide one day after the body was discovered. This was despite the fact that the full toxicology results would not be available for weeks. Hartshorne was employed by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office on a fellowship. He had not yet taken the accreditation examination necessary to become a certified examiner. Hartshorne died in 2002 in a BASE-jumping accident. Autopsy reports are not a matter of public record in Washington State, where Mr. Cobain died. Only the next of kin can request their copies. If you had access to Mr. Cobain’s autopsy report either because it was forwarded to you by his family or you found yourself in its possession in some other manner, would you be willing to examine it and render a professional opinion? read the full interview below
Director Benjamin Statler’s docudrama “Soaked in Bleach” ends with former Seattle Police chief Norm Stamper saying he would reopen the investigation into the death of Kurt Cobain, if he were calling the shots today. But Stamper was the guy in charge from 1994 to 2000, including the time of Cobain’s death. He now insists that Seattle Police should “have taken steps to study patterns involved in the behavior of key individuals who had a motive to see Kurt Cobain dead.” He went on to say that, “If in fact Kurt Cobain was murdered, as opposed to having committed suicide, and it was possible to learn that, shame on us for not doing that. That was in fact our responsibility. It’s about right and wrong. It’s about honor. It’s about ethics.” Stamper hammered home his point, adding: “If we didn’t get it right the first time, we damn well better get it right the second time, and I would tell you right now if I were the Chief of Police, I would reopen this investigation.” The movie, which is told from the perspective of private investigator Tom Grant, (who was hired by Cobain’s wife Courtney Love to find her husband after he went missing from a rehab center in Los Angeles), is woven together through reenactments of the hours of recorded conversations between Grant and Love, and interviews with experts who refuse to believe Cobain died by suicide.
Carmen Best
The movie addressed the undeveloped film and reenacts a scene in which Grant is told the photos will probably never be developed because they “don’t develop photos on suicides.” “Soaked In Bleach” goes on to claim that “by their negligent death investigation,” the Seattle Police:
Allowed Kurt Cobain to be cremated 6 days after being discovered. Waited 30 days to process the shotgun for fingerprints. Gave Courtney Love the shotgun to have it melted down. Allowed the greenhouse crime scene to be torn down and destroyed
, Tom Grant (PI hired by Courtney to find Kurt in his missing days) asked for his credit card transaction log. After looking at it, Grant thought it was alarming because Cobain’s death took place somewhere between the 5th and 6th of April, and the activity of Cobain’s card continued on April 6th. Immediately, Grant informed the Seattle Police department. One of the officers said he was going to take care of the matter, talking to Seafirst Bank. The bank said that “they had only been able to identify when the information was logged onto their mainframe computer, and not specifically when the attempt was made or who it was made by“. It means that the activity in Kurt’s card is delayed, doesn’t show real-time transactions.
Tom Grant doesn’t believe in the bank statement. However, his scans of the transactions reveal the bank and police were right. Looking at the activities of Cobain’s card provided by Tom Grant, on the top line it
October 10, 2011
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
interview with Nick about his thoughts on the movie Rivaling the tabloid documentaries of Nick Broomfield in the realm of boldness and imagination are personal, in-house motives which propel him into ever more raw, nervy and in your face moviemaking. Broomfield revealed to me in an intriguing two-way conversation how he casts himself in his own fantasy scenarios as the embodiment of the modern adventurer, in the tradition of guys like Jack London and Melville. But the go for broke director of Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam and Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of A Serial Killer may have met his match, not to mention his white whale, with Kurt and Courtney. Cobain widow and rocker Courtney Love went on the offensive against Broomfield and nearly succeeded in shutting his showdown through her corporate influences in the rock world. Of course, this just added fuel to Broomfield’s creative mission, and he explained why.
PRAIRIE MILLER:
After going through the whole experience of making Kurt and Courtney, what is your personal take on the reasons behind Kurt Cobain’s death?
NICK BROOMFIELD:
I think that he committed suicide. I don’t think that there’s a smoking gun. And I think there’s only one way you can explain a lot of things around his death. Not that he was murdered, but that there was just a lack of caring for him. I just think that Courtney had moved on, and he was expendable.
PM: Did the process of making this movie change any of your preconceived notions about either Kurt or Courtney?
NB: I fully expected Courtney to take part in the film, and to use it in a positive way to explain a lot of things that were being said about Kurt’s death. And I fully expected her to be very likeable and charismatic, in the same way for example that Heidi Fleiss was in my film about her. I was really astonished when Courtney tried to control the film. You know, with the BBC and MTV, and trying to block me from getting any of the music. I was really astonished and amazed. That gave a lot more credibility to some of the stories that people were saying about her. I thought a lot of the things that were being said were very extreme, but after a while, I came to believe them. And that was directly borne out of my own experiences in making this film. It was really like a diary. I didn’t go into this thinking anything negative at all about Courtney. It was actually made with a lot of reluctance. I mean, for me it would have been much more satisfying to make a film about someone whom I could say, all these bad things are being said, but she’s such a wonderful person. I didn’t get any satisfaction out of making what I believe to be a truthful, but very dark portrait of someone.
PM: Is she still harassing you in any way?
NB: No.
PM: She gave up?
NB: Yeah.
PM: And what about your preconceived notions related to Kurt Cobain?
NB: With him, it was probably the opposite. The people who were close to him were incredibly moved by him. And I think he was a very sensitive character who grew up under very difficult conditions. You know, he grew up in a logging town among big, tough loggers, and he was a very sensitive creature. He was an artist. He wrote poems and painted. He liked to play his guitar and didn’t fit in, and he frequently got beaten up. He didn’t really have a mother past the age of eight or nine and was shunted around between friends and relatives. You know, he was a lonely, unhappy child, and he really moved a lot of people. I think women wanted to mother him. I think there was a heart in him that really cried out for help, and women especially responded to that.
Filmmaker Nick Broomfield,
IᑎTEᖇᐯIEᗯ ᗷETᗯEEᑎ ᑎIᑕK & ᗪYᒪᗩᑎ ᑕᗩᖇᒪSOᑎ
In the film, Kurt and Courtney Nick Broomfield interviewed Dylan Carlson. His introduction to this interview is as follows:
“I found Dylan to be evasive and in a very defensive position. As Kurt’s best friend it was crazy for him to have bought the gun if he thought Kurt was suicidal. At the same time, he didn’t want to appear to be supporting Tom Grant’s murder theory…..”
Broomfield:
And what about his relationship with Courtney?
Carlson:
Um, obviously it was going through turbulence, some turbulence. Whether it was going to end or not we don’t know. I don’t think we ever will, I mean, you know, but I mean all marriages go through their ups and downs.
Broomfield:
Did he ever say anything to you about, I mean, he did say it to plenty of other people…?
Carlson:
Said what?
Broomfield:
That he was going to finish the relationship.
Carlson:
Divorce? I mean, he never, he flat out said anything like that or any implication about it to me, you know. I mean, he didn’t even make any hints as far as I know about any kind of divorce or anything like that.
Broomfield:
I mean, it’s like, I’m just saying it’s like, why?…
I mean, if you are his best friend and he didn’t say anything about being depressed or suicidal, he just wanted the gun for prowlers, and that Rome was just an accident, you know, maybe you would think also he could have been murdered?
Carlson:
Mmm, why? I mean, who? I mean, it’s like…..
Broomfield:
Well if you were his best friend and he never said anything about anything being wrong, and he’d seen you just before- you know, maybe Tom Grant is right, maybe he was murdered.
Carlson:
But I mean he doesn’t have to say anything about it being wrong. I mean, it’s like, you know, when you are friends with someone there is like subtler forms of information transfer than just flat out, you know…
Broomfield:
So what did he subtly communicate to you?.
Carlson:
Broomfield:
I’m just trying to get a sense of what he did communicate to you. What you understood.
Carlson:
I mean, the thing is it’s like, the time he would have been communicating any sort of, you know, a sense that he wanted to kill himself was already….was when he came back from Exodus when I didn’t see him, you know.
Broomfield:
But if you bought the gun before he went and you think he was now suicidal.
.. Carlson:
I don’t think he was necessarily like planning to kill himself at that point necessarily, I mean, I don’t know though…I mean…
Broomfield:
It was just a coincidence.
Carlson:
I mean, it’s like if he had been totally like suicidal from the outset he would have used the gun that day probably, you know what I mean, why did he like try to go down and go through treatment?
Broomfield:
Why do you think?
Carlson:
You know, well ’cos there was all the fucking pressure on him to go through treatment. His wife is telling him he needs to go through treatment, his record company, his management, you know. So he goes and he tries to get off drugs and he can’t or he doesn’t want to. I mean it’s like basically, he doesn’t want to cos it’s like, you know, there is no reason for him to get off drugs. You know, it’s not like he’s poverty-stricken and robbing grocery stores to supply his habit.
Broomfield:
But how was Courtney telling him to be off drugs when she was on them anyway?
Carlson:
I dunno, ’cos she was the one who was all gung-ho for him to quit. I mean, they were both constantly like, I mean, trying to hide it from one another. I mean, the most ridiculous example was one time Kurt called me up to get some speed and then the other line rang and I answered the other line and it was Courtney asking me to get her dope, and both of them were like, “Oh, don’t let the other one know (smiles), I mean.
. Broomfield:
I don’t know what I think about the whole murder conspiracy.
Carlson:
Put it this way, if I seriously thought Kurt had been murdered, the people… if I thought Courtney was involved or if I thought, they would be dead now, flat out( small laugh.) I would kill them. If I thought that was the case, I mean,…
Broomfield:
But don’t you think it’s curious that if Courtney, as you said, loved Kurt so much, and she was really so worried about him, she knew he had a gun and thought he was suicidal. That she didn’t come up to Seattle to look for him? At this point, Carlson looks thoughtful but says nothing.
Although Hoke claimed that he knew who killed Cobain, he did not mention a name and offered no evidence to support his assertion. However, he mentioned speaking to someone called “Allen” (Allen Wrench), before quickly interjecting, “I mean, my friend”, then laughing, “I’ll let the FBI catch him.”
Broomfield incidentally captured Hoke’s final interview, as he died days later when he was struck by a train in the middle of the night. Although El Duce passed a lie detector test no action was taken & his death was ruled an accident. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QRlxE03c5Rk?wmode=transparent
Nick Broomfield, deciding to investigate the theories himself, brought a film crew to visit a number of people associated with both Cobain and Love, including Love’s estranged father, Cobain’s aunt, and one of the couples’ former nannies Mentors’ bandleader Eldon “El Duce” Hoke, who claimed that Love had offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain.
‘Lasting Memory’ – The Lake Washington greenhouse was reportedly demolished by 1998. (Photo Seattle Pi)
MEDIA INVOLVEMENT
The media spread the information that Kurt Cobain left the rehab center, then bought a gun and was suicidal. Kurt wasn’t suicidal and he and his friend purchased the gun before Kurt left. If Kurt wanted to end his own life, why didn’t he do this on the day he and his friend bought the gun? Why wait to go to rehab? And why go to rehab in the first place if he was so ‘suicidal?’
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Cobain “was shot once in the left ear.” But in a nationally televised photo that shows the rear right shoulder of Cobain’s body, not one drop of blood can be seen on Cobain’s white shirt or on the floor around him. If Cobain was shot in the left ear or anywhere else on his head, the right side of his body should have been covered with blood. Despite these inconsistencies, Dr.Hartshorne, issued a death certificate citing as cause of death a “perforating gunshot wound to the head (mouth).
” If this is true, all the blood must have exited from the left side of his body. More importantly, this specious death certificate allowed Courtney Love to cremate Cobain’s body only one week after it was discovered, thus permanently destroying the most important piece of evidence in the investigation. In response to media incredulity over the mystery wound, in June 1994 the medical examiner’s office modified its verdict by saying that there actually was “no exit wound” and that “all of the shot stayed inside the skull.”
Dr. Hartshorne and his colleague Dr. Donald Reay then released a remarkable document that says Cobain suffered both a “contact penetrating shotgun wound to the head” and a “contact perforating shotgun wound to the head.” But a “penetrating” wound is one where the bullet enters, but does not exit the body.
A “perforating” wound is one where the bullet both enters and exits the body.
In another article, published by Rolling Stone Magazine in June of 1994 by the well-known author Neil Strauss, there also appears to be some glaring misconceptions with regard to not only the evening of March 18th – but of Cobain’s accidental overdose in Rome on March 4th, just two weeks before the March 18th police call. The article characterized that Cobain’s overdose in Rome, was a “failed suicide attempt, however, this media analysis differed quite a bit from Dr. Osvaldo Galleta, the attending doctor who treated Cobain:
and Love told police she feared a suicide.
Police found three pistols, a rifle and 25 boxes of ammunition, but Cobain denied he was suicidal and told officers he had locked himself in the room after an argument with Love. Police confiscated the weapons, but took no other action.
He initially stayed in Seattle, the Times said, but gave in and on March 28, checked into a recovery program at Marina del Rey, Calif.
Love went to Los Angeles on March 25 to prepare for the release of a new album by her band, Hole. She urged Cobain to come with her and check into a recovery program.
In March 2014, the Seattle Police Department developed four rolls of film that had been left in an evidence vault. According to the Seattle police, the photographs depict the scene of Cobain’s corpse more clearly than previous Polaroid images taken by the police. Detective Mike Cieszynski, a cold case investigator, was asked to look at the film because “it is 20 years later and it’s a high media case”. Cieszynski stated that the official cause of Cobain’s death remains suicide and that the images would not be released to the public, but in 2016, the images were released. According to a spokesperson for the Seattle police, the department receives at least one request weekly, mostly through Twitter, to reopen the investigation. This resulted in the maintenance of the basic incident report on file.
DET. MIKE CIESYNSKI
DET. MIKE CIESZYNSKI
I had no involvement in the original investigation aside from taking a taped statement two years after Cobain’s death. I also knew that a couple of rolls of 35 mm film, backup evidence photos from the death scene, were never processed. So, I ordered up the case file from our records vault, closed my private office door, and read the entire file for the first time One of the original case detectives,
Steve Kirkland, had passed away, as did the scene sergeant Don Cameron. Steve and his partner Jim Yoshida were the best homicide detectives in the unit. Jim was retired, so I gave him a call and told him what I was up to. Jim told me that Courtney Love was very cooperative throughout the investigation and that they had spent a lot of time on the case. I asked Jim who had made the decision not to develop all of the film. He said it was Cameron’s call to not develop the film and to have it placed in the records room safe along with the case file so that no one would swipe anything. Obviously, the media attention was making a few folks a little paranoid
. Dr. Nikolas Hartshome was the assistant medical examiner who conducted the autopsy. Nick was a great guy who passed away in 2002. When I received the autopsy report I remembered leaning back in my chair and giving a “whoa” after seeing the morphine level Kurt had in his system. It also showed track marks, and there were several grams of black tar heroin left in his kit. Black tar heroin is found on the west coast west of the Mississippi as compared to Brown or white heroin found on the eastern part of the U.S. I knew I had to develop the film. The supervisor of the crime lab grimaced when I explained it was 20 years old. Film becomes deteriorates with each passing year and becomes very brittle — something I know from working old cold cases — and I wasn’t about to let the film get anymore fouled on my watch. We would have to take the film to the sheriff’s photo unit since Seattle Police Department stopped developing 35mm film since transitioning to digital. Once developed, it was obvious the film had deteriorated, leaving a green tint to all of the photos. The note recovered from the scene was examined by a Washington State Patrol Forensic Document Examiner who concluded the note was written by Cobain.
In this interview Dr. Wecht talks about different aspects of his expertise and renders his opinion on the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
(1) Why do you believe that Mr Cobain’s death was a homicide staged as a suicide?
I have never seen a case of someone with such an exceptionally high level of heroin, enough to kill a lot of people, who were able to do what the authorities say Kurt Cobain did. It does not make any sense at all from a physiological, neurological or psychological standpoint. Num
(2) Are you aware of any recorded cases of deceased persons with the blood morphine level comparable to Mr. Cobain’s?
Not frequently, but I have dealt with several over the years. In fact, I will be testifying in one in the next couple of weeks in Philadelphia. So, while they are not frequent, they do occur. It is just not something that you would never see. I have dealt with a couple dozen over the years in which I rendered reports and testified. Could you walk us through the proper procedure of determining the cause and manner of death, the role of the police department and the medical examiner in the process, as well as the sequence and timeline for the process? The procedures are very straightforward. Homicide detectives are called to the scene, not just plain regular cops.
(3) You have also expressed some doubts about the position of the shotgun on Mr. Cobain’s body.
Yes. The position of the shotgun did not fit either with someone having shot himself with a shotgun. That was very important too. When you go to a scene and you have someone who has been found shot you have to be very careful. This leads me to another big point which is that the scene was not at all properly investigated. They made a quick assumption of a very premature nature that it was a suicide. You do not do that. You treat every case as if it were homicide and most of the time it will prove to be a suicide or maybe an accident. The percentage of homicides will below, but you make sure that you treat it as one. You collect everything that you can: footprints, fingerprints, trace evidence, physical evidence, hair, and so on. And then if it all proves to be unnecessary, the only thing is that you have spent some time, some energy. But this was not done, and the scene was not properly investigated.
(4) In your practice how often have you come across staged suicides?
(5) You walked us through the proper procedure and now how was this procedure not followed in Mr. Cobain’s case?
(6) What can be done to have this case reinvestigated now?
The legal next of kin would have to become very active in pushing for this. There isn’t any process available to have this case reinvestigated by another agency? No, it would have to come from law enforcement. There is no statute of limitations on homicide, so from a legal standpoint you could revisit, but it would have to emanate from the district attorney or a law enforcement agency. Dr. Nikolas Hartshorne signed Kurt Cobain’s death certificate calling his death a suicide one day after the body was discovered. This was despite the fact that the full toxicology results would not be available for weeks. Hartshorne was employed by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office on a fellowship. He had not yet taken the accreditation examination necessary to become a certified examiner. Hartshorne died in 2002 in a BASE-jumping accident. Autopsy reports are not a matter of public record in Washington State, where Mr. Cobain died. Only the next of kin can request their copies. If you had access to Mr. Cobain’s autopsy report either because it was forwarded to you by his family or you found yourself in its possession in some other manner, would you be willing to examine it and render a professional opinion? read the full interview below
The movie addressed the undeveloped film and reenacts a scene in which Grant is told the photos will probably never be developed because they “don’t develop photos on suicides.” “Soaked In Bleach” goes on to claim that “by their negligent death investigation,” the Seattle Police:
Allowed Kurt Cobain to be cremated 6 days after being discovered. Waited 30 days to process the shotgun for fingerprints. Gave Courtney Love the shotgun to have it melted down. Allowed the greenhouse crime scene to be torn down and destroyed
, Tom Grant (PI hired by Courtney to find Kurt in his missing days) asked for his credit card transaction log. After looking at it, Grant thought it was alarming because Cobain’s death took place somewhere between the 5th and 6th of April, and the activity of Cobain’s card continued on April 6th. Immediately, Grant informed the Seattle Police department. One of the officers said he was going to take care of the matter, talking to Seafirst Bank. The bank said that “they had only been able to identify when the information was logged onto their mainframe computer, and not specifically when the attempt was made or who it was made by“. It means that the activity in Kurt’s card is delayed, doesn’t show real-time transactions.
Tom Grant doesn’t believe in the bank statement. However, his scans of the transactions reveal the bank and police were right. Looking at the activities of Cobain’s card provided by Tom Grant, on the top line it
October 10, 2011
(KURT AND COURTNEY) INTERVIEW WITH NICK BROOMFIELD
interview with Nick about his thoughts on the movie Rivaling the tabloid documentaries of Nick Broomfield in the realm of boldness and imagination are personal, in-house motives which propel him into ever more raw, nervy and in your face moviemaking. Broomfield revealed to me in an intriguing two-way conversation how he casts himself in his own fantasy scenarios as the embodiment of the modern adventurer, in the tradition of guys like Jack London and Melville. But the go for broke director of Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam and Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of A Serial Killer may have met his match, not to mention his white whale, with Kurt and Courtney. Cobain widow and rocker Courtney Love went on the offensive against Broomfield and nearly succeeded in shutting his showdown through her corporate influences in the rock world. Of course, this just added fuel to Broomfield’s creative mission, and he explained why.
PRAIRIE MILLER:
After going through the whole experience of making Kurt and Courtney, what is your personal take on the reasons behind Kurt Cobain’s death?
NICK BROOMFIELD:
I think that he committed suicide. I don’t think that there’s a smoking gun. And I think there’s only one way you can explain a lot of things around his death. Not that he was murdered, but that there was just a lack of caring for him. I just think that Courtney had moved on, and he was expendable.
PM: Did the process of making this movie change any of your preconceived notions about either Kurt or Courtney?
NB: I fully expected Courtney to take part in the film, and to use it in a positive way to explain a lot of things that were being said about Kurt’s death. And I fully expected her to be very likeable and charismatic, in the same way for example that Heidi Fleiss was in my film about her. I was really astonished when Courtney tried to control the film. You know, with the BBC and MTV, and trying to block me from getting any of the music. I was really astonished and amazed. That gave a lot more credibility to some of the stories that people were saying about her. I thought a lot of the things that were being said were very extreme, but after a while, I came to believe them. And that was directly borne out of my own experiences in making this film. It was really like a diary. I didn’t go into this thinking anything negative at all about Courtney. It was actually made with a lot of reluctance. I mean, for me it would have been much more satisfying to make a film about someone whom I could say, all these bad things are being said, but she’s such a wonderful person. I didn’t get any satisfaction out of making what I believe to be a truthful, but very dark portrait of someone.
PM: Is she still harassing you in any way?
NB: No.
PM: She gave up?
NB: Yeah.
PM: And what about your preconceived notions related to Kurt Cobain?
NB: With him, it was probably the opposite. The people who were close to him were incredibly moved by him. And I think he was a very sensitive character who grew up under very difficult conditions. You know, he grew up in a logging town among big, tough loggers, and he was a very sensitive creature. He was an artist. He wrote poems and painted. He liked to play his guitar and didn’t fit in, and he frequently got beaten up. He didn’t really have a mother past the age of eight or nine and was shunted around between friends and relatives. You know, he was a lonely, unhappy child, and he really moved a lot of people. I think women wanted to mother him. I think there was a heart in him that really cried out for help, and women especially responded to that.
Filmmaker Nick Broomfield,
IᑎTEᖇᐯIEᗯ ᗷETᗯEEᑎ ᑎIᑕK & ᗪYᒪᗩᑎ ᑕᗩᖇᒪSOᑎ
In the film, Kurt and Courtney Nick Broomfield interviewed Dylan Carlson. His introduction to this interview is as follows:
“I found Dylan to be evasive and in a very defensive position. As Kurt’s best friend it was crazy for him to have bought the gun if he thought Kurt was suicidal. At the same time, he didn’t want to appear to be supporting Tom Grant’s murder theory…..”
Broomfield:
And what about his relationship with Courtney?
Carlson:
Um, obviously it was going through turbulence, some turbulence. Whether it was going to end or not we don’t know. I don’t think we ever will, I mean, you know, but I mean all marriages go through their ups and downs.
Broomfield:
Did he ever say anything to you about, I mean, he did say it to plenty of other people…?
Carlson:
Said what?
Broomfield:
That he was going to finish the relationship.
Carlson:
Divorce? I mean, he never, he flat out said anything like that or any implication about it to me, you know. I mean, he didn’t even make any hints as far as I know about any kind of divorce or anything like that.
Broomfield:
I mean, it’s like, I’m just saying it’s like, why?…
I mean, if you are his best friend and he didn’t say anything about being depressed or suicidal, he just wanted the gun for prowlers, and that Rome was just an accident, you know, maybe you would think also he could have been murdered?
Carlson:
Mmm, why? I mean, who? I mean, it’s like…..
Broomfield:
Well if you were his best friend and he never said anything about anything being wrong, and he’d seen you just before- you know, maybe Tom Grant is right, maybe he was murdered.
Carlson:
But I mean he doesn’t have to say anything about it being wrong. I mean, it’s like, you know, when you are friends with someone there is like subtler forms of information transfer than just flat out, you know…
Broomfield:
So what did he subtly communicate to you?.
Carlson:
Broomfield:
I’m just trying to get a sense of what he did communicate to you. What you understood.
Carlson:
I mean, the thing is it’s like, the time he would have been communicating any sort of, you know, a sense that he wanted to kill himself was already….was when he came back from Exodus when I didn’t see him, you know.
Broomfield:
But if you bought the gun before he went and you think he was now suicidal.
.. Carlson:
I don’t think he was necessarily like planning to kill himself at that point necessarily, I mean, I don’t know though…I mean…
Broomfield:
It was just a coincidence.
Carlson:
I mean, it’s like if he had been totally like suicidal from the outset he would have used the gun that day probably, you know what I mean, why did he like try to go down and go through treatment?
Broomfield:
Why do you think?
Carlson:
You know, well ’cos there was all the fucking pressure on him to go through treatment. His wife is telling him he needs to go through treatment, his record company, his management, you know. So he goes and he tries to get off drugs and he can’t or he doesn’t want to. I mean it’s like basically, he doesn’t want to cos it’s like, you know, there is no reason for him to get off drugs. You know, it’s not like he’s poverty-stricken and robbing grocery stores to supply his habit.
Broomfield:
But how was Courtney telling him to be off drugs when she was on them anyway?
Carlson:
I dunno, ’cos she was the one who was all gung-ho for him to quit. I mean, they were both constantly like, I mean, trying to hide it from one another. I mean, the most ridiculous example was one time Kurt called me up to get some speed and then the other line rang and I answered the other line and it was Courtney asking me to get her dope, and both of them were like, “Oh, don’t let the other one know (smiles), I mean.
. Broomfield:
I don’t know what I think about the whole murder conspiracy.
Carlson:
Put it this way, if I seriously thought Kurt had been murdered, the people… if I thought Courtney was involved or if I thought, they would be dead now, flat out( small laugh.) I would kill them. If I thought that was the case, I mean,…
Broomfield:
But don’t you think it’s curious that if Courtney, as you said, loved Kurt so much, and she was really so worried about him, she knew he had a gun and thought he was suicidal. That she didn’t come up to Seattle to look for him? At this point, Carlson looks thoughtful but says nothing.
Nick Broomfield, deciding to investigate the theories himself, brought a film crew to visit a number of people associated with both Cobain and Love, including Love’s estranged father, Cobain’s aunt, and one of the couples’ former nannies Mentors’ bandleader Eldon “El Duce” Hoke, who claimed that Love had offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain.
Although Hoke claimed that he knew who killed Cobain, he did not mention a name and offered no evidence to support his assertion. However, he mentioned speaking to someone called “Allen” (Allen Wrench), before quickly interjecting, “I mean, my friend”, then laughing, “I’ll let the FBI catch him.”
Broomfield incidentally captured Hoke’s final interview, as he died days later when he was struck by a train in the middle of the night. Although El Duce passed a lie detector test no action was taken & his death was ruled an accident. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QRlxE03c5Rk?wmode=transparent
Nirvana changed the music industry forever back in 1991. From Nirvana, came two of the most well-known names of the grunge-era, Kurt Cobain and David Grohl. Wait a minute, wasn’t there three people in Nirvana? Oh yes, the bass player, Krist. Most Nirvana fans agree that Krist was by far the loudest of the three, but also, the least known. I’m sure some of you will say that it’s his fault because he waited so long before he became involved in music again. Well, you’re wrong, Dave’s new band,The Foo Fighters played a gig on March 3, 1995 which would be their first, but, what most of you don’t know is that Krist’s new band, Sweet 75 played a gig only 2 weeks after The Foo Fighter’s first,on March 17, 1995. The sad thing is that The Foo Fighters released a single and an album almost immediately, while Krist took a deeper dive into politics, and Sweet 75 didn’t release their first album till late 1997. What does all this have to do with Krist in Nirvana? Actually, nothing… I was just blabbering I guess. While in Nirvana, Krist took up the more important role of being the spokes-person for the band. While Kurt and Dave were clearly the more well-known of the 3, Krist took every chance he got to step into the spotlight. Remember the MTV Awards? Krist was always there to stick up for Kurt, as demonstrated in the infamous bouncer fight at The Trees Club in Dallas. Krist would also help Kurt with just about anything. I forget who said this, but during the recordings of Nevermind and In Utero, if Kurt didn’t know how to work something, Krist would jump right in, lend a helping hand, and say “here, this is how you do it.” Krist was also, by far, the funniest of the three. Everybody loves to hear Krist say something stupid during a concert. Dave was quoted as saying that Krist has brain spasms, which in turn, impairs Krist’s ability to make sense…ha. Nirvana concerts were great, you get to go see an awesome band play, and listen to some huge guy make an ass of himself. I myself went to a concert, and one of the things I can remember is one-word Krist said, “Boo!” Many people complain that Krist is going into hiding, and that he doesn’t want anything to do with Nirvana. Hmm, well that’s because he’s got better things to do then answer some of those stupid Nirvana questions. Krist is trying now though, his Murky Slough Home Page now have a Nirvana page on it. The page isn’t much, but atleast it shows that he still cares for the band. I know all of you came to Krist in Nirvana to see all these cool pictures of him playing, go look in the pictures section, and you all hoped that you would learn some cool unknown information…forget it
Chris was into bands like Led Zeppelin, Devo, Black Sabbath, and Aerosmith while his peers were into Top Forty, perhaps because that was all the local radio station played. By June of l980, Chris’s parents got so worried about his depression that they sent him to live with relatives in Croatia, Chris. had picked up Croatian “around the house,” and is still fluent in it. He loved living, there–he made lots of friends and the schools were, excellent. He even heard something there called “punk rock,” and discovered the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and even some Yugoslavian punk bands. It didn’t make too much of a dent, however. “It was just music to me.” Chris recalls. “It didn’t really mean anything” to me–it was just music that I liked.” After a year, his parents called him back home. “I was just in a weird limbo.” Chris says. He began drinking and smoking pot heavily. “I’ve always been a big drinker.” says Chris, “When I drink, I just don’t stop. I like to drink because you’re in some weird cartoon land where anything goes. Your vision is blurry and nothing and everything makes sense. It’s crazy. It’s a different reality and a different world of consciousness.” Chris became well known on the party circuit. “You’d go to parties and people would be like ‘Hey, Novie!’” says Matt Lukin. “They always knew him as the big, wacky guy because he, was always doing weird things. They just thought he was kind of weird. He’d go to parties and jump around.” He had some people to hang out with, but he was hard pressed to call them friends. “I hung out with them because I had no where else to go,” says Chris. “It was kind of odd and and uncomfortable.”
He finally got a job at the local Taco Bell and threw himself into work, working every night and not socializing, just saving money. By senior year of high school, he had bought a car, some stereo speakers, and a guitar. He look some lessons along with his brother Robert and told his teacher, Warren Mason–the same guy who taught Kurt that he really wanted to play the blues. He quit after a few months and then woodshedded intensively in his bedroom, patiently working out the licks to old B.B. King records with bis brother. Around this time Chris’s brother Robert brought his friend Kurt Cobain over to the Novoselic house. When Kurt asked about the racket emanating from the upstairs stereo, Robert replied, “Oh, thats my brother Chris, he listens to punk rock.” Kurt thought that was very cool and filed the information away. Chris graduated from high school in 1983. Soon after, his parents got divorced. It was a rough enough time as it was, but he also had some plastic surgery done on his face–doctor’s cut a small section of bone out of Chris’s jaw and moved some teeth forward to correct a severe underbite (“I looked like ‘Jay Leno,” he says). Chris’s jaw was wired shut for six weeks. He still went out to parties, except he had to carry a pair of wire cutters with him in case he threw up or something got caught in his throat. “He’d go out and get all fucked up.” Lukin recalls. “and he’d be puking and it would be draining through his wires. He said he never did have to cut them, but all the food was like milkshakes anyway, no solid food. Still, it was somewhat reckless of him.” “Then the swelling, went down.” says Chris, “and I had a new face.” One day during his senior year in high school, he had been walking behind two junior girls in the hall hall who were raving about the album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. “Yeah, they’re really great!” he piped up.Shelli remembered him as a “class clown-type guy, always joking.” They talked a little and made friends. Shelli dropped out her senior year and took a job at McDonald’s and got her own apartment on Market Street, across from the fire department. On her way to work, she would walk past the Foster Painting company where Chris worked and she would talk to him. She got his phone number and started calling him up. They had a lot in common–Shelli had been an odd-ball in school, too–and by March 1985, they had started hanging out as friends at Shelli’s apartment, listening to punk rock records and going to shows. Soon they started going out.
The matter of when Kurt and Krist finally met and started Nirvana has been debated for quite some time now. I will tell you right away that I do not have a definite answer. What we do know is that Kurt and Krist were playing together sometime during 1985. We also know that it took some time after Kurt gave Krist a demo tape before they finally got together. This demo tape is known as the Fecal Matter Demo. In the book Come As You Are it says that Kurt gave Krist the Fecal Matter Demo, but it took almost a year before Krist actually listened to it. If they did get together in 1985 which is most likely true, that would mean the Kurt made the Fecal Matter Demo in 1984. Most Nirvana fans claim that it was made in 1985, which could not work if they in fact played in 1985. My theory is that they met sometime in 1983, at the time Krist was a senior in high school. Kurt’s aunt Mari clearly states that Kurt made a demo at her house in 1982 which she calls “Organized Confusion.” I would rather believe Kurt’s aunt then a Nirvana fan as to when a demo was produced. In picture in People magazine, Kurt is actually playing a bass guitar. Mari says that the photo was taken in 1982. So whoever says that someone else must’ve played bass because Kurt didn’t know how to is wrong. Kurt did know how to play bass. As a matter of fact, he played guitar, drums, and bass. So that means with the proper equipment, which Mari had at her house, he could’ve easily mixed all 3 instruments together to come up with a demo. Kurt and Krist both hung out with Buzz Osborne during this time, so they could’ve easily met. The only person who would know the answer to this question of when they met would be Krist. And unfortunately that’s not at the top of the list of his things-to-do now.
Nirvana changed the music industry forever back in 1991. From Nirvana, came two of the most well-known names of the grunge-era, Kurt Cobain and David Grohl. Wait a minute, wasn’t there three people in Nirvana? Oh yes, the bass player, Krist. Most Nirvana fans agree that Krist was by far the loudest of the three, but also, the least known. I’m sure some of you will say that it’s his fault because he waited so long before he became involved in music again. Well, you’re wrong, Dave’s new band,The Foo Fighters played a gig on March 3, 1995 which would be their first, but, what most of you don’t know is that Krist’s new band, Sweet 75 played a gig only 2 weeks after The Foo Fighter’s first,on March 17, 1995. The sad thing is that The Foo Fighters released a single and an album almost immediately, while Krist took a deeper dive into politics, and Sweet 75 didn’t release their first album till late 1997. What does all this have to do with Krist in Nirvana? Actually, nothing… I was just blabbering I guess. While in Nirvana, Krist took up the more important role of being the spokes-person for the band. While Kurt and Dave were clearly the more well-known of the 3, Krist took every chance he got to step into the spotlight. Remember the MTV Awards? Krist was always there to stick up for Kurt, as demonstrated in the infamous bouncer fight at The Trees Club in Dallas. Krist would also help Kurt with just about anything. I forget who said this, but during the recordings of Nevermind and In Utero, if Kurt didn’t know how to work something, Krist would jump right in, lend a helping hand, and say “here, this is how you do it.” Krist was also, by far, the funniest of the three. Everybody loves to hear Krist say something stupid during a concert. Dave was quoted as saying that Krist has brain spasms, which in turn, impairs Krist’s ability to make sense…ha. Nirvana concerts were great, you get to go see an awesome band play, and listen to some huge guy make an ass of himself. I myself went to a concert, and one of the things I can remember is one-word Krist said, “Boo!” Many people complain that Krist is going into hiding, and that he doesn’t want anything to do with Nirvana. Hmm, well that’s because he’s got better things to do then answer some of those stupid Nirvana questions. Krist is trying now though, his Murky Slough Home Page now have a Nirvana page on it. The page isn’t much, but atleast it shows that he still cares for the band. I know all of you came to Krist in Nirvana to see all these cool pictures of him playing, go look in the pictures section, and you all hoped that you would learn some cool unknown information…forget it
Dave, much like Kurt and Chris, took to music at a very young age. He spent a few years taking guitar lessons, but lost interest in them and decided to play with local bands doing cover songs instead of formally learning. Seeing a performance by the new-wave 80s group The B52’s, he got drawn towards the genre and away from the classic rock style he was commonly covering in the bands he played with.
Dave
Taking to punk rock in the summer of 1982 following his cousin’s lead, Dave found himself enjoying music more than before. The entire lifestyle that was punk, and the high energy music was an instant attraction and luckily for all of us, it kept its hold on him.
With the band he played in, Freaky Baby, going through the removal of their drummer and a subsequent shift of the lineup, Dave ended up behind the drum set and they began to play fast hardcore punk. The name of the band eventually even became simply, Fast. After they disbanded in 1986 Dave went on to play in another band called Dain Bramage, which he was still in when he auditioned to be the new drummer for a favorite band of his, Scream. After a few months of playing with his band after that audition, Dave landed behind the drum set of Scream.
Touring with Scream around the US landed Dave in many situations, including playing shows with the Melvins, and even crossing paths with Kurt and Chris a few times. After the abrupt parting of Scream’s bass player from the tour, Dave found himself stranded in L.A. and called Buzz Osborne, who put him in touch with the pair in seattle after they remarked about liking the drummer at the Scream show. A few days and a flight later, Dave was picked up in Seattle by the two.
Moving in with Chris and Shelli, Dave spent time seeing shows in the Seattle and Tacoma areas, and eventually replaced the then current drummer of the band, Dan Peters.
Born to James and Virginia Grohl, along with 3-year older sister Lisa, Dave was brought up in a divorced home. While living in Springfield VA, his parents separated and he was raised from then on by his mother, a high school English teacher.
Chris talks about Kurt
Dave
Dave
Born to James and Virginia Grohl, along with 3-year older sister Lisa, Dave was brought up in a divorced home. While living in Springfield VA, his parents separated and he was raised from then on by his mother, a high school English teacher.
Kurt Donald Cobain was born at Grays Harbor Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington, on February 20, 1967
The son of waitress Wendy Elizabeth born 1948 and car mechanic Donald Leland Cobain (born 1946)] His parents married in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on July 31, 1965.
Cobain had Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.[ The Cobain surname comes from his Irish ancestors, who emigrated from the Northern Irish town of Carrickmore in 1875. Researchers found that they were shoemakers, originally surnamed Cobane, and came from the Inishatieve area of Carrickmore. They first settled in Canada, where they lived in Cornwall, Ontario, before moving to Washington. Cobain mistakenly believed that his Irish ancestors came from County Cork. His younger sister, Kimberly, was born on April 24, 1970.
Cobain’s family had a musical background. His maternal uncle, Chuck Fradenburg, played in a band called the Beachcombers; his aunt, Mari Earle, played guitar and performed in bands throughout Grays Harbor County; and his great-uncle, Delbert, had a career as an Irish tenor, making an appearance in the 1930 film King of Jazz. Kurt was described as a happy and excitable child, who also exhibited sensitivity and care. His talent as an artist was evident from an early age, as he would draw his favorite characters from films and cartoons, such as the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Donald Duck, in his bedroom. He was encouraged by his grandmother, Iris Cobain, a professional artist. Cobain developed an interest in music at a young age. According to his aunt Mari, he began singing at the age of two. At age four, he started playing the piano and singing, writing a song about a trip to a park. He listened to artists including Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)] and, from a young age, would sing songs including Arlo Guthrie‘s “Motorcycle Song”, the Beatles‘ “Hey Jude“, Terry Jacks‘ “Seasons in the Sun“, and the theme song to the Monkees television show.
When Cobain was nine years old, his parents divorced.[12]: 20 He later said the divorce had a profound effect on his life, and his mother noted that his personality changed dramatically; Cobain became defiant and withdrawn. In a 1993 interview, he said he felt “ashamed” of his parents as a child and had desperately wanted to have a “typical family … I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that.] His parents found new partners after the divorce. Although his father had promised not to remarry, he married Jenny Westeby, to Kurt’s dismay.[12]: 24 Cobain, his father, Westeby, and her two children, Mindy and James, moved into a new household. Cobain liked Westeby at first, as she gave him the maternal attention he desired. In January 1979, Westeby gave birth to a boy, Chad Cobain. This new family, which Cobain insisted was not his real one, was in stark contrast to the attention Cobain was used to receiving as an only boy, and he became resentful of his stepmother. Cobain’s mother dated a man who was abusive; Cobain witnessed the domestic violence inflicted upon her, with one incident resulting in her being hospitalized with a broken arm.[12]: 25, 26 Wendy refused to press charges, remaining committed to the relationship.[12]: 26
Cobain behaved insolently toward adults during this period and began bullying another boy at school. His father and Westeby took him to a therapist who concluded that he would benefit from a single-family environment.[12]: 26 Both sides of the family unsuccessfully attempted to reunite his parents. On June 28, 1979, Cobain’s mother granted full custody to his father.[12]: 27 Cobain’s teenage rebellion quickly became overwhelming for his father who placed him in the care of family and friends. While living with the born-again Christian family of his friend Jesse Reed, Cobain became a devout Christian and regularly attended church services. He later renounced Christianity, engaging in what was described as “anti-God” rants. The song “Lithium” is about his experience while living with the Reed family. Religion remained an important part of his personal life and beliefs.[10]: 22 [12]: 196 [12]: 69 Although uninterested in sports, Cobain was enrolled in a junior high school wrestling team at the insistence of his father. He was a skilled wrestler but despised the experience. Because of the ridicule he endured from his teammates and coach, he allowed himself to be pinned in an attempt to sadden his father. Later, his father enlisted him in a Little League Baseball team, where Cobain would intentionally strike out to avoid playing.[10]: 20–25 Cobain befriended a gay student at school and was bullied by peers who concluded that he was gay. In an interview, he said that he liked being associated with a gay identity because he did not like people, and when they thought he was gay they left him alone. He said, “I started being really proud of the fact that I was gay even though I wasn’t.” His friend tried to kiss him, and Cobain backed away, explaining to his friend that he was not gay, but remained friends with him. According to Cobain, he used to spray paint “God Is Gay” on pickup trucks in the Aberdeen area. Police records show that Cobain was arrested for spray painting the phrase “ain’t got no how watchamacallit” on vehicles.[12]: 68
Cobain playing drums at Montesano High School in 1981
Cobain often drew during classes. When given a caricature assignment for an art course, Cobain drew Michael Jackson but was told by the teacher that the image was inappropriate for a school hallway. He then drew an image of then-President Ronald Reagan that was seen as “unflattering”.[12]: 41 Through art and electronics classes, Cobain met Roger “Buzz” Osborne, singer and guitarist of the Melvins, who became his friend and introduced him to punk rock and hardcore music.[18]: 35, 36 [19] As attested to by several of Cobain’s classmates and family members, the first concert he attended was Sammy Hagar and Quarterflash, held at the Seattle Center Coliseum in 1983.[8][12]: 44 Cobain, however, claimed that the first live show he attended was the Melvins, when they played a free concert outside the Thriftway supermarket where Osborne worked. Cobain wrote in his journals of this experience, as well as in interviews, singling out the impact it had on him.[12]: 45 [20] As a teenager living in Montesano, Washington, Cobain eventually found escape through the thriving Pacific Northwest punk scene, going to punk rock shows in Seattle.[10]
During his second year in high school, Cobain began living with his mother in Aberdeen. Two weeks prior to graduation, he dropped out of Aberdeen High School upon realizing that he did not have enough credits to graduate. His mother gave him an ultimatum: find employment or leave. After one week, Cobain found his clothes and other belongings packed away in boxes.[10]: 35 Feeling banished, Cobain stayed with friends, occasionally sneaking back into his mother’s basement.[10]: 37 Cobain also claimed that, during periods of homelessness, he lived under a bridge over the Wishkah River,[10]: 37 an experience that inspired the song “Something in the Way“. His future bandmate Krist Novoselic later said, “He hung out there, but you couldn’t live on those muddy banks, with the tides coming up and down. That was his own revisionism.”[21] In late 1986, Cobain moved into an apartment, paying his rent by working at the Polynesian Resort, a themed resort on the Pacific coast at Ocean Shores, Washington approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Aberdeen.[10]: 43 During this period, he traveled frequently to Olympia, Washington, to go to rock concerts.[10]: 46 During his visits to Olympia, Cobain formed a relationship with Tracy Marander. Their relationship was close but strained by financial problems and Cobain’s absence when touring. Marander supported the couple by working at the cafeteria of the Boeing plant in Auburn, Washington, often stealing food. Cobain spent most of his time sleeping into the late evening, watching television, and concentrating on art projects.
Marander’s insistence that he get a job caused arguments that influenced Cobain to write the song “About a Girl“, which appeared on the Nirvana album Bleach. Marander is credited with having taken the cover photo for the album, as well as the front and back cover photos of their Blew single. She did not become aware that Cobain wrote “About a Girl” about her until years after his death.[12]: 88–93 [12]: 116–117 [12]: 122 [12]: 134–136 [12]: 143 [12]: 153 Soon after his separation from Marander, Cobain began dating Tobi Vail, an influential punk zinester of the riot grrrl band Bikini Kill who embraced the DIY ethos. After meeting Vail, Cobain vomited, overwhelmed with anxiety caused by his infatuation with her. This event inspired the lyric “love you so much it makes me sick” in the song “Aneurysm“.[12]: 152 While Cobain regarded Vail as his female counterpart, his relationship with her waned; he desired the maternal comfort of a traditional relationship, which Vail regarded as sexist within a countercultural punk rock community. Vail’s lovers were described by her friend Alice Wheeler as “fashion accessories”.[12]: 153 Cobain wrote many of his songs about Vail.[12]
On his 14th birthday on February 20, 1981, Cobain’s uncle offered him either a bike or a used guitar; Kurt chose the guitar. Soon, he was trying to play Led Zeppelin‘s song “Stairway to Heaven“. He also learned how to play “Louie Louie“, Queen‘s “Another One Bites the Dust“, and the Cars‘ “My Best Friend’s Girl“, before he began working on his own songs. Cobain played left-handed, despite being forced to write right-handed.[10]: 22
In early 1985, Cobain formed Fecal Matter after he had dropped out of Aberdeen High School.[18] One of “several joke bands” that arose from the circle of friends associated with the Melvins,[18] it initially featured Cobain singing and playing guitar, Melvins drummer Dale Crover playing bass, and Greg Hokanson playing drums.[22] They spent several months rehearsing original material and covers, including songs by the Ramones, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix.[18][23]
Nirvana
During high school, Cobain rarely found anyone with whom he could play music. While hanging out at the Melvins’ practice space, he met Krist Novoselic, a fellow devotee of punk rock. Novoselic’s mother owned a hair salon, and the pair occasionally practiced in the upstairs room of the salon. A few years later, Cobain tried to convince Novoselic to form a band with him by lending him a copy of a home demo recorded by Fecal Matter.[10] After months of asking, Novoselic agreed to join Cobain, forming the beginnings of Nirvana.[10]: 45 Religion appeared to remain a significant muse to Cobain during this time as he often used Christian imagery in his work and developed an interest in Jainism and Buddhist philosophy.
Cobain became disenchanted after early touring because of the band’s inability to draw substantial crowds and the difficulty in supporting themselves financially. During their first few years playing together, Novoselic and Cobain were hosts to a succession of drummers. Eventually, the band settled on Chad Channing with whom Nirvana recorded the album Bleach, released on Sub Pop Records in 1989. Cobain, however, became dissatisfied with Channing’s style and subsequently fired him. He and Novoselic eventually hired Dave Grohl to replace Channing. Grohl helped the band record their 1991 major-label debut, Nevermind. With Nevermind‘s lead single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Nirvana quickly entered the mainstream, popularizing a subgenre of alternative rock called “grunge“. Since their debut, Nirvana has sold over 28 million albums in the United States alone and over 75 million worldwide.[24][25] The success of Nevermind provided numerous Seattle bands, such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, access to wider audiences. As a result, alternative rock became a dominant genre on radio and music television in the U.S. during the first half of the 1990s. Nirvana was considered the “flagship band of Generation X“, and Cobain found himself reluctantly anointed by the media as the generation’s “spokesman”.[26] He resented this characterization since he believed his artistic message had been misinterpreted by the public.[27]
When you’re in the public eye, you have no choice but to be raped over and over again – they’ll take every ounce of blood out of you until you’re exhausted. … I’m looking forward to the future. It will only be another year and then everyone will forget about it.
—Kurt Cobain on the overwhelming media attention after Nevermind, 1992[28]
Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana with his underground roots and vision. He also felt persecuted by the media, comparing himself to Frances Farmer whom he named a song after.[29] He began to harbor resentment against people who claimed to be fans of the band yet refused to acknowledge, or misinterpreted, the band’s social and political views. A vocal opponent of sexism, racism, sexual assault, and homophobia, he was publicly proud that Nirvana had played at a gay rights benefit concert that was held to oppose Oregon’s 1992 Ballot Measure 9, which would have directed Oregon schools to teach that homosexuality was “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse”.[30][31] Cobain was a vocal supporter of the pro-choice movement, and Nirvana was involved in L7‘s Rock for Choice campaign.[32] He received death threats from a small number of anti-abortion activists for participating in the pro-choice campaign, with one activist threatening to shoot Cobain as soon as he stepped on a stage.[12]: 253
Following a tour stop at Terminal Eins in Munich, Germany, on March 1, 1994, Cobain was diagnosed with bronchitis and severe laryngitis. He flew to Rome the next day for medical treatment, and was joined there by his wife, Courtney Love, on March 3. The next morning, Love awoke to find that Cobain had overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol. Cobain was rushed to the hospital and was unconscious for the rest of the day. After five days, Cobain was released and returned to Seattle.[9] Love later said that the incident was Cobain’s first suicide attempt.[84]
On March 18, 1994, Love phoned the Seattle police informing them that Cobain was suicidal and had locked himself in a room with a gun. Police arrived and confiscated several guns and a bottle of pills from Cobain, who insisted that he was not suicidal and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love.[85]
Love arranged an intervention regarding Cobain’s drug use on March 25, 1994. The ten people involved included musician friends, record company executives, and one of Cobain’s closest friends, Dylan Carlson. Cobain reacted with anger, insulting and heaping scorn on the participants, and locked himself in the upstairs bedroom. However, by the end of the day, Cobain agreed to undergo a detox program, and he entered a residential facility in Los Angeles for a few days on March 30, 1994.[86][87]
The following night, Cobain left the facility and flew to Seattle. On the flight, he sat near Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses. Despite Cobain’s animosity towards Guns N’ Roses, Cobain “seemed happy” to see McKagan. McKagan later said that he knew from “all of my instincts that something was wrong”.[12]: 331 Most of Cobain’s friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts. On April 7, amid rumors of Nirvana breaking up, the band pulled out of the 1994 Lollapalooza festival.[88]
Cobain’s former home, and the site of his death.
On April 8,[89] Cobain’s body was discovered at his Lake Washington Boulevard home by an electrician,[90] who had arrived to install a security system. A suicide note was found, addressed to Cobain’s childhood imaginary friend Boddah, that stated that Cobain had not “felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing … for too many years now”. Cobain’s body had been there for days; the coroner’s report estimated he died on April 5, 1994, at the age of 27.[91]
GROWING UP KURT COBAIN
– FRANCES BEAN ON KURT COBAIN EXHIBITION CURATED BY HIS MOTHER AND SISTER
KURT COBAIN’S MOTHER WENDY O’CONNOR IS RECOUNTING A STORY ABOUT HER SON TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT HE WAS LIKE AS A CHILD;
‘WHO COURTNEY KNEW WAS A VERY DIFFERENT PERSON TO WHO THEY INTIMATELY KNEW’
‘THE SWEETEST, FUNNIEST LITTLE DEVIL’. “HE’D COME IN THE KITCHEN AND SAY, ‘HEY MOM!’ AND HE GOT ME EVERY TIME WITH THIS – HE’D TAKE THREAD AND THREAD IT THROUGH HIS FINGERS AND PULL THE STRING AND MAKE HIS HAND GO BACK AND FORTH, AND I’D TURN AROUND AND GO, ‘AAARGH!’ AND IT WOULD MAKE ME SICK TO MY STOMACH. HE JUST LOVED DOING IT!” SHE LAUGHS. KURT’S YOUNGER SISTER KIM REMEMBERS ALL THE KIDS DOING IT, “WE’D TAKE THE ROUGH SKIN, JUST THE FIRST LAYER. I DON’T KNOW WHAT OUR DEAL WAS IN THE SEVENTIES, STRINGING OUR FINGERS TOGETHER,” SHE LAUGHS. WENDY, KIM, AND KURT AND FRANCES BEAN COBAIN, KURT’S DAUGHTER WITH COURTNEY LOVE, ARE IN CONVERSATION WITH RTE BROADCASTER DAVE FANNING AT THE MUSEUM OF STYLE ICONS IN NEWBRIDGE TO LAUNCH GROWING UP KURT COBAIN, AN EXHIBITION OF HIS PERSONAL BELONGINGS INCLUDING HAND-WRITTEN LYRICS, HIS 1965 DODGE DART, CLOTHES, AWARDS, BUT MOSTLY ITEMS FROM HIS CHILDHOOD – PHOTOS, SKETCHES, NOTES AND STORIES, TOYS, AND SOME HOME VIDEO. BRETT MORGAN’S 2015 DOCUMENTARY KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK TOUCHED ON HIS CHILDHOOD AND HIS BURGEONING CREATIVE GENIUS AND THE EXHIBITION BUILDS ON THAT, PAINTING A PICTURE OF HIM AS A FUN-LOVING, TALENTED KID. THE ITEMS HAVE BEEN LOVINGLY SELECTED BY KIM AND WENDY IN THE HOPE OF PROVIDING SOME BALANCE IN THE NARRATIVE OF HIS LIFE, WHICH, HAVING ENDED ABRUPTLY WITH HIS TRAGIC SUICIDE ON APRIL 5, 1994, AT THE HEIGHT OF NIRVANA’S SUCCESS, HAS BEEN VIEWED THROUGH THAT DARK PRISM IN THE INTERVENING YEARS. “THIS WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL, TO GO AND SEE OUR CHILDHOOD THAT WE HAD TOGETHER,” SAYS KIM. ALTHOUGH FRANCES (25) HAD NO PART IN CURATING THE ITEMS FOR THE EXHIBITION, SHE WANTED TO SUPPORT HER GRANDMOTHER AND HER AUNT ON THEIR TRIP TO IRELAND, AS SHE SAYS SHE FOUND IT A “HEALING PLACE” TO VISIT AS A CHILD. “THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY’VE EVER REALLY EXTENDED THEMSELVES IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY CURATED IT AND CREATIVELY INFORMED THEIR IDEA OF KURT AND WHO THEY KNEW HIM TO BE AND THAT TO ME IS THE PUREST FORM OF HIM, BECAUSE EVERYTHING WE’VE HEARD OR SEEN IS A SATURATED VERSION BECAUSE IT’S A PART OF MYTHOLOGY,” SHE SAYS. “WE LOVE TO THINK OF HIM AS THIS MYSTERIOUS, DARK POET LAUREATE AND HE WAS BUT HE WAS ALSO QUITE FUNNY AND WARM AND A BROTHER AND SON AND I THINK THIS IS MORE REFLECTIVE OF THAT. AND I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO THE NARRATIVE TO RECOGNISE THAT THOSE WERE EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF HIS PERSONALITY AS THE DARKER SERIOUS POET LAUREATE WE KNOW HIM TO BE.” HAVING THE EXHIBITION OPEN IN IRELAND (IT’S AT THE MUSEUM OF STYLE ICONS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30 BEFORE HEADING TO SANTIAGO, CHILE) WAS IMPORTANT TO THE FAMILY. “I THINK THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US THREE TO COME TO IRELAND. THIS IS WHERE OUR ROOTS ARE. IT’S A VERY HEALING PLACE,” SHE SAYS. “I’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE AND IT WAS SUPER HEALING FOR ME AS A CHILD AND I WANTED TO COME AND BE A PART OF THIS EXPERIENCE WITH THEM. I DON’T KNOW IF WE COULD RECREATE THE ENERGY OF THIS SPECIFIC TRIP AGAIN. THE REASON THAT THIS IS SO HEALING IS BECAUSE IT’S IN IRELAND. THAT’S A HUGE COMPONENT OF IT I BELIEVE.” KURT BELIEVED HIS ANCESTORS HAD COME TO THE UNITED STATES FROM CORK, BUT IN RECENT YEARS COURTNEY TRACED THE FAMILY’S IRISH ROOTS TO TYRONE AND A MAN CALLED SAMUEL COBAIN WHO EMIGRATED ON A ‘GRAVEYARD SHIP’ WITH HIS WIFE LETITIA AND BROTHER KEVIN IN THE LATE 1800S. AS FRANCES READS A TEXT MESSAGE FROM COURTNEY WITH THIS INFORMATION SHE LAUGHS,
GROWING UP KURT COBAIN
GROWING UP KURT COBAIN
IT’S CLEAR THAT HER GRANDMOTHER WENDY HAS BEEN A HUGELY POSITIVE AND STABLE INFLUENCE IN FRANCES’ LIFE. WENDY BECOMES EMOTIONAL WHEN SPEAKING ABOUT HOW FRANCES NEVER KNEW HER FATHER AND HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR HER TO LET HER KNOW WHO HE WAS. AS A CHILD FRANCES WOULD VISIT THE FARM IN OLYMPIA WHERE WENDY LIVED AND “HEALED” FOLLOWING KURT’S DEATH, WORKING IN THE GARDEN. “NOTHING WAS CONSISTENT IN MY DAY TO DAY LIFE AT ALL BUT WHEN I WOULD GO TO THE FARM IN OLYMPIA IT WAS LIKE THE MOST GROUNDING EXPERIENCE,” SAYS FRANCES, WHO REVEALS THAT WHEN PEOPLE NOW COMMENT ON HOW WELL ADJUSTED SHE IS SHE PUTS IT DOWN TO THE STABILITY WENDY AND KIM PROVIDED FOR HER THROUGHOUT HER CHILDHOOD. “THE REASON I GOT TO THE POINT OF BEING WELL-ADJUSTED IS BECAUSE I HAD ROOTS IN SOMETHING NORMAL AND HEALTHY,” SHE SAYS. “IT’S GIVEN ME A SENSE OF WHAT I WANT MY DAY TO DAY LIFE TO LOOK LIKE OUTSIDE ALL THE HUBBUB AND BS, HOW I WANT MY DAY TO DAY LIFE TO LOOK LIKE WITH NORMALCY WITH CONSISTENCY AND LOVE. THAT IS SUPER IMPORTANT. I DON’T THINK I WOULD KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE WITHOUT THEM.” WENDY ADMITS IT WAS HUGELY DIFFICULT TO TAKE A STEP BACK WHEN FRANCES WAS GOING THROUGH HER SELF-DESTRUCTIVE PHASE, BUT SAYS SHE HAD LEARNED FROM HER PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES WITH KURT AND COURTNEY. “ABSOLUTELY I KNEW SHE WOULD MAKE IT, BUT IT WAS VERY HARD NOT TO OVER INSERT MYSELF INTO THE WHOLE… WHEN IT WAS NOT GOOD. THAT WAS THE HARDEST PART,” SHE SAYS. “I KNEW THAT I HAD TO DO THAT, I HAD TO STEP BACK AND KIND OF LET IT RUN ITS COURSE.” SHE ADDS, “IT WAS REALLY HARD FOR ME BECAUSE I CAN BE REALLY PUSHY. IT WAS SO HARD FOR ME TO KEEP MY PEACE AND NOT START POUNDING ON HER, ‘THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO’. EVERYBODY WAS MAD AT ME BECAUSE I WASN’T DOING WHAT THEY THOUGHT I SHOULD BE DOING. I SAID, ‘NO, SHE WILL COME TO ME. I KNOW WHO’S INSIDE.” FRANCES DID COME TO HER. SHE SAYS, “I THINK THAT SHE LEARNED WITH KURT AND COURTNEY, WHEN SHE TRIED TO INSERT HERSELF IT MADE THEM ISOLATE MORE AND AS A REACTION OF HER NOT INSERTING HERSELF AND KIND OF LETTING ME DO MY SELF-DESTRUCTIVE THING AND BE AN ASSHOLE SHE ALLOWED ME THE ROOM TO COME TO HER WHEN I NEEDED HER AND THAT MEANS THAT I FELT COMFORTABLE EXPRESSING WHAT I HAD BEEN THROUGH AND WHAT I WAS GOING THROUGH OUTSIDE OF THAT AT THAT POINT. I’M REALLY APPRECIATIVE THAT SHE ALLOWED ME TO HEAL MYSELF FIRST.”
FRANCES SAYS COURTNEY IS “SUPPORTIVE” OF THE EXHIBITION AS SHE “RECOGNISES THAT IT’S THEIR VERSION OF KURT AND THIS IS NOT REFLECTIVE OF HER HUSBAND – IT’S REFLECTIVE OF HER SON AND HER BROTHER. WHO SHE KNEW WAS A VERY DIFFERENT PERSON THAN WHO THEY INTIMATELY KNEW.” SHE ADDS, “I ALSO THINK KURT TENDED TO PUT ON A FACADE WITH COURTNEY A LITTLE BIT. HE TENDED TO PLAY UP CERTAIN ASPECTS OF HIS MYSTERY AND HIS DARKNESS BECAUSE IT WAS TRYING TO MATCH HER MYSTERY AND HER DARKNESS, AND THAT’S AWESOME AND THAT’S WHAT THEY HAD.” HOWEVER, SHE SAYS “HE DIDN’T GET TO CHOOSE” WHICH KURT HIS MOTHER AND SISTER SAW, “WITH MY GRANDMOTHER AND MY AUNT THAT WAS JUST WHO HE WAS AND WHO THEY KNEW HIM TO BE. IT’S IMPORTANT THIS EXHIBITION IS REFLECTIVE OF THAT. THIS IS HIS CHILDHOOD AND IT’S COMING FROM A PURE PLACE.”
Nirvana began playing parties in Olympia, gaining a cult following. During 1987, the band made ten demos with producer Jack Endino, who played the recordings to Jonathan Poneman, one of the founders of the Seattle-based indie label Sub Pop. Poneman signed Nirvana, and in December of 1988, the band released their first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz.” Sub Pop orchestrated an effective marketing scheme, which painted the band as backwoods, logging-town hicks, which irritated Cobain and Novoselic. While “Love Buzz” was fairly well-received, the band’s debut album, Bleach, was what began the ball rolling. Recorded for just over 600 dollars and released in the spring of 1989, Bleach slowly became a hit on college radio, due to the group’s consistent touring. Though Jason Everman was credited as a second guitarist on the sleeve of Bleach, he didn’t appear on the record; he only toured in support of the album before leaving the band at the end of the year to join Soundgarden and then Mind Funk. Bleach sold 35,000 copies and Nirvana became favorites of college radio, the British weekly music press, and Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, and Dinosaur Jr., which was enough to attract the attention of major labels.
Nirvana timeline
05-16-65 Krist Anthony Novoselic born to Krist and Maria Novoselic
01-31-67 Chad Channing born to Wayne and Burnyce Channing
02-20-67 Kurt Donald Cobain born to Wendy and Donald Cobain
01-14-69 David Eric Grohl born to James and Virginia Grohl
01-23-88 Nirvana records demo with Dale Crover
11-??-88 First single: Love Buzz/Big Cheese released 06-??-89
Bleach – CD-Album released 10-23-89
Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England 12-30-89
Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma on 04-17-91
Nirvana first plays Smell Like Teen Spirit 04-30-91
Smells Like Teen Spirit – CD-Single Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records 08-?? -91
The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made 09-20-91
Tour for Nevermind – Japan – Vinyl- Album Nevermind – CD- Album Nevermind – Vinyl-Album begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-12-91 Nevermind goes Gold
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live,
Nevermind hits #1 01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
08-18-92 Francis Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana headlines Reading Festival
09-08-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
12-15-92 Insecticide Insecticide – Japan – Vinyl- Album Insecticide – CD-Album released
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
11-18-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero in Utero – Vinyl-Album In Utero – CD-Album released in US
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
03-01-94 The Final Nirvana show is played in Munich
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from a coma, asks for a milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power the body of Kurt Cobain is found, he committed suicide 3 days ago.
04-10-94 Memorial Service held in Seattle, Courtney reads from a suicide note.
09-??-94 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video for Heart-Shaped Box
11-01-94 Nirvana: Unplugged in New York Unplugged in New York – Vinyl-Album Unplugged in New York – CD-Album is released in the US
11-15-94 Nirvana: Live! Tonite! Sold Out! is released in US
07-04-95 Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighter’s Album released 10-01-96 From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Japan – Vinyl-Album from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album released
During the summer, Nirvana released “Sliver”/”Dive,” which was recorded with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums and produced by Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. By the end of the summer, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, had become Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in the summer. Following a European tour supporting Sonic Youth in the late summer, Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson’s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Story of the band from there sub pop days right through to that day in apriI 94
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. It soon become apparent that the band wasn’t quite sure how to handle their success. Around the time of Nevermind’s release, the band was into baiting their audience — Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in drag, the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops by Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis, and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss — but by the spring, questions had begun to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child in the fall. Shortly after the marriage, rumors that the couple were heavy heroin users began to circulate and the strength of the rumors only increased when Nirvana canceled several summer concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. But, heroin rumors continued to surface, especially in the form of a late-summer Vanity Fair article which implied that Love was using during her pregnancy. Both Love and Cobain denied the article’s allegations, and publicly harassed and threatened the article’s author. Love delivered Frances Bean Cobain, a healthy baby girl, on August 18, 1992, but the couple soon battled with Los Angeles’ children’s services, who claimed they were unfit parents on the basis of the Vanity Fair article. The couple was granted custody of their child by the beginning of 1993.
Since Cobain was going through such well-documented personal problems, Nirvana was unable to record a follow-up to Nevermind until the spring of 1993. In the meantime, DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 in the U.S. and number 14 U.K. As the group prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split-single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, Nirvana recorded their third album, In Utero, in two weeks during the spring of 1993. Following its completion, controversy began to surround Nirvana again. Cobain suffered a heroin overdose on May 2, but the event was hidden from the press. The following month, Love called police to their Seattle home after Cobain locked himself in the bathroom, threatening suicide. Prior to debuting In Utero material during the New Music Seminar at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, Cobain had another covered-up overdose. By that time, reports began to circulate, including an article in Newsweek, that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, accusing that the band deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini’s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt.
In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with a fall American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up the U.S. tour on January 8, 1994, with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Rohypnol and drinking champagne. While the attempt was initially reported as an accidental overdose, it was known within the Nirvana camp that the vocalist had left behind a suicide note.
Cobain returned to Seattle within a week of his hospitalization and his mental illness began to grow. On March 18, the police had to again talk the singer out of suicide after he locked himself in a room threatening to kill himself. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain’s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he escaped from the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. The following day, Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle home. His body wasn’t discovered until April 8, when an electrician contracted to install an alarm system at the Cobain house stumbled upon the body. After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
Novoselic and Grohl planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band’s Nevermind-era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to Cobain’s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers).
In 1996, its electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters (early rumors that Novoselic would also be a member of the band ultimately proved to be false) — releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. Novoselic formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra and former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live From the Battle in Seattle under the name the No W.T.O. Combo.
By the late ’90s, research began by Novoselic for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal problems began to surface. In 1997, Grohl and Novoselic formed the Nirvana L.L.C. partnership with Courtney Love (who manages Cobain’s estate) — a company that required a unanimous vote by all three regarding future albums, photos, and anything else Nirvana-related. When all three couldn’t agree on the songs to be included on the box set, the matter was taken to court as Love attempted to dissolve the partnership. The project was ultimately shelved indefinitely as any legal decision was tied up in court. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
NIRVANA LINE UP !(1985-1994)
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar (1985-1994)
Krist (Chris) Novoselic (1985-1994)
Aaron Burckhard (1985-1986)
Dale Crover: drums (1988)
Chad Channing (1986-1990)
Jason Everman: guitar (1989)
Dave Foster: drums (1988)
Dan Peters: drums (1990)
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals (1990-1994)
John Duncan: guitar (1993)
Pat Smear: guitar (1993-1994)
Early releases (1988–1990)
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz”, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first-ever interview with John Robb in Sounds who also made the release single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins and Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman, who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they “wanted to make him feel more at home in the band”. Just prior to the album’s release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Following the release of Bleach in June 1989, Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, and the album became a favourite of college radio stations. Due to increasing differences between Everman over the course of the tour, Nirvana cancelled the last few dates and drove back to Washington. No one told Everman he was fired, while Everman later said he had actually quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it was a steady seller and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label’s lack of promotion and distribution for the album. In late 1989, the band recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. In a late 1989 interview with John Robb in Sounds, Cobain noted that the band’s music was changing. He said, “The early songs were really angry… But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings”. Grohl performing in 1989 In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing’s drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana” demos with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana’s seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl, whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”
Grohl told Q: “I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks… I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You’re kidding me’.”
Mainstream breakthrough (1991–1992)
Disenchanted with Sub Pop and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana decided to look for a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy the group out of its contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana’s demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon,
Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990.
Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth’s Goo. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide
In Utero, final months, and Cobain’s death (1993–1994)
In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 1993.Time’s Christopher John Farley wrote in his review of the album, “Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn’t gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana”. In Utero went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as a second guitarist. In November, they recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the band broke convention for the show by choosing not to play their most recognizable songs. Instead, they performed several covers and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Nirvana’s final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1
The tour is cancelled when Kurt gets ill and checks into rehab where he leaves couple of days after, he is missing and reported missing by wife Courtney love using kurts mothers name suspiciously? His body is found April 8th dead by self-inflicted gunshot wound according to police. Nirvana fans dispute this and with good evidence to back them up also.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtWkahNquWc?wmode=transparent
about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong
resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.
The Nirvana Logo Font The font
style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.
The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring
Legacy Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.
Behind the album.. “incesticide”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-rDihTILjA?wmode=transparent
Behind the album..”in-utero”https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxPFNMMWYvE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yCrVWXNSw?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/kuYfAwwgCjI?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YBODze-zhbE?wmode=transparent
Reading festival ’92https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RmlOAjYmCo?wmode=transparent
“POLLY”
A look into Kurt’s songwriting as he sings about a girl who gets attacked after a concert..
POLLY UN-OFFICIAL
PAT SMEAR ON FINAL TOUR
Pat talks about how he loved nirvana & can’t believe he’s playing with them! Also speaks of the last leg of in-utero tour & the Rome “incident”!!
KURT’S LYRICS
MTV’S UNPLUGGED
Short but brilliant unedited clips from unplugged..
THE LAST PHOTO SESSION
NIRVANA FACTS!!!
KURT COBAIN SMILING
Every one thinks kurt was a depressed suicidal junkie! He was anything but that! He was a special person with a talent for anything he tried, poetry music art etc.. sit back & enjoy his smile & remember the music.. thanks kurt & nirvana
11-??-88 First single: Love Buzz/Big Cheese released 06-??-89
Bleach – CD-Album released 10-23-89
Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England 12-30-89
Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma on 04-17-91
Nirvana first plays Smell Like Teen Spirit 04-30-91
Smells Like Teen Spirit – CD-Single Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records 08-?? -91
The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made 09-20-91
Tour for Nevermind – Japan – Vinyl- Album Nevermind – CD- Album Nevermind – Vinyl-Album begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-12-91 Nevermind goes Gold
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live,
Nevermind hits #1 01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
08-18-92 Francis Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana headlines Reading Festival
09-08-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
12-15-92 Insecticide Insecticide – Japan – Vinyl- Album Insecticide – CD-Album released
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
11-18-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero in Utero – Vinyl-Album In Utero – CD-Album released in US
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
03-01-94 The Final Nirvana show is played in Munich
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from a coma, asks for a milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power the body of Kurt Cobain is found, he committed suicide 3 days ago.
04-10-94 Memorial Service held in Seattle, Courtney reads from a suicide note.
09-??-94 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video for Heart-Shaped Box
11-01-94 Nirvana: Unplugged in New York Unplugged in New York – Vinyl-Album Unplugged in New York – CD-Album is released in the US
11-15-94 Nirvana: Live! Tonite! Sold Out! is released in US
07-04-95 Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighter’s Album released 10-01-96 From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Japan – Vinyl-Album from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album released
During the summer, Nirvana released “Sliver”/”Dive,” which was recorded with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums and produced by Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. By the end of the summer, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, had become Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in the summer. Following a European tour supporting Sonic Youth in the late summer, Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson’s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Story of the band from there sub pop days right through to that day in apriI 94
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. It soon become apparent that the band wasn’t quite sure how to handle their success. Around the time of Nevermind’s release, the band was into baiting their audience — Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in drag, the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops by Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis, and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss — but by the spring, questions had begun to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child in the fall. Shortly after the marriage, rumors that the couple were heavy heroin users began to circulate and the strength of the rumors only increased when Nirvana canceled several summer concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. But, heroin rumors continued to surface, especially in the form of a late-summer Vanity Fair article which implied that Love was using during her pregnancy. Both Love and Cobain denied the article’s allegations, and publicly harassed and threatened the article’s author. Love delivered Frances Bean Cobain, a healthy baby girl, on August 18, 1992, but the couple soon battled with Los Angeles’ children’s services, who claimed they were unfit parents on the basis of the Vanity Fair article. The couple was granted custody of their child by the beginning of 1993.
Since Cobain was going through such well-documented personal problems, Nirvana was unable to record a follow-up to Nevermind until the spring of 1993. In the meantime, DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 in the U.S. and number 14 U.K. As the group prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split-single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, Nirvana recorded their third album, In Utero, in two weeks during the spring of 1993. Following its completion, controversy began to surround Nirvana again. Cobain suffered a heroin overdose on May 2, but the event was hidden from the press. The following month, Love called police to their Seattle home after Cobain locked himself in the bathroom, threatening suicide. Prior to debuting In Utero material during the New Music Seminar at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, Cobain had another covered-up overdose. By that time, reports began to circulate, including an article in Newsweek, that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, accusing that the band deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini’s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt.
In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with a fall American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up the U.S. tour on January 8, 1994, with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Rohypnol and drinking champagne. While the attempt was initially reported as an accidental overdose, it was known within the Nirvana camp that the vocalist had left behind a suicide note.
Cobain returned to Seattle within a week of his hospitalization and his mental illness began to grow. On March 18, the police had to again talk the singer out of suicide after he locked himself in a room threatening to kill himself. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain’s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he escaped from the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. The following day, Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle home. His body wasn’t discovered until April 8, when an electrician contracted to install an alarm system at the Cobain house stumbled upon the body. After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
Novoselic and Grohl planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band’s Nevermind-era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to Cobain’s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers).
In 1996, its electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters (early rumors that Novoselic would also be a member of the band ultimately proved to be false) — releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. Novoselic formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra and former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live From the Battle in Seattle under the name the No W.T.O. Combo.
By the late ’90s, research began by Novoselic for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal problems began to surface. In 1997, Grohl and Novoselic formed the Nirvana L.L.C. partnership with Courtney Love (who manages Cobain’s estate) — a company that required a unanimous vote by all three regarding future albums, photos, and anything else Nirvana-related. When all three couldn’t agree on the songs to be included on the box set, the matter was taken to court as Love attempted to dissolve the partnership. The project was ultimately shelved indefinitely as any legal decision was tied up in court. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
NIRVANA LINE UP !(1985-1994)
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar (1985-1994)
Krist (Chris) Novoselic (1985-1994)
Aaron Burckhard (1985-1986)
Dale Crover: drums (1988)
Chad Channing (1986-1990)
Jason Everman: guitar (1989)
Dave Foster: drums (1988)
Dan Peters: drums (1990)
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals (1990-1994)
John Duncan: guitar (1993)
Pat Smear: guitar (1993-1994)
Early releases (1988–1990)
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz”, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first-ever interview with John Robb in Sounds who also made the release single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins and Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman, who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they “wanted to make him feel more at home in the band”. Just prior to the album’s release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Following the release of Bleach in June 1989, Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, and the album became a favourite of college radio stations. Due to increasing differences between Everman over the course of the tour, Nirvana cancelled the last few dates and drove back to Washington. No one told Everman he was fired, while Everman later said he had actually quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it was a steady seller and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label’s lack of promotion and distribution for the album. In late 1989, the band recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. In a late 1989 interview with John Robb in Sounds, Cobain noted that the band’s music was changing. He said, “The early songs were really angry… But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings”. Grohl performing in 1989 In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing’s drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana” demos with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana’s seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl, whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”
Grohl told Q: “I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks… I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You’re kidding me’.”
Mainstream breakthrough (1991–1992)
Disenchanted with Sub Pop and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana decided to look for a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy the group out of its contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana’s demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon,
Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990.
Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth’s Goo. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide
In Utero, final months, and Cobain’s death (1993–1994)
In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 1993.Time’s Christopher John Farley wrote in his review of the album, “Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn’t gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana”. In Utero went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as a second guitarist. In November, they recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the band broke convention for the show by choosing not to play their most recognizable songs. Instead, they performed several covers and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Nirvana’s final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1
The tour is cancelled when Kurt gets ill and checks into rehab where he leaves couple of days after, he is missing and reported missing by wife Courtney love using kurts mothers name suspiciously? His body is found April 8th dead by self-inflicted gunshot wound according to police. Nirvana fans dispute this and with good evidence to back them up also.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtWkahNquWc?wmode=transparent
about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong
resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.
The Nirvana Logo Font The font
style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.
The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring
Legacy Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.
Behind the album.. “incesticide”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-rDihTILjA?wmode=transparent
Behind the album..”in-utero”https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxPFNMMWYvE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yCrVWXNSw?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/kuYfAwwgCjI?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YBODze-zhbE?wmode=transparent
Reading festival ’92https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RmlOAjYmCo?wmode=transparent
“POLLY”
A look into Kurt’s songwriting as he sings about a girl who gets attacked after a concert..
Pat talks about how he loved nirvana & can’t believe he’s playing with them! Also speaks of the last leg of in-utero tour & the Rome “incident”!!
KURT’S LYRICS
MTV’S UNPLUGGED
Short but brilliant unedited clips from unplugged..
THE LAST PHOTO SESSION
NIRVANA FACTS!!!
KURT COBAIN SMILING
Every one thinks kurt was a depressed suicidal junkie! He was anything but that! He was a special person with a talent for anything he tried, poetry music art etc.. sit back & enjoy his smile & remember the music.. thanks kurt & nirvana
. Reissued in April 1996 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as a 24-carat gold CD and on 200g high-definition vinyl
. Reissued in July 1998 by Simply Vinyl on high-quality vinyl
Additional Information:
Recoded and produced by Butch Vig. Mixed by Andy Wallace.
Dave plays all the drums on the album. ‘Polly’ was taken from Nirvana’s April 1990 Smart Studios session (also with Butch Vig) when the drummer was Chad Channing, but at the ‘Nevermind’ session the drums for ‘Polly’ were re-recorded. The first batch of American pressings (46,251) on CD and cassette lacked ‘Endless Nameless’, the uncredited secret track which appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once ‘Something in the Way’ has ended, because of a pressing error.
The band put the ‘secret track’ on the album as a way of playing with the CD format, just as the Beatles, for example, put indecipherable messages in the runout grooves of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover shot was inspired by Kurt and Dave having seen a documentary on underwater birth during recording sessions. They investigated pictures of babies being born underwater, but they were too graphic. Therefore, they chose a stock graphic of a baby swimming, but it was too expensive. As a result, the art director, Robert Fisher, got Kirk Weddle, an underwater photographer to take some shots himself of a baby underwater. The baby in the final picture chosen was Spencer Elden. Kurt recommended the adding of a dollar on a fish-hook and thus a famous album cover was born.
Inside the inlay is a page of random lyrics from the songs on ‘Nevermind’ mashed together in no particular order. Two of the lines amongst them were made up by Kurt and do not feature in the lyrics of any of the songs (“The second coming came in last and out of the closet” and “At the end of the rainbow and your rope”). The back-cover features a meat-and-diseased vagina collage by Cobain behind the Chim (above the head of which is a picture of Kiss). Cobain’s name appears on photo credits as ‘Kurdt Kobain’. Later reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were both taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1996 CD and vinyl releases by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold of the CD is less susceptible to corrosion than the aluminium used on regular CDs. The MFSL LP booklet for this release misspelled Nirvana (‘Nirvana’) and CD releases do contain ‘Endless Nameless’ although, as with ordinary releases, this is not credited on the cover.
The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy card (300g) sleeve. The song credits on this vinyl release are different to those on the regular CD
INSECTICIDE
(1992)
INSECTICIDE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Stain September 1989 Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Been A Son November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK
Turnaround October 21, 1990, Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Molly’s Lips October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London,
UK Son Of A Gun October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
(New Wave) Polly November 9, 1991 BBC Studios, London, UK
Beeswax January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle,
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Mexican Seafood
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Hairspray Queen
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Aero Zeppelin
January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Big Long Now
December, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK Three of the fifteen songs on ‘Insecticide’ cover.
The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On: Turnaround Devo We Are Not Men, We Are Devo Molly’s Lips Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Son of a Gun Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Released: 12/14/92 (Europe), 12/15/92 (US) Releases: Released on vinyl (with a limited edition of 15,000 on blue vinyl), cassette and CD. Additional Information: A collaborative enterprise by ‘Sub Pop’ and ‘Geffen’ (originally planned as two separate releases, one by each label), partly as an attempt to beat the bootleggers. The collaboration was intended to ensure a definite compilation, as well as give the band more control over it and ensure greater distribution than ‘Sub Pop’ could muster. The cover art is a painting by Cobain.
The sticker on it reads “Inside Insecticide: Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Stuff Never Before Available”, and six of the fifteen tracks were unreleased at the time (‘Hairspray Queen’, ‘Aero Zeppelin’, ‘Big Long Now’, ‘Been A Son’, ‘(New Wave) Polly’ and ‘Aneurysm’). ‘Mexican Seafood’ was previously made available on ‘Teriyaki Asthma’, ‘Beeswax’ on ‘Kill Rock Stars’, ‘Downer’ on CD versions of ‘Bleach’, ‘Stain’ on the ‘Blew’ EP, ‘Dive’ and ‘Sliver’ on the ‘Dive/Sliver’ single (note: the phone call outro to ‘Sliver’ between Krist and Jonathon Poneman on the single was omitted for its appearance on CD) and ‘Turnaround’, ‘Molly’s Lips’ and ‘Son Of A Gun’ appeared on the ‘Hormoaning’ EP. ‘Been A Son’ on ‘Insecticide is a different version to that on the ‘Blew’ EP, as are the versions ‘Aneurysm’ from their respective previous releases. According to Endino ‘Hairspray Queen’ and ‘Aero Zeppelin’ were not remastered for their release on this CD, virtually being the one-hour mix versions, he did on the day of their recording. Some American copies include liner notes written by Kurt. In trading circles complete versions of the October 21, 1990 and the November 9, 1991 radio sessions are available. Complete session tapes also exist for the January 23, 1989 and April 1990 sessions. Other outtakes from the September 1989 Music Source and December 1989 Reciprocal studio sessions have also surfaced.
(1993)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
Serve The Servants February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Scentless Apprentice February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Very Ape February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
Tourette’s February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
All Apologies February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip January 22, 1993, Ariola Ltda BMG,
Rio de Janeiro Released:
09/14/93 (Europe), 09/21/93 (US), 01/97, 11/98 Releases: Issued on vinyl (including a 15,000 limited edition on clear vinyl), cassette and CD in 1993. Reissued by MFSL in January 1997 on 24-carat gold CD and high-quality vinyl.
All Apologies’
In November 1998 it was reissued on high-quality vinyl by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Steve Albini, who was paid $100,000 on top of $24,000 recording costs. ‘All Apologies’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ were remixed again in May by Scott Litt. ‘Sappy’ was also re-recorded at this session and this is the version that features on the ‘No Alternative’ compilation. European releases included a bonus track (‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip’), referred to on releases as ‘Devalued American Dollar Purchase Incentive Track’, which appears 25 minutes after the end of ‘All Apologies’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, except for ‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol’ (stating ‘whatever’ in its place) and Tourette’s (with the lyrics being given as ‘Cuff, Tish, Sips’). The disc features Michael DeWitt in drag, a former nanny employed by Kurt and Courtney.
Wal-Mart and K-Mart versions of the artwork were altered with Cobain’s acceptance (given that to refuse the changes would mean the album would be more difficult to get hold of) when these outlets refused to sell them, deeming them ‘offensive’. They also changed the title of ‘Rape Me’ to ‘Waif Me’. A remixed version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ (also available on the ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ single), different from on ordinary versions of ‘In Utero’, was used on these re-issued copies and ‘Gallons’ was omitted. Both the reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1997 release by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold is less susceptible to corrosion. These releases do not contain ‘Gallons’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy (300g) card sleeve. The guitar solo intro on ‘Very Ape’ on this vinyl release is longer than on other versions. ‘In Utero’ enters the Billboard chart at #1 with first week sales of 180,000 units.
Compilation Albums
NIRVANA
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
Previously unreleased About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Bleach Been a Son September 1989 Music Source Studios – Seattle, WA
Blew EP Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Insecticide Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come as You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea (remix version) February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero (K-Mart/Wal-Mart version) Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero All Apologies November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Something In The Way (vinyl & Japanese CD releases only) November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Released: 10/28/02 (outside US), 10/29/02 (US) Releases: CD, Vinyl (2 LPs). Additional Information: Features the previously unreleased song ‘You Know You’re Right’. All the other tracks, taken from the NIRVANA back catalog, have been “newly mastered” for this release. Includes a forward by David Fricke.
The vinyl version is a double LP release. Only the vinyl release and Japanese versions of the CD contain ‘Something in the Way’.
Review:
Almost six years to the day since the last NIRVANA album came the release of the greatest hits package, simply titled ‘Nirvana’. Fans had long believed the next album would be a box set of unreleased songs and demo versions, indeed a 45-track two-disc set was reportedly assembled for launch to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of the band’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’. Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, was displeased by her lack of input on the box set, and made a legal challenge to block the release. Coincidentally, she was also in court trying to extricate herself from her legal obligations to her record label with her former band ‘Hole’. Love threatened to withhold Cobain’s last known song, an unreleased anthem titled “You Know You’re Right” from any future releases, which would be the one and only unique selling point of any future release. Deadlock ensued as wild accusations concerning sanity and precise contributions to the band were presented in court. However, Love’s position of power was effectively undermined by two factors. First, Universal decided they would release a ‘greatest hits’ album with or without the new song, and secondly on May 10th a Spanish fan shocked the online fan community by claiming and then proving he had a copy of the song. Jim Barber, Courtney’s lawyer and boyfriend, responded by firing off emails to all online fans concerned threatening legal action, but it proved impossible to force the genie back into the bottle, and the song leaked on the internet in mid-September. Radio stations across the world started airing the track, and once again the band’s lawyers faxed legal threats to the stations demanding they cease and desist playing the song. Some radio stations were undeterred, and continued playing the track anyway. Fearing a public relations disaster on an unprecedented scale, the record company executives realised their position was hopeless, and shipped out promotional CD-Rs of the song.
Love was thus forced to negotiate, and was able to force the delay of the box set (which was finally released in 2004 – see our comprehensive guide to ‘With The Lights Out’) to be overtaken by a greatest hits package. The date originally suggested was October 22nd 2002, but Love feared her own new material would receive little attention and demanded the CD be held back until 2003. However, with all concerned realising the need to capitalize quickly on the media uproar over the new song, the release date was pushed forward to November 12th and incredibly then again to October 29th. The track list was published at online retailer Amazon, but was quickly removed as the band realised that bootleggers would be able to assemble the album themselves and release counterfeits early. Jim Barber proclaimed that the track listing was incorrect, but of course this turned out to be obfuscation. The first track, “You Know You’re Right” (recorded by Adam Kasper) is the sole previously unreleased song, recorded at NIRVANA’s last studio session in January 1994 just before the start of their final tour. The song is clearly one of the very best ones in the band’s oeuvre, and is hoped to propel album sales into the tens of millions.
“About A Girl” (recorded by Jack Endino) is the one representative of NIRVANA’s debut album, the 1989 release ‘Bleach’.
Next up is “Been A Son” (recorded by Steve Fisk), but the rendition selected is the one from the very rare ‘Blew EP’, and not the common Goodier Session version from ‘Insecticide’.
Following this is “Sliver” (recorded by Jack Endino), a Sub Pop single did a feature on ‘Insecticide’. Next are the four ‘Nevermind’ singles (all recorded by Butch Vig) in order of release, followed by four songs from the band’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ (recorded by Steve Albini), and concluding with three songs from NIRVANA’s November 1993 appearance on ‘MTV’s Unplugged’.
The track list has been much debated on the internet and in some quarters much-derided: just as anyone with a passing knowledge of English football (soccer) thinks he/she could select a better national team than the current manager, any fan with all the albums could select his/her dozen favorite songs. It is clear, however, that the songs chosen are the result of politics and commercial considerations.
The ‘Bleach’ rendition of “About A Girl” is unsteady and inferior to the acoustic version released on the ‘Unplugged In New York’ album, but was presumably included so that there would be some representative of the band’s debut. Had this release ignored ‘Bleach’ entirely, accusations would undoubtedly have surfaced accusing the band of ignoring its roots and the contribution of Chad Channing (the drummer on most early releases).
“Been A Son” was selected for those collectors who cannot afford to pay $100 to track down a copy of the scarce ‘Blew EP’, and is an extra purchase incentive for fans who have not heard this rendition. However, it sounds very uncouth and raw nestling beside the band’s genuine hits, and is probably the weakest song on the album, and so those collectors who were supposed to benefit from the addition of this song have ended up criticising its inclusion.
The next six songs are those for which NIRVANA produced music videos, and are uncontroversial choices. Indeed, only the four singles from ‘Nevermind’ are included, which surprised many: this album is widely considered their best work. The reasoning is easy to divine. The record label do not want to cannibalise new sales of ‘Nevermind’ by including too much on this album.
The Scott Litt remix of “Pennyroyal Tea” neuters the bass roar present in the choruses of the ‘In Utero’ album track, but is otherwise unspectacular. The liner notes claim this version to be “previously unreleased”, but it has actually been available for many years on the censored Wal-Mart version of ‘In Utero’. Next follow two further album tracks from ‘In Utero’, bringing the total up to four.
This CD then rounds off with two or three songs (depending on where you live) from the band’s fabulous quasi-acoustic concert recorded for MTV Unplugged. The pre-and post-song applause is muted as much as possible between the songs to allow this release to flow better. All three of the songs were aired extensively by radio stations on account of being pressed on promotional CDs. All songs selected, bar “Been A Son” and “Dumb”, are the standard NIRVANA songs played on the radio, and were therefore obvious candidates for inclusion on this record: that is precisely what a greatest hits CD should contain, by definition. The fact that none of the band’s less commercial / pop-influenced, more punk/metal-style songs have been included should not be a surprise either: they do not belong on a commercial CD such as this one. Those who bemoan the lack of rare song “Oh, The Guilt” or the popular “Sappy” similarly miss the point of a greatest hits compilation: with a new rareties release planned for next year, these songs have rightly been retained for that. Those who criticise the CD as being too short are also wide of the mark. Songs such as “Aneurysm” may be fine songs, but would seem out of place on such a pop-oriented compilation. A strong case could be made for making this release even shorter still, removing perhaps tracks 2, 3 and 4 to leave an even more definitive selection. The author is ambivalent on the subject of the remastering of the songs for this release: the pre-‘Nevermind’ songs now feature much greater separation between instruments and do sound clearer, but this causes their jagged edges (especially on “Been A Son”) to be more prominent. The stark contrast with the following Butch Vig produced numbers makes one wonder if the effort was wasted. The packaging of the CD is, as usual, excellent: Robert Fisher always seemed to be able to guide the band into selecting beautiful images and stunning photos, which were arguably one factor in the band’s success. This time the release is monochrome, but this is in keeping with the reverential tone of the release. This is not to say ‘Nirvana’ is faultless:
the editing of the CD is atrocious, with “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” starting over two seconds before the track marker, and the gaps between songs seeming in some cases too short and others too ponderous. Those responsible for this should be roundly condemned for their sloppiness. The liner notes are also egregious: the author David Fricke lacks both eloquence and erudition on the subject of NIRVANA. He misquotes the lyrics to “You Know You’re Right” (using instead those sung by Ms Love during her rendition) and astounded the online fan community by referring to the song as “Autopilot” and “On The Mountain”, both of which were bootleggers’ titles resulting from them mishearing Dave Grohl’s muffled introduction to the previously known live version, “This is our last song. It’s called ‘All Apologies’.� Cobain changed his mind and played “You Know You’re Right” instead. These quibbles do not detract from the album as a whole, which remains an excellent introduction to the band, surely the main purpose of this CD. Complaints from hardcore fans about the lack of rare material selected for their delectation are utterly ridiculous in the context of a greatest hits release.
Compilation Albums
Sliver – The Best of the Box Released:
1st November 2005 Releases: CD only Additional Information
: This is a compilation of tracks taken from NIRVANA’s 2004 boxset release With The Lights Out. To maximize sales and tempt owners of the boxset to buy it this compilation also includes 3 exclusive tracks that do not feature on the boxset itself which are indicated below.
Track: Date / Location: Exclusive To Sliver – Best of the Box?
Comments Spank Thru (home demo) December 1985 – Music room, Earl residence, Burien, WA, US Yes Sourced from the infamous ‘Fecal Matter’ demo!
Heartbreaker (live) 03/xx/87 – 17 Nussbaum Road (house party), Raymond, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Unknown (home demo) Summer, 1987 – Cobain residence, Aberdeen, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Floyd The Barber (Live) 01/23/88 – Community World Theater, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
About A Girl (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Blandest (studio) June�September 1988 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Ain’t It A Shame (studio) August 20 & 28, 1989 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track
. Sappy January 2�3, 1990 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US Yes This track was produced by Jack Endino and took a whopping 10 hours to record what is paradoxically one of the worst renditions of this song!
Opinion (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Lithium (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Sliver (home demo) Summer, 1990 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Come As You Are (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US Yes This is a boom box demo which was recorded at the same time as the SLTS demo above. Old Age (studio) May�June 1991 – Sound City Studios, Van Nuys & Devonshire Studios, Burbank, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Oh, The Guilt April 7, 1992 – Laundry Room Studio, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (home demo) May 1991 – Oakwood Apartment, Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (studio) 25�26 October 1992 – Word Of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Heart-Shaped Box (studio) January 19�21, 1993 – Studio B, BMG Ariola Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, BR No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Do Re Mi (home demo) Early 1994 – Bedroom, Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
You Know You’re Right (home demo) Mid 1993�Early 1994 – Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
All Apologies (home demo) 1991�1992 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US/Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this tr
Compilation Albums
ICON
.Released: 31st August 2010 Releases: CD only Additional Information:
NIRVANA’s second “greatest hits” compilation. Part of the Icon series by Universal Music Enterprises which featured greatest hits releases “from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B, and country”. Interestingly it does not include any tracks from NIRVANA’s first album ‘Bleach’ which may have been done to avoid having to pay fees to Sub Pop
. Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Album:
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY Unplugged In New York
Live Albums
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Come As You Are November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Pennyroyal Tea November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Dumb November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Polly November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
On A Plain on November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Something In The Way November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Plateau November 18, 1993 Sony Studios, New York, NY
Oh Me November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Lake Of Fire November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie The Man Who Sold The World (Ryko)
Six of the fourteen songs performed covered. The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Vaselines Way Of The Vaselines (Sub Pop)
Plateau Meat Puppets II (SST) Oh Me Meat Puppets II (SST) Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets II (SST)
Where Did You Sleep Last Night ‘Leadbelly’ Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Released: 11/01/94, 11/98 Releases: Released on vinyl, cassette, and CD in 1994. Reissued on LP in November 1998 by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Produced and remixed by Scott Litt. It contains two-songs which were cut from the original television broadcast. All songs were done in one take. Although the official release is technically complete at 46 minutes (containing all the songs that were recorded), the show was actually about 69 minutes long, with all breaks between songs, jamming, tuning, and interaction with the crowd cut from this release. Conceived originally as disc one of a two-CD release, the second CD containing other live tracks spanning the band’s life. However, the band was unable to complete the project, feeling it was too close to Kurt’s death. The ‘second CD’ in effect would appear in 1996 as ‘From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy quality sleeve. Enters the Billboard Chart at #1 and sells more than 300,000 copies in its first week.
Live Albums
FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WHISKAH
Released: 10/01/96 Releases: Released on vinyl (2 LPs, in a single sleeve), cassette and CD.
Additional Information: Nirvana’s third release to enter the Billboard chart at #1 and their fourth #1 album. The liner notes were written by Krist Novoselic. They contain errors, as detailed in the CD guide to this release above. Side four of the vinyl version contains additional stage banter which is transcribed in the vinyl guide above.
About this release, Dave Grohl, in an interview (from the interview CD ‘Foo Fighters In Conversation’ on Chatback) said: Interviewer: What do you think of the live album, the Nirvana live album that came out? Were you happy with the result? Dave Grohl: Yeah I thought it was cool, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean there were so many songs, like … so many tapes … and so many songs, just so much stuff we could have released and we released one thing … the just live thing. Yeah I thought it was good … I mean I have live tapes at home that are better than that, but those are mine! (Laughs). Interviewer: Did you have much input in so far as what songs are going on the album? Dave Grohl: Yeah, Krist … Krist and I … Krist actually did most of the pick and choose and I think he did a really great job, but yeah, ultimately we had like total control over what was happening.
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT
DGC RECORDS,18 VERSIONS (2011)
LIVE AND LOUD
DGC RECORDS,13 VERSIONS (2013)
Live Albums
LIVE IN READING
Released: 3rd November 2009 Releases: CD-only, DVD-only, and CD+DVD set
Additional Information: Official release of NIRVANA’s legendary performance at the 1992 Reading Festival which was circulating amongst traders in various forms prior to this official release. Unfortunately, the CD-only version is incomplete: it is missing ‘Love Buzz’, various jams and between-song banter as well as most of the destruction. The DVD is complete and also features a short clip after the credits of Cobain interacting with a fan after the show. It features camera angles not present on any trading circle version. More information can be found here. Song: Intro Breed Drain You Aneurysm School Silver Sliver In Bloom Come As You Are Lithium About A Girl Tourette’s Polly Lounge Act Smells Like Teen Spirit On A Plain Negative Creep Been A Son All Apologies Blew Dumb Stay Away Spank Thru Love Buzz The Money Will Roll Right In D-7 Territorial Pissings Credits
Anniversary/Deluxe Edition Reissues
20TH ANNIVERSARY BLEACH
Released: 3rd November 2009
Releases: CD, regular vinyl (black) and limited-edition vinyl (white) Additional Information: Reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Bleach’. Features a 13-track remaster of the ‘Bleach’ album (remastered from the original tapes by ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino) as well as NIRVANA’s live performance at the Pine Street Theatre recorded on 9th February 1990. Both the CD and vinyl releases include a booklet with never before seen photographs of the band plus other pertinent images from NIRVANA Sub Pop years (for example, the original session tapes, a scan of NIRVANA’s Sub Pop contract, etc.).
In relation to the vinyl release, it is not known precisely how many copies of the limited-edition white version were produced. NOTE: the live show included on this release was circulating amongst traders prior to this release from an alternate soundboard source and whilst the version on this official release does sound better, unfortunately, the between-song banter has been cut.
CD ONE/SIDE A Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Blew December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Floyd the Barber January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
School December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Paper Cuts January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Negative Creep December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Scoff December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Swap Meet December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Mr Moustache December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Sifting December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Downer January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
CD TWO/SIDE B Song: Date Recorded/Venue: Intro 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
School 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Floyd The Barber 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Dive 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Love Buzz 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Spank Thru 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Molly’s Lips 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Sappy 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Scoff 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
About A Girl 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Been A Son 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Blew 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
SLIVER
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI
About A Girl (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR
Spank Thru (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland OR
Released: 09/??/90 (US), 01/??/91 (UK) Releases: First 3,000 7″ American releases were on blue vinyl in fold-over sleeves and was subsequently reissued in many colours in solid sleeves, being the only Nirvana single on Sub Pop still in print. British releases on Tupelo were originally on 7″ vinyl (with the first 2,000 on green vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve. The 12″ vinyl features ‘About A Girl’, live from 02/09/90. The CD-version had included ‘About A Girl’ and also ‘Spank Thru’, again from 02/09/90. Additional Information: ‘Spank Thru’ on the CD versions is incorrectly spelled ‘Spank Through’. The A-side of the 7″, after ‘Sliver’, also features a 45-second phone conversation outro, between a very hung-over Krist Novoselic and Jonathon Poneman, which Krist accidentally recorded on his answerphone. This was excluded when this version of ‘Sliver’ appeared on ‘Incesticide’, rather like the intro to ‘Love Buzz’ was culled from vinyl versions when it made its transition to a CD. An incomplete soundboard version of the 02/09/90 show featured on this release is available in trading circles. A complete session tape of all the finalized versions of songs from the April 1990 studio appearance is also circulating.
TEEN SPIRIT
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Drain You May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Even In His Youth January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 09/09/91 (UK), 09/10/91 (US) Releases: American 7″ vinyl and cassette releases included ‘Even In His Youth’. The American 12″, a second cassette and CD also featured ‘Aneurysm’. UK 7″ and cassette releases included ‘Drain You’, 12″ versions ‘Even In His Youth’ and the CD all four songs. Whilst all American versions lack ‘Drain You’ it was included on some European releases. Additional Information: The back cover shot was taken by Charles Petersen at Nirvana’s 03/08/91 appearance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
COME AS YOU ARE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Endless, Nameless May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
The school (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Drain You (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA Released: 03/02/92 (UK), 03/03/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ was backed with a live ‘Drain You’, whilst US cassettes, 12″‘s and CD’s also had a live version of ‘School’ from the same show. In the UK the 7″ featured ‘Endless Nameless’, the 12″ also included the live version of ‘School’. CDs had a fourth track, a live ‘Drain You’. German 12″ picture discs contain ‘Endless Nameless’ and a live version of ‘Drain You’. Additional information: A complete soundboard version of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles.
LITHIUM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Been A Son (live) October 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Curmudgeon April, 1992 Laundry Room Studios, Seattle, WA
D-7 October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK Released: 07/20/92 (UK), 07/21/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ and cassette was backed with a live version of ‘Been A Son’, whilst the 12″ and CD also included ‘Curmudgeon’. In the UK the 7″ was backed with ‘Curmudgeon’, the 12″ added the live version of ‘Been A Son’ and CDs included a fourth track, ‘D-7’. Additional Information: The cover was designed by Kurt and the single includes a sonogram of Frances Bean Cobain. Contains all the lyrics to ‘Nevermind’. A complete soundboard of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles. The complete 10/21/90 radio session is also circulating amongst traders.
IN BLOOM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Sliver (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA
Polly (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA Released: 11/30/92 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. The 7″ and cassette included a live version of ‘Polly’. The 12″ and CD had a third track, a live version of ‘Sliver’. Additional Information: A complete soundboard of the 12/28/91 performance is available in trading circles
HEART-SHAPED BOX
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Marigold February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN Released: 08/30/93 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. 7″ and cassette featured ‘Marigold’ and the 12″ and CD also included ‘Milk It’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
LOVE BUZZ
test pressing
numbered
red slash
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 11/88 Releases: This single launched the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’. Limited to 1000 hand-numbered (in red ink) copies, in a fold-over sleeve, on black vinyl.
Additional Information: On this release, only ‘Love Buzz’ features a 10-second sound collage intro made by Kurt from various children’s records spliced together and a similar collage dubbed into the instrumental break. This comes from a much longer collage made by Kurt, which is 34-minutes long, known as ‘The Montage of Heck’, which is available in trading circles. ‘Love Buzz’ was originally performed by ‘Shocking Blue’. The version of ‘Love Buzz’ on this single is a different mix to those on all ‘Bleach’ and ‘Blew EP’ releases, being remixed for other releases and lacking the aforementioned collages. It was remixed to increase its collectibility and lacked the collages because Kurt forgot to bring the home-made tape with it on to the remixing session! Alice Wheeler took the photo on the front of the album in Tacoma’s ‘Never Never Land’ (a park) close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kurt’s name is given as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ on the credits and on the ‘Love Buzz’ side is etched ‘Why don’t you trade those guitars for shovels?’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
Sliver (1990)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Come As You Are (1992)
Lithium (1992)
In Bloom (1992)
Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
All Apologies (1993)
Pennyroyal Tea (1994 but withdrawn)
About A Girl (1994)
.Split Singles:
Candy/Molly’s Lips (1991)
Here She Comes Now/Venus In Furs (1991)
BOXSETS
Puss/Oh, The Guilt (1992)Singles
(1995) With The Lights Out (2004)
EP`S
Blew EP (1989)
Hormoaning EP (1992)
COMPLAMATION APP,
HE LIVE NIRVANA COMPANION TO OFFICIAL RELEASES:
COMPILATION APPEARANCES
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop Rock City
Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. 1
/Teriyaki Asthma, Vols. 1-5
Hard To Believe Heaven And Hell: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground
, Volume 1 The Grunge Years Kill Rock Stars
Eight/Fourteen Songs For Greg Sage and the Wipers
No Alternative
The Beavis and Butthead Experience
Geffen Rarities Vol. 1
Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defence
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack/Hype!
Fender 50th Anniversary Guitar Legends Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Volume 1
They had already made some waves on Sub Pop with their debut, “Bleach”.
But it wasn’t until their major-label debut for DGC/Geffen Records, 1991’s “Nevermind” – perhaps, more specifically, the first 30 seconds of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – that they broke into the mainstream of America.
1. Bleach (1989)
Nirvana recorded Bleach in December 1988 and January 1989, during several sessions.
Nirvana consisted of Kurt Cobain (guitar and vocals),
Krist Novoselic (bass),
and Chad Channing (drums).
Although he never actually played on the album, Jason Everman, who had previously played guitar in another band with Channing, paid the $616 for recording costs. Everman later joined Nirvana in February 1989 for the band’s west coast tour.
Kurt & Tracey
The photograph of Nirvana performing at the Reko/Muse art gallery in Olympia, WA on April 1st, 1989, was taken by Cobain’s girlfriend, Tracy Marander.
2. Nevermind (1991)
One of the most recognized albums covers in alt-rock music, Nevermind with new drummer Dave Grohl) came up with the concept. Available stock images of water births were too graphic, stock photos of swimming babies were expensive, so art director Robert Fisher hired photographer Kirk Weddle to do a photo shoot at a pool. The image of three-month-old Spencer Elden, the son of Weddle’s friend, was selected by Nirvana. DGC Records art department later added the dollar bill and fishhook. The Onyx logo was reused, using a wave-like effect to accompany the water theme. To avoid controversy, DGC Records wanted to cover up the image, but Cobain objected. The cover is often included on lists of “shocking” album artwork, and it was even banned by Facebook in 2011 (a decision they quickly reversed). The image has often been parodied, most notably by “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 1992 album, Off the Deep End
3. Insecticide (1992)
Kurt Cobain agreed to officially release this material on a compilation, since Nirvana fans were now taping and trading low-quality recordings of live radio shows, demos, and B-sides. He insisted on retaining complete artistic control over the cover artwork. This oil-on-canvas painting made entirely by Cobain, was the result, including lettering which didn’t have their usual logo. The poppy flower symbolized Cobain’s increasing use of heroin. The cover, while unusual, wasn’t considered too controversial to be used.
4. In Utero (1993)
On the other hand, In Utero was anything but uncontroversial.
Robert Fisher, the art director for DGC Records again designed the front cover, using ideas from Kurt Cobain. An anatomical teaching aid – a mannequin with transparent “skin” to display the organs inside – had angel wings added. The tour in support of the album used similar mannequins as props, which were then abused and destroyed on stage. The familiar Onyx logo was used, with a typewritten font for the album title. Cobain created the back cover collage, photographed by Charles Peterson, who was familiar to the local music scene. Objects related to birth and death, including several plastic fetuses, were used.
It was decided by Kmart and Wal-Mart that this artwork, as well as the accompanying text, wasn’t suitable for store displays. DGC Records employed alternate images and text, along with strategically-placed stickers to sell the album at major retailers.
. Reissued in April 1996 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as a 24-carat gold CD and on 200g high-definition vinyl
. Reissued in July 1998 by Simply Vinyl on high-quality vinyl
Additional Information:
Recoded and produced by Butch Vig. Mixed by Andy Wallace.
Dave plays all the drums on the album. ‘Polly’ was taken from Nirvana’s April 1990 Smart Studios session (also with Butch Vig) when the drummer was Chad Channing, but at the ‘Nevermind’ session the drums for ‘Polly’ were re-recorded. The first batch of American pressings (46,251) on CD and cassette lacked ‘Endless Nameless’, the uncredited secret track which appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once ‘Something in the Way’ has ended, because of a pressing error.
The band put the ‘secret track’ on the album as a way of playing with the CD format, just as the Beatles, for example, put indecipherable messages in the runout grooves of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover shot was inspired by Kurt and Dave having seen a documentary on underwater birth during recording sessions. They investigated pictures of babies being born underwater, but they were too graphic. Therefore, they chose a stock graphic of a baby swimming, but it was too expensive. As a result, the art director, Robert Fisher, got Kirk Weddle, an underwater photographer to take some shots himself of a baby underwater. The baby in the final picture chosen was Spencer Elden. Kurt recommended the adding of a dollar on a fish-hook and thus a famous album cover was born.
Inside the inlay is a page of random lyrics from the songs on ‘Nevermind’ mashed together in no particular order. Two of the lines amongst them were made up by Kurt and do not feature in the lyrics of any of the songs (“The second coming came in last and out of the closet” and “At the end of the rainbow and your rope”). The back-cover features a meat-and-diseased vagina collage by Cobain behind the Chim (above the head of which is a picture of Kiss). Cobain’s name appears on photo credits as ‘Kurdt Kobain’. Later reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were both taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1996 CD and vinyl releases by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold of the CD is less susceptible to corrosion than the aluminium used on regular CDs. The MFSL LP booklet for this release misspelled Nirvana (‘Nirvana’) and CD releases do contain ‘Endless Nameless’ although, as with ordinary releases, this is not credited on the cover.
The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy card (300g) sleeve. The song credits on this vinyl release are different to those on the regular CD
INSECTICIDE
(1992)
INSECTICIDE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Stain September 1989 Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Been A Son November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK
Turnaround October 21, 1990, Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Molly’s Lips October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London,
UK Son Of A Gun October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
(New Wave) Polly November 9, 1991 BBC Studios, London, UK
Beeswax January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle,
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Mexican Seafood
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Hairspray Queen
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Aero Zeppelin
January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Big Long Now
December, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK Three of the fifteen songs on ‘Insecticide’ cover.
The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On: Turnaround Devo We Are Not Men, We Are Devo Molly’s Lips Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Son of a Gun Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Released: 12/14/92 (Europe), 12/15/92 (US) Releases: Released on vinyl (with a limited edition of 15,000 on blue vinyl), cassette and CD. Additional Information: A collaborative enterprise by ‘Sub Pop’ and ‘Geffen’ (originally planned as two separate releases, one by each label), partly as an attempt to beat the bootleggers. The collaboration was intended to ensure a definite compilation, as well as give the band more control over it and ensure greater distribution than ‘Sub Pop’ could muster. The cover art is a painting by Cobain.
The sticker on it reads “Inside Insecticide: Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Stuff Never Before Available”, and six of the fifteen tracks were unreleased at the time (‘Hairspray Queen’, ‘Aero Zeppelin’, ‘Big Long Now’, ‘Been A Son’, ‘(New Wave) Polly’ and ‘Aneurysm’). ‘Mexican Seafood’ was previously made available on ‘Teriyaki Asthma’, ‘Beeswax’ on ‘Kill Rock Stars’, ‘Downer’ on CD versions of ‘Bleach’, ‘Stain’ on the ‘Blew’ EP, ‘Dive’ and ‘Sliver’ on the ‘Dive/Sliver’ single (note: the phone call outro to ‘Sliver’ between Krist and Jonathon Poneman on the single was omitted for its appearance on CD) and ‘Turnaround’, ‘Molly’s Lips’ and ‘Son Of A Gun’ appeared on the ‘Hormoaning’ EP. ‘Been A Son’ on ‘Insecticide is a different version to that on the ‘Blew’ EP, as are the versions ‘Aneurysm’ from their respective previous releases. According to Endino ‘Hairspray Queen’ and ‘Aero Zeppelin’ were not remastered for their release on this CD, virtually being the one-hour mix versions, he did on the day of their recording. Some American copies include liner notes written by Kurt. In trading circles complete versions of the October 21, 1990 and the November 9, 1991 radio sessions are available. Complete session tapes also exist for the January 23, 1989 and April 1990 sessions. Other outtakes from the September 1989 Music Source and December 1989 Reciprocal studio sessions have also surfaced.
(1993)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
Serve The Servants February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Scentless Apprentice February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Very Ape February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
Tourette’s February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
All Apologies February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip January 22, 1993, Ariola Ltda BMG,
Rio de Janeiro Released:
09/14/93 (Europe), 09/21/93 (US), 01/97, 11/98 Releases: Issued on vinyl (including a 15,000 limited edition on clear vinyl), cassette and CD in 1993. Reissued by MFSL in January 1997 on 24-carat gold CD and high-quality vinyl.
All Apologies’
In November 1998 it was reissued on high-quality vinyl by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Steve Albini, who was paid $100,000 on top of $24,000 recording costs. ‘All Apologies’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ were remixed again in May by Scott Litt. ‘Sappy’ was also re-recorded at this session and this is the version that features on the ‘No Alternative’ compilation. European releases included a bonus track (‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip’), referred to on releases as ‘Devalued American Dollar Purchase Incentive Track’, which appears 25 minutes after the end of ‘All Apologies’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, except for ‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol’ (stating ‘whatever’ in its place) and Tourette’s (with the lyrics being given as ‘Cuff, Tish, Sips’). The disc features Michael DeWitt in drag, a former nanny employed by Kurt and Courtney.
Wal-Mart and K-Mart versions of the artwork were altered with Cobain’s acceptance (given that to refuse the changes would mean the album would be more difficult to get hold of) when these outlets refused to sell them, deeming them ‘offensive’. They also changed the title of ‘Rape Me’ to ‘Waif Me’. A remixed version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ (also available on the ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ single), different from on ordinary versions of ‘In Utero’, was used on these re-issued copies and ‘Gallons’ was omitted. Both the reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1997 release by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold is less susceptible to corrosion. These releases do not contain ‘Gallons’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy (300g) card sleeve. The guitar solo intro on ‘Very Ape’ on this vinyl release is longer than on other versions. ‘In Utero’ enters the Billboard chart at #1 with first week sales of 180,000 units.
Compilation Albums
NIRVANA
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
Previously unreleased About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Bleach Been a Son September 1989 Music Source Studios – Seattle, WA
Blew EP Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Insecticide Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come as You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea (remix version) February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero (K-Mart/Wal-Mart version) Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero All Apologies November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Something In The Way (vinyl & Japanese CD releases only) November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Released: 10/28/02 (outside US), 10/29/02 (US) Releases: CD, Vinyl (2 LPs). Additional Information: Features the previously unreleased song ‘You Know You’re Right’. All the other tracks, taken from the NIRVANA back catalog, have been “newly mastered” for this release. Includes a forward by David Fricke.
The vinyl version is a double LP release. Only the vinyl release and Japanese versions of the CD contain ‘Something in the Way’.
Review:
Almost six years to the day since the last NIRVANA album came the release of the greatest hits package, simply titled ‘Nirvana’. Fans had long believed the next album would be a box set of unreleased songs and demo versions, indeed a 45-track two-disc set was reportedly assembled for launch to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of the band’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’. Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, was displeased by her lack of input on the box set, and made a legal challenge to block the release. Coincidentally, she was also in court trying to extricate herself from her legal obligations to her record label with her former band ‘Hole’. Love threatened to withhold Cobain’s last known song, an unreleased anthem titled “You Know You’re Right” from any future releases, which would be the one and only unique selling point of any future release. Deadlock ensued as wild accusations concerning sanity and precise contributions to the band were presented in court. However, Love’s position of power was effectively undermined by two factors. First, Universal decided they would release a ‘greatest hits’ album with or without the new song, and secondly on May 10th a Spanish fan shocked the online fan community by claiming and then proving he had a copy of the song. Jim Barber, Courtney’s lawyer and boyfriend, responded by firing off emails to all online fans concerned threatening legal action, but it proved impossible to force the genie back into the bottle, and the song leaked on the internet in mid-September. Radio stations across the world started airing the track, and once again the band’s lawyers faxed legal threats to the stations demanding they cease and desist playing the song. Some radio stations were undeterred, and continued playing the track anyway. Fearing a public relations disaster on an unprecedented scale, the record company executives realised their position was hopeless, and shipped out promotional CD-Rs of the song.
Love was thus forced to negotiate, and was able to force the delay of the box set (which was finally released in 2004 – see our comprehensive guide to ‘With The Lights Out’) to be overtaken by a greatest hits package. The date originally suggested was October 22nd 2002, but Love feared her own new material would receive little attention and demanded the CD be held back until 2003. However, with all concerned realising the need to capitalize quickly on the media uproar over the new song, the release date was pushed forward to November 12th and incredibly then again to October 29th. The track list was published at online retailer Amazon, but was quickly removed as the band realised that bootleggers would be able to assemble the album themselves and release counterfeits early. Jim Barber proclaimed that the track listing was incorrect, but of course this turned out to be obfuscation. The first track, “You Know You’re Right” (recorded by Adam Kasper) is the sole previously unreleased song, recorded at NIRVANA’s last studio session in January 1994 just before the start of their final tour. The song is clearly one of the very best ones in the band’s oeuvre, and is hoped to propel album sales into the tens of millions.
“About A Girl” (recorded by Jack Endino) is the one representative of NIRVANA’s debut album, the 1989 release ‘Bleach’.
Next up is “Been A Son” (recorded by Steve Fisk), but the rendition selected is the one from the very rare ‘Blew EP’, and not the common Goodier Session version from ‘Insecticide’.
Following this is “Sliver” (recorded by Jack Endino), a Sub Pop single did a feature on ‘Insecticide’. Next are the four ‘Nevermind’ singles (all recorded by Butch Vig) in order of release, followed by four songs from the band’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ (recorded by Steve Albini), and concluding with three songs from NIRVANA’s November 1993 appearance on ‘MTV’s Unplugged’.
The track list has been much debated on the internet and in some quarters much-derided: just as anyone with a passing knowledge of English football (soccer) thinks he/she could select a better national team than the current manager, any fan with all the albums could select his/her dozen favorite songs. It is clear, however, that the songs chosen are the result of politics and commercial considerations.
The ‘Bleach’ rendition of “About A Girl” is unsteady and inferior to the acoustic version released on the ‘Unplugged In New York’ album, but was presumably included so that there would be some representative of the band’s debut. Had this release ignored ‘Bleach’ entirely, accusations would undoubtedly have surfaced accusing the band of ignoring its roots and the contribution of Chad Channing (the drummer on most early releases).
“Been A Son” was selected for those collectors who cannot afford to pay $100 to track down a copy of the scarce ‘Blew EP’, and is an extra purchase incentive for fans who have not heard this rendition. However, it sounds very uncouth and raw nestling beside the band’s genuine hits, and is probably the weakest song on the album, and so those collectors who were supposed to benefit from the addition of this song have ended up criticising its inclusion.
The next six songs are those for which NIRVANA produced music videos, and are uncontroversial choices. Indeed, only the four singles from ‘Nevermind’ are included, which surprised many: this album is widely considered their best work. The reasoning is easy to divine. The record label do not want to cannibalise new sales of ‘Nevermind’ by including too much on this album.
The Scott Litt remix of “Pennyroyal Tea” neuters the bass roar present in the choruses of the ‘In Utero’ album track, but is otherwise unspectacular. The liner notes claim this version to be “previously unreleased”, but it has actually been available for many years on the censored Wal-Mart version of ‘In Utero’. Next follow two further album tracks from ‘In Utero’, bringing the total up to four.
This CD then rounds off with two or three songs (depending on where you live) from the band’s fabulous quasi-acoustic concert recorded for MTV Unplugged. The pre-and post-song applause is muted as much as possible between the songs to allow this release to flow better. All three of the songs were aired extensively by radio stations on account of being pressed on promotional CDs. All songs selected, bar “Been A Son” and “Dumb”, are the standard NIRVANA songs played on the radio, and were therefore obvious candidates for inclusion on this record: that is precisely what a greatest hits CD should contain, by definition. The fact that none of the band’s less commercial / pop-influenced, more punk/metal-style songs have been included should not be a surprise either: they do not belong on a commercial CD such as this one. Those who bemoan the lack of rare song “Oh, The Guilt” or the popular “Sappy” similarly miss the point of a greatest hits compilation: with a new rareties release planned for next year, these songs have rightly been retained for that. Those who criticise the CD as being too short are also wide of the mark. Songs such as “Aneurysm” may be fine songs, but would seem out of place on such a pop-oriented compilation. A strong case could be made for making this release even shorter still, removing perhaps tracks 2, 3 and 4 to leave an even more definitive selection. The author is ambivalent on the subject of the remastering of the songs for this release: the pre-‘Nevermind’ songs now feature much greater separation between instruments and do sound clearer, but this causes their jagged edges (especially on “Been A Son”) to be more prominent. The stark contrast with the following Butch Vig produced numbers makes one wonder if the effort was wasted. The packaging of the CD is, as usual, excellent: Robert Fisher always seemed to be able to guide the band into selecting beautiful images and stunning photos, which were arguably one factor in the band’s success. This time the release is monochrome, but this is in keeping with the reverential tone of the release. This is not to say ‘Nirvana’ is faultless:
the editing of the CD is atrocious, with “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” starting over two seconds before the track marker, and the gaps between songs seeming in some cases too short and others too ponderous. Those responsible for this should be roundly condemned for their sloppiness. The liner notes are also egregious: the author David Fricke lacks both eloquence and erudition on the subject of NIRVANA. He misquotes the lyrics to “You Know You’re Right” (using instead those sung by Ms Love during her rendition) and astounded the online fan community by referring to the song as “Autopilot” and “On The Mountain”, both of which were bootleggers’ titles resulting from them mishearing Dave Grohl’s muffled introduction to the previously known live version, “This is our last song. It’s called ‘All Apologies’.� Cobain changed his mind and played “You Know You’re Right” instead. These quibbles do not detract from the album as a whole, which remains an excellent introduction to the band, surely the main purpose of this CD. Complaints from hardcore fans about the lack of rare material selected for their delectation are utterly ridiculous in the context of a greatest hits release.
Compilation Albums
Sliver – The Best of the Box Released:
1st November 2005 Releases: CD only Additional Information
: This is a compilation of tracks taken from NIRVANA’s 2004 boxset release With The Lights Out. To maximize sales and tempt owners of the boxset to buy it this compilation also includes 3 exclusive tracks that do not feature on the boxset itself which are indicated below.
Track: Date / Location: Exclusive To Sliver – Best of the Box?
Comments Spank Thru (home demo) December 1985 – Music room, Earl residence, Burien, WA, US Yes Sourced from the infamous ‘Fecal Matter’ demo!
Heartbreaker (live) 03/xx/87 – 17 Nussbaum Road (house party), Raymond, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Unknown (home demo) Summer, 1987 – Cobain residence, Aberdeen, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Floyd The Barber (Live) 01/23/88 – Community World Theater, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
About A Girl (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Blandest (studio) June�September 1988 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Ain’t It A Shame (studio) August 20 & 28, 1989 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track
. Sappy January 2�3, 1990 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US Yes This track was produced by Jack Endino and took a whopping 10 hours to record what is paradoxically one of the worst renditions of this song!
Opinion (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Lithium (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Sliver (home demo) Summer, 1990 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Come As You Are (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US Yes This is a boom box demo which was recorded at the same time as the SLTS demo above. Old Age (studio) May�June 1991 – Sound City Studios, Van Nuys & Devonshire Studios, Burbank, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Oh, The Guilt April 7, 1992 – Laundry Room Studio, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (home demo) May 1991 – Oakwood Apartment, Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (studio) 25�26 October 1992 – Word Of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Heart-Shaped Box (studio) January 19�21, 1993 – Studio B, BMG Ariola Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, BR No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Do Re Mi (home demo) Early 1994 – Bedroom, Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
You Know You’re Right (home demo) Mid 1993�Early 1994 – Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
All Apologies (home demo) 1991�1992 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US/Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this tr
Compilation Albums
ICON
.Released: 31st August 2010 Releases: CD only Additional Information:
NIRVANA’s second “greatest hits” compilation. Part of the Icon series by Universal Music Enterprises which featured greatest hits releases “from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B, and country”. Interestingly it does not include any tracks from NIRVANA’s first album ‘Bleach’ which may have been done to avoid having to pay fees to Sub Pop
. Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Album:
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY Unplugged In New York
Live Albums
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Come As You Are November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Pennyroyal Tea November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Dumb November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Polly November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
On A Plain on November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Something In The Way November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Plateau November 18, 1993 Sony Studios, New York, NY
Oh Me November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Lake Of Fire November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie The Man Who Sold The World (Ryko)
Six of the fourteen songs performed covered. The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Vaselines Way Of The Vaselines (Sub Pop)
Plateau Meat Puppets II (SST) Oh Me Meat Puppets II (SST) Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets II (SST)
Where Did You Sleep Last Night ‘Leadbelly’ Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Released: 11/01/94, 11/98 Releases: Released on vinyl, cassette, and CD in 1994. Reissued on LP in November 1998 by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Produced and remixed by Scott Litt. It contains two-songs which were cut from the original television broadcast. All songs were done in one take. Although the official release is technically complete at 46 minutes (containing all the songs that were recorded), the show was actually about 69 minutes long, with all breaks between songs, jamming, tuning, and interaction with the crowd cut from this release. Conceived originally as disc one of a two-CD release, the second CD containing other live tracks spanning the band’s life. However, the band was unable to complete the project, feeling it was too close to Kurt’s death. The ‘second CD’ in effect would appear in 1996 as ‘From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy quality sleeve. Enters the Billboard Chart at #1 and sells more than 300,000 copies in its first week.
Live Albums
FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WHISKAH
Released: 10/01/96 Releases: Released on vinyl (2 LPs, in a single sleeve), cassette and CD.
Additional Information: Nirvana’s third release to enter the Billboard chart at #1 and their fourth #1 album. The liner notes were written by Krist Novoselic. They contain errors, as detailed in the CD guide to this release above. Side four of the vinyl version contains additional stage banter which is transcribed in the vinyl guide above.
About this release, Dave Grohl, in an interview (from the interview CD ‘Foo Fighters In Conversation’ on Chatback) said: Interviewer: What do you think of the live album, the Nirvana live album that came out? Were you happy with the result? Dave Grohl: Yeah I thought it was cool, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean there were so many songs, like … so many tapes … and so many songs, just so much stuff we could have released and we released one thing … the just live thing. Yeah I thought it was good … I mean I have live tapes at home that are better than that, but those are mine! (Laughs). Interviewer: Did you have much input in so far as what songs are going on the album? Dave Grohl: Yeah, Krist … Krist and I … Krist actually did most of the pick and choose and I think he did a really great job, but yeah, ultimately we had like total control over what was happening.
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT
DGC RECORDS,18 VERSIONS (2011)
LIVE AND LOUD
DGC RECORDS,13 VERSIONS (2013)
Live Albums
LIVE IN READING
Released: 3rd November 2009 Releases: CD-only, DVD-only, and CD+DVD set
Additional Information: Official release of NIRVANA’s legendary performance at the 1992 Reading Festival which was circulating amongst traders in various forms prior to this official release. Unfortunately, the CD-only version is incomplete: it is missing ‘Love Buzz’, various jams and between-song banter as well as most of the destruction. The DVD is complete and also features a short clip after the credits of Cobain interacting with a fan after the show. It features camera angles not present on any trading circle version. More information can be found here. Song: Intro Breed Drain You Aneurysm School Silver Sliver In Bloom Come As You Are Lithium About A Girl Tourette’s Polly Lounge Act Smells Like Teen Spirit On A Plain Negative Creep Been A Son All Apologies Blew Dumb Stay Away Spank Thru Love Buzz The Money Will Roll Right In D-7 Territorial Pissings Credits
Anniversary/Deluxe Edition Reissues
20TH ANNIVERSARY BLEACH
Released: 3rd November 2009
Releases: CD, regular vinyl (black) and limited-edition vinyl (white) Additional Information: Reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Bleach’. Features a 13-track remaster of the ‘Bleach’ album (remastered from the original tapes by ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino) as well as NIRVANA’s live performance at the Pine Street Theatre recorded on 9th February 1990. Both the CD and vinyl releases include a booklet with never before seen photographs of the band plus other pertinent images from NIRVANA Sub Pop years (for example, the original session tapes, a scan of NIRVANA’s Sub Pop contract, etc.).
In relation to the vinyl release, it is not known precisely how many copies of the limited-edition white version were produced. NOTE: the live show included on this release was circulating amongst traders prior to this release from an alternate soundboard source and whilst the version on this official release does sound better, unfortunately, the between-song banter has been cut.
CD ONE/SIDE A Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Blew December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Floyd the Barber January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
School December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Paper Cuts January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Negative Creep December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Scoff December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Swap Meet December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Mr Moustache December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Sifting December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Downer January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
CD TWO/SIDE B Song: Date Recorded/Venue: Intro 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
School 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Floyd The Barber 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Dive 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Love Buzz 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Spank Thru 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Molly’s Lips 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Sappy 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Scoff 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
About A Girl 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Been A Son 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Blew 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
SLIVER
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI
About A Girl (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR
Spank Thru (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland OR
Released: 09/??/90 (US), 01/??/91 (UK) Releases: First 3,000 7″ American releases were on blue vinyl in fold-over sleeves and was subsequently reissued in many colours in solid sleeves, being the only Nirvana single on Sub Pop still in print. British releases on Tupelo were originally on 7″ vinyl (with the first 2,000 on green vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve. The 12″ vinyl features ‘About A Girl’, live from 02/09/90. The CD-version had included ‘About A Girl’ and also ‘Spank Thru’, again from 02/09/90. Additional Information: ‘Spank Thru’ on the CD versions is incorrectly spelled ‘Spank Through’. The A-side of the 7″, after ‘Sliver’, also features a 45-second phone conversation outro, between a very hung-over Krist Novoselic and Jonathon Poneman, which Krist accidentally recorded on his answerphone. This was excluded when this version of ‘Sliver’ appeared on ‘Incesticide’, rather like the intro to ‘Love Buzz’ was culled from vinyl versions when it made its transition to a CD. An incomplete soundboard version of the 02/09/90 show featured on this release is available in trading circles. A complete session tape of all the finalized versions of songs from the April 1990 studio appearance is also circulating.
TEEN SPIRIT
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Drain You May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Even In His Youth January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 09/09/91 (UK), 09/10/91 (US) Releases: American 7″ vinyl and cassette releases included ‘Even In His Youth’. The American 12″, a second cassette and CD also featured ‘Aneurysm’. UK 7″ and cassette releases included ‘Drain You’, 12″ versions ‘Even In His Youth’ and the CD all four songs. Whilst all American versions lack ‘Drain You’ it was included on some European releases. Additional Information: The back cover shot was taken by Charles Petersen at Nirvana’s 03/08/91 appearance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
COME AS YOU ARE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Endless, Nameless May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
The school (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Drain You (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA Released: 03/02/92 (UK), 03/03/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ was backed with a live ‘Drain You’, whilst US cassettes, 12″‘s and CD’s also had a live version of ‘School’ from the same show. In the UK the 7″ featured ‘Endless Nameless’, the 12″ also included the live version of ‘School’. CDs had a fourth track, a live ‘Drain You’. German 12″ picture discs contain ‘Endless Nameless’ and a live version of ‘Drain You’. Additional information: A complete soundboard version of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles.
LITHIUM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Been A Son (live) October 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Curmudgeon April, 1992 Laundry Room Studios, Seattle, WA
D-7 October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK Released: 07/20/92 (UK), 07/21/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ and cassette was backed with a live version of ‘Been A Son’, whilst the 12″ and CD also included ‘Curmudgeon’. In the UK the 7″ was backed with ‘Curmudgeon’, the 12″ added the live version of ‘Been A Son’ and CDs included a fourth track, ‘D-7’. Additional Information: The cover was designed by Kurt and the single includes a sonogram of Frances Bean Cobain. Contains all the lyrics to ‘Nevermind’. A complete soundboard of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles. The complete 10/21/90 radio session is also circulating amongst traders.
IN BLOOM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Sliver (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA
Polly (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA Released: 11/30/92 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. The 7″ and cassette included a live version of ‘Polly’. The 12″ and CD had a third track, a live version of ‘Sliver’. Additional Information: A complete soundboard of the 12/28/91 performance is available in trading circles
HEART-SHAPED BOX
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Marigold February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN Released: 08/30/93 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. 7″ and cassette featured ‘Marigold’ and the 12″ and CD also included ‘Milk It’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
LOVE BUZZ
test pressing
numbered
red slash
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 11/88 Releases: This single launched the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’. Limited to 1000 hand-numbered (in red ink) copies, in a fold-over sleeve, on black vinyl.
Additional Information: On this release, only ‘Love Buzz’ features a 10-second sound collage intro made by Kurt from various children’s records spliced together and a similar collage dubbed into the instrumental break. This comes from a much longer collage made by Kurt, which is 34-minutes long, known as ‘The Montage of Heck’, which is available in trading circles. ‘Love Buzz’ was originally performed by ‘Shocking Blue’. The version of ‘Love Buzz’ on this single is a different mix to those on all ‘Bleach’ and ‘Blew EP’ releases, being remixed for other releases and lacking the aforementioned collages. It was remixed to increase its collectibility and lacked the collages because Kurt forgot to bring the home-made tape with it on to the remixing session! Alice Wheeler took the photo on the front of the album in Tacoma’s ‘Never Never Land’ (a park) close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kurt’s name is given as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ on the credits and on the ‘Love Buzz’ side is etched ‘Why don’t you trade those guitars for shovels?’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
Sliver (1990)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Come As You Are (1992)
Lithium (1992)
In Bloom (1992)
Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
All Apologies (1993)
Pennyroyal Tea (1994 but withdrawn)
About A Girl (1994)
.Split Singles:
Candy/Molly’s Lips (1991)
Here She Comes Now/Venus In Furs (1991)
BOXSETS
Puss/Oh, The Guilt (1992)Singles
(1995) With The Lights Out (2004)
EP`S
Blew EP (1989)
Hormoaning EP (1992)
COMPLAMATION APP,
HE LIVE NIRVANA COMPANION TO OFFICIAL RELEASES:
COMPILATION APPEARANCES
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop Rock City
Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. 1
/Teriyaki Asthma, Vols. 1-5
Hard To Believe Heaven And Hell: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground
, Volume 1 The Grunge Years Kill Rock Stars
Eight/Fourteen Songs For Greg Sage and the Wipers
No Alternative
The Beavis and Butthead Experience
Geffen Rarities Vol. 1
Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defence
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack/Hype!
Fender 50th Anniversary Guitar Legends Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Volume 1
Live at Reading Releases NIRVANA Feature On 1991: The Year Punk Broke Hype! Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances Volume 4
Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar) met Chris Novoselic (born Krist Novoselic) (bass) in 1985 in Aberdeen, WA, a small logging town 100 miles away from Seattle. While Novoselic came from a relatively stable background, Cobain’s childhood had been thrown into a turmoil when his parents divorced when he was eight. Following the divorce, he lived at the homes of various relatives, developing a love for the Beatles and then heavy metal in the process. Eventually, American hardcore punk worked its way into dominating his listening habits and he met the Melvins, an Olympia-based underground heavy punk band. Cobain began playing in punk bands like Fecal Matter, often with the Melvins’ bassist Dale Crover. Through the Melvins’ leader Buzz Osborne, Cobain met Novoselic, who also had an intense interest in punk, which meant that he, like Cobain, felt alienated from the macho, redneck population of Aberdeen. The duo decided to form a band called the Stiff Woodies, with Cobain on drums, Novoselic on bass, and a rotating cast of guitarists and vocalists. The group went through name changes as quickly as guitarists, before deciding that Cobain would play guitar and sing. Renamed Skid Row, the new trio featured drummer Aaron Burkhart, who left the band by the end of 1986 and was replaced by Chad Channing. By 1987, the band was called Nirvana.
Timeline
Nirvana timeline
05-16-65 Krist Anthony Novoselic born to Krist and Maria Novoselic
01-31-67 Chad Channing born to Wayne and Burnyce Channing
02-20-67 Kurt Donald Cobain born to Wendy and Donald Cobain
01-14-69 David Eric Grohl born to James and Virginia Grohl
01-23-88 Nirvana records demo with Dale Crover
11-??-88 First single: Love Buzz/Big Cheese released 06-??-89
Bleach – CD-Album released 10-23-89
Nirvana plays first European show, Newcastle, England 12-30-89
Krist and Shelli get married in Tacoma on 04-17-91
Nirvana first plays Smell Like Teen Spirit 04-30-91
Smells Like Teen Spirit – CD-Single Nirvana formally signs with Geffen Records 08-?? -91
The video for Smells Like Teen Spirit is made 09-20-91
Tour for Nevermind – Japan – Vinyl- Album Nevermind – CD- Album Nevermind – Vinyl-Album begins in Toronto
09-24-91 Nevermind is released, debuted at #144 on Billboard
10-12-91 Nevermind goes Gold
01-11-92 Nirvana plays Saturday Night Live,
Nevermind hits #1 01-??-92 Hormoaning released in Australia and Japan
02-24-92 Kurt Cobain marries Courtney Love in Waikiki, Hawaii
08-18-92 Francis Bean Cobain is born
08-30-92 Nirvana headlines Reading Festival
09-08-92 Nirvana plays Lithium at MTV music awards, wins 2 awards
12-15-92 Insecticide Insecticide – Japan – Vinyl- Album Insecticide – CD-Album released
09-??-93 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video award at MTV Video awards
11-18-93 Nirvana records Unplugged session for MTV
09-21-93 After a week delay, In Utero in Utero – Vinyl-Album In Utero – CD-Album released in US
12-16-93 Nirvana Unplugged airs on MTV
03-01-94 The Final Nirvana show is played in Munich
03-04-94 Kurt Cobain is hospitalized
03-05-94 Kurt awakens from a coma, asks for a milkshake
03-08-94 Kurt leaves hospital under his own power the body of Kurt Cobain is found, he committed suicide 3 days ago.
04-10-94 Memorial Service held in Seattle, Courtney reads from a suicide note.
09-??-94 Nirvana wins Best Alternative Video for Heart-Shaped Box
11-01-94 Nirvana: Unplugged in New York Unplugged in New York – Vinyl-Album Unplugged in New York – CD-Album is released in the US
11-15-94 Nirvana: Live! Tonite! Sold Out! is released in US
07-04-95 Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighter’s Album released 10-01-96 From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – Japan – Vinyl-Album from the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah – CD-Album released
During the summer, Nirvana released “Sliver”/”Dive,” which was recorded with Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on drums and produced by Butch Vig. The band also made a six-song demo with Vig, which was shopped to major labels, who soon began competing to sign the group. By the end of the summer, Dave Grohl, formerly of the D.C.-based hardcore band Scream, had become Nirvana’s drummer and the band signed with DGC for $287,000. Nirvana recorded their second album with Vig, completing the record in the summer. Following a European tour supporting Sonic Youth in the late summer, Nevermind was released in September, supported by a quick American tour. While DGC was expecting a moderately successful release, in the neighborhood of 100,000 copies, Nevermind immediately became a smash hit, quickly selling out its initial shipment of 50,000 copies and creating a shortage across America. What helped the record become a success was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a blistering four-chord rocker that was accompanied by a video that shot into heavy MTV rotation. By the beginning of 1992, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” had climbed into the American Top Ten and Nevermind bumped Michael Jackson’s much-touted comeback album Dangerous off the top of the album charts; it reached the British Top Ten shortly afterward. By February, the album had been certified triple platinum.
Story of the band from there sub pop days right through to that day in apriI 94
Nirvana’s success took the music industry by surprise, Nirvana included. It soon become apparent that the band wasn’t quite sure how to handle their success. Around the time of Nevermind’s release, the band was into baiting their audience — Cobain appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball in drag, the group mocked the tradition of miming on the BBC’s Top of the Pops by Novoselic constantly throwing his bass into the air and Cobain singing his live vocals in the style of Ian Curtis, and their traditional live destruction of instruments was immortalized on a Saturday Night Live performance that ended with Novoselic and Grohl sharing a kiss — but by the spring, questions had begun to arise about the band’s stability. Cobain married Courtney Love, the leader of the indie rock/foxcore band Hole, in February of 1992, announcing that the couple was expecting a child in the fall. Shortly after the marriage, rumors that the couple were heavy heroin users began to circulate and the strength of the rumors only increased when Nirvana canceled several summer concerts and refused to mount a full-scale American tour during the summer. Cobain complained that he was suffering from chronic stomach troubles, which seemed to be confirmed when he was admitted to a Belfast hospital after a June concert. But, heroin rumors continued to surface, especially in the form of a late-summer Vanity Fair article which implied that Love was using during her pregnancy. Both Love and Cobain denied the article’s allegations, and publicly harassed and threatened the article’s author. Love delivered Frances Bean Cobain, a healthy baby girl, on August 18, 1992, but the couple soon battled with Los Angeles’ children’s services, who claimed they were unfit parents on the basis of the Vanity Fair article. The couple was granted custody of their child by the beginning of 1993.
Since Cobain was going through such well-documented personal problems, Nirvana was unable to record a follow-up to Nevermind until the spring of 1993. In the meantime, DGC released the odds-and-ends compilation Incesticide late in 1992; the album reached number 39 in the U.S. and number 14 U.K. As the group prepared to make their third album, they released “Oh, the Guilt” as a split-single with the Jesus Lizard on Touch & Go Records. Choosing Steve Albini (Pixies, the Breeders, Big Black, the Jesus Lizard) as their producer, Nirvana recorded their third album, In Utero, in two weeks during the spring of 1993. Following its completion, controversy began to surround Nirvana again. Cobain suffered a heroin overdose on May 2, but the event was hidden from the press. The following month, Love called police to their Seattle home after Cobain locked himself in the bathroom, threatening suicide. Prior to debuting In Utero material during the New Music Seminar at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, Cobain had another covered-up overdose. By that time, reports began to circulate, including an article in Newsweek, that DGC was unhappy with the forthcoming album, accusing that the band deliberately made an uncommercial record. Both the band and the label denied such allegations. Deciding that Albini’s production was too flat, Nirvana decided to remaster the album with R.E.M.’s producer, Scott Litt.
In Utero was released in September of 1993 to positive reviews and strong initial sales, debuting at the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts. Nirvana supported it with a fall American tour, hiring former Germs member Pat Smear as an auxiliary guitarist. While the album and the tour were both successful, sales weren’t quite as strong as expected, with several shows not selling out until the week of the concert. As a result, the group agreed to play MTV’s acoustic Unplugged show at the end of the year, and sales of In Utero picked up after its December airing. After wrapping up the U.S. tour on January 8, 1994, with a show at Center Arena in Seattle, Nirvana embarked on a European tour in February. Following a concert in Munich on February 29, Cobain stayed in Rome to vacation with Love. On March 4, she awakened to find that Cobain had attempted suicide by overdosing on the tranquilizer Rohypnol and drinking champagne. While the attempt was initially reported as an accidental overdose, it was known within the Nirvana camp that the vocalist had left behind a suicide note.
Cobain returned to Seattle within a week of his hospitalization and his mental illness began to grow. On March 18, the police had to again talk the singer out of suicide after he locked himself in a room threatening to kill himself. Love and Nirvana’s management organized an intervention program that resulted in Cobain’s admission to the Exodus Recovery Center in L.A. on March 30, but he escaped from the clinic on April 1, returning to Seattle. His mother filed a missing persons report on April 4. The following day, Cobain shot himself in the head at his Seattle home. His body wasn’t discovered until April 8, when an electrician contracted to install an alarm system at the Cobain house stumbled upon the body. After his death, Kurt Cobain was quickly anointed as a spokesman for Generation X, as well as a symbol of its tortured angst.
Novoselic and Grohl planned to release a double-disc live album at the end of 1994, but sorting through the tapes proved to be too painful, so MTV Unplugged in New York appeared in its place. The album debuted at the top of the British and American charts, as a home video comprised of live performances and interviews from the band’s Nevermind-era, titled Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, was issued at the same time (the project began prior to Cobain’s passing and was completed by surviving bandmembers).
In 1996, its electric counterpart, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, was released, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts. Following Cobain’s death, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters (early rumors that Novoselic would also be a member of the band ultimately proved to be false) — releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995, followed by The Colour and the Shape in 1997 and There Is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999. Novoselic formed the trio Sweet 75, releasing their debut in the spring of 1997, and also appeared along with former Dead Kennedys’ frontman Jello Biafra and former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil on the 2000 live set Live From the Battle in Seattle under the name the No W.T.O. Combo.
By the late ’90s, research began by Novoselic for a proposed box set of previously unreleased songs from throughout Nirvana’s career. The project was supposed to surface in the fall of 2001 (to coincide with the tenth anniversary release of Nevermind), but legal problems began to surface. In 1997, Grohl and Novoselic formed the Nirvana L.L.C. partnership with Courtney Love (who manages Cobain’s estate) — a company that required a unanimous vote by all three regarding future albums, photos, and anything else Nirvana-related. When all three couldn’t agree on the songs to be included on the box set, the matter was taken to court as Love attempted to dissolve the partnership. The project was ultimately shelved indefinitely as any legal decision was tied up in court. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
NIRVANA LINE UP !(1985-1994)
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar (1985-1994)
Krist (Chris) Novoselic (1985-1994)
Aaron Burckhard (1985-1986)
Dale Crover: drums (1988)
Chad Channing (1986-1990)
Jason Everman: guitar (1989)
Dave Foster: drums (1988)
Dan Peters: drums (1990)
Dave Grohl: drums, backing vocals (1990-1994)
John Duncan: guitar (1993)
Pat Smear: guitar (1993-1994)
Early releases (1988–1990)
Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz”, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first-ever interview with John Robb in Sounds who also made the release single of the week. The following month, the band began recording its debut album, Bleach, with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins and Mudhoney, 1980s punk rock, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions for Bleach, listed as $606.17 on the album sleeve, was supplied by Jason Everman, who was subsequently brought into the band as the second guitarist. Though Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit on Bleach because, according to Novoselic, they “wanted to make him feel more at home in the band”. Just prior to the album’s release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Following the release of Bleach in June 1989, Nirvana embarked on its first national tour, and the album became a favourite of college radio stations. Due to increasing differences between Everman over the course of the tour, Nirvana cancelled the last few dates and drove back to Washington. No one told Everman he was fired, while Everman later said he had actually quit. Although Sub Pop did not promote Bleach as much as other releases, it was a steady seller and had initial sales of 40,000 copies. However, Cobain was upset by the label’s lack of promotion and distribution for the album. In late 1989, the band recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. In a late 1989 interview with John Robb in Sounds, Cobain noted that the band’s music was changing. He said, “The early songs were really angry… But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings”. Grohl performing in 1989 In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing’s drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. As bootlegs of Nirvana” demos with Vig began to circulate in the music industry and draw attention from major labels, Channing left the band. That July, Nirvana recorded the single “Sliver” with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana’s seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl, whose Washington, D.C. band Scream had broken up. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle; Novoselic later said, “We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.”
Grohl told Q: “I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks… I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherfucker? You’re kidding me’.”
Mainstream breakthrough (1991–1992)
Disenchanted with Sub Pop and with the Smart Studios sessions generating interest, Nirvana decided to look for a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy the group out of its contract. Cobain and Novoselic consulted Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver for advice. They met Silver in Los Angeles and she introduced them to agent Don Muller and music business attorney Alan Mintz, who was specialized in finding deals for new bands. Mintz started sending out Nirvana’s demo tape to major labels looking for deals. Following repeated recommendations by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon,
Nirvana signed to DGC Records in 1990.
Initially, DGC Records was hoping to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth’s Goo. However, the first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” quickly gained momentum, boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold, that television crews were becoming a constant presence onstage, and that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was almost omnipresent on radio and music television. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts and topped the charts in numerous other countries. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide
In Utero, final months, and Cobain’s death (1993–1994)
In Utero debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in September 1993.Time’s Christopher John Farley wrote in his review of the album, “Despite the fears of some alternative-music fans, Nirvana hasn’t gone mainstream, though this potent new album may once again force the mainstream to go Nirvana”. In Utero went on to sell over 5 million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years with support from Half Japanese and the Breeders For the tour, the band added Pat Smear of the punk rock band Germs as a second guitarist. In November, they recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, the band broke convention for the show by choosing not to play their most recognizable songs. Instead, they performed several covers and invited Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets to join them for renditions of three Meat Puppets songs
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Nirvana’s final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1
The tour is cancelled when Kurt gets ill and checks into rehab where he leaves couple of days after, he is missing and reported missing by wife Courtney love using kurts mothers name suspiciously? His body is found April 8th dead by self-inflicted gunshot wound according to police. Nirvana fans dispute this and with good evidence to back them up also.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jtWkahNquWc?wmode=transparent
about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong
resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.
The Nirvana Logo Font The font
style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.
The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring
Legacy Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.
Behind the album.. “incesticide”https://www.youtube.com/embed/r-rDihTILjA?wmode=transparent
Behind the album..”in-utero”https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxPFNMMWYvE?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/b-yCrVWXNSw?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/kuYfAwwgCjI?wmode=transparenthttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YBODze-zhbE?wmode=transparent
Reading festival ’92https://www.youtube.com/embed/1RmlOAjYmCo?wmode=transparent
KURT
KURT COBAIN EARLY LIFE
Kurt Donald Cobain February 20, 1967, Aberdeen, Washington, U.S. Died April 5, 1994 (Aged 27) Seattle, Washington, U.S. Cause Of Death By Gunshot, (Police Call It Suicide)
Singer-Songwriter Musician, Married To Courtney Love. With One Child Francis Cobain Was Born At Grays Harbor Hospital In Aberdeen, Washington On February 20, 1967,
the son of waitress Wendy and automotive mechanic Donald Leland Cobain). His parents were married on July 31, 1965, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. His ancestry included Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, and Scottish. His Irish ancestors emigrated from Carrickmore, County Tyrone in 1875. Researchers found that they were shoemakers, originally named “Cobane”, who came from Initiative, a townland within Carrickmore. They first settled in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, and then in Washington. Cobain himself believed his family came from County Cork.
Family History
His Younger Sister, Kimberly, Was Born On April 24, 1970. Cobain’s Family Had A Musical Background. His Maternal Uncle, Chuck Fradenburg, Played In A Band Called The Beachcombers; His Aunt, Mari Earle, Played The Guitar And Performed In Bands Throughout Grays Harbor County; And His Great-Uncle, Delbert, Had A Career As An Irish Tenor, Making An Appearance In The 1930 Film King Of Jazz. Kurt Was Described As Being A Happy And Excitable Child, Who Also Exhibited Sensitivity And Care. His Talent As An Artist Was Evident From An Early Age, As He Would Draw His Favourite Characters From Films And Cartoons, Such As The Creature From The Black Lagoon And Donald Duck, In His Bedroom. This Enthusiasm Was Encouraged By His Grandmother, Iris Cobain, Who Was A Professional Artist. Cobain Began Developing An Interest In Music At A Young Age. According To His Aunt Mari, He Began Singing At The Age Of Two. At Age Four, He Started Playing The Piano And Singing, Writing A Song About A Trip To A Local Park. He Listened To Artists Like The Ramones And Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), And, From A Young Age, Would Sing Songs Like Arlo Guthrie’s “Motorcycle Song”, The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, Terry Jacks’ “Seasons In The Sun”, And The Theme Song To The Television Show Of The Band The Monkes.
School Award
Hosptial Bracelet
Birth Cert
Family History
School Award
Hosptial Bracelet
Throughout most of his life, Cobain suffered from chronic bronchitis and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition. His first drug experience was with cannabis in 1980, at age 13. He regularly used the drug during adulthood. Cobain also had a period of consuming “notable” amounts of LSD, as observed by Marander, and was “really into getting fucked up: drugs, acid, any kind of drug”,
When Cobain was nine years old, his parents divorced. He later said the divorce had a profound effect on his life, and his mother noted that his personality changed dramatically; Cobain became defiant and withdrawn. In a 1993 interview, he said he felt “ashamed” of his parents as a child, and had desperately wanted to have a “typical family … I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that.”
Baby Kurt
Kurt & Xmas
Young Kurt
Kurt & Santa
Kurt 93
Baby Kurt
Kurt & Xmas
Kurt 93
Cobain’s parents found new partners after the divorce. Although his father had promised not to remarry, he married Jenny Westaby, to Kurt’s dismay. Cobain, his father, Westby, and her two children, Mindy and James, moved into a new household. Cobain liked Westby at first, as she gave him the maternal attention he desired. In January 1979, Westeby gave birth to a boy, Chad Cobain. This new family, which Cobain insisted was not his real one, was in stark contrast to the attention Cobain was used to receiving as an only boy, and he became resentful of his stepmother. Cobain’s mother dated a man who was abusive; Cobain witnessed the domestic violence inflicted upon her, with one incident resulting in her being hospitalized with a broken arm. Wendy refused to press charges, remaining committed to the relationship.
During High School, Cobain Rarely Found Anyone With Whom He Could Play Music. While Hanging Out At The Melvins’ Practise Space, He Met Krist Novoselic, A Fellow Devotee Of Punk Rock. Novoselic’s Mother Owned A Hair Salon, And The Pair Occasionally Practised In The Upstairs Room Of The Salon. A Few Years Later, Cobain Tried To Convince Novoselic To Form A Band With Him By Lending Him A Copy Of A Home Demo Recorded By Cobain’s Earlier Band, Fecal Matter. After Months Of Asking, Novoselic Finally Agreed To Join Cobain, Forming The Beginnings Of Nirvana Cobain Was Disenchanted After Early Touring, Due To The Band’s Inability To Draw Substantial Crowds And The Difficulty Of Sustaining Themselves.
In Late 1986, Cobain Moved Into An Apartment, Paying His Rent By Working At The Polynesian Resort, A Themed Resort On The Pacific Coast At Ocean Shores, Washington Approximately 20 Mi Aberdeen. Duri Aberdeen. During This Period, He Traveled Frequently To Olympia, Washington, To Go To Rock Concerts During His Visits To Olympia, Cobain Formed A Relationship With Tracy Marander. Their Relationship Was Close, But Strained By Financial Problems And Cobain’s Absence When Touring. Marander Supported The Couple By Working At The Cafeteria Of The Boeing Plant In Auburn, Washington, Often Stealing Food. Cobain Spent Most Of His Time Sleeping Into The Late Evening, Watching Television, And Concentrating On Art Projects. Marander’s Insistence That He Get A Job Caused Arguments That Influenced Cobain To Write The Song “About A Girl“, Which Appeared On The Nirvana Album Bleach; Marander Is Credited With Having Taken The Cover Photo For The Album. She Did Not Become Aware That Cobain Wrote “About A Girl” About Her Until Years After His Death.
In Late 1986, Cobain Moved Into An Apartment, Paying His Rent By Working At The Polynesian Resort, A Themed Resort On The Pacific Coast At Ocean Shores, Washington Approximately 20 Mi Aberdeen. Duri Aberdeen. During This Period, He Traveled Frequently To Olympia, Washington, To Go To Rock Concerts During His Visits To Olympia, Cobain Formed A Relationship With Tracy Marander. Their Relationship Was Close, But Strained By Financial Problems And Cobain’s Absence When Touring. Marander Supported The Couple By Working At The Cafeteria Of The Boeing Plant In Auburn, Washington, Often Stealing Food. Cobain Spent Most Of His Time Sleeping Into The Late Evening, Watching Television, And Concentrating On Art Projects. Marander’s Insistence That He Get A Job Caused Arguments That Influenced Cobain To Write The Song “About A Girl“, Which Appeared On The Nirvana Album Bleach; Marander Is Credited With Having Taken The Cover Photo For The Album. She Did Not Become Aware That Cobain Wrote “About A Girl” About Her Until Years After His Death.
THE REACTIONS OF KURTS FRIENDS.
Several Of Cobain’s Friends Have Accepted That It Was Suicide But Were Surprised When It Happened. Mark Lanegan, A Long-Time Friend Of Cobain, Told Rolling Stone:
“I Never Knew [Cobain] To Be Suicidal. I Just Knew He Was Going Through A Tough Time.” In The Same Article, Carlson Stated That He Wished Cobain Or Someone Close To Him Had Told Him That Rome Was A Suicide Attempt.
Goldberg, The Husband Of Carroll And Founder Of Gold Mountain Records, Refers In His Book Dispatches From The Culture Wars: How The Left Lost Teen Spirit To “The Crazy Internet Rumors That Kurt Cobain Had Not Committed Suicide But Had Been Murdered,” Stating That Cobain’s Suicide “Haunts [Him] Every Day”.
4 / 6
(1994) Music Stars Quotes About Kurt
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 I mourn for Kurt. A once beautiful, then pathetic, lost and heroically stupid boy. Pete Townshend (The Who)
That kid had heart. Bob Dylan, I don’t know why everyone on earth felt so close to that guy; he was beloved and endearing and inoffensive in some weird way. For all his screaming and all of his darkness, he was just lovable.
FLEA FROM THE CHILI’S
Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) Rage and aggression were elements for Kurt to play with as an artist, but he was profoundly gentle and intelligent.
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) I think Kurt was one of the deepest thinkers we’ve had in popular music over the last 20 years and if anyone deserves to have his songs dwelled upon it’s him.
Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds) The only person I have any respect for as a songwriter over the last 10 years is Kurt Cobain. He was the perfect cross between Lennon and McCartney…but he was a miserable f*ck at the same time.
Noel Gallagher (Oasis) I only met Kurt once…I was touched by him. He seemed a little shell shocked as though he felt yet another show might drop at any time.
Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) He had a touch most guitarists would kill for.
Chuck Berry, I think one of Kurt’s strengths was his simplicity. He knew how to write really catchy songs that said a lot without doing too much.
Steve Diggle (Buzz Cocks) He had a wonderful balance of raw, dangerous anger, but also, he was this delicate, fun person…He was brilliant, but he played dumb. And you know, Kurt was funny as shit.
Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters; ex-Nirvana drummer) He had an amazing ear for melody.
(1992) 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.
(1992) If you’re a really mean person you’re going to come back as a fly and eat poop.
(1992) I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.
(1993) I can’t play [guitar] like Segovia. The flip side of that is that Segovia could probably never have played like me.
(1994) I just think there’s a breed of people who honestly like music. And there aren’t very many of ’em, really. Those are the people who usually become musicians. It doesn’t really matter what environment you grow up in. It’s just some environments are more restrictive than other
Nirvana changed the music industry forever back in 1991. From Nirvana, came two of the most well-known names of the grunge-era, Kurt Cobain and David Grohl. Wait a minute, wasn’t there three people in Nirvana? Oh yes, the bass player, Krist. Most Nirvana fans agree that Krist was by far the loudest of the three, but also, the least known. I’m sure some of you will say that it’s his fault because he waited so long before he became involved in music again. Well, you’re wrong, Dave’s new band,The Foo Fighters played a gig on March 3, 1995 which would be their first, but, what most of you don’t know is that Krist’s new band, Sweet 75 played a gig only 2 weeks after The Foo Fighter’s first,on March 17, 1995. The sad thing is that The Foo Fighters released a single and an album almost immediately, while Krist took a deeper dive into politics, and Sweet 75 didn’t release their first album till late 1997. What does all this have to do with Krist in Nirvana? Actually, nothing… I was just blabbering I guess. While in Nirvana, Krist took up the more important role of being the spokes-person for the band. While Kurt and Dave were clearly the more well-known of the 3, Krist took every chance he got to step into the spotlight. Remember the MTV Awards? Krist was always there to stick up for Kurt, as demonstrated in the infamous bouncer fight at The Trees Club in Dallas. Krist would also help Kurt with just about anything. I forget who said this, but during the recordings of Nevermind and In Utero, if Kurt didn’t know how to work something, Krist would jump right in, lend a helping hand, and say “here, this is how you do it.” Krist was also, by far, the funniest of the three. Everybody loves to hear Krist say something stupid during a concert. Dave was quoted as saying that Krist has brain spasms, which in turn, impairs Krist’s ability to make sense…ha. Nirvana concerts were great, you get to go see an awesome band play, and listen to some huge guy make an ass of himself. I myself went to a concert, and one of the things I can remember is one-word Krist said, “Boo!” Many people complain that Krist is going into hiding, and that he doesn’t want anything to do with Nirvana. Hmm, well that’s because he’s got better things to do then answer some of those stupid Nirvana questions. Krist is trying now though, his Murky Slough Home Page now have a Nirvana page on it. The page isn’t much, but atleast it shows that he still cares for the band. I know all of you came to Krist in Nirvana to see all these cool pictures of him playing, go look in the pictures section, and you all hoped that you would learn some cool unknown information…forget it
Chris Was Into Bands Like Led Zeppelin, Devo, Black Sabbath, And Aerosmith While His Peers Were Into Top Forty, Perhaps Because That Was All The Local Radio Station Played. By June Of L980, Chris’s Parents Got So Worried About His Depression That They Sent Him To Live With Relatives In Croatia, Chris. Had Picked Up Croatian “Around The House,” And Is Still Fluent In It. He Loved Living, There–He Made Lots Of Friends And The Schools Were, Excellent. He Even Heard Something There Called “Punk Rock,” And Discovered The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, And Even Some Yugoslavian Punk Bands. It Didn’t Make Too Much Of A Dent, However. “It Was Just Music To Me.” Chris Recalls. “It Didn’t Really Mean Anything” To Me–It Was Just Music That I Liked.” After A Year, His Parents Called Him Back Home. “I Was Just In A Weird Limbo.” Chris Says. He Began Drinking And Smoking Pot Heavily. “I’ve Always Been A Big Drinker.” Says Chris, “When I Drink, I Just Don’t Stop. I Like To Drink Because You’re In Some Weird Cartoon Land Where Anything Goes. Your Vision Is Blurry And Nothing And Everything Makes Sense. It’s Crazy. It’s A Different Reality And A Different World Of Consciousness.” Chris Became Well Known On The Party Circuit. “You’d Go To Parties And People Would Be Like ‘Hey, Novie!’” Says Matt Lukin. “They Always Knew Him As The Big, Wacky Guy Because He, Was Always Doing Weird Things. They Just Thought He Was Kind Of Weird. He’d Go To Parties And Jump Around.” He Had Some People To Hang Out With, But He Was Hard Pressed To Call Them Friends. “I Hung Out With Them Because I Had No Where Else To Go,” Says Chris. “It Was Kind Of Odd And And Uncomfortable.”
He Finally Got A Job At The Local Taco Bell And Threw Himself Into Work, Working Every Night And Not Socializing, Just Saving Money. By Senior Year Of High School, He Had Bought A Car, Some Stereo Speakers, And A Guitar. He Look Some Lessons Along With His Brother Robert And Told His Teacher, Warren Mason–The Same Guy Who Taught Kurt That He Really Wanted To Play The Blues. He Quit After A Few Months And Then Woodshedded Intensively In His Bedroom, Patiently Working Out The Licks To Old B.B. King Records With Bis Brother. Around This Time Chris’s Brother Robert Brought His Friend Kurt Cobain Over To The Novoselic House. When Kurt Asked About The Racket Emanating From The Upstairs Stereo, Robert Replied, “Oh, Thats My Brother Chris, He Listens To Punk Rock.” Kurt Thought That Was Very Cool And Filed The Information Away. Chris Graduated From High School In 1983. Soon After, His Parents Got Divorced. It Was A Rough Enough Time As It Was, But He Also Had Some Plastic Surgery Done On His Face–Doctor’s Cut A Small Section Of Bone Out Of Chris’s Jaw And Moved Some Teeth Forward To Correct A Severe Underbite (“I Looked Like ‘Jay Leno,” He Says). Chris’s Jaw Was Wired Shut For Six Weeks. He Still Went Out To Parties, Except He Had To Carry A Pair Of Wire Cutters With Him In Case He Threw Up Or Something Got Caught In His Throat. “He’d Go Out And Get All Fucked Up.” Lukin Recalls. “And He’d Be Puking And It Would Be Draining Through His Wires. He Said He Never Did Have To Cut Them, But All The Food Was Like Milkshakes Anyway, No Solid Food. Still, It Was Somewhat Reckless Of Him.” “Then The Swelling, Went Down.” Says Chris, “And I Had A New Face.” One Day During His Senior Year In High School, He Had Been Walking Behind Two Junior Girls In The Hall Hall Who Were Raving About The Album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols. “Yeah, They’re Really Great!” He Piped Up.Shelli Remembered Him As A “Class Clown-Type Guy, Always Joking.” They Talked A Little And Made Friends. Shelli Dropped Out Her Senior Year And Took A Job At McDonald’s And Got Her Own Apartment On Market Street, Across From The Fire Department. On Her Way To Work, She Would Walk Past The Foster Painting Company Where Chris Worked And She Would Talk To Him. She Got His Phone Number And Started Calling Him Up. They Had A Lot In Common–Shelli Had Been An Odd-Ball In School, Too–And By March 1985, They Had Started Hanging Out As Friends At Shelli’s Apartment, Listening To Punk Rock Records And Going To Shows. Soon They Started Going Out.
The Matter Of When Kurt And Krist Finally Met And Started Nirvana Has Been Debated For Quite Some Time Now. I Will Tell You Right Away That I Do Not Have A Definite Answer. What We Do Know Is That Kurt And Krist Were Playing Together Sometime During 1985. We Also Know That It Took Some Time After Kurt Gave Krist A Demo Tape Before They Finally Got Together. This Demo Tape Is Known As The Fecal Matter Demo. In The Book Come As You Are It Says That Kurt Gave Krist The Fecal Matter Demo, But It Took Almost A Year Before Krist Actually Listened To It. If They Did Get Together In 1985 Which Is Most Likely True, That Would Mean The Kurt Made The Fecal Matter Demo In 1984. Most Nirvana Fans Claim That It Was Made In 1985, Which Could Not Work If They In Fact Played In 1985. My Theory Is That They Met Sometime In 1983, At The Time Krist Was A Senior In High School. Kurt’s Aunt Mari Clearly States That Kurt Made A Demo At Her House In 1982 Which She Calls “Organized Confusion.” I Would Rather Believe Kurt’s Aunt Then A Nirvana Fan As To When A Demo Was Produced. In Picture In People Magazine, Kurt Is Actually Playing A Bass Guitar. Mari Says That The Photo Was Taken In 1982. So Whoever Says That Someone Else Must’ve Played Bass Because Kurt Didn’t Know How To Is Wrong. Kurt Did Know How To Play Bass. As A Matter Of Fact, He Played Guitar, Drums, And Bass. So That Means With The Proper Equipment, Which Mari Had At Her House, He Could’ve Easily Mixed All 3 Instruments Together To Come Up With A Demo. Kurt And Krist Both Hung Out With Buzz Osborne During This Time, So They Could’ve Easily Met. The Only Person Who Would Know The Answer To This Question Of When They Met Would Be Krist. And Unfortunately That’s Not At The Top Of The List Of His Things-To-Do Now.
Nirvana Changed The Music Industry Forever Back In 1991. From Nirvana, Came Two Of The Most Well-Known Names Of The Grunge-Era, Kurt Cobain And David Grohl. Wait A Minute, Wasn’t There Three People In Nirvana? Oh Yes, The Bass Player, Krist. Most Nirvana Fans Agree That Krist Was By Far The Loudest Of The Three, But Also, The Least Known. I’m Sure Some Of You Will Say That It’s His Fault Because He Waited So Long Before He Became Involved In Music Again. Well, You’re Wrong, Dave’s New Band,The Foo Fighters Played A Gig On March 3, 1995 Which Would Be Their First, But, What Most Of You Don’t Know Is That Krist’s New Band, Sweet 75 Played A Gig Only 2 Weeks After The Foo Fighter’s First,On March 17, 1995. The Sad Thing Is That The Foo Fighters Released A Single And An Album Almost Immediately, While Krist Took A Deeper Dive Into Politics, And Sweet 75 Didn’t Release Their First Album Till Late 1997. What Does All This Have To Do With Krist In Nirvana? Actually, Nothing… I Was Just Blabbering I Guess. While In Nirvana, Krist Took Up The More Important Role Of Being The Spokes-Person For The Band. While Kurt And Dave Were Clearly The More Well-Known Of The 3, Krist Took Every Chance He Got To Step Into The Spotlight. Remember The MTV Awards? Krist Was Always There To Stick Up For Kurt, As Demonstrated In The Infamous Bouncer Fight At The Trees Club In Dallas. Krist Would Also Help Kurt With Just About Anything. I Forget Who Said This, But During The Recordings Of Nevermind And In Utero, If Kurt Didn’t Know How To Work Something, Krist Would Jump Right In, Lend A Helping Hand, And Say “Here, This Is How You Do It.” Krist Was Also, By Far, The Funniest Of The Three. Everybody Loves To Hear Krist Say Something Stupid During A Concert. Dave Was Quoted As Saying That Krist Has Brain Spasms, Which In Turn, Impairs Krist’s Ability To Make Sense…Ha. Nirvana Concerts Were Great, You Get To Go See An Awesome Band Play, And Listen To Some Huge Guy Make An Ass Of Himself. I Myself Went To A Concert, And One Of The Things I Can Remember Is One-Word Krist Said, “Boo!” Many People Complain That Krist Is Going Into Hiding, And That He Doesn’t Want Anything To Do With Nirvana. Hmm, Well That’s Because He’s Got Better Things To Do Then Answer Some Of Those Stupid Nirvana Questions. Krist Is Trying Now Though, His Murky Slough Home Page Now Have A Nirvana Page On It. The Page Isn’t Much, But Atleast It Shows That He Still Cares For The Band. I Know All Of You Came To Krist In Nirvana To See All These Cool Pictures Of Him Playing, Go Look In The Pictures Section, And You All Hoped That You Would Learn Some Cool Unknown Information…Forget It
Dave
Dave
Born To James And Virginia Grohl, Along With 3-Year Older Sister Lisa, Dave Was Brought Up In A Divorced Home. While Living In Springfield VA, His Parents Separated And He Was Raised From Then On By His Mother, A High School English Teacher.
Dave, Much Like Kurt And Chris, Took To Music At A Very Young Age. He Spent A Few Years Taking Guitar Lessons, But Lost Interest In Them And Decided To Play With Local Bands Doing Cover Songs Instead Of Formally Learning. Seeing A Performance By The New-Wave 80s Group The B52’S, He Got Drawn Towards The Genre And Away From The Classic Rock Style He Was Commonly Covering In The Bands He Played With.
Taking To Punk Rock In The Summer Of 1982 Following His Cousin’s Lead, Dave Found Himself Enjoying Music More Than Before. The Entire Lifestyle That Was Punk, And The High Energy Music Was An Instant Attraction And Luckily For All Of Us, It Kept Its Hold On Him.
With The Band He Played In, Freaky Baby, Going Through The Removal Of Their Drummer And A Subsequent Shift Of The Lineup, Dave Ended Up Behind The Drum Set And They Began To Play Fast Hardcore Punk. The Name Of The Band Eventually Even Became Simply, Fast. After They Disbanded In 1986 Dave Went On To Play In Another Band Called Dain Bramage, Which He Was Still In When He Auditioned To Be The New Drummer For A Favorite Band Of His, Scream. After A Few Months Of Playing With His Band After That Audition, Dave Landed Behind The Drum Set Of Scream.
Touring With Scream Around The US Landed Dave In Many Situations, Including Playing Shows With The Melvins, And Even Crossing Paths With Kurt And Chris A Few Times. After The Abrupt Parting Of Scream’s Bass Player From The Tour, Dave Found Himself Stranded In L.A. And Called Buzz Osborne, Who Put Him In Touch With The Pair In Seattle After They Remarked About Liking The Drummer At The Scream Show. A Few Days And A Flight Later, Dave Was Picked Up In Seattle By The Two.
Moving In With Chris And Shelli, Dave Spent Time Seeing Shows In The Seattle And Tacoma Areas, And Eventually Replaced The Then Current Drummer Of The Band, Dan Peters.
Today, Dave Is Playing For Foo Fighters.
COBAINS
COBAINS
The Cobain Family
THE COBAIN FAMILY KURT, COURTNEY & FRANCIS BEAN COBAIN
THE STORY OF KURT & COURTNEY MEETING
Courtney Love And Cobain Met On January 12, 1990, In Portland’s Satyricon Nightclub, When They Both Still Led Ardent Underground Rock Bands. Love Made Advances, But Cobain Was Evasive Early In Their Interactions, Cobain Broke Off Dates And Ignored Love’s Advances Because He Was Unsure If He Wanted A Relationship. Cobain Noted, “I Was Determined To Be A Bachelor For A Few Months But I Knew That I Liked Courtney So Much Right Away That It Was A Really Hard Struggle To Stay Away From Her For So Many Months.
“Love first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in Portland, Oregon. They talked briefly after the show and Love developed a crush on him. Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 film Straight to Hell. According to True, the pair were formally introduced at an L7 and Butthole Surfers concert in Los Angeles in May 1991. In the weeks that followed, after learning from Grohl that Cobain shared mutual interests with her, Love began pursuing Cobain. In late 1991, the two were often together and bonded through drug use. On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana’s “Pacific Rim” tour, Cobain and Love were married on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by Frances Farmer, and Cobain donned a Guatemalan purse and wore green pajamas, because he had been “too lazy to put on a tux.” Eight people were in attendance at the ceremony, including Grohl.
In an interview with The Guardian, Love revealed the opposition to their marriage from various people: Kim Gordon [of Sonic Youth] sits me down and says, “If you marry him your life is not going”Love first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in Portland, Oregon. They talked briefly after the show and Love developed a crush on him. Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 film Straight to Hell. According to True, the pair were formally introduced at an L7 and Butthole Surfers concert in Los Angeles in May 1991. In the weeks that followed, after learning from Grohl that Cobain shared mutual interests with her, Love began pursuing Cobain. In late 1991, the two were often together and bonded through drug use. On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana’s “Pacific Rim” tour, Cobain and Love were married on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by Frances Farmer, and Cobain donned a Guatemalan purse and wore green pajamas, because he had been “too lazy to put on a tux.” Eight people were in attendance at the ceremony, including Grohl. to happen, it will destroy your life.” But I said, “Whatever! I love him, and I want to be with him!” …
It wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t trying to do that. Love was already pregnant, and the couple’s daughter Frances Bean Cobain was born August 18, 1992. A sonogram of the couple’s as-yet-unborn baby was included in the artwork for Nirvana’s single, “Lithium”.In a 1992 article in Vanity Fair, Love admitted to using heroin, not knowing that she was pregnant; however, Love claimed that Vanity Fair had misquoted her, but the event created a media controversy for the couple. While Cobain and Love’s romance had always been a media attraction, they found themselves hounded by tabloid reporters after the article was published, many wanting to know if Frances was addicted to drugs at birth. The Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services took the Cobains to court, stating that the couple’s drug usage made them unfit parents Love later claimed to have ceased heroin use upon learning of her pregnancy.
Frances Bean Cobain was famous before she was even born. That’s what happens when you’re the progeny of two of the most famous rock stars in the world: Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
But unlike the arrival of many celebrity babies, Frances’s birth wasn’t anticipated with just excitement and fascination, but also concern and dismay. That’s because Kurt and Courtney’s relationship had been plagued with rumors, even admissions, of bad behavior. Many of the couple’s friends and fans worried that Cobain and Love’s heroin use would result in pregnancy complications or, worse, a drug-addicted baby. The pair’s drug use had already caused friction among their friends and bandmates.
Cobain And Love Became A Couple In The Fall Of 1991, Just As Nirvana And The Band’s Nevermind Was Beginning To Explode. Some Of Those Close To Kurt Suspected Courtney Was Hitching Her Star To His, While Accusing Her Of Getting Cobain Hooked On Heroin. Nirvana Bassist Krist Novoselic Even Refused To Attend The Couple’s Wedding In February 1992, Reportedly Because He Was Disturbed By Their Drug Intake.
25 Years Ago: Frances Bean Cobain Born To Kurt Cobain And Courtney Lovehttps://Www.Youtube.Com/Embed/Vlw7YcxiNvw?Wmode=Transparent
Many more friends and acquaintances became upset about the newlyweds’ heroin habit when they learned that Love had gotten pregnant in January – the same month that she later described going on a heroin binge with Kurt in New York City when Nirvana played Saturday Night Live. “We did a lot of drugs,” Love told Vanity Fair in an article that she later tried to dismiss. “We got pills and then we went down to Alphabet City and Kurt wore a hat, I wore a hat, and we copped some dope. Then we got high and went to SNL.
After That, I Did Heroin For A Couple Of Months.” Although Love Was Known To Be Prone To Exaggeration, Those Around Her Took These Claims Seriously (And Others Came Forward To Lend Credence To Her Claims). Some Friends Encouraged Her To Have An Abortion To Prevent Any Drug-Related Pregnancy Issues, But Courtney And Kurt Were Adamant About Keeping The Baby. Supposedly, Love Underwent Rounds Of Testing To Make Sure That The Fetus Hadn’t Been Harmed. “Kurt’s The Right Person To Have A Baby With,” Love Said. “We Have Money. I Can Have A Nanny. The Whole Feminine Experience Of Pregnancy And Birth – I’m Not Into It On That Level. But It Was A Bad Time To Get Pregnant And That Appealed To Me. Besides, We Need New Friends.”
But It Was The Couple’s Old Friends That Stepped In To Keep Love And Her Unborn Child Healthy. When The Couple Entered, And Quickly Ditched, Rehab Facilities, Industry Pals Like Jimmy Boyle (Then Working For Def American) Tried To Keep Courtney And Kurt Clean. Some Of Them Complained About How Difficult That Task Was, Describing Their Apartment As A “Sick Scene.” Even Love Took A Swipe At Her New Husband In The Press For Tempting Her With Drugs. “She Wanted To Get Off Drugs,” Boyle Said. “I Brought Her Herbs To Ease The Kick, So She Wouldn’t Freak Out So Badly. I Was Bringing Stuff Over To Her House Every Day Because It’s A Whacked-Out Thing To Do To A Kid.” Amidst The Chaos, The Couple Remained Excited About The Forthcoming Addition To Their Family. After Learning The Baby Would Be A Girl, Kurt Named Her Frances After Frances McKee Of The Vaselines. Her Middle Name Became Bean After The Nirvana Singer Decided That She Looked Like A Kidney Bean In A Sonogram. He Also Made Paintings Of Those Ultrasound Images In Anticipation Of Frances Bean’s Arrival.
Although She Wasn’t Due Until September, Frances Bean Cobain Was Born With Little Incident On Aug. 18, 1992 At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center In Los Angeles. To The Relief Of Fans And Friends Alike, The Baby Was Healthy. R.E.M.’S Michael Stipe And Actress Drew Barrymore Were Chosen As Her Godparents. That Initial Sense Of Security Would Be Short-Lived. Within Weeks Of The Birth, Frances Was Taken Away From Love And Cobain By Child Services Based On Media Reports Of An Inappropriate Home Life For A Newborn. The Case Was Eventually Dropped, With The Little Girl Returned To Her Parents. And Then, When Frances Was Only A Year And A Half, Kurt Took His Own Life. In His Suicide Note, He Pleaded, “Please Keep Going Courtney For Frances. For Her Life Will Be So Much Happier Without Me.” Frances’s Childhood Struggles Didn’t End There, Speckled With Incidents That Placed Her In The Care Of Her Grandmother (Kurt’s Mom, Wendy O’Connor) When Love Was Seen As An Unfit Parent. They Were Later Reunited And, Reportedly, Mother And Daughter Have Maintained A Close Relationship As The Latter Became An Adult. Mostly Raised Out Of The Spotlight, Frances Has Slowly Entered The Public Eye In Recent Years, Working As A Model, An Artist And An Executive Producer Of A 2015 Documentary About Her Dad, Montage Of Heck.
But To Many Nirvana Fans, She’ll Always Be Kurt’s Baby Girl, Who Somehow Arrived Healthy Into A Situation That Was Anything Bu Read More:
KURT & FRANCIS
FRANCIS BEAN COBAIN
Before Cobain’s Birth, There Were Rumors Suggesting That Her Mother Used Heroin During The Pregnancy. This Scandal Intensified When Vanity Fair Published Lynn Hirschberg’s Article “Strange Love,” Which Alleged That Love Admitted To Using Heroin Even After Learning Of Her Pregnancy.
Love And Kurt Cobain Maintained That Vanity Fair Took Her Words Out Of Context.Eventually, Child Welfare Services Launched An Investigation Into Their Parenting Abilities.The Investigation Was Ultimately Dismissed, But Not Without A Significant Amount Of Legal Wrangling And Frances Being Removed From Her Parents’ Custody For A Short Time, Beginning When She Was Two Weeks Old.
On April 1, 1994, Frances Visited Her Father At The Exodus Recovery Center, A Rehab Center In Marina Del Rey, California, Where They Played Together. This Was The Last Time She Saw Her Father Alive.
On The Morning Of April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain Was Found Dead At His Home In Seattle.
A Final Ceremony Was Arranged For Him By His Mother On May 31, 1999, Attended By Both Love And Tracy Marander. Frances Was Subsequently Raised By Her Mother, Aunts, And Paternal Grandmother.
She Spent Her Early Years In Seattle And Los Angeles, And Was Placed In Her Grandmother’s Care For A Time After Her Mother’s Drug-Related Arrest In October 2003. Hours After The Arrest, Love Overdosed On Painkillers. Love Regained Custody Of Frances In 2005.
Modeling
In August 2006, She Was Photographed For Elle Magazine In Her Father’s Famous Brown Cardigan And Pajama Pants As Part Of An Article Featuring Children Of Rock Stars In Their Parents’ Clothing. She Explained, “I Wore His Pajamas Because He Got Married In Them To My Mom In 1992 In Hawaii So I Thought They Would Be Cute If I Wore Them Today. He Was Too Lazy To Put On A Tux So He Got Married In Pajamas!” In February 2008, She Appeared In A Photo Spread For Harper’s Bazaar Dressed As Evita.
Cobain Modeled For Hedi Slimane For A Web Photo Series Released August 2, 2011.
In 2016, She Modeled Alongside Alice Glass In A Spread For Schön! Magazine Shot By Floria Sigismondi.
In 2017, She Was Announced As The Face Of Marc Jacobs’s Spring/Summer 2017 Campaign, Shot By David Sims.
In September 2005, 13-Year-Old Cobain Gave Her First Interview, To Teen Vogue, In Which She Discussed Her Personal Style And Mentioned Her Parents.
Another Appeared In The January 2006 Issue Of I-D, In Which She Lamented Tabloid Portrayals Of Her Mother: “When You See A Lot Of Lies About Her In The Tabloids … It Can Be Hurtful.”
On December 11, 2009, A California Superior Court In Los Angeles Appointed Wendy O’Connor, Her Paternal Grandmother, And Kimberly Cobain, Her Father’s Sister, As Cobain’s Temporary Co-Guardians.
On December 16, 2009, A Judge Had Issued A Related Temporary Restraining Order Prohibiting Love From Having Any Direct Or Indirect Contact With Her Daughter.
The Papers Were Filed Under The Heading “Motion To Seal All Documents… Relating To A Minor And Allegations Of Domestic Violence”. Among Those Documents Are Frances Cobain’s Medical Records, According To The Filing.
On August 18, 2010, Cobain Inherited 37% Of Her Late Father’s Estate.Cobain, Not Love, Now Controls The Publicity Rights To Her Father’s Name And Image.
In 2011, Cobain Bought Her First Home, A $1.8 Million Spanish-Style Villa In West Hollywood, A Few Blocks From Sunset Strip.
Cobain Has Said She Is Not A Fan Of Nirvana Or Other Grunge Bands, Instead Preferring Their Contemporaries Oasis, The Brian Jonestown Massacre And Mercury Rev, But She Has Said She Likes The Songs “Territorial Pissings” And “Dumb”
Cobain And Musician Isaiah Silva Married On June 29, 2014,Though The Wedding Date Was Widely Misreported As Around September 2015.
‘Who Courtney Knew Was A Very Different Person To Who They Intimately Knew’
– Frances Bean On Kurt Cobain Exhibition Curated By His Mother And Sister
Kurt Cobain’s Mother Wendy O’Connor Is Recounting A Story About Her Son To Illustrate What He Was Like As A Child;
‘The Sweetest, Funniest Little Devil’. “He’d Come In The Kitchen And Say, ‘Hey Mom!’ And He Got Me Every Time With This – He’d Take Thread And Thread It Through His Fingers And Pull The String And Make His Hand Go Back And Forth, And I’d Turn Around And Go, ‘Aaargh!’ And It Would Make Me Sick To My Stomach. He Just Loved Doing It!” She Laughs. Kurt’s Younger Sister Kim Remembers All The Kids Doing It, “We’d Take The Rough Skin, Just The First Layer. I Don’t Know What Our Deal Was In The Seventies, Stringing Our Fingers Together,” She Laughs. Wendy, Kim, And Kurt And Frances Bean Cobain, Kurt’s Daughter With Courtney Love, Are In Conversation With RTE Broadcaster Dave Fanning At The Museum Of Style Icons In Newbridge To Launch Growing Up Kurt Cobain, An Exhibition Of His Personal Belongings Including Hand-Written Lyrics, His 1965 Dodge Dart, Clothes, Awards, But Mostly Items From His Childhood – Photos, Sketches, Notes And Stories, Toys, And Some Home Video. Brett Morgan’s 2015 Documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck Touched On His Childhood And His Burgeoning Creative Genius And The Exhibition Builds On That, Painting A Picture Of Him As A Fun-Loving, Talented Kid. The Items Have Been Lovingly Selected By Kim And Wendy In The Hope Of Providing Some Balance In The Narrative Of His Life, Which, Having Ended Abruptly With His Tragic Suicide On April 5, 1994, At The Height Of Nirvana’s Success, Has Been Viewed Through That Dark Prism In The Intervening Years. “This Was Really Beautiful, To Go And See Our Childhood That We Had Together,” Says Kim. Although Frances (25) Had No Part In Curating The Items For The Exhibition, She Wanted To Support Her Grandmother And Her Aunt On Their Trip To Ireland, As She Says She Found It A “Healing Place” To Visit As A Child. “This Is The First Time They’ve Ever Really Extended Themselves In Such A Way That They Curated It And Creatively Informed Their Idea Of Kurt And Who They Knew Him To Be And That To Me Is The Purest Form Of Him, Because Everything We’ve Heard Or Seen Is A Saturated Version Because It’s A Part Of Mythology,” She Says. “We Love To Think Of Him As This Mysterious, Dark Poet Laureate And He Was But He Was Also Quite Funny And Warm And A Brother And Son And I Think This Is More Reflective Of That. And I Think It’s Important To The Narrative To Recognise That Those Were Equally As Important Aspects Of His Personality As The Darker Serious Poet Laureate We Know Him To Be.” Having The Exhibition Open In Ireland (It’s At The Museum Of Style Icons Until September 30 Before Heading To Santiago, Chile) Was Important To The Family. “I Think That It Was Important For All Of Us Three To Come To Ireland. This Is Where Our Roots Are. It’s A Very Healing Place,” She Says. “I’ve Been Here Before And It Was Super Healing For Me As A Child And I Wanted To Come And Be A Part Of This Experience With Them. I Don’t Know If We Could Recreate The Energy Of This Specific Trip Again. The Reason That This Is So Healing Is Because It’s In Ireland. That’s A Huge Component Of It I Believe.” Kurt Believed His Ancestors Had Come To The United States From Cork, But In Recent Years Courtney Traced The Family’s Irish Roots To Tyrone And A Man Called Samuel Cobain Who Emigrated On A ‘Graveyard Ship’ With His Wife Letitia And Brother Kevin In The Late 1800s. As Frances Reads A Text Message From Courtney With This Information She Laughs,
Growing up Kurt Cobain
As The Child Of Famous Parents, Frances Was Famous Even Before She Was Born. She Does Not Remember Her Father As She Was Just 20 Months Old When He Died. She Has Lived A Nomadic Life – Living In 27 Houses In 25 Years And Dropping Out Of High School In Tenth Grade ‘Because Standardised Curriculum Just Didn’t Mesh With My Brain’. “I Really Reverted Into Myself And Really Became Obsessed With Horror Movies And Comic Books And Drawing, “ She Reveals Of That Time. “I Defaced My Room, All The Walls And Doors And Ceiling. I Defaced It. “That Was Kind Of Me Attempting To Take Back A Sense Of Self, By Creating My Own Environment I Could Go Into Every Day And Feel As Though I Was Like In My Own World, Because Oftentimes For Me Fantasy Has Felt More Like Reality. Escaping Into My Own Head Space Has Been More Comforting Than Having To Deal With My Reality At Times.” She Has Battled Her Own Addiction Issues And In An Instagram Post Earlier This Year She Revealed That She Has Been Sober For Two Years. “The Most Gratifying Thing About Making That Post Was Getting Messages From People Not Only Saying They Understood And Related To What I Was Going Through, Or They Themselves Were Dealing With It, But The Most Powerful Thing Was People Telling Me That Via That Post And Via Me Expressing That And Having The Capacity To Share That With The World, That That Had Encouraged Them To Face Their Own Addiction Issues,” She Says. “That Is Super. I Don’t Think There’s Anything More Powerful Than That, Somebody Saying, ‘You Helped Me Reclaim My Life’. It’s An Amazing Superpower.” She Says She Always Take Accountability For Her Actions, Because She “Grew Up In A Circumstance Where Accountability Wasn’t Really A Thing, Like It Was Always Really Disregarded As Somebody Else’s Fault Even Though It Wasn’t Always Somebody Else’s Fault.” Of Her Struggles, She Adds, “It’s Given Me A Sense Of Empathy And Compassion That I Would Never Have Had Any Other Way, And It’s One Thing To Observe That Kind Of Behaviour But It’s Another Thing To Live A Similar Kind Of Behaviour Because You Have A Different Kind Of Understanding Of What It Is That Informed Other People’s Behaviour. “It’s Given Me Connectivity To People In My Life That I Didn’t Think I Would Connect To Again. It’s Given Me A Sense Of Empathy I Didn’t Know I Had.” She Says She Uses The Phrase, ‘Peace, Love, Empathy’, Which Her Father Used In His Suicide Note, “Often, Because I Want To Reclaim The Peace, Love, Empathy Thing As Something That’s Meant For Health And For Compassion And For True Peace, Love, And Empathy. “Yeah, The Association Comes From A Super Dark Place. Referencing That Is Kind Of Screwed Up But At The Same Time Taking The Power Back Is My Way Of Dealing With It.”
Growing up Kurt Cobain
It’s Clear That Her Grandmother Wendy Has Been A Hugely Positive And Stable Influence In Frances’ Life. Wendy Becomes Emotional When Speaking About How Frances Never Knew Her Father And How Important It Was For Her To Let Her Know Who He Was. As A Child Frances Would Visit The Farm In Olympia Where Wendy Lived And “Healed” Following Kurt’s Death, Working In The Garden. “Nothing Was Consistent In My Day To Day Life At All But When I Would Go To The Farm In Olympia It Was Like The Most Grounding Experience,” Says Frances, Who Reveals That When People Now Comment On How Well Adjusted She Is She Puts It Down To The Stability Wendy And Kim Provided For Her Throughout Her Childhood. “The Reason I Got To The Point Of Being Well-Adjusted Is Because I Had Roots In Something Normal And Healthy,” She Says. “It’s Given Me A Sense Of What I Want My Day To Day Life To Look Like Outside All The Hubbub And BS, How I Want My Day To Day Life To Look Like With Normalcy With Consistency And Love. That Is Super Important. I Don’t Think I Would Know What That Looks Like Without Them.” Wendy Admits It Was Hugely Difficult To Take A Step Back When Frances Was Going Through Her Self-Destructive Phase, But Says She Had Learned From Her Previous Experiences With Kurt And Courtney. “Absolutely I Knew She Would Make It, But It Was Very Hard Not To Over Insert Myself Into The Whole… When It Was Not Good. That Was The Hardest Part,” She Says. “I Knew That I Had To Do That, I Had To Step Back And Kind Of Let It Run Its Course.” She Adds, “It Was Really Hard For Me Because I Can Be Really Pushy. It Was So Hard For Me To Keep My Peace And Not Start Pounding On Her, ‘This Is What You Have To Do, This Is What You Have To Do’. Everybody Was Mad At Me Because I Wasn’t Doing What They Thought I Should Be Doing. I Said, ‘No, She Will Come To Me. I Know Who’s Inside.” Frances Did Come To Her. She Says, “I Think That She Learned With Kurt And Courtney, When She Tried To Insert Herself It Made Them Isolate More And As A Reaction Of Her Not Inserting Herself And Kind Of Letting Me Do My Self-Destructive Thing And Be An Asshole She Allowed Me The Room To Come To Her When I Needed Her And That Means That I Felt Comfortable Expressing What I Had Been Through And What I Was Going Through Outside Of That At That Point. I’m Really Appreciative That She Allowed Me To Heal Myself First.”
Frances Says Courtney Is “Supportive” Of The Exhibition As She “Recognises That It’s Their Version Of Kurt And This Is Not Reflective Of Her Husband – It’s Reflective Of Her Son And Her Brother. Who She Knew Was A Very Different Person Than Who They Intimately Knew.” She Adds, “I Also Think Kurt Tended To Put On A Facade With Courtney A Little Bit. He Tended To Play Up Certain Aspects Of His Mystery And His Darkness Because It Was Trying To Match Her Mystery And Her Darkness, And That’s Awesome And That’s What They Had.” However, She Says “He Didn’t Get To Choose” Which Kurt His Mother And Sister Saw, “With My Grandmother And My Aunt That Was Just Who He Was And Who They Knew Him To Be. It’s Important This Exhibition Is Reflective Of That. This Is His Childhood And It’s Coming From A Pure Place.”
Little Was Known About Cobain’s Heritage Until July 1993, When Guitar World’s Jon Savage Interviewed The Musician On His World Tour. When The Question Of Identity Arose, The Musician Said That He Had Recently Found Out That His Surname Was Irish. “My Parents Have Never Bothered To Find That Stuff Out,” He Said, “I Found Out By Looking Through Phone Books Throughout America For Names That Were Similar To Mine. I Couldn’t Find Any Cobain’s At All, So I Started Calling Coburns. I Found This One Lady In San Francisco Who Had Been Researching Our Family History For Years.”He Later Discovered That ‘Coburn’ Had Originally Been ‘Cobain’, But The Family Name Changed When They Emigrated From Co. Cork.
The Cork Connection Was “A Weird Coincidence” He Said, “Because When We Toured Ireland, We Played In Cork And The Entire Day I Walked Around In A Daze. I’d Never Felt More Spiritual In My Life.” Cobain Was Referring To Their 1991 Tour With Sonic Youth When Nirvana Played Support In Cork And Dublin. The Gig Took Place Weeks Before The Release Of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ Catapulted The Band To International Attention. He Said The Experience Had Left Him Feeling “More Spiritual” Than Ever Before, “It Was The Weirdest Feeling And I Have A Friend Who Was With Me Who Could Testify To This. I Was Almost In Tears The Whole Day. Since That Tour, Which Was About Two Years Ago, I’ve Had A Sense That I Was From Ireland.
The first 1000 American copies were on white vinyl and the next 2000 copies on black vinyl included a limited-edition poster. Subsequent pressings can be found in many colours.
The album was released in the UK on Tupelo, with the first 300 copies on white viny, the next 2000 on green and an unknown quantity on black vinyl. After that various colour were used for reissues as for the American releases.
In Australia it was released by Waterfrontss, with the first 500 copies on blue vinyl. The American vinyl release had 11 tracks, including ‘Love Buzz’, but omitting ‘Big Cheese’ (because it was the ‘Love Buzz’ B-side).
The 11-track British vinyl, however, contained ‘Big Cheese’ rather than ‘Love Buzz’ because this was exclusive to the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’.
‘Love Buzz’ was then added to the ‘Blew EP’ as NIRVANA got bigger but the single was not easily available.
Love Buzz
The 13-track American CD release, however, has ‘Big Cheese’ and ‘Love Buzz’, as well as the CD incentive bonus track ‘Downer’.
The first British CD release (with 11 tracks) contained ‘Big Cheese’, but lacked ‘Love Buzz’ and ‘Downer’. Future British releases contained all 13 tracks.
Bleach
September 1992 saw Geffen re-release ‘Bleach’ on CD and cassette (with the 7″ version of ‘Big Cheese’), containing all the tracks. All tracks were remastered. Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Jack Endino. The limited-edition poster included with the vinyl release features a photo of ‘Nirvana’ taken by Charles Peterson at their 02/25/89 show at the HUB Ballroom at the University of Washington, which features Jason Everman. Jason was credited in the linear notes of the album as second guitarist, but did not in fact play on the album. It was a good-will gesture as he paid the $606.17 recording costs (the bill for 30 hours of studio time). The cover-shot of the album, of Nirvana at the Recko-Muse gallery in Olympia, was taken by Tracy Marander.
CD versions included another of Peterson’s photos from 02/25/89 in the insert, as well as one of his pictures from Nirvana’s 02/15/90 show at Raji’s in Los Angeles on the back inner sleave.
‘Floyd The Barber’ and ‘Paper Cuts’ were taken from the 01/23/88 session with Dale Crover due to dissatisfaction with the Chad Channing versions. Both were remastered for the album release, and backing vocals added to ‘Paper Cuts’. Endino can’t remember if ‘Downer’ was also remixed for CD releases. Kurt spelled his name ‘Kurdt Kobain’ as on the ‘Love Buzz/Big Cheese’ single. The album was completely re-sequenced at Pavitt’s demand.
This release saw the first appearance of the ‘NIRVANA’ logo (Bodoni Extra Bold Condensed type). The typesetter was rushed which explains why the spacing is not graphically correct k
They had already made some waves on Sub Pop with their debut, “Bleach”.
But it wasn’t until their major-label debut for DGC/Geffen Records, 1991’s “Nevermind” – perhaps, more specifically, the first 30 seconds of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – that they broke into the mainstream of America.
1. Bleach (1989)
Nirvana recorded Bleach in December 1988 and January 1989, during several sessions.
Nirvana consisted of Kurt Cobain (guitar and vocals),
Krist Novoselic (bass),
and Chad Channing (drums).
Although he never actually played on the album, Jason Everman, who had previously played guitar in another band with Channing, paid the $616 for recording costs. Everman later joined Nirvana in February 1989 for the band’s west coast tour.
Kurt & Tracey
The photograph of Nirvana performing at the Reko/Muse art gallery in Olympia, WA on April 1st, 1989, was taken by Cobain’s girlfriend, Tracy Marander.
2. Nevermind (1991)
One of the most recognized albums covers in alt-rock music, Nevermind with new drummer Dave Grohl) came up with the concept. Available stock images of water births were too graphic, stock photos of swimming babies were expensive, so art director Robert Fisher hired photographer Kirk Weddle to do a photo shoot at a pool. The image of three-month-old Spencer Elden, the son of Weddle’s friend, was selected by Nirvana. DGC Records art department later added the dollar bill and fishhook. The Onyx logo was reused, using a wave-like effect to accompany the water theme. To avoid controversy, DGC Records wanted to cover up the image, but Cobain objected. The cover is often included on lists of “shocking” album artwork, and it was even banned by Facebook in 2011 (a decision they quickly reversed). The image has often been parodied, most notably by “Weird Al” Yankovic’s 1992 album, Off the Deep End
3. Insecticide (1992)
Kurt Cobain agreed to officially release this material on a compilation, since Nirvana fans were now taping and trading low-quality recordings of live radio shows, demos, and B-sides. He insisted on retaining complete artistic control over the cover artwork. This oil-on-canvas painting made entirely by Cobain, was the result, including lettering which didn’t have their usual logo. The poppy flower symbolized Cobain’s increasing use of heroin. The cover, while unusual, wasn’t considered too controversial to be used.
4. In Utero (1993)
On the other hand, In Utero was anything but uncontroversial.
Robert Fisher, the art director for DGC Records again designed the front cover, using ideas from Kurt Cobain. An anatomical teaching aid – a mannequin with transparent “skin” to display the organs inside – had angel wings added. The tour in support of the album used similar mannequins as props, which were then abused and destroyed on stage. The familiar Onyx logo was used, with a typewritten font for the album title. Cobain created the back cover collage, photographed by Charles Peterson, who was familiar to the local music scene. Objects related to birth and death, including several plastic fetuses, were used.
It was decided by Kmart and Wal-Mart that this artwork, as well as the accompanying text, wasn’t suitable for store displays. DGC Records employed alternate images and text, along with strategically-placed stickers to sell the album at major retailers.
. Reissued in April 1996 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as a 24-carat gold CD and on 200g high-definition vinyl
. Reissued in July 1998 by Simply Vinyl on high-quality vinyl
Additional Information:
Recoded and produced by Butch Vig. Mixed by Andy Wallace.
Dave plays all the drums on the album. ‘Polly’ was taken from Nirvana’s April 1990 Smart Studios session (also with Butch Vig) when the drummer was Chad Channing, but at the ‘Nevermind’ session the drums for ‘Polly’ were re-recorded. The first batch of American pressings (46,251) on CD and cassette lacked ‘Endless Nameless’, the uncredited secret track which appears after ten minutes three seconds of silence once ‘Something in the Way’ has ended, because of a pressing error.
The band put the ‘secret track’ on the album as a way of playing with the CD format, just as the Beatles, for example, put indecipherable messages in the runout grooves of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover shot was inspired by Kurt and Dave having seen a documentary on underwater birth during recording sessions. They investigated pictures of babies being born underwater, but they were too graphic. Therefore, they chose a stock graphic of a baby swimming, but it was too expensive. As a result, the art director, Robert Fisher, got Kirk Weddle, an underwater photographer to take some shots himself of a baby underwater. The baby in the final picture chosen was Spencer Elden. Kurt recommended the adding of a dollar on a fish-hook and thus a famous album cover was born.
Inside the inlay is a page of random lyrics from the songs on ‘Nevermind’ mashed together in no particular order. Two of the lines amongst them were made up by Kurt and do not feature in the lyrics of any of the songs (“The second coming came in last and out of the closet” and “At the end of the rainbow and your rope”). The back-cover features a meat-and-diseased vagina collage by Cobain behind the Chim (above the head of which is a picture of Kiss). Cobain’s name appears on photo credits as ‘Kurdt Kobain’. Later reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were both taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1996 CD and vinyl releases by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold of the CD is less susceptible to corrosion than the aluminium used on regular CDs. The MFSL LP booklet for this release misspelled Nirvana (‘Nirvana’) and CD releases do contain ‘Endless Nameless’ although, as with ordinary releases, this is not credited on the cover.
The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy card (300g) sleeve. The song credits on this vinyl release are different to those on the regular CD
INSECTICIDE
(1992)
INSECTICIDE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Stain September 1989 Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Been A Son November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK
Turnaround October 21, 1990, Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Molly’s Lips October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London,
UK Son Of A Gun October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
(New Wave) Polly November 9, 1991 BBC Studios, London, UK
Beeswax January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle,
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Mexican Seafood
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Hairspray Queen
January 23, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Aero Zeppelin
January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Big Long Now
December, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm November 9, 1991, BBC Studios, London, UK Three of the fifteen songs on ‘Insecticide’ cover.
The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On: Turnaround Devo We Are Not Men, We Are Devo Molly’s Lips Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Son of a Gun Vaselines Way of the Vaselines (Sub Pop) Released: 12/14/92 (Europe), 12/15/92 (US) Releases: Released on vinyl (with a limited edition of 15,000 on blue vinyl), cassette and CD. Additional Information: A collaborative enterprise by ‘Sub Pop’ and ‘Geffen’ (originally planned as two separate releases, one by each label), partly as an attempt to beat the bootleggers. The collaboration was intended to ensure a definite compilation, as well as give the band more control over it and ensure greater distribution than ‘Sub Pop’ could muster. The cover art is a painting by Cobain.
The sticker on it reads “Inside Insecticide: Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Stuff Never Before Available”, and six of the fifteen tracks were unreleased at the time (‘Hairspray Queen’, ‘Aero Zeppelin’, ‘Big Long Now’, ‘Been A Son’, ‘(New Wave) Polly’ and ‘Aneurysm’). ‘Mexican Seafood’ was previously made available on ‘Teriyaki Asthma’, ‘Beeswax’ on ‘Kill Rock Stars’, ‘Downer’ on CD versions of ‘Bleach’, ‘Stain’ on the ‘Blew’ EP, ‘Dive’ and ‘Sliver’ on the ‘Dive/Sliver’ single (note: the phone call outro to ‘Sliver’ between Krist and Jonathon Poneman on the single was omitted for its appearance on CD) and ‘Turnaround’, ‘Molly’s Lips’ and ‘Son Of A Gun’ appeared on the ‘Hormoaning’ EP. ‘Been A Son’ on ‘Insecticide is a different version to that on the ‘Blew’ EP, as are the versions ‘Aneurysm’ from their respective previous releases. According to Endino ‘Hairspray Queen’ and ‘Aero Zeppelin’ were not remastered for their release on this CD, virtually being the one-hour mix versions, he did on the day of their recording. Some American copies include liner notes written by Kurt. In trading circles complete versions of the October 21, 1990 and the November 9, 1991 radio sessions are available. Complete session tapes also exist for the January 23, 1989 and April 1990 sessions. Other outtakes from the September 1989 Music Source and December 1989 Reciprocal studio sessions have also surfaced.
(1993)
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
Serve The Servants February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Scentless Apprentice February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Very Ape February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
Tourette’s February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Canon Falls, MN
All Apologies February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip January 22, 1993, Ariola Ltda BMG,
Rio de Janeiro Released:
09/14/93 (Europe), 09/21/93 (US), 01/97, 11/98 Releases: Issued on vinyl (including a 15,000 limited edition on clear vinyl), cassette and CD in 1993. Reissued by MFSL in January 1997 on 24-carat gold CD and high-quality vinyl.
All Apologies’
In November 1998 it was reissued on high-quality vinyl by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Recorded and produced by Steve Albini, who was paid $100,000 on top of $24,000 recording costs. ‘All Apologies’ and ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ were remixed again in May by Scott Litt. ‘Sappy’ was also re-recorded at this session and this is the version that features on the ‘No Alternative’ compilation. European releases included a bonus track (‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip’), referred to on releases as ‘Devalued American Dollar Purchase Incentive Track’, which appears 25 minutes after the end of ‘All Apologies’. Lyrics for all the songs are included, except for ‘Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol’ (stating ‘whatever’ in its place) and Tourette’s (with the lyrics being given as ‘Cuff, Tish, Sips’). The disc features Michael DeWitt in drag, a former nanny employed by Kurt and Courtney.
Wal-Mart and K-Mart versions of the artwork were altered with Cobain’s acceptance (given that to refuse the changes would mean the album would be more difficult to get hold of) when these outlets refused to sell them, deeming them ‘offensive’. They also changed the title of ‘Rape Me’ to ‘Waif Me’. A remixed version of ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ (also available on the ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ single), different from on ordinary versions of ‘In Utero’, was used on these re-issued copies and ‘Gallons’ was omitted. Both the reissues by MFSL and Simply Vinyl were taken from the original master tapes. The mastering techniques used on the 1997 release by MFSL supposedly enhance the sound by separating out all the instruments into different channels and the gold is less susceptible to corrosion. These releases do not contain ‘Gallons’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy (300g) card sleeve. The guitar solo intro on ‘Very Ape’ on this vinyl release is longer than on other versions. ‘In Utero’ enters the Billboard chart at #1 with first week sales of 180,000 units.
Compilation Albums
NIRVANA
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
Previously unreleased About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Bleach Been a Son September 1989 Music Source Studios – Seattle, WA
Blew EP Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios – Seattle, WA
Insecticide Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come as You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea (remix version) February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero (K-Mart/Wal-Mart version) Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Canon Falls, MN
In Utero All Apologies November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Something In The Way (vinyl & Japanese CD releases only) November 18, 1993 Sony Studios – New York,
NY Unplugged In New York Released: 10/28/02 (outside US), 10/29/02 (US) Releases: CD, Vinyl (2 LPs). Additional Information: Features the previously unreleased song ‘You Know You’re Right’. All the other tracks, taken from the NIRVANA back catalog, have been “newly mastered” for this release. Includes a forward by David Fricke.
The vinyl version is a double LP release. Only the vinyl release and Japanese versions of the CD contain ‘Something in the Way’.
Review:
Almost six years to the day since the last NIRVANA album came the release of the greatest hits package, simply titled ‘Nirvana’. Fans had long believed the next album would be a box set of unreleased songs and demo versions, indeed a 45-track two-disc set was reportedly assembled for launch to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of the band’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’. Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s widow, was displeased by her lack of input on the box set, and made a legal challenge to block the release. Coincidentally, she was also in court trying to extricate herself from her legal obligations to her record label with her former band ‘Hole’. Love threatened to withhold Cobain’s last known song, an unreleased anthem titled “You Know You’re Right” from any future releases, which would be the one and only unique selling point of any future release. Deadlock ensued as wild accusations concerning sanity and precise contributions to the band were presented in court. However, Love’s position of power was effectively undermined by two factors. First, Universal decided they would release a ‘greatest hits’ album with or without the new song, and secondly on May 10th a Spanish fan shocked the online fan community by claiming and then proving he had a copy of the song. Jim Barber, Courtney’s lawyer and boyfriend, responded by firing off emails to all online fans concerned threatening legal action, but it proved impossible to force the genie back into the bottle, and the song leaked on the internet in mid-September. Radio stations across the world started airing the track, and once again the band’s lawyers faxed legal threats to the stations demanding they cease and desist playing the song. Some radio stations were undeterred, and continued playing the track anyway. Fearing a public relations disaster on an unprecedented scale, the record company executives realised their position was hopeless, and shipped out promotional CD-Rs of the song.
Love was thus forced to negotiate, and was able to force the delay of the box set (which was finally released in 2004 – see our comprehensive guide to ‘With The Lights Out’) to be overtaken by a greatest hits package. The date originally suggested was October 22nd 2002, but Love feared her own new material would receive little attention and demanded the CD be held back until 2003. However, with all concerned realising the need to capitalize quickly on the media uproar over the new song, the release date was pushed forward to November 12th and incredibly then again to October 29th. The track list was published at online retailer Amazon, but was quickly removed as the band realised that bootleggers would be able to assemble the album themselves and release counterfeits early. Jim Barber proclaimed that the track listing was incorrect, but of course this turned out to be obfuscation. The first track, “You Know You’re Right” (recorded by Adam Kasper) is the sole previously unreleased song, recorded at NIRVANA’s last studio session in January 1994 just before the start of their final tour. The song is clearly one of the very best ones in the band’s oeuvre, and is hoped to propel album sales into the tens of millions.
“About A Girl” (recorded by Jack Endino) is the one representative of NIRVANA’s debut album, the 1989 release ‘Bleach’.
Next up is “Been A Son” (recorded by Steve Fisk), but the rendition selected is the one from the very rare ‘Blew EP’, and not the common Goodier Session version from ‘Insecticide’.
Following this is “Sliver” (recorded by Jack Endino), a Sub Pop single did a feature on ‘Insecticide’. Next are the four ‘Nevermind’ singles (all recorded by Butch Vig) in order of release, followed by four songs from the band’s last studio album ‘In Utero’ (recorded by Steve Albini), and concluding with three songs from NIRVANA’s November 1993 appearance on ‘MTV’s Unplugged’.
The track list has been much debated on the internet and in some quarters much-derided: just as anyone with a passing knowledge of English football (soccer) thinks he/she could select a better national team than the current manager, any fan with all the albums could select his/her dozen favorite songs. It is clear, however, that the songs chosen are the result of politics and commercial considerations.
The ‘Bleach’ rendition of “About A Girl” is unsteady and inferior to the acoustic version released on the ‘Unplugged In New York’ album, but was presumably included so that there would be some representative of the band’s debut. Had this release ignored ‘Bleach’ entirely, accusations would undoubtedly have surfaced accusing the band of ignoring its roots and the contribution of Chad Channing (the drummer on most early releases).
“Been A Son” was selected for those collectors who cannot afford to pay $100 to track down a copy of the scarce ‘Blew EP’, and is an extra purchase incentive for fans who have not heard this rendition. However, it sounds very uncouth and raw nestling beside the band’s genuine hits, and is probably the weakest song on the album, and so those collectors who were supposed to benefit from the addition of this song have ended up criticising its inclusion.
The next six songs are those for which NIRVANA produced music videos, and are uncontroversial choices. Indeed, only the four singles from ‘Nevermind’ are included, which surprised many: this album is widely considered their best work. The reasoning is easy to divine. The record label do not want to cannibalise new sales of ‘Nevermind’ by including too much on this album.
The Scott Litt remix of “Pennyroyal Tea” neuters the bass roar present in the choruses of the ‘In Utero’ album track, but is otherwise unspectacular. The liner notes claim this version to be “previously unreleased”, but it has actually been available for many years on the censored Wal-Mart version of ‘In Utero’. Next follow two further album tracks from ‘In Utero’, bringing the total up to four.
This CD then rounds off with two or three songs (depending on where you live) from the band’s fabulous quasi-acoustic concert recorded for MTV Unplugged. The pre-and post-song applause is muted as much as possible between the songs to allow this release to flow better. All three of the songs were aired extensively by radio stations on account of being pressed on promotional CDs. All songs selected, bar “Been A Son” and “Dumb”, are the standard NIRVANA songs played on the radio, and were therefore obvious candidates for inclusion on this record: that is precisely what a greatest hits CD should contain, by definition. The fact that none of the band’s less commercial / pop-influenced, more punk/metal-style songs have been included should not be a surprise either: they do not belong on a commercial CD such as this one. Those who bemoan the lack of rare song “Oh, The Guilt” or the popular “Sappy” similarly miss the point of a greatest hits compilation: with a new rareties release planned for next year, these songs have rightly been retained for that. Those who criticise the CD as being too short are also wide of the mark. Songs such as “Aneurysm” may be fine songs, but would seem out of place on such a pop-oriented compilation. A strong case could be made for making this release even shorter still, removing perhaps tracks 2, 3 and 4 to leave an even more definitive selection. The author is ambivalent on the subject of the remastering of the songs for this release: the pre-‘Nevermind’ songs now feature much greater separation between instruments and do sound clearer, but this causes their jagged edges (especially on “Been A Son”) to be more prominent. The stark contrast with the following Butch Vig produced numbers makes one wonder if the effort was wasted. The packaging of the CD is, as usual, excellent: Robert Fisher always seemed to be able to guide the band into selecting beautiful images and stunning photos, which were arguably one factor in the band’s success. This time the release is monochrome, but this is in keeping with the reverential tone of the release. This is not to say ‘Nirvana’ is faultless:
the editing of the CD is atrocious, with “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” starting over two seconds before the track marker, and the gaps between songs seeming in some cases too short and others too ponderous. Those responsible for this should be roundly condemned for their sloppiness. The liner notes are also egregious: the author David Fricke lacks both eloquence and erudition on the subject of NIRVANA. He misquotes the lyrics to “You Know You’re Right” (using instead those sung by Ms Love during her rendition) and astounded the online fan community by referring to the song as “Autopilot” and “On The Mountain”, both of which were bootleggers’ titles resulting from them mishearing Dave Grohl’s muffled introduction to the previously known live version, “This is our last song. It’s called ‘All Apologies’.� Cobain changed his mind and played “You Know You’re Right” instead. These quibbles do not detract from the album as a whole, which remains an excellent introduction to the band, surely the main purpose of this CD. Complaints from hardcore fans about the lack of rare material selected for their delectation are utterly ridiculous in the context of a greatest hits release.
Compilation Albums
Sliver – The Best of the Box Released:
1st November 2005 Releases: CD only Additional Information
: This is a compilation of tracks taken from NIRVANA’s 2004 boxset release With The Lights Out. To maximize sales and tempt owners of the boxset to buy it this compilation also includes 3 exclusive tracks that do not feature on the boxset itself which are indicated below.
Track: Date / Location: Exclusive To Sliver – Best of the Box?
Comments Spank Thru (home demo) December 1985 – Music room, Earl residence, Burien, WA, US Yes Sourced from the infamous ‘Fecal Matter’ demo!
Heartbreaker (live) 03/xx/87 – 17 Nussbaum Road (house party), Raymond, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Unknown (home demo) Summer, 1987 – Cobain residence, Aberdeen, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Floyd The Barber (Live) 01/23/88 – Community World Theater, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Clean Up Before She Comes (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
About A Girl (home demo) 1987�1988 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Blandest (studio) June�September 1988 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Ain’t It A Shame (studio) August 20 & 28, 1989 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track
. Sappy January 2�3, 1990 – Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA, US Yes This track was produced by Jack Endino and took a whopping 10 hours to record what is paradoxically one of the worst renditions of this song!
Opinion (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Lithium (radio session) 09/25/90 – KAOS Olympia Community Radio (The Boy Meets Girl Show), Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Sliver (home demo) Summer, 1990 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Come As You Are (band rehearsal) March 1991 – Converted barn, Tacoma, WA, US Yes This is a boom box demo which was recorded at the same time as the SLTS demo above. Old Age (studio) May�June 1991 – Sound City Studios, Van Nuys & Devonshire Studios, Burbank, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Oh, The Guilt April 7, 1992 – Laundry Room Studio, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (home demo) May 1991 – Oakwood Apartment, Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Rape Me (studio) 25�26 October 1992 – Word Of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Heart-Shaped Box (studio) January 19�21, 1993 – Studio B, BMG Ariola Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, BR No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
Do Re Mi (home demo) Early 1994 – Bedroom, Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
You Know You’re Right (home demo) Mid 1993�Early 1994 – Cobain residence, Seattle, WA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this track.
All Apologies (home demo) 1991�1992 – Cobain residence, Olympia, WA, US/Los Angeles, CA, US No See our With The Lights Out review for full information on this tr
Compilation Albums
ICON
.Released: 31st August 2010 Releases: CD only Additional Information:
NIRVANA’s second “greatest hits” compilation. Part of the Icon series by Universal Music Enterprises which featured greatest hits releases “from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B, and country”. Interestingly it does not include any tracks from NIRVANA’s first album ‘Bleach’ which may have been done to avoid having to pay fees to Sub Pop
. Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Album:
You Know You’re Right January 30, 1994, Robert Lang’s Studios – Seattle, WA
NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios – Van Nuys, CA
Nevermind Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Pennyroyal Tea February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Rape Me February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero Dumb February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios – Cannon Falls, MN
In Utero About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY
Unplugged In New York All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios – New York, NY Unplugged In New York
Live Albums
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Song: Date Recorded: Studio:
About A Girl November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Come As You Are November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Pennyroyal Tea November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Dumb November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Polly November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
On A Plain on November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Something In The Way November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Plateau November 18, 1993 Sony Studios, New York, NY
Oh Me November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Lake Of Fire November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
All Apologies November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
Where Did You Sleep Last Night November 18, 1993, Sony Studios, New York, NY
The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie The Man Who Sold The World (Ryko)
Six of the fourteen songs performed covered. The original versions can be found on the following CDs: Cover: Original Artist: Released On Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Vaselines Way Of The Vaselines (Sub Pop)
Plateau Meat Puppets II (SST) Oh Me Meat Puppets II (SST) Lake Of Fire Meat Puppets II (SST)
Where Did You Sleep Last Night ‘Leadbelly’ Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Released: 11/01/94, 11/98 Releases: Released on vinyl, cassette, and CD in 1994. Reissued on LP in November 1998 by Simply Vinyl.
Additional Information: Produced and remixed by Scott Litt. It contains two-songs which were cut from the original television broadcast. All songs were done in one take. Although the official release is technically complete at 46 minutes (containing all the songs that were recorded), the show was actually about 69 minutes long, with all breaks between songs, jamming, tuning, and interaction with the crowd cut from this release. Conceived originally as disc one of a two-CD release, the second CD containing other live tracks spanning the band’s life. However, the band was unable to complete the project, feeling it was too close to Kurt’s death. The ‘second CD’ in effect would appear in 1996 as ‘From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah’. The vinyl release by Simply Vinyl is a 180g vinyl pressing with a heavy quality sleeve. Enters the Billboard Chart at #1 and sells more than 300,000 copies in its first week.
Live Albums
FROM THE MUDDY BANKS OF THE WHISKAH
Released: 10/01/96 Releases: Released on vinyl (2 LPs, in a single sleeve), cassette and CD.
Additional Information: Nirvana’s third release to enter the Billboard chart at #1 and their fourth #1 album. The liner notes were written by Krist Novoselic. They contain errors, as detailed in the CD guide to this release above. Side four of the vinyl version contains additional stage banter which is transcribed in the vinyl guide above.
About this release, Dave Grohl, in an interview (from the interview CD ‘Foo Fighters In Conversation’ on Chatback) said: Interviewer: What do you think of the live album, the Nirvana live album that came out? Were you happy with the result? Dave Grohl: Yeah I thought it was cool, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean there were so many songs, like … so many tapes … and so many songs, just so much stuff we could have released and we released one thing … the just live thing. Yeah I thought it was good … I mean I have live tapes at home that are better than that, but those are mine! (Laughs). Interviewer: Did you have much input in so far as what songs are going on the album? Dave Grohl: Yeah, Krist … Krist and I … Krist actually did most of the pick and choose and I think he did a really great job, but yeah, ultimately we had like total control over what was happening.
LIVE AT THE PARAMOUNT
DGC RECORDS,18 VERSIONS (2011)
LIVE AND LOUD
DGC RECORDS,13 VERSIONS (2013)
Live Albums
LIVE IN READING
Released: 3rd November 2009 Releases: CD-only, DVD-only, and CD+DVD set
Additional Information: Official release of NIRVANA’s legendary performance at the 1992 Reading Festival which was circulating amongst traders in various forms prior to this official release. Unfortunately, the CD-only version is incomplete: it is missing ‘Love Buzz’, various jams and between-song banter as well as most of the destruction. The DVD is complete and also features a short clip after the credits of Cobain interacting with a fan after the show. It features camera angles not present on any trading circle version. More information can be found here. Song: Intro Breed Drain You Aneurysm School Silver Sliver In Bloom Come As You Are Lithium About A Girl Tourette’s Polly Lounge Act Smells Like Teen Spirit On A Plain Negative Creep Been A Son All Apologies Blew Dumb Stay Away Spank Thru Love Buzz The Money Will Roll Right In D-7 Territorial Pissings Credits
Anniversary/Deluxe Edition Reissues
20TH ANNIVERSARY BLEACH
Released: 3rd November 2009
Releases: CD, regular vinyl (black) and limited-edition vinyl (white) Additional Information: Reissue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Bleach’. Features a 13-track remaster of the ‘Bleach’ album (remastered from the original tapes by ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino) as well as NIRVANA’s live performance at the Pine Street Theatre recorded on 9th February 1990. Both the CD and vinyl releases include a booklet with never before seen photographs of the band plus other pertinent images from NIRVANA Sub Pop years (for example, the original session tapes, a scan of NIRVANA’s Sub Pop contract, etc.).
In relation to the vinyl release, it is not known precisely how many copies of the limited-edition white version were produced. NOTE: the live show included on this release was circulating amongst traders prior to this release from an alternate soundboard source and whilst the version on this official release does sound better, unfortunately, the between-song banter has been cut.
CD ONE/SIDE A Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Blew December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Floyd the Barber January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
About a Girl December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
School December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Paper Cuts January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Negative Creep December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Scoff December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Swap Meet December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Mr Moustache December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Sifting December 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Downer January 23, 1988, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
CD TWO/SIDE B Song: Date Recorded/Venue: Intro 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
School 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Floyd The Barber 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Dive 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Love Buzz 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Spank Thru 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Molly’s Lips 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Sappy 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Scoff 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
About A Girl 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Been A Son 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
Blew 02/09/90 – Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR, US
SLIVER
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Sliver July 11, 1990, Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Dive April 1990 Smart Studios, Wisconsin, WI
About A Girl (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland, OR
Spank Thru (live) February 09, 1990, Pine Street Theatre, Portland OR
Released: 09/??/90 (US), 01/??/91 (UK) Releases: First 3,000 7″ American releases were on blue vinyl in fold-over sleeves and was subsequently reissued in many colours in solid sleeves, being the only Nirvana single on Sub Pop still in print. British releases on Tupelo were originally on 7″ vinyl (with the first 2,000 on green vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve. The 12″ vinyl features ‘About A Girl’, live from 02/09/90. The CD-version had included ‘About A Girl’ and also ‘Spank Thru’, again from 02/09/90. Additional Information: ‘Spank Thru’ on the CD versions is incorrectly spelled ‘Spank Through’. The A-side of the 7″, after ‘Sliver’, also features a 45-second phone conversation outro, between a very hung-over Krist Novoselic and Jonathon Poneman, which Krist accidentally recorded on his answerphone. This was excluded when this version of ‘Sliver’ appeared on ‘Incesticide’, rather like the intro to ‘Love Buzz’ was culled from vinyl versions when it made its transition to a CD. An incomplete soundboard version of the 02/09/90 show featured on this release is available in trading circles. A complete session tape of all the finalized versions of songs from the April 1990 studio appearance is also circulating.
TEEN SPIRIT
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Smells Like Teen Spirit May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Drain You May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Even In His Youth January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA
Aneurysm January 01, 1991, Music Source Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 09/09/91 (UK), 09/10/91 (US) Releases: American 7″ vinyl and cassette releases included ‘Even In His Youth’. The American 12″, a second cassette and CD also featured ‘Aneurysm’. UK 7″ and cassette releases included ‘Drain You’, 12″ versions ‘Even In His Youth’ and the CD all four songs. Whilst all American versions lack ‘Drain You’ it was included on some European releases. Additional Information: The back cover shot was taken by Charles Petersen at Nirvana’s 03/08/91 appearance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
COME AS YOU ARE
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Come As You Are May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Endless, Nameless May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
The school (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Drain You (live) October 31, 1991, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA Released: 03/02/92 (UK), 03/03/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ was backed with a live ‘Drain You’, whilst US cassettes, 12″‘s and CD’s also had a live version of ‘School’ from the same show. In the UK the 7″ featured ‘Endless Nameless’, the 12″ also included the live version of ‘School’. CDs had a fourth track, a live ‘Drain You’. German 12″ picture discs contain ‘Endless Nameless’ and a live version of ‘Drain You’. Additional information: A complete soundboard version of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles.
LITHIUM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: Lithium May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Been A Son (live) October 31, 1991 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
Curmudgeon April, 1992 Laundry Room Studios, Seattle, WA
D-7 October 21, 1990 Maida Vale Studios, London, UK Released: 07/20/92 (UK), 07/21/92 (US) Releases: In the US the 7″ and cassette was backed with a live version of ‘Been A Son’, whilst the 12″ and CD also included ‘Curmudgeon’. In the UK the 7″ was backed with ‘Curmudgeon’, the 12″ added the live version of ‘Been A Son’ and CDs included a fourth track, ‘D-7’. Additional Information: The cover was designed by Kurt and the single includes a sonogram of Frances Bean Cobain. Contains all the lyrics to ‘Nevermind’. A complete soundboard of 10/31/91 is available in trading circles. The complete 10/21/90 radio session is also circulating amongst traders.
IN BLOOM
Song: Date Recorded: Studio/Venue: In Bloom May-June, 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA
Sliver (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA
Polly (live) December 28, 1991 O’Brien Pavilion, Del Mar, CA Released: 11/30/92 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. The 7″ and cassette included a live version of ‘Polly’. The 12″ and CD had a third track, a live version of ‘Sliver’. Additional Information: A complete soundboard of the 12/28/91 performance is available in trading circles
HEART-SHAPED BOX
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Heart-Shaped Box February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Milk It February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN
Marigold February 14-March, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN Released: 08/30/93 (UK) Releases: Only released in Europe. 7″ and cassette featured ‘Marigold’ and the 12″ and CD also included ‘Milk It’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
LOVE BUZZ
test pressing
numbered
red slash
Song: Date Recorded: Studio: Love Buzz June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA
Big Cheese June-September, 1988 Reciprocal Studios, Seattle, WA Released: 11/88 Releases: This single launched the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’. Limited to 1000 hand-numbered (in red ink) copies, in a fold-over sleeve, on black vinyl.
Additional Information: On this release, only ‘Love Buzz’ features a 10-second sound collage intro made by Kurt from various children’s records spliced together and a similar collage dubbed into the instrumental break. This comes from a much longer collage made by Kurt, which is 34-minutes long, known as ‘The Montage of Heck’, which is available in trading circles. ‘Love Buzz’ was originally performed by ‘Shocking Blue’. The version of ‘Love Buzz’ on this single is a different mix to those on all ‘Bleach’ and ‘Blew EP’ releases, being remixed for other releases and lacking the aforementioned collages. It was remixed to increase its collectibility and lacked the collages because Kurt forgot to bring the home-made tape with it on to the remixing session! Alice Wheeler took the photo on the front of the album in Tacoma’s ‘Never Never Land’ (a park) close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Kurt’s name is given as ‘Kurdt Kobain’ on the credits and on the ‘Love Buzz’ side is etched ‘Why don’t you trade those guitars for shovels?’
NIRVANA Retail Singles:
Sliver (1990)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Come As You Are (1992)
Lithium (1992)
In Bloom (1992)
Heart-Shaped Box (1993)
All Apologies (1993)
Pennyroyal Tea (1994 but withdrawn)
About A Girl (1994)
.Split Singles:
Candy/Molly’s Lips (1991)
Here She Comes Now/Venus In Furs (1991)
BOXSETS
Puss/Oh, The Guilt (1992)Singles
(1995) With The Lights Out (2004)
EP`S
Blew EP (1989)
Hormoaning EP (1992)
COMPLAMATION APP,
HE LIVE NIRVANA COMPANION TO OFFICIAL RELEASES:
COMPILATION APPEARANCES
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop Rock City
Teriyaki Asthma, Vol. 1
/Teriyaki Asthma, Vols. 1-5
Hard To Believe Heaven And Hell: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground
, Volume 1 The Grunge Years Kill Rock Stars
Eight/Fourteen Songs For Greg Sage and the Wipers
No Alternative
The Beavis and Butthead Experience
Geffen Rarities Vol. 1
Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defence
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack/Hype!
Fender 50th Anniversary Guitar Legends Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Volume 1
Here is just some of what you weren’t supposed to know about the death of
#KurtCobain:
Courtney Love was facing a divorce.
Someone was using Kurt’s credit card.
Cobain was in fear of his life.
There was no “suicide” note! Courtney had another note she kept in secret.
Cobain was injected with 3 times a lethal dose of heroin!
The obvious questions:
1.
IF Cobain injected three times a lethal dose of heroin, COULD he then pick up a shotgun and shoot himself?
Wouldn’t he have been immediately incapacitated?
Based on the heroin, (morphine), blood levels found in Cobain’s body, preliminary research indicates Kurt Cobain would have been almost immediately incapacitated. He could not have picked up that shotgun. He could not have pulled that trigger
2.
If Cobain injected himself with a deliberate heroin overdose, why would he ALSO shoot himself in the head with a shotgun, leaving his baby daughter – the love of his life – with horrific visual images to remember him by? Why not just “go to sleep” on the overdose and never wake up?
In Addition… Cobain was not barricaded inside the room as reported by misinformed media sources. The stool which was supposedly wedged” against the door was actually just sitting in front of the two unlocked doors that only led out to a balcony.
Cobain did not leave his Driver’s License out for identification as reported by misinformed media sources. The first police officer on the scene found Cobain’s closed wallet, opened it to remove Kurt’s driver’s license, and displayed it in order to take a photograph. The fact is – the police and the Medical Examiner have no forensic evidence that proves Cobain’s death was a suicide. On the other hand, there’s a substantial amount of evidence for murder.
FANS MOURN AS NEWS BREAKS OF KURTS DEATH
AUTOPSY TV SHOW
THE SECOND NOTE
CREDIT CARDS
There were rumors that Cobain was feeling burned out, and was planning to adopt a lower profile. He had recently pulled out of the annual Lollapalooza tour. Grant suggested that only the last four lines of the note indicated suicide. They read: “Please keep going, Courtney. For Frances, for her life which will be so much happier without me. I love you; I love you.”
Unsolved Mysteries asked handwriting expert Marcel Matley to compare a copy of Cobain’s alleged suicide note with two pages of lyrics handwritten by Cobain: “As to the last four lines, there are more than a dozen differences that should give us pause. And we would have to reasonably explain these differences before we can conclude that the same person wrote the four lines that wrote the body of it.” Handwriting expert, Reginald Alton, also compared copies of Cobain’s handwriting to a copy of the note. In a five-page written report, Alton pointed out more than a dozen discrepancies. He believed the bulk of the suicide note was written by Cobain, but raised questions about the first line and the last four lines. His report stated: “There are many indications that there may have been a second hand at work.” Sean T. O’Donnell of the Seattle Police responded: “We did take the note from the scene and have it examined at the Washington State crime lab. And their handwriting analyst has indicated that it is her belief that this note was written by Mr. Cobain.”
Tom Grant offered his take on a possible motive:
“Kurt Cobain had made an important decision in his life. He wanted out of the entertainment business. He didn’t want to tour anymore. He didn’t want to perform anymore. He wanted to be left alone. He never liked that aspect of being a performer.
This decision that he had made was going to affect a lot of other people. He was no longer the money machine that he once was. Now Cobain was worth more dead than he was alive.” But who would have wanted Kurt Cobain dead? Could it have been the mysterious user of his credit card? Did that same person add critical lines to Cobain’s alleged suicide note? Those questions remain unanswered. The Seattle Police consider the case closed. Tom Grant does not. He believes the investigation should be reopened and the inconsistencies resolved once and for all.
Cobaincase.com
Police report
At 7.30 am (April 2nd,)
Cobain took a taxi into town for bullets…after a desultory breakfast and a visit to his heroin dealer, Cobain spent 6 minutes vainly trying to contact Love at the Beverly Hills Peninsula (Sandford p 325-326). A police report mentions this cab ride.
In this report is the following information supplied to the police by the superintendent of the Gray Top Cab company: The driver went to Lake Washington Blvd on April 2nd at 7.30 am. He picked up a person who he thought did not match the residence. He drove around looking for a place to find bullets but was unable to find one. This male told the driver that he had recently been burgled and needed bullets. At 8.30 am, the driver dropped the man off in the area of 145 the and Aurora because he said he was hungry and wanted to get something to eat. The man’s fare was $27. Sandford, therefore, omitted the vital fact that the driver mentioned a burglary.
Kurt told Dylan Carlson he wanted the gun for protection against prowlers
, this police report actually reinforces that on April 2nd Kurt was concerned about personal safety/security.
The police report this comes from makes it clear that Courtney herself contacted Gray Top Cabs requesting this information, so Courtney was aware of the details/time of this journey, see scan below:
How does Sandford know Kurt went to his dealers?
Which dealer?
Could it be that Sandford only got certain bits of information on this cab journey?
Could it be that “unnamed sources” gave him this incomplete information?
Maybe Kurt had a really nice breakfast, why always impose negative overtones to what Kurt was doing?
If Kurt was in the state, we are led to believe it is unlikely he would have been thinking about food at all. With regards to Kurt trying to reach Courtney at the Peninsula Hotel, according to W & H, an article appeared in Spin in 1995, in which the Peninsula denied that this call ever took place. (‘WKKC?’ p 94). Who are Sandford’s sources? Why is no identity offered to them?
2
: Later that afternoon (of April 2nd) he met a friend on Capitol Hill, gave her the keys to his Volvo and made a sign to her with his hand signifying a gun held to his head (Sandford p 326.)
Here we have an unnamed friend and Kurt’s mental state highlighted. The police report indicates that Kurt used the services of a cab co on the morning of April 2nd. Why did Kurt use a cab in the morning yet supposedly drive his own car in the afternoon?
When the police arrived at his house on April 8th it is specifically mentioned in their report that a Volvo registration WA lic 175 EYA is in the garage and that all 4 tyres are flat. See the police report at the end of this section. On the assumption that this is Kurt’s car and according to Sandford p 306 Kurt’s car did have that registration, then I have to ask myself why all the tyres were flat? Could it have been a tactic by would-be murderer/s to ensure Kurt’s mobility was hindered?
If the tyres were flat on April 2nd and this was Kurt’s car, that would explain why he used a cab that morning. It would also mean that the story reported in Sandford’s book could not be true. In the April 16th 1994 edition of ‘Melody Maker,’ it was reported that the police were said to have had their last contact with Kurt on April 2nd but that any report of that incident was not among files supplied. If this is correct, then the Seattle police are withholding an incident report for April 2nd. Could this be a report where Kurt contacted them complaining that his car had been vandalised (tyres were flat,) and that he believed there were prowlers/burglars? which he had told the taxi driver about that very morning. The fact that the police have not made this report available indicates, to me, that it contains evidence that Kurt filed a complaint to them in which he expressed concern over a personal safety matter. Could the since murdered Detective Terry have been involved with this report?
3
April 3rd, Charles Peterson saw Kurt in downtown Seattle and thought him ‘gone’. (Sandford p 326.) But is this really what Peterson thought. Here are Peterson’s own words remembering Kurt, after his death: “What sticks in my mind is actually running into him on the street about two weeks before he, before he killed himself. And it was just, you know, I guess in relation to events, I’m glad that I did. I’m glad that I saw him. We talked and he, we exchanged phone numbers and he was really happy about the book, my book of photographs that I’m doing. He was like, ‘Alright, at last, get the real thing’. And he was, we chatted and he was concerned about my wife’s illness and just really, you know…. that sticks in my mind.” (Source, ‘Nirvana, Teen Spirit, A Tribute to Kurt Cobain’ Video.) So, Kurt didn’t seem depressed and suicidal here, then. Also see Sandford p 315, where Sandford wrote: Like many of his close friends, Peterson regrets that neither Cobain nor his family told him that he had already tried to kill himself.
4
Nobody -at least nobody who is talking officially–saw Kurt after April 2nd, when neighbours spotted him in the adjacent park, looking forlorn as he sat on a bench. It was a warm day, but he was dressed in many layers of clothing as if to blanket himself against the bitter cold of his reality (M. Rossi, p 198.) Again, stress given to Kurt’s miserable state of mind because he was dressed inappropriately for the weather. This is Kurt we are talking about! The guy who wore a t-shirt, shirt and cardigan when he performed Unplugged under studio lights, while Dave and Krist wore t-shirts only. Also see Broomfield’s interview with Tracy Marander, where she talks about Kurt’s habit of wearing layers of clothing. To try and use his choice of clothing to show Kurt’s state of mind is ridiculous.
5
On April 3rd Cobain met a woman named Sara Hoehn on Broadway. He was in a foul temper about a report that 40,000 fans had lined the street that morning to buy tickets for an Eagles concert in LA ‘We might as well not have happened’, is Hoehn’s memory of his words. (Sandford p 326.) Here we finally have a named witness who testifies that Kurt was in a foul mood. But she went on to give a reason, and nowhere does it imply that his mood is due to anything other than that he was pissed off about ticket sales for an Eagle’s concert. No mention here about him looking dangerously drugged or unbalanced. Would a man purport to be in such a mentally fragile state be concerned about how many tickets were sold for an Eagles concert? Wouldn’t he have been more likely to have railed about his own problems? Note, alongside a sighting of Kurt by John Silva on this day, these are the last sightings of Kurt alive by people who knew him.
6
What didn’t make the media was the multitude of rumours that trickled up from the junkie world that Kurt was buying rounds from the drug dealers -putting up money for everyone present and that he was horribly depressed: that he was clearly trying to overdose;
that while dealers would sell him as much as he wanted, they didn’t want him hanging around and dying on them, leaving a star corpse to dispose of, that he said Courtney was having an affair with Billy Corgan and had told him about it in Rome, and that this confession was what had led to the overdose there. “Where are my friends when I need them?” he lamented to one dealer. (Rossi p 198). No names for these people who saw Kurt. Of course, this could be because drugs were involved and they wanted to remain anonymous. OK, I could buy that reason, except I don’t, because Dylan Carlson was not only Kurt’s best friend, but also one of his drug suppliers, and Dylan told police that he did not hear from or see Kurt after March 30th.
Further, when Grant arrived in Seattle on April 6th and met up with Dylan, Dylan took him to all of Kurt’s traditional hangouts but nobody had seen him (WKKC? p 99). Further, Grant had subcontracted Ernie Barth to keep watch on a dealers (Caitlin Moore,) house on Capitol Hill. Courtney had emphasised to Grant that Moore’s house should be checked out, so Barth had video surveillance there, but Kurt didn’t appear on the footage once. Courtney never requested to view this film, which seems odd, unless of course, Courtney knew that Kurt would not turn up there (Grant website). (Barth also had the presence of mind to set up surveillance on 171, but unfortunately, Grant informed Courtney, who then ordered the surveillance to be removed.
This emphasis on Moore by Courtney, which ultimately lead nowhere was another attempt by her to provide a false lead, to take attention off 171 Lake Washington Blvd. As a junkie himself, Dylan would be familiar with any drug connections Kurt may have had. It just isn’t possible to believe that Kurt was doing all this drug-taking and that Dylan was unaware of it. If Kurt was binging on heroin to the extent claimed, Dylan would have heard about it, of that, I have no doubt.
So, who to believe?
A whole bunch of unnamed sources, or Dylan Carlson and Grant?
I have to go with Dylan and Grant because as we will see, Mark Lanegan offers information which completely supports them It is not inconceivable that these unnamed sources were planted. They don’t make sense; they contradict what information we do have from reliable named witnesses. They appear to be a concerted attempt to provide false trails.
All of Kurt’s friends expressed shock when after Kurt died, Courtney came out and said that Rome was a suicide attempt. Without exception, Courtney had told none of them. They were angry about this, they said that had they been told they would have kept an eye on him. Dylan said that had he known, he would never have bought the gun. We must conclude from this that Kurt never told Dylan that Rome was a suicide attempt. This is because Rome never was a suicide attempt. Now we have suspicious unnamed sources talking about Rome and an affair Courtney had with Billy Corgan in an attempt to explain why Kurt was depressed and trying to overdose, both in Rome and whilst he was missing in early April.
Maybe the authors were fed false information. Maybe they were set up. In the acknowledgements of Rossi’s book, after the named people, Rossi included: “a whole bunch of “Deep Throats” who don’t want their names mentioned”. Who would have been able to manipulate the planting of these stories?
It would need to be someone who knew how to play the media game, and who had access to journalists/authors. Obviously, it needed to be someone with an understanding of the drug scene of Seattle. It needed to be someone who was around at the time, who could assess the best people for the job, be it those gullible enough to believe false information or those who would do it for payment.
Who would be the best candidate for this? Probably a junkie, someone who had access to the drug underground, someone who had something to gain from false information leaking out, someone who was involved in some way with the murder.
The only person who fits all this, that I am aware of, is Michael DeWitt. DeWitt and Courtney have acted suspiciously throughout, and both are eminently qualified to manipulate the leaking of false information.
7
The coroners’ report would list April 5th as Cobain’s estimated date of death, but this was refuted by friends who claimed Cobain placed calls to them on April 6th. (Rossi p 199). Again, no names for these friends.
Just who were they?
Dylan didn’t receive a call, he said: “I talked to Cali, who said he had seen Kurt on Saturday (April 2nd,) but I couldn’t get hold of him myself”.
(‘Cobain by the editors of Rolling Stone’ p 83). Charles Peterson didn’t. Mark Lanegan said he didn’t hear from Kurt in that last week: “Kurt hadn’t called me. He hadn’t called some other people. He hadn’t called his family. He hadn’t called anybody”. Lanegan went on to say that he had been looking for Kurt for about a week before he was found: “I had a feeling something really bad had happened “.
(‘Cobain by the editors of Rolling Stone’ p 83).
Most people assume Kurt died either on April 5th or the 6th. Grant believes Kurt was murdered April 3rd/early 4th. If Grant is right then that would explain why none of his friends saw him, heard from him, was able to contact him or were aware of the drug binge that he was supposedly on. What are we to make of these calls? What possible reason for their existence? Could they be an attempt to mislead people into believing Kurt died on or around April 6th? That can be the only logical conclusion. If Kurt was murdered, then whoever was responsible would gain by disseminating as much misinformation as possible, to blur the edges, to provide false leads and alibis. The last reliable witnesses to see Kurt alive were Sara Hoehn and John Silva, on April 3rd. Because no one else saw Kurt after this it is possible that Kurt died on April 3rd. Grant states that a few weeks after Kurt’s death he eventually managed to speak to DeWitt, who admitted to Grant that he did check the greenhouse on Sunday, which was April 3rd. I would like to know if this was before or after the Hoehn/Silva sightings. Because if it was after, then that would mean DeWitt admits to being in the very place Kurt died, on the very day Kurt went missing from the radar. Maybe now we see the reason for those phone calls and unnamed sources who claimed to have seen Kurt.
8
Mrs O’Connor insisted that though the papers suggested Kurt had shot himself on April 5th, she believed it had happened the following day. “I felt it almost the moment he had gone,” she explained, suggesting he’d called her at 5.30 pm on April 6th, even though he didn’t say anything. (‘Kurt Cobain’, published by Oliver books). This could have been someone who merely mis-dialled and hung up, or it could have been an attempt by the people who murdered Kurt to lead O’Connor into thinking that this was Kurt. This would tie in with the false information and claims that Kurt called friends on April 6th. The timing, 5.30 pm, is interesting. Grant wondered if Courtney had attempted to get Kurt’s body discovered on April 6th by requesting the electricians worked on light monitors for the greenhouse. If these workers finished work before 5.30 Courtney would know that they had made no such discovery, and proceeded to use the 6th as an extra day in which to plant false leads. The important thing to remember is that whoever it was, they did not speak.
On Saturday 23rd of May we have decided to help raise some much-needed funds for Accessible Counselling Tullamore by performing a live unplugged set. ACT is a brand-new not-for-profit counselling centre providing accessible and affordable counselling to all adults in the Midlands area. The centre was only in its 8-week open when it temporarily had to close due to the Covid 19 crisis and all of their fundraising plans were cancelled. As we all know these are strange times that we are living in and it is having a serious impact on people’s mental health and well-being. Charities like ACT will be at the front line in the aftermath of this pandemic with the counselling services they provide so it is important as a community that we support them as best we can. So, we hope you will all join us at 9pm on Saturday the 23rd and donate to this worthy cause via the link below:
The following pages contain documented evidence to establish that today’s Seattle authorities are duty bound to change Kurt Cobain’s official cause of death.
_________________________________________________________ISSUE #1 The Setup
_________________________________________________________ISSUE #2 The presumptuous police statement that started it all
Approaching the MediaThis photo shows Seattle Police Department’s Spokesperson, Vinette Tishi, leaving the crime scene, (greenhouse), soon after Cobain’s body was found.
She accompanied Medical Examiner Dr. Donald Reay as they walked down the driveway together to where the press had congregated at the entrance to the driveway.
The Press ConferenceThis clip proves that on the morning of April 8, 1994, shortly after Cobain was found, SPD’s Vinette Tishi, told the press, “It was obvious this man is dead from a shotgun wound to the head…” then she added, unequivocally,“Now there was a suicide note left inside the, the house.”“Suicide note left in the house.” As the spokesperson for the Seattle Police Department, Vinette Tishi should not have mentioned anything about a note at all. She had to know what finding “a note” would imply. The fact is, the so-called “suicide note,” as Ms. Vinette called it, was nothing more than “a note” – period. It said nothing about suicide or about Kurt’s desire to kill himself.
This hurried, inaccurate statement from the SPD spokesperson created a national and international press frenzy.
“Kurt Cobain committed suicide!” the media immediately reported.
She let the cat out of the bag before any real investigation could possibly have been completed.
There would be no turning back now!_________________________________________________________ISSUE #3 Initial Handling of the Death Scene First SPD Report Pg 1
This is the report filed by the first SPD officer to arrive at the scene of Kurt Cobain’s death. He was in uniform and working in a black and white patrol unit that morning.
Three additional police supervisor’s arrived at the scene taking pictures of a very famous dead person, before the homicide detectives even got there. The blue circles represent each person who entered the room with Cobain’s body. There will be several more before the homicide unit arrives as you’ll see in the next report.
Murders staged to look like suicides occur around this country and around the world every year Patrol officers aren’t trained in homicide or dead body investigations. In most cases, neither are their supervisors. Large cities, like Seattle, normally train their officers to simply contain the scene until a trained and experienced homicide unit arrives. This is not what happened here.
*Also arriving on the scene – prior to the homicide detectives – was Charles Pelly, referred to in the redacted, (blacked out) portion of this report near the bottom. Mr. Pelly was the owner of the Alarm Company who I had spoken with prior to my entry into the Cobain residence late Wednesday night, the 6th of April.
I also met and interviewed Mr. Pelly when I returned to Seattle the following week. The information he provided soon became valuable to my investigation.First SPD Report Pg 2
This continuation page, once again, illustrates the immediate conclusion of suicide reached by the first officer on the scene. He writes, “The note was apparently written by Cobain to his wife and daughter explaining why he had killed himself.”
This officer’s observations should only have included that he observed “a note,” period. It was not his job to decipher its meaning or purpose._________________________________________________________ISSUE #4 Homicide Detectives Concluded “Suicide” On Day #1
After being advised by dispatch that the first arriving officers were, “on the scene of a suicide,” Seattle police Homicide Detectives arrived to take over.
As you can see by their own report, they concluded Cobain’s death was a “suicide” that same day.
In addition, we now see that at least 12 people were or had been walking around a newly discovered dead body, disturbing what might be vital evidence within that 19′ by 22′ room above Cobain’s garage.SPD Homicide Report Same Date Conclusion
Then, as if they hadn’t done enough to instantly declare “suicide,” they refer to a note found at the scene and immediately labeled it as “a suicide note” directed to his wife.SPD Report-Same Date (cont)
_________________________________________________________ISSUE #5 The So-Called “Suicide” NoteCopy Of “The Note”
After reading this note for the first time, naturally my first question was, “Did Kurt write this”? It took some time to be sure, but within the first two months after his death, I concluded that he did write the main body of this note, however, the last few lines, after he signed the note, appar to have been added, possibly by someone else.
To be clear, I have very little confidence in the accuracy of what any document examiner might conclude when determining the person or personality of the writer of any document.
Handwriting analysis in not an exact science. Different handwriting experts often have different opinions on who wrote specific documents or letters. I put very little trust in the authority of a handwriting expert’s opinion. Handwriting analysis is not an exact science.Transcript
I believe Kurt did write the body of this note. I also believe we could prove in a court of law that the lines beginning with, “which will be so much happier without me, I love you , I love you,” were written at a different time, possibly by a different hand, but definitely with less pressure pushing down on the pen.
But no matter what anyone believes regarding the writer, it is very clear that the main body of this letter was written to Kurt Cabain’s fans, not to his wife.
The idea of anyone automatically referring to this note as a “Suicide” note is ludicrous._________________________________________________________ISSUE #6 The Cover-up by Seattle PoliceCBS Television’s “Unsolved Mysteries” – 1997
Investigated on the premise that this was a homicide?
This is a cut from a televised interview with a Seattle Police Department spokesperson regarding the death of Kurt Cobain. It first aired on a major network 1997.
This was the first coverage of the Cobain case televised by the mainstream media. It has been replayed hundreds of times for more than 25 years on the original network and later on various cable channels.
The Cobain case segment tied with one other segment for their highest Nielsen rated show during the entire 8 year run of this popular television program.Really?
In this SPD report we see that the shotgun used in the death of Kurt Cobain was not even processed for fingerprints until May 6, 1994, nearly one month after Cobain’s body was found!
This detail alone proves that Cobain’s death was not, “investigated on the premise that this was a homicide” as the Seattle Police spokesman deliberatley misrepresented to the public.Shotgun Print ResultsWhat About The Shell Casings? What About The Pen?
In this SPD report we see that the pre-loaded and expended shell casings were not processed for fingerprints until January 13, 1997, nearly three years after Cobain’s body was found!
This same report from 1997 also referred back to the pen that was allegedly used to write the so-called “suicide note” as having been processed for fingerprints at the same time as the shotgun, nearly one month after Cobain’s body was found.Shell Casings and Pen Print Reports
_________________________________________________________ISSUE #7 Cover-up by the Deputy Medical ExaminerThe Death Certificate
Before we begin discussing the issues related the late Deputy Medical Examiner, Dr. Nicholas Hartshorne, keep in mind that he was just 31 years of age on April 8, 1994; a relatively new doctor when he arrived at the Cobain residence to handle one of the most noteable celebrity deaths of our time.Problem A Dr. Hartshorne certifies cause of death BEFORE the toxicology report is available!
An official Seattle Police report displayed at the end of this page publicly certifies the blood morphine level to have been 1.52 mgs. per liter of blood in Cobain’s system when he died.
Now this large dose of heroin documented by the Seattle police, as you will later hear and see, was reported to be a “fatal dose” of black tar heroin.”
But the issue, for now, is not the amount of heroin in Cobain’s blood system. Our leading concern, under “Issue #7 “ is that the results of the toxicology report could not have been known by Dr. Hartshorne before he signed off on Kurt Cobain’s death certificate, labeling the cause of death as “Suicide” just one day after Cobain’s body was found!
In fact, two months after Kurt Cobain was found dead, the body of Kristen Pffaf, bass player for the band “Hole”, was found in her bathtub. She allegedly died from an accidental overdose of heroin. It should be noted that the SPD homicide investigators as well as the Deputy Medical Examiner, Dr. Hartshorne, were the same Seattle authorities who handled the death scenes of both Kurt Cobain and Kristen Pffaf.
On June 18, 1994, the L.A. Times wrote, “The body of Pfaff, 27, was found in her bathtub by a friend. … a nearby purse contained syringes and other drug paraphernalia. …the King County coroner [Medical Examiner] said that no cause of death had been determined, pending results of toxicology tests, which are expected in “four to six weeks.”
Dr. Hartshorne, did not wait “four to six weeks” for the toxicology results before a determination was made in the case of Kurt Cobain’s death. In fact, he didn’t wait at all. The autopsy was finished and the death certificate signed off within 24 hours of the discovery of Cobain’s body.Dr. Cyril Wecht Refutes Dr. HartshorneI met Dr. Cyril Wecht at an event in Pittsburgh in 2018 where we were seated next to each other at a table. As we spoke with each other that evening, I asked him if it was possibly for the King County Medical Examiner’s office to have received the results of the toxicology report within one or even two days after Cobain’s body was found.
“No,” Dr. Wecht replied. “They may have been able to discover, very soon, that Kurt Cobain had heroin in his blood system during the autopsy. But, receiving the figure indicating the amount of the blood level from the crime lab within a couple of days after his body was found – there’s just no way!” he told me, then added, “And you can quote me on that.”
As we parted ways later that evening, Dr. Wecht handed me his business card and asked me to email him so we could “keep in touch.”
I’ll have more to say later about my meeting that evening with Dr. Wecht and his wife, Ingrid.Problem B The most vital piece of evidence was destroyed!
The Death Certificate indicates that Hartshorne released Cobain’s body to the funeral home where it was allowed to be cremated just (6) days after he was found and prior to receipt of the toxicology report.
This legally permitted the destruction of evidence in a so called homicide investigation, before the possibility of a closer and more thorough examination of the most important item of evidence in this case, Kurt Cobain’s body._________________________________________________________ISSUE #8
Cobain’s death described as a “Classic – Textbook” case of suicide!
Listen to young Dr. Hartshorne during a televised interview.
The use of the words “classic” and “textbook” to describe Kurt Cobain’s death was an embellishment and deliberate deception by this young, relatively inexperienced Doctor. How do we know this?
Just one of the many details which expose Hartshorne’s unusual elaboration are revealed, as you will soon see and hear, as Seattle Police Department’s own detective Mike Ciesynski says that he spoke with the King County Medical Examiner’s office about the Cobain case. They told him, “they didn’t think they’d ever seen an overdose with the amount of heroin that was found in Cobain’s system.”
There’s much more to follow here on this “List,” but that detail alone is enough to show that Kurt Cobain’s death could not be be labeled as either “Classic” or “Textbook.”
Then Hartshorne gives a three point list explaining his logic. Let’s examine these three points closely:1. “The fact that there was a suicide note left at the scene.” Once again, there’s no evidence whatsoever that the note found at the scene of Kurt’s death was a “suicide” note. Dr. Hartshorne apparently believes that if he says it’s a “suicide note” then it is!2. “The weapon is still at the scene.” This statement is completely preposterous. It demonstrates that Dr. Hartshorne was either deliberatley deceptive or he had no ability, whatsoever, to apply common sense and logic to the scene of a dead body. If, as many suspect, Kurt Cobain was murdered and the scene of his death was staged to look like a suicide, of course the weapon would still be at the scene. Why would the killer(s) take the shotgun away if they wanted this to look like a suicide?
Has there ever been a murder that was staged to look like a suicide, using a weapon of any type, where that weapon was not left at the scene? Of course not! That is not a legitimate talking point here. How does a medical doctor come up with such ridiculous comments?
Furthermore, how would the police ever be fooled into thinking a suicide was actually a murder if the weapon used was missing from the scene? How would a weapon be removed from the death scene UNLESS he or she had been murdered? So, of course the weapon was still at the scene just like any staged murder with a weapon, whether in the U.S. or anywhere else around the world.
It sounded authoritative to a gullible, uncaring media, but in reality, these were ludicrous, thoughtless statements made by Dr. Hartshorne. He must have assumed most people would just accept what he said because, after all, he was the doctor who performed the autopsy and signed Kurt’s death certificate. Who would know better about Cobain’s death than him?
The truth is, anyone who actually paid attention to his words would have seen through these extremely deceptive comments.3. “The nature of the injury.” “This was a contact shotgun wound to the mouth that required the gun to be against the decedent’s chest. And with this information it makes it a classic textbook example of suicide.”Let’s hear that again last part again.Our undercover phone call.Before he did the above televised interview, we made a phone call to Dr. Hartshorne. Let’s listen to what he told my undercover investigator.Dr. Hartshorne Re: Sitting
There is no disagreement with any of the authorities that Kurt was sitting, or was positioned sitting up, on the floor of the greenhouse when the shotgun was discharged. But with this statement from Hartshorne describing the gun against Kurt’s chest while sitting up, he carelessly describes an impossible death scenerio.Let’s see what that looks like.
This is the position Hartshorne so thoughtlessly described: “Sitting” on the floor… “that required the gun to be against the decedant’s (Cobain’s) chest.”
So if Kurt allegedly shot himself while sitting on the floor, with the 45″ long shotgun “against the decedent’s [his] chest,” as Hartshorne stated here, Kurt would have had to hold the shotgun in an upright position with the butt of the shotgun on the floor and the barrel pointing nearly straight up, as illustrated above.
In other words, with the position described by Hartshorne, there’s no way that Kurt would have been able to get his mouth over the tip of the shotgun barrel while the shotgun was still against his chest.
Remember, Kurt was was only 5’7″ to 5″9′ tall, depending on your source of information.
If Hartshorne actually believed what he told the public in conjunction with what he told my undercover P.I., Kurt Cobain’s death could not have been a “classic…textbook” case of suicide. It would have been an impossible case of suicide.
It certainly sounded as if Hartshorne knew what he was talking about in that televised interview, if no one paid attention to the details and didn’t know any better.
Of course I don’t believe Hartshorne intended to describe this illustrated scenario. I posted this here to illuminate his arrogant carelessness in the handling of his medical roll during Kurt Cobain’s death investigation._________________________________________________________ISSUE #9 Questions about the nature of Cobain’s so called “suicide” note reveal Dr. Hartshorne’s cavalier attitude.
“It’s “IRRELEVANT”!
How can such a strange note, found at the scene of someone’s death, be simply dismissed as “irrelevant”?
If the note was truly irrelevant, why was it even booked into evidence?
Of course it would not have been irrelevant… if they were truly investigating Kurt’s death as a possible homicide like their SPD spokesperson told the television audience in 1997. Dr. Hartshorne, labeled that note as a “suicide” note even though it says nothing about suicide.
That “note” is more easily interpreted as a note to his fans explaining why he was quitting the “business” of creating music. Then, he adds the footnote – (if Kurt even wrote those last lines) – assuring Courtney that this would be a peaceful divorce but that he didn’t want to be a bad influence on his baby girl, Frances.
I could easily argue that the latter is true based on my firsthand conversations with Kurt’s own friends and personal Lawyer, Rosemary Carroll. The point I want to make clear is that no person, including Dr. Hartshorne, should have or could have automatically labeled that note as a “suicide” note.
Again, Hartshorne seems to believe that if he says it’s a “suicide note” then it is. End of conversation.“Hundreds and Thousands”
The question of Dr. Hartshorne’s credibily arises again when he claims to have read “hundreds and thousands” of suicide notes. Considering about 50% or less of those who committ suicide don’t even leave a note, the reading of even one thousand suicide notes, much less two thousand or more, (“hundreds and thousands”) during this young doctor’s career, sounds deliberately inflated.So, let’s get another take on this.
I had spoken with Dr. Cyril Wecht a couple of times on the phone over the years. But, as I mentioned earlier, a few years ago, while attending an event in Pittsburgh, I was seated next to Dr. Wecht and his lovely wife, Sigrid, who is also a medical Doctor.
The photo below was from my cellphone camera, along with a copy of the email Dr. Wecht later sent in reply to my thanking him for that memorable evening.
During the time we spent together that evening, Dr. Wecht and his wife both seemed more fascinated by the Cobain case than anything else we could have talked about.
So, with such an opportune time to get his feedback, among other issues, I asked him whether it was possible for a medical examiner or coroner to have read over 2000 suicide notes, especially such a young pathologit in his 30’s like Dr. Hartshorne.
“Impossible” was the response from Dr. Wecht._________________________________________________________ISSUE #10 The S.P.D. Spokesperson DIGS A VERY DEEP HOLE
In March of 2014, in anticipation of the 20th anniversary and the publicity it would bring to those who question their immediate conclusion of suicide, the Seattle Police Department made a pre-emptive strike by having their cold case detective, Mike Ciesynski, “review” the Cobain case and hold a televised press conference.
Many in the media, along with uninformed cobain fans, reported this was a “Reopening” of the Cobain case.
I’m sorry to say that it most certainly was not.
This was just another inept Seattle Police detective attempting to cover the tracks of his predessors by claiming to have “Reviewed” the Cobain case.
SPD Detective Mike Ciesynski said he had done a thorough examination of the original investigation by reading and reviewing all of the police, autopsy and toxicology reports in order to reach his recent conclusions.
Let’s analyze what he had to say during this SPD sanctioned, televised interview._________________________________________________________What Are The Odds? “I don’t think they’d seen anybody with an overdose, in our county at least, that had that much of heroin inside of him.”
Three details are noteworthey here:A. He had an “extreme amount of heroin” in his blood…”B. They’d “never seen anybody” with an overdose, in King County, “that had that much of heroin inside of him.”These combined statements, alone, obliterate any possibility that this was a “Classic… Textbook” case of suicide as Dr. Hartshorne so arrogantly described in his VH1 televised interview shown in Issue #8_________________________________________________________The “Fatal” Dose “I believe he gave himself a fataldose of black tar heroin.”
This was not an accidental misstatement on Ciesynski’s part. He repeats and reiterates his opinion in a number of statements here, after what can only be described as a very thorough review of the original investigation by claiming he read and reviewed all of the police, autopsy and toxicology reports in order to reach his conclusion._________________________________________________________“Heroin would have did the trick also.” “He killed himself because of the shotgun blast, but the heroin would have did the trick [killed him] also.” (These are Detective Ciesynski’s exact words, not my poor use of English).
There seems to be no doubt in the mind of Seattle PD’s official spokesperson, Detective Mike Ciesynki, that there was no way Kurt Cobain could have survived the high dose of heroin/morphine found in his system during the autopsy.
But that’s really not the issue. The real issue is incapacitation.
Any truthful heroin addict will tell us that Kurt would have been almost immediatley incapacitated after such a large dose of heroin. He would not have been able to put the caps back on the two syringes and place them back in his cigar box kit, then maneuver that long shotgun barrel into his mouth while sitting on a the floor.
He would have been unconcious within a few seconds and even according to Detective Ciesynski, he would have died within minutes._________________________________________________________The “Final Authority” “and actually, I’m the one who makes the decision, finally…”
A SEPARATE ISSUE
Detective Ciesysnki talks about his decision not to release the graphic photos of Kurt Cobain taken at the scene of his death to the public.
I want to say here that I agree with the decision not to release graphic photos to the public. However, all photos should be open for review by additional outside experts and pathologists within the privacy of the Seattle homicide investigator’s offices – without releasing copies of those photos.THE FINAL AUTHORITY “It wasn’t gonna change my decision that this was a suicide…”
Of course not. In spite of the exceptionally rare medical evidence along with his observations of the death scene photos, his mind was already made up?
That’s not a surprise here. The Seattle Police Department committed themselves to the “suicide” theory on the day Kurt’s body was found.
“And actually, I’m the one who makes the decision finally, do we go forward or not.”
Detective Ciesynski’s final statement leaves no doubt about the authority he was given over Kurt Cobain’s death investigation._________________________________________________________Detective Ciesynski writes a conflicting police report:Ciesynski Report – Page 1
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 1, Point #1 –. This report lacks the common, “Date Written” insert. However, we can easily conclude that this report was written soon after the televised interview with Detective Ciesynski, because parts of this report contradict what he had previously stated on camera.
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 1, Point #2 – You’ll notice that Detective Ciesynski writes, “I contacted and spoke with retired Detective Jim Yoshida, who was one of the original case detectives. The other original case detective, Detective Steve Kirkland, is unfortunately deceased.”
But wait, there was a third “original case detective” assigned to the Cobain investigation. A simple reading of the publicly released police reports under the “Freedom Of Information Act,” clearly indicates that Sgt. Donald Cameron was the lead detective on Kurt Cobain’s death investigation!
So why did Detective Ciesynski fail to mention Sgt. Cameron in this report and why did he use the term, “the other detective…” (implying that there were only two), when he knew full well there was a third?
This was no accidental mistake by Detective Ciesynski. He deliberately excluded the name of the Sgt. Cameron, the supervising Sergeant who was was in charge of Kurt Cobain’s death investigation, because he had since retired when he learned he was about to be fired by by the 1994 Chief Of Police, Norm Stamper, for on-the-job corruption.
“Yeah, let’s just leave Cameron’s name out of this report?”
Ciesynski Report – Page 2
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 2, Point #3 – The first underlined sentence in this report reads: “The blood test results indicate morphine level, 1.52 mg/L (milligrams per Liter).”
So in response to the skeptics over the years who have questioned my firm claim about the heroin [morphine] blood levels in Cobain system, you now have an official Seattle police report that verifies what I wrote over 28 years ago.
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 2, Point #4 – Here you’ll see the underlined sentences on page 2 of this report reads: “Dr. Harrufff advised that there was a large amount of morphine, (heroin), and that tolerance is extremely important when evaluating opiate levels. With tolerant individuals, very high levels can be achieved far more than a non-tolerant person.”
Did you notice how Detective Ciesysnki suddenly contradicted his earlier televised statements that Kurt Cobain’s heroin dosage was “Fatal” and that the Medical Examiner’s office had never even seen such a high dose of heroin in an overdose in their county?
So what happened after that televised interview with Detective Ciesysnki? Was he ordered by one of his superiors to walk-back his opinion and bring it in line with the “official Seattle police version” touted publicly for the past 28+ years?
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 2, Point #5 – “…I noticed that the Remington 20 gauge shotgun was lying on victim’s chest with the receiver facing up. I also observed a spent yellow shell casing lying on a coat at the right side of the photo.” (This would be on the left side of Cobain’s body, but the right side of the photo Detective Ciesynski was describing.)
Now here’s where page #2 of this report goes beyond strange: “I was aware that for the spent casing to have landed to the victims left, the weapon would have had to been turned 180 degrees from what it was found. It appeared evident to what had happened when the weapon was fired, but I requested assistance from SPD Range Armorer Curt Wilson.”
Detective Ciesysnski continues; “I showed Officer Wilson a photo of victim holding the weapon, but I did not identify the victim. Officer Wilson stated that the fired round would have ejected in the direction where it was found and the second round probably malfunctioned due to victim holding the barrel, which prevented free movement of the barrel. The weapon probably pivoted when fired, and fell to the present position. Held in this manner, the fired round would have ejected to where it was depicted in the photo.”Ciesynski Report – Page 3
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 3. – Here, finally is the unbiased conclusion reached by Detective Ciesynski as he said he would not release all of the crime scene photos of Kurt’s face, (I agree with with that decision), but then he openly admits, “It wasn’t going to change my opinion.”
So it’s no surprise here that this report, obviously written by Detective Ciesynski, was simply a continuation in the cover-up of an extremely botched investigation by the original detectives sent to the scene of Cobain’s death.Ciesynski Report – Page 4
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 4. – Note: The last two pages of Detective Ciesynski’s police report on his review of Kurt Cobain’s death investigation have now been made public. This appears to be the fourth page of what was a form police report. I believe these two pages were not made available at first because the general public may have misunderstood these last two pages due to some of the standard template wording.
For example; “There is probable cause to believe the SUSPECT committed the crime of CRIME.” Although the wording there appears to be somewhat strange, I think it’s just part of this form and probably should be interpreted more accurately by the public as, “There is probable cause to believe the VICTIM [Kurt Cobain] committed the ACT of SUICDE.”
Even though the first page of this report indicates it was submitted by Detective Ciesynski, I find it interesting that we see no signature on the line given for Detective Ciesynski to sign the report.
It was obvious that the Seattle Police Department needed to do some serious damage control after Detective Ciesynski’s televised interview. Many of his publicized statements had never been acknowledged by the Seattle Police Department or the King County Medical Examiner’s office during the past 20+ years since Cobain’s deathCiesynski Report – Page 5
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 5. – Note: This appears to be the fifth page of this police report form. Although it reads – “Investigation” – the report is blank from that point on. This simply indicates to me that this report form can also be used for the purpose of reporting other crimes and incidents.
I see nothing noteworthy here. It was only included because it was part of the public documents release included with the pages added above.IN CONCLUSION
I have my personal opinion about how and when Kurt Cobain died, along with a short list of those who I believe were involved in causing his death.
As the private investigator embedded in this case before Cobain died as well as having direct involvement for seven months following his death, no one else has witnessed the events and heard the discussions that I have witnessed and heard. So I do have a right to my personal opinion.
However, I’ve never asked anyone to agree with me about the cause of Cobain’s death, even though on the surface, there appears to be much more evidence indicating homicide rather than suicide.
I’m simply asking everyone with an ounce of common sense, to please review this case closely, and with an open mind, considering all of the material posted above.
I believe it proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the investigation into Cobain’s death was first botched, then covered-up by the Seattle authorities.
Without realizing it, the Seattle police Department exposed more of the real truth behind the 1994 investigation into Cobain’s death than I’m sure they intended to reveal with this SPD sanctioned televised interview.
They also dug a hole far too deep for the Seattle authorities to climb back out.Therefore, the findings in the death of Kurt Cobain must be changed from “SUICIDE” to “UNDETERMINED.”
E-mail Tom: tomgrantpi@yahoo.com Individual questions cannot be answered through e-mail, but comments are always read and appreciated.Go to
Tom: tomgrantpi@yahoo.com Individual questions cannot be answered through e-mail, but comments are always read and appreciated.
Kurt Cobain left a drug rehab center in Marina Del Rey California on April 1, 1994 and was later reported missing.
As you probably know, he was found dead just seven days later.
On April 3, 1994 (while conducting business as a California State licensed private investigator), I was hired by Courtney Love (who was in Los Angeles at the time), to locate her husband after he left a drug rehab center in Marina Del Rey, California. Ms. Love stayed in Los Angeles while I flew to Seattle to search for Cobain with his best friend Dylan Carlson. In fact, Carlson and I had been in the Cobain residence the night before Kurt’s body was discovered in the room above the garage.
The police immediately concluded “suicide.” I wasn’t so sure. Neither was Rosemary Carroll, Courtney Love’s own entertainment attorney. Ms. Carroll was also a close friend to both Courtney and Kurt. We both knew something was terribly wrong here.
After several months of intensive investigation, including dozens of taped interviews with Cobain’s closest friends and family members, I reached the conclusion that Courtney Love and Michael Dewitt, (the male nanny who lived at the Cobain residence), were involved in a conspiracy that resulted in the murder of Kurt Cobain.
It appears this was not the first attempt on Cobain’s life by Courtney Love, however, it was obviously the first to succeed.
In December of 1994, I began speaking publicly about the suspicious circumstances surrounding Cobain’s death.
Facing the potential consequences of exposure, Courtney Love, her wealthy and powerful friends, her attorney’s and the symbiotic “rock press” have engaged in an effort to keep the public from learning the true facts about Kurt’s death.
These are people who are motivated by profit rather than truth. Courtney’s attorneys have consistently threatened those in various media outlets with “potential lawsuits” if these journalists were to give me a platform from which to discuss my investigation of the Cobain Case.
As I predicted when I first began telling the public about the details of my investigation more than 21 years ago, no legal, criminal or civil, action has ever been taken against myself or anyone in the media who has covered this story.
In spite of the hot air they’ve been blowing all these years, this investigation has received coverage in hundreds of major newspapers, magazines, television and radio talk shows around the globe.
The pathetic cowards of this world can only blow smoke. Once they’ve been exposed, they run and hide.Here is just some of… WHAT YOU WERE NEVER TOLD
Courtney Love was facing a divorce.
Kurt was in the process of leaving Seattle and his wife Courtney, when he was found dead.
Courtney knew Kurt wanted out of the marriage. Just weeks prior to his death, she asked one of her attorneys to get the “meanest, most vicious divorce lawyer” she could find.
Someone was using Kurt’s credit card.
One of Kurt’s credit cards was missing when his body was discovered.
Someone was attempting to use the missing credit card after Cobain died, but the attempts stopped when his body was discovered.
Cobain was in fear of his life.
The shotgun found at the scene was purchased BEFORE Cobain left for rehab in Los Angeles, NOT AFTER he fled the rehab as reported by misinformed media sources.
The shotgun was fully loaded with three shells. It was purchased and loaded for protection, not suicide.
The police claim there were no legible fingerprints on this shotgun!
The truth is, the shotgun wasn’t even checked for fingerprints until May 6th, nearly one month after Cobain’s body was found.
There was no “suicide” note!
The note found at the scene by the police was immediately labeled as a “suicide note.” The police report states it was “apparently written by Cobain to his wife and daughter, explaining why he had killed himself.”
But this note was not addressed to Kurt’s wife and daughter and it says nothing about “killing himself!” This note was clearly written to Cobain’s fans telling them he was quitting the music business. There was only a short footnote to Courtney and Frances and the handwriting contained in those lines has been questioned by several handwriting experts.
Courtney had another note she kept in secret.
Courtney was in possession of a second note after Kurt’s body was found! SHE DIDN’T TELL ANYONE about this second note until several months later when information about it slipped out during an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine.
The second note, the one that Courtney kept in secret, clearly defines the first note which was found at the scene of Cobain’s death. The “second note” from Kurt plainly states he was leaving Courtney and he was leaving Seattle. He was NOT leaving the planet.
Cobain was injected with 3 times a lethal dose of heroin!
Cobain’s heroin, (morphine), blood level was 1.52 mgs per liter. This would require a minimum injection of 225 mgs of heroin, three times a lethal dose, even for a hardcore heroin addict. The drug Diazepam, was also found in Cobain’s blood system.
1. IF Cobain injected three times a lethal dose of heroin, COULD he then pick up a shotgun and shoot himself? Wouldn’t he have been immediately incapacitated?
Based on the heroin, (morphine), blood levels found in Cobain’s body, preliminary research indicates Kurt Cobain would have been almost immediately incapacitated. He could not have picked up that shotgun. He could not have pulled that trigger!
2. If Cobain injected himself with a deliberate heroin overdose, why would he ALSO shoot himself in the head with a shotgun, leaving his baby daughter – the love of his life – with horrific visual images to remember him by? Why not just “go to sleep” on the overdose and never wake up?
In Addition…
Cobain was not barricaded inside the room as reported by misinformed media sources.
The stool which was supposedly wedged” against the door was actually just sitting in front of the two unlocked doors that only led out to a balcony.
Cobain did not leave his Driver’s License out for identification as reported by misinformed media sources.
The first police officer on the scene found Cobain’s closed wallet, opened it to remove Kurt’s driver’s license, and displayed it in order to take a photograph.
The fact is – the police and the Medical Examiner have no forensic evidence that proves Cobain’s death was a suicide. On the other hand, there’s a substantial amount of evidence for murder.
The official verdict of “suicide” was simply a rush to judgement which eventually painted the authorities into a corner as reports of so-called “copy-cat” suicides began making the news.
As you examine this case carefully, you’re going to discover there’s much more to the events surrounding Cobain’s death than what you’ve been told
Attached is my letter signed by both Tom Grant and Dr. Cyril Wecht which I sent to Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole along with a DVD of Soaked In Bleach on March 30th of this year. Also attached is their response letter dated April 12th which gave me reason to wait for their “further review and follow up”. I’ve now been waiting patiently for over 4 months for a “follow up”. While I am still looking forward to them doing the right thing and following up regarding what I had offered and requested in my letter, given the time lapse, I now feel it is appropriate to share this publicly. -Benjamin Statler
The following pages contain documented evidence to establish that today’s Seattle authorities are duty bound to change Kurt Cobain’s official cause of death.
The first step in reaching our goal here is to have the findings in Kurt Cobain’s death changed from…“SUICIDE” to “UNDETERMINED”_________________________________________________________
An honest evaluation of this material makes it virtually impossible for skeptics to effectively refute facts that have been provided to the general public.
Other than a brief mention of Courtney Love’s filing of the missing persons report, her name is irrelevant for the purpose of listing these major issues of negligence, cover-up, destruction of evidence, and outright corruption by the 1994 and 2014 Seattle authorities.
I’m avoiding the use of You Tube embedded videos with the voice recordings I’ve used on these pages. My You Tube channel is scrutinized more than most. I won’t risk having the You Tube videos I could have embedded here, shown as “Not Available” if You Tube censors were to take down my channel. Long time followers of our work have already seen many of these video files. Most are still available on my channel, for now, as well as on the channels of other owners of You Tube videos.
I think that you’ll find the audio files sufficiently represent the materiel presented here, without the accompanying videos that I maintain in my computer files.
_________________________________________________________ISSUE #1 The Setup
_________________________________________________________ISSUE #2 The presumptuous police statement that started it all
Approaching the MediaThis photo shows Seattle Police Department’s Spokesperson, Vinette Tishi, leaving the crime scene, (greenhouse), soon after Cobain’s body was found.
She accompanied Medical Examiner Dr. Donald Reay as they walked down the driveway together to where the press had congregated at the entrance to the driveway.
The Press ConferenceThis clip proves that on the morning of April 8, 1994, shortly after Cobain was found, SPD’s Vinette Tishi, told the press, “It was obvious this man is dead from a shotgun wound to the head…” then she added, unequivocally,“Now there was a suicide note left inside the, the house.”“Suicide note left in the house.” As the spokesperson for the Seattle Police Department, Vinette Tishi should not have mentioned anything about a note at all. She had to know what finding “a note” would imply. The fact is, the so-called “suicide note,” as Ms. Vinette called it, was nothing more than “a note” – period. It said nothing about suicide or about Kurt’s desire to kill himself.
This hurried, inaccurate statement from the SPD spokesperson created a national and international press frenzy.
“Kurt Cobain committed suicide!” the media immediately reported.
She let the cat out of the bag before any real investigation could possibly have been completed.
There would be no turning back now!_________________________________________________________ISSUE #3 Initial Handling of the Death Scene First SPD Report Pg 1
This is the report filed by the first SPD officer to arrive at the scene of Kurt Cobain’s death. He was in uniform and working in a black and white patrol unit that morning.
Three additional police supervisor’s arrived at the scene taking pictures of a very famous dead person, before the homicide detectives even got there. The blue circles represent each person who entered the room with Cobain’s body. There will be several more before the homicide unit arrives as you’ll see in the next report.
Murders staged to look like suicides occur around this country and around the world every year Patrol officers aren’t trained in homicide or dead body investigations. In most cases, neither are their supervisors. Large cities, like Seattle, normally train their officers to simply contain the scene until a trained and experienced homicide unit arrives. This is not what happened here.
*Also arriving on the scene – prior to the homicide detectives – was Charles Pelly, referred to in the redacted, (blacked out) portion of this report near the bottom. Mr. Pelly was the owner of the Alarm Company who I had spoken with prior to my entry into the Cobain residence late Wednesday night, the 6th of April.
I also met and interviewed Mr. Pelly when I returned to Seattle the following week. The information he provided soon became valuable to my investigation.First SPD Report Pg 2
This continuation page, once again, illustrates the immediate conclusion of suicide reached by the first officer on the scene. He writes, “The note was apparently written by Cobain to his wife and daughter explaining why he had killed himself.”
This officer’s observations should only have included that he observed “a note,” period. It was not his job to decipher its meaning or purpose._________________________________________________________ISSUE #4 Homicide Detectives Concluded “Suicide” On Day #1
After being advised by dispatch that the first arriving officers were, “on the scene of a suicide,” Seattle police Homicide Detectives arrived to take over.
As you can see by their own report, they concluded Cobain’s death was a “suicide” that same day.
In addition, we now see that at least 12 people were or had been walking around a newly discovered dead body, disturbing what might be vital evidence within that 19′ by 22′ room above Cobain’s garage.SPD Homicide Report Same Date Conclusion
Then, as if they hadn’t done enough to instantly declare “suicide,” they refer to a note found at the scene and immediately labeled it as “a suicide note” directed to his wife.SPD Report-Same Date (cont)
_________________________________________________________ISSUE #5 The So-Called “Suicide” NoteCopy Of “The Note”
After reading this note for the first time, naturally my first question was, “Did Kurt write this”? It took some time to be sure, but within the first two months after his death, I concluded that he did write the main body of this note, however, the last few lines, after he signed the note, appar to have been added, possibly by someone else.
To be clear, I have very little confidence in the accuracy of what any document examiner might conclude when determining the person or personality of the writer of any document.
Handwriting analysis in not an exact science. Different handwriting experts often have different opinions on who wrote specific documents or letters. I put very little trust in the authority of a handwriting expert’s opinion. Handwriting analysis is not an exact science.Transcript
I believe Kurt did write the body of this note. I also believe we could prove in a court of law that the lines beginning with, “which will be so much happier without me, I love you , I love you,” were written at a different time, possibly by a different hand, but definitely with less pressure pushing down on the pen.
But no matter what anyone believes regarding the writer, it is very clear that the main body of this letter was written to Kurt Cabain’s fans, not to his wife.
The idea of anyone automatically referring to this note as a “Suicide” note is ludicrous._________________________________________________________ISSUE #6 The Cover-up by Seattle PoliceCBS Television’s “Unsolved Mysteries” – 1997
Investigated on the premise that this was a homicide?
This is a cut from a televised interview with a Seattle Police Department spokesperson regarding the death of Kurt Cobain. It first aired on a major network 1997.
This was the first coverage of the Cobain case televised by the mainstream media. It has been replayed hundreds of times for more than 25 years on the original network and later on various cable channels.
The Cobain case segment tied with one other segment for their highest Nielsen rated show during the entire 8 year run of this popular television program.Really?
In this SPD report we see that the shotgun used in the death of Kurt Cobain was not even processed for fingerprints until May 6, 1994, nearly one month after Cobain’s body was found!
This detail alone proves that Cobain’s death was not, “investigated on the premise that this was a homicide” as the Seattle Police spokesman deliberatley misrepresented to the public.Shotgun Print ResultsWhat About The Shell Casings? What About The Pen?
In this SPD report we see that the pre-loaded and expended shell casings were not processed for fingerprints until January 13, 1997, nearly three years after Cobain’s body was found!
This same report from 1997 also referred back to the pen that was allegedly used to write the so-called “suicide note” as having been processed for fingerprints at the same time as the shotgun, nearly one month after Cobain’s body was found.Shell Casings and Pen Print Reports
_________________________________________________________ISSUE #7 Cover-up by the Deputy Medical ExaminerThe Death Certificate
Before we begin discussing the issues related the late Deputy Medical Examiner, Dr. Nicholas Hartshorne, keep in mind that he was just 31 years of age on April 8, 1994; a relatively new doctor when he arrived at the Cobain residence to handle one of the most noteable celebrity deaths of our time.Problem A Dr. Hartshorne certifies cause of death BEFORE the toxicology report is available!
An official Seattle Police report displayed at the end of this page publicly certifies the blood morphine level to have been 1.52 mgs. per liter of blood in Cobain’s system when he died.
Now this large dose of heroin documented by the Seattle police, as you will later hear and see, was reported to be a “fatal dose” of black tar heroin.”
But the issue, for now, is not the amount of heroin in Cobain’s blood system. Our leading concern, under “Issue #7 “ is that the results of the toxicology report could not have been known by Dr. Hartshorne before he signed off on Kurt Cobain’s death certificate, labeling the cause of death as “Suicide” just one day after Cobain’s body was found!
In fact, two months after Kurt Cobain was found dead, the body of Kristen Pffaf, bass player for the band “Hole”, was found in her bathtub. She allegedly died from an accidental overdose of heroin. It should be noted that the SPD homicide investigators as well as the Deputy Medical Examiner, Dr. Hartshorne, were the same Seattle authorities who handled the death scenes of both Kurt Cobain and Kristen Pffaf.
On June 18, 1994, the L.A. Times wrote, “The body of Pfaff, 27, was found in her bathtub by a friend. … a nearby purse contained syringes and other drug paraphernalia. …the King County coroner [Medical Examiner] said that no cause of death had been determined, pending results of toxicology tests, which are expected in “four to six weeks.”
Dr. Hartshorne, did not wait “four to six weeks” for the toxicology results before a determination was made in the case of Kurt Cobain’s death. In fact, he didn’t wait at all. The autopsy was finished and the death certificate signed off within 24 hours of the discovery of Cobain’s body.Dr. Cyril Wecht Refutes Dr. HartshorneI met Dr. Cyril Wecht at an event in Pittsburgh in 2018 where we were seated next to each other at a table. As we spoke with each other that evening, I asked him if it was possibly for the King County Medical Examiner’s office to have received the results of the toxicology report within one or even two days after Cobain’s body was found.
“No,” Dr. Wecht replied. “They may have been able to discover, very soon, that Kurt Cobain had heroin in his blood system during the autopsy. But, receiving the figure indicating the amount of the blood level from the crime lab within a couple of days after his body was found – there’s just no way!” he told me, then added, “And you can quote me on that.”
As we parted ways later that evening, Dr. Wecht handed me his business card and asked me to email him so we could “keep in touch.”
I’ll have more to say later about my meeting that evening with Dr. Wecht and his wife, Ingrid.Problem B The most vital piece of evidence was destroyed!
The Death Certificate indicates that Hartshorne released Cobain’s body to the funeral home where it was allowed to be cremated just (6) days after he was found and prior to receipt of the toxicology report.
This legally permitted the destruction of evidence in a so called homicide investigation, before the possibility of a closer and more thorough examination of the most important item of evidence in this case, Kurt Cobain’s body._________________________________________________________ISSUE #8
Cobain’s death described as a “Classic – Textbook” case of suicide!
Listen to young Dr. Hartshorne during a televised interview.
The use of the words “classic” and “textbook” to describe Kurt Cobain’s death was an embellishment and deliberate deception by this young, relatively inexperienced Doctor. How do we know this?
Just one of the many details which expose Hartshorne’s unusual elaboration are revealed, as you will soon see and hear, as Seattle Police Department’s own detective Mike Ciesynski says that he spoke with the King County Medical Examiner’s office about the Cobain case. They told him, “they didn’t think they’d ever seen an overdose with the amount of heroin that was found in Cobain’s system.”
There’s much more to follow here on this “List,” but that detail alone is enough to show that Kurt Cobain’s death could not be be labeled as either “Classic” or “Textbook.”
Then Hartshorne gives a three point list explaining his logic. Let’s examine these three points closely:1. “The fact that there was a suicide note left at the scene.” Once again, there’s no evidence whatsoever that the note found at the scene of Kurt’s death was a “suicide” note. Dr. Hartshorne apparently believes that if he says it’s a “suicide note” then it is!2. “The weapon is still at the scene.” This statement is completely preposterous. It demonstrates that Dr. Hartshorne was either deliberatley deceptive or he had no ability, whatsoever, to apply common sense and logic to the scene of a dead body. If, as many suspect, Kurt Cobain was murdered and the scene of his death was staged to look like a suicide, of course the weapon would still be at the scene. Why would the killer(s) take the shotgun away if they wanted this to look like a suicide?
Has there ever been a murder that was staged to look like a suicide, using a weapon of any type, where that weapon was not left at the scene? Of course not! That is not a legitimate talking point here. How does a medical doctor come up with such ridiculous comments?
Furthermore, how would the police ever be fooled into thinking a suicide was actually a murder if the weapon used was missing from the scene? How would a weapon be removed from the death scene UNLESS he or she had been murdered? So, of course the weapon was still at the scene just like any staged murder with a weapon, whether in the U.S. or anywhere else around the world.
It sounded authoritative to a gullible, uncaring media, but in reality, these were ludicrous, thoughtless statements made by Dr. Hartshorne. He must have assumed most people would just accept what he said because, after all, he was the doctor who performed the autopsy and signed Kurt’s death certificate. Who would know better about Cobain’s death than him?
The truth is, anyone who actually paid attention to his words would have seen through these extremely deceptive comments.3. “The nature of the injury.” “This was a contact shotgun wound to the mouth that required the gun to be against the decedent’s chest. And with this information it makes it a classic textbook example of suicide.”Let’s hear that again last part again.Our undercover phone call.Before he did the above televised interview, we made a phone call to Dr. Hartshorne. Let’s listen to what he told my undercover investigator.Dr. Hartshorne Re: Sitting
There is no disagreement with any of the authorities that Kurt was sitting, or was positioned sitting up, on the floor of the greenhouse when the shotgun was discharged. But with this statement from Hartshorne describing the gun against Kurt’s chest while sitting up, he carelessly describes an impossible death scenerio.Let’s see what that looks like.
This is the position Hartshorne so thoughtlessly described: “Sitting” on the floor… “that required the gun to be against the decedant’s (Cobain’s) chest.”
So if Kurt allegedly shot himself while sitting on the floor, with the 45″ long shotgun “against the decedent’s [his] chest,” as Hartshorne stated here, Kurt would have had to hold the shotgun in an upright position with the butt of the shotgun on the floor and the barrel pointing nearly straight up, as illustrated above.
In other words, with the position described by Hartshorne, there’s no way that Kurt would have been able to get his mouth over the tip of the shotgun barrel while the shotgun was still against his chest.
Remember, Kurt was was only 5’7″ to 5″9′ tall, depending on your source of information.
If Hartshorne actually believed what he told the public in conjunction with what he told my undercover P.I., Kurt Cobain’s death could not have been a “classic…textbook” case of suicide. It would have been an impossible case of suicide.
It certainly sounded as if Hartshorne knew what he was talking about in that televised interview, if no one paid attention to the details and didn’t know any better.
Of course I don’t believe Hartshorne intended to describe this illustrated scenario. I posted this here to illuminate his arrogant carelessness in the handling of his medical roll during Kurt Cobain’s death investigation._________________________________________________________ISSUE #9 Questions about the nature of Cobain’s so called “suicide” note reveal Dr. Hartshorne’s cavalier attitude.
“It’s “IRRELEVANT”!
How can such a strange note, found at the scene of someone’s death, be simply dismissed as “irrelevant”?
If the note was truly irrelevant, why was it even booked into evidence?
Of course it would not have been irrelevant… if they were truly investigating Kurt’s death as a possible homicide like their SPD spokesperson told the television audience in 1997. Dr. Hartshorne, labeled that note as a “suicide” note even though it says nothing about suicide.
That “note” is more easily interpreted as a note to his fans explaining why he was quitting the “business” of creating music. Then, he adds the footnote – (if Kurt even wrote those last lines) – assuring Courtney that this would be a peaceful divorce but that he didn’t want to be a bad influence on his baby girl, Frances.
I could easily argue that the latter is true based on my firsthand conversations with Kurt’s own friends and personal Lawyer, Rosemary Carroll. The point I want to make clear is that no person, including Dr. Hartshorne, should have or could have automatically labeled that note as a “suicide” note.
Again, Hartshorne seems to believe that if he says it’s a “suicide note” then it is. End of conversation.“Hundreds and Thousands”
The question of Dr. Hartshorne’s credibily arises again when he claims to have read “hundreds and thousands” of suicide notes. Considering about 50% or less of those who committ suicide don’t even leave a note, the reading of even one thousand suicide notes, much less two thousand or more, (“hundreds and thousands”) during this young doctor’s career, sounds deliberately inflated.So, let’s get another take on this.
I had spoken with Dr. Cyril Wecht a couple of times on the phone over the years. But, as I mentioned earlier, a few years ago, while attending an event in Pittsburgh, I was seated next to Dr. Wecht and his lovely wife, Sigrid, who is also a medical Doctor.
The photo below was from my cellphone camera, along with a copy of the email Dr. Wecht later sent in reply to my thanking him for that memorable evening.
During the time we spent together that evening, Dr. Wecht and his wife both seemed more fascinated by the Cobain case than anything else we could have talked about.
So, with such an opportune time to get his feedback, among other issues, I asked him whether it was possible for a medical examiner or coroner to have read over 2000 suicide notes, especially such a young pathologit in his 30’s like Dr. Hartshorne.
“Impossible” was the response from Dr. Wecht._________________________________________________________ISSUE #10 The S.P.D. Spokesperson DIGS A VERY DEEP HOLE
In March of 2014, in anticipation of the 20th anniversary and the publicity it would bring to those who question their immediate conclusion of suicide, the Seattle Police Department made a pre-emptive strike by having their cold case detective, Mike Ciesynski, “review” the Cobain case and hold a televised press conference.
Many in the media, along with uninformed cobain fans, reported this was a “Reopening” of the Cobain case.
I’m sorry to say that it most certainly was not.
This was just another inept Seattle Police detective attempting to cover the tracks of his predessors by claiming to have “Reviewed” the Cobain case.
SPD Detective Mike Ciesynski said he had done a thorough examination of the original investigation by reading and reviewing all of the police, autopsy and toxicology reports in order to reach his recent conclusions.
Let’s analyze what he had to say during this SPD sanctioned, televised interview._________________________________________________________What Are The Odds? “I don’t think they’d seen anybody with an overdose, in our county at least, that had that much of heroin inside of him.”
Three details are noteworthey here:A. He had an “extreme amount of heroin” in his blood…”B. They’d “never seen anybody” with an overdose, in King County, “that had that much of heroin inside of him.”These combined statements, alone, obliterate any possibility that this was a “Classic… Textbook” case of suicide as Dr. Hartshorne so arrogantly described in his VH1 televised interview shown in Issue #8_________________________________________________________The “Fatal” Dose “I believe he gave himself a fataldose of black tar heroin.”
This was not an accidental misstatement on Ciesynski’s part. He repeats and reiterates his opinion in a number of statements here, after what can only be described as a very thorough review of the original investigation by claiming he read and reviewed all of the police, autopsy and toxicology reports in order to reach his conclusion._________________________________________________________“Heroin would have did the trick also.” “He killed himself because of the shotgun blast, but the heroin would have did the trick [killed him] also.” (These are Detective Ciesynski’s exact words, not my poor use of English).
There seems to be no doubt in the mind of Seattle PD’s official spokesperson, Detective Mike Ciesynki, that there was no way Kurt Cobain could have survived the high dose of heroin/morphine found in his system during the autopsy.
But that’s really not the issue. The real issue is incapacitation.
Any truthful heroin addict will tell us that Kurt would have been almost immediatley incapacitated after such a large dose of heroin. He would not have been able to put the caps back on the two syringes and place them back in his cigar box kit, then maneuver that long shotgun barrel into his mouth while sitting on a the floor.
He would have been unconcious within a few seconds and even according to Detective Ciesynski, he would have died within minutes._________________________________________________________The “Final Authority” “and actually, I’m the one who makes the decision, finally…”
A SEPARATE ISSUE
Detective Ciesysnki talks about his decision not to release the graphic photos of Kurt Cobain taken at the scene of his death to the public.
I want to say here that I agree with the decision not to release graphic photos to the public. However, all photos should be open for review by additional outside experts and pathologists within the privacy of the Seattle homicide investigator’s offices – without releasing copies of those photos.THE FINAL AUTHORITY “It wasn’t gonna change my decision that this was a suicide…”
Of course not. In spite of the exceptionally rare medical evidence along with his observations of the death scene photos, his mind was already made up?
That’s not a surprise here. The Seattle Police Department committed themselves to the “suicide” theory on the day Kurt’s body was found.
“And actually, I’m the one who makes the decision finally, do we go forward or not.”
Detective Ciesynski’s final statement leaves no doubt about the authority he was given over Kurt Cobain’s death investigation._________________________________________________________Detective Ciesynski writes a conflicting police report:Ciesynski Report – Page 1
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 1, Point #1 –. This report lacks the common, “Date Written” insert. However, we can easily conclude that this report was written soon after the televised interview with Detective Ciesynski, because parts of this report contradict what he had previously stated on camera.
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 1, Point #2 – You’ll notice that Detective Ciesynski writes, “I contacted and spoke with retired Detective Jim Yoshida, who was one of the original case detectives. The other original case detective, Detective Steve Kirkland, is unfortunately deceased.”
But wait, there was a third “original case detective” assigned to the Cobain investigation. A simple reading of the publicly released police reports under the “Freedom Of Information Act,” clearly indicates that Sgt. Donald Cameron was the lead detective on Kurt Cobain’s death investigation!
So why did Detective Ciesynski fail to mention Sgt. Cameron in this report and why did he use the term, “the other detective…” (implying that there were only two), when he knew full well there was a third?
This was no accidental mistake by Detective Ciesynski. He deliberately excluded the name of the Sgt. Cameron, the supervising Sergeant who was was in charge of Kurt Cobain’s death investigation, because he had since retired when he learned he was about to be fired by by the 1994 Chief Of Police, Norm Stamper, for on-the-job corruption.
“Yeah, let’s just leave Cameron’s name out of this report?”
Ciesynski Report – Page 2
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 2, Point #3 – The first underlined sentence in this report reads: “The blood test results indicate morphine level, 1.52 mg/L (milligrams per Liter).”
So in response to the skeptics over the years who have questioned my firm claim about the heroin [morphine] blood levels in Cobain system, you now have an official Seattle police report that verifies what I wrote over 28 years ago.
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 2, Point #4 – Here you’ll see the underlined sentences on page 2 of this report reads: “Dr. Harrufff advised that there was a large amount of morphine, (heroin), and that tolerance is extremely important when evaluating opiate levels. With tolerant individuals, very high levels can be achieved far more than a non-tolerant person.”
Did you notice how Detective Ciesysnki suddenly contradicted his earlier televised statements that Kurt Cobain’s heroin dosage was “Fatal” and that the Medical Examiner’s office had never even seen such a high dose of heroin in an overdose in their county?
So what happened after that televised interview with Detective Ciesysnki? Was he ordered by one of his superiors to walk-back his opinion and bring it in line with the “official Seattle police version” touted publicly for the past 28+ years?
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 2, Point #5 – “…I noticed that the Remington 20 gauge shotgun was lying on victim’s chest with the receiver facing up. I also observed a spent yellow shell casing lying on a coat at the right side of the photo.” (This would be on the left side of Cobain’s body, but the right side of the photo Detective Ciesynski was describing.)
Now here’s where page #2 of this report goes beyond strange: “I was aware that for the spent casing to have landed to the victims left, the weapon would have had to been turned 180 degrees from what it was found. It appeared evident to what had happened when the weapon was fired, but I requested assistance from SPD Range Armorer Curt Wilson.”
Detective Ciesysnski continues; “I showed Officer Wilson a photo of victim holding the weapon, but I did not identify the victim. Officer Wilson stated that the fired round would have ejected in the direction where it was found and the second round probably malfunctioned due to victim holding the barrel, which prevented free movement of the barrel. The weapon probably pivoted when fired, and fell to the present position. Held in this manner, the fired round would have ejected to where it was depicted in the photo.”Ciesynski Report – Page 3
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 3. – Here, finally is the unbiased conclusion reached by Detective Ciesynski as he said he would not release all of the crime scene photos of Kurt’s face, (I agree with with that decision), but then he openly admits, “It wasn’t going to change my opinion.”
So it’s no surprise here that this report, obviously written by Detective Ciesynski, was simply a continuation in the cover-up of an extremely botched investigation by the original detectives sent to the scene of Cobain’s death.Ciesynski Report – Page 4
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 4. – Note: The last two pages of Detective Ciesynski’s police report on his review of Kurt Cobain’s death investigation have now been made public. This appears to be the fourth page of what was a form police report. I believe these two pages were not made available at first because the general public may have misunderstood these last two pages due to some of the standard template wording.
For example; “There is probable cause to believe the SUSPECT committed the crime of CRIME.” Although the wording there appears to be somewhat strange, I think it’s just part of this form and probably should be interpreted more accurately by the public as, “There is probable cause to believe the VICTIM [Kurt Cobain] committed the ACT of SUICDE.”
Even though the first page of this report indicates it was submitted by Detective Ciesynski, I find it interesting that we see no signature on the line given for Detective Ciesynski to sign the report.
It was obvious that the Seattle Police Department needed to do some serious damage control after Detective Ciesynski’s televised interview. Many of his publicized statements had never been acknowledged by the Seattle Police Department or the King County Medical Examiner’s office during the past 20+ years since Cobain’s deathCiesynski Report – Page 5
Ciesynski Report, Pg. 5. – Note: This appears to be the fifth page of this police report form. Although it reads – “Investigation” – the report is blank from that point on. This simply indicates to me that this report form can also be used for the purpose of reporting other crimes and incidents.
I see nothing noteworthy here. It was only included because it was part of the public documents release included with the pages added above.IN CONCLUSION
I have my personal opinion about how and when Kurt Cobain died, along with a short list of those who I believe were involved in causing his death.
As the private investigator embedded in this case before Cobain died as well as having direct involvement for seven months following his death, no one else has witnessed the events and heard the discussions that I have witnessed and heard. So I do have a right to my personal opinion.
However, I’ve never asked anyone to agree with me about the cause of Cobain’s death, even though on the surface, there appears to be much more evidence indicating homicide rather than suicide.
I’m simply asking everyone with an ounce of common sense, to please review this case closely, and with an open mind, considering all of the material posted above.
I believe it proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the investigation into Cobain’s death was first botched, then covered-up by the Seattle authorities.
Without realizing it, the Seattle police Department exposed more of the real truth behind the 1994 investigation into Cobain’s death than I’m sure they intended to reveal with this SPD sanctioned televised interview.
They also dug a hole far too deep for the Seattle authorities to climb back out.Therefore, the findings in the death of Kurt Cobain must be changed from “SUICIDE” to “UNDETERMINED.”
E-mail Tom: tomgrantpi@yahoo.com Individual questions cannot be answered through e-mail, but comments are always read and appreciated.Go to
Tom: tomgrantpi@yahoo.com Individual questions cannot be answered through e-mail, but comments are always read and appreciated.
An award-winning author is calling for the case of Kurt Cobain’s death to be reopened after claiming he has proof it was ‘scientifically impossible’ the singer died by suicide
An award-winning author believes he can prove Kurt Cobain was murdered (Image: Getty)
Kurt Cobain’s death rocked the world in 1994, but for some the verdict of suicide has simply never sat right.
Almost 30 years after the shocking news, a best-selling author is adamant he has the proof to finally show the icon was murdered.
Ian Halperin has studied the case for decades and is ready to reveal his findings with the world – including reports he says shows the singer had “70 times the lethal dose of heroin in his system” when he was found with a gunshot wound to the head in Seattle in April 1994.
Canadian-born Ian claims it would have been “scientifically impossible” for the star to have been able to even lift the gun, let alone pull the trigger for the fatal blow.
But even before Kurt’s death, Ian claims evidence shows the suicide note found at the scene wasn’t actually penned by the star.
Ian Halperin says his new book proves the Nirvana star was murdered (Image: Getty Images)
Speaking to The Mirror, Ian said he has had the note scrutinised by two top handwriting experts who both indicated the musician wasn’t the penman behind it.
“They [the experts] said the last five lines of the notes was the only part of the note to deal with suicide, but it wasn’t in Kurt’s handwriting,” he claimed.
“Even her [Courtney Love’s] own entertainment attorney says she didn’t believe Kurt Cobain wrote a suicide note. That’s like powerful.”
The death of Kurt Cobain shocked the world in 1994 (Image: FilmMagic)
It wasn’t just the note or cause of death that Ian is questioning, either. The author also threw suspicion at the coroner who provided the final verdict of suicide.
Saying he is the only person to have interviewed Dr Nikolas Hartshorne on camera, Ian continued: “So I went to his office, and I was stunned because there were Nirvana and Courtney Love posters all over his office, which I thought was bizarre.
“And then he admitted he did have a conflict of interest. He insinuated that he had dated Courtney in the past. And I said ‘you know, that is a bit strange, Dr Hartshorne. Shouldn’t you have recused yourself from such a high profile case for conflict of interest?’”
Ian claimed the doctor, who died in a base-jumping accident in 2002, did admit that maybe he should have recused himself from the case, saying the coroner had said he was maybe “presumptuous” in the verdict.
Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love and baby Frances Bean in 1993 (Image: Getty Images)
The author reiterates he is not accusing anyone of murder in his new book titled Case Closed: The Cobain Murder: The Killing And Cover Up of Kurt Cobain, but makes it clear he thinks he has “definitely proven it wasn’t suicide”.
He says the main reason behind his book, other than getting the original verdict overturned, is to stop the copycat suicides that have followed since Kurt’s death.
“My goal is just to deter the youth from further copycat suicides, but I do lay out the evidence, proving conclusively it wasn’t a suicide. It was definitely murder foul play
Read the full text of it here, and decide for yourself what happened to the Nirvana frontman.
There has been some controversy because one does not have to be an expert to notice the last lines are written in a different way than the rest of the note. Some claim the gross of the note was a note written by Cobain with no suicide intentions, and that the last lines were forged in order to make the note “a suicide letter”.
On April 8th, 1994, the Seattle Police Department made a copy of the note for the Cobain family. The real note was sent to the forensic document examiner of the Washington State Patrol, Janis J. Parker, who spent 2 weeks analyzing the sheet of paper.
That weekend, Tom Grant asked Cobain’s widow to see the copy of the note. Grant faxed the copy to his phone number, leaking the note to the media. As a result, the leaked note is a copy of a copy of the real note. On April 22nd, 1994 Parker determined that the note was written by Mr. Cobain. Since Grant was not satisfied with the results, in 1997 the television show “Unsolved Mysteries” asked expert Reginald Alton to analyze the leaked note. Alton said there was a suspicion of a second hand involved, but “the copies are not good enough to make any firm pronouncement”. As it was stated above, the real note (penned in red ink) is needed to complete the analysis.
The meaning of the note has been discussed too. Grant believes that the gross of the note was a retirement letter because Cobain shares how he felt like a rock star. However, Cobain not only expresses concerns about his career in the music business, but he also shares details of his family (wife and daughter) and of his persona (feeling hate and empathy towards all humans), information the casual Nirvana fan does not have to know to understand “a retirement letter”.
The following extract does not match the personality of a rational person who just wants to leave a job:
“Jesus man! Why don’t you just enjoy it? I don’t know. I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what I used to be. Full of love and joy kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can’t stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable self-destructive, death rocker that I’ve become.
I have it good, very good, and I’m grateful, but since the age of seven, I’ve become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along, and have empathy.
Empathy!
Only because I love and feel for people too much I guess“.
There are numerous possibilities to explain why there is a change in handwriting. For example, Cobain wrote the gross of the note while he was sober and added the suspicious lines while being intoxicated.
Another possibility is that given Cobain’s ambidextrously he changed his usual writing with the right hand to the left as a consequence, for example, of feeling pain in the right hand.
In conclusion, it can be said that the most rational option, for people who choose to believe in the reliability of pseudo-science, is to believe in what the only expert who has ever analyzed the real note determined.
AFTER ALL THE LIES AND INCONSISTENCIES PRIOR TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE BODY, MY FIRST QUESTION WHEN I READ THE NOTE WAS,
“DID KURT WRITE THIS?”
IT TOOK SOME TIME TO BE SURE, BUT I EVENTUALLY DETERMINED HE DID. I BELIEVE HE WROTE THE WHOLE THING, WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF THE LINE AT THE END WHICH READS, “WHICH WILL BE SO MUCH HAPPIER WITHOUT ME.
” UPON CLOSE EXAMINATION, THE THICKNESS OF THE LINE PRINT IN THESE WORDS,
(ON THE COPY I MADE FROM COURTNEY’S FAX MACHINE),
APPEARS TO BE THINNER THAN THE LINE PRINT IN THE REST OF THE NOTE. THIS MAY INDICATE A DIFFERENT WRITING INSTRUMENT, LESS PEN PRESSURE, OR A DIFFERENT “WRITER” ALTOGETHER. SEVERAL HANDWRITING EXPERTS HAVE EXAMINED THIS LETTER AND THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT THESE LAST WORDS DIFFER. AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, THIS “ADDED LINE” THEORY IS NOT A CRITICAL ISSUE.
THERE’S A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE TO PROVE KURT WAS LEAVING COURTNEY. HER CONSTANT VERBAL ABUSE AND CRITICISM HAD CONVINCED HIM HE WAS A BAD INFLUENCE ON HIS DAUGHTER. IF HE DID WRITE THIS LINE, HE WAS SIMPLY INDICATING HE THOUGHT FRANCES WOULD BE BETTER OFF AWAY FROM WHAT HE PERCEIVED TO BE HIS “BAD INFLUENCE.
” COULD IT HAVE BEEN A “SUICIDE” NOTE?
I WASN’T SURE AT FIRST. BUT AS I REVIEWED MY NOTES, STUDIED THE CASE, AND CONTINUED GATHERING INFORMATION OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS WHILE WORKING WITH COURTNEY, I CONCLUDED WITH COMPLETE CONFIDENCE, THIS WAS NOT A “SUICIDE” NOTE. THIS WAS A NOTE TO KURT’S FANS EXPLAINING HIS DECISION TO QUIT THE MUSIC BUSINESS, TO STOP TOURING AND TO STOP PERFORMING. READ THE CONTENTS CAREFULLY.
HERE WAS A GUY WHO CARED ABOUT HIS FANS. HERE WAS A GUY WITH COMPASSION. HE HAD A DRUG HABIT, HE HAD SOME FLAWS, BUT HE SEEMED TO CARE ABOUT OTHERS MORE THAN HE CARED ABOUT HIMSELF.
IS THIS A LETTER FROM A SELF-CENTERED FATHER WHO HAD NO CONCERN FOR HIS DAUGHTER? DOES THIS SOUND LIKE SOMEONE WHO DIDN’T CARE ABOUT THE IMAGES HE’D BE LEAVING HIS LITTLE GIRL — IMAGES OF VIOLENCE AND PHYSICAL DESTRUCTION THAT FRANCES WOULD BE FORCED TO VISUALIZE THE REST OF HER LIFE WHENEVER SHE THOUGHT ABOUT HER DAD?
ARE THESE OBSERVATIONS ALONE PROOF THAT KURT COBAIN DID NOT COMMIT SUICIDE? NO. JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT AS YOU TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS ON KURT’S MIND WHEN HE WROTE THIS LETTER
COURTNEY TOOK ME UPSTAIRS WHERE WE SAT ON HER BED AND TALKED. SINCE SHE WOULDN’T EVEN LET HER CLOSE FRIEND AND ATTORNEY, ROSEMARY CARROL, SEE THE SUICIDE NOTE, I HAD TO COME UP WITH A WAY TO GET A COPY FOR MYSELF FOR CLOSER EXAMINATION. “I HEARD YOU READ THE NOTE ON TV THE OTHER DAY,” I TOLD HER. “I WAS CONFUSED ABOUT SOMETHING. IT SOUNDED LIKE THE NOTE SAID, “I’M LYING HERE ON THE BED…” IF KURT WAS LYING ON THE BED WHEN HE WROTE THE NOTE, WHY WAS THE BED WAS SO NEAT WHEN I CAME IN HERE THE OTHER NIGHT? IT DIDN’T LOOK LIKE ANYONE HAD BEEN ON THIS BED.” “NO, TOM, I WAS LYING ON THE BED,” COURTNEY ANSWERED AND REPEATED, “I WAS LYING ON THE BED RECORDING THE MESSAGE TO KURT’S FANS.” “ARE YOU SURE THAT’S WHAT YOU SAID? ” I ASKED. “I GOT THE IMPRESSION IT WAS KURT SAYING HE WAS LYING ON THE BED.” “NO. HERE, I’LL SHOW YOU,” SHE SAID, AND REACHED OVER TO RETRIEVE A FOLDED PAPER FROM UNDER A PILLOW. HANDING ME THE NOTE, COURTNEY POINTED OUT, “IT’S ONLY A COPY. THE POLICE HAVE THE ORIGINAL.” I STUDIED THE NOTE AS IF LOOKING FOR THE PHRASE IN QUESTION, THEN REMARKED, “I CAN’T READ THIS WITHOUT MY GLASSES. CAN I GO DOWNSTAIRS AND MAKE A COPY ON YOUR FAX MACHINE? I’LL LOOK AT IT LATER.” “YEAH…SURE,” COURTNEY MUMBLED AS HER EYES DROPPED OUT OF AN ICY STARE. WHEN I CAME BACK UP, !”WOULD YOU WAIT DOWNSTAIRS, TOM?” SHE SNAPPED. A FEW MINUTES EARLIER SHE WAS FRIENDLY–NOW SHE SEEMED IRRITATED! AS YOU TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS ON KURT’S MIND WHEN HE WROTE THIS LETTER.
ROSEMARY & TOM INVESTIGATE
Rosemary contacted private investigator Tom Grant soon after Cobain’s death to make a bombshell claim, which he recorded and revealed in 2015 documentary Soaked in Bleach. During the private phone call, Tom asked:
“How do you feel about the note?” “I don’t think he wrote it,” Rosemary replied. “I feel the same way I felt when I read it. He didn’t write it.
Kurt Cobain’s lawyer believed he didn’t write his suicide note One of the biggest issues conspiracy theorists have with Cobain’s suicide note are the last four lines. Those lines
– according to Mr Grant –
are the parts that make it a suicide note. He claims the majority of the document reads as a letter announcing that Cobain is leaving his wife and retiring from the music business. It is not until the final section that the implication of suicide is mentioned.
Mysteriously, the handwriting in the last section appears different from anywhere else in the document. Handwriting expert Reginald Alton compared copies of Cobain’s handwriting to a copy of the note for series Unexplained Mysteries. In a five-page report, he found “more than a dozen discrepancies” between the last four lines and Cobain’s own writing. It led him to believe a second hand was at work, further fuelling the conspiracy fire that the singer was killed. And it is not just the suicide note that has been the subject of inspection by theorists
School Award
Hosptial Bracelet
Birth Cert
Family History
Baby Kurt
Kurt & Xmas
Young Kurt
Kurt & Santa
Kurt 93
COBAINFILES 
