The death of Kurt Cobain has become by now a fundamental anniversary in pop culture, being known and remembered by far more people than those who heard his music.
And like with many other public figures who have equally become almost universally known after their deaths, a good deal of Cobain’s fame comes from his death itself: on April 8, 1994, the media broadcasted that the singer had been found dead in his residence in Seattle, Washington, and the whole world went crazy.
Cobain, who had reached fame as the songwriter, guitarist, and frontman of the rock band Nirvana (one of the most influential bands in their genre and one of the most commercially successful ones in history, with over seventy-five million records sold), is still today remembered, as was his shocking and sudden death.
Keep reading as we revise ten facts and conspiracies on his drug-and-angst-fueled death.
10 /10 The Sad Sound Of Grunge
In exploring the background of his suicide, it must be noted how much of the success of Cobain and his band came, in fact, from exploring the themes of disillusion, depression, and overall sense of pointlessness in life, as is most apparent in their first big hit: “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
The aesthetic movement of grunge, with which he was thoroughly associated, explores these themes through art, though never fully resolves them. In many ways, it is (and was throughout his life) a cry for help.
9 /10 Cobain's Family History
His family history was an equally strong call of attention, in perspective. At the time of his suicide, Cobain became the third person in his family to take his own life through the use of guns: two of his uncles had died in the same way.
A cousin of his and mental health professional, Beverly Cobain, explained in an interview: “It’s my observation that the Cobain men had painfully low self-esteem, and used alcohol to relieve their inhibitions.”
In the case of Kurt, his substance abuse came under the form of drug addiction.