Edition n. 01
Kurt Cobain A PRETTY SOUL, A MESSY MIND
Personal Life Cobain’s diary investigation Grunge and adrogynious style What makes Nirvana earn fans until nowadays What do young people say about him
All about Kurt BIOGRAPHY Cobain’s childhood, behaviours, family, favorite artists and the beginning
PERSONALITY
of his talent for music.
How his parents’ divorce influenced in his way of
page 03
thinking and acting and how this reflected in his lyrics of Nirvana’s songs.
page 06
INTERVIEWS What people think about
GRUNGE SCENE & FASHION
Kurt Cobain’s influence in
A little bit of Cobain’s style,
music and fashion scenes
the relation between grunge
in the 90’s and why he
and fashion, and designers
became an icon.
who got inspired by him.
page 07
BEHIND HIS DIARY & RELATIONSHIP An overview of his diary and drawings by professionals and his relationship with Courtney Love.
page 13
page 11
“I rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not�. - Kurt Cobain
From a loved baby to a
frustrated teenager
K
urt Cobain was the first grandchild of the family. Borned in Aberdeen, on Feb-
ruary 20th of 1967, he grew up in a lower-middle-class family, in which his father, Donald Leland Cobain, was an automotive mechanic and his mother, Wendy Elizabeth, a waitress. His younger sister, Kimberly, borned on April 24th, 1970. As a child, he was always happy and excitable and, also, used to exhibit sensitive and care. Since from the early age, he showed some talent for arts, as he loved to draw his favorite cartoons , like Creature from the Black Lagoon and Donald Duck. His
grandmother,
Iris
Cobain,
has
encour-
aged his talent on drawings - as she was a professional veloping
artist herself. Kurt began de-
interest
in
music
in
early
life.
His family musical background might have been inspired him to get to know instruments - his uncle, Chuck Fradenburg, played in a band called “The Beachcombers; his aunt, Mari Earle, played guitar and performed in bands around Grays Har-
Kurt Donald Cobain at the age of 5. Credits: Fanpop.com
FAVORITE ARTISTS As he started singing from early ages, Kurt got inspired in some bands and specific musics, like the Ramones and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Among the songs he used to sing, there are Arlo Gurthie’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 Monkees.
PARENTS’ DIVORCE
bor Country. Also, his great-uncle, Delbert, was
When Kurt was 9 years old, his parents
an irish tenor who made an appearance in the
got divorced. What wasn’t exactly a “perfect
1930 film, “King of Jazz”.According to Mari, Kurt
family”, has got worse when this happened.
begin singing when he was about two years old.
As Kurt was always a kid that wished an intact
At the age four, he started playing the pianno and
family, this event became traumatic for him,
sing, writting a song about a trip to a local park.
which made him feel shamed, desperate
and feeling the hard sense of abandonment. According to the psychiatry Robert Berezin, author of the article “Reflections on ‘Montage of Heck’: The Life and Art of Kurt Cobain”, his psychological problems continued to degenerate after their parents’ split.
Kurt were forced to been shuttled among various family members. At first, his mother
chose an abusive relationship over him and kicked Kurt out of her house. After that, he went to live with his father, who soon got married again, making Kurt “earn” siblings he used to torture. Because of that, his father kicked him out as well. He then went to live with a big number of relatives, occasionally his mother and sister and, later, with his first girlfriend, Tracy Marander. Because he felt
that nothing was
stable, he start-
ed
smoking
juana when he was
a
mari-
teenager.
At
drinking
and
the age of thirteen,
he was actively
suicidal.
he was small, he
got humiliated and
ridiculed
at
school, another rea-
son that makes
him grew old revolt-
ed
with
and
filled
Because
hatred.
He soon dropped
out of high school
and
cided to live with
then
de-
Tracy, who was
not
only
friend but, also,
kind
of
er for him. At
the same time he
started
hard for the mu-
working
a a
girlmoth-
sic scene, he got deeper into drugs, like acid and, later, heroin - that he started in 1986. When he got into the grunge scene with Nirvana’s band, soon his lyrics became a suc cess for the reason that they were very strong, deep and, mainly, truth. not the only strongholds for him; he also used to write in his diary, where he vented out all his thoughts about life, in text and draws. “Journals”, by the way, is a publication of all the pages of his diary and a good way to analyse his psychological issues and how he faced situations in his life. There it is easy to figure out how insecure, shame and aggressive he got over time.
“A friend is nothing but a known enemy� - Kurt Cobain.
The top of his insecurity and depression happened during his relation-
ship with Courtney Love, which people considered it was his most intense and turbulent relation. Because he has got frustrated with his parent’s divorce, Kurt always wished to have a real family - which clearly doesn’t include splits or betraying.
So, over the years, when Kurt has suspected about a cheating from part of Courtney,
his insecurities and depression just got deeper and deeper and so his addiction to heroine. According to the psychiatrist from USA, Robert Berezin, who has analysed the musician’s personality through the documentary film Montage of Heck, “Kurt was filled with self-hate, shame and self-attack. His shame would lead him to live in degradation and filth. This was consonant with his inner sense of himself. It would lead him to numb his pain with drugs, As it turns out the specific drug that numbs out the aggression of self hate is heroin (...)”. So
if Kurt was into develop a revolted mind initially because of his tempera-
ment, the fact of his parents’ split got this much worse. To Robert, he was naturally
“My lyrics are a big pale of contradictions” - Kurt Cobain in “Journals”.
Still
holding
Robert’s
analy-
sis, “Kurt lived the extreme of a tormented life. In his own beautiful and ugly way, he sacrificed himself for us through his art. He was pure in it. He didn’t hold back. Kurt suffered in his life from the consequence of emotional deprivation and abuse. I have tried to describe why Kurt had four strikes against him and he couldn’t find his way home”. ˜(...) His squalor and drug use could have potentially been dealt with his shame and self hatred, his inability for feeling is such a tragedy not of his own making (...)”.
KURT COBAIN
Grunge
Sometimes refered as the Seatle sound, grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the middle 80's in the American state of Washington particularly, in Seattle.
WHAT IS GRUNGE?
EARLY GRUNGE MOVEMENT It happened around Seatle's Independent record label "Sub Pop", by 1990's, but became more popular with 'grunge acts' in California and other parts of the U.S.A., building strong followings. GRUNGE IN ATTITUDE OR PRINCIPLES Strive for apathy and underachievement; Act like you don't care, even if you do; Usually have cynical and negative outlooks upon life; Respect woman and reject jocks. GRUNGE IN STYLE Became commercially successfull in the first half of the 1990's, due to the release of Nirvana's "Nevermind" álbum and some other bands that boosted the popularity of the alternative rock and made grunge the most popular form of hard rock music. The "Grunge Era" is usually considered to be from 1990 1996.
How Cobain became an icon A
fter some decades in which most of fashion
icons were female, Kurt Cobain suddenly became a huge reference for the grunge style. The musician, who died 21 years ago in April, was not only the epicenter of grunge, but also an inspiration for young people and for those who feel identified by his political views - for example, the feminism movement. But it is not only about destroyed jeans and plaid’s shirts: Cobain pulled liberally from both ends of a woman’s and a man’s clothes. He could wear a jeans and a t-shirt in the same comfortable way he could put on a floral dress with some dark make up. This kind of “teasing fashion behaviour” was, for sure, the starting point for him to get highlighted, once it was completely aesthetic of the 1980’s style in most of ways. This way of dressing made him softened the though exterior of the archetypal rebel from the inside out and placed the point in motion for a radical idea of androgyny.
“Wearing a dress shows I can be as feminine as I want”. - Kurt Cobain
According to Alex Frank, editor at The Fader, “Kurt Cobain was the antithesis of the macho American man. He was an avowed feminist and confronted gender politics in his lyrics. At a time when body-conscious silhouette was the defining look, he made it cooler to look slouchy and loose, no matter if you were a boy or a girl. And I think the still represents a romantic ideal for a lot of women”.
GRUNGE IN CATWALKS Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis in 1992 was the first
It is interesting how even some of the hair’s mod-
one who’s got inspired by Kurt Cobain in a cat-
els made reference to Cobain’s appearance, which
walk collection, using plaid prints in unassum-
shows that his style could even inspire girls, too.
ing outfits. The androgynous silhouette was
Raf Simons also created an entire series of blos-
quite a highlighted reference that season, rep-
soming prints for the menswear collection for spring
resented by large jeans pants and t-shirts.
2014, all inspired by floral prints and dresses used by
In an unabashed ode to grunge, Heidi Slimane
Cobain. The hook in Cobain’s style, afterall, must be
created superluxurious renditions of tattered
both genres represented in the same look: boys and
mohair sweaters for Saint Laurent fall 2013 col-
girls. He sure made “being freak and androgynous”
lection, plaid male shirts used with short dress-
something not only acceptable, but also a trend.
es,
with
Perry Ellis 1992
also
provocative
transparencies.
Saint Laurent fall 2013
Raf Simons spring 2014
“La fièvre Grunge” Pictures from Vogue Paris September 2013 issue, that shows an editorial in grunge style. It shows Saint Laurent looks, by Heidi Slimane, with wool oversized chemises, lace dresses and fur coat by Moschino. Editorial by Emmanuelle Alt.
WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT HIM...
An inquiry was made on Facebook asking people to vote, from 1 to 5, about how much they consider themselves fans of punk rock, Nirvana and Kurt Cobain and how much do they think the musician was relevant for music and fashion scenes in the 90's. Let's take a look at the answers in graphics and some other comments. by Marceli Paulino
MALE/FEMALE?
FROM 1 TO 5, HOW MUCH ARE YOU FAN OF ROCK/PUNK ROCK MUSIC?
GRAPHICS & INTERVIEWS
FROM 1 TO 5, HOW MUCH DO YOU LIKE KURT COBAIN?
FROM 1 TO 5, HOW MUCH DO YOU CONSIDER COBAIN HAS INFLUENCED MUSIC AND FASHION SCENES IN THE 90'S?
INTERVIEWS: HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE COBAIN IN THREE WORDS? "Young, grunge and depressive" Beatriz Amano, Chanel Analyst at UOL Brazil. "Young, grunge and rebel" Augusto Paz, Marketing Analyst at Dafiti.
FROM 1 TO 5, HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT NIRVANA BAND?
"Icon, eccentric and transgressor" Isabela Serafim, journalist at ELLE Brazil. "Rebel, controversial and inspiring" Mario Queiroz, brazilian designer. "Famous, person with attitude and rebel" Marina Godoy, Content Analyst at "Beleza na Web". "Androgynous, young and intense" Rodrigo Rosner, brazilian designer.
Behind Cobain’s diary and songs “Kurt was an active, impulsive and unrestrained person. His early drawings, which were
a
constant all throughout his life, shows conflict and uncertainty”.
“He was filled with self-hate, shame
and
self-attack.
shame
would
lead
him
His to
live in degradation and filth (...). It would lead him to numb his pain with drugs”.
“Narcissists are easily injured and hurt. When he felt ridiculed, abandoned or jealous it threw him into despair, anguish and range”.
“He and Courtney Love lived a life of heroin squalor, filth and disorder. When he overdosed, he didn’t care about even his young daughter.
“Those draws represent aggressiveness
With his suicide, his only concern, tragically,
and express a rebel behaviour in rela-
was to end his pain, with no thoughts of others”.
tion to the system (...). It also shows a
Dr. Arlete Nunes, brazilian psychologist from Metodista University and Dr. Robert Berezin, psychiatrist at Cambridge Hospital, USA.
depressive remain and insecurity feeling. He used to see the world in a darkness way and to look for his self-identity”.
Kurt &
Courtney Dividing opinions over the years, since they have started a relationship, Courtney Love has either lovers and haters around the rock music scene. But one thing is definitely truth: their relation was intense and remarkable, not only for Courtney, who still remembers about it in her social medias, but for all Cobain’s fans, too. Montage of Heck, the most recent documentary about the musician, showed a lot of their intimicy and everyday life and, also, brought up the “cheating” subject that was speculated since Cobain died. When she was asked about that, she was emphatic, even in the film: “I thought about cheating on him, but I didn’t. I loved him”. As Cobain always wished a perfect family, once he didn’t have one when he was a kid, he couldn’t even think about a situation that would lead him to feel cheated or even jealous. While some people feel enchanted about the fact that the former couple had a baby, Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter who is 23 years old nowadays, faces the situation as she was kind of a “fix-it-baby”. She also feels injury about the fact her father took his own life and doesn’t have Nirvana as one of her favorite bands, not even listens to their musics.
“Even though Kurt died in the most horrific way possible, there is this mythology and romanticism that surrounds him, because he is 27 forever”, she said to The Daily Mail UK. “I always knew that their relationship was toxic. And I don’t promote having a fixit-baby, which is what I was: to fix their problems”, she concludes. Some haters would definitely say Courtney was responsible for Cobain’s death, for cheating on him and making he feel so depressive that it leads him to take his own life. Others would even say she has planned to kill him to get the fame and fortune only for her. On the other hand, Courtney seems to have lots of fans though,
that it seems a way some fans of Cobain might found to remember him, when looking at her. Once she was essencial in his life, mainly emotionally, it is almost impossible to talk about one without bringing up the other in the same subject. Superficially or deeply, they were the punk rock couple stereotype of the 90’s.
“Frances and Courtney, I’ll be at your altar. Please keep going Courtney, for Frances. for her life will be so much happier without me. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU”.