Kurt Cobain

On April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain, the enigmatic lead singer of Seattle's successful grunge-era band Nirvana, took his own life. I can't believe it was 15 years ago today because it still feels like just yesterday that my little teen self was trying to process this terrible news. I listed Nevermind as one of my favorite albums of all time in part because "Smells Like Teen Spirit" seemingly came out of nowhere to capture all my adolescent angst in one song.

Many of Cobain's lyrics seemed nonsensical or hard to decipher but there was something about the raw emotion in his voice that hit a global nerve. After only three years in the spotlight his death unleashed a shock wave that reverberates to this day.

Do you remember where you were when this news broke? How did his music affect you?

After the jump I've included some of my favorite performances by the band on MTV's Unplugged. Rocking out to Nirvana is good times, but there was something so stunning about the band's stripped down Unplugged performance, I thought it would be an appropriate way to look back. To watch, read more

Wait! Before you play this video close your eyes. I bet you can recite not only the lyrics but exactly what Kurt Cobain wore in this video. If you can't, Marc Jacobs certainly can. After all, this was the look that spawned his infamous "grunge collection" for Perry Ellis in 1992. Ironically, he was soon dismissed from the house — no matter, he obviously found his path. But back to Kurt. You know the look: striped shirt over long sleeve tee, dirty jeans, beat up Chucks and dirty cardigans. Oh, and don't forget the flannels! It was the anti-fashion look that made fashion history. Kurt was a singular sensation.

When first I heard of this project to turn the Kurt Cobain biography Heavier Than Heaven into a biopic at the urging of Courtney Love, it was in conjunction with Ewan McGregor's name as the actor who might be taking on the role of the Nirvana frontman. Recently the project acquired a production company, so it's definitely happening. But McGregor's name is nowhere to be found.

Instead, there are reports that James McAvoy might be the man who plays the troubled Cobain, a suggestion that I find bizarre. I love McAvoy as an actor and I think he's adorable, but to play Kurt Cobain? He'd make a very elfin grunge rocker, in my opinion.

What do you think about this news? Should McAvoy be cast? Should Ewan McGregor be cast? Should anyone be playing Kurt Cobain in the first place?

McAvoy photo source

Happy 16th birthday, floating Nirvana baby! Otherwise known as Spencer Elden, this boy will forever be known to many as the underwater baby on the cover of Nirvana's album Nevermind.

According to an interview Elden did with NME in 2006, he's a fan of Nirvana, saying "Most bands around today can't even get near to what Nirvana did on that album, and I'll always be happy to be a part of it." It's a good thing this kid grew up to like Nirvana. Imagine if he didn't?

I wasn't all that old when Nevermind came out, but it's still jarring to see the teenage version of a baby I thought would forever be floating nakedly toward that dollar bill, and possibly drowning a little. In honor of this momentous occasion, I'm going to go listen to "Lithium" and see if I can't dredge up some leftover angst.

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Courtney Love spent time with Kimberly Stewart at Coachella this weekend showing off her new body. Looks like she's going to be pretty busy once she gets back to LA as well. She told Spinner.com that she's planning to sell off Kurt Cobain's belongings, twelve years after his suicide in 1994. Here's more:

"I'm going to have a Christie's auction....[My house] is like a mausoleum."

"My daughter doesn't need to inherit a giant Hefty bag full of flannel f---ing shirts," Love says. "A sweater, a guitar and the lyrics to '[Smells Like] Teen Spirit' – that's what my daughter gets. And the rest of it we'll just f---ing sell."

According to Love, her friends are supportive of the idea. "Everyone's been positive and behind me on it," she says. "We'll make a lot of money and give a bunch of it to charity."

Even though it's been twelve years, it's still pretty surprising that she would sell most of his stuff. Hopefully it's a sign that she's moving on with her life, in a healthy way of course. She isn't letting him go completely, however, she says she still wears his pajamas to bed every night!

For more pics of Courtney just read more

Clown reminiscent make-up aside, Courtney Love seems to want to get her act together, but somehow her past keeps catching up with her. An upcoming biography of Nirvana details the crazy drama of the day that her daughter, Francis Bean, was born. It's disturbing, to say the least. Page Six reports:

In "Nirvana - The Biography," author Everett True describes how Cobain and Love both ended up at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. within days of each other in August 1992 - the grunge rocker checking in for a 60-day heroin detox stint and Love, a few days later, for complications arising from her pregnancy.

Two weeks into his stay, Love found herself about to go into labor. According to True: "Courtney - never one to miss an opportunity for drama - grabbed her intravenous drip stand at 4 in the morning, and wheeled it down the corridors to where Kurt was staying. 'You get out of out of this bed and come down now!' she screamed. 'You are not leaving me to do this by myself, [bleep] you!'

"Her husband followed her to the delivery room - weakened from his treatment, and hooked up to an IV stand himself - and passed out just moments before Frances was born." Then things got even weirder when, as Courtney related to True, "I'm having the baby, it's coming out, [Kurt's] puking, he's passing out and I'm holding his hand and rubbing his stomach while the baby's coming out."

Dear lord, how has Francis Bean ended up as grounded as she seems? Honestly, I would understand any level of instability from her, but she seems to be a relatively normal teenager. Well, we suppose someone's got to keep Courtney in check.

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