For our modern day hero we used the singer and songwriter Kurt Cobain from theband Nirvana. This punk Seattle band moved almost mainstream almost overnight.
Nirvana caught on fast and changed rock and roll music forever and molded themusic of the 90s, alternative. Cobain had an enormous amount of talent butunfortunately his life was cut short by a still controversial suicide in hisSeattle home. On April 9, 1994, his body was discovered. He is a hero for manyof todays troubled youth because his music influences how these troubled kidsfeel. They are able relate to Cobain and his music. Kurt Cobain was born in1967. He lived with his sister and parents two hundred miles away from Seattlein the small logging town of Aberdine. His aunt, who helped him form his firstband, introduced him to music at a very young age. His parents divorced whenKurt was only seven years old. Torn up by his parents divorce, he went tolive with his mother in a trailer. After the divorce, Kurt was forced to look athis life in a different light. Kurt became extremely anti-social, had fewfriends, and was picked on in school because kids thought he was gay or weird.
Kurt started writing poetry at the age of thirteen, and when he was 14, hereceived his first guitar. Throughout high school he was in many bands- FecalMatter, Skid Row, Brown Cow, The Sellouts and Pencap Chew. He formed Nirvanaduring his senior year of high school with his friends Chris Novoselic and DaveGrohl who Kurt called “the worlds best drummer.” Shortly after the bandwas formed, Kurt dropped out of high school, and his mother kicked him out ofthe house. Homeless, he lived under a bridge at the end of his street. It washere that he would spend time alone writing his own songs. From his parentsdivorce to his mother pushing him out of the house, Kurt had become even morealienated from other people and life. He was very detached. Kurt hated the musicof big rock bands like the Sex Pistols, Rolling Stones and Aerosmith. He felttheir lyrics were sexist and pointless with no meaning. Kurt was a verysensitive and emotional person, a characteristic that showed through all of hissongs. Eventually he became so famous that he a cult following. The songsexemplified the kids world. In the song “Dumb” Kurt sings, “I thinkIm dumb” over and over again to show how his years of neglect from hispeers at high school and his family made him feel as if he was to blame. Kidsrelate to his music because it portrays how the world was so cruel and how heand the kids were treated badly. He was responsible for the most creativerock music of the last decade. Kurt didnt have to hide behind face paint orwear tight clothes to grab attention as the other rock stars. He wore flannelsand jeans, something that every other kid wore, and he wasnt ashamed by it.
In one song “Come As You Are” Kurt sings “Come as you are as I want you tobe.” He wanted to show the youth that they dont have to follow the crowdand do something someone else wants them to do to fit in. Every modernalternative song has a tint of “Nirvanaism” in it. Just like bands thatfollowed the Beatles, many groups that followed Cobain tried to sound or copyhis same music pattern. In his music he didnt communicate in completesentences or elaborate arguments. Instead his lyrics were a stream of consciousinsights that inspired and appealed to the short attention span of his audience.
We picked Kurt Cobain as a hero because he is different than the conventionalhero who just goes out and saves lives. Kurt was an emotional leader for thetroubled youth, and he gave them a place to escape from a life that was hard tolive. His music gave them a hideaway from the harsh realities of the real world.
All they had to do was listen, and they felt instant relief because they knewthat not only they felt the way they did. They could relate to Kurt and hisfragile emotions. In the song “Rape Me” Kurt sings; “Rape me, my friend.
Rape me again. I’m not the only one. Hate me. Do it and do it again. Waste me.
Taste me, my friend. My favorite inside source, I’ll kiss your open sores.
Appreciate your concern. You’ll always stink and burn.” This shows how hebelieved society took advantage of him because he was weak and emotional. Thesekids relate to Kurt. Kurt once said that he would rather be in pain than fame.
His words and music make him a modern day hero.
