April 5

Today is the 16th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. Cobain's life and work has been romanticized, and subsequently under rated, by fans and detractor's ever since his passing. Like all polarizing opinions, the truth lies somewhere in between. Cobain was no genius. He wrote four chord alternative rock, squealed out noisy atonal guitar solos, and struggled to remember the words that he mumbled during live performances...and yet, he changed music forever. Cobain (and of course let's not forget his amazing band mates, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl), found a perfect medium between avant garde outrageousness, and perfect pop structures. He successfully sponged up all of his influences, and squeezed out a style that no one has been able to duplicate.  His contribution to rock history is indispensable.

An important thing to remember about Kurt Cobain personality wise, is that he wasn't all doom and gloom - the persona of a tortured artist. personally, one of the things I always loved about the man was his sense of humor and outlook on life. Here's a clip of one of my favorite Nirvana interview where Cobain can be seen cradling new born Frances Bean as they talk about touring, the MTV Video Music Awards, making amends with Eddie Vedder, and a rather funny account on a run in with Axl Rose.