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The Death Of Kurt Cobain, 17 Years Later
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 5, 2011
Modified Apr 5, 2011
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 5, 2011
Modified Apr 5, 2011
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Had Kurt Cobain made it through his first Saturn return and not taken his own life at 27 years old, he would be 44 now. Alas, on this day in 1994—seventeen years ago—he died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound (though to be sure, if the Grunge Era had a Truther conference, it would be about the Cobain suicide). Some Cobain talking points from today:
- A sculpture honoring the memory of Cobain has been installed in a Washington state park next to the Young Street Bridge to observe the anniversary—it's a large concrete guitar.
- Every year since his death a group of artists have presented "The Smell of Teen Spirit," a live theater project commemorating his death and the "impossibility of his suicide."
- A theater troupe in Chicago is also working on a new production about Cobain's life, death and legacy, titled "Verse Chorus Verse."
- Take a look back at the Rolling Stone cover story on Cobain.
- And of course, there's always more talk about a biopic.
We revisited Cobain's death on this anniversary two years ago, so today we'll just look back at the music—some videos below.
What MTV looked like the afternoon his body was found, April 8th:
If you didn't take the Path to Maxwells in 1989 for Nirvana's show there, experience it now:
The famous Unplugged session, filmed in New York:
A concert in New York, early 1994:
Kathleen Hanna talks about her friend Kurt Cobain, covers "Smells Like Teen Spirit":
There are plenty more videos on Nirvana's YouTube channel.
Tagged
anniversary
death
kurt cobain
suicide
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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