Cultural Curation For The 30th Anniversary of Kurt Cobain's Death
Some must reads, must listens, and a must view.
Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death. I’m kind of surprised how few outlets I saw talking about this in some manner, but then again, perhaps I was simply not seeing it in my feed since it’s algorithms that determine our experiences anymore. It could likely be a bit of both, since a cursory Google shows me stories from many major sources.
I was too young to understand this in the moment. I don’t even remember it at all–In 1994, I was 10, so not quite engaged with music in the way I would be just a couple of years later and I was definitely not yet watching MTV (I did buy my first cassette tape in 1994, Ace of Base’s “The Sign”). But Cobain and Nirvana were huge influences not only on the 90s music–grunge bookended that decade of an incredibly changing landscape of genre and industry more broadly. The influences were undeniable as I grew into music and are still unavoidable. That’s a compliment, not a critique.
We cannot ignore that Cobain’s death also elevated a lot of conversations about women and the role women have in the “downfall” of male stars. Courtney Love was blamed for Cobain taking his life and to some, still is to this day. It’s hard not to ask how of the Courtney-Kurt conversation aligned with those had about the rule of Yoko Ono and the Beatles? Probably quite a bit.* Of course, Cobain’s death by suicide also brought up conversation about mental health, but not necessarily in a way that was supported by statistics nor by our better knowledge now, 30 years later.
This was also a prime time when women being pit against women was escalating in the media. We’d see the Tonya and Nancy story become the fuel for the 24-hour news cycle just two years later. It would be a story about the nastiness of women, with little time or attention then to the men behind it.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death, I thought I’d pull together some interesting listens and reads. My background and knowledge being YA, the two books are YA titles. Certainly there are dozens of other books and titles, but I’m sticking to two I’ve read and that will resonate–especially for readers for whom this event was such a tremendous moment of pop culture intersecting with personal history.
Reading
Amy Reed’s The Boy and Girl Who Broke The World is maybe her weirdest book, in part because it broke from her earlier book in terms of style–it’s more like a Shaun David Hutchinson read alike in style than, say, Ellen Hopkins or Courtney Summers. That’s not judging one as better than the other but rather to give a sense of the genre-defying elements here.
This is a book about a boy named Billy and a girl named Lydia who are best friends and living in a small town with a bizarre high school setup. It’s a look at poverty and small town politics, as well as what happens when you grow up in a community known for being the setting of a popular book series (a la Twilight) and the town where a young, famous musician was born (a la Kurt Cobain). You’ll be there as the end of Cobain’s life story plays out and the role it has on the town and its sense of identity.
The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley is currently out of print but being reissued in October and for good reason. With 90s nostalgia and settings once again being popular in YA, it makes sense to bring this gem back. In this book, Maggie's mother remarries a man named Colm, and they -- along with her younger sister Ronnie -- move to Bray, a small town in Ireland. It's a lonely time in a new place for Maggie, but she's buoyed by her uncle Kevin's letters and packages, as well as by the boy she's run into who she can't keep her eyes off of. For a short time, there's her new friend Aine, but it's not a great friendship, since Aine has little interest in Maggie as a person, but in Maggie as a way to spend time with her boyfriend Paddy. Maggie’s life is upended with an unexpected death in the family, and as a result, she’s given a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Nirvana in Italy. She takes it–and what we as readers see is that this story is about family, about relationships, and ultimately, about how music is powerful. There’s tremendous power in a concert, where you’re simultaneously there to see a band and have your own experience while also enjoying that experience with a crowd of others.
Listening
I’ve talked here several times about the podcast History of the 90s, and there’s a two parter that’s a must listen about the rise of grunge music. Here’s part one and here’s part two.
Related to the above podcast–and what actually inspired my wanting to put this post together–was this one from Uncharted on the conspiracy theories related to Cobain having been murdered.
I know I’ve raved about Rob Harvilla’s podcast 60 Songs That Explain the 90s, too. This episode on “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is with the one and only Courtney Love as guest host and it gives you such a different perspective on the song, on Nirvana, and Kurt himself.
You’re Wrong About dives into the idea of “copycat suicides,” and contextualizes that conversation with Cobain’s death.
Viewing
Vice TV put together a fascinating docuseries a few years back called The Dark Side of the 90s. There’s a great episode there called “Grunge and the Seattle Sound.” When the episode released, I remember there being a way to legally watch it for free with a limited time pass. I cannot seem to track that down anymore. Maybe you can watch through one of the streamers that pop up as an option or you choose to hit Google/YouTube and find it in another way.
This is my favorite Nirvana song, if you’re wondering:
Notes
These kinds of posts are rewarding for me as a writer since they let me highlight tons of things I engage with in an organized manner. Pulling all of these separate experienced together with a central theme is so satisfying. I hope it is for you, too. If you work in libraries or schools and are looking for resources for a display or social media posts, feel free to utilize these resources.
There is a fuller length post going up tomorrow that does something similar. It’s longer and meatier and surprisingly tied thematically, even if that was far from intentional. Two newsletters in one week isn’t my norm, so it’s likely I won’t publish again for a bit. But who knows! I’m in this weird state of limbo about where and how I want to pursue this space since it’s been such a freeing and creatively exciting one.
Right now, something funky is going on with Substack’s alt-text (and it’s not just me experiencing it) so apologies for being unable to add it to the images. If you use a screen reader, the first image in the post is of two book covers for Amy Reed’s book and the second, two book covers for Jessie Ann Foley’s books.
*If you’re looking for a good read on Yoko Ono, I thought Nell Beram’s Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies was pretty solid. It published for young readers in 2013, so it might be a little tough to track down, but it rightly elevates Ono as her own creative spirit.