The Daily Collegian, 4.12.94 - Like many, shock and an immeasurable sense of loss rang through me when I heard the news Friday. Sitting in complete dumbfoundment watching MTV's retrospective for two hours only made me sadder.
To me, Nirvana was the only American band around today worth listening to. Stone Temple Pilots? The Lemonheads? Phish? Please.
Cobain's suicide has left an incredible, unfillable hole on the music map. There have been many who compared Cobain to John Lennon, and rightfully so. But for a generation that matured after Lennon's death, he was much more than that - he was one of us.
In an era when Generation X and Reality Bites have tried in vain to pinpoint our generation, Cobain's most popular work, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," perfectly captured the silliness of it all. No matter how many times I've heard that song, it still strikes a chord - it's a song about me written by someone like me.
Through some of the most deeply personal and profound songs to emerge during the last several years, Cobain's voice spoke a sad, heartbreaking truth that his suicide only has added credence to. While there's no point in justifying his actions, should it have been that big of a surprise?
In retrospect, Cobain's fate was written all over his music - "Aneurysm," "Rape Me," "Blew." Cobain sold millions of albums, but nobody really listened. If we had, Friday would've just been the start of another weekend. The only comfort now is that he left us with four great albums, plenty of memories and a trunkload of grief.
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