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April 05, 2004
Kurt Cobain - 10 Years Later
On the tenth anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death, Jennifer and I decided it would be all too appropriate to visit the now famous Viretta Park, next door to his Seattle home. I figured it would be a great time to see some of the sentiments left by Nirvana fans, and hoped maybe to see a few there. What can I say? I'm a people person.
When we arrived, the street next to the park was lined with cars, and even a large satellite truck. The Seattle Police were there in force, along with various rent-a-cops, and they were preparing for an even larger group of people later in the day.
We took some pictures, and I thought I'd share them with you, followed by some thoughts regarding the anniversary, what it means to me, what it means to the people at the park, and what it probably ought to mean. This should be good...
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We've never had the opportunity to visit Viretta Park when we're in Seattle. It's actually really pretty. Supposedly, Kurt's ashes were spread here, which creeped Jennifer out. |
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Here's some Nirvana fans (I guess), sitting on one of the graffiti-laden
benches. Most of the comments say things like "we'll miss you."
Local station KOMO 4 showed Three Days
Grace dropping by for a visit recently, standing by this bench in particular. These guys look all dressed up for the occasion. Note the poster underneath the woman in black. It says "Layne Staley." He also died on April 5th, eight years later and about 21 blocks away. (Over by 8th Ave in the University District.) There were quite a few people mourning the loss of Layne Staley as well. |
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The guy in the middle here really makes me sad. I think because he seems
to be alone (the guy to the left didn't appear to know him), and also because
I realize that given the right circumstances, this could have been me. Jennifer
is what changed that. Still, I applaud him for taking time out of his day to experience something, in this case to experience people gathering to remember a dead musician. Plus, he is not dressed in flannel, and his hair is short, and it's not died purple. I'll touch upon that later. |
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Jennifer was convinced that the guy on the right was really a famous musician,
and that he was hiding underneath the black jacket so people wouldn't recognize
him. Krist Novoselic isn't doing anything these days, so who knows? But when we looked at the pictures, it was obvious we were wrong. I'm sure if we'd stuck around long enough, we would have seen someone, although I can positively guarantee that someone wouldn't be Courtney Love, who has long left this park and this neighborhood and this life behind. |
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One person who was there was this VJ for MTV2. I have no idea who he
is, as my chance (or inclination) to watch MTV is limited these days.
I might have been excited if it were that chubby guy with all the tattoos
who moves around a lot. I like him. I don't know what his name is, nor
will I ever attempt to find out. He probably doesn't even work there anymore. |
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Sadly, it wasn't the fans who were center stage at the park, but the MTV
crew. They had security all over, and their big
boom camera dominated the park. Isn't this exactly what Kurt wouldn't have wanted? |
So, the whole thing was really exciting. As I said earlier, I think it's really important that people go out and experience a thing like this. Too many people sit at home and experience life on television. For many people, this event was just a few blocks away. Why not take a moment out of your life, and experience something in person? Too few people do it, and they die a sad life in which they've missed out on the world.
That said, I think this whole thing needs a little perspective. There were a lot of people there who probably weren't even listening to Nirvana back in 1994 (my wife included). And there were clearly some people, like the aforementioned lonely guy above, who may have been huge fans, and returned 10 years later, 10 years different. Long gone are the flannel shirts and funny colored hair.
But what really struck me were the people who didn't fit in either category. Hey, when you're 16 or 20, it's okay to dress up like a freak and dye your hair purple. But the people who were listening to Nirvana back in 1994 are now in their late 20s/early 30s, like me. I no longer have funny colored hair covering up my face. I stopped wearing flannel a long time ago (though my wife likes to make fun of the occasional remnant shirt she comes across.) But a few people at the park were sadly stuck in 1994.
Ten years ago, Kurt's death was huge. I remember building a shrine to him on my dorm room door. One of the deans came in to check on me, make sure I wasn't suicidal or anything. Maybe if I'd actually believed he committed suicide.
But ten years later, it's a piece of history, and nothing more. As history, it's interesting. As history, it's worth stopping by and taking some pictures, if only to take in a place out of time, a place ten years later that has survived ten years of memories and sadness. But it's been ten years.
Kurt Cobain was a drug user who, not unlike Layne Staley, inevitably came to a sad and lonely end. As a musician, he was brilliant. As a human being, I'm not sure he deserves any of this. Let's be clear, I worshipped the guy when I was 18. But put in perspective, his death was sad, but not unexpected. He died the way he lived, and I don't see why we should celebrate that. My grandfather died in February of 1994. Ten years after his death, did anyone visit his grave? Did anyone gather at his place of death to celebrate his achievements? No.
Sure, he never appeared on MTV, and he never played a concert in LA, but he was a lot more important to me. Where are our priorities here? Cobain died, and that's sad. Go home, listen to your Nirvana CDs, and put on some flannel. It's actually quite comfy. But really, your energy is better spent elsewhere. Tomorrow, go visit your family, call up your parents, do some research and find out how your grandparents got a start in life. Cobain made some cool music over a decade ago. These people still matter to you each and every day. Try to keep that in mind.