BEYOND WORDS Kurt Cobain's musical legacy Cobain's dark life left shining legacy Cobain photo gallery Reader memories Listen to Nirvana clips 'Come as You Are' 'The Man Who Sold The World' 'Something in the Way' 'All Apologies'

What did Kurt Cobain mean to you? We asked readers to share their thoughts about Kurt Cobain's life, music and legacy. Here's what some of them said: "I was 15 when Nirvana burst onto the music scene, and I was completely blown away and captivated by this band from the first time I heard their music. As cliche as it may sound, I viewed Kurt Cobain as the voice and poet for my generation. I was a senior in high school and 18 when my friend Matt sat me down in my parents' living room to inform me of Kurt's death. I was completely dumbfounded, numb. Ten years later, I still remember that moment as if it was yesterday. Now, at 28, I have surpassed the age at which Kurt Cobain took his life and it hits me even more how tragic and untimely his death was." —Aimee Skold, Santa Monica, Calif. "Kurt introduced a new form of music, alternative rock, that has amazingly simple riffs, painfully expressive symbolic lyrics and simple heavy distortion, all done with only a three-person band. As with most good art, you don't need to be highly complex to be very good; and with Kurt, you didn't need to use the F-word." —Robert Boudreau, Corning, N.Y. "I heard the news while I was doing a campus visit, trying to decide where to attend college. I'd like to say I didn't believe it at the time, but I'm not sure that's accurate. In (Nirvana's) song All Apologies, he did such a good job of describing his pain, that when the news hit it was almost just confirmation that the inevitable had happened, just sooner than we had feared. My generation lost its John Lennon that day, and the world lost a great, albeit troubled, musician/father/husband/friend." —Brandon Mortensen, Minneapolis "Kurt Cobain and his band mates wrote the music that turned the music industry right-side up. ... Smells Like Teen Spirit signaled the arrival of underground music into the mainstream world. Most significantly, it opened up opportunities for other great bands of the time. So, in essence, Kurt was a musical messiah of sorts." —Chris Griffin, Atlanta "I was at working at a power plant when I first heard of the news Kurt Cobain's suicide. When I first heard of Nirvana back in 1991-92, it was my freshman year at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. ... Ten years after, I reflect back and think of Nirvana and their songs and how much they attribute to my life. Even my old college roommate bought a Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang guitar. We used to jam on Nirvana while studying for finals." —E. L. Navajo, Shiprock, N .M. "Well, when Kurt Cobain died, I was 38. I wasn't a young teenager anymore, but I really felt his words in the music he sang. I was on my regular day walk and I had my headphones on when I heard it on the radio. ... He was a very, sad young man, I always thought, and I always wished that there was something I could have said to him to help him. But of course, that was impossible. Even now, on the 10th anniversary of his death, it only seems like yesterday. If only he knew how much his fans loved him and his unique style of music, he might have thought different and he would still be making music." —Debbie Wilgosh, Ontario, Canada "Kurt Cobain and Nirvana were my ultimate inspiration to become a musician. ... When I heard about (Cobain's death), I think I was 9 or 10. His lyrics from songs like Lounge Act, All Apologies and the rare Verse Chorus Verse spoke to me in a way no other songs have before. Kurt means so much to me. I love everything about Nirvana and can't go a day without them." —Danny D'Agostino, Triangle, Va. "I believe genius sometimes comes in strange packages. I am 45-year-old, and when I first heard Nirvana, I just went, "Wow, who is this?' I am a huge rock 'n' roll fan from the '70s and was so pleased to hear something fresh, alive and new. Also, it's one of the few bands my children and I like. It's too bad someone in his family wasn't able to help him — having said that, I had someone in my family who took their own life, and sometimes you just don't know." —Jennifer Reitsman "I was only 15, so he did not mean much to me as a person. He meant much more to me as an idea, a movement. He inspired and changed a world disillusioned by happiness. He reflected many of the same changes and hardships that I faced as a teenager during those times. My parents split up, my world came crashing down, I realized all the pain in the world. He sang about all of that. He started a revolution in the thinking of the youth of our day. He will be remembered more for what he started than who he was." —Brandon Hill, Dallas "Kurt was instrumental in the '90s rock music revolution; he brought hope and inspiration to the masses who were disillusioned with what the music industry had become and what is once again. Who will be the next revolutionary to shake things up and start a new music revolution? I hope he or she comes along soon." —Roy Farley, Seattle "It was the summer of '92, and I spent the summer hitching around England. I can't begin to tell you how many times I was stranded in the English countryside when no one would give me lift. The only thing I had to keep me company was my Walkman and Nirvana cranking in my ears. I have to admit that sometimes I hoped no one would stop, so I could let the song play out and keep slamming my head as I walked down the road. Other times when a ride looked hopeless and there was nothing but time, I'd chill with the songs and try to break down each line, going over and over them and thinking. No other band before or after has touched me quite like Nirvana and Kurt Cobain." —Jason Eric, Los Angeles "To me as a Baby Boomer, Kurt Cobain represented the final frontier of rock music. I have not heard anything since his death that I consider new or revolutionary. To me, most of the newer 'alternative' music I hear my kids play sounds derivative of Cobain's work I believe Cobain was the last of the popular music giants, and in a class with the Dylans, the Springsteens, the Morrisons, the Hendrixes and the Fogertys. Unfortunately, this clearly was a guy in a lot of pain for whatever reason, and his seemingly doomed life was all too short. I would have liked to see where he took music next." —Bill Nemser, Boca Raton, Fla. "I was shocked to hear of Cobain's untimely death in April 1994. Nirvana was a staple in my CD player, and it was sad to know that I wasn't going to be buying any more classic albums like Nevermind or MTV Unplugged in New York. In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, Vernon Reid of Living Colour made an interesting statement: 'I wish Kurt Cobain was still around to make music and confront George Bush. Can you imagine the song he would have written about reality TV?' Sadly, we're left only to imagine." —Ken Devine, Nashville "I understood the pain and suffering Kurt Cobain was writing about in his songs. I was 17 and a junior in high school when he died. ... I am now 27, the same age that Cobain (was when he) killed himself. It's a weird age to be. I hardly ever cry, but I did cry when Kurt Cobain died. After Kurt died, I really didn't have an idol or a celebrity I really identified with." —Michael Hatch, North Kingstown, R.I. "I was 9 years old at the time, and an older kid came to our lunch table and told me and all the rest of the fourth graders (that Cobain had died). I wasn't exactly sure who Kurt was, but I had heard of Nirvana and still remember that exact moment today. To me, it has meant a lot, as he was really a strong force behind the music of our generation. It can still be heard in the sounds of the Vines, the White Stripes, and other bands that are popular now that our generation is in college. It also meant a lot to me because I remember my cousin finding solace in the music of Nirvana while his sister was dying. I never really understood it all at the time, but now I can see the impact it made on his life in dealing with what were very hard times." —Dane Johnson, Stillwater, Minn. "I first heard the news of Cobain's death when I woke up one morning to go to school and there was an MTV news flash saying Kurt had shot himself. I just started crying uncontrollably. I ended up skipping school and listening to Nirvana music all day in total shock and disbelief. He was my everything at that age and is still there in his music today. He is greatly missed." —Chris Fuller, Winthrop, Maine "I was 9, and I sat in my mother's car driving home from school when the DJ came on and said Kurt had shot himself. It was at that moment in time that everything I had experienced so far came to a head, and I realized the finiteness of life. Ever since then, I listen to Nirvana and remember we don't have a lot of time, so we better take the most we can out of it." —Andrew D. Johnstone, Cambridge, Md. "I was 14 years old when Kurt Cobain killed himself. I was rocked to the core. Nirvana's music had given me an outlet for my feelings. The first time time I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit, I felt like a light bulb lit up. My feelings of angst, depression and isolation were summed up in Nirvana's music. I couldn't get enough. I would sit in my room and blare it on my stereo and feel like someone understood. ... The day I found out that Kurt Cobain killed himself it felt like someone had burst my bubble, taken my security blanket. I felt like I lost an understanding friend, even though I'd never met him." —Brandy Venditti, Sandston, Va. "I was only 11 when Cobain died, and then didn't really like Nirvana. But in later years, I have grown to appreciate what music they left us and only wonder what could have been if he hadn't had tragically ended his life. It does make me upset, though, to see so many teenagers obsess over Cobain and exploit his life to its fullest marketable capacity. He was just a man, not a saint. Let his memory live, but let his soul rest in peace." —Jonathan Lane, St. Louis "To this day, Kurt Cobain still means something to me. Every song that he belted out was full of real emotions. It was raw, stunning, and real. No other musician or band will ever compare to Cobain and Nirvana. I still listen to their music and it continues to give me goosebumps." —Danny McCaslin, Atchison, Kan. "I was coming home from work and heard the news about Kurt on the radio. ... I think about Kurt all the time and still get teary-eyed thinking about that day." —Thomas Joy, Centralia, Ill.