Middle Generation Fan Watching The New Generation

This article has everything to do with the music of NIRVANA and Kurt Cobain. I was 5 years old when Kurt Cobain died, I can remember bits and pieces of the news coverage that was on TV. I grew up hearing NIRVANA played by my Uncle, but I was not yet at an age where one is enthralled with a musician/band and want to know everything about the artist.

I was formally introduced to NIRVANA in 2000 by my Uncle Dave. I was staying the night at his apartment, watching music videos at 2am. These were the days before Youtube or even the ability to stream videos online. This was the age of Napster, iMesh and Kazaa. If you wanted music video’s on your computer you had to download them, which usually would take 5 hours. So we were watching MTV2 at 2am when this one music video came on.

At 11 years of age, I was already a moody child. I grew up feeling disenfranchised due to the absence of my biological father. So when this music video came on, I was captivated by it. It reached deep within me and struck a vital chord. “Hey! WAIT! I’ve got a new complaint! Forever in debt to your priceless advice! YOUR ADVICE!”. The music video was “Heart-Shaped Box” by NIRVANA. “WHO WAS THAT!?” Thus began my quest to learn and discover all things NIRVANA and Kurt Cobain.



It would lead me on a lifelong fandom, in fact I would guess that I am in the top tier of NIRVANA fans who are borderline obsessive. Quests to obtain the rarest NIRVANA tracks known to mankind. Endless nights spent conversing with fellow fans on Message Boards (Think of Reddit if it were more like Facebook, less apps and more topic oriented discussion), endless days nerding out with the NIRVANA friends I made from these message boards. Buying all the Kurt Cobain related Biographies, framed pictures. The list could go on and on, not to mention the creepy attempt by me to grow my hair out and emulate Kurt Cobain. You could of called me Fat Cobain.

So I grew up a NIRVANA/Cobain fanatic. It felt like it was a secret exclusive club being a fan of NIRVANA. Sure, there were all those mainstream fan’s who were like “Yeah NIRVANA is totally radical”. But while I was growing up, I felt like they didn’t get Cobain’s art like I did. Did they bother to read all the Cobain biographies? Did they pick apart Cobain’s Journal’s? Did they know him like I thought I knew him? I rejected them as poseurs, band-wagoners. However, I missed the most vital fact. These fan’s, however insignificant I felt they were, were vital towards keeping the memory of Kurt Cobain going.

Even if they did not “understand” NIRVANA like I thought I did, they are necessary to keep the memory of Kurt and NIRVANA going. Which is why, these days I am happy to see the next generation loving NIRVANA’s music as much as I did. Sure, they may not all be obsessed like I was, but a great majority of the next generation of NIRVANA fan’s are as obsessed as I was, if not more so. Sure, they post some cringe-worthy posts on the NIRVANA sub-Reddit, but I was that cringe-worthy kid.

My brother is the next generation of NIRVANA fan’s. He is 17 years old, and his favorite NIRVANA song is “Heart-Shaped Box”. I hear him playing it as he gets ready for school, I hear it playing as he is asleep in his room. He may not join the uber obsessed Church Of Cobain, but what matters is that he listen’s and enjoy’s the music. However Cobain may have felt in the end in regards to his opinion of his own band, he would be proud to know that people are still enjoying his art.