The Day The Music Died
by Damon Martin
I was in my car today, listening to my iPod while driving to the movies, and put on a play list I made that put all my favorite Seattle bands together. A little known Nirvana track that became popular a few years ago called “You Know You’re Right” popped on and it got me thinking back to April, 1994.
For my fellow grunge-age followers, we grew up on Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and of course Nirvana. We rocked our flannel shirts, and all wanted to move to Seattle. It seemed like everything changed on that spring day in 1994.
I remember I was sitting in my bedroom after school, and I think I was drawing at the time, but I had MTV on in the background. You know, back when MTV used to have music videos on? Anyways, a special report hit the air and Kurt Loder proceeds to tell us all that Kurt Cobain was found dead in Seattle, a victim of an apparent suicide from a gunshot to the head.
When I first started to put together an idea for this post, I put up on my Twitter account asking if people remember where they were when they heard that Kurt Cobain died. I was blown away that within minutes I had a ton of responses from people saying they remember sitting in their 7th grade classroom, to others being in college classrooms, and others driving down the street in their car when the news was announced on the radio.
It was a moment that everyone that loved music back then remembers.
I know at that point in my life I had lost a grandparent, and I’m sure there were other notable celebrities that passed away before that, but this is the first time I remember actually being in mourning for someone that I had never met, never talked to, or ever had any personal interaction with. What Kurt Cobain was able to do was create music that moved us all back then. He created a sound that was unique, even though self-admittedly he’d never call himself a great musician.
I think everyone has those moments in their life that they remember someone monumental in the music industry dying, that personally touched their lives through their songs. For another generation it was February 3, 1959 when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a tragic plane crash.
Another generation felt the sting of death on December 8, 1980 when Mark David Chapman unloaded four gunshots into the back and shoulder of former Beatles’ leader John Lennon.
For my generation it was Kurt Cobain.
It was a sad day in my life, and even at 16-years of age I knew that something terribly tragic had just happened. I remember watching in the days that followed the outpouring of fans in Seattle leaving flowers, records, pictures, notes, and anything else they could think of to honor Cobain. This was of course before the internet age so all of our information back then was by television, newspaper or magazines.
Truth be told, at that time and still to this day for all the Seattle bands of that era, Pearl Jam had always been my favorite “grunge” group, but we all had a connection with Nirvana, we all remember Kurt, and Dave, and Krist, and all learned to mosh by listening to “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
After listening to that song today, I came home and listened to the classic Nirvana “Unplugged” album, and remembered all over again what made Kurt Cobain great. His raspy voice combined with great lyrics (even if they all meant something different to everyone), and an ability to connect with anyone listening to them.
As I write this, I wonder what the music world would have been like if Kurt Cobain wouldn’t have died? I know this for sure. The music would will forever be influenced because Kurt Cobain lived, and that’s something we can all hold onto, especially on days like this when he’s missed.
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Surviving Lollapalooza: Day 3
LOLLAPALOOZA DAY 3
Sunday August 5th, 2007 Grant Park Chicago, IL
The day the earth stood still
THIS IS THE REASON MUSIC FESTIVALS EXIST! What sucks about music festivals is that there are so many bands and so little time that you wind up missing a lot of what you wanted to see. The only problem I had with Lolla this year is that practically every band I wanted to check out was on Sunday! Juliette & The Licks, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Heartless Bastards, Lupe Fiasco, Amy Winehouse, The Black Angels, Paolo Nutini, Kings of Leon, Iggy and the Stooges, !!!, Peter, Bjorn and John, My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse, Café Tacuba, TV on the Radio and Pearl Jam all in the same day!? WTF! I stopped crying, picked up a highlighter and marked which bands I 100% had to see and I just went for it. Heres what I saw
Rodrigo y Gabriela The Mexican guitar duo who moved to Ireland (that makes no sense but its true) were AMAZING. One guy, one girl, two guitars, INSANE!
Amy Winehouse I, like the rest of the crowd, was afraid she wasnt going to show up. Let me tell you something, this bitch is the best thing since sliced bread. I swear to god that if Amy Winehouse is able to keep her sobriety in check, she could be the next Barbara Streisand or Celine Dion or some other female singer who plays in front of millions and makes billions of dollars. The only difference would be that Amy is totally cool and those other chicks are not. Her voice is off the chain and her little shimmy, shimmy, shake dance moves are super cute. Shell need to work on her crowd interaction but that comes with time. The only question is whether or not this girl wants to be a superstar because shes got all the tools.
Paolo Nutini This kid just brings it! At only 19 years of age, this kid from Scotland writes the most perfect pop rock songs. The crowd was packed with women swooning over his good looks and dudes actually singing along (most likely to impress the chicks but singing, nonetheless.) Hes going out on tour with Ms. Winehouse and together the two might just take over the world.
Kings of Leon There are a lot of reasons that I want to hate these guys. Theyre young, cocky, good looking, talented
DAMN THEM! Additionally, I will go on record as saying that their skinny jeans are the single worse accessory I have ever seen on a band. Having said all that, they couldnt rock any harder. They just write great rock and roll songs and when they perform live they just go all out every single time. A sponsorship from True Religion or Rock & Republic could make these guys the biggest band on the planet.
My Morning Jacket So good it hurts. Talent just oozes out of every pore of this band. I want to be in MMJ. Im not sure what I bring to the table because I have no musical ability whatsoever but maybe I could learn to play the triangle.
Pearl Jam I would be lying if I told you I could write a fair review about PJ because they are my favorite band of all-time. I dont really care for the fact that one of my heroes has turned into Sean Penn and uses concerts as his forum to speak on political matters (long gone are the days of climbing rafters and diving into the crowd) but that is his prerogative and based on crowd reaction, people obviously want to listen. To show my respect for Mr. Vedder I will not purchase gasoline from BP or Amoco (I cant remember why but he told me not to, so I wont.) Regardless, musically, they can do no wrong. Every show, in every city, in every country these guys give it their all, 100% of the time. They play hits, they play b-sides, they play covers and they all sound fabulous. I love this band and hope they continue playing for 30 more years because practically every other band I grew up with is gone.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank Titos Handmade Vodka and Vitamin Water for sponsoring my trip to Lollapalooza. They didnt actually pay me anything and they wont acknowledge the connnection but without them I wouldnt have made it through the weekend. I wanted to thank Camel and their fabulous product Camel Lights but I woke up Saturday and Sunday and couldnt breathe so Im pretty sure thats not good.