Vasile Alecsandri National College BacauThe Icons of American Rock: Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison

Coordinating Teachers CandidateCovaci Ramona Elena Iacobeanu Camelia AnaJugariu Oana XII B2015

Table of ContentsIntroduction3I. Kurt Donald Cobain4I.1. Earlylife5I.2. Artistry6I.3. Relationships and family7I.4. Death8II. Jim Morrison10II.1 Early Life11II.2 Artistry12II.3 Relationships13II.4 Death14

Conclusion.15Bibliography..16

IntroductionRock musicis a genre ofpopular musicthat originated as "rock and roll" in theUnited Statesin the 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in theUnited Kingdomand the United States.By the late 1960s, referred to as the "golden age"or "classic rock"period, a number of distinct rock music subgenres had emerged, including hybrids likeblues rock,folk rock,country rock, andjazz-rock fusion, many of which contributed to the development ofpsychedelic rock, which was influenced by thecounterculturalpsychedelic scene.Grunge music has a representative image by the band Nirvana, which is one of the few bands from that genre that gained popularity in the musical industry. After the release of the song Smells like Teen Spirit from the album Nevermind the band marked the instigation of the grunge music phenomenon. On the other hand, the subgenre of psychedelic rock was represented in the best way by the band The Doors. One of the best singles from the band was Light my fire from their debut album, that it was on the number one on the BillboardHot 100 for three weeks.I have chosen this theme because I am a great fan of rock music and I wanted to get more insight into the life of my favorite artists and the iconic figures of this genre and subgenres: Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison. Each character had a huge impact on the rock genre and also had a significant role in the evolution of the rock music, because they have brought unique and new perspectives of life in their songs. They also represented the voice of a generation and had a huge impact on the youth of that time, bringing chaos and also a lot of attention because of their nonconformist way of living and approaching of music.Another reason I have chosen to talk about Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison is because they have left a mark in the music industry, with numerous top hits and albums that stayed in the top of the charts for a long time, and also have left symbolic songs that described a young generation like: Smells like a teen spirit and Come as you are from Nirvana and Light my fire and Riders on the storm from The Doors. Along with their unique style and approach of music, Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison were individual artists that were remarked by style, creativity and lifestyle.

I. Kurt Donald Cobain

It was easy to love Nirvana because no matter how great their fame and glory, they always seemed like underdogs, and the same could be said for Kurt.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Charles R Cross (2001): Heavier than Heaven, Hyperion, New York, p.49]

Kurt Donald Cobain(February 20, 1967 April 5, 1994) was an American musician who was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of thegrungebandNirvana. After signing with major labelDGC Records, the band found breakthrough success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from its second albumNevermind(1991). Following the success ofNevermind, Nirvana was labeled the flagship band[footnoteRef:3]ofGeneration X, and Cobain hailed as "the spokesman of a generation". Cobain, however, was often uncomfortable and frustrated, believing his message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, with his personal issues often subject to media attention. [3: Michael Azerrad:"Inside the Heart and Mind of Nirvana", Rolling Stone Magazine, 16 April 1992, p. (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/nirvana-inside-the-heart-and-mind-of-kurt-cobain-19920416)]

During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled withheroinaddiction, illness and depression. He also had difficulty coping with his fame and public image, and the professional and lifelong personal pressures surrounding himself and his wife, musicianCourtney Love. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead at his home inSeattle, the victim of what was officially ruled a suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. The circumstances ofhis deathat age 27have become a topic of public fascination and debate. Since their debut, Nirvana, with Cobain as a songwriter, has sold over 25million albums in the US, and over 75million worldwide. Together with Nirvana band mates KristNovoselic andDave Grohl, Cobain was posthumously inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Famein 2014, which was the first year in which the band was eligible.

I.1. Early life

I hate Mom, I hate Dad-From a poem on Kurts bedroom wall[footnoteRef:4]. [4: Charles R Cross (2001): Op. cit, p. 86.]

Cobain was born on February 20 1967, at Grays Harbor Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington[footnoteRef:5],to a waitress, Wendy Elizabeth (born 1948),and an automotive mechanic, Donald Leland Cobain (born 1946). [5: Cross, Charles (2008):Cobain Unseen: Little, Brown and Company. p.48.]

Cobain began developing an interest in music early in life. According to his aunt, he began singing at the age of two. At age four, he started playing the piano and singing, writing a song about a trip to a local park. He listened to artists like TheRamonesandElectric Light Orchestraand, from a young age, would sing songs likeArlo Guthrie's "Motorcycle Song" ,The Beatles song "Hey Jude",Terry Jacks song "Seasons in the Sun," and the theme song to thetelevision showof the band The Monkees.When Kurt was seven years old, his parents divorced[footnoteRef:6]. He later said that the divorce had a profound effect on his life, while his mother noted that his personality changed dramatically Cobain became defiant and withdrawn. In a 1993 interview, he elaborated: [6: Charles R Cross (2001): Op. cit.p.106.]

"I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason. I was ashamed of my parents. I couldn't face some of my friends at school anymore, because I desperately wanted to have the classic, you know, typical family: mother, father. I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that.

I.2. Artistry

"The kid has heart.-Bob Dylan about Kurt Cobain.[footnoteRef:7] [7: Ibidem, p. 528.]

Grohl stated that Cobain believed that music comes first and lyrics, second. Cobain focused, foremost, on the melodies of his songs.Cobain complained when fans and rock journalists attempted to decipher his singing and extract meaning from his lyrics, writing "Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second-rateFreudianevaluation of my lyrics, when 90 percent of the time they've transcribed them incorrectly?"While Cobain would insist on the subjectivity and unimportance of his lyrics, he was known to labor and procrastinate in writing them, often changing the content and order of lyrics during performances. Cobain would describe his lyrics himself as "a big pile of contradictions. They're split down the middle between very sincere opinions that I have and sarcastic opinions and feelings that I have and sarcastic and hopeful, humorous rebuttals toward clichbohemianideals that have been exhausted for years"[footnoteRef:8]. [8: Nirvana (1998) Sliver: The Best of the Box,album booklet.]

Cobain was affected enough to write the song "Polly" fromNevermind, after reading a newspaper story of an incident in 1987, where a 14-year old girl was kidnapped after attending a punk rock show then raped and tortured with ablowtorch. She managed to escape after gaining the trust of her captor,Gerald Friend through flirting with him. After seeing Nirvana perform,Bob Dylanwould cite "Polly" as the best of Nirvana's songs, and was quoted as sayingabout Cobain : The kid has heart.Cobain immersed himself in artistic projects throughout his life, as much so as he did in songwriting. The sentiments of his art work followed the same subjects of his lyrics, often expressed through a dark and macabre sense of humor. Noted was his fascination withphysiology, his own rare medical conditions, and the human anatomy. Often unable to afford artistic resources, Cobain would improvise with materials, painting on board games and album sleeves, and painting with an array of substances.I.3. Relationships and family

Love you so much, it makes me sick-From Aneurysm[footnoteRef:9] [9: Cross, Charles R: Heavier than Heaven, Hyperion, New York,p.583]

Courtney Love and Cobain met on January 12, 1990, in Portland'sSatyricon nightclub, when they both still led ardent underground rock bands.Love made advances, but Cobain was evasive. Early in their interactions, Cobain broke off dates and ignored Love's advances because he was unsure if he wanted a relationship. Cobain noted, "I was determined to be a bachelor for a few months [...] But I knew that I liked Courtney so much right away that it was a really hard struggle to stay away from her for so many months"[footnoteRef:10]. Love first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in Portland, Oregon. They talked briefly after the show and Courtney Love developed a crush on him. [10: Ibidem.]

On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana's "Pacific Rim" tour, Cobain and Love were married onWaikiki Beachin Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by Farmer, and Cobain donned a Guatemalan purse and wore green pajamas, because he had been "too lazy to put on a tux". Eight people were in attendance at the ceremony, including Grohl.

Love discovered that she was pregnant with her and Cobain's child around 1992. On August 18, 1992, the couple's daughterFrances Bean Cobainwas born. A sonogramof the couple's as-yet-unborn baby was included in the artwork for Nirvana's "Lithium" single.

I.4. Death

Its better to burn out than to fade away.- Quote from the lyrics of Neil Youngs song: Hey hey, My My(Into the Black) found it on the suicide letter of Kurt Cobain.

Following a tour stop atTerminal Einsin Munich, Germany, on March 1, 1994, Cobain was diagnosed withbronchitisand severelaryngitis. He flew to Rome the next day for medical treatment, and was joined there by his wife, Courtney Love, on March 3, 1994. The next morning, Love awoke to find that Cobain had overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol. Cobain was immediately rushed to the hospital, and spent the rest of the day unconscious. After five days in the hospital, Cobain was released and returned to Seattle.Love later stated that the incident was Cobain's firstsuicide attempt.

On April 8, 1994, Cobain's body was discovered at hisLake Washington Blvdhome by an electrician named Gary Smith who had arrived to install a security system. Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain's ear, the electrician reported seeing no visible signs oftrauma, and initially believed that Cobain was asleep until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. A note was found, addressed to Cobain's childhoodimaginary friend"Boddah", that stated that Cobain had not "felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing ... for too many years now". A high concentration of heroin and traces ofdiazepamwere also found in his body. Cobain's body had been lying there for days; the coroner's report estimated Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994.

Cobain has been remembered as one of the most iconic rock musicians in the history of alternative music. In 2003,David FrickeofRolling Stoneranked him the 12th greatest guitarist of all time.He was later ranked the 73rd greatest guitarist and 45th greatest singer of all time by the same magazine,and by MTV as seventh in the "22 Greatest Voices in Music".In 2006, he was placed at number twenty byHit Paraderon their list of the "100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time.

II. Jim Morrison

There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors.-Jim Morrison.

James Douglas, also known as Jim Morrison (December 8, 1943- July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter best remembered as the lead vocalist of the Doors.Due to his songwriting,baritonevoice[footnoteRef:11],wild personality and performances, he is regarded by critics and fans as one of the most iconic and influential front men in rock music history, and, due to the dramatic tinges surrounding his life and death, in the latter part of 20th century he was one of popular culture's most rebellious and oft-displayed icons, representing generational gap and youth counterculture. [11: Biography of Jim Morrison,28 September 2012, (http://www.biography.com/people/jim-morrison-9415576) Biography.com]

He was also well known for improvisingspoken wordpoetry passages while the band played live. Morrison was ranked number 47 onRolling Stone'slist of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time",and number 22 onClassic Rock Magazine's"50 Greatest Singers In Rock".Ray Manzareksaid that Morrison "embodied hippiecounterculturerebellion..."[footnoteRef:12]Morrison sometimes referred to himself using other monikers, such as "Lizard King and Mr. Mojo Risin' (anagramof "Jim Morrison"). [12: Steve Knopper :"Ray Manzareks Doors-Chicago Tribune, 11 November 2011(http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-09/entertainment/ct-ott-1111-ray-manzarek-20111110_1_jim-morrison-doors-robby-krieger)]

II.1 Early Life

I see myself as an intelligent, sensitive human, with the soul of a clown which forces me to blow it at the most important moments.-Jim Morrison

James DouglasMorrisonwas born inMelbourne, Florida, the son of Clara Virginia and futureRear AdmiralGeorge Stephen Morrison.Morrison had a sister, Anne Robin, who was born in 1947 inAlbuquerque, New Mexico; and a brother, Andrew Lee Morrison, who was born in 1948 inLos Altos, California.In 1947, Morrison, then four years old, allegedly witnessed a car accident in thedesert, in which a family of Native Americans were injured and possibly killed. He referred to this incident in the Doors' song "Peace Frog" on the 1970 albumMorrison Hotel,as well as in the spoken word performances "Dawn's Highway" and "Ghost Song" on the posthumous 1978 albumAn American Prayer. Morrison believed this incident to be the most formative event of his life: It was the first time I discovered death, he recounted many years later, as the tape rolled in a darkened West Hollywood Recording studio.[footnoteRef:13],and made repeated references to it in the imagery in his songs, poems, and interviews. [13: Davis Stephen (2004):Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend,Ebury Press. p.8.]

With his father in theUnited States Navy, Morrison's family moved often. He spent part of his childhood in San Diego. While his father was stationed at NAS Kingsville, he attended Flato Elementary in Kingsville,Morrison read widely and voraciously-being particularly inspired by the writings of philosophers and poets. He was influenced byFriedrich Nietzsche, whose views on aesthetics, morality, and theApollonian and Dionysianduality would appear in his conversation, poetry and songs.He readPlutarchs "Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans". He read the works of the FrenchSymbolistpoetArthur Rimbaud, whose style would later influence the form of Morrisons short prose poems.He was influenced byJack Kerouac,Allen Ginsberg,Lawrence ,Charles Baudelaire,Molire,Franz Kafka,Honor de BalzacandJean Cocteau, along with most of the Frenchexistentialistphilosophers. His senior-year English teacher said, "Jim read as much and probably more than any student in class, but everything he read was so offbeat I had another teacher (who was going to the Library of Congress) check to see if the books Jim was reporting on actually existed. I suspected he was making them up, as they were English books on sixteenth- and seventeenth-centurydemonology. Id never heard of them, but they existed, and Im convinced from the paper he wrote that he read them, and the Library of Congress wouldve been the only source.In January 1964, Morrison moved to Los Angeles to attend theUniversity of California, Los Angeles(UCLA). Shortly thereafter on August 2, 1964, Morrison's father,George Stephen Morrison, commanded a carrier division of the United States fleet during theGulf of Tonkin Incident, which resulted in the United States' rapid escalation of theVietnam War. At UCLA, Morrison enrolled inJack Hirschman's class onAntonin Artaudin the Comparative Literature program within the UCLA English Department.

II.2 ArtistryIf my poetry aims to achieve anything, it's to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel.-Jim MorrisonMorrison began writing in earnest during his adolescence. At UCLA he studied the related fields of theater, film, and cinematography.He self-published two separate volumes of his poetry in 1969, titledThe Lords / Notes on VisionandThe New Creatures.The Lordsconsists primarily of brief descriptions of places, people, events and Morrison's thoughts on cinema.The New Creaturesverses are more poetic in structure, feel and appearance. These two books were later combined into a single volume titledThe Lords and The New Creatures.These were the only writings published during Morrison's lifetime. Morrison befriendedBeat poetMichael McClure, who wrote theafterwordforDanny Sugerman's biography of Morrison,No One Here Gets Out Alive. McClure and Morrison reportedly collaborated on a number of unmade film projects, including a film version of McClure's infamous playThe Beard, in which Morrison would have playedBilly the Kid. After his death, a further two volumes of Morrison's poetry were published. The contents of the books were selected and arranged by Morrison's friend, photographer Frank Lisciandro, and girlfriendPamela Courson's parents, who owned the rights to his poetry.II.3 RelationshipsA friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself-Jim MorrisonThe Lost Writings of Jim MorrisonVolume I is titledWilderness, and, upon its release in 1988, became an instantNew York TimesBestseller. Volume II,The American Night, released in 1990, was also a success. Morrison recorded his own poetry in a professional sound studio on two separate occasions. The first was in March 1969 in Los Angeles and the second was on December 8, 1970. The latter recording session was attended by Morrison's personal friends and included a variety of sketch pieces. Some of the segments from the 1969 session were issued on thebootlegalbumThe Lost Paris Tapesand were later used as part of the Doors'An American Prayeralbum,released in 1978.

Morrison met his long-term companion,Pamela Courson, before he gained fame or fortune,and she encouraged him to develop his poetry. At times, Courson used the surname "Morrison" with his apparent consent or at least lack of concern. After Courson's death in 1974, and after her parents petitioned the court for inheritance of Morrison's estate, theprobatecourt in California decided that she and Morrison had once had what qualified as acommon-law marriage, despite neither having applied for such status while they were living and common-law marriage not being recognized in California. Morrisons will lists him as "an unmarried person." Morrison and Courson's relationship was a stormy one, with frequent loud arguments and periods of separation. BiographerDanny Sugermansurmised that part of their difficulties may have stemmed from a conflict between their respective commitments to anopen relationshipand the consequences of living in such a relationship.Morrison also reportedly regularly had sex with fans ("groupies"), and had numerous short flings with other musicians, as well as writers and photographers involved in the music business. They includedNico, the singer associated withthe Velvet Underground, aone night standwith singerGrace SlickofJefferson Airplane, an on-again, off-again relationship with16 Magazine'sGloria Staversas well as an alleged alcohol-fueled encounter withJanis Joplin.

II.4 Death

People fear death even more than pain. It's strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over. Yeah, I guess it is a friend.-Jim Morrison

Morrison joined Courson in Paris in March 1971. They took up residence in the city in a rented apartment on the rue Beautreillis (in the4th arrondissement of Parison theRight Bank), and went for long walks throughout the city,[51]admiring the city's architecture. During this time, Morrison shaved his beard and lost some of the weight he had gained in the previous months.Morrison died on July 3, 1971 at age 27.In the official account of his death, he was found in a Paris apartment bathtub (at 1719 rue Beautreillis,4th arrondissement) by Courson.Pursuant to French law, noautopsywas performed because themedical examinerstated that there was no evidence offoul play.[footnoteRef:14]

The absence of an official autopsy has left many questions regarding Morrison's cause of death.InWonderland Avenue, Danny Sugermandiscussed his encounter with Courson after she returned to the United States. According to Sugerman's account, Courson stated that Morrison had died of a heroinoverdose, havinginhaledwhat he believed to becocaine. Sugerman added that Courson had given him numerous contradictory versions of Morrison's death, saying at times that she had killed Morrison, or that his death was her fault. Courson's story of Morrison's unintentional ingestion of heroin, followed by his accidental overdose, is supported by the confession of Alain Ronay, who has written that Morrison died of ahemorrhageafter snorting Courson's heroin, and that Courson nodded off instead of phoning for medical help, leaving Morrison bleeding to death. [14: Allen Peter (July 7, 2007)."The shocking truth about how my pal Jim Morrison REALLY died | Mail Online". London: Dailymail.co.uk.]

Conclusion

Writing this paper I have learned about personal life of Kurt Cobain, leader singer of the band Nirvana and Jim Morrison, known as The Lizard King the leader singer of the band The Doors. Both had an artistic way to see their life, and they put every energy into their songs and their career.Also, both had a rough childhood, Kurt Cobain was marked of the parents divorce and blamed himself even when he was a grown up. Also Jim Morrison was marked by an event where he saw a car accident when he was four and it changed his point of view about life.Even Kurt and even Jim had an huge impact on the media and the fans, representing a way to express the ideology of rebellion and freedom, which made fans even in nowadays, people still appreciate and love them, most teenagers like me, who are interested in their life, their point of viewing it and their artistic thinking and talent that represents a role and still makes sense for the teens.Their incredible talent and their unique style made them more famous, even after their death, their records and hits still have notoriety in nowadays. People may have finally see them as they wanted to be seen: like true artists who worked with passion and wanted to be appreciated for what they have done.From my point of view, I think that Kurt Cobain had the notoriety and the affection of the fans which was lost in his family. And as Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison is seen as a philosopher and a poet and in the same time an artist. They both wanted to create and to be known and they have succeeded by leaving a huge mark on the hearts of the fans.

BibliographyA. BooksCross, Charles R: Heavier than Heaven, Hyperion, New York, 2001Cross, Charles R:Cobain Unseen, Little Brown and Company, 2008.Davis, Stephen:Jim Morrison :Life, Death, Legend, Ebury Press, 2004.B. Articles*Biography of Jim Morrison,28 September 2012(http://www.biography.com/people/jim-morrison-9415576) Allen, Peter: "The shocking truth about how my pal Jim Morrison REALLY died | Mail Online". London Dailymail, 7 July 2007,(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-466947/The-shocking-truth-pal-Jim-Morrison-REALLY-died.html)

Azerrad, Michael:"Inside the Heart and Mind of Nirvana", Rolling Stone Magazine, 16 April 1992, (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/nirvana-inside-the-heart-and-mind-of-kurt-cobain-19920416)Knopper, Steve: Ray Manzareks Doors - Chicago Tribune, 11 November 2011(http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-09/entertainment/ct-ott-1111-ray-manzarek-20111110_1_jim-morrison-doors-robby-krieger)

C. AlbumNirvana (1998) Sliver: The Best of the Box,album booklet.

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