Andrew Earles - Kurt Cobain and Nirvana--Updated Edition: The Complete Illustrated History

Greetings from Aberdeen, Washington.

Cobains suicide on April 5, 1994, was tragic, but his artistic accomplishments, particularly in light of his childhood and where he came from, were remarkable by any imagination. Few rock stars have ever risen from such unlikely origins to such heights of fame, and few of any background have created a body of work with such lasting impact on music.

Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and he spent the first two-thirds of his life in or near the small city of sixteen thousand. To understand Cobainhis roots, the formation of his creative drive, and the genesis of Nirvanayou must understand Aberdeen, and how that city profoundly shaped its most famous son.

Though Aberdeen is only two hours west of Seattle, it is an entirely different world in terms of economic opportunity and even landscape. Located in Grays Harbor County, near the rugged and heavily forested Washington coast, Aberdeen came into being to service men harvesting natural resources from the region. In Aberdeens case, that meant fishing, mining, and logging, and those workers rolled into the city to buy supplies, but also to drink, fight, and, often, whore.

In 1952, Look magazine called Aberdeen one of the hot spots in Americas battle against sin because of the many brothels that lined the downtown streets. A notorious madam named Nellie Curtis was one of the towns colorful characters, said to have more political power than most elected leaders. A former Aberdeen police chief used the working title When Madams Reigned for his autobiography and to describe the early years of the city. Consequently, Aberdeen was blacklisted during World War II for servicemen: You could go there, but youd be arrested by military police if you were seen in uniform in the city limits.

Most of the citys brothels were closed by the time Kurt Cobain was born in 1967. Still, Aberdeens reputation as a town full of sin made it a perfect locale to birth an outsider who would rail against mainstream music norms. Cobain, in a way, was a rock outlier, much the way Nellie Cornish railed against societal sexual mores.

KURTS TOP 50 ALBUMS

In the published version of Kurt Cobains Journals, much is written about his favorite bands and albums. Cobains Top 50 Albums list is the most famous example and best represents where Cobains eclectic and earnest tastes found their center. It is noticeably lacking in Seattle and regional contemporaries because a separate list addressed acts like his mentors, the Melvins, as well as his appreciation for TAD, Screaming Trees, early Soundgarden, and Green River. Included throughout this book are hopefully useful descriptions by Andrew Earles of each of Cobains Top 50 Albums. Heres hoping for the discovery of a few life-changing albums, as well as the revisiting of old flames.

Most jobs in Aberdeen involved the timber industry, and during Cobains youth his father Don worked on and off in lumberyards. Don was working as a mechanic, though, at the Chevron service station in nearby Hoquiam when Cobain was born in 1967. Don was twenty-one at the time, and his wife Wendy was only nineteen. They lived in a 300-square-foot shack that was so tiny it was behind another home and had a half address.

Don earned $6,000 a year as a mechanic. Logging jobs paid better, but they were also dangerous. A 1920 report from the Safety Board of Washington State called the forest products industry more deadly than war, due to the frequent injuries caused by giant falling trees and the saws used to cut them down. Accidental amputations and death were common, as were alcoholism, domestic violence, and suicide. Unemployment was twice as high in Grays Harbor County as the rest of the state, and over-logging during the previous decades diminished even timber jobs.