51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

Whatthefluff

In honor of Kurt Cobain's 51st birthday today, I have compiled a list of fun facts. Please enjoy this Mytake; it took me a long time to make!

1. His middle name is Donald.
2. One of Kurt's favorite books was Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by German author Patrick Süskind, which was the inspiration for his song "Scentless Apprentice". He also liked the novels of William S. Burroughs.

3. Kurt was potentially psychic.

Once in their relationship, Courtney Love was away in England and she was seriously considering cheating on Kurt (she fervently denies that she ever actually cheated on him). Kurt attempted suicide by overdosing on pills, apparently having a sixth sense of what his wife was thinking.

4. He was heavily influenced by The Beatles.

If you ever heard Nirvana, the idea of Cobain being influenced by the most famous 60's pop band is laughable. But he loved The Beatles since childhood.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

5. He liked to dye his hair with Kool-aid.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

6. Despite being a rock star, K.C reportedly drove like a grandma.

7. And the car he drove? A humble 1986 Volvo.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

8. Kurt dropped out of high school, and ironically became a janitor at the high school he dropped out of at one point. Easter egg: the dancing janitor in the Smells Like Teen Spirit music video.

9. The only tattoo Kurt had was a small "K" encompassed by a shield, representing K records. He inked it himself on his arm.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

10. Didn't notice it? Kurt had a tendency to wear long-sleeved shirts, partially because heroin leaves marks when inserted into the skin, and partially because he was always cold.

11. He loved Mohair sweaters. Comfort and practicality? Yes, please.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

12. How "Smells Like Teen Spirit" got its name: a friend spray-painted "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit" on his wall, suggesting he smelled that way from being with his girlfriend. Kurt was not aware that Teen Spirit was a deodorant and thought it was a revolutionary, rebellious statement. Hey, worked out for that deodorant company.

13. The Nirvana SNL concert provided controversy due to the three-way kiss done by the bandmates during the credits. Kurt hated his hometown of Aberdeen, WA for its homophobia.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

14. Kurt hated sexism, racism, and other forms of intolerance.
15. Kurt's parents divorced when he was 8, and the theatrics that ensued made little Kurt hurt and dissonant.

16. Kurt's own kid was named after Frances McKee of The Vaselines.

17. Though she is mistakenly said to be named after Frances Farmer, an actress Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love were allegedly obsessed about ("Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" even being the title of a Nirvana song).

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

17. Cobain is an Irish last name. Kurt was Irish, English, Dutch, Scottish, French Canadian, and German.

18. Kurt married Courtney Love in Hawaii. Courtney was wearing a dress owned by Frances Farmer. Kurt was clad in pajamas; he didn't feel like wearing anything fancy. Only eight people were present.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

19. Their daughter was born 6 months later, so she was present for the ceremony.

20. Kurt briefly played the snare drum in middle school. His band teacher remembered him as an average student.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

21. Kurt's first suicide attempt was at age 15. He put cinder blocks on himself to be weighed down and waited for a train to pass by. The train went on another course, however.

22. Kurt wanted the set of Unplugged in New York to have stargazer lilies and other somewhat dreary decorations, like a funeral. It was a tense and stressful performance for Kurt; he was going through drug withdrawal.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

22. The famous soul-piercing stare while singing "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" at Unplugged. Wow. I'm going to look at this gif all day now.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

23. Kurt was arrested as a teenager for vandalism.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

24. Kurt thought he was ugly. Once, he even cried upon looking at his reflection. This is the only photo he liked of himself.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

25. One of Kurt's favorite foods was Kraft mac and cheese. Same here, man.

26. Kurt wrote "Something in the Way" about his homelessess as a teenager after his mom kicked him out of the house.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

27. And he sang that very song so quietly, the producer turned the sound all the way up.

28. Two of Kurt's uncles committed suicide from both sides of his family, suggesting a biological trait had something to do with his tragic demise.

29. As a kid, Kurt would throw little rocks at passing cars sometimes out of boredom.

30. Kurt was an amazing visual artist in addition to being a musician.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

31. Kurt had three favorite colors: black, red, and purple.

32. "About A Girl" was written about Tracy Marander, Kurt's ex-girlfriend, when they were still dating. She didn't even realize this until years after, and Kurt had already passed on by the time she realized that.

33. Kurt really liked Converse. He even died wearing a pair.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

34. Despite the small fortune that came with his fame, Kurt still had financial anxiety due to years of being used to poverty.

35. Courtney Love would cut a little bit of Kurt's hair randomly.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

36. Sometimes, he would wear sunglasses to hide his pupils- pupils change when on drugs.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

37. He is rumored to have drawn the famous Nirvana smiley face.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

38. Tabloids accused Courtney Love of taking heroin while pregnant, leading to Social Services interfering with the first two weeks of their daughter's life.

39. Kurt went to the Exodus recovery center for addiction treatment. But he jumped over a wall and got on a plane to Seattle.

40. Duff Mckagan, member of Guns and Roses, was sitting beside Kurt Cobain in the airplane. He could tell something was off. His intuition was right.

41. Kurt died on April 5, 1994, though his body was only discovered three days later by a repairman-type person who thought he was asleep at first glance.

42. He was still wearing the hospital band from the rehab facility when he died.

43. Although he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, he had done three times the lethal dose of heroin.

44. Courtney Love gave away all of Kurt's clothes to several people who stuck around at the end of some memorial ceremony.

45. Kurt's body was cremated. Courtney wanted to smoke some of his ashes, but probably did not.

46. Kurt was 5' 9".

47. He had severe stomach problems, which is why he eventually self-medicated using heroin when doctors couldn't help. It is unknown to this day what was wrong with his stomach, but it could have been IBS.

48. Kurt was the O.G. troller. At an England performance, he botched "Smells Like Teen Spirit", singing, "Load up on drugs, kill your friends. . ."

49. K.C once described himself in a journal entry as "The moody, bohemian member of the group. Blond frontman. The sensitive artist type."

50. Kurt was so moody in fact, that he was said to sometimes just sit in a corner without talking to anyone for 45 minutes sometimes.

51. Kurt Cobain was a cat person. He liked animals in general, even owning gerbils at one point.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain

Thanks for reading! And rest in peace, Kurt Cobain. He is the queen of my heart.

51 Facts About Kurt Cobain
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