His most popular songs include "About a Girl", "Been a Son", "Negative Creep", "Aneurysm", "Dive", "Sliver", "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Lithium", "In Bloom", "Polly", "Something in the Way", "Heart-Shaped Box", "Rape Me", "Dumb", "Pennyroyal Tea", "All Apologies" and "You Know You're Right" (written and recorded shortly before his death but not officially released until October 2002).
The Nirvana song "Scentless Apprentice" is based on a book called "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind.
The original title for "Heart-Shaped Box" was "Heart-Shaped Coffin."
Recent biography is written by Charles Cross, an influental icon in the Seattle music scene. The biography, "Heavier Than Heaven", is said to be the most comprehensive biography of one of the most mysterious artists in music history.
His death is referred to in the lyrics of the Badly Drawn Boy song "You Were Right".
Played a trick on the MTV brass when he began Nirvana's appearance at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards by singing "Waif me," a take-off on the song "Rape Me." He then quickly switched to playing "Lithium," the song the band had agreed to play in the show as a compromise with MTV executives. Cobain had wanted to sing the then-new song "Rape Me", while MTV's bigwigs wanted the band to lead off the show with their signature song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The two sides settled on a mid-show rendition of "Lithium."
Named 12th greatest guitar player of all-time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2003.
Usually wrote left-handed, but in time learned how to write right-handed as well.
His favorite film was Paris, Texas (1984) - as stated on the "Nevermind - It's An Interview" CD.
Samples of Cobain-penned song lyrics: "I'm a negative creep and I'm stoned" ("Negative Creep," 1989)... "She keeps it pumpin' straight to my heart" ("Aneurysm," 1990)... "And I forget just why I taste/oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile/I found it hard, it's hard to find/oh well, whatever, nevermind" ("Smells Like Teen Spirit," 1991)... "My heart is broke/but I have some glue/help me inhale/and mend it with you/we'll float around/and hang out on clouds/then we'll come down/and have a hangover" ("Dumb," 1993)... "I'll keep fighting jealousy/until it's fucking gone" ("Lounge Act," 1991)... "The animals I've trapped/have all become my pets" ("Something in the Way," 1991)... "Things have never been so swell/I have never felt so well" ("You Know You're Right," 1994)... "All in all is all we all are" ("All Apologies," 1993).
Son of Donald Cobain and Wendy Fradenburg
Was runner-up for Best Songwriter of 1994 in "Rolling Stone" magazine's annual critics' poll. He ranked between Freedy Johnston and Sam Phillips, who placed 1st and 3rd in the poll, respectively.
The song "Mighty K.C." by For Squirrels was written about him.
Had disbanded Nirvana (his rock group) and was in the process of divorcing Courtney Love at the time of his death.
He wrote a song for his friend Mark Lanegan, who sang for the Screaming Trees. The song was never recorded because Mark said not only would it be like digging up the grave of an old friend, but the song simply didn't fit with the rest of the "Dust" album in a lyrical sense
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