Copyright 1994 The Hearst Corporation   
The San Francisco Examiner
April 17, 1994, Sunday; Fifth Edition
SECTION: STYLE; Pg. B-13
LENGTH: 1747 words
HEADLINE: Cobain suicide: sudden impact;  Professional peers and
critics have their say
SOURCE: EXAMINER POP MUSIC CRITIC
BYLINE: BARRY WALTERS
BODY:

     FOR MANY people, Kurt Cobain didn't exist until he killed
himself over a week ago. Although his band Nirvana sold millions of
albums worldwide, scored a few hit singles, won awards and inspired
the whole grunge rock sound and downwardly mobile look, many
 adults remain oblivious to Nirvana's influence and musical
importance. Popular culture has become so fragmented and radio
stations so regulated that it's now possible for a rock or rap or
R&B group to profoundly affect the lives of millions and remain ut
terly obscure to the rest of us. Cobain's suicide hasn't inspired
the same widespread sense of loss as John Lennon's death because
our society won't allow for another Beatles.
     But to some, particularly those who weren't yet born during
the Beatles' heyday, Cobain was among the most significant
performers of our time. Whom he touched, he touched profoundly.
     The following is a list of Bay Area musicians and cultural
commentators who had something to say about Cobain's life and
death. They confirm that in one way or another, you are missing a
significant aspect of popular culture if you remain ignorant of Cob
ain's musical and social contribution.
     Gary Floyd, Sister Double Happiness, toured with Nirvana while
"Nevermind" sold its first million copies: Kurt was much more
withdrawn than the others, very intense, but he seemed really
sweet. He heard that I once worked at a halfway house for runaway
y
outh and he said that he wanted to run away to a place like that
and work there at the same time. All of us had been making fun of
the big rock star thing and he was just then beginning to fall into
that himself and he sensed that there was no escape. He 
was very frightened of fame, and he went out of his way to show
people that he wasn't becoming an asshole.
     Penelope Houston, former singer of the pioneering punk band
the Avengers and solo performer: His death proves that no matter
how much money or how much fame you get, it's not going to make you
happy or save your soul.  I think Kurt was was under a lot of
 pressure being the mouthpiece for a generation. It's a sad
indicator that he couldn't find another way to live. I hope
musicians and other people his age find different ways to get
through life besides drugs, alcohol and guns because there's a lot
of goo
d things to be had.
     Roger Manning, Jellyfish, darkly jolly pop group: It's a shame
that we lost one of the best songwriters of the '90s. Jellyfish has
tried to remind its audiences that you need to have a sense of
humor to get through life. I always watch "Love Boat" reruns
 when I'm depressed.
     Mark Kozelek, Red House Painters, mournful rock band: "Kurt
Cobain had everything," a cab driver said to me on Friday. He did
have everything, drug problems, health problems, marital problems,
etc. I think his suicide was much more complicated than to su
m it all up by calling him an asshole or selfish. As far as I'm
concerned, people have the right to take their own lives. Life's
path took him to a place where he didn't want to be.
     Barbara Manning, alternative folk-rock singer-songwriter,
works at Reckless Records, newly famous in Germany: What happened
to him is really a shame because he had every opportunity to walk
away from his persona, his wife, everything. I understand suicid
e as an option if your life is a living jail sentence. I'm not a
great fan of Cat Stevens' politics, but he managed to leave
everything behind.  You can walk away from what people think you
are.
     Pete Graham, Melvins' fan club, danced in the "Smells Like
Teen Spirit" video: I met Kurt when the band first came to L.A. and
played the minuscule club Raji's. I spoke to him and was struck by
his sarcastic sense of humor. I felt he was someone whom I c
ould connect with.
     He later invited me to be in Nirvana's first big-budget video.
The best part of the 14-hour taping was talking with Kurt between
takes when I realized what a thoughtful, intelligent, genuinely
sweet individual he was. A few months later he recognized me 
at a concert in Tijuana and called me over.  The "Teen Spirit"
video had gone through the roof and Kurt was already starting to
get freaked out. There were a lot of drunk jocks in the audience
and he was beginning to realize that things were only going to
 get worse.
     I moved to San Francisco and hooked up with the Melvins'
drummer Dale Crover, who was very close to Kurt in high school,
played on some of the early recordings and toured with Nirvana and
Sonic Youth. Now I run the fan club for the Melvins. Dale and I ar
e very close, so I have been privy to a lot of inside info into the
dealings of Nirvana, especially the drugs and whatnot. I think that
the only person who saw this coming was Kurt, and his death has
really hit me. I feel truly confused and deeply saddene
d.
     Susie Bright, sex expert, writer and lecturer: A friend who
did not know Nirvana asked me why I cared so much about this guy.
I felt pressed to blurt out some small package of rhetoric that
would explain everything, so I said, "He was a gender-f, - perve
rt revolutionary whose stomach was eaten up because he sang his
guts out, literally." He was the most scatological poet since
Pasolini; the most unrepentant masochist cross dresser since Sacher
-Masoch. The last time I heard someone scream like Kurt it wa
s John Lennon: "I'VE GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS!"
     Ron Diamondstein, publicity director and disc jockey, KALX
radio at UC-Berkeley: One of the questions that has come up is why
Cobain's death is so much more important than the death of film
director Marlon Riggs, who died earlier in the same week and was
 a professor at the university our station is affiliated with. For
some people, it's easy to slag off Cobain's death because his
"alternative" ties were broken long ago. It's hard to know how to
react, because there is so much death around. Our nerve endi
ngs are kind of numb.
     Griel Marcus, forefather of rock criticism: I was horrified,
and I wish I could have been surprised, but his music wouldn't
permit it. His music was full of a passion that was somehow social
and instantly shared, and at the same time, absolutely his and 
his alone.
     Lynn Breedlove, Tribe 8, radical dyke punk band. I think he
was a jerk, totally irresponsible for bringing a child into the
world. I think he did society a service by offing himself. It was
really selfless of him to kill himself at the peak of Nirvana's 
popularity so that the surviving band members could make lots of
money. I'm sure Tribe 8 would sell a lot more records if I stuck a
gun in my mouth and pulled the trigger, but I'm too selfish.
     Jon Ginoli, Pansy Division, gay rock group that rewrote
Nirvana's biggest hit and released it as "Smells Like Queer
Spirit": Kurt Cobain's death is especially sad for me, an openly
queer rock musician, because no other rock superstar had been so
openly s
upportive of gay people and outspoken about homophobia. So it's
particularly tragic that he's dead while a homophobic creep like
Axl Rose gets to live. I wish he'd turned the gun on Axl first.
     Chuck Billy, Testament, hardcore metal band. People who are
friends of people with a drug problem should take an active role in
helping them. Musically, the community has suffered a great loss.
But, as Kurt said, he was tired of living the lie.
     Deanna Chirazi, Frightwig, influential female grunge band
before grunge was a buzzword. Cobain wore a Frightwig T-shirt on
Nirvana's "MTV Unplugged" performance: Musically I think he was one
of the few who truly shone. He did more for the "alternative mu
sic scene" than any other band. He was a kind person.
     Personally, we had babies around the same time. The love and
joy you share with your baby, I don't understand how you could do
this. I am devastated for Courtney and Francis Bean. Please be as
kind to his family as Kurt would have been to yours. 
     The Residents, experimental music/performance ensemble whose
members have remained anonymous for over 20 years.  The following
are lyrics to "The Great Pretenders," a brand-new song from an
unreleased album:

Once upon a time I played electric guitar
And they said I was a rock 'n' roll star;
Now nobody calls me on the telephone,
So I sit and watch my TV all alone;

Maybe if I put a bullet in my brain,
They'd remember me like Kurt Cobain;
And the parasites on MTV
Would wipe their eyes and act like they knew me;

But instead of a hero, I'd be dead;
Just a corpse beside a note that said,
"If you like to pretend that you'll never get old,
You got what it takes to rock 'n' roll!"

GRAPHIC: COMPUTER ILLUSTRATION (EXAMINER / LANCE JACKSON) 
Caption 1, (KURT COBAIN)