"The World According To Kurt"

Music has always spoken to me and for me. It has been an expression of rage, pain, love and glory. Through music, I have discovered answers and asked questions. It is hard to completely explain just how much of an impact music has had on my life, but it has been profound.
For me, the most influential voice of my time was Kurt Cobain... The lead singer/songwriter for the band nirvana, for anyone who slept through the 1990's. He spoke for an entire generation and exposed the realities of the world as he knew it. His music was raw and filled with emotion, revealing just how much contempt he held for the current state of our planet and what he hoped for.
I have often been berated for the darkness and angst in my own writings, but how can I not reveal the opinions and beliefs and experiences and stay true to my writings. Kurt saw a world filled with ignorance and inconsideration and raged against it. Little has changed since Kurt's suicide, his word's ring just as true today.

What was Kurt's message to the world? Just examine some of his lyrics.

- "Self-appointed judges judge more than they have sold"- A shot at critics who try to influence the market with their opinions, but how can anyone put down what Kurt did so successfully. For that matter, how can anyone try to judge another in any aspect of life, when we all have shortcomings... Opinions of life or dislike are one thing, to voice that opinion as though you are some sort of expert... especially if you "can't do" makes for ignorant statements.

- "All the kids will eat it up if its packaged properly"- Give it the pop-culture stamp of approval and people will love it. Kurt was tired of seeing a magazine tell everyone what was good, when he knew so much crap was "branded" and so much genius was left in the darkness. We still suffer from this, as incredible music by bands like Arcade Fire and My Morning Jacket only share moderate success, and so many other bands fall by the wayside, yet garbage that has only one discernible line in the entire song, repeated for 3 minutes straight, sells millions of copies.

- "Light my candles in a daze, cause I've found God"- Hmm, I think I'm seeing a trend here.

- "Monkey see, Monkey do/I'd rather be dead than cool"

Look, I don't deny Kurt took the easy way out, but I must agree with many of his views. Modern society is like a bunch of sheep being led by the shepherd of media. We do what we are told, what's 'cool,' or what is easy. Like the living dead we stumble in a daze from one pop-culture feast to the next. Kurt saw us losing our humanity and becoming more and more like machines, programmed to speak, think and act exactly as the created 'social-structure' demands.
Tag a pile of human excrement with a brand name and watch it sell in bulk. Tell people how trendy something is and watch as they dive from cliffs to possess that something... Then watch as they beat down anyone who goes against the standard.