A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA

A little something extra

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#TBT: IN LOVING MEMORY, RIP KURT COBAIN AND LAYNE STAYLEY

Looking back on my angst ridden teen/tween years, there are two very influential bands who shaped music and lead the grunge movement forward and beyond its highest potential. These two bands were Nirvana and Alice in Chains. Both bands had immensely creative and deeply troubled lead singers who were deep in to drugs and depression. As a teen, I loved the emotional sincerity of the music, and appreciated the heavy metaphors and wordplay.

Kurt Cobain's suicide note

Nirvana, the poster band of the 90's grunge movement, was headed by Kurt Cobain. Cobain was a blonde haired unkempt poet of a lead singer. Cobain never anticipated or wanted the fame that Nirvana was garnering in the early through mid 90's. He just wanted to make music. To many, this mans poetic, angry music characterized what the 90's were all about. Anger, frustration, confused rage against a system that no one understood, and to some point, dismissal. The 90's rebellion that was captured in Nirvana's could be summarized in one word: Nevermind. Nevermind was the title of Nirvanas capstone album that solidified their place in music history. All of the hit songs that are now played on rotation on rock and metal stations are from that album. Courtney Love of Hole played a large part in Kurt's life, as both were drugged muses of each others art. The two got married, and had a child, Frances Bean Cobain. Kurt had always been addicted to heroin and pills. It was no secret that Cobain struggled with these vices, so much so that Courtney Love even arranged an intervention at one point. Cobain was found dead at his home on April 8, 1994. Forensic analysis determined that he had committed suicide three days prior on April 5. The Seattle Police Department incident report states: "Kurt Cobain was found with a shotgun across his body, had a visible head wound and there was a suicide note discovered nearby." The King County Medical Examiner noted puncture wounds on the inside of both the right and left elbow. Prior to his death, Cobain had checked out of a drug rehabilitation facility and had been reported as suicidal by his wife Courtney Love.
Despite the official ruling of suicide, several theories have arisen of alternate explanations for Cobain's death. 

Layne Staley, the lead singer of the band Alice in Chains and Mad Season, was a vocal heavyweight who used his voice as a powerful instrument. Alice in Chains had a unique sound, and was a much darker and emotional sounding band than most grunge acts of the day. Layne used a lot of harmonizing in his music. Layne, who mainly worked with bandmate Jerry Cantrell on writing the lyrics and music for the band, wrote songs mostly about his drug use and depression. Alice in Chains first album was released in 1990. Facelift was the name of the album, and the moody vocalizations and albums heavy tone set the tone of the bands career from then until Laynes death on April 5th 2002.  From 1999 to 2002, Staley became more reclusive, rarely leaving his Seattle condo; little is known about the details of his life during this period. It was rumored that Staley would spend most of his days creating art, playing video games, or nodding off on drugs. Staley's mother owns the last known photo of Staley, taken on February 14, 2002, which features him holding his newborn nephew, Oscar, although the photo has never been published. Other than this rare incident, Staley was not seen often by family or friends. In his last interview, Staley stated, "Don't try to contact any AIC (Alice in Chains) members. They are not my friends." Kinney has commented on Staley's final years and isolation period:

"I kept trying to make contact...Three times a week, like clockwork, I'd call him, but he'd never answer. Every time I was in the area, I was up in front of his place yelling for him...Even if you could get in his building, he wasn't going to open the door. You'd phone and he wouldn't answer. You couldn't just kick the door in and grab him, though there were so many times I thought about doing that. But if someone won't help themselves, what, really, can anyone else do?"

Layne Staley

In his last interview, given on December 20, 2001 roughly four months before his death, Staley admitted, "I know I'm near death, I did crack and heroin for years. I never wanted to end my life this way." Staley's physical appearance had become even worse than before: he had lost several teeth, his skin was sickly pale, and he was severely emaciated. In the same interview Staley spoke of the damage caused by his heroin addiction:
 "I'm not using drugs to get high like many people think. I know I made a big mistake when I started using this shit. It's a very difficult thing to explain. My liver is not functioning, and I'm throwing up all the time and shitting my pants. The pain is more than you can handle. It's the worst pain in the world. Dope sick hurts the entire body."

Layne Staley and Kurt Cobain had a huge impact in my life. They defined the voice of the  90's generation. Rest in Peace.