Editing Kurt Cobain (section)

==Death==
{{Main|Suicide of Kurt Cobain}}
[[File:Kurt'sNote.jpg|thumb|Cobain's suicide note. The final phrase before the [[valediction]], "It's better to burn out than to fade away", is a quote from the lyrics of [[Neil Young]]'s song "[[My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)]]".]]
Following a tour stop at [[Munich-Riem airport|Terminal Eins]] in Munich, Germany, on March&nbsp;1, 1994, Cobain was diagnosed with [[bronchitis]] and severe [[laryngitis]]. He flew to Rome the next day for medical treatment, and was joined there by his wife, Courtney Love, on March&nbsp;3. The next morning, Love awoke to find that Cobain had overdosed on a combination of champagne and [[Flunitrazepam|Rohypnol]]. Cobain was rushed to the hospital and was unconscious for the rest of the day. Dave Grohl mentioned in his memoir<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arnold |first=Chuck |date=2021-10-05 |title=Dave Grohl was told Kurt Cobain died month before suicide |url=https://nypost.com/2021/10/05/dave-grohl-was-told-kurt-cobain-died-month-before-suicide/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |language=en-US}}</ref> that he received a phone call at this time saying Cobain had died. However, a few minutes later he was called again and told that the singer was hospitalized but stable.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grohl |first=Dave |title=The Storyteller - Tales of life and music |publisher=Simon Schuster |date=2022-06-09 |isbn=9781398503724 |language=EN}}</ref> Love later said that the incident was Cobain's first [[suicide attempt]].<ref name="life after death">{{cite magazine |last=Fricke |first=David |author-link=David Fricke |date=December 15, 1994 |title=Courtney Love: Life After Death |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/courtneylove/articles/story/5937442/life_after_death |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413090248/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/courtneylove/articles/story/5937442/life_after_death |archive-date=April 13, 2009 |access-date=April 5, 2012 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> After five days, Cobain was released and returned to Seattle.<ref name="Halperin" /> 

On March 18, 1994, Love phoned the [[Seattle Police Department|Seattle police]] informing them that Cobain was suicidal and had locked himself in a room with a gun. Police arrived and confiscated several guns and a bottle of pills from Cobain, who insisted that he was not suicidal and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kurt-cobains-downward-spiral-the-last-days-of-nirvanas-leader-19940602|quote=she told them...he was going to kill himself. Cobain told them that he hadn't actually been planning to take his own life.|title=Kurt Cobain's Downward Spiral: The Last Days of Nirvana's Leader|date=June 2, 1994|author=Neil Strauss|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=September 2, 2017|archive-date=May 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521080133/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kurt-cobains-downward-spiral-the-last-days-of-nirvanas-leader-19940602|url-status=live}}</ref>

Love arranged an [[Intervention (counseling)|intervention]] regarding Cobain's drug use on March&nbsp;25, 1994. The ten people involved included musician friends, record company executives, and one of Cobain's closest friends, [[Dylan Carlson (musician)|Dylan Carlson]]. Cobain reacted with anger, insulting and heaping scorn on the participants, and locked himself in the upstairs bedroom. However, by the end of the day, Cobain agreed to undergo a [[Drug detoxification|detox]] program, and he entered a residential facility in Los Angeles for a few days on March&nbsp;30, 1994.<ref name="The1994">{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940511/1909954/questions-linger-after-cobain-suicide----credit-card-activity-details-of-last-days-intrigue-investigators|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|date=May 11, 1994|title=Questions Linger After Cobain Suicide|access-date=January 20, 2019|archive-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121064212/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940511&slug=1909954|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Questions Linger After Cobain Suicide – Credit-Card Activity, Details Of Last Days Intrigue Investigators |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19940511&slug=1909954|access-date=June 18, 2021|website=archive.seattletimes.com|archive-date=March 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316071159/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19940511&slug=1909954|url-status=live}}</ref> The same day he left for Los Angeles, Cobain asked his friend, [[Dylan Carlson (musician)|Dylan Carlson]], to buy a shotgun for him saying it was for "self-protection". This weapon is the one Cobain used in his suicide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=G |first=Alexandre |date=2024-04-12 |title=Dylan Carlson Was Kurt Cobain's Ultimate Best Friend - Musiclipse |work=Musiclipse |url=https://www.musiclipse.com/2024/04/12/dylan-carlson-was-kurt-cobains-ultimate-best-friend/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="cross-2001" />

On the evening of April 1, 1994, Cobain escaped the facility and flew to Seattle. On the flight, he sat near [[Duff McKagan]] of [[Guns N' Roses]]. Despite Cobain's animosity towards Guns N' Roses, Cobain "seemed happy" to see McKagan. McKagan later said that he knew from "all of my instincts that something was wrong".<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|331}} Most of Cobain's friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts. On April 6, amid rumors of Nirvana breaking up, the band pulled out of the 1994 [[Lollapalooza]] festival.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 6, 1994|title=Nirvana Pulls Out of Tour Plan: Pop music: Amid reports of a breakup, the band withdraws from talks about headlining this summer's 'Lollapalooza '94,' citing singer Kurt Cobain's health problems. – Los Angeles Times|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-04-06-ca-42770-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521055811/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-04-06-ca-42770-story.html|archive-date=May 21, 2020|access-date=June 18, 2021}}</ref>

[[File:KurtCobainHouse.jpg|thumb|Cobain's former home, and the site of his death]]
On April 8,<ref>{{cite web|author1=Monica Guzman|title=15 years later: Where were you when Kurt Cobain was found dead?|url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2009/04/07/15-years-later-where-were-you-when-kurt-cobain-was-found-dead|website=Seattle PI|publisher=Hearst Media|access-date=February 2, 2015|date=April 7, 2009|archive-date=February 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202133826/http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2009/04/07/15-years-later-where-were-you-when-kurt-cobain-was-found-dead/}}</ref> Cobain's body was discovered at his [[Denny-Blaine, Seattle|Lake Washington Boulevard]] home by an electrician,<ref name="Drugs, Guns And Threats">{{cite news|author=Whitely, Peyton|date=April 19, 1994|title=Kurt Cobain's Troubled Last Days – Drugs, Guns And Threats; And Then He Disappeared|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940409/1904636/kurt-cobains-troubled-last-days----drugs-guns-and-threats-and-then-he-disappeared|newspaper=The Seattle Times|access-date=February 8, 2013|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006113050/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940409&slug=1904636|url-status=live}}</ref> who had arrived to install a security system. A [[suicide note]] was found, addressed to Cobain's childhood [[imaginary friend]] Boddah, that stated that Cobain had not "felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing ... for too many years now". Cobain's body had been there for days; the coroner's report estimated he died on April&nbsp;5, 1994, at the [[27 Club|age of 27]].<ref name="Liu2009">{{cite news|author=Liu, Marian |date=April 6, 2009 |title=Kurt Cobain's death, 15 years later, being marked with Friday tribute |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/musicnightlife/2008993909_zmus06dispatchcobain.html |newspaper=Seattle Times |access-date=April 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019035843/http://seattletimes.com/html/musicnightlife/2008993909_zmus06dispatchcobain.html |archive-date=October 19, 2012 }}</ref>

=== Aftermath ===
A public vigil was held on April&nbsp;10, at a park at [[Seattle Center]], drawing approximately 7,000 mourners.<ref name="azerrad" />{{rp|346}} Prerecorded messages by Novoselic and Love were played at the memorial. Love read portions of the suicide note to the crowd, crying and chastising Cobain. Near the end of the vigil, Love distributed some of Cobain's clothing to those who remained.<ref name="azerrad" />{{rp|350}} Grohl said that the news of Cobain's death was "probably the worst thing that has happened to me in my life. I remember the day after that I woke up and I was heartbroken that he was gone. I just felt like, 'Okay, so I get to wake up today and have another day and he doesn't.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Colothan |first1=Scott |title=Dave Grohl: 'Kurt Cobain's Death Is The Worst Thing That's Ever Happened To Me' |url=https://www.gigwise.com/news/53389/ |website=Gigwise |access-date=July 30, 2021 |date=November 10, 2009 |archive-date=July 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730225501/https://www.gigwise.com/news/53389/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=3am |title=Dave Grohl reveals he knew Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain would die young |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/dave-grohl-reveals-he-knew-nirvana-670948 |website=Mirror |access-date=July 30, 2021 |date=November 12, 2009 |archive-date=July 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730225501/https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/dave-grohl-reveals-he-knew-nirvana-670948 |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]],'' reporting from Seattle on April&nbsp;23, stated that within a few hours of Cobain's death being confirmed on April&nbsp;8, the only remaining Nirvana titles at Park Ave Records on Queen Anne Avenue were two "[[Heart-Shaped Box]]" import CD singles. A marketing director at the three-store Cellophane Square chain said that "all three stores sold about a few hundred CDs, singles, and vinyl by the morning of April&nbsp;9". A buyer at [[Tower Records]] on Mercer Street said: "It's a pathetic scene, everything is going out the door. If people were really fans, they would've had this stuff already."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Borzillo |first=Carrie |author-link=Carrie Borzillo |date=April 23, 1994 |title=Cobain Mourned By Fans, Industryites In Memorials, Music Stores |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1994/1994-04-23-Billboard-Page-0100.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page=102 |access-date=May 30, 2021 |archive-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213229/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1994/1994-04-23-Billboard-Page-0100.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In the United Kingdom, sales of Nirvana releases rose dramatically immediately after Cobain's death.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=April 23, 1994 |title=MCA puts hold on Nirvana releases |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Week-IDX/IDX/1994/Music-Week-1994-01-08.o-IDX-627.pdf |magazine=[[Music Week]] |page=5 |access-date=December 20, 2021 |archive-date=December 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220121021/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Week-IDX/IDX/1994/Music-Week-1994-01-08.o-IDX-627.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Grohl believed that he knew Cobain would die at an early age, saying that "sometimes you just can't save someone from themselves", and "in some ways, you kind of prepare yourself emotionally for that to be a reality".<ref name="DaveGrohl">{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/nirvana/48303|title=Dave Grohl: 'I knew Kurt Cobain was destined to die early'|work=NME|date=November 10, 2009|location=UK|access-date=August 14, 2010|archive-date=November 12, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091112103103/https://www.nme.com/news/nirvana/48303|url-status=live}}</ref> Dave Reed, who for a short time had been Cobain's foster father, said that "he had the desperation, not the courage, to be himself. Once you do that, you can't go wrong, because you can't make any mistakes when people love you for being yourself. But for Kurt, it didn't matter that other people loved him; he simply didn't love himself enough."<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|351}}

A final ceremony was arranged by Cobain's mother on May 31, 1999, and was attended by Love and Tracy Marander. As a Buddhist monk chanted, daughter Frances Bean scattered Cobain's ashes into [[McLane Creek]] in Olympia, the city where he "had found his true artistic muse".<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|351}} In 2006, Love said she retained Cobain's ashes, kept in a bank vault in Los Angeles because "no cemetery in Seattle will take them".<ref name="Love me do" />[[File:Viretta Park bench 04.jpg|thumb|A bench in Viretta Park, through tribute [[graffiti]], has become an improvised memorial to Cobain.]] Cobain's death became a topic of public fascination and debate.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/soaked-in-bleach-review-kurt-cobain-courtney-love-1201519277/|title=Film Review: 'Soaked in Bleach'|last=Harvey|first=Dennis|date=June 24, 2015|work=Variety|access-date=August 23, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=June 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628124944/https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/soaked-in-bleach-review-kurt-cobain-courtney-love-1201519277/|url-status=live}}</ref> His artistic endeavors and struggles with addiction, illness and depression, as well as the circumstances of his death, have become a frequent topic of controversy. According to a spokesperson for the Seattle Police Department, the department receives at least one weekly request to reopen the investigation, resulting in the maintenance of the basic incident report on file.<ref name="Kiro" />

In March 2014, the Seattle police developed four rolls of film that had been left in an evidence vault; no reason was provided for why the rolls were not developed earlier. According to the Seattle police, the 35mm film photographs show the scene of Cobain's dead body more clearly than previous [[Instant film|Polaroid images]] taken by the police. Detective Mike Ciesynski, a [[cold case]] investigator, was instructed to look at the film because "it is 20 years later and it's a high media case". Ciesynski stated that Cobain's death remains a suicide and that the images would not have been released publicly.<ref name="Kiro">{{cite web|title=Seattle police re-examine Cobain suicide, develop scene photos|url=http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/only-kiro-7-seattle-police-re-investigate-kurt-cob/nfHMq/|work=kirotv.com|publisher=Cox Media Group|access-date=March 27, 2014|author=Casey McNerthney|author2=Amy Clancy|date=March 20, 2014|archive-date=March 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326230140/http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/only-kiro-7-seattle-police-re-investigate-kurt-cob/nfHMq/}}</ref> The photos in question were later released, one by one, weeks before the 20th anniversary of Cobain's death. One photo shows Cobain's arm, still wearing the hospital bracelet from the drug rehab facility he had left just a few days prior to returning to Seattle. Another photo shows Cobain's foot resting next to a bag of [[shotgun shells]], one of which was used in his death.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/new-kurt-cobain-death-scene-photos/ |title=Kurt Cobain Death Scene Photos – New Kurt Cobain death scene photos – Pictures |work=CBS News |date=March 27, 2014 |access-date=November 18, 2015 |archive-date=November 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129031232/http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/new-kurt-cobain-death-scene-photos/ |url-status=live }}</ref>