Editing Kurt Cobain (section)

== Musical influences ==
[[The Beatles]] were an early and lasting influence on Cobain; his aunt Mari remembers him singing "[[Hey Jude]]" at the age of two.<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|9}} "My aunts would give me Beatles records", Cobain told [[Jon Savage]] in 1993, "so for the most part [I listened to] the Beatles [as a child], and if I was lucky, I'd be able to buy a single."<ref name="Savage, Jon 1997">{{cite web|last=Savage|first=John|url=http://www.nirvanafreak.net/art/art8a.shtml|title=Kurt Cobain: The Lost Interview|work=NirvanaFreak.net|access-date=April 8, 2012|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040430011407/http://www.nirvanafreak.net/art/art8a.shtml|archive-date=April 30, 2004}}</ref> Cobain expressed a particular fondness for [[John Lennon]], whom he called his "idol" in his posthumously released [[Journals (Cobain)|journals]],<ref name="Cobain, Kurt 2002">{{cite book|last=Cobain|first=Kurt|url=https://archive.org/details/kurtcobainjourna00coba|title=Journals|date=2002|publisher=[[Riverhead Books|Riverhead Hardcover]]|isbn=978-1-57322-232-7|location=New York City|url-access=registration}}</ref> and he said that he wrote the song "About a Girl", from Nirvana's 1989 debut album ''Bleach'', after spending three hours listening to ''[[Meet the Beatles!]]''.<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|121}}

Cobain was also a fan of 1970s [[hard rock]] and [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] bands, including [[Led Zeppelin]], [[AC/DC]], [[Black Sabbath]], [[Aerosmith]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]], and [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]]. Nirvana occasionally played cover songs by these bands, including Led Zeppelin's "[[Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)|Heartbreaker]]", "[[Moby Dick (instrumental)|Moby Dick]]" and "[[Immigrant Song]]", Black Sabbath's "[[Hand of Doom (song)|Hand of Doom]]", and Kiss' "[[Destroyer (Kiss album)|Do You Love Me?]]" and wrote the ''[[Incesticide]]'' song "Aero Zeppelin" as a tribute to Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith. Recollecting touring with his band, Cobain stated, "I used to take a nap in the van and listen to Queen. Over and over again and drain the battery on the van. We'd be stuck with a dead battery because I'd listened to Queen too much".<ref>{{cite news|first=Amy|last=Weller|title=If it wasn't for Freddie Mercury... 13 artists inspired by the Queen icon|url=https://www.gigwise.com/photos/84002/9/if-it-wasnt-for-freddie-mercury-13-artists-inspired-by-the-queen-icon|date=September 5, 2013|access-date=March 13, 2018|work=Gigwise|archive-date=March 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330082547/https://www.gigwise.com/photos/84002/9/if-it-wasnt-for-freddie-mercury-13-artists-inspired-by-the-queen-icon|url-status=live}}</ref>

He was introduced to punk rock and hardcore music by his Aberdeen classmate [[Buzz Osborne]], lead singer and guitarist of the [[Melvins]], who taught Cobain about punk by loaning him records and old copies of the Detroit-based magazine ''[[Creem]]''.<ref name=DailyHerald>{{cite news|last=Guarino|first=Mark|title=Heavy heaven New Cobain bio sheds light on fallen hero.|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-79153994|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210222111506/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-79153994|archive-date=February 22, 2021|access-date=January 3, 2013|newspaper=Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois)|date=October 12, 2001|quote=Soon band member Roger "Buzz" Osborne started Cobain's schooling, loaning him records and old copies of the '70s rock magazine ''Creem''.}}</ref> Punk rock proved to be a profound influence on a teenaged Cobain's attitude and artistic style. His first punk rock album was ''[[Sandinista!]]'' by [[the Clash]],<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|169}} but he became a bigger fan of fellow 1970s British punk band the [[Sex Pistols]], describing them as "one million times more important than the Clash" in his journals.<ref name="Cobain, Kurt 2002"/> He quickly discovered contemporary American hardcore bands like [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]], [[Bad Brains]], [[Millions of Dead Cops]] and [[Flipper (band)|Flipper]].<ref name=DailyHerald/> The Melvins themselves were a major early musical influence on Cobain; his admiration for them led him to drive their van on tour and help them to carry their equipment.<ref name="gaar"/>{{rp|42}}<ref name="cross-2008"/>{{rp|153}} He and Novoselic watched hundreds of Melvins rehearsals and "learned almost everything from them", as stated by Cobain.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=March 1992 |title=Kurt Cobain, Il Punk Da Un Milione Di Dollari|language=it|magazine=[[:it:Rumore (rivista)|Rumore]]|first=Claudio |last=Sorge|author-link=:it:Claudio Sorge|location=Mezzago, Italy|quote=Kurt Cobain: Ci aggregammo subito ai Melvins, che erano anche loro di Aberdeen. Definitivamente sono il gruppo che ci ha maggiormente influenzato. Andavamo alle loro prove, ai loro concerti. Abbiamo suonato con loro in vari show. Abbiamo imparato quasi tutto da loro. }}</ref><ref name=flipside/> The Melvins' heavy, [[grunge]]y sound was mimicked by Nirvana on many songs from ''Bleach''; in an early interview given by Nirvana, Cobain stated that their biggest fear was to be perceived as a "Melvins rip-off".<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|153}} After their commercial success, the members of Nirvana would constantly talk about the Melvins' importance to them in the press.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=March 2, 2021|url=https://shepherdexpress.com/music/concert-reviews/melvins-turner-hall-ballroom/|publication-date=May 2, 2012|title=The Melvins @ Turner Hall Ballroom|first=Thomas |last=Michalski|website=[[Shepherd Express]]|date=May 2, 2012}}</ref><ref name=flipside/>

Cobain was an admirer of [[Jimi Hendrix]], and said in reference to the growing media attention on the [[Seattle sound|Seattle scene]] at the time, "I mean, we had Jimi Hendrix. Heck. What more do we want?".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.livenirvana.com/interviews/9109mc/index.php#gsc.tab=0 |title=Interview September 21, 1991 |last=Coiteux|first=Marc|date=September 21, 1991 |website=LiveNirvana |access-date=March 17, 2024}}</ref> In a 1993 interview Cobain called Hendrix "a great musician and a great composer," and noted that, "I have great respect for him."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.livenirvana.com/interviews/9301acm/index.php#Transcript1&gsc.tab=0 |title=Interview January 20, 1993 |last=Carlos Miguel|first=Antonio|date=January 20, 1993 |website=LiveNirvana |access-date=March 13, 2024}}</ref>

Cobain was also a fan of [[protopunk]] acts like [[the Stooges]], whose 1973 album ''[[Raw Power]]'' he listed as his favorite of all time in his journals.<ref name="Cobain, Kurt 2002"/>

The 1980s American [[alternative rock]] band [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]] were instrumental in helping an adult Cobain develop his own songwriting style. In a 1992 interview with ''[[Melody Maker]]'', Cobain said that hearing their 1988 debut album, ''[[Surfer Rosa]]'', "convinced him to abandon his more Black Flag-influenced songwriting in favor of the [[Iggy Pop]]/Aerosmith-type songwriting that appeared on ''Nevermind''.<ref>Cobain, Kurt. "Kurt Cobain of Nirvana Talks About the Records That Changed His Life. ''[[Melody Maker]]''. August 29, 1992.</ref> In a 1993 interview with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', he said that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt at "trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band—or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard".<ref name="pixies">Fricke, David. "Kurt Cobain: The Rolling Stone Interview". ''Rolling Stone''. January 27, 1994</ref>

Cobain's appreciation of early alternative rock bands also extended to [[Sonic Youth]] and [[R.E.M.]], both of which the members of Nirvana befriended and looked up to for advice. It was under recommendation from Sonic Youth's [[Kim Gordon]] that Nirvana signed to [[DGC Records|DGC]] in 1990,<ref name="azerrad" />{{rp|162}} and both bands did a two-week tour of Europe in the summer of 1991, as documented in the 1992 documentary, ''[[1991: The Year Punk Broke]]''. In 1993, Cobain said of R.E.M.: "If I could write just a couple of songs as good as what they've written... I don't know how that band does what they do. God, they're the greatest. They've dealt with their success like saints, and they keep delivering great music".<ref name="pixies"/>

After attaining mainstream success, Cobain became a devoted champion of lesser known [[indie rock|indie]] bands, covering songs by [[the Vaselines]], [[Meat Puppets]], [[Wipers (band)|Wipers]] and [[Fang (band)|Fang]] onstage and/or in the studio, wearing [[Daniel Johnston]] [[T-shirts]] during photo shoots, having the [[K Records]] logo tattooed on his forearm, and enlisting bands like [[Butthole Surfers]], [[Shonen Knife]], [[Chokebore]] and [[Half Japanese]] along for the ''[[In Utero (album)|In Utero]]'' tour in late 1993 and early 1994. Cobain even invited his favorite musicians to perform with him: ex-[[Germs (band)|Germs]] guitarist [[Pat Smear]] joined the band in 1993, and the Meat Puppets appeared onstage during Nirvana's 1993 ''[[MTV Unplugged]]'' appearance to perform three songs from their second album, ''[[Meat Puppets II]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Payne |first=Chris |date=November 18, 2014 |title=Nirvana's 'MTV Unplugged' 20 Years Later: Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood Looks Back |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/nirvana-mtv-unplugged-new-york-meat-puppets-interview-6319909/ |access-date=March 8, 2024 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>

Nirvana's ''Unplugged'' set includes renditions of "[[The Man Who Sold the World (song)|The Man Who Sold the World]]", by [[David Bowie]], and the American folk song, "[[In the Pines|Where Did You Sleep Last Night]]", as adapted by [[Lead Belly]]. Cobain introduced the latter by calling Lead Belly his favorite performer, and in a 1993 interview revealed he had been introduced to him from reading the American author [[William S. Burroughs]], saying: "I remember [Burroughs] saying in an interview, 'These new rock'n'roll kids should just throw away their guitars and listen to something with real soul, like Leadbelly.' I'd never heard about Leadbelly before so I bought a couple of records, and now he turns out to be my absolute favorite of all time in music. I absolutely love it more than any rock'n'roll I ever heard."<ref name="Laurence">{{cite web|url=http://romanceisdead.net/spip.php?article30|title=Kurt Cobain interview Date: 08/10/1993 Location: Seattle Ze Full Version Uncut !!!|publisher=Romance Is Dead|author=Laurence Romance|date=April 21, 2010|access-date=April 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412030834/http://romanceisdead.net/spip.php?article30|archive-date=April 12, 2012}}</ref> The album ''[[MTV Unplugged in New York]]'' was released posthumously in 1994. It has drawn comparisons to R.E.M.'s 1992 release, ''[[Automatic for the People]]''.<ref name="Thomas">{{cite web|last=Thomas|first=Stephen|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r206714|pure_url=yes}}|title=MTV Unplugged in New York – Nirvana|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 8, 2012}}</ref> In 1993, Cobain had predicted that the next Nirvana album would be "pretty ethereal, acoustic, like R.E.M.'s last album".<ref name="pixies"/>

"Yeah, he talked a lot about what direction he was heading in", Cobain's friend, R.E.M.'s lead singer [[Michael Stipe]], told ''[[Newsweek]]'' in 1994. "I mean, I know what the next Nirvana recording was going to sound like. It was going to be very quiet and acoustic, with lots of stringed instruments. It was going to be an amazing fucking record, and I'm a little bit angry at him for killing himself. He and I were going to record a trial run of the album, a demo tape. It was all set up. He had a plane ticket. He had a car picking him up. And at the last minute he called and said, 'I can't come.{{' "}} Stipe was chosen as the godfather of Cobain's and [[Courtney Love]]'s daughter, [[Frances Bean Cobain]].<ref name="September1994">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/everybody-hurts-sometime-188414|title=Everybody Hurts Sometime|work=Newsweek|date=September 26, 1994|access-date=April 8, 2012|archive-date=March 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304123011/http://www.newsweek.com/everybody-hurts-sometime-188414|url-status=live}}</ref>