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According to Courtney Love, Kurt and Lana top her list of musical greats.
In an interview on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, the singer/songwriter identified her late husband Kurt Cobain and the artist Lana Del Rey as the only two genuine musical geniuses she had ever personally encountered.
“They can Spielberg anything,” the Hole lead singer said in an interview with Maron. “[R.E.M.’s Michael] Stipe? Bono? Yes, these are people that I know and love. Billie Joe [Armstrong], sure. But Lana? She’s got a magic thing. And she’s not even f—ed up!”
During the 2015 Endless Summer Tour, Love made six stops with Del Rey, telling Maron that Del Rey was a “real, true, fantastic friend.”
“She’s got the integrity Kurt had,” Love stated. “The only two people I know that I can say [that about].”
Love is the version of Nirvana’s “Plateau,” “Oh Me,” and “Lake of Fire” (the three Meat Puppets songs the band performed on the 1993 MTV Unplugged special), and a version of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.” Contrasted with Ray’s feminized production.
She also told Maron that she met singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell while she and Del Rey were passing the time in Portland and that their meeting had an impact on Del Rey’s “f—-ing whole thing.”
“My boomer rock critic friends are calling after Norman Rockwell, ‘Hey your friend, she’s pretty good,'” Love recalled. “And I said to her, ‘Welcome to the Thunderdome, Ms. Del Rey.'”
Love and Maron also talked about Love’s first studio album, following Hole’s 2010’s Nobody’s Daughter. The song title “Kill F—- Marry” was believed to be based on the defamation case of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana and the epitome of the 1990s grunge alternative rock movement, committed suicide on April 5, 1994 at the age of 27.
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Cobain and His Greatness
From February 20, 1967, to around April 5, 1994, American musician Kurt Donald Cobain served as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for the rock band Nirvana.
The thematic boundaries of popular rock music were pushed by Kurt Cobain’s disturbing songs and subversive imagery. He has been hailed as the voice of Generation X and is considered one of the most important artists in the development of alternative rock.
Cobain formed Nirvana in 1987 with Chris Novoselic and Aaron Burkhard, establishing it as part of the grunge movement that originated in Seattle.
Nirvana achieved international popularity with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” off their critically praised second album, Nevermind after signing with major label DGC Records (1991).
Following Nirvana’s unexpected success, Cobain was lauded as the voice of his generation, but he disliked this, feeling that the general public had misunderstood his message and artistic vision.
Other songs that Cobain composed for Nirvana besides “Smells Like Teen Spirit” include “Come as You Are,” “Lithium,” “In Bloom,” “Something in the Way,” “Heart-Shaped Box,” “All Apologies,” “About a Girl,” “Aneurysm,” and “You Know You’re Right.”
Dilemma
In the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with chronic health conditions like depression and heroin addiction. He also struggled with the rigors of fame on a personal and professional level and had a contentious marriage to fellow musician Courtney Love.
Later, Cobain underwent an intervention and entered a detoxification program after overdosing on champagne and Rohypnol in March 1994.
The singer was discovered dead at his Seattle residence on April 8, 1994, at the age of 27. Police later determined he had passed away on April 5 from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.
Along with comrades Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl from Nirvana, Cobain was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, their first year of eligibility.
By Rolling Stone, Cobain was listed among the 100 Greatest Songwriters, 100 Greatest Guitarists, and 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
In its list of the “22 Greatest Voices in Music,” MTV rated him seventh. On Hit Parader’s list of the “100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time” from 2006, he was ranked 20th.
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What Lana Has to Offer
American singer-songwriter Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, higher regarded with the aid of her level call Lana Del Rey, was born on June 21, 1985.
Known for the cinematic nature of her music, which explores tragic romance, glamour, and melancholy, she often references contemporary pop culture and 1950s-1960s Americana.
In addition to being nominated for six Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, she has won several awards, including a Satellite Award, two MTV Europe Music Awards, and two Brit Awards.
At the Hitmakers Awards, Variety recognized her as “one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century.”
Del Rey, who was raised in rural New York, relocated to New York City in 2005 to pursue a career in music.
The singer’s breakthrough occurred in 2011 with the viral popularity of her track “Video Games,” following many endeavors, including the release of her self-titled debut studio album. She subsequently secured a recording deal with Polydor and Interscope.
With her second album, Born to Die (2012), that featured the sleeper hit “Summertime Sadness,” she found both critical and commercial success.
The third album by Del Rey, Ultraviolence (2014), debuted at number one in the United States and made greater use of guitar-driven instrumentation. 200 on Billboard.
In contrast to her critically lauded the sixth album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, her fourth and fifth albums, Honeymoon (2015) and Lust for Life (2017), witnessed a return to the stylistic traditions of her earlier releases.
Her next album, which focused on soft rock, was followed in 2021 by Chemtrails over the Country Club and Blue Banisters.