Kurt Cobain and the Lost Tapes of the 27 Club

This past Monday, April 5th, marked the 27th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's (of Nirvana) tragic death.

It struck me that Cobain has now been gone for as long as he was alive, having passed at the young age of 27.  

The "27 Club" is a cultural phenomenon circulating around a number of famous musicians and celebrities who all died at 27--often related to drug use or suicide--including the likes of Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Amy Winehouse.

For an all-too-brief moment in time, Nirvana ruled the music world, but Cobain's impact and legacy has carried on to a new generation.

Today, an organization known as Over The Bridge seeks to combat mental health in the music industry and to, "...empower musicians and to reclaim their lives from their mental health struggles."

Over the Bridge has been using artificial intelligence software to create what they're calling "The Lost Tapes of the 27 Club" -- a collection of new computer-generated songs that mimic beloved artists who have been lost prematurely.

For the new single, "Drowned in the Sun", the organization compiled multiple songs from Nirvana's catalog and used a computer algorithm to isolate hooks, rhythms, melodies and lyrics to generate brand new musical elements in Cobain's songwriting style.

It's quite eery to listen to.  While the song may not sound 100% like Nirvana, it does carry enough similarities to warrant a listen, and is truly an impressive accomplishment.  The song surprisingly rocks, and has been stuck in my head for the past few days.

The idea of computer programs learning from, and imitating, art is still a relatively new concept. Can you really replace the human aspect of songwriting and the emotion that goes into creating a great song?  It's true that much of pop music is formulaic--and legions of Nirvana-loving bands have attempted to capture the "loud, quiet, loud" dynamic that Cobain popularized 30 years ago.  

On Over The Bridge's website, they admit that, "...even AI will never replace the real thing."

What made Cobain's impact and legacy so great was how genuine, raw and cathartic his songwriting was. A whole generation of youth could relate to him and feel his pain.  His death, ruled as suicide, only propelled the existing myth surrounding him.  

There's long been a fascination with the the notion of the tortured genius, and the idea that some people's artistic ability is too much of a burden for them to live with.  But does great art only come from great suffering?  Is it fair to romanticize the struggles of mental health? 

Over The Bridge hopes use their album, The Lost Tapes of the 27 Club, to "show the world what has been lost to this mental health crisis."

Take a listen to "Drowned in the Sun" below and let us know what you think.  

For more on Over The Bridge and to listen to more Lost Tapes of the 27 Club, Click Here.

Caught On Tape: Nirvana on Top of the Pops (1991)

One of the best television performances from any band would have to include the mockery that was Nirvana's 1991 appearance on the British show, Top of the Pops.

Following the incredible breakthrough of Nirvana's single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", the band was thrown into a whirlwind of unexpected fame and attention. The single catapulted the band from indie-rock heroes to crossover alternative pop culture icons.

The band's audience changed overnight from seedy punk rock clubs to arenas full of teenage girls and jocks - something frontman Kurt Cobain allegedly sought to rectify later with the band's less-accessible, but equally magnificent follow-up album, In Utero.

In the wake of newfound fame and success, the band was asked to perform on Top of the Pops - a chart-toppers countdown program, which featured pop stars miming their hit singles to an audience.

Cobain's general distaste for corporate puppetry influenced the band to use the opportunity as a platform for poking fun at the show's formula.

When Nirvana aired on Top of the Pops, Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic barely attempted to mime their guitar parts over the pre-recorded backing track. In fact, Novoselic spent most of the song wildly spinning and throwing his bass above his head and catching it.

Cobain took advantage of the show's live microphone to sing the entire song in a monotone, Ian Curtis-style vocal.

The hilarious resulting video has since become a cult favorite amongst Nirvana fans and serving as a great reminder that the band's troubled late-frontman, Kurt Cobain, also possessed a keen sense of humor.

Caught On Tape: "Weird Al" Yankovic - 'Smells Like Nirvana'

"It's hard to bargle nawdle zouss??? With all these marbles in my mouth"

Though I never felt it to be one of Weird Al's greatest song parodies, 'Smells Like Nirvana' remains one of my all-time favorite music videos from the mock-rocker. While the song itself may focus on the premise that Nirvana's lyrics in 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' were a bit hard to decipher (refer back to opening quote), the video picks up on a whole slew of nuances from the original. Part of what makes the video work so well is that it so true to the original. From the spotlight in the face, all the way to the kid running off with the high-hat symbol towards the end, this video shows a strong attention to detail. To a casual viewer, the setting, colors, and filming techniques are often inseparable from the formula used for the Nirvana video. One of the details that I find particularly amusing is the bass player's ability to bounce around awkwardly like Krist Novoselic.

"Weird Al" successfully takes on Kurt Cobain's angst-ridden persona as the viewer is witnessed to a bevy of Leslie Nielsen -grade sight gags. Farm animals make their appearances, and gargled water, kazoos and a janitor on tuba carry out parts of the solo. The video triumphantly concludes with an all out mosh pit of long-haired, flannel-ized teenagers losing body parts.

As amusing as I find this video, it's still impossible to beat a classic. Watch both, and try to find as many parodies as possible. Then, check to see if you caught as many as these Wikipedia editors.

Kurt Cobain apparently loved it... and now you can too.