The “greatest songwriter of our generation,” according to Dave Grohl
There’s a lot to dislike about listening to somebody prescribe to you who might be the “greatest” in a particular art form. One needn’t explain the virtues of an eye’s ability to behold its own sense of beauty to dispel the notion of the subjective discussion in its entirety. However, when it is someone like Dave Grohl, it is worth lending an ear if you can.
The reason being, in case you have lived under a rock for the last four decades, Grohl is about as vital a cog in the rock and roll machine as you will see today. Not only is he the frontman for Foo Fighters, a band that has delivered a hefty run of albums as well as countless stadium-sized riff bonanzas in their day, but he also got to be a part of one of the most influential bands the modern world has ever known: Nirvana.
The story of Nirvana is one bereft of an icon loss too soon and a gigantic potential left unfulfilled. Of course, as the ultimate grunge icons, the trio of Grohl, Krist Novoselic and the wondrous Kurt Cobain managed to deliver generation-defining songs, but the tragic loss of their singer to suicide in 1994 will always be a black day for both the band, its fans, and the wider public. Cobain was much more than just a singer; he was a genuine leader of a generation. Grohl thinks he might well have been the best that generation had to offer.
Speaking to Apple Music’s Medicine at Midnight Radio recently, Grohl reflected on his time in Nirvana, the band’s untimely split, and the loss of his later friend Kurt Cobain. “It is one of my life’s greatest heartbreaks,” says Grohl, “That Kurt isn’t still here to write more amazing songs.”
Grohl regaled tales of the band’s meteoric rise to stardom in the early 1990s as the Seattle grunge scene swept the world, but obviously, it was a rise with a lamentable end. It was this tragic end that Grohl emotionally focused on during the interview. “Of course, it was an incredibly challenging experience and ultimately one of the greatest heartbreaks of my life that Nirvana isn’t still here today making music,” he said.
“Whether it would be called Nirvana or something else. It is one of my life’s greatest heartbreaks that Kurt isn’t still here to write more amazing songs because it’s pretty clear that he was blessed with a gift. I think it’s safe to say that he was the greatest songwriter of our generation. I’m very proud to say that I got to be his drummer and play those songs every night.”
It is a statement that many rock fans would second, particularly kids growing up in the ‘90s for whom Cobain’s songs resonated on a spiritual level. The band seemed to encapsulate youth culture, and their tragic end was a great loss to many. From their debut studio album, Bleach, in 1989, up until Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994, the band enthralled fans with their riveting grunge sound.
Speaking about how this loss impacted the band members themselves, Pat Smear, a touring guitarist with the band told Howard Stern, “Every once in a while, me and Krist and Dave get together and we do play as if we’re Nirvana,” Smear replied. “So I don’t have to miss it — we do it. If we’re in the same town together, or whatever, we’ll get together and jam.”
The story of Nirvana will sadly always end with a character missing from the plot. But while Cobain’s no longer, his work lives on.
