Iggy Pop, Kurt Cobain, & Krist Novoselic, Los Angeles, May 29, 1991
Dave Grohl & Kurt Cobain, Hollywood, May 22, 1992
I only feel with grunts, screams, & tones & with hand gestures & my body. I’m deaf in spirit.
— Kurt Cobain
I’m not well read, but when I do read, I read well.
— Kurt Cobain
I was a successful junkie for about a year—the only reason I was able to stay healthy & didn’t have to rob houses was because I had a lot of money. I was up to $500 a day & it didn’t do anything but keep me alive. When I finally quit, I had thirty days of excruciating pain.
— Kurt Cobain, 1993
It’s not my fucking fault that anyone knows that I did heroin. I’ve never talked about it. When I’m high, it’s really obvious. That’s why I’ve never gone out in public on it. I tried as hard as I could to keep it from everyone. I just hope to God nobody is influenced to do drugs because of me. I definitely have a responsibility to talk negatively about heroin. It’s a really really evil drug—I think opiates are directly linked to Satan.
— Kurt Cobain, 1993
Imagine the worst stomach flu you’ve ever had, every single day. And it was worse when I ate, because once the meal would touch that red area I would hyperventilate, my arms would turn numb, and I would vomit. I was suicidal on our last tour—I really wanted to blow my head off. And so when we got home I decided to do heroin every day because obviously a heavy narcotic is going to stop the pain. The whole time I was doing drugs I didn’t have stomach problems.
— Kurt Cobain, 1993
I don’t want to see COBAIN IS GOD spray-painted on the wall. My ego is already inflated way past the exploding stage. I feel embarrassed saying this, but I’d like to be recognized more as a songwriter. I don’t pay attention to polls & charts, but I thumb through them once in a while & see, like, Eddie Vedder is nominated number-one songwriter in some magazine, & I’m not even listed.
— Kurt Cobain
Maybe I’m just too self-conscious. I wanted to quit a lot of times in the last two years. It didn’t have anything to do with the band. But nobody deserves to have their personal life pried into like I did—and no one else deserves to hear me whine about it so much.
— Kurt Cobain, 1993
The only memorable fan encounter I had was when this eighteen-year-old boy came up to me & said, ‘Man, I love your music so much. When your record came out, I had just broken up with my girlfriend & it saved my life. Thanks.’ It was such a great compliment I couldn’t even respond to it.
— Kurt Cobain
