Early morning, on our third day in Seattle, we picked up our
car rental. It was the beginning of our day of chasing ghosts. From the
airport, we drove two hours South, away from the city and slowly climbed to a
quiet city of Aberdeen. As we approached the town proper, we passed several
logging trucks going the opposite direction. Harry explained that we were going
to visit Kurt Cobain’s memorial. He asked if I know who Kurt Cobain was.
Who doesn’t know Cobain? I remember when the news broke out
about his suicide. Do I know his music and Nirvana? Yes I do. Do I like his
music? I wouldn’t put it in my iPhone. But I knew he was a music legend of my
generation. According to Wikipedia, his songs echoed Gen X’s anger and frustration. April 5 this year marks the twenty years since he passed away.
When we got to Aberdeen, we didn’t see his memorial right
away. We drove passed the bridge, around it and over it until we finally found
the right spot. The memorial marks the area where Cobain’s ashes were scattered
at Wiskah River.
He didn’t even have an effect in my life in terms of his
music, but I felt a sense of sadness as I walked the small area of his
memorial. We also went under the bridge where he supposedly wrote Smells Like
Teen Spirit. Here was a talented man, able to move others, but was trapped in
the ghost of his past. Harry asked if I wanted to visit the bench where he was
found dead. I was torn between curiosity and sadness. We left the decision
until the end of the day, neither of us wanting to say no.
Our next stop was Reciprocal Recording Studio. We drove back
to Seattle, away from the desolation of Aberdeen. What we found was a
nondescript, triangular building, well-kept but seemingly abandoned. The studio
was the site of the recording of Nirvana’s demo session. It specialized in
grunge music, seeing the likes of Soundgarden, Green River and Death Cab for
Cutie. Reciprocal is defunct now; the ownership of this studio has changed hands so many times since. Most recent owner is Chris Walla of Death Cab.
What did I really know about Grunge music? Close to nil
other than singing along to songs when they occasionally play on the radio. Seattle
was the birthplace of grunge. Without going into the technicals, I find that grunge is stripped down rock, without the
white noise, leaving only highly concentrated teen emotions. Nirvana and Pearl
Jam are responsible for the rise (and fall) of the genre. Pearl Jam, if I may say, was able to evolve to a more watered down version into alternative rock.
Last stop was East Street Records where Pearl Jam first performed
in public. Music, records, CDs and DVDs are very much alive in Seattle.
Independent record companies seem to thrive here where most music stores have
either folded up or cut down on operations drastically all over the world. In ESR, aside from selling vinyls, CDs and DVDs, they continue
to be a venue for up and coming bands trying to make it out there.
It was a day of driving, searching, discovering. In between, over lunch at KFC, Harry grilled me on the concept and ideals behind the e-magazine that I am about to launch next month. It was an idea that was chopped, shredded and then brought back whole again. He drove us from the desolate town of Aberdeen, to West Seattle and then back to the city, moving from darkness to lightness of being. From grunge to dreams that haven't been born, I think all artists feel the solitude at inception with the flash of self-doubt at the worthiness of letting their message go out in the real world.
"dreaming of the person you want to be is wasting the person you already are.”
-Kurt Cobain
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