Thurston Moore on Kurt Cobain shortly before his death: “It didn’t look good”

Thurston Moore’s autobiography “Sonic Life” will be released on October 24th. The former Sonic Youth member has a first excerpt via “The Guardian” divided. Also read: Moore’s memories and thoughts on Kurt Cobain and his suicide.

Moore learned of Cobain’s death on April 8, 1994 through a call from Sonic Youth booking agent Bob Lawton. The Nirvana singer died in his home on April 5th at the age of 27, but was only found three days later. In his book, Thurston Moore says: “Things hadn’t looked good in the months before: the overdose in Rome, reports of Kurt’s disappearance in the Seattle area, the intervention of his friends and family. “Kurt reportedly committed suicide three days ago before being discovered by a worker installing security lights at his Lake Washington home.”

Cobain’s suicide also hit his then-wife and bandmate Kim Gordon hard, as Moore reports. She was just seven months pregnant when he died. “She couldn’t speak. In the silence I could feel her crying. “Like all of us, she loved the boy,” says Moore, who broke the news to her while she was busy doing a photo shoot with a friend.

In his work, Thurston Moore also remembers beautiful moments that he shared with Cobain’s family. He tells of a day in November 1993 when he and his wife Courtney Love were sitting backstage in Miami: “Frances Bean Cobain was a little over a year old at the time. She hung out backstage with her nannies, running around and grabbing whatever she could find on the tray. She was beautiful and full of light, and her expressive face showed both Courtney’s and Kurt’s features. “My mother watched as Courtney told Frances to calm down, opened a bottle of juice for her, and sat her on her lap to bounce her knees a little and laugh.” He goes on to write that his mother, Courtney Love, would have said she was a good mother in this situation: “This was so different from the accusations that Courtney and Kurt had faced in the press, where the two of them were always portrayed as drug-addicted monsters had been presented”.

Moore had actually planned to go on a reading tour in the USA with “Sonic Life”, but he had to cancel it due to his weakened health. In an Instagram post, he said: “I am very sorry to have to share the news that my medical team here in the UK has advised me to cancel my upcoming US book tour. I have been struggling with a long-term health problem for years, but it has never seriously stopped me from touring and recording.”