What If Kurt Cobain Didn't Die?

Illustration by Lara Tomlin

January 20, 1997: A Page Six item in the New York Post claims that Cobain in romantically linked to PJ Harvey.

May 14, 1997: Cobain performs a stunning acoustic version of "You Know You're Right" on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. It is the last time he appears in public for almost two years (though, during this period, he appears on the cover of Spin twice).

October 31, 1997: Someone -- presumably Cobain, possibly Dave Grohl -- uploads every song off Hole's Live Through This onto the internet. These bootleg versions feature Cobain singing lead vocals (and several tracks conclude with him telling other people in the studio how to play the chord progressions).

April 11, 1998: Strong rumors begin to circulate that a disguised Cobain was spotted holding hands with Courtney Love at a Radiohead concert in Chicago.

April 18, 1999: A Nirvana reunion is billed as the headline act for the upcoming Woodstock '99 festival. Cobain emerges from hiding to deny this report, electing to speak with Charlie Rose on PBS. What follows is an excerpt from the broadcast conversation.

ROSE: "So… Nirvana."

COBAIN: [Silence]

ROSE: "Influential?"

COBAIN: [Nervous laughter]

ROSE: "But then the solo record -- a masterwork, arguably -- but different, most certainly. A new direction. Is this where you want to go? Or is this merely where you have been? Culturally, socially, there is so much there -- depth, absolutely -- yet the album is sparse. Intentional? Accidental? Are we to read something deeper into this simplicity, or should we simply listen to what there is and not concern ourselves with what is not?"

COBAIN: [Long pause] "I guess."

November 15, 1999: Cobain begins work on a second solo album that he promises will be "pure power pop, sort of like Cheap Trick."

May 5, 2000: Kill Rock Stars releases Cobain's Christodomy, a two-song, 74-minute album of grinding, incomprehensible noise rock. It is released exclusively on vinyl, and the lyric sheet includes only three words: betrayal, marijuana, and collapse.

November 30, 2000: Cobain is taken to the emergency room after swallowing eight ounces of hemlock, which he attributes to "a mistake caused by dehydration."

January 18, 2001: Cobain verbally agrees to produce the soundtrack to the upcoming Todd Solondz film, Storytelling. He later drops out of the project, citing "depression."

September 10, 2001: Kurt Cobain discusses the possibility of a Nirvana reunion with Terry Gross on National Public Radio's Fresh Air. This is a huge story.

October 20, 2001: Nirvana re-form to play "All Apologies" during the Concert for New York City. Their performance is widely described as "breathtaking."

December 31, 2001: Nirvana turn down a $40 million offer to stage an American stadium tour. Later, Cobain claims the band could potentially play together in the future, but only as the opening act for a Pixies reunion.

June 5, 2002: Cobain officially retires from music, stating that he intends to pursue a career in painting.

February 14, 2003: Cobain's first 12 paintings go to auction in Seattle. One work -- a morbid expressionistic collage called American Minotaur -- sells for $1.2 million.

November 15, 2003: In a private Las Vegas ceremony, Cobain remarries Courtney Love.

November 16, 2003: Love goes completely nuts. The universe is at peace.