Complex sentence: Stipe had planned a collaboration with friend, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain in 1994, partly in an attempt to lure Cobain away from his home and his drug addiction, but did not manage to compose or record anything before Cobain's death.
Split into simpler sentences: Stipe had planned a collaboration with friend, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, in 1994; partly in an attempt to lure Cobain away from his home and his drug addiction. However, they did not manage to compose or record anything before Cobain's death.