Cobain/Guitar Hero Saga Seems Far From Over

More than 15 years after his death, Kurt Cobain still can't stay out of the news.

The use of Cobain's visage as an unlockable character in "Guitar Hero 5" has raised quite a stink over the last ten days - first from Cobain's ex-wife/murderer (just kidding) Courtney Love (who threated a lawsuit against Activision, the company responsible for the game), then in public statements from surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic and most recently with backing from again rocker-pal Jon Bon Jovi.

According to Activision, however, Love was instrumental in creating the deal in the first place.


"I do know that there's absolutely a contract and we know that [the estate's] cheque has been cashed," said CEO Dan Rosenweig in an interview with NME. "I can only deal with the facts. It's very clear what the terms are."

If Love is playing both sides to keep herself in the news, well...it wouldn't be the first time. Since Kobain's death, Love has been at the oft-controversial center of the Kurt Cobain debate.

"It's really not Guitar Hero's confusion," continued Rosenweig. "We went and spoke directly to the estate and made it crystal clear, got the rights, paid for the rights, and really we've done what we've always done. The fact that the rest of the band and the estate did not communicate - I'm not aware of those facts."

In Activision's eyes, there is no confusion, particularly with Love - not only was she instrumetal in creating the deal for Cobain's usage, they claim, she went as far as to assist in wardrobe and hair style selections.

"We care about the artists more than anyone else and we would like to make artists happy in every circumstance. I'm disappointed in this case that there seems to be confusion between the band and the estate."

This is the second troubling case involving the Cobain estate this year. In early spring, the handlers of the estate were accused of losing more than $30-45 million in cash and between $500-750 million in Real Estate in an expansive laundering and check fraud scam.

- Alec Wooden
currently listening to the rain falling like hell