Nirvana Magazine

Firm sues Courtney Love over Nirvana catalog sale

2008-09-15T02:39:00.001-07:00

A business management and accounting firm sued Courtney Love for nearly $1 million on Tuesday, claiming she failed to pay them a share of profits from the sale of Nirvana's publishing catalog.

The true story behind the lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit

2008-09-15T02:11:00.000-07:00

What is the The true story behind the lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit?

Please feel free to post your comments here.

EFAQs - Frequently Asked Questions about Nirvana

2008-07-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

Hi there, we have found a great website which covers all the most frequently asked questions about nirvana.

You can post comments and help answer the questions yourself.

It is really to use simply sign in and answer as many questions as you want.

URL: http://www.efaqs.co.uk/nirvana/

Enjoy,
kanx1976

Nirvana Live Concerts Map

2008-07-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

We have created a new PlotMyMap - Nirvana Live Concerts Map.

We are trying to plot all Nirvana Live Concerts in a World Map.

You can check the progress of the Map by click on the link below:
PlotMyMap - Nirvana Live Concerts Map

How Can I Help?

You can help us by letting us know where Nirvana has played Live, by posting you comments below.

Cheers,
kanx1976 - Negative Creep

Nirvana's spirit still strong

2008-06-29T07:00:00.001-07:00

By Chris Charles
BBC News Online
Monday, 28 October, 2002, 13:29 GMT

If only - the most wistful couplet in the English language.

If only Elvis had stuck to vitamin pills. If only James Dean had caught the bus. If only Kurt Cobain had bought a water pistol.

Alas, fate decreed otherwise and we are left instead with a legacy which will serve as a blueprint for aspiring guitar bands in decades to come.

Rather than bringing down the final curtain on the Nirvana story, this greatest hits collection is more of an unfinished symphony - a poignant reminder of what might have been.

The only new song here is You Know You're Right - a track recorded just three months before Cobain's untimely death in 1994.

It's vintage Nirvana, flitting between soothing warble and rampant snarl - and even though you know it's eight years old, you have to convince yourself it wasn't finished yesterday.

You Know You're Right has finally been allowed into the public domain following lengthy legal wrangles involving Cobain's widow, Courtney Love.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Kurt Cobain's ashes stolen, says widow

2008-06-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

By Sam Kelton June 02, 2008 12:05pm
www.news.com.au

THE ashes of legendary grunge musician Kurt Cobain have been stolen, according to his distraught widow Courtney Love.

The Nirvana frontman's ashes were taken from Love's Los Angeles residence, she said.

Cobain's ashes had been stored in a pink bear-shaped bag, along with a lock of his hair.

Clothes and jewellery were also taken from Love's home.

Love said she was horrified by the theft and was now suicidal.

"They were all I had left of my husband," said the Hole singer.

"I can't believe anyone would take Kurt's ashes from me. I find it disgusting and right now I'm suicidal. If I don't get them back I don't know what I'll do."

The majority of Cobain's ashes were scattered near his Washington home and at a Buddhist temple, with Love keeping the rest.

Nirvana has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, with classic Nevermind selling more than 26 million copies alone.

Cobain committed suicide in 1994.

Click here to read the full story in The Advertiser.

Source: www.news.com.a

Have Your Say?

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What are your memories of Cobain and his music?

2008-06-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

It's quite amazing, I tried to prevent my daughter from being influenced by this degenerate music and lyrics - it didn't work now I can't stop myself playing his songs whenever I take up the guitar, but I can cope with the smirk from my daughter.
Cliff, Ipswich

There's something strangely romantic about those who die young. I was a massive Nirvana fan and believe Cobain had immense talent. I can't help thinking, however, that were he still alive, would we treat him with the same awe? Would he have become just another media clown, à la John Lydon, who was the Cobain of his day? I'm glad Nirvana ended when it did, it's just a pity it was under such horrendous circumstances.
Mike, Hull, England

I first heard Nirvana's music in 1993 after the release of In Utero, when I was eleven years old. I was immediately taken with the raw energy and powerful sound. At that time I had little knowledge of the problems Kurt was going through as I paid little attention to the music press, however this allowed me to enjoy the music without bias.

Kurt's music was ultimately responsible for turning me into the music fan I am today. Before Nirvana, I was not really into music. They helped me discover the passion and beauty behind a simple melody or chord progression and the powerful effect they can have on a person. Kurt was also responsible for me discovering many bands I would never have even heard of, such as the Vaselines and Beat Happening.

So rather than reflect on the celebrity death cult that is 'Kurdt Kobain', I prefer to remember him as the music lover and the brilliant artist. Thank you Kurt, you changed my life.
Jazz, York

Reading Festival '92, with a million rumours circulating that Nirvana had pulled out of their headline slot, the most common one being that they'd been replaced with Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine. Eventually they took to the stage, Kurt being pushed on in a wheelchair before standing up, singing two notes and collapsing. Kris muttered, "I think he's gonna make it". They played such a fantastic set that night that I almost didn't care that my tent had been washed away when we got back to the site, and I ended up sleeping in Paddington station.
Pat, Essex, England

He was perhaps the purest, most human voice in rock music
Marc, London
Having been brought up on Michael Jackson, Madonna and clean pop, Nirvana were like a breath of fresh air. Going through adolescence the Nevermind album somehow made everything easier.

Kurt's suicide robbed the world of his talent but guarantees Nirvana will live on forever.
Vhora, UK

Kurt Cobain inspired a generation. In the most unexpected backwaters there was a new scene. Our scene was The Squirrel. Just thinking about him conjours up images of underage kids with cheap cider and special brew, throwing themselves off chairs and tables, then throwing up in the car park. They were good times, probably the best. On the day he died, anyone who owned an electric guitar turned up to play (or at least try) Nirvana's songs. Everyone cried, then said goodbye. After Kurt there was no scene anymore. We all moved on, emptily...
Fraser Irving, Sheffield, UK

He let it all out, and so did we. A genius.
Dave, UK

He was perhaps the purest, most human voice in rock music. A man who in his own struggle to understand himself, discovered the means to express, in the most original and authentic fashion, the desperation and emptiness that an entire generation felt plagued by. What's truly sad, is that 10 years on, young people feel an even greater detachment from the society the rest of us engage in, and all of the possibilities it holds for them.
Marc, London, England

Kurt would've hated all this.
Martin Temperton, London, England

I was living in Germany at the time and heard the awful news on the radio. Although the warning signs had been in press for months, there was still that feeling of disbelief. Our generation lost one of its heroes
Jason, Kings Langley, UK

Cobain's suicide was a devastating time for those of us who followed the Seattle sound, I was 19 in 1994, and just starting to realise my own music tastes. I think we too easily forget that Nirvana weren't the only band of the 'grunge' era (no Nirvana fan ever called it that) and that others from that time, including Dave Grohl and Pearl Jam, are making music now that inspires people today.

Kurt Cobain will never know what that's like, and his daughter will never know the kind of father she had. In hindsight, for me, the music he created meant more than the suicide that took him away.
Sarah, London, UK

I know that my sons will see Nirvana as I see Led Zeppelin
Ernesto Lomelí, Tijuana, México
My earliest recollection of Cobain would have had to have been around 1990 when Nirvana played the main stage at the Reading Festival. Twelve months later; a friend of mine who booked up and coming bands to play Liverpool University Students Union managed to tentatively book them as the main act on a Saturday night.

Then unfortunately, the Friday before, Nirvana happened to make their UK TV debut on The Word on Channel 4. When my friend tried to re-confirm them for the following weekend, their booking fee (via there UK agents) suddenly quadrupled thus needing a second mortgage in order to book them!
Paul Laverty, London via Liverpool

There are very few true musical legends, but Kurt Cobain is without doubt one of the greatest. The profound effect that Cobain and Nirvana had in the 90s has moulded an entire generation of 20-somethings like myself, into who they are today.

What makes Kurt a true star, is that as time goes on, memories of him and his music do not diminish. They become stronger, and his legend lives on....I see teenagers of today wearing Nirvana shirts, and I know that Cobain will live forever, as he deserves. Although incredibly upset at the time of his death, I've come to realise that it was his destiny - he will be a true inspiration to generations to come and will never be forgotten.
Jodie, Northampton, UK

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

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Cobain-Inspired Converses Court Controversy

2008-06-01T04:08:00.000-07:00

Fri., May. 30, 2008 2:17 PM PDT by Josh Grossberg www.eonline.com

Kurt Cobain boots bad; Converse-inspired ones rad.

A year ago, the Nirvana frontman's widow, Courtney Love, kicked to the curb print ads in the U.K. that featured her late husband modeling Doc Marten boots in heaven.

How things change.

Now, the ex-Hole singer is giving thumbs up to a line of Converse sneakers paying tribute to the grunge icon, who committed suicide in 1994. The shoes will hit stores this fall, along with footwear inspired by the Grateful Dead, to help mark the manufacturer's 100th anniversary.

"They are the renegades of sound, the league-changers, champions of underachievement, the paint drippers and those with flawless style," Scott Patt, Converse Global Footwear's creative director, touted in a press release Friday.

"These pioneers follow what's inside and do what they believe to be right."

And that apparently includes making the most of commercial endorsements.

The Cobain collection comes in three different styles—Chuck Taylor All Stars, Jack Purcell and One Star—and sports artwork and scribbles taken from his personal notebooks and lyrics from such seminal songs as "Come As You Are."

As for the Dead's line, they ain't Birkenstocks. Instead, the shoe company is selling designs sporting some of the legendary jam band's artwork from the '60s and '70s, including the red-and-blue skull logo and those famous dancing bears.

Both sneaker lines will retail between $50 and $65.

While Cobain did wear Converse when he was alive, to some Nirvana faithful the deal smells like a sellout by his estate, and many are ridiculing the shoemaker's claim to honor him. Here's a quick sampling:

* "They’re my favorite brand of sneakers. I’ve also worshiped Nirvana since I was 13. That being said, this is disgusting. Courtney Love is disgusting! The whole thing makes me ill," wrote a fan at Earsucker.com.
* "Kurt would had of hated this filth...I am disgusted with Courtney he would have never wanted it to be like this," an anonymous commenter wrote at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's reader blog.
* "I just threw up in my mouth. This is repulsive," opined another.
* Another simply quoted lyrics from Nirvana's "Rape Me."

This isn't the first time Love's been called out for cashing in on Kurt's legacy.

A year ago, Love put up for auction the bulk of the rocker's belongings, including many of his flannel shirts. That came a year after the cash-strapped "Doll Parts" singer struck a $50 million deal with Primary Wave Music Publishing to sell off a 25 percent stake in the Nirvana catalog.

Source: www.eonline.com

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Michael Stipe: 'I can't Listen To Nirvana Following Kurt Cobain's Death'

2008-05-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

R.E.M singer speaks candidly...

* by Jason Gregory
* 16 May 2008
* www.gigwise.com

R.E.M’s Michael Stipe has revealed that he finds it hard to listen to Nirvana following the death of their frontman Kurt Cobain.

Speaking to Death + Taxes Magazine, Stipe said that the singer’s death in 1994 came at a time when Cobain was on the cusp of greatness.

“He had reached a point where he was about to push through to something that was so phenomenal and so beautiful,” Stipe said.

“It was all written, it was all right there and it was so obvious where he was going, and then he didn’t make it.”

“I still have trouble—I can’t listen to an entire Nirvana record.”

Cobain died at his home in Seattle from a single self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.

Source: www.gigwise.com

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Generation excess: what happened next to the gods of grunge

2008-05-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

by TimesOnline.co.uk May 5, 2006

NIRVANA

Even though Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994, Nirvana continues to head the grunge family tree. Cobain’s widow, the actress and musician Courtney Love, recently sold 25 per cent of her stake in the band for a reported £29 million. The deal paves the way for the group’s songs to be open to licensing offers. The band’s drummer Dave Grohl has achieved considerable success with his new group, Foo Fighters — in which he plays guitar.

MUDHONEY

A grunge band before the term had been invented, Mudhoney originally signed to Seattle's influential Sub Pop label. Released a new album, Under a Billion Suns, in March.

SOUNDGARDEN

Seattle’s most famous Black Sabbath enthusiasts split in 1997. The band’s singer, Chris Cornell, now fronts Audioslave alongside former members of the agit-prop group Rage Against the Machine.

SONIC YOUTH

The godparents of grunge, formed in 1981, have outlasted all changes in musical taste without a change in line-up. Their new album Rather Ripped is released in June, which is when the band also head out on the road in the US with Pearl Jam.

ALICE IN CHAINS

Lead singer Layne Staley died of a heroin overdose in April 2000. The group has now reformed for a tour with a new vocalist, William DuVall.

Source: timesonline.co.uk

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Courtney Love Sues For Control Of Nirvana's Master Recordings

2008-05-05T05:34:00.000-07:00

By Teri vanHorn - Oct 2 2001 www.mtv.com

She insists label band signed with no longer exists.

Courtney Love has struck again. The Hole singer has filed another lawsuit against Universal Music Group and remaining Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, this time for control of Nirvana's master recordings.

Her suit, filed Friday in Superior Court in Los Angeles, claims that Geffen Records is not the same label Nirvana signed to in 1991, due to its acquisition by Vivendi Universal, and that therefore the band's contract is void. Love also alleges that Universal cheated Nirvana out of $3.1 million in royalties.

"In or about January 1999, ... Geffen, the unique entity with whom Nirvana had originally contracted, literally ceased to exist," the suit states. "With [Universal], Geffen's contractual obligations were purportedly assigned to Interscope, which had no rock expertise or commitment."

Love's suit is also filed on behalf of Frances Bean Cobain, her daughter with late Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain. She and Frances are the principal beneficiaries of Cobain's estate. read more from mtv.com...

Source: www.mtv.com

Nirvana - Dramatico Cascais Portugal 1994 (Breed and Assalto!)

2008-04-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

Clip footage from "Breed", and from some public excess!
06/02/1994 Pavilhão do Dramatico, Cascais, Portugal

Source: YouTube.com

Nirvana headline Reading Festival

2008-04-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

30 August 1992 - www.bbc.co.uk

At the beginning of Nirvana's headlining slot, journalist Everett True wheeled Kurt Cobain (wearing a blonde wig) in a wheelchair onto the stage. This gesture was a quip at the journalists who had accused Kurt of being a useless drug addict; the triumphant performance was Nirvana proving to the audience and themselves that they were much more than the hype and media coverage that surrounded them. The show was performed with an unflinching ferocity and became one of their most memorable performances. Dave Grohl remembers the 50,000 people in the audience chanting the lyrics to ÒLithiumÓ - he admitted later that it was one of their biggest moments.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Nirvana In Their Own Words

2008-04-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic remember the early days and talk intimately about their relationship with Kurt Cobain.

Watch the short film - 5 min 30s

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (R.I.P. Kurt Cobain)

2008-04-09T04:24:00.000-07:00

By John Lucas 08 April 2008 www.straight.com

On this day in 1994, the body of Nirvana singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain was found in his Seattle home. He had committed suicide a few days before, first injecting himself with a lethal dose of heroin and then following up with a shotgun to the head.

Let's remember him with the song that brought Nirvana international fame (and arguably started Cobain on his inexorable slide toward self-destruction).

For people of a certain age, hearing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time was like a bomb going off. Do you remember what you were doing the first time you heard it?

Source: www.straight.com

Portrait of a teen spirit

2008-02-08T04:04:00.000-08:00

Kurt Cobain film a haunting document of artist
Katherine Monk, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, February 08, 2008

Kurt Cobain: About A Son

Directed by AJ Schnack.

Rating 3 out of five

Speaking over gloomy shots of big green trees, low clouds and strip mall hell, the disembodied voice of Kurt Cobain floats through AJ Schnack's About A Son with pensive clarity as though the late Nirvana frontman realized his time was short, and the time to speak his truth was nigh.

He refers to suicide several times over, and even talks about the idea of putting a gun to his head, but always with a coda: It would be a bad thing to do because he's a father, and he has a lot to lose.

Those are the moments in Schnack's rather loose film that have the most power because they offer the front door to Cobain's many demons, and drag us down the spiral staircase of his inner life, where he seemed to wage a never-ending war against his own unhappiness and perpetual misanthropy.

"I couldn't stand people," we hear Cobain say, many times, as he attempts to explain why drugs offered him so much comfort. But people weren't the only thing on his hate list.

He also hated dogs because they "are too willing to please you could do anything to them," as well as jocks from high school, idiots from small towns and music that wasn't trying to push the envelope.

Selected from more than 25 hours of taped interviews conducted between December 1992 and March 1993 by official band biographer Michael

Azerrad, these Cobain memoirs offer up a fully formed picture of who the enigmatic musician really was without flinching at the ugly bits.

Whether we're listening to him reminisce about how people assumed he was gay because he hung out with a known homosexual during his teen years, or how he walked down the street in his dad's sneakers playing Beatles music on a bass drum, or how Courtney Love is the only one who really understands his sense of humour and thinks he's funny, Cobain both affirms and negates rock 'n' roll cliche as a completely self-absorbed personality who learns to loathe the persona he's become.

You can hear Cobain's frustration as he tries to create emotional and symbolic distance between himself, and every other fallen rock god who crashes and burns in fame's fast lane.

For a moment, you almost believe him, too but that's what makes the reverie so compelling. We know how it all ends, and by hearing Cobain attempt to rewrite his own last chapter brings a different tint to the misery.

He clearly knew the dangers, and he tried to move in the opposite direction, but somewhere along the way, lost his taste for the constant struggle between survival and surrender.

For this reason, as a haunting document from a spectral source, Schnack's film is an important piece of pop culture history that deserves attention. Also, for anyone who still has a candle burning in the Cobain window, About A Son will bring a sense of long-awaited closure to a rather ragged and messy finale.

For the casual observer, the movie will be challenging because it so carefully avoids the devices of its own documentary form. Without a scrap of archival footage or even still photographs showing Nirvana and Cobain in action, the movie may prove frustrating for those who are not intimately familiar with the people and places discussed in the film.

The ambient visuals of the northwest are very pretty, but surprisingly ineffective when it comes to bringing context to the film, and specifically Cobain's world view. Some shots work better than others, but it's hard to shake the feeling the filmmakers steered clear of archival footage and all Nirvana music because they didn't want to deal with the hassle of rights and clearances.

The result is an impressionistic essay on Cobain that makes a great audio experience, but a rather uneven visual one despite all the revelations along the way.

© The Calgary Herald 2008

Source: www.canada.com/calgaryherald

Smells like Licensing Deal

2008-02-04T05:49:00.001-08:00

Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Larry Jaffee

Music publisher Primary Wave has revived the lost art form of the deluxe promotional CD package.

“The labels don't do it any more,” says Devin Lasker, partner and chief imagination officer of Primary Wave, a newly formed music publisher, whose catalog includes compositions of the late Kurt Cobain, of the early 1990s band Nirvana.

Since this is the first time that its music is available for commercial uses, Primary Wave wanted to get the attention of potential licensees.

Lasker devised a heart-shaped box — incidentally the title of one of Kurt Cobain's more enduring songs — made out of wood and cloaked in flannel, which was the musician's favorite attire. When the lid is open, a jewelry box instrumental rendition of “Heart-Shaped Box” plays.

Inside the box are five CDs, containing Nirvana's greatest hits, such as “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and cover versions.

Only 500 units of the limited-edition boxed set were made. It puts Geffen's official multi-disc collection from a few years ago to shame in terms of creativity.

The box was sent in November only to the creative heads at advertising agencies, film and TV production companies and several select marketers. Lasker reports the effort has already resulted in a few licensing deals.

Source: promomagazine.com

Nirvana News In 2008

2008-02-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

January 2008

Music Preview: Local bands to capture raw spirit of Nirvana - January 31, 2008 By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

February 2008

Smells like Licensing Deal - Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Larry Jaffee

Portrait of a teen spirit - Friday, February 08, 2008, Katherine Monk, Canwest News Service

April 2008

Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (R.I.P. Kurt Cobain) - By John Lucas 08 April 2008

May 2008

Michael Stipe: 'I can't Listen To Nirvana Following Kurt Cobain's Death' - by Jason Gregory 16 May 2008 www.gigwise.com

Cobain-Inspired Converses Court Controversy - Fri., May. 30, 2008 2:17 PM PDT by Josh Grossberg www.eonline.com

June 2008

Kurt Cobain's ashes stolen, says widow - by Sam Kelton June 02, 2008 12:05pm

Music Preview: Local bands to capture raw spirit of Nirvana

2008-02-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January 31, 2008
By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Normally, there's a strong scent of pierogies and sausage at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern, but on Saturday night it's going to smell like teen spirit.

A handful of local bands are assembling there for a tribute to Nirvana that will blitz through the ragged wonders of the Kurt Cobain repertoire, from the raw "Bleach" to the transcendent "MTV Unplugged" session.

It was organized by John Huffman, a big Nirvana fan and a former member of The Flash Darlings now playing bass for the new band Bowhunter.

"Nirvana was one of my biggest influences growing up in the 1990s," Huffman says. "I was 12 years old when 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' hit big all over MTV in 1992. Nirvana, Beck, The Violent Femmes and Juliana Hatfield all hit me at about the same time that year and I can credit them all for influencing me to pick up the guitar and the bass that year. Nirvana was at the forefront of the group I listed as far as intensity and anger, so they quickly became my favorite."

Cobain, who would have been 41 next month, took his life in violent and dramatic fashion on April 5, 1994, at the height of the Seattle band's popularity. His suicide note quoted, and took too much to heart, the enigmatic Neil Young lyric, "It's better to burn out than to fade away."

If he's looking down now, Cobain knows that Nirvana has hardly faded away. Radio stations still spin its songs, countless bands still try to imitate its sound and posthumous releases keep the fan base engaged. The latest project was "About a Son," a documentary about Cobain told in his words, based on conversations with journalist Michael Azerrad. It debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006, and finally arrives on DVD Feb. 19.

This Pittsburgh tribute jumps in before the anniversaries of his birth and death with Nirvana covers by the Weird Paul Rock Band, the Maxi-Pads, Bowhunter, My Prodi, Devin Russian and the Flu Fighters (get it?), bands and musicians who are passionate about the cause.

"The first CD I think I ever got," says Jason Dignon of My Prodi, "was the 'Beavis and Butt-head' soundtrack with Nirvana's 'I Hate Myself and I Want To Die' on it, and I was totally freaked out. I started saving for drums immediately. Nirvana is my original inspiration."

Source: www.post-gazette.com

Nirvana - Been A Son Live Video in Leeds

2008-02-04T05:30:00.001-08:00

10/25/90 - Students' Union, Leeds Polytechnic, ..

Source: youtube.com

Nirvana - Imodium Live (Breed) in Leeds Video

2008-02-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

Nirvana Playing Imodium live in Leeds 1990 later Breed in the Nevermind era.

Source: youtube.com

Nirvana - Scoff Live in Leeds Video

2008-01-24T05:50:00.000-08:00

10/25/90 - Students' Union, Leeds Polytechnic, Leeds, United Kingdom

Source:

Nirvana - Molly's Lips Live in Leeds Video

2008-01-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

10/25/90 - Students' Union, Leeds Polytechnic, Leeds, United Kingdom

Source: youtube.com

Nirvana News in 2001

2008-01-23T07:08:00.000-08:00

October 2001

Courtney Love Sues For Control Of Nirvana's Master Recordings - By Teri vanHorn - Oct 2 2001 www.mtv.com

December 2001

Kurt Kurt Cobain's Mom Rails Against Grohl, Novoselic - Jon Wiederhorn, www.mtv.com, Dec 21 2001 3:00 PM EST

Kurt Cobain's Mom Rails Against Grohl, Novoselic

2008-01-23T07:06:00.000-08:00

Wendy O'Connor releases open letter lambasting her son's Nirvana bandmates.

By Jon Wiederhorn www.mtv.com Dec 21 2001 3:00 PM EST

By speaking out about recent allegations against her daughter-in-law, the mother of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain proves once again that when the chips are down, you can always count on mom.

For the past seven months, Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, has been battling Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl over the rights to the band's previously unreleased material. Recently, the attacks and counter-attacks have resembled a heated military confrontation. On December 12, Novoselic and Grohl issued an open letter stating that Nirvana was an equal partnership when Cobain was alive, and criticizing Love for trying to usurp the band's legacy for her own personal gains (see ).

Late last week, Love replied with her own statement asserting Cobain "refused to sign a partnership agreement with the other members of Nirvana when he was alive" and that he is credited with "over 93 percent" of the group's copyrights. She added that the current LLC partnership that was enacted in 1997 and divides Nirvana's interests into three equal parts was "forced upon Kurt's heirs," whom, she alleges, only signed the agreement because they were told that if they didn't sign, all Nirvana interests would revert to Novoselic and Grohl.

Now, as lawyers for both sides coach their clients on their next steps, Cobain's mother, Wendy O'Connor, has issued a strongly-worded, somewhat rambling statement that rebukes Novoselic and Grohl for committing character assassination against Love and calls for the dissolution of the LLC arrangement. The open letter, which supports Love's fight against the surviving members of Nirvana, was distributed through Love's publicist James Barber.

"What Krist and Dave filed last week just really set Wendy off," Barber said. "She's really upset by all this."

In addition to making vehement comments about how her son was the heart and soul of the band and how the LLC partnership is "ridiculous beyond comprehension," O'Connor insisted Novoselic and Grohl never wrote a single Nirvana song. (It should be noted that both Novoselic and Grohl are credited with co-writing "Scentless Apprentice," "Aneurysm" and "[New Wave] Polly," and Novoselic also got writing credits for "Hairspray Queen" and "Dive." All other songs are credited to "Cobain/Nirvana.")

In her letter, O'Connor asserted that Nirvana was "never a partnership of any sort" and that Cobain's former bandmates, management and label have been taking advantage of both her and Love for years. "My family has suffered hugely and been ripped off a fortune," she said.

O'Connor concluded her statement by emphasizing that she's not looking to take advantage of Nirvana's success, and only wants to represent Cobain's best interests. "I know that my son would want me to stand up for him and his family in this moment of what I can only describe as total betrayal," she said.

Novoselic and Grohl's attorney Kelly Corr was dumbfounded by O'Connor's accusations. "Her letter sadly lacks any basis in fact," he said. "She says Nirvana was never a partnership of any sort. That's just factually false. There's federal tax returns that prove that it was an equal partnership."

At this point, Corr said there are no plans to take any action against O'Connor. Instead, Novoselic and Grohl will continue their efforts to have Love's case against them dismissed. "If that doesn't succeed, we're gonna go to trial and we're gonna win," Corr said.

In May, Love filed a lawsuit to sever the LLC contract and assume control of Nirvana (see ). Since then, the future of a planned box set and the release of many unheard Nirvana tracks have been put in limbo.

Source: www.mtv.com