February 20th was Kurt Cobain’s birthday. He would have been 40. In many ways –and of course this is a fine cliché – Cobain is still with us, and for many reasons that would have the man himself rolling in his grave if he indeed had one.
The over produced rip-offs of the late and mid-90s –all inspired by Nirvana—engendered that boy band craze that in turn gave rise to the back-to-basics hipster revolution started by bands such as the Strokes. This now breeds uninspired and boring acts that think that a bit of Led Zeppelin channeling can earn them a record contract and a host of inspired fans. But I digress.
Yes, Cobain’s music gave rise –and has heavily influenced – the alternative music scene of the last two decades. He is the highest earning dead celebrity on earth, surpassing Elvis Presley last year on Forbes list with an estimated $50 million in earnings in 2006. Much of that money stems from the sale of 25% of his music catalogue to publishing company Primary Wave by Cobain’s widow Courtney Love, which tells us he still has a lot of earning power left in him for the future.
So, while I could continue on about Cobain’s effect on music and the world in general I rather focus on what is going on in the commercialized sphere of Cobainia.
In 2005 Gus Van Sant came out with his hypothetical film based on what he felt Cobain’s last few days on earth would have been like. It was entitled Last Days and starred Michael Pitt. It was good. Check it out.
Kurt Cobain About a Son, a documentary on Cobain, premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. It was narrated by Cobain himself taken from over 25 hours of tape compiled by Michael Azzerad while he was writing the 1993 book Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana.
A DVD was just released, a box-set, and a best of album -- all within the last few years. And now Love is pitching an A-list cast for Heavier than Heaven –based on Charles S. Cross’ 2001 book of the same name – to Hollywood executives.
Nirvana and Cobain in particular are important and interesting figures based on their importance and contributions to pop culture but unfortunately it's not really about music anymore, and that is sad. Through death he has become all the things he feared of becoming in life.
