Aberdeen, the city where Kurt Cobain grew up, has decided to celebrate the grunge hero by making February 20th ‘Kurt Cobain Day’, according to Mayor Bill Simpson. Local radio KXRO Newsradio reported that the proclamation, which will be read on February 12th, states:
‘Aberdeen residents may justifiably take pride in the role our community played in the life of Kurt Cobain and the international recognition our community has gained from its connections with Kurt Cobain and his artistic achievements’.
It will be a yearly event, and the mayor thinks it may even turn into a Cobain week. However, they aren’t saying anything about the event. What exactly will happen? Will they invite bands to cover Nirvana songs? Will the Foo Fighters be there? Will they screen that dreadful Gus Van Sant’s movie? And most important, will Courtney Love be invited? I hope not, and anyway she is currently way too busy crying at the stand, as she is sued for libeling a lawyer on twitter! But seriously, what does a city do to organize a grunge week?
Plus there is this whole controversy, which is not one for me, but which is well alive for many people: how could we celebrate a man who killed himself and left his wife and baby behind… yeah, and this is only true if you really believe the official story! But I have read plenty of comments of people curiously angry at the idea of celebrating the life of a drug addict who committed suicide. That’s the eternal problem, people incapable of separating the art from the man and that’s very sad.
In any case, it’s a good initiative which will mark the 20th anniversary of Cobain’s death, 2014 will be a very Nirvana year, as it will also see the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll of Fame, and the release of this controversial film.