Kurt Cobain to blame for ‘American Idol’
Reader mail. We love that here on the Beehive.
Last week, I received the following from a reader who stumbled across a post I wrote in 2007 and decided to fire off an angry email. The post, titled “Kurt Cobain sells his sole,” was about a shoe ad featuring Cobain, and at the time it elicited some very intelligent discussion (“KURT COBAIN WAS, AND STILL IS A GOD. I HOPE SOMEBODY F***ING SHOOTS YOU!!!!!”) on the relationship between music and selling out.
I made the tongue-in-cheek claim that “if Kurt Cobain was alive today, we’d already be hearing Nirvana songs in Disney movies, buying “Smells Like Teen Spirit” body spray and watching Cobain mentor the morons on “American Idol.”
Clearly, this reader does not agree.
Subject: I came across your Kurt Cobain article
I know you wrote it three years ago but I had to respond on a couple points you made. I think your little understanding on music has lead you to believe that Kurt would be “hosting American idol” and “be on the Disney channel”. Don’t you get it Heather? Cobain and Nirvana’s on-going existence would have changed the outcome of many things. They were that big. They were due to release at least one more album under DGC along with Cobain’s set collaboration with Michael Stipe from R.E.M. The entire point of Nirvana was to be against the sugar coated, trite, cookie-cutter crap that people listen to. The music industry has completely flip flopped; judging talent based on pretty faces rather than pretty ability. Nirvana was anti-establishment. The grittiest pop-music has ever sounded. Listen to pop music now – all about sappiness, partying, having a jolly ol’ time. No sense of rebellion whatsoever.
So, guess what? If Cobain were still around he’d be idolized for his legacy he left and the popular music now would be singing a whole different tune. They may have a badass sense of rock n’ roll. Now rock is looked at like a thing of the past. But I think I’ll keep my flannel on, it speaks more truth than you ever will.
What I take away from this: Kurt Cobain is entirely to blame for “American Idol.”
Discuss.
Responses to "Kurt Cobain to blame for ‘American Idol’"
He is as much to be blamed for American Idol, as 2pac is to be blamed for Soulja Boy.
I see your point…his overdose and subsequent death (a selfish move) has robbed the world of his musical influence and has thus created a space for the Ke$ha’s of the world? Yes? No?