The good news? The new line of Kurt Cobain-inspired Converse sneakers is the first time the late singer’s estate has ever collaborated with a brand. Considering Cobain’s choice of footwear, it’s an appropriate one. The bad news? It’s not in the best of taste. The Nirvana front man was — very famously, in case you’ve forgotten — discovered dead while wearing a pair of Converse sneakers. At the time, the image of Cobain’s splayed feet came to represent the end not only of the singer, but also an era in American music and culture. Now that we fetishize these momentos and totems of rock ‘n’ roll become increasingly untethered from their original contexts (have you been to a Hard Rock Cafe lately?), not to mention musicians who use their celebrity as an opportunity to diversify into different fields to both hedge against their inevitable irrelevance and maximize their media exposure (where are the Kanye West sneakers, we’d like to know), such partnerships are absolutely run-of-the-mill. Thing is, you’d have to be a pretty depressing kid to own a pair of these suckers, we think. And if you’re an adult, clearly there’s a problem. For reference, see Jason Bateman’s character in Juno.

[Via Nirvana Club]


Tags: Kurt Cobain Nirvana Music

In unbelievable news for anyone who’s ever asked for early-warning fraud protection on their credit cards, identity thieves managed to steal Kurt Cobain’s social security number and have purchased a $3.2 million New Jersey mansion in his name. The trouble is that Cobain has been dead since 1994, and even when he was alive, he wasn’t the biggest fan of buying stuff. According to Courtney Love, the criminals have also registered 188 credit cards in her name, and have made off with around $69 million from the couple and their daughter’s trust fund. Love writes on her MySpace page: “I find this whole thing so offensive because until Kurts social security number was checked noone took it seriously, but hey here is the Experian with 188 visas on it, thats not Bi Polar, that is reality .” We’re on Love’s side here, and are a little shocked that the use of Cobain’s name didn’t raise any red flags over at the credit reporting agencies. Maybe they were sleeping on the job? Maybe they were just asleep? That would help explain how Janis Joplin recently purchased a chain of fried chicken restaurants, and that Jimi Hendrix-owned cruise-line we keep hearing about.


Tags: Kurt Cobain Courtney Love [2] Music

Ever since the widow Love sold off 25% of Kurt Cobain’s catalog and licensed his image for use by the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (yes, seriously, such a thing exists), the sadly deceased Nirvana frontman has been popping up in all sorts of places. For example, as pictured here, you can now buy the Kurt Cobain lunchbox, which holds all manner of tasteful suicide sandwiches and needle-drop soups. Kurt has also been memorialized as an action figure and in a key chain that doubles up as a liquor flask, in a move that we suspect was motivated by suits at megacorporations who were wondering if they could get Kurt to kill himself twice. This follows on the heels of Cobain’s image being used in a Doc Marten’s ad, which officially has turned us off British combat boots, like, forever.

Tags: Kurt Cobain Music

Courtney Love isn’t an equal opportunity employer. Turns out if you resemble her deceased husband Kurt Cobain, you have a good chance at being in her new band. In a blog post on her website, Courtney admitted to hiring on a touring guitarist solely based on looks: "I’ll admit it, I really hired him because he looks like Kurt…He didn’t kill me, but he swore if I gave him a week he’d learn everything. He’s blonde and soooooooo beautiful and his guitar playing is great." Love’s keeping tight-lipped about her long overdue return, but did allude to a secret show in London on her 43rd birthday, as well as shows later this summer in L.A.

Tags: Courtney Love Kurt Cobain Music

Dead rock stars shilling shoes? That’s the idea behind Saatchi & Saatchi’s U.K. campaign, which features Kurt Cobain, Joey Ramone, Sid Vicious and Joe Strummer as they might appear in the afterlife, wearing Docs (Kurt had a preference for Converse One-Stars, but hey!, Photoshop is amazing). Said the campaign’s writer, Andrew Petch: “We wanted to communicate that Dr. Martens boots are ‘made to last, and we discovered that these idolized musicians wore them. Showing them still wearing their Docs in heaven dramatized the boots’ durability perfectly. And, as images, they feel very iconic." Wondering how such a thing is possible? The images are legally cleared for use in the U.K. Courtney Love’s not too pleased about it. Her rep told People that she "did not, and would not, approve of such a use of Kurt’s name and likeness." She did, however, license Cobain’s music to CSI: Miami. People in glass houses and all that. See the rest of the campaign after the jump.

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Tags: Courtney Love Kurt Cobain Nirvana Music

After running out of items of her own oversized clothing to sell on eBay, Courtney Love has moved on to the possessions of deceased husband and former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. "I’m going to have a Christie’s auction," Love said. While she hasn’t yet decided on specific items that will be for sale, she claims her house is a "mausoleum" and her daughter doesn’t need to inherit "a giant Hefty bag full of flannel f*cking shirts." Daughter Frances Bean’s legacy? "A sweater, a guitar and the lyrics to ‘Teen Spirit’ — that’s what my daughter gets." Love has slowly been selling off Cobain’s legacy, parting with 25% of his musical catalog last year.

What items would you want from Kurt Cobain’s wardrobe?

Tags: Courtney Love Kurt Cobain Music