Kurt Cobain’s Hometown Disses Him Big Time… WTF?
For a man who has been dead since Justin Beiber was five- weeks old there sure is a lot of Kurt Cobain news lately. Some is awesome, like the forthcoming 20th anniversary re-issue of Nevermind, some not so awesome like this story.
Even though Kurt is the most only famous person to ever come out of Aberdeen, Washington, the city council there still voted 10-1 against honoring him by renaming a bridge in town after him.
According to the Sacramento Bee, “the vote against the Cobain rename drew applause from the audience at Wednesday’s council meeting. Some people were concerned about memorializing the grunge rock musician because of his drug use, suicide and negative comments about his hometown.” See the whole article here.
Hold on a gosh-darned minute. Since when can’t we honor someone for a remarkable life or extraordinary accomplishments without it being an endorsement of the way he died?
Plenty of brilliant, talented people have killed themselves. How about Elliot Smith, Hunter S. Thompson, Freddie Prinze, Sylvia Plath, Ian Curtis, just to name a few? Should none of them be publicly memorialized?
I wonder if the suits in Aberdeen were really more worried about depressed Nirvana fans going to the Cobain Bridge, under which Kurt lived on and off for a while coming up, and ending it all there too.
What do you think? How would you have voted?
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Kenny Johnson
July 29, 2011 7:04 am
While I like Nirvana and am old enough (35) to remember them and Cobain’s death, I understand where the town is coming from. There are others way they can honor him . . . where it’s addressing specifically his artistic contributions — such as a museum exhibit. Even a statue of him playing guitar in the town center would be better (because it shows him in context). But I can see where renaming a bridge after someone who killed themselves might be a bad idea.
0s and 1s
July 31, 2011 1:34 am
Actually, they did place a statue of a guitar with some Nirvana lyrics at the site of the bridge. In addition to that, there is another memorial at the site showing his face and some selected quotes.
In Seattle at the EMP, there is currently a Nirvana exhibit.
Jannette
July 29, 2011 8:33 am
I am from California but live in Washington State because the husband is in the military. I HATE WASHINGTON. IT SUCKS HERE!!!! I can’t complain about it enough.
Josh
July 29, 2011 9:47 am
As a lifelong Nirvana fan, I always remember Kurt speaking of his home town in less than admirable tones. I’m relatively sure he would not give two shits if they named a bridge after him in the first place, so why should any of us care why a bunch of politicians chose not to do it either?
This is a dumb-ass issue.
Jimmy L
July 29, 2011 10:30 am
They should name it the Amy Winehouse Bridge
Bob Core
July 29, 2011 10:45 am
He hated that town. I think people would honor him if they kept his name off that town and promoted his music.
Gail
July 29, 2011 12:01 pm
Kurt would be laughing his head off about this right now! Who cares about that stupid city full of rednecks? I say put a big f—ing memorial to the Great Grunge God in that Lake Washington Park next to his old house where Courtney paid someone to off him because he was getting ready to divorce her ass!
Vanessa Naranjo
July 29, 2011 1:55 pm
Even though Kurt hated his hometown I think the people there shouldn’t diss him and should honor and respect him! He will be the greatest thing and I’m pretty damn sure he will be the only good thing to ever come out of that town! They’re gonna regret it for the rest of their lives! At least there are millions of people out there who will forever love, honor, and respect him! Long live Kurt Donald Cobain!!!!
0s and 1s
July 29, 2011 5:07 pm
I came of age musically in the time of Nirvana, so when I visited Washington only two weeks ago, I made it a point to make a pilgrimage to the Young St. Bridge. As a fan of his music, that place holds immeasurable significance to me. But I don’t see why anyone else (who is indifferent to Cobain and his music) should give a damn. It’s just a patch of mud underneath where a road crosses a smelly and uninspiring river. It’s not really even a bridge.
Cobain wanted nothing to do with Aberdeen, and there are generations of Aberdeen denizens who could not care less about Cobain, who simply want to get on with their lives in their (shitty) town as it always was. Both parties would be happy to be free of the other.
To rename Kurt’s bridge from its rightful name, the Young St. Bridge, would be pointless and counter-productive. If you want to preserve the memory of Kurt and his bridge, keep it the way it was. Fans will be happy to see it the way Kurt saw it. (Most) Aberdeen residents will be happy to have it remain another river overpass, insignificant to their lives. We can all come and go as we want it to be.
Also: Kurt would laugh endlessly if he knew people were trying to name a structure after him. Either he would hate it or be utterly indifferent.
Craig
July 29, 2011 7:34 pm
Kurt was full of him self.
Didn’t like his stuff then, don’t like it now.
And even worse is that any “Grunge” guy form Seattle go singed, Eddie Vedder anyone
Tim Cameron
August 1, 2011 1:05 pm
I also suffer from herion abuse and bi-polar disorder along with a severe case of insomnia and a case of very cronic and very serious Anxiety Disorder. I have been off dope for almost 2 years and I am under a psycs care and am finely finding a purpose and some meaning to my life. I can feel Kurts pain as if it were my own. I understand the feeling of hopelessness and feeling that this pain will never end. I have been pronounced dead from injesting 450mgs of methodone. My heart quit 14 times and at one point they could only 4 beats per minute. My point is that people with these kind of issues are not bad nor good ,wrong or right. And I have no use for role models or sports heros. Most of them are more fucked up than the rest of the world. Kurt was not a bad person, maybe just a sick person who gave up before he could find the answers he needed. And there is not a person on this earth who has the right to pass judgement on Kurt, Rock on my Brother. I hope where ever your soul is you are at peace with yourself R.I.P. Tim Cameron,Detroit Mich.