Another year has passed and what a crazy one it has been. Of course, the events of September 11 stand above anything else. But also in the Nirvana community has there been somewhat significant events this year. For the first time ever (more or less) since Kurt's passing in 1994, Krist and Dave spoke directly about Nirvana to their fans. Even Kurt's mother, Wendy O' Connor, released a statement and thereby made an extremely rare appearance to the press.
Even Courtney Love spoke vividly about Cobain and Nirvana, in the form of message board posts, interviews and so forth. All this was due to a string of lawsuits that Courtney launched earlier in the year, to gain control of Nirvana's legacy. At the same time the much-anticipated Nirvana boxed set, which everyone had expected would be released this year, was delayed and sentenced to an uncertain future. The year 2001 also saw the release of the controversial Kurt Cobain biography "Heavier Than Heaven", launched around the same time as the 10-year anniversary of Nevermind. An event that brought upon Nirvana-mania in the media (if only for a while), most notably in the form of a lengthy Rolling Stone article. This site also experienced a boost in visitors, and the main page is now up to having had almost 5 million of them. Earlier in the year, the company supporting the site financially went bankrupt, and forced us to switch host. An event that passed, however, with no significant problems - apart from the fact that the site is now spread over five servers or so. The message board is also more active than ever, with almost 5.000 registered users, and a monthly average of some 35.000 new messages. More than 100.000 of the most "recent" ones can currently be found online.
Thanks to everyone who visited and contributed to this website in 2001. I'm sure 2002 (the year where NFC will celebrate it's 5-year anniversary) will also be quite eventful - perhaps it will even see the release of the fabled Nirvana boxed set and/or the song "You Know You're Right" ? In any case, don't forget that you can find the archive of all the Nirvana news of 2001 near the bottom of this page. Happy New Year! Maja Rasmussen, I love you!
Today, VH-1 in Europe aired their "100 Greatest Videos" (as voted for by the US viewers)
special. Nirvana landed on spot #4 with the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Before they
played the video, there were some interesting interview clips with Kurt and Dave, talking about
the video. There was also a short clip with it's director, Sam Bayer. The chart was topped by
Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" at #3, Madonna's "Like a Prayer" at #2 and finally the legendary
Michael Jackson video "Thriller" as #1.
In the HMV 2001 poll for 'Best Book', the winner was the Kurt Cobain biography 'Heavier Than Heaven'.
It beat books about artists such as Bono, Robbie Williams and Madonna. Thanks to Adam Sampson.
"I can confirm that Nirvana is number one on 'Tijdloze 100', at a Belgian Alternative rockstation Studio
Brussel with the song 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. This is the third time in a row that it stands as number one,
out of the 100 Best Rock songs of all time." Thanks to John. 'Lithium' by Nirvana landed at spot #69. The Top
10 also saw bands such as Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Deep Purple, Pearl Jam and The Cure. Thanks to
Dave for that info.
"I just finished watching MTV2 UK's Top 100 Bands Weekend! The chart was taken from the most requested
bands at www.mtv2europe.com. The top 3 were: 3) Limp Bizkit - 2) Green Day - 1) NIRVANA! They played Lithium,
In Bloom (Sub Pop version), Heart-Shaped Box and of course, Smells Like Teen Spirit. As with most of these
charts that MTV2 puts out, there is no real build up to the number one spot. All you get is an on-screen graphic
telling you the number, then a selection of videos from that band." Thanks to Colin and Clive.
Brandon sent in a scan of a short interesting article from a 1999 issue of Time Magazine, concerning
Kurt Cobain's artwork. It even includes a couple of examples of his skills. Check out the scan here.
Thanks to Brandon Adams.
"Recently VH-1 aired a special about the 100 most shocking moments in music history. Kurt Cobain's death was number 4.
It showed a clip of the candlelight vigil held in Seattle and Courtney Love's reading of Kurt's suicide note. Additionally,
it showed pictures and video clips of Unplugged in New York and Kurt diving into Dave's drum set." Thanks to Nathaniel.
Here is a pleasant little Christmas newsbit. On December 22 at 9 PM, former Nirvana
drummer Chad Channing's baby Lucy Elizabeth Channing was put into this world. At 7 lbs.
and 10 oz., the baby is fine and healthy - just as the proud parents, Chad and Daisy.
Congratulations Chad! Thanks to the happy grandparents for the news. 
MTV put up an interesting story about Nirvana; "In all the legal wrangling by Kurt Cobain's widow
and his former bandmates, what seems to be at stake is the future of Nirvana's music and who gets to control
it. With a band of Nirvana's magnitude and continuing appeal, however, such litigation and maneuvering
isn't surprising. But what's really vexed us about these recent lawsuits are some of the gross distortions
that are being applied to Nirvana in terms of the band's overall musical legacy. To get a better handle on
the scope of Nirvana's impact, one needs only to look at the massive sales achieved by the group's six
albums, all of which have surpassed the 1 million mark.
According to SoundScan, Nirvana's career album sales break down as follows: the group's 1989 debut,
Bleach, has sold 1.44 million copies to date, followed by 1991's Nevermind at 7.65 million, the 1992
B-sides/rarities collection Incesticide at 1.13 million, and the band's final studio album, 1993's In
Utero, at 3.58 million. Nirvana's two posthumous live releases, 1994's MTV Unplugged in New York and 1996's
From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (both of which were assembled by Grohl and Novoselic) have sold 4.11
million and 1.15 million copies, respectively.
With numbers like those, there can be little denying that Nirvana are one of the most popular and
commercially viable rock groups of the last 20 years. All of Nirvana's records have continued to do
well in catalog sales, with Nevermind selling at a clip of better than 230,000 copies annually, while
MTV Unplugged in New York still averages 120,000 copies a year.
Of all the artists that Love hopes Nirvana's legacy will someday match, the most comparable is probably
that of Hendrix, another artist who only released a handful of albums before his life was cut short.
According to the RIAA, Hendrix's music has earned five gold, four platinum and five multiplatinum albums,
although all but a few of those certifications were made after the guitarist's death in September 1970."
This story is easier to make sense of if it's read in it's entirety.
Courtesy of MTV News and David Basham.
As you may have noticed, the NFC Sound Gallery has been down for a while. Or rather, the server
hosting the clips has been down. After hardly updating the gallery since 1998, I decided to scrap
the current gallery entirely, and build a new one from scratch. A lot of new sound clips were made,
and now you will mostly find Nirvana-related stuff in the gallery. Featured are clips of B-sides,
unreleased songs, songs from Nirvana's first and last concerts, as well as plenty of MIDI's. You
will also find songs by Chad Channing's former bands, and Krist's former band - Sweet 75. Check
out the new and improved sound gallery here! I should also note that
this year's NFC Christmas present has been cancelled. It is usually in the form of complete
songs and/or videos, but this year I didn't find it appropriate to put up such material. So,
the new sound gallery will basically serve as the 5th annual NFC Christmas Present instead.
A person claiming to be Kurt Cobain's half-sister Brieann O'Connor put up a disturbing review
of the Kurt Cobain biography Heavier Than Heaven on the website amazon.com. The review
reads, in part; "The millions out there that believe the written word
are having a ball believing this crazed story. Cross has taken a famous rock icon and done
a backflip and written what PEOPLE WANT TO BELIEVE. He has let people, including himself, have
a mind of their own when it comes to 'that Cobain story'." Then she goes on to explain how
Kurt's aunt Mari Earl is 'the sickest person on this earth' and how she is 'mentally sick'.
Whether or not this was actually written by Brieann, I don't know. But you can read the
review for yourself here.
The dispute between the Cobain family and Krist Novoselic/Dave Grohl just reached a
new level of sickness today. Apparently, the mother of Kurt Cobain (Wendy O'Connor)
released the following statement to the press earlier today.
PRESS RELEASE FROM WENDY O'CONNOR, the mother of Kurt Cobain
As the mother of Kurt Cobain and a woman who has two daughters to support, I am shocked
and disgusted at the behavior of Krist Novoselic, David Grohl and their "managers" and lawyers.
I was extremely close with my son and spoke with him almost daily during the "Nirvana" years.
I know a number of things.
I know that "Nirvana" was never a partnership of any sort.
I know that in the last year of his life, my son despised his bandmates and told me many
times that he no longer wanted to play with them or have anything to do with them.
That is why I am speaking up today for my family, my granddaughter and my daughters and daughter-in-law.
Mr. Novoselic and his cohorts are attempting a character assassination on my daughter-in-law that
is plain and downright untrue.
My son was also one of my best friends. I knew him very very well.
I know that he was extremely worried that Krist and Dave were attempting to rip him off financially.
Many times he confided to me that he was overwhelmed and bewildered by the amount of BUSINESS the
other two bandmates did when Kurt was seeking the medical help he so desperately needed. He also
worried about a manager who openly despised him and abused him and did whatever he could at times of
crisis to stop communications between me and my son, perhaps because he knew that I was onto him and
had been from the start.
I watched my son from infancy develop a talent that was brilliant; he showed a genius for crafting
songs at a very early age. It astonished our family and even though we were not wealthy people, we did
what we could to support Kurt's dreams of being a successful musician.
Kurt had a hard time as an adolescent. He had an even harder time once the genius and talent that
shone so brilliantly from him gave him great success. At the height of his career, he suffered
in an environment where his band and his managers were not at all supportive of his physical or psychic
needs.
Mr Novoselic claims to have worked so hard as a band with my son. His romantic and revisionist
version of a band history of sleeping on floors and generally being buddies with Kurt is just untrue.
I don't know how those two ever kept playing together. It was probably because Krist was willing to
help drive and because he knew sticking by Kurt was going to get him to where he is today: an extremely
wealthy man.
Krist is an extremely wealthy and decadent man who has achieved his wealth by ripping off my family.
Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl never wrote a Nirvana song in their lives. For them to have
formed an equal partnership (LLC) is ridiculous beyond comprehension.
My family was victimized at the moment when the LLC was formed, much like Al Hendrix and his family
were after Jimi Hendrix's death. We were all uninformed of what an absurd idea this was. We, the
family, were not protected financially or legally even though my son drafted a will that specifically
stated that, should any harm befall him, our family would be secure.
That will was ignored, so our family works like the working people we have always been and we are
given additional support by my daughter-in-law.
My son wrote these songs and I have no say in the actions of people who I can only call criminal.
From the day Dave started work in the band, he demanded more and more money and threatened to leave on a
regular basis.
Kurt wanted him because he was an awfully good drummer. Again, his drumming for Kurt has made him
a millionaire many, many times over for his efforts.
There are a lot of things I am feeling right now: rage, shame and disgust at these two and their behavior
of the last week.
I am not willing to share all of it in a press release, but I will not allow my daughter in law
to be libeled and slandered by Krist and Dave.
My son died tragically and I believe his death could have been prevented by proper medical care
and he was denied help by selfish and criminal behavior of the people who so callously revise their
personal histories today.
My family has suffered hugely and been ripped off for a fortune.
I support my daughter in law in dissolving an LLC which never ever should have been formed.
I will be hiring counsel of my own to protect the interests of my daughters, and to protect my
son's legacy from the mangling hands of what I believe to be a rat's nest of liars and bandits.
I am grateful that Courtney has hired Yale Lewis, a lawyer who so successfully restored
Jimi's legacy to the Hendrix family. That case has gone down as one of the most disgusting
ripoffs in the history of entertainment.
I am simply glad we don't have to wait 20 years to find out how many people my
son has made incredibly wealthy.
We are hard-working and simple people. We live in the country and work for the food on
our table. No one can accuse anyone in my family of being greedy or even self-interested.
I love my son and I will not allow him to be continually degraded.
Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl and their reps Jill Berliner, Gary Gersh and John Silva
are liars and crooks.
It's never been in my nature to take advantage of my son's stunning
success, but I know that my son would want me to stand up for him and his family in
this moment of what I can only describe as total betrayal.
- Wendy Fradenburg Cobain O'Connor, December 19 2001.
I honestly don't know how to respond to this. If it wasn't because a story, based on
this press release, was released by Reuters I wouldn't believe it. I think the statement
is sickening beyond words. Let me make it clear that The Internet Nirvana Fan Club does
in no way support the statements and allegations made by Miss O'Connor, concerning Krist
and Dave and the nature of Cobain's relationship with them - and their role in the band. The only thing
that everyone seems to agree on is that Nirvana's legacy must be preserved, and have the
music released to the fans. Read the Reuters story here.
In a recent issue of TIME Magazine, they wrote the following story;
"Last week the privacy-averse Courtney Love--widow of Kurt Cobain, the Nirvana rocker who
killed himself in 1994--penned a wounded e-mail to the band's fans. Seems the Widow Cobain
is being sued by Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novselic, who want her to have no say
in the band's affairs. The two are fed up with Love's attempts to block release of a greatest-hits
CD. So Courtney went straight to the fans. 'Kurt Cobain was Nirvana,' she wrote, and said she
represents him. Grohl and Novoselic released their own missive, saying Love was acting out of
an 'obsessive need for publicity and attention.' Is there a moral here ? Play law-school dances
for free."
Today's top stories:
Finally, Nirvana's surviving members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl have started to fight
Courtney Love's crusade to control Nirvana's legacy; "Rock star Courtney
Love carved out a new identity for herself this year as an artist-rights activist, ranting
about greedy corporations that she claimed cheat bands out of royalties and try to steal their
music. But that crusader image suffered a blow Wednesday when the remaining members of the
grunge band Nirvana sued Love, accusing the widow of bandmate Kurt Cobain of trying to seize
control of the trio's recordings for her own financial gain.'We'd have a lot easier time accepting this Joan of Arc music industry crusade if it wasn't coming from somebody trying so hard to hold the two of us down,' said Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, who with Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Love in King County Superior Court in Seattle. The legal action is a response to a suit Love filed in May seeking to take charge of Nirvana's catalog and block the future release of any Nirvana recordings by Novoselic, Grohl or Vivendi Universal, the French music conglomerate she is battling to break her own recording contract. Love's suit puts the brakes on a greatest hits package originally scheduled to hit stores during the Christmas season. 'Dealing with Courtney is like getting stuck on a mean street where somebody is always trying to pull a cheap hustle on you. It's an indignity,' Novoselic said in an interview. 'We're just holding our noses through this whole thing.'
Love, the suit says, was not involved in, or in any way responsible for, the success of Nirvana. 'Frankly, we're sick of Courtney trying to paste herself into Nirvana's legacy,' Novoselic said. 'She doesn't have a clue how we worked together.' According to the suit, Cobain required Love to sign a prenuptial agreement before marrying her in 1992. Later that year, Love gave birth to Cobain's daughter, Frances-and inked her own recording deal with Geffen. Fronting a band called Hole, she soon became a rock star herself. The suit says Cobain's estate, including his interest in Nirvana, should have been distributed to his only child after his death. But Love, the suit says, launched legal action against the estate, successfully invalidated her prenuptial agreement and seized control over Cobain's estate from her child.
'There is only one reason that the box set never came out and her name is Courtney Love,' Novoselic said. 'It has nothing to do with the music. It's all about Courtney, the Hollywood mover and shaker, trying to exclude Dave and me to further her own future, to fuel her own career--at the expense of everything that Nirvana worked so hard to create.' Novoselic and Grohl say Love is using the band's legacy as a bargaining chip to increase leverage for her own personal gain. 'This is all about what benefits Courtney,' Novoselic said. 'She could care less about what happens to Nirvana or our fans.' " This interesting story was courtesy of Chuck Philips and the Los Angeles Times. Read the full story here.
To further explain the story above, Krist and Dave released the following statement to Nirvana's fans:An Open Letter to Nirvana Fans
From Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl
December 12, 2001
Dear Nirvana Fans,
We are writing with a sense of appreciation and thanks to all of you for your support and enthusiasm over the last decade. As many of you know, for this Christmas, we had planned to give our fans a wonderful gift -- a boxed set of the best of Nirvana's music. Released to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Nevermind, the set was going to include "You Know You're Right," recorded in 1994 just before Kurt's death. This project had been in the works for nearly five years. But this collection never came out. And there is only one reason: Courtney Love.
Today, our attorneys went into a Seattle court to stop Courtney from trying to take control of the legacy of Nirvana. We had no choice but to respond to her misguided campaign and lawsuits to appropriate the music of Nirvana.
We have been mostly silent for the last few years as she filed lawsuits, waged a continuous negative campaign in the media, and tried to rewrite history. It is now time to act and speak out. Here is some background.
When Kurt was alive, Nirvana was an equal partnership of the three of us. After Kurt's death in 1994, the partnership continued and we fulfilled what we saw as our obligation to preserve the legacy of Nirvana's music. We oversaw the releases of Live in New York and From the Muddy Banks of Wishkah, both of which were critical and commercial successes. We enhanced rather than exploited the memory and image of Nirvana.
In September, 1997, we decided to set down some rules by which we could make decisions together. We formed Nirvana L.L.C. ('limited liability corporation'), with equal representation from Dave, Krist and the Cobain Estate, ultimately represented by Courtney. Our agreement is structured so that each of the members can voice his or her opinion on any matter. Courtney's interest in the L.L.C. is that of representative of the Estate of Kurt Cobain. The fact is that Nirvana L.L.C. makes the decisions about the band, not Courtney nor any other individual. Our agreement has served all three parties well.
In 1998, we decided together to produce a great boxed set and include "You Know You're Right." All of the members of Nirvana, including Courtney, made and signed a deal with Geffen Records for its release. This February, Courtney filed the first of multiple lawsuits against her and Nirvana's label (Geffen Records / Universal Music Group) over her personal recording contract for the group Hole.
As for the boxed set, everything was on track, we were very excited and were busy promoting the release to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Nevermind. Then, in May, Courtney filed a lawsuit to take over control of Nirvana, then went to court to block the release of the never before released track, "You Know You're Right". Courtney claims that her lawsuit is concerned with the proper management and revitalization of Kurt's legacy. In truth, her actions are only about the revitalization of her career motivated solely by her blind self-interest. She couldn't care less about Nirvana fans. She is using Nirvana's music as a bargaining chip to increase leverage for her personal gain, without any regard for the Nirvana legacy. Our music is just a pawn in her endless legal battles and her obsessive need for publicity and attention.
Courtney talks and talks about her "valuable career." As far as we are concerned, her career is her own affair and of no interest to us. Our concern is when she pastes herself into music she didnšt write or perform. By her actions, the Nirvana legacy is becoming tangled up in her own ambitious agenda. We have a simple challenge for Courtney -- play your own music for people.
We miss our dear friend Kurt. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with such a gifted artist. We hope that our actions, in regards to Nirvana, are befitting of the stature that so many people have granted us. We will always be proud of the music we made with Nirvana. We were looking forward to releasing unheard Nirvana material for our personal sense of closure. As the cycle of life moves forward, we are each living our own lives and moving on to new things. We only wanted to go on with the assurance of knowing that all of Nirvanašs music is where it really belongs; in the hearts and minds of millions of people in the world.
We hope that the music of Nirvana will be immortal and, with fans like you, we are confident our hopes will be realized.
- Krist Novoselic & Dave Grohl
A press release with more info concerning the lawsuit was also published; The Legacy of the Music of Nirvana at Stake in Washington Court Case
Musicians Grohl and Novoselic Answer Courtney Love's Claims in December 12 Filing
SEATTLE, Washington -- On December 12, 2001, Corr Cronin, LLP filed Defendants' Answer, Affirmative Defenses and Counterclaims in response to Courtney Love Cobain v. David Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Nirvana L.L.C. (No. 01-2-13059-5SEA) filed on May 9, 2001. This answer was filed in the Superior Court of Washington for King County, Seattle, Washington before the Honorable Robert Alsdorf. Corr Cronin represents David Grohl and Krist Novoselic, surviving members of the music group Nirvana, and Nirvana, L.L.C., a Washington limited liability company formed in 1997 to continue to nourish the assets of the Nirvana legacy.
What is at issue is the management of the musical legacy of what is considered the most significant rock group of the 1990's. Another major issue is a boxed set of Nirvana music, which was set for release in the Fall, 2001. In Courtney Love's filing of May 9, she sought to terminate the Nirvana L.L.C.
In the Defendants' Answer, it is asserted that Nirvana L.L.C. has functioned effectively and professionally in releasing two critically acclaimed albums and in managing the reputation and assets of the band. The release of the boxed set was agreed upon by all members of the L.L.C. including Courtney Love. Through her actions, the Defendants Answer asserts that Love blocked the release of the boxed set thereby forcing the L.L.C. to breach its agreements with Geffen Records.
Defendants further assert iin their Answer that, "Faced with a waning recording and acting career, and in further violations of her obligations under the L.L.C. Agreement, Love is using her claims against the L.L.C. and the surviving Nirvana members to continue to further her own career goals, not to protect Cobain's legacy as she claims and not to fulfill her obligations as a member of the L.L.C."
First I'd like to post my own comments on the very interesting statement from Krist and Dave to Nirvana's fans. One of the more noticeable points is that they confirm that work on the box started as early as 1998 - roughly the same time that a section of this site dedicated to information about the box was opened. It also confirms that the boxed set was indeed scheduled to be released in conjunction with the 10-year anniversary of the Nevermind album, and would include "You Know You're Right". That Krist and Dave were "very busy promoting the release" is a gross exaggeration in my opinion. The fact is that neither have, to my knowledge, done a single interview solely on the subject. Only Dave has briefly commented on the set in various Foo Figthers interviews, mostly just stating that it would include "You Know You're Right". Otherwise, it is great to finally see Krist and Dave speak out against Courtney and take action to preserve Nirvana's music and aid the release of the long-awaited boxed set. We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope that they win their lawsuit.
In response to the above statement from Krist and Dave, the "Cobain Family" released the following on December 13:Dear Kurt Cobain/Nirvana Fans.
What should have been a private business negotiation has become a very public lawsuit. There are many issues that were left unresolved after Kurt's death that we're finally trying to put in order.
Other parties have talked about finding "a personal sense of closure" with Nirvana's music.
That's exactly the opposite of what should happen. We want to celebrate Kurt's life and music and make sure Nirvana finds as large an audience as possible. We want future generations of music fans to give the band its rightful place alongside the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan.
Kurt's legacy should have impact for generations to come and we want the world to focus on his accomplishments and his gifts.
Kurt Cobain was Nirvana. He named the band, hired its members, played guitar, wrote the songs, fronted the band onstage and in interviews and took responsibility for the band's business decisions.
Kurt Cobain wrote almost all of Nirvana's music. Over 93% of the band's song copyrights are in his name.
There is a large trove of unreleased tapes that deserve a proper release, tapes that include several songs that neither Krist nor Dave have ever heard.
Krist and Dave made an enormous musical contribution to Nirvana's success and they have been exceptionally well paid for that contribution and will continue to earn royalties from the catalog's success.
Kurt Cobain refused to sign a partnership agreement with the other members of Nirvana when he was alive, so any claims that the band was a "partnership" are at best revisionist history.
The partnership agreement that exists now was forced upon Kurt's heirs. The family signed it after attorneys threatened them with a Washington law that supposedly would have required the family to turn over all interest in Nirvana to Krist and Dave. That assertion was untrue, but the threat was used to deprive the family of its rights to manage Kurt's legacy.
The "partnership" has proved to be unworkable and we're addressing the situation now to make sure the next Nirvana releases are of the quality the fans deserve and that future generations of Kurt's family have control of the family name.
In their press release, Krist and Dave have distorted the real issues with unwarranted and spurious personal attacks. Under United States law, Kurt's interests pass to his heirs who then have the responsibility for overseeing his interests.
Finally, we'd like to offer very sincere and heartfelt advice to everyone who's in a band: Take care of your business. Make sure you know what the contracts say and that your copyrights are in order. Remember that the lawyers and the managers and the accountants are your employees and that their job is to represent your interests.
We look forward to many years of great releases from Kurt and Nirvana. We wish Krist and Dave great success in their current careers and hope they will soon leave control of Kurt's legacy to his rightful heirs.
Thanks for your support and your patience.
Regards,
The Family of Kurt Cobain
Additional news stories have been put up, concerning Krist and Dave's lawsuit. Here are some of them;
NME,
E! Online,
Rolling Stone,
Associated Press,
JAM! Music,
AllStar News,
Chicago Tribune,
LAUNCH.com and
Reuters. Thanks to
John Williams, Mathias and others for the links. In a poll on the JAM! website, they ask the
following question; "Courtney Love and the surviving members of Nirvana, Dave Grohl and Krist
Novoselic, are suing each other over control of the influential grunge rock group. Who do you think should control
the rights to Nirvana's material?" After 1403 votes, 88% had voted for Krist and Dave while only 2% voted
for Courtney. If you would like to discuss the lawsuit, try this
thread on the NFC Board.
In the wake of Courtney's actions and the lawsuit launched by Krist and Dave, several petitions
have been put online. One of them was launched by Chris Hickman - an NFC Moderator - who argues
that Courtney should "stop propping [her] never-was music and film career with the urn of a dead
person." You may sign it here.
The 'NFC Member Awards' is now running. Click here
for more info.
Apparently, this past weekend the Canadian MuchMusic have been airing a Grunge special, featuring
Nirvana clips. The special should also be aired next weekend - so keep an eye out for that. Thanks
to James for the news. Marko added this; "[It was] a whole show describing grunge.
It featured short clips and pictures of many bands like Nirvana, Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Bush,
Silverchair, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and Hole. There were many interviews with some of these bands and other
people that were involved in the grunge scene."
Brian sent this one in; "I'd like to announce that my band 666 Society are about to release a cover
version of 'Something in the Way' at the end of February. Visit the bands website: here."
Thanks to Brian.
As mentioned earlier, the latest issue of Circus magazine features an article on Cobain. Here is
a little comment on that article; "I picked up the new edition of Circus magazine to read
the 'Life and Times of Kurt Cobain' article and it is a joke. It is the worst writing I've seen on the topic.
The author had a bundle of misinformation and spelling errors like Abardeen! Don't recommend it to
anyone. Take care." I haven't personally read the article, so I can't back this claim. Thanks to
Sean.
A couple of sections of the site were updated. First of all, some more guitar tabs were added
here, and more links to sites offering movie clips were added as well. The
movie gallery doesn't offer any files hosted by this site, but only links to other sites that do
so. Check it out here. Apart from this, several new WinAMP skins were added
to the "Nirvana for your PC" section as well as a new Nirvana Windows
theme.
Please note that all the clips in the NFC Sound Gallery are currently not available. The server
hosting them appears to be down at the moment. I am not sure when it will be back. Both NFC Compilation
CDs are also unavailable for download at this time.
In the latest issue of the British NME there is an interview with Courtney Love
and some comments on the unreleased Nirvana song "You Know You're Right", as mentioned
here earlier. Here are some quotes from the printed article on the song;
"Courtney Love has given the NME world exclusive access to the unreleased Nirvana track 'You Know
You're Right'. After the release of 'In Utero', Kurt Cobain is said to have recorded 4 or 5 songs
in various locations, and some of these sessions didn't feature Grohl and Novoselic. He
definately recorded with Eric and Patty from Hole, as well as Pat Smear, an additional
guitarist in the final days of Nirvana. Cobain is reported to have told several people in
late 93/early 94 that he planned to make the next Nirvana record with other musicians.
The dispute seems to centre on control of Nirvana's legacy rather than an earlier claim
that Love wanted to block the song because of unflattering lyrics. Nirvana performed the
song live in 93 - an mp3 of which has been available for some time - and the lyrics are:
'I just don't think it's worth it/I don't really love her/I don't think I want her/Ain't
going to take to love again/It's the way your love hurts/It's the way you're made again.'
Having heard the studio version, NME can reveal that the lyrics are substantially different
and - as Love and Barber [Courtney's manager] claim- the song contains the line 'Things have
never been so swell/And I have never felt this well'. When she contacted NME in September,
Love wrote: 'There's so much of it [Cobain's material] and I want the public to hear it,
just not at the cost of the same asshole managers and lawyers making the same vast amout
of cash out of a person they all hated.' "
Then NME printed their 'verdict' on the song;
"The first thing that strikes you about this song is just how 'up' it is.
After 'Nevermind', Cobain infamously tried to sabotage Nirvana's immense commercial success
by making the far more abrasive and uncompromising 'In Utero' with producer Steve Albini.
'You Know You're Right' suggests that he'd got that out of his system and was returning to
a more pop-orientated sound. The song is melodic and confrontational. Cobain's voice has
rarely sounded so gutteral and forceful - which is really saying something. Towards the end,
the song also features one of Cobain's trademark guitar solos. It's an incredible find, and
serves to show what direction the next record would have taken had he lived. Love is right that
the song has great artistic and commerical value." You can listen to a short clip of
the song here (from 'Access Hollywood').
In a November 30 message on the hole.com message board, Courtney Love posted a comment about
this website; "I don't go there much - but I did this evening - surfed it a little.
It's one fuc##ing idiotic statement after another - generally - about me. And generally so completely
false and generally not from any fan point of view, and its very depressing." - "Get your shit
together or let's wait for a generation here. It would be better business and more astute
management to put out a rarities record - not a 90 dollar boxset. A rarities record of shit YOU'VE
never ever heard. And be grateful I played you what I did on TV tonight, because unless Krist and
Dave get the vast amount of cash THEY are demanding, you won't be hearing it - and even then - it's
not coming out on Interscope." Generally it's a pretty odd statement that seems to be mostly
concerned with the users of the NFC Discussion Board rather than the website's content. In fact,
Courtney (and most of the subsequent replies to the thread) seem to pass critical judgement on the
website as a whole, merely because they don't like the people using it's discussion board, and don't
agree with their posts about Courtney. It's sad that a website dedicated to a band has to be judged
by the opinions of a few discussion board users, a discussion board that is just a small part of the
website as a whole. Courtney; next time, try browsing the rest of the website. You can read her
complete message at hole.com in the 'Jukebox' forum of their message board.
Daniela sent this one in - a story from CFOX; "Courtney Love has spoken out about her
reasons for not allowing the final Nirvana song 'You Know You're Right' to be included on the forthcoming
boxed set. 'What started as a renegotiation turned into horror stories,' Love said. The singer
added that record executives 'need to understand [that they] are dealing with somebody who lost
a father and a husband and that's Shakespearean. It isn't a joke. It's not a coffee patch. It's
not 'Oh, we'll take care of Courtney.' This is dark and evil and Machiavellian with me, and my
blood runs black when you mess with that ... This business hurt him and hurt him bad, the greed
of business hurt him.' " Thanks to Daniela.
"In the latest issue of Circus magazine they have a year in rock thing and they have a special
section about the life and death of Kurt Cobain." Thanks to Jeremy. I'm not sure if this is in
the latest issue.
Archive of past months news and website updates:
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