OPINION: Cashing in on Cobain
- Sean Eric McGill
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for my own eyes. Jerry Harrison, father of Courtney Love, sitting on an "expert" panel of celebrity gossip columnists on Geraldo. I had seen him before, of course, when the tabloid press was after him like Rush Limbaugh on a steak following Kurt Cobain's suicide. He seemed polite enough, eager to answer any questions they had about the effect all this was having on his daughter. Now, a year later, he joins the ranks of those who have taken the memory of Kurt Cobain and used it as a vehicle for their own purposes.
Let me say, though, that this isn't a column about people who defiled the memory of Kurt Cobain and how terrible they are for doing that to such a musical genius. Cobain did enough to defile his memory during his own lifetime, and I for one never saw him as a "musical genius". But nothing else elevates somelike from "rock star" to "idol" like death, and unfortunately, Cobain's isn't the only case where others profitted after the performer was gone.
Before the death of Elvis, all we knew of Priscilla Presley was that she was Elvis' sweetheart-turned-bride. After his death, she became an actress - always trying to distance herself from her former husband, but only as far as keeping the last name would allow. The same goes for Lisa Marie, who could have married a dozen cabana boys and been ignored, but marries Michael Jackson and gets on prime-time television and the cover of every tabloid in the supermarket.
You could also argue that the current members of Lynyrd Skynard are simply cashing in on the nostalgia of their audience for the pre-crash days when they perpetually tour. I think it's interesting to note, though, that Yoko Ono's career fell apart after the death of John Lennon - probably because he was not only her cash cow, but the only person who really thought she was talented to begin with.
Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison live on through t-shirts, posters, and countless re-masterings of their albums (or my personal favorite, the "lost tapes" trick). But they weren't cashed in on by those who loved them for the most part, and the cashing in is what I find inexcusable.
I have no problem with someone wearing a Kurt Cobain t-shirt in memory of his music and his life. That's capitalism in action. There's a demand for a product, suppliers provide that product and make a couple of million dollars. But when I can't turn on the television without seeing Courtney Love or hearing the latest gossip about her, then I have a problem.
Before she married Cobain, Hole was just another grrrll band, more apt to be confused with L7 and Babes In Toyland then to play on Saturday Night Live. Even during their marriage, she was only seen in his company for the most part, and if interviewers asked her ten questions, five of them were about Cobain. Now, she's omnipresent, appearing at every party possible, looking like Mr. Blackwell's acid-induced nightmare.
To her credit, she's doing nothing different now then she was eighteen months ago. She's still offensive, has occasional bouts with drugs, and is generally living her life the same way she always has. The only difference is now somebody cares. If she looks tired on stage, or goes to the hospital, then it was the grief, the pills or something that got her down, and you can read all about in Rolling Stone, see it on Hard Copy or get her own personal "views" on the Internet.
I know the fault for some of this lay at my doorstep and those in this profession. She's the hottest story in the rock world at the moment, and the media can't resist that. After all, this is Kurt Cobain's wife we're talking about!
And that's what Courtney Love is: Kurt Cobain's wife. Regardless of how many awards Live Through This recieves and regardless of how much the music media dotes over her, few of them cared until April, 1994. Love, her father, and Hole owe much of their newfound fame to Cobain, and it's time they acknowledge it. Of course, Drew Barrymore is dating the bassist in Hole. If she kills herself, then they'll be the biggest band in the world...and Geraldo will have another guest.
