Spotted on SeattlePI:
Thursday’s first “Kurt Cobain Day” in the grunge legend’s hometown of Aberdeen might have signaled a thawing in the fraught relationship between the town and Cobain’s legacy.
But then it happened. Nirvana fans looking on from throughout the country were left unimpressed. Some are even upset about a statue unveiled at the Aberdeen Museum of History and the way it portrays Cobain with a tear pouring from his right eye.
Thursday’s event, complete with live music from a local band and appearances by a few figures from Cobain’s past, was arguably Aberdeen’s biggest public acknowledgement of serving as the backdrop of the musician’s tumultuous childhood.
Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson said the town was “remiss for a long time” for not celebrating Cobain’s legacy sooner.
Simpson announced Feb. 20, what would have been Cobain’s 47th birthday, as “Kurt Cobain Day” not long after neighboring Hoqiuam, where Cobain once briefly lived, announced a tribute day for the frontman set for April 10, the day Nirvana will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“We hope this is just as big as Graceland, eventually,” Simpson said in interviews, referencing Elvis Presley’s celebrated mansion in Memphis.
But when Thursday evening rolled around, the event was criticized for being underwhelming and off the mark.
There’s the statue. Local artist Randi Hubbard began working on the statue about 20 years ago, not long after Cobain committed suicide in Seattle. She said during Thursday’s event that her own mother’s death moved her to sculpt the statue.
It then sat in storage in her muffler shop after the Aberdeen city government refused to accept it.
Now that it’s finally out of storage and part of a local museum exhibit commemorating Cobain, fans are mocking and disparaging it all over the Internet, saying it doesn’t capture Cobain’s true spirit or likeness.
Then there’s the KING/5 report on the event, which fans found offensive. Anchor Dennis Bounds and reporter Drew Mikkelsen both described Cobain as a “well-known heroin addict who shot himself 20 years ago” instead of the man responsible for the grunge movement and putting Seattle on the musical map.
Mikkelsen also made a point of bringing up Cobain’s arrests in Aberdeen for vandalism and trespassing.
The remarks contrasted oddly with Simpson’s fawning remarks about Cobain, making it appear as though he stood alone in wanting to celebrate the town’s most famous figure.
Checkmate, Hoquiam?
Here’s a wrap-up of what music journalists and fans had to say about the event:
“(T)he cement edifice shows the ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ singer with a tear coming down from his eye, looking pretty ‘Jesus wept’-y.” —SPIN magazine, on the statue
“Aberdeen Honors ‘Kurt Cobain Day’ With Bizarre Crying Statue” —Pitchfork headline
“As it turns out, not everyone is a fan of Kurt Cobain Day, especially anchor Dennis Bounds, who introduced Cobain not as ‘Nirvana frontman and newly inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member,’ but rather as ‘the well-known heroin addict who shot himself 20 years ago.’ The report itself wasn’t much better, as it included an interview with a random fan and focused way too much on Cobain’s vices than his many contributions. Cobain was ‘not exactly George Washington,’ the reporter so brilliantly noted.” —Consequence of Sound
“(T)he local news coverage from network KING 5 … essentially mocked the entire tribute and made tasteless jabs at Cobain himself.” —Rolling Stone
“(U)m, the bar has not been set particularly high for Hoquiam. … It seems a little unimpressive, doesn’t it?” —Stereogum
“Mayor Bill Simpson’s efforts were modest, highlighting Cobain’s legacy through a small event that unveiled a statue that was a touch more maudlin than the deceased artist probably would have liked. And even aside from that tear-strewn effigy, the event proved controversial, hinting at why Cobain railed against his hometown all those years ago.” —A.V. Club
“So the city, which is about 80 miles outside of Seattle, is honoring the late frontman (who would have been 47-years-old yesterday) with a statue … that kind of looks like the lead singer of Nickelback crying?” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Oh no, no no no. Crying Kurt Cobain is like the Weeping Angels on Doctor Who, but more horrifying.” —Uproxx
