Courtney & Nirvana: Smells Like a Sellout

BDx13 - 4-3-2006 at 12:04 PM

03/31/2006 12:56 PM, E! Online

Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"--coming soon to a soap ad near you?

So far Courtney Love is ruling that out, but chances are we'll be hearing more of the seminal grunge band's music in unexpected places now that Kurt Cobain's cash-strapped widow has agreed to sell off a 25 percent stake in the Nirvana song catalog in a deal valued at $50 million, per Rolling Stone.

On the other end of the deal is Larry Mestel, the former COO of Virgin Records and current head of Primary Wave Music Publishing.

To preemptively squelch backlash from fans worried about the over-commercialization of a decidedly anticorporate band, Love sought to assure the Nirvana faithful that the music won't simply be licensed to the highest bidder.

"We're going to remain very tasteful, and we're going to [retain] the spirit of Nirvana and take Nirvana places it's never been before," Love told the magazine.

"I took on a strategic partner, Larry Mestel, to help me comanage the estate because it was overwhelming," Love said. "The affairs of Nirvana are so massive and so huge, and they've all fallen on my lap.

"I own almost all of [the publishing]...and it proved to be too much for me. I needed a partner to take Kurt Cobain's songs and bring them into the future and into the next generation. And this guy's the guy to do it," she said.

Following her husband's 1994 suicide, Love became the primary benefactor of Cobain's estate, which included ownership rights of more than 98 percent of Nirvana's song catalog. The other two former members, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, own the remainder--slightly less than 2 percent split between them. The new deal does not affect their portion.

Mestel, too, is quick to quell rumors that he's just another suit out to profit on Cobain's legacy.

"My goal is to keep the music very true to who the songwriter was and what his passions and tastes would be and to work through Courtney to figure out exactly the best way to go about exposing his music to a new youth culture to a new generation," Mestel said.

He also told Rolling Stone that he was thrilled to have been able to buy into the Nirvana catalog and become, with his three-year-old company, a part of music history.

"The appeal to me is that [Cobain was] one of the most important songwriters of his time," Mestel said. "Kurt was an incredible songwriter, and Courtney is an exceptionally talented person herself. So I felt the combination of Courtney's creativity and the things I can add can really help in creating more value for these copyrights."

Novoselic and Grohl, long-time adversaries of Love, have yet to comment on the new deal. But we're guessing they're none too pleased.

When rumors first swirled that Love was looking to unload a stake in the lucrative catalog, it was expected that the duo may have first dibs, but, based on their troubled history with Love, it's doubtful they were ever offered the chance.

In 2001, Love filed suit against Grohl and Novoselic in an attempt to gain sole custody of the Nirvana songbook, calling the duo merely "sidemen" in the band, which she equated as a one-man show--the man of course being her late husband. The same year, Grohl and Novoselic struck back, filing their own suit alleging Love was using Cobain's music to "further her own career goals," calling her a "greedy prima donna" with a "waning recording and acting career."

Love also filed suit against Grohl and Novoselic and Nirvana's label, Universal Music Group, to block the release of a Nirvana box set, The Heart-Shaped Box. The suit was eventually settled and the album released.

In an interview with Blender magazine last year, Love claimed that "$40 million has been stolen from me and Frances by a fiduciary institution." In July, she blamed former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl for her financial woes, telling Spin magazine that Grohl had been "taking money from my child for years."

Aside from the wrangling over Nirvana, Love's once considerable fortune has been sapped by lawsuits, liens and numerous drug-related charges. In January, a mortgage company took possession of a Seattle-area house owned by Love (and the former residence of Cobain's sister), after the singer-actress failed to make payments. Last August, a Manhattan financial firm moved to foreclose on her pricey New York condo, claiming she had not made a mortgage payment in months.

But things are looking up. Aside from the Mestel deal, Love was given a good report card in February by a Los Angeles judge in her last remaining drug case. For her part, Love told the judge she had put her "very gnarly drug problem" behind her.

She's also resuming her own music career. Love is in the studio recording a follow-up to her 2004 solo album, America's Sweetheart. Linda Perry, Moby and Billy Corgan are pitching in, with the latter joining Love for a track called, aptly enough, "How Dirty Girls Get Clean."

XHonusWagnerX - 4-3-2006 at 12:18 PM

I hate that bands done split things MUCH closer to even that 98%, 1%, 1% in the case of a three piece like Nirvana. I feel like everyone has input when writing songs and its really not respected at all. As much of a money grubbing whore as Courtney is I think its shitty that Kurt didnt keep things more even for Dave and Krist.

CR83 - 4-3-2006 at 12:19 PM

Since when is C. Love Tasteful?

"We're going to remain very tasteful, and we're going to [retain] the spirit of Nirvana and take Nirvana places it's never been before," Love told the magazine.

Voodoobillyman - 4-3-2006 at 12:43 PM

kurt Cobain was the biggest whiny ass pussy ever to have the spotlight shine down upon his worthless ass. Fuck his dead junky ass, his junky whore widow and everything they stand for. The only innocent one in all of this is the little girl who is forever tied to these worthless shitheads. As for the others, grohl is doin just fine with his band and I hear nothing about the other dude.

XHonusWagnerX - 4-3-2006 at 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Voodoobillyman
As for the others, grohl is doin just fine with his band and I hear nothing about the other dude.

Im sure that the Foo Fighters are making tons of cash, but no one would turn down Nirvana royalties money!

Krist was working in politics in Washington state, but Im not sure what hes up to now. Nothing musical as far as I know.

CR83 - 4-3-2006 at 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Voodoobillyman
kurt Cobain was the biggest whiny ass pussy ever to have the spotlight shine down upon his worthless ass. Fuck his dead junky ass, his junky whore widow and everything they stand for. The only innocent one in all of this is the little girl who is forever tied to these worthless shitheads. As for the others, grohl is doin just fine with his band and I hear nothing about the other dude.

Very well put

gavin - 4-3-2006 at 01:37 PM

Quote:

awesome
i was going to write something very close to this but you summed it up very well
nice job

Discipline - 4-3-2006 at 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrBadVibes

Quote:

awesome
i was going to write something very close to this but you summed it up very well
nice job

clevohardcore - 4-3-2006 at 03:46 PM

sucky news

joemaconmovies - 4-4-2006 at 12:30 AM

I'm so fucking sick of Courtney and this shit. I think she's a greedy whore living off of Kurt's success.

As far as I know about Krist (bass player) he gave up music and is working entirely in political issues, especially censorship. He released an album way back when with a band called Sweet 75. I didn't buy the album and wish I did only to hear what it sounds like.

BDx13 - 4-4-2006 at 12:56 AM

http://www.murkyslough.com/ - his site
http://www.fixour.us/ - one of his political endeavours
http://www.novoselic.com/ - fan site

gavin - 4-4-2006 at 01:52 AM

blah
fuck these foolz

XHonusWagnerX - 4-4-2006 at 08:27 AM

They just said on Howard Stern that along with Courtney selling a percentage of the Nirvana estate there have been some new merchandising deals. Aparently there is a Kurt Cobain doll coming out..... unreal.

Voodoobillyman - 4-4-2006 at 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrBadVibes
blah
fuck these foolz

CR83 - 4-4-2006 at 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by XHonusWagnerX
They just said on Howard Stern that along with Courtney selling a percentage of the Nirvana estate there have been some new merchandising deals. Aparently there is a Kurt Cobain doll coming out..... unreal.

If this is true, then how the hell are they keeping it "tasteful" or "Classy".

Blah, fuck these fools.

Voodoobillyman - 4-4-2006 at 09:59 AM

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Let me guess........ it comes with a bent spoon and a syringe and when you pull the cord it whines about how bad it's got it in life, you know, what with all the success and a beautiful baby girl looking to you to be her dad. That dude was one pathetic piece of shit and I like to think that when he blasted his worthless fuckin junky brains out he did the world a favor, not himself. If there is any reason to get your shit together it's for the love of a child and he was too fuckin self absorbed in his own "misery" to see this. Fuck him right in his gaping fuckin head wound. Anyone who looked up to this bag of shit is semi retarded, just my opinion.

Lucabrasi - 4-4-2006 at 01:05 PM

At Jc Penneys where i work we sell Nirvana shirts. I found this to be very odd.

BDx13 - 4-4-2006 at 01:50 PM

oh my god.

joemaconmovies - 4-4-2006 at 01:58 PM

Quote:

i have a photo of the doll. anyone wanna see it?

joemaconmovies - 4-4-2006 at 02:27 PM