I’d like to assure you that the ‘stunning news’ line was definitely a touch sarcastic. One thing I did take from the Halperin/Wallace Cobain conspiracy books was a reconfirmed sense that often the news is a manipulated object in which hard-working (indeed over-worked) people — with harsh deadlines and a need to pump a certain amount of news product per-day, per-week, per-month — take the easy route and occasionally take some non-news to bulk things out and fill space giving them time to focus on items that deserve and require more time and energy.
…I know this to be true because I think it’s fair to say I’ve occasionally done it myself here on http://www.nirvana-legacy.com — there have been weeks where the data work or background thinking for a piece has required substantial hours to grind out (and remember I have a proper job too so I leave the house at 7.20am, I return home at 6.30pm, I sometimes work much later, I generally maintain some kinda social life, I do exercise sometimes too all of which compresses and compacts the time available to prepare the blog posts for here; Allahu akbar, praise be to God for giving me a high typing speed.) When those times come around I’ll admit to dashing off quick thoughts, ramming an undigested idea out into the world always with the intention to return to it later. I even try to keep a lightweight piece or two tucked in my belt for emergencies.
In the case of this article regarding Aberdeen, State of Washington we’re greeted with the revelatory news that the town is going to keep the Cobain lyric adorning the town sign. On the positive side, 300 people can make a difference to a local situation — in a world where the might of little people acting locally is often underrated it’s nice to see more evidence of that truth. As an example local to me:
http://www.castlesupporters.org.uk/
This pub is just down my road. Not the finest looking building but there’s been a pub there since before the founding of the United States of America and it’s a real boon to the area. So far at least the motivation and mobilisation of local residents has kept its new owners from bulldozing it despite several attempts (ongoing) and the kicking out of the people running the pub. My fingers are crossed that the resistance keeps going.
I digress, in the case of the Aberdeen sign, I admit I read this article with a touch of cynicism; Aberdeen is famous for Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and…Yup, that’s the only reason most people will have ever heard of Aberdeen as anything more than a brief mention in a bio somewhere. I’m not convinced that the town would ever seriously consider removing the minor league tribute to their most famous resident. But, on the other hand, I am fairly sure that reporting they were considering doing it may have drawn some attention to the town.
I admit I was surprised they only received 300 messages but I’m wondering whether the supposed ‘threat’ was so local that only a tiny number of people were even aware such an idea was being discussed and the whole affair was drawn to a close before it could go further.
I have to thank Tom Grant too at this point for making the tape available of Courtney Love admitting to having planted stories in the media; the tapes he’s put up are worth a listen just to lend some colour to things. And hey, in things that meant something to me this week? I dropped a mention of the last few articles detailing my objections to the murder theories onto the Justice for Kurt page on Facebook, being respectful, and the individual running the site took the time to like the link and acknowledge me — now that really does mean something to me. We may be divided on one issue but we each enjoy and even adore the music of Nirvana and that’s enough. So, if I might be allowed a dedication, I’d like to dedicate today to decent Nirvana fans because, as the gentleman at Justice for Kurt says: “Hey I appreciate you taking interest in the subject and…even if we have different opinions, it’s nice to hear that people still care for Cobain.”
Nirvana Legacy 