Jon Bon Jovi Joins Cobain Guitar Hero 5 Protest

Jon Bon Jovi says he supports the protest made by former Nirvana members in response to the use of Kurt Cobain's likeness in the "Guitar Hero 5" video game. When the iconic band's rhythm section, bassist Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, said they were "very disappointed" that Cobain's avatar could be used to play songs by other acts in the game, including Bon Jovi's 1986 pop-metal romp "You Give Love A Bad Name," the one-time pin-up had a similar reaction.

"I don't know that I would have wanted it either," Bon Jovi told the BBC. "To hear someone else's voice coming out of a cartoon version of me? I don't know. It sounds a little forced."

In fact, Bon Jovi - who was promoting his band's forthcoming album "The Circle" - says he declined the offer to appear as a playable character in the same game. "I had the paperwork, they wanted me to be on that game and I just passed," he explained. "But no-one even broached the subject with me that I would be singing other people's stuff. I don't know how I would have reacted to that."

In a joint statement, Novoselic and Grohl said they "didn't know" Kurt's image would be used in this way and urged Guitar Hero 5 manufacturer Activision to "do the right thing in 're-locking' Kurt's character." Activision responded by claiming it had permission to use Cobain's image from the late rocker's estate. Meanwhile, Courtney Love claimed breach of contract and that she never signed a contract allowing this wide-ranging use of Cobain's likeness. If Activision doesn't make any changes to the game, Love might take legal action against them.

Thanks for the report to Spinner.com.

Comments

[aaciseric]

Fair enough on Jon's part, i'm not a Kurt Cobain fan in the slightest bit but Jon's got a point about how it's tarnishing his name to have singing other people's songs. And i'm glad he didn't put himself in for the game, I think he's brilliant but it just wouldn't work really.

[merrill_howard]

i dont understand all the commotion, its a video game. who cares what character is singing/playing other songs, its not real. people need to sort out their priorities lol.

[j_link13]

merrill_howard wrote:

i dont understand all the commotion, its a video game. who cares what character is singing/playing other songs, its not real. people need to sort out their priorities lol.

who cares? kurts dead now and he spent his life trying to make people be individuals...i doubt he would like this

[alkalineweeman]

j_link13 wrote:

merrill_howard wrote:

i dont understand all the commotion, its a video game. who cares what character is singing/playing other songs, its not real. people need to sort out their priorities lol.
who cares? kurts dead now and he spent his life trying to make people be individuals...i doubt he would like this

What everyone seems to forget is that Kurt had a very good sense of humour, he'd have LOVED this.

[Crizzle]

kurt would never have agreed to it :/
It's like say your mother felt really strongly about something, then she died, would you then defy that thing she felt so strongly against?

[BlindSupernova]

This just shows the members of nirvana are asswholes. Its just a video game. Who cares. Activision put a lot of work in this game and they are just going to tell them what they can and can't do.

[xxMrMongoose]

For christ sake this is out of hand... Its a game. Why does it matter what a little cartoon character sings just because it resembles someone. People will just make him in the custom character thing anyway.

[IMABBALLPLAYER]

Activision really needs to fix this. It really is pretty disrespectful to Kurt and the Nirvana legacy.

[CTFOD]

Crizzle wrote:

kurt would never have agreed to it :/
It's like say your mother felt really strongly about something, then she died, would you then defy that thing she felt so strongly against?

...Did you just compare a 3-album rock star who you've probably never met to the woman who birthed, raised and loved you?

[the_hoodster]

People never complained when Slash or who ever was playing guitar on other peoples songs, but I suppose I can see how this may be different.

[zAg1619]

BlindSupernova wrote:

This just shows the members of nirvana are asswholes. Its just a video game. Who cares. Activision put a lot of work in this game and they are just going to tell them what they can and can't do.

How are the members of Nirvana *******s about it? They never told Activision they could use Kurts image, because they don't own the rights to his name or anything. I mean, this is pure speculation on my part, but I would think that over the years, Dave and Krist were probably pretty good buddies with Kurt, and I could understand how they would feel shitty about seeing Kurt "performing" a song that wasn't his. The only one at blame here is Love, pure and simple. She signed something, supposedly not knowing what she got in to. She realizes she ****ed up, and this is her weird way of showing it.

[lilscooter11]

the_hoodster wrote:

People never complained when Slash or who ever was playing guitar on other peoples songs, but I suppose I can see how this may be different.

Or Hendrix or Cash.

NOW, can we move on people? This has gone on long enough for my liking. It's boring me now.

[98Timberwolf]

I'm not sure what to think about this anymore. On one hand, it could be viewed as disrespectful to Kurt, on the other hand, it's just a video game and was created with the good intention of people playing it and having a good time, not arguing over it.

[Lagunaguitar]

What everyone seems to forget is that Kurt had a very good sense of humour, he'd have LOVED this.

how do you know what he would've wanted. altho he only made 3 albums, Cobain pretty much founded grunge music. he has been an influence on myself. it's sad that an icon of music is being put on some GAME that fat-asses play

[freakyzombie]

it should be common knowledge that if you appear on a guitar hero game your likeness or avatar or whatever will be used to sing other people's songs plus its hilarious to make kurt sing songs by the killers or screamo i own the game so yeah its a blast

on another note all this "protest" just shows that the idiots who signed the contract didn't read it

[gitarzero89]

i don't think kurt would have agreed to marketing his likeness in the first place. but i agree he might have found some demented humor in seeing himself sing "you give love a bad name." which is ironic seeing as how his widow actually does give Love a bad name.

[_T_H_R_I_C_E_]

What are they supposed to do about the Wii and PS2 versions? They cant be patched, so Cobain can never be restricted to just the Nirvana tunes.

[firebird103]

I hope they don't change guitar hero would tour... I love watching Ozzy sing "La Bamba".

[bassboy666]

Lagunaguitar :
What everyone seems to forget is that Kurt had a very good sense of humour, he'd have LOVED this.

how do you know what he would've wanted. altho he only made 3 albums, Cobain pretty much founded grunge music. he has been an influence on myself. it's sad that an icon of music is being put on some GAME that fat-asses play

Grunge music didn't last terribly long, Kurt didn't really found it, and it hardly counts as a genre... from over 10 years ago.

I don't think using his image should really bother anyone, anyway. How many times have you seen Kurt in satirical comic strips or pictures already?

That and nobody cared about the characters who were obviously based on Hendrix and Dimebag in the earlier games.

[psychoskin473]

Crizzle wrote:

kurt would never have agreed to it :/
It's like say your mother felt really strongly about something, then she died, would you then defy that thing she felt so strongly against?

Depends on your mother really doesnt it? Nirvana music and images should really be left alone. watching commercials with cool kids wearing new incarnations of nirvana shirts for target seemed a bit much. i wonder if a petition is in order though "by the fans"

[rkennett79]

3-album rock star

which album are you not counting? just curious, does bleach or incesticide not count?

[flashmdg]

Seeing Kurt perform other band's songs is wrong because he probably could never play them in the first place.

[DanielN]

hey if you wanted to honor Cobain's name in the first place you shouldn't have sold activision the rights of his(Nirvana's) songs in the first place

I mean Nirvana is one of those bands whose legacy will probably remain relevant in rock's music for a very long time (if not forever)... so it's not like you have to keep reminding people of the music through videogames like this (no disrespect to activision i actually like the guitar hero series)...

To me this is just a case of Courtney Love wanting to keep sucking money out of his husbands memory and then trying to stop activision because she knows she gonna make true Nirvana fans mad... and once they go mad no more money for Love...

Lagunaguitar wrote:

Cobain pretty much founded grunge music

no. nirvana helped make grunge music 'mainstream'. grunge had been going on before the band was even around. that's pretty ironic considering how underground he's being portrayed as by you lot.

checked

[acidhammerdrums]

This is ridiculous, if they take this out of Guitar Hero 5, then all hope for the Kurt Cobain character model in DDR is lost.

[SlipknotRule93]

There's no point moaning. The game's out now. They're hardly going to re call every copy are they?

flashmdg wrote:

Seeing Kurt perform other band's songs is wrong because he probably could never play them in the first place.

haha!

[beneharris]

IMABBALLPLAYER wrote:

Activision really needs to fix this. It really is pretty disrespectful to Kurt and the Nirvana legacy.

thats the stupidest thing i've ever heard. how so? its not disrespectful to use the beatles? a few of those guys are dead. and the entire game is about them.

or like someone mentioned earlier, johnny cash.

stupid stupid stupid debate. who gives a crap

[CTFOD]

rkennett79 wrote:

3-album rock star

which album are you not counting? just curious, does bleach or incesticide not count?

Incesticide was just a compilation of demos, not really a studio album. I was referring to Bleach, Nevermind and In Utero.

[kellen.dobmeier]

Kurt Cobain used his image better than anyone I've ever known. If people had realized all along that he wanted the fame, that he knew what he was doing when they wrote and recorded Smells Like Teen Spirit. People, quit buying into the man's words. Him being on a damn video game is no big deal and it should stay that way. Guitar Hero picks mainstream and mediocre musical characters. So they did it again, big ****ing deal.

[myname86]

I remember reading "Heavier Than Heaven" and noticing the great child like sense of humor Kurt had. One example is when Weird Al Yankovic parodied Smells Like Teen Spirit. Kurt is said to have taken it as a great honor to be parodied on such a level. I'm not saying GH5 is a parody version of Kurt, I just don't think IN MY OPINION that he would care this much.

I find there seems to be this deity status given to Cobain. While I understand that he was very influential to many people around the world, he was still just a human being. This game is not disrespecting him. It should seen as a honor to be even thought of to be added to the game.

A last thought. All I see on youtube are these videos that are showing the silly side of what can be done with Cobain ie. playing Bon Jovi. I would love to see a video of Cobain rocking out to Teen Spirit or Lithium. I think if we all saw that and how cool it was, the haters might calm down just a little.

[TK1]

beneharris wrote:

IMABBALLPLAYER wrote:

Activision really needs to fix this. It really is pretty disrespectful to Kurt and the Nirvana legacy.

thats the stupidest thing i've ever heard. how so? its not disrespectful to use the beatles? a few of those guys are dead. and the entire game is about them.

or like someone mentioned earlier, johnny cash.

stupid stupid stupid debate. who gives a crap

the beatles had permission from remaining members AND widows of john and george. i say that courtney love, while legally so, had NO RIGHTS over kurts likeness.

that being said, its just a f*cking game, and its being blown out of proportion. its already out, so just deal with it.

[fiftysteps]

And out right now is a game all about the Beatles, and nobody seems to bicker about that. Ridiculous. I think Courtney Love is a douche and is making something out of nothing. What about the Call Of Duty games? They represent symbolically one of the millions of people how've died during real World Wars, and if you like, you can have them commit suicide with grenades. And nobody bothered complaining about that. I see no point in any of this.

[turtlewax]

King Diamond is hardly "mainstream" in my opinion. Or is any band not on a record label or recieving any hint of attention too popular for you?

[bv310]

I don't actually see how Bon Jovi is joining any protest. He's saying that he wouldn't be cool with them using his image in the same way. Him not wanting it =/= him protesting it.

[Portugeezer31]

lilscooter11 wrote:

the_hoodster wrote:

People never complained when Slash or who ever was playing guitar on other peoples songs, but I suppose I can see how this may be different.

Or Hendrix or Cash.

NOW, can we move on people? This has gone on long enough for my liking. It's boring me now.

Okay I havent played the new guitar hero.. so i dont know about cash, but you couldnt use hendrix to sing other peoples songs, and slash isnt dead, thats why its different.

[RUSTDOGG666]

apparently Jon didn't get the memo yesterday about it being legal.whats done is done. not like they can ask everyone to give it back to the stores so they can give it back to the manufacturer to re do it or anything.

[badfish2829]

I love Nirvana as much as the next guy. In fact, they got me into rock music in general. But, what people seem to forget, and need to realize, is that Kurt is DEAD. Speculating what he would've wanted is just a waste of time. At the end of the day, he was just a man.
He did his part in music, and passed on. That's how the evolution of music goes. Someone brings a new sound to the table, others perfect/improve on it, leading to another genre of music, the people who spearhead it retire/die and the wheels on the bus go round. This wouldn't be an issue if people stopped putting him under the "God" category. Which is a category he hated being put under. I'm pretty sure that was a factor in why he took his own life.

[Phantasmasaurus]

Crizzle wrote:

kurt would never have agreed to it :/
It's like say your mother felt really strongly about something, then she died, would you then defy that thing she felt so strongly against?

if the thing she felt strongly about was unfounded bullsh*t, yeah.

[NemX162]

Many of you are saying "It's just a video game."

Why does the media form something immoral comes in matter? The fact is that this is something that they all know damned well that Kurt would not like.

[TJM2482]

They legally have the right to use his avatar, I'm sick of all these out of touch musicians getting all pissy because a "childish video game" is using his image.

[Jehuty]

I would pay some good money to see Kurt Cobain play a track like Through The Fire and Flames. Although that was Guitar Hero 3 I think.

Checked.

[Dwayne Rodstad]

We're all just going to die anyways.

[din_blix]

Courtney love only does two things, ever, seek money, and seek attention.

[Stay Up Late]

If I ever become famous and they want to put me in a video game, I hope nobody cries this much over it.

None of you know what Kurt "would've wanted." People may not always want what others THINK they would've wanted. Shut up will all the crap about what Kurt would've wanted because you don't know. For all you guys know, this could've been his secret fantasy. I'm a huge Nirvana fan and I mean no disrespect to them, Kurt, or any of their fans but I seriously think people are flipping out over nothing. I think it's pretty cool that they put him in Guitar Hero 5. All it shows is that he's honored pretty highly as a musician and hopefully it'll open up more people to the music of Nirvana. My seven year old sister asked me to give her a few Nirvana songs after seeing him and playing as him at our cousin's house. I think that's a pretty good thing if a seven year old wants to listen to Nirvana. Fans need to stop acting so elitist.

[rmp0012002]

Novoselic and Grohl have no say over anything Nirvana so they're probably pissed none of that money from the game is coming their way and I'm sure Courtney allowed Activision to use kurts likeness and her greed is coming out. Go away drunk bitch, you make $50M a year off your dead husband on everything else you pimped his image on and that's not good enough.

[eds1275]

Stay Up Late wrote:
Fans need to stop acting so elitist.

This...

[PSC555]

I like how no one is complaining about Johnny Cash singing other people's stuff in the game. I think it's pretty disrespectful to him sing b*llshit like Beastie Boys. Why is this all about Kurt?

[FiveStringSweep]

This is really getting lame...
Kinda weird alot of people know cobains oppinion on it including some 15 year old kids..Guess he talked alot about apearing in videogames before he died.?
Lets just make one of those worthless psychics talk to his spirit and ask him what he thinks about GH5. This just has to stop..

[dale-banez]

Dwayne Rodstad wrote:

We're all just going to die anyways.

this.

[Moving Pictures]

I see where people are coming from now.

[Metal Onslaught]

merrill_howard wrote:

i dont understand all the commotion, its a video game. who cares what character is singing/playing other songs, its not real. people need to sort out their priorities lol.

hit the nail on the head bro. Honestly, this has got to be one of the most blown-out-of-proportion "scandals" I have ever heard of. Who gives a **** if a cartoon avatar is "singing" someone else songs? Kurt did covers, so why not have his avatar do other peoples music? these people need to grow the **** up!

[goskayourself]

bottom line is: nobody here knew kurt and nobody knew what he would have wanted. i think its more disrespectful to cobain to say that you know cobain so well that you know what he would have thought. you guys are hypocrites

[drawnacrol]

I think the worst part about this dispute is the fact that the only person who even looks at the backdrop with the band playing is the guy who is waiting to have a go next other than that you wouldn't even notice

[Lil' Pookie]

Didn't he personally give Weird Al the O.K. to use Smell's Like Teen Spirit to make a complete joke out of it.(funny at first, then NEVER again...just like Weird Al)I don't think there was any artistic merit in what Weird Al was doing, but Kurt didn't seem to mind. I don't think he would mind having his cartoon likeness sing songs that weren't his own.

[ldnovelo]

TK1 :
the beatles had permission from remaining members AND widows of john and george. i say that courtney love, while legally so, had NO RIGHTS over kurts likeness.

that being said, its just a f*cking game, and its being blown out of proportion. its already out, so just deal with it.

WTF? What makes john and george's widows able to get them in a game? What makes Love unable to do so? I dont like Love, but she has the right to get her dead husband in a game without consulting anyone else, just because she owns her husband's image. If she tried to get Nirvana on a game, then she would need permission from the other 2 guys because they own part of the Nirvana name, but it's actually Kurt who got into the game

The beatles had to ask the widows because they are owners of their husband's images and part of the beatles name. If they hadn't given permission, the game would have just included Ringo and Paul, not the full band. Kurt got in the game, so you only need permission from the owner of the image, who is Courtney love; not Grohl, not Novoselic, not the 13 year olds who know what Kurt would have liked, not you, not Bon Jovi.

But, i agree with you, it's just a game. Love wants money so she's acting like if she was raped by greedy video game company executives. If she hand't said a thing, no one would have cared and people would keep on posting vids of Cobain singing sh*t.

[Batvanvaiych]

he does have a valid point, however to be just, Grohl and Novaselic should have voiced their opinion before Love got her ass in the air and went through with it, now that she suddenly changed her mind it isn't fair for the other 2 to suddenly have a voice int he matter.

But i agree with Jon in a sense. Although it does seem "forced" (as he put it) to do so, its done and crying about it now (Courtney) isn't going to change it or make you look any better. it just makes her look like a whining little wench [well...nevermind no comment haha (and no pun intended on "nevermind"])

[Wolfinator-x]

I find this stupid. It would be an honour for me to appear in a video game as a PC (playable character) and be lip-synced to songs from Nirvana and Bon Jovi other than just my song(s). What's wrong? On top of that, Kurt singing Bad Name? That would be awesome to watch!

Kurt playing Sambora riffs? Even "awesomer"!

Besides, the game's already out, there's no way to fix this. On the last article about this subject, I remember somebody saying that nobody's going to throw out their copy to buy a new one. Everybody just get over it.

checked.

[Xoth]

uh oh, looks like JBJ was out of the news for too long. I knew it was time for him to start bitching about something so he could make headlines again.

[Birdy266]

This game is pixels, just pixels and audio, nothing else. Who could care?

[illmental]

I just hope this whole thing finally takes this Guitar Hero game out! So then maybe we can get back to our real guitars and learn to play them!

[TatarSalad2]

Lulz. So many people pooping their pants and having a baby over a video game.

[ElThomas]

Title read: Jon Bon Jovi now respectable; not for music but for stance on overly hyped video game"

[ElThomas]

Will you people stop saying what Kurt would and wouldn't have liked? You didn't know him. No one on here did. Very few people actually did.

[EvilAngel93]

bassboy666 wrote:

Lagunaguitar :
What everyone seems to forget is that Kurt had a very good sense of humour, he'd have LOVED this.

how do you know what he would've wanted. altho he only made 3 albums, Cobain pretty much founded grunge music. he has been an influence on myself. it's sad that an icon of music is being put on some GAME that fat-asses play

Grunge music didn't last terribly long, Kurt didn't really found it, and it hardly counts as a genre... from over 10 years ago.

I don't think using his image should really bother anyone, anyway. How many times have you seen Kurt in satirical comic strips or pictures already?

That and nobody cared about the characters who were obviously based on Hendrix and Dimebag in the earlier games.

Maybe, but grunge turned out to be pretty damn influential. Granted, some post-grunge bands suck, but there are some that are good.
People care because grunge was kinda like 70's/80's punk in the way that it was angsty and didn't wanna have anything to do with the mainstream....until grunge turned into the mainstream.
Ugh, if they put Layne Staley in as a playable character, I'll gouge my eyes out with a rusty knife.

[wouldyakindly]

alkalineweeman wrote:
What everyone seems to forget is that Kurt had a very good sense of humour, he'd have LOVED this.

This is very true, although the point is not how Kurt would feel, Kurt is dead. The point is what Krist, Dave and thousands of nirvana fans feel about this, which is disgust.

[MatasTeen]

HOW STUPID CAN THIS GET!
1.Courtney helps activision, bandmates sad.
2.Courtney sues activision, bandmates sad.
3.Bon Jovi, out of nowhere, starts to do whatever he is doing.

Its a ****ing game, leave it at that. Kurt's voice sucks so it isn't all that bad that they make him do some normal music.

And didn't Grohl work with Activision cuz 2 of his songs (Foo Fighters) are featured in the latest GH games (WT,Metallica)... So everyone is betraying activision!? SHAME ON THEM!

[Shreddinator666]

Well if any of them has seen GH Hero games resently, it would be obvious to them that Curt would play other songs. NOONE would want to unlock a character in a game that they could only use for a few songs.

[ghoztofcasper]

Hello... It's a video game? It's FANTASY.

[welcomehomeyou]

If people dont want to see Kurt sing other peoples songs then they dont need to unlock him and you also choose to play as Kurt, the game doesn't have kurt on every song, their are other people who sing ths songs and besides, who is really paying attention to the character singing, because i kinda am watching the board with all the notes to hit the right ones and sometimes be like, hehehe there's kurt in the background. This has gotten out of control from Misinformation. Massive Bon Jovi fan so am bit disappointed of Jon now joining the circus. Can someone please tell they've been misinformed and its not a big deal geez.

[Banfrau]

Shreddinator666, that's how Hendrix was in GHWT and nobody minded.

[necrosis1193]

As a singer and slight Nirvana fan, I agree that it is kind of weird and annoying to have another voice come out of Kurt's mouth.

That being said, I don't support this protest. Like it or not, Love signed the contract under an assumption that she didn't question that turned out to be false, Activision has every legal right to do this.

[apm505]

If you don't have a problem with this, you are a soul-less twit. Please get off this website, which is dedicated to tools of creativity, and please return to your Xbox.

[VanTheKraut]

I think you could never get Kurt to agree to this when he was alive. Now Im no Cobain maniac, in fact I feel he's one of the most overhyped musicians of all time, but I still have a great respect for the guy as a person and wat he stood for, and he did not stand for this.

[Polaris666]

So where was all this protest when Hendrix was being used this way?

[speedy1330]

im shocked at how people think they know what kurt cobain would want or wouldnt want

[Scum_PunkRocker]

Oh how Courtney loves to stir the pot, sad that she needs to use her dead-husband's bones to do so (well, at least his image). I don't even think she means to stir the pot, she just needs more heroin money and has an easy way of getting it. Who knew marrying a junkie could bring you everything you want. She must have taken notes from Yoko Ono.

I don't see why Nirvana fans get angry at this though, and this is coming from someone who's favourite band at 14 was...NIRVANA! It's just a game, made by a company concerned with profits, and Cobain SELLS! Plus the whole shtick of Courtney exploiting Kurt to make money is an old one, and until she overdoses she will continue to cause him to roll in his grave. Her exploitation of Kurt is quite similar to major label's exploitation of the vast majority of bands they sign.

Courtney Love is like the girl next door...if you live next door to a methadone clinic.

[Scum_PunkRocker]

BTW no disrespect to John Lennon with the Yoko comment, but he did do enough drugs over a long enough period to be labeled a junkie albeit a genius who could rock out!

[PlayFreebirdNow]

Polaris666 wrote:

So where was all this protest when Hendrix was being used this way?

Hendrix was only able to be used on Hendrix songs. In fact, you HAD to use him on Hendrix songs.

[Polaris666]

Hendrix was only able to be used on Hendrix songs. In fact, you HAD to use him on Hendrix songs.

Oh, okay. I never really got through the game. It's too disappointing for me.

[Vicryl 2.0]

while everyone is arguing over this game using Kurt's image, his daughter is probably playing the damn game right now.

i wonder what would Eddie Vedder do if Activision asks him to put his likeness on the game.

Eddie Vedder singing Higher by Creed...hahahaha EPIC FAILLL.....

[Slash 555]

I agree with BonJovi here but please make this story die. We all know it's tasteless and people don't like it but nothing is going to happen now so we need to get over it.

[HammettFTW]

alkalineweeman wrote:

j_link13 wrote:

merrill_howard wrote:

i dont understand all the commotion, its a video game. who cares what character is singing/playing other songs, its not real. people need to sort out their priorities lol.
who cares? kurts dead now and he spent his life trying to make people be individuals...i doubt he would like this

What everyone seems to forget is that Kurt had a very good sense of humour, he'd have LOVED this.

I didn't think he had a good sense of humour.

[Nebblacktip]

acidhammerdrums wrote:

This is ridiculous, if they take this out of Guitar Hero 5, then all hope for the Kurt Cobain character model in DDR is lost.

This is the best Idea I have ever heard. I might ignore how crappy the newer DDR songlists have been (What happened to my trip-hop, Goa, and industrial, must it all be pop covers?) Just to have Kurt Cobain as my avatar in DDR.

But in all seriousness, I think that Courtney Love is to blame. Which is a cliche, except Bon Jovi said he read the contract and chose not to sign it. What was stopping her? And even if it didn't say in the contract he would be used in other people's songs, what stopped her from doing her research on how the games work?

I think the fact that Dave Grohl and Kris noideahowtospellhislastnamesorry are against this is quite telling. I mean, a lot of you are complaining about how we don't know what Kurt would have wanted... but I bet they have a pretty good idea. And, I mean, do you really think Dave Grohl is in this for the publicity or money? He seems to be doing fine.

The man died protesting stuff like this, and his bandmates don't like this use. I think that's good enough reason to be mad. But there isn't really anything we can do about it because Love signed a contract...

And she probably really does just want the attention and publicity.

[Lama]

dead horse. i agree, kurt cobain shouldn't have been included in guitar hero. he was a shit guitarist and couldn't sing. to have a likeness of him singing those songs is too much of a stretch of the imagination.

seriously, who cares. and i really don't know why dave and kris are disappointed at activision when it's clearly courtney's fault.

[cyco_bob56]

you know kurt actually liked to sing other people's songs just as much as some of his. in a sense this kinda works to his favor and possibly for his humor depending on the players' song choices.

[BlockishFool]

god damn people need to stop complaining it's a game
And all of u are acting like u knew Kurt when u never even met him
And u are relying on nirvana's image when that never sums up a bands actual personality
"kurt never liked exposere, that's why he killed him self"
No if I were stuck with courtney love all day I'd cap myself too
Seriously guys just stop now

[lucertia.]

hopefully this will put people off guitar hero...its so crap and as a teacher i know kids just play it rather than practice real guitar, regardless if it got kids into guitar. I had a kid come who did an air whammy everytime he played a note!

There are real guitar heros out there via audio/midi so this should be the way forward.

[Diamond Dave]

the_hoodster wrote:

People never complained when Slash or who ever was playing guitar on other peoples songs, but I suppose I can see how this may be different.

i actually thought zakk wylde joining ozzy to play randy's versions of crazy train and mr crowley was pretty bad in guitar hero world tour

[Ponomar]

All I can say is the damage is done. Who cares? Move on. On another note, Courtney Love is a bitch.

Checked

[DUSTmurph]

1. For the people who are saying "quit bitching" or "it's just a game!" need to realize that people are just expressing their opinions and debating, which is really the main purpose of forums.

2. Nobody knows how Kurt Cobain would feel about being in this game. That means nobody is to say that Kurt had a great sense of humor and would have loved it, or that he thought it was destroying his image or whatever your arguments are on his personal opinion.

3. I don't think the other members of Nirvana or Bon Jovi are beings *******s, they are just saying it's pretty disrespectful (Which I personally agree). There not wasting there time creating Guitar Hero hate groups or protest marches (yet), they just made statements.

4. Activision should probably alter the game so Kurt would only be able to play Nirvana songs, which would probably make a lot of people happy.

5. Courtney Love is a dumb hoe.

hendrix n page wrote:

Seriously al this shit about gutiar hero this is a guitar website do little plastic controllers really warrant a place on this website?

RighteousMagik wrote:

Who the F*** cares anymore this is just a waste of a spot for more important news.

Any more "who cares" posts like this will result in warnings from now on. Seriously, cut it out already.

[chippy_666]

seriously guys, stop the arguments, none of you knew Cobain, hey could have loved it, he could have hated it, so instead of saying what he would think, just comment your own opinions instead, but yeah, i can definatly see where Jovi is coming from

[tomo542]

i was annoyed when they first said that Kurt Cobain would be in GH5, but that was just because courtney love is a money grubbing harlot.

now im just sad that its still in the news section..

[Jacques Nel]

Just a little foot note to Courtney Love:

Courtney, when the people in Britain on Nirvana's live DVD (Life takes no prisoners) says: "Courtney, we love you" ... They are lying.

Just cause they like Nirvana and Kurt requested it doesn't mean they do.

[devilex121]

i guess it shouldnt get too serious...

its just a game.... we're just supposed to have fun and have a few laughs over it.... its not something to get worked up about so much :@

these guys are just doing this for publicity and money :\

[RighteousMagik]

My comment wasn't directed to any of the people commenting on the article, it was more my feeling that the games out and the people coming out after the fact saying "yeah i agree, he shouldn't have been put in the game" I honestly feel that if i was famous and they wanted me in a game i would say "go for it". As well as the fact that you can't honestly say that if you were a younger kid, that being able to play as a great guitarist would make you mad.

[KentukyFridKing]

Well I'm Just Going To Repeat Another Opinion.
If Kurt Cobain Is Too Good To Play Other People's Songs Then Why Can You Use Kirk Hammett Or Lemmy In GH Metallica?

[Broomstick]

Oh man, now Bon Jovi wants a piece of this media action?! Jesus christ...

[ctviens]

Here's the short version of the story.

Courtney used Kurt's likeness to make herself some money, probably for drugs.

She didn't bother reading the contract.

Now she's suing them.

All the court is going to do if legal action is taken is basically call her a dumb bitch. She will end up paying Activision for legal fees or whatever.

[EARNEST]

CTFOD wrote:

Crizzle wrote:

kurt would never have agreed to it :/
It's like say your mother felt really strongly about something, then she died, would you then defy that thing she felt so strongly against?
...Did you just compare a 3-album rock star who you've probably never met to the woman who birthed, raised and loved you?

+1

[Grudgeshredder]

Eh... if Activision locks it, I'll just disconnect my 360 so that way I dont get the update for GH5. All of this is just bull, its not Activision's fault or DAve and Krist's fault that Cortney is obviously on adderall right now and should be in jail...

[jambi_mantra]

The biggest problem is they've appear to have stopped stocking it until this is all sorted so i can't fecking buy it.

[Reaper-Man]

CTFOD wrote:

Crizzle wrote:

kurt would never have agreed to it :/
It's like say your mother felt really strongly about something, then she died, would you then defy that thing she felt so strongly against?
...Did you just compare a 3-album rock star who you've probably never met to the woman who birthed, raised and loved you?

This is a legendary mention!

[kunkushin]

i wonder if courtney love would even care if she didnt see a dime from this either way. That must be depressing knowing that your not a successful musician but you're treated like one because of a guy who married you and blew his head off 15 or so years ago, and now a days the only connection you have to him is the money he would have made, being far more than hole could ever make.

[Taste_My_Scythe]

People Need To Sort Out Their God Damn Minds. It's A Video Game, Sure, Perhaps One Of The Most Known Video Games Today, But Noone Complained About Jimmy Hendrix, Slash,Tom Morello,Johnny Cash, Haley Williams, Ozzy Osbourne And Lots Of Other Playable Characters Being In The Games Singing Other Peoples Material. One Question For Courtney Love, Can You PLEASE Grow Up And Stop Thinking About Money???

[Rimfrost]

I think people should let Love, Noveselic and Grohl decide Whats wrong or right in this case. They knew Kurt Cobain, we didn´t, so if it makes them uncomfortable to see him play other peoples songs, then Activision should correct it, in my opinion. It´s not like it would be hard work or anything

[neeko1234]

Ok so i just made an account to post something here, cuz really, i'm tired of this, and not planning on having a long chat with anybody here.
Few things:
1. I think, as far as my mind can understand, that games like Guitar hero and Rock Band are games made to maintain the good and big songs of music history and also the good artists that passed away, I though ppl would be exciting with the idea of considering Kurt among those "big musicians" but you guys keep talking a lot of bla bla bla about the "legacy" and "nirvana things" that...bla stupid, makes me realize that he's not that good, so he does not deserves it, he's an ok dude with some attitude, nothing more.
2. I though that JOVI was a good dude too but he makes me realize that he's not worth of that honor neither.
3. About Love and the nirvana guys, same stuff, Big Drama out of nothing, looking for some attention I THINK.
If anybody can't actually see that this is good for Kurt, then you don't get the idea of those games, that's all i have to say.

checked.

[DUSTmurph]

Grudgeshredder wrote:

Eh... if Activision locks it, I'll just disconnect my 360 so that way I dont get the update for GH5. All of this is just bull, its not Activision's fault or DAve and Krist's fault that Cortney is obviously on adderall right now and should be in jail...

Shes probably on worse drugs then adderall. ie, coke, heroin, meth....

[ashylarry]

goddammit i dont get what every one is crying about, cobain is dead...been dead for like 15 years, it was sad yes....but who gives two shits if you can play his character in a video game?!! its this kind of shit among other things that makes me want to punch courtney love in that thing that used to be her face

[vanhailin]

guitar hero has gone wayyy to far. activision is just desperate for money now they r just ruining the game.

[vanhailin]

neeko1234 wrote:

Ok so i just made an account to post something here, cuz really, i'm tired of this, and not planning on having a long chat with anybody here.
Few things:
1. I think, as far as my mind can understand, that games like Guitar hero and Rock Band are games made to maintain the good and big songs of music history and also the good artists that passed away, I though ppl would be exciting with the idea of considering Kurt among those "big musicians" but you guys keep talking a lot of bla bla bla about the "legacy" and "nirvana things" that...bla stupid, makes me realize that he's not that good, so he does not deserves it, he's an ok dude with some attitude, nothing more.
2. I though that JOVI was a good dude too but he makes me realize that he's not worth of that honor neither.
3. About Love and the nirvana guys, same stuff, Big Drama out of nothing, looking for some attention I THINK.
If anybody can't actually see that this is good for Kurt, then you don't get the idea of those games, that's all i have to say.

the idea of the games is to get as much money as the company who makes the game can. not to preserve big rock songs. songs like through the fire and flames should not be preserved they should be forgotten because they suck ass...

[CousticStrangla]

alkalineweeman wrote:

j_link13 wrote:

merrill_howard wrote:

i dont understand all the commotion, its a video game. who cares what character is singing/playing other songs, its not real. people need to sort out their priorities lol.
who cares? kurts dead now and he spent his life trying to make people be individuals...i doubt he would like this

What everyone seems to forget is that Kurt had a very good sense of humour, he'd have LOVED this.

Yeah sure, famous rock icon dies and 15 years later people cash in on his name to make billions of dollars using his image as a novelty act. It's like one of those old circus freak shows except this is a cartoon version. What a bunch of bullshit. No respect at all, just a mockery of a sensitivehuman being.

[CousticStrangla]

ashylarry wrote:

goddammit i dont get what every one is crying about, cobain is dead...been dead for like 15 years, it was sad yes....but who gives two shits if you can play his character in a video game?!! its this kind of shit among other things that makes me want to punch courtney love in that thing that used to be her face

Let's consider for a moment that your life wasn't as meaningless and worthless as it is and you were one of the greatest songwriters ever. You die and years later people dress you up like a clown and make a cartoon version of you (for millions of dollars which you'll never see) dancing around singing a bunch of ridiculas songs. Does this sound like integrity to you?

People stating how Slash and other rockers were in the game completely miss the whole point of the argument, and thus their argument becomes null adn void. Slash is not a famous singer/songwriter who has been DEAD for 15 years. He has complete control and say over his likeness. Cobain does not. The disrespect of these money hungry programmers sickens me. Regardless if you want Kurt in the game or not, or regardless if you even care, the fact that some of you cannot realize the obvious slap in the face proves your ignorace.

[FearOfTheDuck]

Meh.

[Apejack Cuba]

It's been a while since you've gotten any media attention, huh, Jon Bon Jovi?

[Eliyahu]

Why is Bon Jovi getting into this? This really isn't about Kurt singing Bon Jovi's song, that was one example. Either way, who's to say if Kurt would or wouldn't have liked this? None of us here knew him personally, and the person that we would hope to know how he would feel about this matter is unfortunately a money hungry psychobitch.
And this shouldn't be an issue. Courtney Love signed a legal piece of paper. The end. Has she not even seen the other games? It's never worked that guest artists star for their own songs and are locked for the rest. That's crazy. And how is Kurt singing a Bon Jovi song any different from Jimi Hendrix singing Livin' on a Prayer in GHWT? No one went crazy on that.

[Axlthegreat]

who cares about jon bon jovi? lol

[Freebird79]

Who the **** cares? Guitar Hero is dead.

[Apejack Cuba]

Eliyahu wrote:

Why is Bon Jovi getting into this? This really isn't about Kurt singing Bon Jovi's song, that was one example. Either way, who's to say if Kurt would or wouldn't have liked this? None of us here knew him personally, and the person that we would hope to know how he would feel about this matter is unfortunately a money hungry psychobitch.
And this shouldn't be an issue. Courtney Love signed a legal piece of paper. The end. Has she not even seen the other games? It's never worked that guest artists star for their own songs and are locked for the rest. That's crazy. And how is Kurt singing a Bon Jovi song any different from Jimi Hendrix singing Livin' on a Prayer in GHWT? No one went crazy on that.

Exactly, JBJ must've signed and consented to having his songs in a video game too. Chances are he just heard about the shit storm Courtney Love is trying to make and wanted to get his name in the news too.