Kurt Cobain Memorial Unveiled in His Hometown

By Spinner Editors Posted Apr 7th 2011 02:45AM

On the 17th anniversary of his suicide, Nirvana fans paid their respects to Kurt Cobain in his hometown of Aberdeen, Wash., on Tuesday at the unveiling of a statue in his name.

The concrete guitar standing 3.9 metres tall was created by local artist Lora Malakoff, and features a steel ribbon inscribed with lyrics from the Nirvana song 'On a Plain,' reading "One more special message to go and then I'm done and I can go home."

According to NME, the guitar is a Fender Jag-Stang, which one fan claims Cobain used on the 'In Utero' tour shortly before his death.

It stands in a park near the Young Street Bridge, which is a site of pilgrimage for Nirvana fans as it features in the opening lyrics on Nevermind's closing track 'Something in the Way.'

"I first moved to Aberdeen right after Kurt Cobain died," Malakoff told Q13Fox,"And I was always surprised there was nothing here to memorialize him. I had always hoped there would be. As one generation goes and another takes over, things change. That's what happened here with Kurt Cobain."

However, this isn't the first nod to Cobain in his hometown. In 2005, the Kurt Cobain Memorial Foundation installed a sign saying "Come As You Are" to welcome people into the town. The phrase has reportedly become something of an unofficial slogan in the town, appearing in several unlikely locations including a mirror in the Aberdeen Finance Department -- and the local water bill.

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Tags: kurt cobain, nirvana

Comments

(16)

Thursday 07 April

By dennis

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Pretty pathetic when society memorializes a suicidal drug addict!

By Cjones

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You're an idiot!

By jim williams

Gee a junkie with limited musical talent blew his brains out rather than face life..Ya a man worth remembering..I guess tourist dollars are important

And so are you!

By Andrew

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You don't need talent to make a change, you need an idea. Before there was Nirvana, big hair bands like Poison were still dominating the airwaves. In one simple song "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Kurt started a path that would basically change the direction of rock music for the next decade. So yes, you small minded boy with a big mouth, he is worth remembering for more than his personal problems...

By lisa

Dennis and Jim Williams: I take it you are not familiar with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Keith Moon and John Bonham--all pioneers of rock. And, apparently you have never listened to "Nevermind" or heard Nirvana live. If you had, you would know that Kurt Cobain's music changed the face of rock at a time when the genre needed something extraordinary. We are all fortunate enough to still be able to experience it today.

By Lynn

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Thank you lisa. Nice to see someone woke up with their brain intact today. Kurt was a visionary, but unfortunately, a tortured soul. He has been an inspiration to many young musicians, such as my own son. What do you inspire jim? Besides negativity I mean.

By T

Yes he was a junkie, with great musical ability, he was so wonderful to watch and everyone that saw him loved him. He died because he a tortured soul and was married to Courtney Love, I would have shot myself too if I had to be married to her. Black Box was one of my favorites, and he did change the world of music as we knew it. He deserves to be memorialized. Those that knew him and lived in the NW loved him very much.

By mary

Hmm lets see.....all the greats ones
Elvis- drug addict CHECK
Michael Jackson - drug addict CHECK
Judy Garland - drug and addict CHECK
John Belushi - drug addict CHECK
Jim Morrison - Drug addict CHECK
the list is endless...And Kurt is no better or worse. No matter if you liked his music or NOT. He and his band had a HUGE impact on music, other artist and a decade. IF the others listed above and many more can be remembered then so can he.

And let's not forget the "Father" of Country Music,( & still one of my absolute favorites) Hank William's Sr.- who died of an overdose of morphine (and alcohol) in the back seat of his Caddilac!

It's very revealing that the part about him overdosing on Morphine is usually left out of the more sanitized bio's usually found in CW music. Sure, it's alright to drink yourself to death, but no drugs!

Why there is such a such a strong correlation between musical genius and addiction, would be a very worthwhile scientific study.

By simpsonsimpmike

let's do a scientific study on Cjone's head to see why he's so screwed up. probably that crack vs. heroin debate.

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did they decorate the statue with his empty rack viles to make it more authentic?

He used Heroin, you Moron!

I guess you would know Cjones.

By ricky g

aint i dont have a gun no i dont have a gun

By Yogi

Jared Leto Is the best Musican and Actor in America today. Cobain was a one hit wonder....enough said.

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