Kurt Cobain Sneakers Cause Fan Outrage

3:26 PM GMT 09/04/2008

CONVERSE’S DECISION to put out a line of sneakers featuring the Kurt Cobain imprimatur has set off a furious debate on the internet regarding the “appropriateness” of the posthumous endorsement.

The shoes – versions of the One Star and Chuck Taylor styles – will feature Cobain’s signature, his handwriting, even his sketched design for a custom electric guitar, subsequently built and marketed by Fender as The Jagstang.

Cobain’s status as an anti-establishment icon is paid lip service by the legend “punk rock means freedom” that features on the shoe’s sole (no, we’re not making this up). The extreme likelihood that Cobain – a vociferous critic of naff commercial bullshit – is now revolving centrifugally in his grave does not seem to have troubled Converse nor the owners of the Cobain estate, but it’s sure bothered the commenters on The Daily Swarm…

Although Cobain’s heir Courtney Love sold 25% of Nirvana’s publishing rights for a reported £29m in 2006, she is thought to have retained the personal rights (plus ownership of the diary material printed on the shoes) and would therefore be the beneficiary of the Converse deal.

Love, whose Myspace posts have appeared increasingly batty of late, will doubtless have her say on the matter. We wait with bated breath.

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 3:26 PM GMT 09/04/2008

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fuck that old money whore

Posted by chris at 5:11 PM GMT 09/04/2008 Report Abuse

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Who cares!, Cobain is an overrated corpse, his "legacy" is his music and it's the only thing that matters (not to me, i'm not a fan).

The sneakers looks nice regardless of its "content". If Converse & Courtney wants to exploit Kobain's image, and someone falls for it, well that's capitalism!

Every Nirvana fan love the mythic status of this guy and now they will cry because someone is exploiting it? c'mon!

Kobain killed himself because he cared too much about all this bullshit, now he doesn't care anymore.

Posted by farouk at 4:17 PM GMT 10/04/2008 Report Abuse

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RE: chris

HIT THE F*CKING NAIL ON THE HEAD, The man should NOT be remembered by a pair of shoes

Posted by Alex Swansea at 6:00 PM GMT 13/04/2008 Report Abuse

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KURT COBBAIN IS FUKIN GOD THESE TRAINERS SHOULD NOT BE BROUGHT OUT THOSE BASTARDS RIPPING OFF HIS NAME

Posted by ADAM at 7:14 PM GMT 13/04/2008 Report Abuse

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RE: farouk
KURT COBAIN IS GOD AND IS GETTING RIPPED OFF BECAUSE HES DEAD IF HE WERE ALIVE HE WOULDNT ACCEPT THIS HE WAS AGAINST ALL THIS CRAP

Posted by ADAM at 7:17 PM GMT 13/04/2008 Report Abuse

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capitalism gone mad sure kurt will hardly mind

Posted by s. higgins at 4:54 PM GMT 20/04/2008 Report Abuse

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It's hardly anything new or surprising, is it? The central theme of Cobain's sad story is that by achieving success he accidentally made a whore of himself and that's what destroyed him.

All the Kurt worshippers who take offence at this kind of commercial necrophilia are missing the point. It was your unsolicited hero-worship that created this situation in the first place. You can't have a messiah without a martydom. And you can't have a martydom without a collection plate.

Posted by Oysterfrond at 10:37 PM GMT 21/04/2008 Report Abuse

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RE: farouk

first of all we dont care that he is being exploded, but that courtney is using him for her own benefit..(mostly cus her band sucks)and secound of all he did not kill himself cus of that...he was murdered

Posted by d at 1:47 AM GMT 02/06/2008 Report Abuse

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