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Bon Jovi turned down inclusion in Guitar Hero 5, supports Love
Even though his songs have landed in music games far and wide, Jon Bon Jovi said in a recent interview that he turned down Activision's offer to be included as a playable character in Guitar Hero 5. "They [Activision] wanted me to be on that game and I just passed," Bon Jovi told the BBC. "To hear someone else's voice coming out of a cartoon version of me? I don't know," he added, siding with Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love, and others tied to the Nirvana estate, against the use of Cobain's likeness in GH5. Bon Jovi explained that no one at Activision "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 the meantime, Activision has retorted that Love did evidently sign a contract -- but according to Bon Jovi's statements, it appears as though she may have not reacted to the fine print.
Nirvana disapproves of GH5 Cobain avatar
Two out of three Nirvana members agree: Kurt Cobain's Guitar Hero 5 avatar is not cool. As for the third: the fact that he can't offer an opinion is kind of the whole problem. Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, former bassist and drummer for Nirvana, issued a joint statement to register their disdain with the free use of Cobain's likeness.The pair, who have no legal say in the matter but are probably worth listening to anyway, said that they were "dismayed and very disappointed" in the use of the avatar. "While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character."Novoselic and Grohl then entreat Activision to "re-lock" the avatar so that it can only be used to play Nirvana songs. Which is a surprisingly even-handed request.
Activision: Courtney Love agreed to Cobain avatar
This morning, we reported on Courtney Love's tweeted allegations that the ghastly Kurt Cobain avatar was included in Guitar Hero 5 without her consent. Though the company didn't mention whether or not the lawsuit has actually been filed against them, Activision just sent us a statement refuting Love's claims:"Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain's likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero(r) 5."Maybe Love did sign off on it, but just doesn't remember. There, we said it. We were all thinking it anyway.
Night Elf in Guitar Hero 5
This is one of the many reasons why I really enjoy this job: one day, you're talking turkey with a psychologist who's dealing with serious addiction issues, and the next, you're writing about Night Elves in Guitar Hero 5. Personally, I prefer Harmonix's new Beatles game, but there's no denying that the character customization system in our very own Activision-Blizzard's Guitar Hero 5 is extremely complex. So much so that Artair on Doomhammer was actually able to make a pretty respectable-looking Night Elf male with the system.Which really just makes it much more ridiculous that this thing could be playing onstage with none other than Kurt Cobain. But we'll let that one go -- if you've found a way to get any other Warcraft characters jamming in Guitar Hero (or any other game with an in-depth character creator), be sure to send us a tip and some pics.
Courtney Love intends to sue Activision over Guitar Hero 5's reanimated Cobain [update]
If you were disgusted by the inclusion of a playable Kurt Cobain in Guitar Hero 5, you weren't the only one: Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, has gone on record (well, on Twitter, anyway, in what looks a lot like Courtney Love's real Twitter account) to register her disapproval, saying, "For the record this Guitar Hero (expletive) is breach of contract on a Bullys part and there will be a proper addressing of this and retraction." Love plans to "sue the (expletive) out of Activision," speaking for herself, Cobain's estate, and "the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises."She claims to have never given approval for a Kurt Cobain avatar. "We have NOTHING to do with this," she said across two tweets (presented here as originally typed, with the exception of connecting the two messages). "it was presented to me and oi said 'show me a better avataR' TO DRAG MY HEELS., never did i intend on allowing GUITARHERO for me or for Kurt i am NOT yoko (expletive) Ono no ofense to her, but i am a different person entirely and this is insane."The Cobain avatar was upsetting enough when we thought Love had signed off on it. But now that we hear she hasn't, we're worried for our own sakes. We could all end up playable in a Guitar Hero game at any time.[Via Perez Hilton, thanks, Andrew M.!]Update: Activision responds to these tweets here, claiming that Love did indeed okay the use of the avatar.
Kurt Cobain digitized in Guitar Hero 5
In addition to known quantities "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and a special, previously unreleased live recording of "Lithium," Guitar Hero 5 will also sport the digital doppelganger of deceased grunge pioneer Kurt Cobain, Activision announced today. When asked for comment, the ghost of Cobain said, "Well, finally! Were I still alive, this is exactly the sort of thing I'd be doing. The people managing my estate and the fine people of Activision know me and my legacy so, so well. You should see me and Johnny Cash up here, we're just like schoolkids, we're so happy and excited all the time. My one regret is that I'm no longer alive, so I can't star in one of those hilarious underwear dancing ads." Courtesy of Stereogum, we've got additional video of Cobain in the game (with gameplay notes!) after the break. [Thanks Evan!]
Nirvana: Plugged back in and electronicized
Were this a perfect world, all of our favorite alternative songs from the 90s would be remade by instrumental-electronic band The Hunt for Yoshi. Weezer's "El Scorcho," Superdrag's "Sucked Out," and The Vaselines' "Son of a Gun" -- the list goes on.We'll settle for this excellent cover of Nirvana's "All Apologies" in the meantime, grabbed from The Hunt for Yoshi's Nintendo Goes 90s album. The entire CD is available for download, packed with reimagined songs from bands like REM and Soundgarden. Pull up a stool, throw on a cardigan, and check past the post break to stream this In Utero classic.
