Guitar Hero CEO Says Kurt Cobain Can Sing Bon Jovi

Guitar Hero 5 is having some issues in both the legal department and their liaison with musicians. To many fans of the game, getting a certain avatar to sing other people’s songs can sound kind of fun. However, it might be a little weird to hear Kurt Cobain exclaim, “Yeah Boyeeee” like Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav or sing songs by Bon Jovi… or Bush.

Hardcore Nirvana fans do not support this feature in the game, and Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, along with Dave Grohl and Kris Novoselic certainly don’t stand for it either. Love had threatened to sue Activision, the game’s makers, so Cobain would not be seen singing other artists’ songs in the game.

However, Guitar Hero’s CEO, Dan Rosensweig, has told NME a different story. According to Rosensweig, Love has already cashed the check in regards to Cobain’s appearance in the game. By doing so, she has agreed to part of the contract which Rosensweig says “Love was fully aware of” and that he “can only deal with the facts. It’s very clear what the terms are.”

He emphasizes that the issue should be between only Love and the remaining members of Nirvana:

“I’m disappointed in this case that there seems to be confusion between the band and the estate [...] It’s really not Guitar Hero‘s confusion. We went and spoke directly to the estate and made it crystal clear, got the rights, paid for the rights, and really we’ve done what we’ve always done. The fact that the rest of the band and the estate did not communicate – I’m not aware of those facts [...] I can’t speak for everybody being happy, [but] it gets done with complete consent from artists. These are the artists who fans love. We hope over time that the estate will appreciate that.”

We’re not exactly sure whether or not Activision has re-programmed the game, but check this video out below to see how Cobain’s avatar is being used. It’s just wrong! Even Jon Bon Jovi is creeped out by it.

Are you appalled as much as we are by this?