Courtney Love Miffed by Kurt Cobain's Avatar in 'Guitar Hero 5,' Sues Activision

As reported by MTV.com, Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain's widow, plans to sue video game publisher Activision for his appearance in the blockbuster video game, Guitar Hero 5. Activision fired back, in an official statement: "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 5."

It's highly likely Activision does have the signed documents it boasts. For Courtney Love, it might come down to one of the game's eccentricities in that, once you unlock a character, you can use that character to sing any one of the 85 available songs, along with downloadable add-ons.

Conceivably, Kurt Cobain could be singing "You Gave Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. Not that Nirvana would never have covered this song, but the Guitar Hero avatar sings it in Bon Jovi's voice. It does cheapen the legacy of a singer who would probably show disdain for "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down. Far worse, the idea of the late Nirvana frontman singing No Doubt or Garbage in a female voice.

However, Courtney Love's unintelligible Twitter rants don't really hold water, especially when you consider the lack of uproar from the Johnny Cash estate. Could you ever imagine The Man in Black singing "Fame" with David Bowie's voice? Or Guitar Hero: World Tour alum Ozzy Osbourne covering Michael Jackson's "Beat It"? If she did the research, she would have known it to be one of the Guitar Hero franchise's quirks.

Love's other complaint is Cobain's appearance himself. It looks like Cobain enough. The Daniel Johnston 'Hi, How Are You?' t-shirt is a nice, authentic touch, although Guitar Hero always has a slightly-off quality to the rendering of famous musicians. If her beef is with the quality of the graphics, that's one thing. He'd certainly be easy to pick out of a Guitar Hero police line-up.

Does this hurt Kurt Cobain's legacy any one bit? Not likely. Games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band expose a new generation of young fans to older music they may not hear much on the radio these days. Guitar Hero has a proven track record of reigniting record sales for catalog albums. Having Cobain as a playable character will expose youth to a rock star who hasn't been with us for over 15 years.

Along with Johnny Cash and Kurt Cobain, Guitar Hero 5's other playable characters include Carlos Santana (Santana), Shirley Manson (Garbage), and Matthew Bellamy (Muse). Guitar Hero 5 is available on Wii, XBox, and Playstation 3.

MTV, "Courtney Love Intends to Sue Activision Over Guitar Hero 5"