| Journalists for mainstream music magazines shape the perceptions of their readers. They shaped mine for far too long, it was only after I’d read W & H’s book and seen Broomfield’s film that I began to seriously question the mainstream press/journalists. Prior to that, not having internet access, I’d been unaware of the murder “theory”.
These journalists should report in a responsible way. Let’s look at some of the coverage they’ve given us. CAITLIN MORAN Moran wrote a favourable article on Courtney for the Feb 19 1994 edition of Melody Maker, Everett True was at that time, assistant editor of the rag. From July 31 1993 Moran was listed as a contributor to Melody Maker. For an article in the June 10-17th 1998 edition of ‘Time Out’ magazine, the introduction was: Infamous documentarist Nick Broomfield’s film ‘Kurt and Courtney’ explores conspiracy theories surrounding rock casualty Kurt Cobain’s death. Journalist Caitlin Moran, who met Cobain’s wife Courtney Love just two months before the tragedy, takes Broomfield to task. Broomfield Said: “I think if I’d met Courtney and she’d opened up ...the film could have gone off in a completely different direction. But instead there was a ring of steel around her. I didn’t feel that I needed an interview with her by the end. By that point, there wasn’t an awful lot I needed to know about her inner psyche. I knew more than I needed to know. Those phone calls were enough.” The phone calls he was referring to were the recorded threats by Courtney and Kurt to Victoria Clarke. Moran responded: “Displeased with two muck raking journalists’ research methods, Kurt and Courtney take it in turns to ring one hack’s answerphone. “I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life!” Courtney screams at one point. “I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.” ‘I could just pay someone to snuff you out’, Cobain chips in cheerily.” When you hear him on the tapes in Broomfield’s film you cannot interpret Kurt as sounding cheery. Broomfield said: “I mean, what more do you need to hear? I felt physically sick listening to them.” To Which Moran replied: “Really?…pop stars are absolute nutters, drug-raddled, drink-sodden mentalists. That kind of stuff happens all the time if you work for Melody Maker or NME.” Broomfield replied: “Yeah, but most of my audience haven’t received death threats from musicians. A little snippet is all they need.” To which Moran offered the profound observation: “But isn’t it important to contextualise? To give the background that might explain, what looks to an outsider, like abnormal behaviour?” Do journalists contextualise? No. Which is why this site exists. Broomfield replied: “Well, I think it’s pretty contextualised. Let’s say that I’ve got a pretty high threshold for unpleasant things. But that’s dark. Spooky. You get a sense of that whole world, that whole, utterly demented way of being.” Moran replied: “But that’s alt-rock. That’s why people like Courtney Love. She shouts. She has a go at people she doesn’t like.” That makes it ok then, that Courtney physically attacks people she doesn’t like, spreads as many lies/rumours as she wants, as long as it’s done in the name of alt-rock? No. When it suits her, she will stab you in the back. When it suits her, she will feign naiveté. When it suits her, she will lie -and then claim she was misquoted. “Y’know, frankly, I am quite fucked up,” states Courtney conspiratorially. “Sometimes I really hate being in a band because sometimes I just wanna have babies, honestly! I just wanna move to a small north west town and breed. It just hits me once in a while. I’m constantly fighting myself, sometimes I wanna be the rose, sometimes I wanna kill rock stars, sometimes I wanna look like an old bag lady and sometimes I wanna bleach my hair.” (New Musical Express, December 14th 1991). “The next thing I knew, he and the others had left for Rio, just like that, to do some recording with Ronnie Biggs-a bastard, incidentally, who was involved in a robbery where they left a train driver brain dead, and is no friend of mine.” John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols, talking about train robber Ronnie Biggs. In this article Caitlin Moran also made the comment: He (Broomfield) makes some dangerously absurd comments, even comparing the star’s (Courtney’s)recent Hollywood makeover to that of a ‘war criminal’ who changes their name, has some cosmetic surgery and moves town. I think it’s dangerously absurd to ignore the statements of Kurt’s friends who said that Kurt was not suicidal and to ignore two major witnesses that there was foul play in Kurt’s death (Grant and Carroll), and further, to form your conclusions on the foundations of unnamed sources. And: Rumours about Courtney Love and the circumstances of her husband’s death have been circulating on the Net for years. The reason for this is because journalists such as Caitlin Moran refuse to cover this story in a proper way. Moran didn’t ever mention the tapes Grant has of his conversations with Rosemary Carroll, or go into detail about the real facts of this case. Most importantly, however, is the fact that it’s arse-kicking, world swallowing FM rock. However, it didn’t cross over because, at the time, Courtney was in the throes of a somewhat justifiable paranoia attack about the British media and refused nearly all publicity. The release of ‘Celebrity Skin’ coincided with the release of Nick Broomfield’s persistently uncomprehending film Kurt and Courtney, so she flew into a country fly-posted with a film that accused her of either a) killing her husband, or b) driving him to suicide. (Caitlin Moran’s opinions on ‘Celebrity Skin’ Sept 1999 edition of Select). STEVE SUTHERLAND Sutherland was the assistant editor of Melody Maker when Everett True wrote the first article in praise of Courtney/Hole on June 15 1991. Sutherland later became editor of New Musical Express. She is one of the few egotists in the business who has earned the right to use the metaphor most frequently used on ‘Celebrity Skin’: the drug/love one of getting under someone’s skin (‘Dying’) or being hit so hard you see God (‘Hit So Hard’) as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as if love and smack are both equal addictions. She’s about the only person alive who could record something as gloriously inane and hopelessly escapist as ‘Malibu’. She’s the most pure, self-obsessed, perfect, honest, ugly, shameless, hypocritical, beautiful and transparent pop star on the planet. (Steve Sutherland reviewing ‘Celebrity Skin’, New Musical Express, 5th Sept 1998). Drug/love getting under someone’s skin? Well, we all know what she meant by that, now. Sutherland’s departure from Melody Maker was mentioned in the Oct 24 1992 edition. By February 1993 Everett True had taken over the role of assistant editor. By March 1994 Sutherland had become editor of NME, as he was when he wrote this review and the one below. So you believe that shit, do you? That ‘madame Courtney won’t talk about the things we want her to so she can’t come on our show-nur nur nur’ self-righteous meja bollocks- you fell for that?! Suppose you think the evil bitch did murder Kurt an all? Come on! How much bollocks you up for exactly?! Here, Courtney Love delivers the Hole truth. So you’d better pay attention. Wednesday. The phone rings. “I’m busted!” It’s Courtney. She hasn’t called for three years. Really, you fuckin’ busted me.” Somebody’d read her the NME review (see above) of Hole’s ‘Celebrity Skin’ album over the phone and, as soon as she arrives in London, she calls. (Steve Sutherland, New Musical Express, 26th Sept 1998). BEN MYERS: This journalist did an article in the April 8th 2000 edition of Kerrang! He hauled out the same misinformation we’ve seen time and again. The article included a list of websites which were about the “conspiracy”, giving Amirault’s website url. It did provide Roger Lewis’s ‘Dead Men Don’t Pull Triggers’ website url with the additional comments: An independent investigative essay by toxicologist Roger Lewis, which concentrates on the physical logistics of Cobain’s death. After endless pages of baffling criminologist waffle, Lewis concludes that Cobain was killed by lethal injections of heroin rather than a self-inflicted shotgun wound. This is a thoroughly researched essay by Roger Lewis, who actually bothered to take the time to write a report on the fact that Kurt would have been either immediately incapacitated, or dead from the heroin intake, and therefore could not have pulled the trigger. It’s just as well people like Lewis are prepared to do this. It’s certainly beyond the capabilities of Myers. Myers had previously been listed as a “contributor” at Melody Maker in Oct 1997 when Mark Sutherland was Editor. Mark Sutherland regularly contributed to NME between Jan 1993-Aug 1996, the Editor at that time was Steve Sutherland. As of Nov 30 2000 The Editor of Melody Maker is Mark Sutherland. Steve Sutherland is listed as “Brand Director” for NME. The Editor in Chief of both Melody Maker and NME is Alan Lewis. Alan Lewis was also the Editor in Chief of a magazine called Uncut. JERRY THACKRAY Kurt, Chris and drummer David Grohl are defensive people once a tape recorder has been pushed in their face. There are valid reasons for this. Nirvana are mad as f- about one journalist they had considered a friend who literally stowed away on their tour bus, then reported them as delinquent, TV-trashing cretins. (New Musical Express, Nov 23rd 1991). The above was a dig at an article published in Melody Maker’s Nov 2nd 1991 edition, written by Everett True. “favourable UK press coverage, in particular from the Maker’s resident sycophant Everett True (made Hole) one of the most promising groups of 1991. (The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie and New Wave, by Colin Larkin). At the time True wrote his first full page article on Courtney/Hole on June 15th 1991, he was the reviews editor at Melody Maker. True was the first to hype Courtney in a big way, and he’s never stopped. In fact, from November 1991 onwards, True and Melody Maker did more to hype Courtney and link her name to Kurt’s in “news” snippets, than anyone. Dumb jokes abounded, especially on the page titled ‘TRUE STORIES’. In the November 30 1991 edition of Melody Maker on the ‘TRUE STORIES’ page the following was written: Hey, who’s that looking embarrassed in a GIRLSCHOOL tour jacket? Surprisingly, it’s KURT of NIRVANA. Somewhat the worse for rocking, touring and some sort of substance, we’ll be bound…. Let’s tarry awhile in the draw marked SOPPY FOR GIRLS. Yes, it’s Kurt ‘n’ Courtney time again. The latest is that Kurt recently went down on one knee and muttered the words every girl wants to hear: “I’m worth six million dollars, marry me?” How could she refuse? Meanwhile her manager has offered EVERETT “THIS MUCH IS” TRUE £30,000 to elope with Ms Love and get her out of Kurt’s clutches. Courtney was rather taken with this idea when it struck her that she could thenceforth call herself Courtney True-Love. Aaah, innat nice?? (Melody Maker’s January 4 1992 “TRUE STORIES” page). Everett True would link his name to theirs at every opportunity. There were a few people at the time who weren’t impressed with True: Dear Everett, Two things, 1) In response to your reply to Dafydd’s letter, you’re wrong. You called Courtney a whore, “in the context of a song”, and anyway, “no one would have noticed”. Yeah, right. Bollix, actually, because since that “unnoticeable” little comment, me and my friend, Jake, have often talked of Courtney’s alleged prostitutedom (sic). We thought she was. You told us she was. If we missed your context, you didn’t make it very clear. Still, the reply was fun. Squirm, extemporise, squirm, little journo. 2) If “Britain has been the 53rd state of America for some time now”, do you mind telling me what the other two extra ones are? F***wit. A DEVOTEE OF THE MINISTER OF NOISE That was a letter in Melody Maker’s Jan 11th 1992 edition, the reply to which was: ET was apparently labouring under the delusion that Puerto Rico and Guam constituted numbers 51 and 52, the clot. His witty rejoinder to your letter is unprintable. And: “..ET’s first Bleach review was a piece of drunken sexist lechery and the band were right to take offence. Now he takes them up on it just because they mention their disgust in an interview. I’m afraid I have no more time for a magazine that lets its writers get away with “journalism” so crass, petty and ignorant. Doesn’t anyone ever edit his crap? Andrew, Merseyside. (Melody Maker’s Letters page of March 21 1992). The above letter was referring to an album called Killing Time by a UK band Bleach. The editor at the time was Steve Sutherland. And: “..Everett True is to Nirvana what Jonathan King is to Carter -much needed publicity and a pain in the ass. And now his namechecking of Pavement is aimed to link him with their rise to fame just as the Nirvana book was history rewritten to include ET. Both bands would have made it anyway, it has nothing to do with True, who seems far more concerned with his own claims to fame than with writing articles we want to read. Anthony, Salford, Manchester. (Melody Maker’s letters page, March 21 1992). And: Everett True- journalist or self-obsessed wanker? A critical essay. I have to say how entertaining it was to read Everett True’s review of the Courtney Love gig. (And in my sweat drenched sleep, he lay moaning after I plunged my fist into his stomach. But those pretentious conceited words whirled like a crazy whirlwind through my head.) What a rare gem of talent you have there. Every line was imbued with the perfect rock cliché, name-dropping and other such trash. He said so little in what appeared to be the preview of his first novel with him as the star. (In my crazy nightmares, he is grinning fatuously, blathering on about-well, nothing really.Really freaky.) If people of his class (is that the right word?) can make it to print, there’s hope for me yet. Do you pay him? If the answer is yes, let me tell you – he’s not worth it. Still, it will probably pay for his treatment. I hope he gets better soon. Those crazy whirlwinds must drive him mad. Kate (Letters page, September 3 1994 edition of Melody Maker). The type of journalism True produced was ambiguous, you didn’t know if it was supposed to be a joke, or if he was serious, or if you misinterpreted his context. If people complained, True would either write a reply that was unprintable, or he would state: “I don’t fancy answering any of the Courtney letters properly”. (Melody Maker’s September 10 1994 edition). Or someone else would answer on his behalf. In the September 3 1994 edition of Melody Maker this answer suggested that anyone questioning True’s opinions/reporting was basically a jealous idiot on account of the fact that True knew Kurt and Courtney and they didn’t. It also mentioned that Courtney considered him to be “one of her best friends”. Anything could be said/written to gain publicity, but accountability could be thrown off with a shrug and claims that: “I was misquoted” re: Courtney using heroin after she discovered she was pregnant. Hirschberg’s reply to that was “I have the tapes.” Courtney never sued Hirschberg. (See Michael Azerrad’s ‘CAYA’ p 266. Or: “You/they/she/he didn’t understand my context.” Or: “You/they/she/he didn’t get my/her sardonic humour.” Or attribute information to unnamed sources: Unattributed comments can also blur the distinctions between fact and fiction… The newspaper can’t lose. The damage is done and there is no one there to deny having said those words since no one is specifically named. It could all be fantasy. (The Newspapers handbook by Richard Keeble p 51). Or generalisations like: “pop stars are absolute nutters, drug-raddled, drink-sodden mentalists. That kind of stuff happens all the time if you work for Melody Maker or NME.” As Caitlin Moran told Broomfield. Which is exactly the kind of rubbish Kurt was constantly trying to put straight. He didn’t want to be categorised in that way by gutter reporting, he didn’t like it, and he didn’t deserve it. He saw it as a threat which could lead to the loss of custody of his daughter. Courtney, however, relished it. Why else would she talk about “sick scenes” to Azerrad? Or tell Melissa Rossi that Kurt was “lost to drugs”. Or include a list of drugs on the back cover of ‘Beautiful Son’? Or brag about mixing dihydrocodeines with Rohypnol and champagne? And tell audiences she loved heroin and used it all the time? Courtney nurtures ever shifting grounds of lies, rumours, innuendo, unnamed sources and misquotes amongst which the truth gets lost. That way, she hopes to get away with murder: “Our love is quicksand-so easy to drown, they steal the gravity, yeah, from moving ground.” ‘Dying’, from Hole’s album ‘Celebrity Skin’. This is a murder case with serious allegations against Courtney Love and Michael DeWitt, to reduce it to: “pop stars are absolute nutters, drug-raddled, drink-sodden mentalists. That kind of stuff happens all the time if you work for Melody Maker or NME” is sheer ignorance. But that is exactly the type of work I have come to expect from most mainstream journalists. There is a total negation of responsibility, no one is held accountable for their reporting, and everything is reduced to the lowest common denominator of: “pop stars are absolute nutters, drug-raddled, drink-sodden mentalists. That kind of stuff happens all the time if you work for Melody Maker or NME” That type of journalism isn’t acceptable, it provides a breeding ground for rumours, lies and confusion, to the point that no one knows what to believe about anything, everything being reduced to a joke, which was ultimately the nightmare Kurt found himself enmeshed in. Unattributed comments can also blur the distinctions between fact and fiction -The newspaper can’t lose. The damage is done and there is no one there to deny having said those words since no one is specifically named. It could all be fantasy. (The Newspapers handbook by Richard Keeble p 51). Kurt didn’t appreciate being a cartoon character, he didn’t like the lies and rumours. He didn’t know where they came from, or which of the people close to him were responsible for perpetuating them. “I don’t enjoy people fucking with my family and carrying on the tradition of lies and slander. I don’t deserve it. No one deserves it”, Kurt. I choose to believe Kurt, when he said he used heroin and methadone to get rid of his stomach pain, and for no other reason: “So there was an element of just wanting to get high”? “There might have been in her eyes”, says Kurt, who still maintains that he basically did heroin for its analgesic properties. “Every time that I wasn’t doing drugs, they suspected that I was. They still do”. (Kurt talking to Micahel Azerrad, Musician magazine, Oct 1993). Kurt was too good a father to allow drugs to threaten the custody of Frances. Kurt took his responsibilities as a father seriously, he didn’t want to lose custody of Frances a second time. “Actually, I was going to work with him, Kurt (Cobain), at some point last year. Kurt and me were going to meet but he would only meet me if I would take him to the zoo, him and his kid”. (John Lydon, interview, Q magazine’s June 1994 edition). He was uncharacteristically dutiful and responsible about all kinds of family matters, the sort of parent who warmed his daughter’s milk and made sure the nanny prepared only wholesome meals. Cobain acted like any doting father, handing out Frances’s photographs to friends. ‘Pictures, always pictures’, Hulme remembers. (‘Kurt Cobain’ by Christopher Sandford p 293). Even Courtney can’t get her story straight, 99.9% of the time she emphasises Kurt’s supposed drug use, but occassionally she will admit: “Kurt was nowhere near the junkie people paint him as”. (Courtney, Vox’s Feb 1997 edition). After Kurt’s death, the mainstream press relied on unnamed sources for their information. They also used information which was supplied by Courtney. The fact that some of these journalists were friends of hers didn’t help matters. I haven’t seen any mainstream journalists ever seriously question the circumstances surrounding Kurt’s death. At critical points they all switch into Beavis and Butt-Head mode. It must have been difficult for these journalists to have remained objective in their work at the time. If they considered Courtney to be a friend they would probably have been treading carefully, not to upset her, and therein lies the problem. Journalists have a job to do, and that is to research and report. This becomes almost impossible if the story being covered involves someone you consider to be a friend. Courtney cultivated friendships with several journalists, and when it came to the story of Kurt’s death, this friendship compromised their reporting. Journalists in the twentieth century have commonly perceived their first responsibility to be to fairness and accuracy. This arose out of two closely related concerns: with professional standards, and with the idea of journalism as a public service. Journalists strove to “tell it as it is”. They dealt above all else in facts, and presented the facts objectively. This ideal was represented in the much used mining metaphor: journalists dug for the facts (often described as nuggets of information) which lay hidden until they brought them to light. Regardless of the consequences, the journalist’s prime duty was discovery and revelation. This placed a premium on accuracy, as inaccurate information was effectively of no public use. Moreover, the facts had to be presented without consideration of interest - frankly, fearlessly and freely, as one national newspaper used to claim. Journalists were fond of appropriating the Duke of Wellington’s remark that they were called upon to ‘Publish and be damned’. (Teach Yourself Journalism published by Hodder and Stoughton p 101). ...The journalist’s task was to ‘come to a conclusion based on a reasoned evaluation of the evidence’ rather than being ‘biased toward that conclusion from the start.’ (Teach Yourself Journalism p 104). Everett True’s sympathies were always with Courtney, never with Kurt. What kind of a friend responds with: “If Kurt Cobain wants to take Roipnol, drink champagne and go into a coma, it’s up to him (and his wife, presumably) and no-one else. (Melody Maker, March 12 1994. True was at that time assistant editor of Melody Maker). And: (In my heartracked sleep, I hear Courtney walking up the stairs -loud, real loud- screaming my name, getting closer and closer. Someone is pounding on my hotel door. I wake in a cold sweat, expecting to find a dead body outside my room. Someone offers me a Roipnol (Rohypnol) and I freak. This is not a dream.) So Courtney is about to play a live show and she looks good, real good. But she also looks wasted. Real wasted. …. (And, in my darkest nightmare, it’s May and I’m travelling with Hole’s bassist Kristen Pfaff through Europe, talking about what makes life vital and music worthwhile, laughing even through all the pain and I have a premonition that I’ll never see her again. It’s a nightmare. I ignore it. I’m still clearly freaked out by that guy Cobain’s death.) (Everett True, August 13 1994 edition of Melody Maker). True obviously associated Courtney and Rohypnol with a dead body at some level. Was this supposed to be a joke? if so, it wasn’t funny, but it speaks volumes about himself and Courtney. If it wasn’t a joke, then it still speaks volumes about himself and Courtney. What kind of friend, having said the above, can ignore it when Courtney is accused of murder? She was used to an adoring UK music press that understands her sardonic, sarcastic sense of humour, didn’t ask hard questions, didn’t do much investigation, and kept secrets in exchange for the favour of a hip musician. (Michael Azerrad’s ‘Come As You Are’ p266). In the July 16th 1994 edition of Melody Maker, for ‘Viewpoint’ on the letters page, True wrote a list of moments which made his life shit. One of the subjects he listed was: People who still write or phone me, asking if I mind being interviewed for yet another cash-in “tribute” to Kurt. For the record: NO, I’M NEVER F***ING TALKING ABOUT KURT TO ANYONE! Got it? Which is probably why Courtney said: “I love Everett True” At The Reading Rock Festival in August 1995. This was mentioned in Melody Maker’s Sept 2 1995 edition. Vox editor Jerry Thackray, aka Everett True, the former Melody Maker journalist credited with discovering Nirvana, Hole and the whole grunge thing, asked Courtney if she would write his review of the new Hole compilation ‘My Body The Hand Grenade’ for him. She agreed, and below is her review, written as if she were Everett. Spelling and syntax are all her own though .... The review followed, and then: I did not write this Courtney did. (Jerry Thackray, November 1997 edition of Vox.) ...First, there was all the shit to deal with in the wake of her husbands death. No one who saw Hole around that time will ever forget what a travelling freakshow the band turned into, Courtney very visibly exorcising her demons, going over the rails at Reading, climbing balconies to chase punters in Amsterdam. (Everett True, Melody Maker Sept 12 1998). True didn’t comment further on Reading. It is worth noting that Everett True, Caitlin Moran and Mark Sutherland were all present at the 1995 Reading Rock Festival. The June 1998 edition of Vox did another glowing article on Hole/Courtney, by the same Jerry Thackray, who was then editor of that magazine. Bio for Everett True as given in ‘The Nirvana Companion’ by John Rocco: 1984-88 Freelance writer (NME). 1988-1992 Staff writer (Melody Maker). 1992-1997 Assistant editor (Melody Maker). 1997 Editor (Vox) Below: Jerry Thackray aka Everett “MeMeMeMe” True with Pat Smear and Eric Erlandson at the Reading Rock Festival, August 1995: Jerry Thackray with Pat Smear and Eric Erlandson Back to In Defence Main |
| PART THREE OF 11th SEPTEMBER 2000 UPDATE |