Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Reaction to Helder/Cobain
Friday
May 10, 2002
I seem to have stirred up some anger among Nirvana fans with my
side-by-side picture comparison of accused mailbox bomber Luke Helder and late Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain. Helder played for a band called Apathy, and in 2000 he patterned his look very close to the look Kurt Cobain sported in the last months of his life.
Anyway, I discovered that this didn't sit well with the person who posted this webpage. Consider these excerpts (the spelling and punctuation are preserved as written):
"I think it is so silly how the media is looking for anyway to try and make a connection between the Navada Mailbox bomber & Kurt Cobain"
"Check out this picture that they are showing to try and make people think he was influenced by Kurt & his music."
Left: Luke Helder, Circa 2000
Right: Kurt Cobain, Circa 1993
Glad I'm suddenly being referred to in a plural tense. Actually, if anything I've perceived that the media has ignored the Cobain angle. The Diaryland commentary goes on to imply that I'm trying to place the blame on Cobain and/or Nirvana, which is anything but the case. I'm just noting that it's fascinating that someone would go from being a huge Nirvana fan to degenerate into an immature, aloof bomber who did this alleged string of bombings more as a rib than as an attack.
Is it silly to say that Luke Helder thought of Kurt Cobain as an influence? Let's reference the words of the alleged bomber himself, from his Apathy bio page (which has been been pulled from the internet):
"I'm a huge Nirvana fan. I really am quite infatuated with this band. I know everything about Kurt....try me, hahaha."
-Luke Helder, 2000
Now there's no way you can blame what happened at all on Kurt Cobain. C'mon, the man had been dead for more than eight years when the bombings began. But the way Helder emulated him was striking.
I'm a big Nirvana fan. They were a band that influenced an entire generation, both in music and in thought. Hell, I own four Nirvana CD's (and others that include tracks from Nirvana). I had a cool as hell Nirvana poster on my door in college for years before the constant moving from room to room by semester did it in. But I thought the comparison was worth pointing out. So that's my take on that.
The Star Wars -- Episode 2 review is up. Don't read it if you don't want to have the movie spoiled for you. I will say this -- I think it's amazing. Definitely worth your money, and then some. It's one of the best-made films I've ever seen in my life. Go see it as soon as you can.
I went back to "I Can't Believe It's An MRI" yesterday, this time to get a scan done on my neck. It was actually tougher to stay still than with the head scan, as they didn't strap my head down, but I managed to do it quite well. It's fascinating to me to see how the machine works. The pictures are almost surreal, seeing shots of your own spine and spinal fluid and the discs in your neck and what not. High grade pics. Looked to my uneducated eye that there may be a couple of bones in my neck on the left side out of place, which might explain those god-awful headaches. Had some massage therapy as well -- I was told that there was alot more stiffness on the left side of my neck. Makes sense.
We're going to have fun next week on 10 News This Morning -- it's college week. Play some "Guess The Fight Song" and talk college stuff. That's right down my alley. Good times. Probably can't do segments on the joys of drinking and spitting game and booty chatter, but maybe the practical type stuff like scholarships, picking the right school, things to bring when you leave your freshman year, etc. etc.
My girl Stephanie Carroll up in Louisville told me that she in fact went to the Kentucky Derby. Good thing, we would've had heat if she had no-showed one of the best parties of the year in her own backyard. That'd be like me staying in to watch a movie the night of Guavaween or something, but times ten. I regret never going to the Derby while I lived in Evansville. Bad move on my part.
Gotta give James a call when I wake up tonight, and also try to track down Desi and make sure we're all cool about the Spiderman deal.
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