Yes, Miley Cyrus is allowed to play Nirvana covers

Via Matt Yglesias, a reminder that Kurt Cobain's catalog surving into Miley Curus' demographic is probably a good thing for music --

Miley Cyrus was 18 months old when Cobain died and many of her fans are even younger than she is. Yet here she is playing Cobain’s song to an audience in Ecuador. That, to me, is how you take art seriously—by celebrating it, and taking joy in the idea of a growing set of people experiencing it.

Yep.

Let's all remember that as potent and singular as Nirvana's music is, Kurt Cobain purportedly killed himself out of his terrible mental illness and addiction, not because he couldn't bear pop music's philistines missing the point. His catalog is open to anyone to explore it and be moved by it, and that includes tween Ecuadorians and late-adolescent pop stars. A kid ditching her "Hannah Montana" soundtracks for "Nevermind" should be applauded for it, and if that kid is Miley Cyrus, then she should be applauded too.

-- August Brown

Comments

[surely_you_cant_be_serious]

I hope you're kidding. She's a disgrace. Her music is a joke. What she represents is a joke.

[Titejo324]

Don't be so judgmental! Listen and look at her work outside of Hannah Montana!

[Brandon]

Miley is amazing at everything she does. Such a hard-worker :)

[i_am_serious_and_dont_call_me_shirley]

Oh, I'll be judgmental. Miley Cyrus' work outside of Hannah Montana (and yes, I've heard it... I have young girls who are even sick of her) is overproduced, mechanical sugary bubble gum music, the kind that exists soley to sell records. She is a PRODUCT, not an artist, regardless of what she or her cheese ball of a father says. She represents exactly what's wrong with much of the music industry -- the production of music to sell only for the sake of selling. Don't get me wrong... I'm all for artists being compensated for working hard and putting out great work. Ms. Cyrus is self indulgent and spoiled, a young woman who may have some talent but has been handed the keys to the kingdom without having to work all that hard at it. The industry eats kids like this up. It's a tragedy for her, and a travesty for the rest of us to have to put up with the junk that her producers put out there, using her as merely a vessel for what amounts to the music version of McDonald's. So, yes, judgmental or not, Miley Cyrus covering a brilliant song that MOCKS the kind of music that she puts out is at least ironic, and more likely tending toward just plain icky.

[Beth]

"not because he couldn't bear pop music's philistines missing the point" - actually, I thought that was exactly one of the biggest factors in Kurt's depression at the time of his death? He hated the (pop) music industry, the shallow hangers-on and the mainstream attitudes, wasn't that right?

[Brandt]

Kurt Cobain changed my life with his music. This is sacrilege and he’s surely turning in his grave. This Miley cover embodies EVERYthing he fought against! I paid homage to him on the anniversary of his death with my portrait of the grunge legend on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-memoriam-kurt-cobain-and-lane-staley.html

[Andrew Ford]

This is everything Cobain stood against and if you don't understand that maybe Miley is all you should be allowed to listen to August!!?

[Dan]

@ Brandon, even i can tell that's sarcasim at it's finest!

[dont be stoopid]

Music is Music. I don't care what Cobain stood for...he's only a "great" because he made great music and then killed himself for it. She wasn't inspired by him, but his music so she probably doesn't give a damn about what her stood for either.

[Cassie]

Discusting......not only is she dog ugly TRYING to represent sexy, she has no talent whatso ever...im so confused on how she even made it. oh yeah her dad.
i feel so sorry for her and her fans...they take up for her even though she can care less what goin on with them. idk just plain discusting, she trys to be something shes not.....

[katie]

I don't really have a problem with her inspiration coming from Cobain, and to be honest I would rather an (admittedly terrible) rendition of 'smells like teen spirit' than one of her crappy teeny bopper songs. Where I DO take offence is during the good 15-20 seconds during the guitar solo, when instead of rocking out like a true rock star would, she bends over and shows her cleavage to the crowd. That's just making a classic song into something trite and sexual, and it annoys me that instead of really getting into some really good music, she just makes it about her and her alleged 'sexiness'.