Kurt Cobain honored with crappy statue, news anchor calling him a “heroin addict"

Yesterday, Aberdeen, Washington honored Kurt Cobain with his very own day, turning the Nirvana frontman’s would-be 47th birthday into a memorial celebration. Mayor Bill Simpson’s efforts were modest, highlighting Cobain’s legacy through a small event that unveiled a statue that was a touch more maudlin than the deceased artist probably would have liked. And even aside from that tear-strewn effigy, the event proved controversial, hinting at why Cobain railed against his hometown all those years ago.

In a delightfully mismanaged broadcast, local TV station King 5 opened its coverage of “Kurt Cobain Day” by calling him a “well-known heroin addict who shot himself nearly 20 years ago,” glossing over most of Cobain’s myriad achievements throughout. The report only gets worse (or perhaps better), with segments such as man-on-the-street reporter Drew Mikkelsen’s walk-and-talk being largely obscured by townies strolling through frame aimlessly. “We’ll do it live and we’ll do it once!” yelled good ol’ “One Take Mikkelsen,” a self-appointed nickname that he often says to himself, and only himself, before big, important stories such as this one.