Church of Kurt Cobain

Christian Church in Portland, Oregon, US

The Church of Kurt Cobain was an American Christian church founded in 1996 in Portland, Oregon, and whose patron was Kurt Cobain, the lead singer and guitarist of American rock band Nirvana, who committed suicide in April 1994.

## History

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The church was founded by Jim Dillon,[1] in Portland, Oregon.[2] Dillon stated that he got the idea for the church from a similar church in San Francisco that paid tribute to jazz musician John Coltrane and that his church aimed to find meaning in the life of Kurt Cobain who committed suicide in 1994.[1] He also stated that Cobain's music has a deeper spiritual message. Instead of playing "Amazing Grace" on an organ, the church would play the Nirvana song "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Dillon also stated of another Nirvana song, "Rape Me", that "In essence, the real message is one of a Christian theme - treat me the way you want me to treat you".[1][3]

The church held a rally on May 28, 1996, to inaugurate their place of worship and the founders claimed that their purpose was to pay homage to Cobain who they referred to as a "Saint" and also to the Generation X who they felt had been ignored by the Baby boomer focused-world.[4]

A September 1996 article by Spin stated that the Kurt Cobain Church had been a media hoax.[5] In a July 2021 article by Alan Cross in A Journal of Musical Things, he claimed that the Church of Kurt Cobain while having Dillon as its reverend and having a big recruitment drive in 1996, was in fact a stunt created by an art director named Jerry Ketel and that the purpose of it was to make a statement against celebrity culture and society's fascination with drug abuse and suicide. Cross believed that Ketel had fooled some big media outlets into thinking that it was real.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Cobain Followers Form Their Own Church Fledgling Group Hopes To Find Meaning In Late Musician's Tragic Life". The Spokesman-Review. May 26, 1996. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
2. ^ "Church of Kurt Cobain Forms". The Seattle Times. May 24, 1996. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
3. ^ "Church of Kurt Cobain Opens". The Buffalo News. May 26, 1996. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
4. ^ Uhelszki, Jaan (May 31, 1996). "Backstage" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 14. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
5. ^ Chaplin, Julian (September 6, 1996). "Kurt Comes Alive". Spin. Vol. 12\. p. 50. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
6. ^ Cross, Alan (July 22, 2021). "Ongoing History Daily: The Church of Kurt Cobain". A Journal of Musical Things. Retrieved December 17, 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Nirvana

* Kurt Cobain
* Krist Novoselic
* Aaron Burckhard
* Dale Crover
* Dave Foster
* Chad Channing
* Jason Everman
* Dan Peters
* Dave Grohl

Studio albums|

* Bleach
* Nevermind
* In Utero

Live albums|

* MTV Unplugged in New York
* From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
* Live at Reading

Compilation albums|

* Incesticide
* Nirvana
* Sliver: The Best of the Box
* Icon

Box sets|

* Singles
* With the Lights Out
* Nevermind: The Singles

Extended plays|

* Blew
* Hormoaning

Singles|

* "Love Buzz"
* "Sliver"
* "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
* "Come as You Are"
* "Lithium"
* "In Bloom"
* "Heart-Shaped Box"
* "All Apologies" / "Rape Me"
* "Pennyroyal Tea"
* "About a Girl"
* "You Know You're Right"

Split singles|

* "Candy" / "Molly's Lips"
* "Here She Comes Now" / "Venus in Furs"
* "Puss" / "Oh, the Guilt"

Promotional singles|

* "On a Plain"
* "The Man Who Sold the World"
* "Where Did You Sleep Last Night"
* "Lake of Fire"
* "Aneurysm"
* "Drain You"
* "Endless, Nameless"

Other charted
songs|

* "Dumb"
* "Sappy"
* "Something in the Way"

Other songs|

* "Been a Son"
* "Blew"
* "Breed"
* "Dive"
* "Do Re Mi"
* "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle"
* "I Hate Myself and Want to Die"
* "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam"
* "Marigold"
* "Negative Creep"
* "Old Age"
* "Opinion"
* "Plateau"
* "Polly"
* "Scentless Apprentice"
* "Serve the Servants"
* "Spank Thru"
* "Talk to Me"

Videos|

* Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!
* MTV Unplugged in New York
* Live at Reading
* Live at the Paramount
* Live and Loud

Related|

| Articles|

* Discography (Bootlegs)
* Awards and nominations
* Songs
* Concerts
* "Smells Like Nirvana"
* Frances Bean Cobain
* Suicide of Kurt Cobain
* Kurt Cobain Memorial Park
* Viretta Park
* Church of Kurt Cobain
* 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief

|

Bands|

* 3rd Secret
* Eyes Adrift
* Fecal Matter
* Flipper
* Foo Fighters
* Giants in the Trees
* Melvins
* The No WTO Combo
* Scream
* Sweet 75
* Them Crooked Vultures
* Queens of the Stone Age

Touring members|

* Pat Smear
* Melora Creager
* John Duncan
* Lori Goldston

Books|

* Nirvana: Flower Sniffin', Kitty Pettin', Baby Kissin' Corporate Rock Whores
* Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana
* Teen Spirit: The Stories Behind Every Nirvana Song
* Who Killed Kurt Cobain?
* Heavier Than Heaven
* Journals
* Love and Death
* Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects
* Dirty Blonde
* Cobain Unseen
* Taking Punk to the Masses
* Letters to Kurt
* Experiencing Nirvana: Grunge in Europe, 1989
* I Found My Friends
* Cobain on Cobain
* Serving the Servant

Albums|

* Nevermind It's an Interview
* The "Priest" They Called Him
* Verse Chorus Verse
* The Songs of Kurt Cobain
* Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings

Tribute albums|

* Smells Like Bleach: A Punk Tribute to Nirvana
* Newermind: A Tribute to Nirvana
* Nevermind Tribute
* In Utero, in Tribute, in Entirety
* Whatever Nevermind
* Doused in Mud, Soaked in Bleach

Films and
documentaries|

* 1991: The Year Punk Broke
* A Tribute to Kurt Cobain
* Teen Spirit: The Tribute to Kurt Cobain
* Hype!
* The Vigil
* Kurt & Courtney
* Classic Albums: Nirvana – Nevermind
* Last Days
* All Apologies: Kurt Cobain 10 Years On
* Nirvana – A Classic Album Under Review – In Utero
* The Last 48 Hours of Kurt Cobain
* Kurt Cobain: About a Son
* Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
* Soaked in Bleach
* When Nirvana Came to Britain
* Kurt Cobain: Moments That Shook Music

* Category

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