First it was the misuse of the Kurt Cobain avatar in the latest edition of Guitar Hero. Now Gwen Stefani and her fellow members of No Doubt are suing the gaming company behind the incredibly popular video game, Activision, for the same reason, claiming that the company’s latest iteration of Band Hero has illegally “transformed No Doubt band members into a virtual karaoke circus act” by allowing the avatars to perform 60 songs not from the band’s catalogue and not approved by them for use in the game.

“While No Doubt are avid fans of the Rolling Stones and even have performed in concerts with the Rolling Stones,” the complaint continues, “the Character Manipulation Feature results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes. Activision has deceived and confused the public into believing that No Doubt authorized the use of its name and likeness for the Character Manipulation Feature of Band Hero and that No Doubt approves and endorses the appearance of its members individually performing songs that are wholly inappropriate and out of character for No Doubt.”

The complaint alleges that Activision execs decided against disabling the feature due to its prohibitive cost. All in all, though, their mounting court costs probably amount to more, no?

There’s been a lot of fuss lately about the whole Kurt Cobain Guitar Hero avatar. And while we understand some people’s hearts are in the right places on this one, the more the whole thing blows up the more it kind of bums us out. But the one medium where the man can live on forever on his own terms is certainly his music. So the news that the first preview from Sub Pop’s deluxe Bleach re-release was ready was a welcome change of pace from the Courtney Love versus Guitar Hero/Dave Grohl/the whole world legacy debate. And this remastered version of “About A Girl” hits you smack over the head with a reminder of why that legacy is worth protecting in the first place.

Nirvana, About A Girl (Remastered)

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Usually a twentieth anniversary means you and your spouse head to Bermuda or your company honors you with a gold watch. If it’s a birthday, and you live in the States, you get jack shit but another year of waiting before you can legally purchase 40 oz. malt liquor at your favorite corner store. If you’re a certain band from a certain coffee-loving city in the Pacific Northwest, it means you get a deluxe, remastered, reissue of your first album, ya know, the one before that dude from Foo Fighters joined. (That dude rules!)

The folks at Sub Pop understand milestones, and so the label is set to flesh out Nirvana’s classic debut Bleach with a boat load of extra features and cool shit that Courtney Love may or may not have a problem with, depending on what day it is. More importantly, the kingpin label has made “Scoff,” an unreleased song recorded live at Portland’s Pine Street Theatre on February 9th, 1990, available for free download. The show also features Nirvana fan favorite “Love Buzz” and a cover of the Vaseline’s “Molly’s Lips.” Check “Scoff” below, then check out this absurd three part interview Canadian music journalist, and interviewer extraordinaire, Nardwuar did with Kurt, Kris and Courtney in 1991. Nothing says grunge like pizza and cigarettes.

Nirvana, Scoff (Live @ Pine Street Theater, Portland, OR)

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Despite Courtney Love’s protestations via Twitter that she had no idea that Kurt Cobain’s likeness would be used in the latest edition of Guitar Hero, much less playing other people’s songs, Guitar Hero CEO Dan Rosensweig revealed to NME.com that Kurt Cobain’s estate has “cashed the check” after signing a contract that allowed for a Cobain avatar in the game. He went on to suggest that Love was fully aware of the contract that she agreed to and had accepted the money offered: “I do know that there’s absolutely a contract and we know that the cheque has been cashed,” he told NME.COM. “I can only deal with the facts. It’s very clear what the terms are.”

Love took to Twitter to respond to Rosensweig’s comments, stating: “Call me and tell me what cheque and for how much. You liquidate Kurt and you tell me I’ve cashed a cheque? We didn’t get a cent,” she wrote. “Now Mr Activision if you want to fix that I’d very much appreciate it. You’ve humiliated me and my daughter. People think we did ‘Guitar Hero 5′ for money when in fact we got not one cent. My understanding was you would pay me personally as I stated.”

Rosensweig was apologetic when it came to Cobain’s former bandmates Dave Grohl and Kris Novoselic’s objections to Cobain’s avatar and its ability to play songs other than those of Nirvana, but claimed that the real dispute should be between Love and the former Nirvana members. “We care about the artists more than anyone else and we would like to make artists happy in every circumstance,” he said. “I’m disappointed in this case that there seems to be confusion between the band and the estate.”

OK, Mother Theresa is dead so she doesn’t have an opinion, but if she were alive, and knowing that she fucking loved Bleach, we’re pretty sure she’d be pissed off as all hell about Kurt Cobain’s inclusion in the new Guitar Hero. I mean, come on, the dude can’t be virtually singing “Wanted Dead or Alive” in a video game owned by the company who published “MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat.”

But he is. And ya know who’s pissed off about it? Bon Jovi. Yeah, Jon Bon Jovi. And while the one day future Governor of New Jersey (one can always dream) is speaking out against the inclusion, he isn’t really mad that Cobain’s in the game, as much he is the fact that virtual Cobain sucks at singing “You Give Love A Bad Name.” Quoted Bon Jovi, “To hear someone else’s voice coming out of a cartoon version of me? I don’t know. It sounds a little forced.” Sort of like Bon Jovi’s movie career.