KURT REDUX

Hot on the heels of Nirvana’s 3-year-old European B-side “Marigold” becoming a mini-hit on alternative-rock radio, an unauthorized track is getting radio play, driven by continuing hunger for unheard music featuring the late Kurt Cobain.

Several U.S. stations, including L.A.’s KROQ, have been airing a bootleg studio outtake of Hole’s song “Asking For It” with Cobain singing background vocals behind his wife, Courtney Love. The fan interest has been great, even though the track’s sound quality is inferior to the Cobain-less version on Hole’s “Live Through This” album.

“It’s starting to be a big song here,” says KROQ’s Worden, who was given a copy by Seattle deejay Marco Collins, who won’t reveal its source. “A lot of the interest is simply because Kurt is singing in it, though it’s a great song.”

The surprise is that there’s been no cease and desist order from Hole’s record company, DGC, or management--the standard practice regarding airing or sales of bootlegs.

“Courtney is proud that Kurt sang on the track,” says one source close to the band, explaining the laissez faire attitude.