Church Of Kurt Cobain Forms

PORTLAND - A fledgling church for disaffected youth has chosen as its patron saint the ultimate symbol of disaffection: late Seattle grunge-rocker Kurt Cobain.

Underneath Cobain's brooding, self-absorbed music is a deeper spiritual message, says Jim Dillon, founder of the Church of Kurt Cobain.

"I think there are a lot of people who feel like they are not being talked to in their own language," says Dillon, who describes himself as the church's de facto pastor. "These so-called Generation X-ers feel disassociated with society at large."

Dillon says he got the idea from a church in San Francisco that incorporates the music of jazz legend John Coltrane into its services. Instead of playing "Amazing Grace" on an organ, The Church of Kurt Cobain would blast "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

The church hopes to find meaning in the musician's tragic life, Dillon says. Cobain fatally shot himself in April 1994 at his home in Seattle.