When asked by horrified fans if their single "Hey Man Nice Shot" was about Kurt
Cobain, the members of Filter promised that the song had been written long before
Cobain's suicide, in fact before the release of the Nirvana's final studio album, In
Utero. 

The song, from the album Short Bus on Reprise Records, now is thought to be a
reaction to the televised suicide of Pennsylvania state treasurer R. Budd Dwyer,
who called a press conference to shoot himself in the mouth with a .357 magnum
in full view of TV cameras. Dwyer was convicted of conspiracy, mail fraud,
racketeering and perjury for a $300,000 kickback in the awarding of a multi-million
dollar state computer contract.

Filter, an industrial band made up of two former members of Nine Inch Nails, has
garnered considerable radio and MTV play for the cut recently, althought the
connection to Dwyer's public suicide has come out only in the past couple of days.
The song is not as sarcastic as the title might suggest, in truth, and could be said
to express admiration for Dwyer's act: "They think that your early ending/Was all
wrong/For the most part they're right/But look how they all got strong/That's why I
say hey, man, nice shot." 

Members of Dwyer's family has expressed their dismay with the song, and intend
to register their concerns with Reprise. MusicWire's call to Reprise was not
returned by press time. 

Lead singer and songwriter Rich Patrick also spent some time as a caddie,
prompting some to surmise that he picked up the phrase shepherding golfers
around the links.