More than 20 years after his death, Kurt Cobain remains one of the great musical icons. But in a new interview, his daughter Frances Bean Cobain has made the surprising admission that she is not a fan of her father's work. "I don't really like Nirvana that much," the 22-year-old told Rolling Stone. "Sorry promotional people, Universal. "I'm more into Mercury Rev, Oasis, Brian Jonestown Massacre. The grunge scene is not what I am interested in."
Frances Bean Cobain has admitted she is not a fan of Nirvana
Frances was just 20 months old when her dad took his own life. She was asked whether she ever felt awkward as a teenager, not being interested in Kurt's music. "I would have felt more awkward if I'd been a fan," she replied. "I was around 15 when I realised he was inescapable. Even if I was in a car and had the radio on, there's my dad. "He's larger than life, and our culture is obsessed with dead musicians. We love to put them on a pedestal. If Kurt had just been another guy who abandoned his family in the most awful way possible… But he wasn't. He inspired people to put him on a pedestal, to become St Kurt. "He became even bigger after he died than he was when he was alive. You don't think it could have gotten any bigger. But it did."
Frances Bean as a baby with her father Kurt Cobain and mother Courtney Love
Frances also revealed she had spent time with the remaining members of Nirvana, who were struck by her strong resemblance to Kurt. "Dave (Grohl), Krist (Novoselic) and Pat (Smear) came over to a house where I was living," she recalled. "It was the first time they had been together in a long time. And they had what I call the 'K C Jeebies'. Which is when they see me, they see Kurt."They look at me and you can see they're looking at a ghost. They were all getting the K C Jeebies hardcore. Dave said, 'She is so much like Kurt.'… But I was glad they came over. It was a cool experience, like having a Nirvana reunion minus one. Except for his spawn. "Frances is currently on the promotional trail ahead of the release of Cobain: Montage of Heck, a new documentary based on the life, work and untimely death of Kurt. The film, directed by Brett Morgan, tells the musician's story largely through the use of archive material – notebooks, home movies, cassettes – kept in a storage locker and made available by Frances, who is credited as an executive producer.
Frances Bean and Courtney at the Sundance premiere of Cobain: Montage of Heck
"It's emotional journalism," Frances told the magazine. "It's the closest thing to having Kurt tell his own story in his own way – by his own aesthetic, his own perception of the world. It paints a portrait of a man attempting to cope with being a human. "When Brett and I first met, I was very specific about what I wanted to see, how I wanted Kurt to be represented. I told him, 'I don't want the mythology of Kurt, or the romanticism.'"