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Frances Bean Cobain Speaks Publicly About Kurt Cobain for First Time

The visual artist also admits “I don’t really like Nirvana that much.”
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Frances Bean Cobain and Courtney Love at the Sundance Film Festival in January.By Paul Marotta/Getty Images.

Ahead of Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck’s theatrical premiere on April 10, Cobain’s 22-year-old daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, a visual artist who executive-produced the Brett Morgen–directed documentary, has spoken publicly about her late father for the first time.

“Kurt got to the point where he eventually had to sacrifice every bit of who he was to his art, because the world demanded it of him,” Cobain tells Rolling Stone, the same magazine her Nirvana frontman father covered about two decades ago. “I think that was one of the main triggers as to why he felt he didn't want to be here and everyone would be happier without him.”

The emotional interview with Rolling Stone’s David Fricke spans difficult subjects, including how it feels for Frances to hear Kurt’s voice today, his 1994 suicide, and the way that the musician has been deified in the years since his death. Cobain also reveals that she, unlike masses of her father’s fans, does not enjoy Nirvana’s music.

“I don't really like Nirvana that much,” Cobain says, smiling. “Sorry, promotional people, Universal. I'm more into Mercury Rev, Oasis, Brian Jonestown Massacre. The grunge scene is not what I'm interested in.” She does have some favorite songs, though. Among them: “Territorial Pissings” and “Dumb.” About the latter, Cobain says, “I cry every time I hear that song. It's a stripped-down version of Kurt's perception of himself—of himself on drugs, off drugs, feeling inadequate to be titled the voice of a generation.”

The complete story, which is definitely worth a full read, is accompanied by a haunting David LaChapelle portrait showing Cobain with faux blood on her wrist as she stands next to a gurney.

To read our Sundance interview with Brett Morgen about the making of Montage of Heck, click here.