Being the child of a famous musician isn’t necessarily easy, particularly when said musician happens to be arguably the most important and influential figure of the grunge era, but if there’s one thing that’s almost guaranteed for muso offspring it’s that they’ll be brought up surrounded by good tunes.
Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter of Kurt and Courtney, may have only been a bub when her father was tragically removed from her life, but it seems that she’s inherited some of the Nirvana frontman’s alternative musical tastes.
The Huffington Post has put together a short playlist of Frances Bean Cobain’s favourite songs, building a playlist for music streaming service Rdio based on shout-outs and posts from the young Cobain’s Twitter account pulled from amongst her tweets about schlock movie icon Elvira and her public spats with other celebrity offspring (like labelling Kardashian kid Kendal Jenner a “fucking idiot”).
She might only be celebrating her 21st birthday this August, but the collection demonstrates that Cobain’s musical favourites certainly gravitate around the same era that Nirvana first came to infamy. The playlist, cheekily titled ‘Here We Are now, Entertain Us’, kicks off with alt-rock bizarros Butthole Surfers and their unlikely yet awesome 1996 hit ‘Pepper’, and takes in fellow 90s mainstays like the hazy dream pop of Mazzy Star and the deathless Pixies – a well-known favourite of her father’s. It seems that she’s inherited some of the Nirvana frontman’s alternative musical tastes…
Aussie music also gets pride of place with the inclusion of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ PJ Harvey-featuring murder ballad ‘Henry Lee’, as well as a stone cold East Coast rap classic in ‘Hypnotize’ by Biggie. There’s also a hard-to-ignore allusion to Kurt in her mixtape with the inclusion of Jeff Buckley, another prodigious talent who was taken away well before his time was due.
Rounding out the list is Scottish shoegazers The Jesus & Mary Chain, with ‘Sometimes Always’ (featuring a duet with Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star – must be a fan) and Finnish rockers Bloodpit’s cover of early Placebo single ‘Nancy Boy’ (nice one, Frances)!
The 90s fixation doesn’t stop at the playlist though, going over Cobain’s Twitter also reveals posts on Bikini Kill (“Nastolgia”), Veruca Salt (“so fuckin gritty”), Spacemen 3 (“one of the greatest bands”), and even Smashing Pumpkins (“becoming re-obsessed w/ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness“).
Considering the young Ms Cobain was only 2 years of age when Kurt died, we may have to (slightly begrudgingly) give due credit to Courtney Love for her great taste in music, or as the 20-year-old girl puts it herself:
I'd like to thank my parents for providing me with a high IQ & I'd like to thank my grams for encouraging me not to be a self absorbed idiot
— Frances Bean Cobain (@alka_seltzer666) May 22, 2013
Check out the full playlist below or have a listen over at Rdio.
Here We Are Now, Entertain Us: A Frances Bean Cobain Mixtape
- Butthole Surfers – ‘Pepper’
- Mazzy Star – ‘Wasted’
- The Jesus And Mary Chain – ‘Sometimes Always’
- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – ‘Henry Lee’ (feat. PJ Harvey)
- The Notorious B.I.G. – ‘Hypnotize’
- Jeff Buckley – ‘Jewel Box’
- Pixies – ‘Is She Weird?’
- Bloodpit – ‘Nancy Boy’
