By now, if you’re remotely interested in the Nirvana universe, you’ve probably heard all you care to about Courtney Love’s Twitter rampage in honor of daughter Frances Bean’s birthday last week. For our part, we prefer a quieter, less tabloid-y story Stereogum just tipped us off to: a Seattle Weekly profile of Kurt Cobain’s 86-year-old grandfather. As it turns out, Leland Cobain is far more accessible to the common fan than you’d imagine a member of the fallen rock legend’s family might be. We recommend giving the entire insightful piece a read, but if you’re in a hurry, we’ve pulled out our 10 favorite facts about Leland after the jump.
1. He lives in “a cluttered double-wide trailer” in the small Washington town of Montesano, outside of Aberdeen.
2. Leland’s home is “a mini-Graceland of Kurt Cobain memorabilia,” covered in photos and fan portraits of Kurt.
3. If you write a letter to Leland about Kurt, you’ll receive “a handwritten note and a few photocopied pictures of Kurt.”
4. If you request to visit Leland, “the answer… is always yes.”
5. Leland is the only member of the Cobain family who will talk publicly about Kurt.
6. Courtney Love isn’t a big fan of Leland: He’s suggested that Kurt was murdered. As a result, he hasn’t seen Frances Bean since she was a toddler.
7. Leland didn’t begin to speak about Kurt’s death until his wife passed away, in 1997.
8. Want to talk to Leland on the phone? His number is listed in the local phone book. (We tried a whitepages.com search. It works.)
9. While Leland generally indulges Kurt’s fans, he admits that some are nuts: “A woman from Sweden sent me some paintings. She’s actually in love with Kurt. She talks to him every day. Boy, she’s really got it.”
10. The bottom line on Leland: “He’s just lonely, and he wants you to sit with him. He’s said all there is to say about Kurt Cobain, yet he’ll gladly repeat himself if it means a few hours of company.”
Photo credit: Peter Mumford/Seattle Weekly
Comments (8)
Well, now that Frances Bean Cobain is 18 and no one can stop her, I sure hope she gets back in touch with ALL her relatives on both sides, save for a few. Of course Courtney will breathe fire out her nose and then smoke out her strangely shaped ears, but really….who cares?
[...] Flavorwire » 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kurt Cobain's Grandpa [...]
yeah, and, idiot, frances just publicly mentioned she never wants to see him as she well knows he’s a “monster” for calling kurt a faggot while growing up and beating the piss out of his wife. cool guy!
and i should comment i have empathy for the guy as he is old and lonely – but his foundations that “kurt was murdered” are utterly clueless and misinformed and desperate (wake up, guys – it’s been 16 years and no one’s been arrested or will be – if it was that blatant, something would have happened by now, especially now that courtney’s credibility has gone down the shitter), and i trust his granddaughter’s opinion of him more than anyone else’s.
Dick, You can’t believe everything you read on the internet. The fact of the matter is, Francis has not seen Leland since she was 18 months old, all she knows about him is what she has been told, both fact & (mostly) fiction. Lee is a very honorable man I can say this with full confidence having known him for many years
Mitch Holmquist
Yeah, Dick, where the hell did you get your info from? You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re straight up slandering Leland. And to the writer of his article..what was your point? To belittle Leland? To make him look like some poor, pathetic, lonely old man? Well you did a fine job of that. This article sucks and I’m taking it personal.
Yea, what’s so wrong about being proud of your grandson?
Mitch, Tracey, Alex; thanks. I was going to write about how Frankie was brainwashed by Psycho-Barbie right now, but i guess you guys already did that for me.
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