Yesterday I had occasion to see some of the news feeds on Yahoo. One of them was about the daughter of Kurt Cobain, singer/song writer and front man for the band Nirvana , which was considered the “flagship band of Generation X” and the father of “grunge rock”, and Courtney Love his wife.
Back in 1992 Courtney called my store in Santa Monica and had mentioned seeing a iron bed I had done for a celebrity here in the Los Angeles area, at a party she and Kurt had been to. She and Kurt had been renting a house in the Hollywood Hills while here in town and wanted a bed similar to what she’d seen. 
After going through the better part of my current inventory, she selected a antique iron bed and asked that we convert it into a king size and then apply a antique greenish finish. Although it was a very straight line bed, it had very nicely detailed casting, that we were able to highlight with the distressed green finish Courtney had selected.
There has been much written about Kurt and Courtney bought with drug addiction and Kurt’s tragic suicide. So when I saw the article on Kurt and Courtney’s daughter , Frances Bean Cobain, being a parent, I felt compelled to put down something I hope might get back to her.
Don Henley of the Eagles wrote a song called ” Dirty Laundry”. Her are some of the lyrics from that song that seem very apropos, regarding Kurt and Courntey.
I make my living off the Evening News
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry
Come and whisper in my ear
Give us dirty laundry
Kick ’em when they’re up
Kick ’em when they’re down
Kick ’em when they’re up
Kick ’em when they’re down
Kick ’em when they’re up
Kick ’em when they’re down
Kick ’em when they’re up
Kick ’em all around
We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who
comes on at five
She can tell you ’bout the plane crash with a gleam
in her eye
It’s interesting when people die-
Give us dirty laundry
Can we film the operation?
Is the head dead yet?
You know, the boys in the newsroom got a
running bet
Get the widow on the set!
We need dirty laundry
You don’t really need to find out what’s going on
You don’t really want to know just how far it’s gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry
Kick ’em when they’re up
Kick ’em when they’re down
Kick ’em when they’re up
Kick ’em when they’re down
Kick ’em when they’re up
Kick ’em when they’re down
Kick ’em when they’re stiff
Kick ’em all around
Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody’s pie
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry
We can do The Innuendo
We can dance and sing
When it’s said and done we haven’t told you a thing
We all know that Crap is King
Give us dirty laundry!
Not wanting to add to the ridiculous exploitation that surrounded Kurt and Courtney relationship, I just felt compelled to offer up to Frances the kindness and respect that I observed between her parents when I saw them together. It was a definite love. Whatever picture the press may have painted and still does today of the relationship between your parents. Rest assured, at the root of all the craziness that surrounded them , there was a deep seeded kindness and love for each other. The black and white photo’s of you that were taken by Hedi Slimane, reminded me of the soulful eye’s your father had.
One of my favorite quotes comes from legend Lena Horne, an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.
“It’s not the load that breaks you down…..It’s the way you carry it”
Frances……wishing you a life filled with the joy and bright horizons. Never let the load get to you.
