Kurt Cobain About a Son

One year before Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide, he spoke extensively with journalist Michael Azerrad, who at the time was working on the book . Spanning 25 hours, the tape recordings of their conversations form the basis of . Cobain talks candidly about his childhood, Nirvana's sudden breakthrough and his controversial relationship with Courtney Love. A recurrent theme in his story is a feeling of alienation and his need to withdraw. His fame and the resulting intrusion on his privacy strengthened this urge. Although there is plenty of film footage of Cobain available, director A.J. Schnack chose not to use it. Aside from a few old black-and-white photographs, Cobain is invisible throughout the film. What Schnack does show are the places that played a role in Cobain's life. In this way, he presents an intimate portrait of the America of Kurt Cobain himself, the rugged and melancholy state of Washington and its pivotal lumber industry. Meanwhile, Cobain's voice on the soundtrack attains a new meaning, separate from the media phenomenon he had become in his lifetime.