inMusic chats with Courtney Love
Music Editor: Catherine Main
When I was 14 years old, a good friend of mine ended her life a month after Kurt Cobain died. We were both hard core Nirvana fans. I would have done anything to get close to that band, I knew every lyric, wore grunge inspired clothes and knew every fact I could possibly know about them. Now 16 years later, I find myself sitting in Courtney Love’s dressing room following her Hole show in Toronto. I have 15 minutes to spend with her where I could ask her anything. When I was preparing for the interview, I did my due diligence, listening to the album, studying the liner notes, watching other interviews to compare but then I also went back and listened to her reading Kurt’s suicide note at his vigil and it got me rattled. I had something in common with Courtney, she may be the woman Rolling Stone magazine deems ‘The Most Controversial Woman in Rock’ but she was a real person that had experienced a loss like I had. The press may want to constantly promote her drug addiction past or her loose cannon responses, but I didn’t have to. I had a choice of planting questions to trigger ‘wild’ soundbytes or I could take the high road and try to have a semi-normal conversation with the woman who forever will be remembered in music history.
inMusic: You’re back with Hole and there are no females in the band. Was that a conscious decision that you made or did it just end up that way?
Courtney Love: Not really. Shawn is just really a great bass player. With Melissa (Auf der Maur), she could play everything but I needed a little patience with her. With Shawn, we heard him play and really liked him. He’s not pretty and can’t sing any vocals, but we used to sacrifice the bass playing quality for someone who could sing as well and we didn’t want a “Show Pony” bass player or “Chick Bass Player” who can’t really play but looks cool. In London, we’re playing with the band that Dave Grohl formed with Josh Homme - “Them Crooked Vultures” – and I want to kick his a**. So I need a bass player that is good and if there was one that was out there and was female – then I missed her.
iM: This album was about five years in the making with Linda Perry and Billy Corgan. Why do you think it took so long?
CL: First of all, the Linda half of it took the longest because of Linda’s schedule. I was always the last person on her schedule due to her manager. She’d have Alicia Keys or Christina Aguilera or a more mainstream artist and I would have to take a backseat. And then when I could finally get both Billy and her in a room together and we created what they called the demos, that weren’t enough to make an album. I needed a song that I could push that had a good beginning and end to it that didn’t sound old. I didn’t feel I got that on Linda’s end so I brought in Michael (Beinhorn) to start from scratch.
iM: You said that touring is a necessary evil part of the job.
CL: This tour is fine because I’m living better on this tour than I was in New York since I had this crappy apartment on Park. My credit isn’t good so I couldn’t get a place in the Village but at least now, I’m able to at least stay in a really nice hotel.
iM: The tabloids like to focus on the celebrity element of you and not necessarily music all the time. Does that get to you after a while?
CL: I don’t understand it, but yeah it’s annoying.
iM: Would you ever consider going on a show like “American Idol” and mentor?
CL: Yeah I would. Every week I get offered reality shows and I say ‘no.’ And then, I was talking to Russell Simmons and said the only way I would do it is if it was like a “Making the Band” but with females. Of course the television networks went nuts and I still don’t know if I want to do it but I might.
iM: You’ve also talked about Ke$ha in the past and you said you had a motherly instinct towards her. What did you mean?
CL: Until I met her and then I didn’t really like her. She reminds me of that school girl that would beat you up because she’s like 6’4. Then I found out that her producer is like a d**che who changed her image. She used to be this cute girl and then all of a sudden came out with this “TiK ToK” song. Me and Perez (Hilton) were kind of like “blech” at the same time. It was really only until I met her, since I don’t like to judge people before I’ve met them.
iM: Have you seen Taylor Momsen [The Pretty Reckless] perform? People are saying she’s the next Courtney Love.
CL: She sort of dresses a little like me, but I don’t think she’s the next me. There isn’t a next me and I would be grateful if there was a next me because I don’t think anybody wants my job. I don’t really have an opinion about that.
iM: If they were ever to make a movie about your life, who would you want to play you?
CL: Actually they are making a movie about me. Well it’s more about Kurt (Cobain) than it is about me, but I read the script and it’s pretty much about me and Kurt and that part of my life. There is somebody playing me, but I don’t want to say who it is.
iM: Rolling Stone [magazine] called you “the most controversial woman in rock”. What intimidates you?
CL: They also called me “the Queen of rock”. What intimidates me? Trying to play “Courtney” songs in high heels - that is intimidating.
iM: This is a pretty personal record with songs like “Letters to God”. I read that you re-wrote a couple songs a couple of times in order to get it right. How did you know when the song was ready and completed?
CL: When I felt like it was finished. Well the song “Samantha” took forever to write and I always knew it had good bones, but until I thought of a particular lyric, then it finally came alive. I was stuck with that song for a long time. There were 42 songs and I obviously ended up throwing a lot of the songs out. With like “Someone Else’s Bed” – it was a throwaway that I found from one of Linda’s tapes. She was like “alright you only get two chances with this song” and it was 3AM and I was with a bunch of people at a big party where she just let it play. Everyone else forgot about it but I was like “this song does not suck” and then put in a Memphis/Elvis blues and some weird soul guitar on it and it came alive. So you know when you know.
iM: You’re so fashionable. Would you ever create your own clothing line?
CL: Yeah. Stuff that I make is usually out of old clothes and I would use old textiles and Victorian stuff which you could never really mass produce. My stuff right now is kind of kooky and one-of-a-kind pieces. I have a seamstress with me full-time now who does my stuff. WhatCourtneyWoreToday.com is going to be a website where it shows off stuff that I was wearing and some of it is stuff that hasn’t even hit the runway yet from designers.
*Note, at this point of the interview, Courtney jumped out of her chair to show me all her own designs and shoes quite excitedly.
iM: Thanks for chatting with us
CL: Sure, Thanks.
Transcribed by Melissa Tam.