For the first time in six years, there is new music from Courtney Love. On Wednesday,“Skinny Little Bitch,” the lead single from the über-delayed Nobody’s Daughter (now due April 27) was released to radio and offered as a free download for everyone.
Out of the blue, I was offered a chance to talk to Courtney who was perched in a studio somewhere in London. We spoke for almost two solid hours, interrupted only when my Skype credits ran out and we had to reconnect.
The conversation was—shall we say—very three-dimensional. She’d go off on wild, looping tangents, filled with name-drops (Slash, Mariah, Kurt, Lilly, Brad), non sequiturs and sidebar stories that went on for fifteen minutes before it all circles back to the original train of thought. Thankfully, it was all recorded so a team of us—and it will take a team of people—can review everything and piece it all together into something the average person can follow.
Meanwhile, here are some highlights.
One: When the record label dude came in with a copy of “Skinny Little Bitch” on Tuesday, I posted a video of my reaction to the song. I think this is why Courtney wanted to talk to me in the first place.
Two: The second single from Nobody’s Daughter will be “Samantha,” a song co-written by Billy Corgan. Here’s how Courtney describes working out some crucial lyrics—and I’m pretty sure the “Leonard” she refers to is Leonard Cohen.
Three: Several of the asides in the conversation had to do with Kurt Cobain. Listen to watch she says about one of Kurt’s screams. (I wish I knew which scream she meant. Can anyone help?
Four: Check out this comment where Courtney sets a career goal for herself and Hole—and how Kurt set out a chilling career goal for himself.
Five: It’s been well documented that DGC didn’t have much faith in “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as the first single from Nevermind. To them, “Lithium” was the big hit. Turns out that Kurt and Courtney disagreed with both choices.
Six: The last ten years have not been kind to Courtney. Financial issues, a cratered acting career, family problems, soured relationships, a failed solo album—it’s been ugly. How did this happen and how is she turning it around?
Seven: Finally, check out this story about a gig she did with Slash.
There’s more to come, but like I said, it’s going to take a while to piece everything together into something more...linear. Watch this space in the days leading up to the release of Nobody’s Daughter on April 27.