Courtney Love and her Hole bandmate Melissa Auf der Maur reunited in the studio earlier this year to record their contributions to 070 Shake‘s cover of Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren,” from her new album Petrichor (and done very much in the style of This Mortal Coil). That came out earlier this month, shortly after Courtney discussed the meaning of Hole’s “Violet” as her handwritten lyrics went up for auction to benefit wildlife sanctuary Ellis Park. On the occasion of both those things, The Standard spoke with Courtney, as Stereogum points out, and among the topics of discussion was her long-in-the-works new solo album. They started by asking her about the 070 Shake collaboration, and asked who else she’d like to collaborate with. “I don’t do ‘collabs’ – man, I hate that word!,” Courtney responded. “However, I have co-written songs with some people on this album. [REM’s Michael] Stipe mentioned our collaboration to The New York Times, so I can say it’s gorgeous. I fell down weeping hearing his voice – it’s better than ever! I thought I knew the outcome, but I’m still the grasshopper while Michael is the sensei. There are others I can’t mention; I didn’t intend for any collaborations.”
She did bring up one other collaborator with The Standard, though, Echo & the Bunnymen‘s Will Sergeant, calling him “my favourite guitarist on earth, from my favourite band,” and adding, “He’s on this album and elevating songs beyond description.”
Despite hating the word “collabs,” Courtney also went on to tell The Standard some people she’d like to work with, including PJ Harvey, although it doesn’t sound like that’s happening any time soon. “I did ask PJ Harvey to come back – I wanted just one of her great iconic Stones guitar riffs,” Courtney said. “We have a relationship; I’ve endorsed her over the decades, but she chose not to respond to me. So I wrote her about how f***ing rude that was. Her manager tried to smooth things over, but it’s not okay – she hasn’t played rock music in 100 years! Her first five albums are great; after that, she ventured into art space (though I do love The Last Living Rose, which feels like a John Donne poem with… WTF? A tuba?).”
Courtney also told The Standard that she wants to work with Kendrick Lamar (“I have a mad crush on him”) and Lana Del Rey (“But every time some kid asks me to ‘collab’ with Lana – I mean come on! Can you stop saying ‘collab’ to someone who straddles Gen X and boomer? We don’t do that! Call it ‘writing a song together,’ not ‘featuring.’ It makes me lose my temper and makes it the last thing I want to do.”), and that she loves Lorde, Stormzy, Doja Cat, Sofia Isella, La Familia, Lil Simz, Ivoire Doll, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, and Ice Cube. She also has an appreciation for Taylor Swift; she told The Standard, “While I may not love Swift musically, her lyrics when she’s angry resonate with me – I find it middlebrow and boring to overanalyse them.”
Read the interview in full on The Standard.