Courtney Love is, quite famously, a girls' girl. Genuinely, it's commendable how she manages to advocate for more women's recognition by the indisputably sexist (and racist) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while simultaneously having no holds barred when it comes to speaking the truth about how she feels about other women in the music industry.
Love has been teasing a new solo album, which may or may not be "the longest that's ever been written in the history of rock," for at least a year now, although it still hasn't materialized. However, it sounds like the follow-up to 2010's Nobody's Daughter is actually in the works, and has a pretty-star-studded list of collaborators — just not PJ Harvey, although not for lack of trying.
In a new interview with The Standard, Love admitted, "I did ask PJ Harvey to come back — I wanted just one of her great iconic Stones guitar riffs. 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 fucking rude that was."
"Her manager tried to smooth things over, but it's not okay — she hasn't played rock music in 100 years!" Love continued, taking the opportunity to do a little light disparaging. "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?)."
After clarifying that she "doesn't do collabs" ("Man, I hate that word!") she went on, "However, I have co-written songs with some people on this album. [R.E.M.'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."
After saying there were other collaborations she couldn't mention, Love added that she "nearly fainted" when Echo & the Bunnymen's Will Sergeant — her "favourite guitarist on earth" — agreed to work on the album. "If you lined up Jimmy Page, Jonny Greenwood and Will Sergeant, I'd pick Sergeant every time; it's insane," she said. "He's on this album and elevating songs beyond description."
"The Cat is out of the bag! My old friend Courtney Love has spilled the beans so I reckon I can too. I have been working on her new record for a couple of months now," Sergeant added on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter after the fact. "I have been given total artistic freedom by Courtney and her producer Butch Walker. And it's been a brilliant trip working on these ace songs."
Of other musicians she'd be interested in linking up with, Love cited Kendrick Lamar and her "mad crush on him," as well as Doja Cat, Stormzy, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and Lana Del Rey, whom she once likened to Kurt Cobain as the only "true musical geniuses." (Although Love also recently said that she thinks Del Rey "should take seven years off," so interpret that how you will.)