Courtney Love Says "It Would Be Really Hard" to Start a Rock Band Right Now

"Right now, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of upside to it"

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Jun 7, 2019

Though she recently revealed that a Hole reunion could be in the cards, Courtney Love isn't so sure she would front a rock band if given the chance to start one in the 21st century.

For Interview Magazine, Love was asked 20 questions by famous figures including Marilyn Manson, Kate Moss, Lana Del Rey, Michael Kors and more.

A question from Love's ex-Hole bandmate Melissa Auf der Maur read: "If you were now 25 years old, starting a band, how different do you think your lyrical content and references would be? I very much wonder how a 21st-century Courtney Love would be and what she would sing about."

In response, Love said, "I don't know that I could do it now. I don't feel like the reward for being in a rock band is quite enough," recalling a discussion she once had with Kurt Cobain of a similar premise.

"I remember once I was in the car with Kurt and I was like, 'If it was 1968, what would you do for a living?' He was like, 'I'd be in a Sonics-like punk band' — which made sense. I think I'd have opened a bar because I don't think, in 1968, it would have made sense for a woman to be in a Sonics-like punk band. Women did not play guitar or really sing that kind of music back then, like trying to ape the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. I feel like it would be really, really hard to do."

When it comes to the present day, Love explained, "right now, unless you're gonna do the Ariana Grande thing, it would be really hard to do. Not that being in a rock band is ever easy, but right now, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of upside to it."

On the subject of a Hole reunion, Love said last month that she and her bandmates are "definitely talking about it," adding, "There's nothing wrong with honouring your past; I've just kind of discovered that. If you don't, people will rewrite history and you will become an inconvenient woman."

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