Courtney Love calls PJ Harvey “rude” for rejecting collaboration
Former Hole vocalist Courtney Love has shared more details about her upcoming solo album, the follow-up to her 2004 debut, America’s Sweetheart. Now, Love has discussed some of the collaborators joining her, and also called out PJ Harvey for rejecting the opportunity to do so.
Both Love and Harvey were two of the most influential women in rock in the 1990s, and the former has always been publicly supportive of the latter. She’s confirmed that Harvey’s 1992 debut album, Dry, is her favourite of the British musician’s career. Furthermore, Love once said of her counterpart: “The one rock star that makes me know I’m shit is Polly Harvey. I’m nothing next to the purity that she experiences”.
However, in a new interview with The Standard, Love claims that Harvey spurned the chance to be a part of her upcoming record and shares the names of a couple who have signed on. The rock icon told the publication that she didn’t “intend” for the album to be so collaborative and is keeping most of its featured artists under wraps at this point, but she did confirm R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe is involved.
“Stipe mentioned our collaboration to The New York Times, so I can say it’s gorgeous,” Love said. “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.”
Harvey said that Echo and the Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant also features on the album. She was full of praise for the Liverpudlian musician and his band. “Will Sergeant, my favourite guitarist on earth, from my favourite band agreed to work with me!,” she continued. “He’s such an icon. If you lined up Jimmy Page, Jonny Greenwood, and Will Sergeant, I’d pick Sergeant every time; it’s insane! He’s on this album and elevating songs beyond description.”
Love then claimed that Harvey didn’t even respond to her invitation. This has angered the former Hole lead. “I did ask PJ Harvey to come back – I wanted just one of her great iconic Stones guitar riffs,” she voiced, before expanding on the situation further.
She continued: “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?).”
Elsewhere, Love noted that she’d love to collaborate with other artists in the future, such as Kendrick Lamar, Stormzy, Doja Cat, Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg.
What else do we know about Courtney Love’s new album?
While Love has yet to formally announce the album or provide any further details, in the interview, she did reveal that she’s working on the album with producer Butch Walker.
In other news, in October 2023, she reactivated her TikTok account and touched on the record. “It’s Courtney, hi,” she said. “I’m not going to have an official TikTok. I’m just gonna upload some teasers from my album that’s coming out…Christmas, if we’re lucky. I’m just gonna upload some teasers.”
In another clip, Love explained the album is “the longest record that’s ever been written in the history of rock, so it better fuckin’ be good, no filler.” Before that, in February 2020, she described the record as very sad, and that she was writing using minor chords.
Earlier this month, Love contributed guest vocals to rapper 070 Shake’s cover of Tim Buckley’s ‘Song to the Siren’.
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