Why Courtney Love doesn’t see the “upside” to being in a modern band
Courtney Love has witnessed significant changes in the music industry since her time leading Hole, one of the leading bands in 1990s alternative rock. Like many of her peers, Love has observed various musical movements, from psychedelia to punk and later grunge, as well as the sweeping transformations brought about by the passage of time.
Love belonged to an era when being in a band was a realistic career option. Despite the significant sacrifices required, including living conditions and general quality of life, success was attainable for those who could refine their sound and distinguish themselves from the crowd. During that time, getting signed to a label and achieving a relatively stable economic footing was plausible for many musicians.
Of course, there was a difference between getting signed and becoming a successful, commercially viable artist, as is true today, but the route to success was much more pronounced. Furthermore, due to the ubiquity of physical formats as the primary means of digesting music, it was much easier to make a buck than now, where almost every artist relies on shows as their main source of income, a point of intense stress.
This sea change has made Love and many of her generation count their lucky stars and note how increasingly unfeasible being in a contemporary band is. She thinks that unless you’re a pop artist such as Ariana Grande, it’s nearly impossible to break into music in general.
When sitting down with Interview in 2019, Love answered 20 questions from friends. At one point, she was asked by Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur if she were 25 years old today and starting a band how different her lyrical content and references would be as she wondered what a “21st-century Courtney Love” would look like. In response, Love debated whether there is any “upside” to being in a modern outfit at all.
She 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. 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.”
Continuing, Love added: “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. And 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.”
Listen to ‘Celebrity Skin’ by Hole below.
