Courtney Love has finally triumphed over bad plastic surgery and now looks like a generic Hollywood cougar. Kurt would be spinning in his grave if dead people could still be embarrassed. In any case, her offenses against his memory (not to mention his child) are so ghastly that there’s no territory left for her to plunder.
What has Courtney Love ever done that was worthy of respect? Her first album was largely the product of her husband’s creative genius, and it’s been downhill ever since. She started off as a singlemindedly ambitious groupie, bagged a vulnerable rising rock star, and squandered much of his fortune on nosejobs and dope. Even her own kid can’t stand her.
I’ve just read an artful analysis of her cultural significance but the only part I agree with is that our society revels in the spectacle of public self-destruction. It’s enthralling to watch people making asses of themselves! That’s why I love those Real Housewives.
There’s also something very compelling about people who are literally shameless. Madonna comes to mind in this category. Courtney Love will tweet naked pictures of herself, blab about everyone she’s had sex with, betray all her friends and flaunt her bad spelling as though it’s her life’s work to be annoying.
Here is her best quote to date, spoken to the author of a recent profile in the New York Times:
“For years, despite having impeccable taste, I didn’t understand how to convey that I had impeccable taste.”
Oh Courtney! How frustrating that must have been!
I’m sure we’re supposed to regard her as some kind of tragic figure but it’s all the consequence of vanity and greed. Fuck her! Most people settle for one nosejob and call it a day. She’s just an awful woman who doesn’t know when enough is enough.
Yep she’s horrible alright.
Another self obsessed waste of space just like Madonna/Paris Hilton/etc. etc.
I’ve got an idea Courtney – to show us all what impeccable taste you have, give the money you spend on nose jobs to people who have nothing so they may be able to eat once in a while.
Dreadful woman.
thank god theres something worse than stupidity
I’ve always thought Courtney was awful and never understood her appeal. It would be a lot easier to look past all the terrible plastic surgery and drug history if she at least seemed to be making an effort to be a better person and sort herself out. A lot of people seem to think her unapologetic brashness is commendable and that her attitude is only criticized because she is a “strong woman”. There are so many other strong females to look up to who also happen to be intelligent, kind people…why anyone gives Courtney Love any credit is beyond me.
Can’t really join in the hate here, Live Through This helped me through a time in my teens that I’m very lucky to have made it through at all. Besides, I still love Oasis even though they thieved tunes left right and centre and Liam Gallagher behaved like an absolute shit to his brother- I don’t have the same affection for her now but can’t bring myself to detest her as she currently is, either. (by the sounds of it, a few screws loose but whatever)
i tend to have an affection for unabashed assholes (Liam Gallagher, check). I think it’s the complete lack of guilt that i find so admirable.
surely the fact that Courtney Love called Madonna a stupid cunt to her face live on telly is a point in her favor?
i agree that she hasn’t done anything worth while since about 1999 but hole’s first album, pretty on the inside, had absolutely nothing to do with kurt or his creative genius. It was written/recorded before they were even together.
I read that she got her first nose job because she had her Jewish father’s nose and she didn’t want to see him staring back at her in the mirror every day. Then she got another, not happy with the first one, and then she decided that she should never have gotten rid of her original nose, so she got a semblance of her original one back. Then the breast implants in, out, in again? Bad lipo, lip injections, who knows. People like her don’t realize that this constant transformation of herself tells the world that she probably has zero self esteem. If she looks “perfect” (or her idea of perfect) maybe she will feel better on the inside. I feel bad for her daughter, who had her as the only parent she knows. When I read that she used heroin during her pregnancy in the 90s, I did think that this kid is going to have problems with a mother like that. Very sad.
Oh, and I forgot to add, that Tavi, who received a Glamour magazine women of the year award last night in NY, (wtf?) thinks the world of her.
Impeccable boob-clamp – that looks SO uncomfortable.
She is not for me.
As much of a crazy mess as she is, I will always have a soft spot for her. She was super nice to me when she really didn’t have to be. Though I have also seen her throwing one of her fucked up crazy tantrums. And like annemarie said, she definitely deserves points for calling Madonna a stupid cunt! Overall though, her behavior has been reprehensible. She’s probably just got a severe case of Histrionic Personality Disorder, and people like that are impossible if things aren’t going their way.
Just gonna throw this out there – hating on Courtney over her craziness is legit, but slagging her for her connection to Kurt is basically typical misogyny. Kurt himself made many statements about that when he was alive – he always defended her creativity and gave her all credit where it was due. She made her way up by working hard, maybe ripping off other riot grl bands but still, she did it, and she really does know how to play guitar. Compare to any pop stars currently making hits and she looks pretty damn authentic. Compare to Madonna – it’s a different beast. Obviously drug abuse plays a huge factor in her mess of a life. And despite the fact that it’s all fake I think she looks pretty good cleaned up. Her chest looks tortured in this pic though, mistake on her part. Can’t believe I’m defending C Love but the ‘slag a girl for making it through a man’ is tired, you can do better SW.
How coincidental, I had read that NYT article on Miss Love as of yesterday myself. I had watched a documentary about her and Kurt (but mosly her) a while back, but can’t remember the name anymore. It more or less implied that she was responsible for Kurt’s death. I know that it’s been speculated throughout the years, but what do you personally think about that situation? She appears to be a total sociopath, so I really wouldn’t put it past her. Her own father believes that she killed Kurt. The whole thing is unsettling, and I think anyone that glorifies her at this point (ahem Tavi), is completely disregarding her legitimate insanity and are the people who perpetuate her delusions of grandeur.
Saucy Trollup
I want to burn my eyes out after seeing that plastic cleavage. She looks like she’s trying to transform herself into one of the characters on Dynasty.
Dru – I understand where you’re coming from but at the same time I don’t think appreciating someone’s talent or music has to correspond with liking the individual. Liam Gallagher is obviously talented but he’s still a pretty horrible person, I like his some of his music but I don’t like him. I don’t want to discredit Courtney’s musical talent or hard work but I still can’t like her as a person.
After reading the other comments about Kurt getting all of the credit or speculation that she killed him I guess some consider her a strong woman or feminist icon because she has had to put up with so much shit and somehow lived through it? In that regard a lot of things that have been said about her have been unfair and I sympathize but I also think she has brought a lot of shit onto herself by abusing the people around her and acting like a tantrum-throwing child.
annemarie – Why do you find a complete lack of guilt admirable? I’ve been ‘friends’ with people like that in real life and it’s awful, they just use and abuse everyone around them, total sociopaths. Maybe it’s a quality that can only be appreciated when you don’t personally know someone and they have enough charisma to get away with it?
Has anyone actually seen Courtney in person? This may just be photo-shop & makeup in action. That’s the deal anymore; we only need to perceive Courtney as a “Generic Hollywood Cougar.” She made a name for herself by being outrageous, all she needs to do now is let slip a couple of doctored images & presto, a whole new round of buzz. She’s probably at home watching “House,” planning next year’s re-invention. Courtney does Peggy Lee in 2011. Yawn.
annemarie – Well, calling Madge a stupid cunt to her face is definitely a redeeming factor! Still can’t stand her, though.
eh – “Making it through a man” is not a crime, you’re absolutely right. It’s just that her association with Kurt Cobain is really the whole point of her. Other than that, she’s just the usual train-wreck of narcissism + drugs.
bronny – I don’t even know that record, sorry! I’m such a philistine, I thought Live Through This was the first!
Honeypants – Wow, I’m glad to hear she was nice to you! My BFF had to interview her and had to endure screaming tantrums etc etc.
When I met her, it was while she was filming Larry Flynt, so it’s been over a decade and before she started trying to turn herself into the Generic Hollywood Cougar. Her hair was black at the time, she was seemingly sober, and she looked gorgeous. But then the multiple surgeries started. I thought for sure she was going to look just like Bette Midler eventually, but it seems she’s found a better surgeon. She does look almost unrecognizable now though, which is a shame.
Lorena- I agree with what you said, liking someone’s persona and their work don’t have to be linked, but I’d probably find it a lot easier to think hard thoughts of Liam Gallagher for being such a tit if his voice didn’t sound the way it did (or the way it did before he fucked it up from too many drugs). Or even if I’d read all the stuff about him being that way before I first heard Definitely Maybe. Sometimes having listened to the stuff before reading about the artists, does have an impact on how I view them, even if it’s with indifference.
Sister Wolf I love you a little bit more after this post! I can’t stand Courtney Love, the greedy fucker!
Lorena, I too am confused as to why she’s held up as an example of a strong, intelligent woman … I must be missing something!
“For years, despite having impeccable taste, I didn’t understand how to convey that I had impeccable taste.”
That is one of the funniest lines I have ever read.
Is she doing it yet though?
These boobs, fake or photoshopped, are truly awful. I have to keep hating on people who use “hating on” expression.
I thought we were done with “hating on.” Let’s be done with it. I hate Courtney Love without using that superfluous preposition.
The boobs are tragic. They look like ’80s fake boobs, like from a Winger video.
I agree with what everyone’s said, which is why I can never vote… my head is filled with simultaneous contradictory thoughts. I see/feel/hear all sides.
That prefaced, I’ve always loved Court’s music, but it does seem she was Kurt’s kryptonite & Nirvana’s Yoko. I’ve seen all the documentaries which made me feel she is unjustly blamed for Kurt’s death or used him to write songs for which she took credit because people dislike her gritty, raw rage (at what, who knows)… then… listened to YouTube vids by the very credible private detective she hired who turned against her thinking she has killed her husband & stolen his music. He’s still working the case for free. She’s sad, she’s fascinating, she’s a nutter, she’s talented, she’s a fool, she’s a low life with friends in high places, she’s a liar, she’s often cool.
She seems to have moved towards a new venue for attention in getting every designer on the planet to fill her closet, as is evident on her new website. I’m not liking her newer looks, especially the smoothed out, pampered hair. I’ve seen her on stage in a huge men’s shirt, Talbot-y skirt & black flats with her Doris Day pageboy. It’s like seeing Keith Richard in baggy Levi cut-offs, crewcut & pastel Izod shirt (a visual which just grossed me out). I want to see him craggy, slept-in & slightly pissed… same as Court. I only want to see her in dirty, torn babydoll dresses, smoking… cleaner ones when she wants to look presentable for interviews.
We can retain a soft spot for certain symbols/icons because of what they once meant to us. Elvis, Sinatra, any Hollywood 1920’s to 50’s icon, Johnny Thunders, Richard Hell all had messy unforgivable lives we forgave. I agree that bitter, jaded Morrissey needs to stop singing about his 80’s Smiths’ lawsuit & teen angst & get on with it already… but to me, he’s still pretty boy Moz flailing about wearing chunky black-rimmed NHS glasses with stems of flowers streaming from his back pocket while he rips his shirt apart onstage & tosses it to the audience singing with the voice which still melts me as I flail along with him. I can forgive him anything, yet (contradiction alert) if he were my friend, I’d shout at him to bloody well cheer up & stop rehashing the same old same old.
I’m resting & waiting to see what Court will do next & can’t decide what she is, was or will be. I will buy her new CDs & see her in movie roles. I still play/watch her old. I admire her gumption. I dislike her arrogance, behavior & lies. She’s got a voice & lyrics which speak to me. Her overly-bloated, then too-thin & back again body annoys me. Her surgery makes me think of her as a sell out… she’s letting her fear show & subconsciously forming her face/hair to mimic miniscule Madge. I hate her tattoos. I’m entertained by her rambling, strange, smart & funny interviews with Howard Stern. She’s not as bad a mother as mine. I hate that she’s referred to as CLo on her website like she’s a teen popster & it somehow gives her credibility & youth. My contradiction is I can still somehow forgive her.
Just to clarify, when she says “impeccable taste,” are we sure she’s not just confusing “impeccable” for another word like “objectionable” or even “insulting”? It’s really easy to get those words mixed up, I swear.
Hear, hear!
And yet, ith all this physical artifice, she has now snared a wealthy hotelier with whom to publicly canoodle. She can have her own suite at the Chateau Marmite forever. Sister, dont hate on your sick sisters, there are enough asshole males out there for you to crucify with your elegant prose, without slapping down an ambitious gal who has clawed her way to the lmiddle…
I meant to say, ‘an ambitious gal, however imperfect,’ but got so excited at writing to Sister wolf i just slammed that submit button with all the force I could muster
slimeylimey – That hotel guy has cut a wide swath through celebrity gold-diggers. She won’t get that room forever. But don’t worry about my crucifixions: there are enough nails around for everyone! xoxo
Damn, I’d figure Sister would be above the typical shoot outs about somebody’s husband (who was the one who drove her crazy with his selfish, head-shooting bullshit) being her secret puppetmaster. Courtney is a hilarious freakshow. She rules! Her voice, lyrics, and command of the stage can slay legions of so-called rockstars, including her husband, boyfriends, and rivals.
These days Courtney can be a little hard to defend, even for me. The Chanel-bedecked wannabe bourgeois shit is tired. But she’s still a charming little wacko, like Eloise and Nancy Spungeon’s revenge in one…and the press is her Plaza and everybody’s stupid reactive hatred is the Chelsea she’s burning to the ground with her cigarettes.
Plus whatcourtneyworetoday her blog is priceless shit. She’s so embarrassing, but I can’t help but love her. I sometimes feel like she’s my mom like that?
Hortense – Yeah but, still hate her in a big way. Being obnoxious isn’t art. It’s too easy.
And poor Kurt..I know more about suicide than I did before. I no longer see it as selfish. Just desperate.
About Courtney being a bad mother, I really don’t know if that necessarily condemns her as a human being. Speaking as another daughter who can’t stand her mother right now, I have to say it- I can’t stand to be around her or have a relationship with her, but she’s not a bad person just because the relationship between the two of us is dysfunctional, and the same might go for Courtney and Frances as well.
I’ve always disliked Nirvana, and I love Hole. There’s no reason to assume that Kurt is responsible for her work, especially considering how feminist and intelligent her lyrics are (as opposed to Nirvana’s lyrics) and how different her sound is from his. The songs she chose to cover alone (Gold Dust Woman, He Hit Me and it Felt Like a Kiss) really speak to her not being your typical artist. Live Through This is a great album.
In the grunge era, when the focus was almost entirely on men who who looked like slobs, here was a fierce, smart woman with her own style, who bridged the gap between riot grrrll and hard rocking grunge eras. As a young girl during that era, she was an inspiring antidote to other famous ladies.
Yeah, Courtney is obviously not a pleasant/sane person to be around, and I’m sure I would totally hate her in real life, but I’m sure i would hate most famous people in real life, especially “great artists.” Even before Courtney became the train wreck she is today, she was hated, obviously in part for being an outspoken woman attached to a famous man.
Also, we tend to remember Kurt as a saint, but he was a paranoid, delusional drug addict (who didn’t shower) who killed himself and left his infant daughter with another drug addict.
I adore her for all the same reasons everyone hates her. She is incredibly well-read and always interesting, and she literally always makes me laugh. Of course, she is Borderline Personality.
Anyone who wants to give her any kind of credit obviously omits her terrible history or is ignorant. The negative so outweighs anything good that I can’t understand how you can stick up for her. Go back at look at all of her story and thrn all you’ll be able to see is a terrible human being from having the facts. She’s nasty. She is not well read. She is not anyone to look up to. She is human trash & even she knows that. Stop trying to find these good things in her, it doesn’t exist. Whatever you could maybe label as good is fake, shes plastic literally. I’ve been hoping to see an obit pop up for years but just like people like Henry Kissinger those evil people somehow live far to long. Fuck that cunt. I’d take Madonna over her any day and I hate Madonna too. Stop trying to whitewash her. Stop with that ignorant bullshit. I understand that people make mistakes but when 97% of your life is mistake after mistake, it’s just who the fuck you are. I wish Kurt never met her, he might still be with us but 2ho knows. I just hope Kurt’s daughter has learned a lesson on exactly what to be the exact opposite of and moves on. She sucks at life & I’d applaud her giving up.