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SOUND
AFFECTS
Courtney Love deserves some credit for most recent antics ROSS RAIHALA Originally published December 14, 2001
I fully realize that, particularly in this town, there are a lot of people who don't exactly like Courtney Love.
And, hey, that's cool. But, in Love's defense, she's got to score at least a few points for recently ... kicking a mime.
The incident took place back in October when she opened for Jane's Addiction in Los Angeles. Perry Farrell, it seems, has a thing for the circus and had employed various jugglers and, yes, mimes to accompany his band.
As Love described it: "I couldn't help it, the mime was rehearsing on my stage and I was like, 'Uhh, mime, you can do that in the mirror.' The damn mime wouldn't move, so I just gave him a teensy little, you know, kick."
That quote was pulled from a massive Courtney Love cover story in the Dec. 1 issue of New Musical Express. Writer James Oldham seems fully aware of Love's well-publicized desire to manipulate, but said "the fact that she's probably using NME as a part of a wider plan seems almost beside the point."
Love invited the NME to trail her over the three-day October weekend that included the mime-booting, plenty of live performing and the 30th birthday party for Winona Ryder (remember her, the one who used to be a good actress?).
The resulting story is pretty fascinating and well worth tracking down in its entirety.
Among other things, Love played the fabled, unreleased Nirvana track "You Know You're Right" for the NME.
The verdict: "The song is melodic, but confrontational. (Kurt) Cobain's voice has rarely sounded so guttural and forceful -- which is really saying something ... Love is right that the song has great artistic and commercial value." (Charles R. Cross echoed that sentiment when I interviewed him back in August upon the release of his book "Heavier than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain.")
"You Know You're Right" is at the center of the current battle between Love and the surviving members of Nirvana, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl. The latter had planned to include the song in a box set of unreleased Nirvana material that, had they gotten their way, would likely be on store shelves right now.
But Love blocked the release of the box set with a lawsuit. Her manager (and boyfriend) James Barber claimed the song is "a potential hit of extraordinary artistic and commercial value" that would be better placed on a single-disc Nirvana best-of as opposed to a multi-disc, higher-priced box set.
In the story, Love said it's not about money: "I don't use Cobain's money. It goes to my daughter. I make my own money. I have a thing about 'his' money, I don't feel it's mine and I don't feel I earned it. It's for Frances."
Speaking of Frances Bean Cobain, Oldham writes of meeting the 9-year-old: "(it's) a shock ... (she) really has Kurt's eyes."
Other news from the story:
- Portland director Gus Van Sant is supposedly planning to make a film biography of Cobain, and Courtney said she was asked to play herself in the movie: "Can you believe that?" she asked.
- Winona Ryder apparently likes the new Ryan Adams CD "Gold," which is rumored to be all about Ryder's unceremonious dumping of Adams.
- Love, erm, loves her cigarettes: "when she isn't talking, she's busy smoking like a forest fire."
Sleater-Kinney live
Meanwhile, in the world of musical women who actually make music, the Olympia-bred trio Sleater-Kinney are playing a pair of shows this weekend at the Showbox in Seattle.
Although the band had declared 2001 a year of rest from all things Sleater-Kinney, Carrie Brownstein explained the reasoning behind the shows in an e-mail:
"We are in the midst of writing a new album and like to play the songs live a few times before we record. They tend to change shape and show their true form when placed within a live context. Sometimes it is easier to feel what works and what doesn't. We also really miss playing live. It is our favorite part of being in a band, the connection with an audience, it's a visceral and spontaneous experience."
Sleater-Kinney play a 21-and-up show at 9 p.m. today and an all-ages show at 6 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $10 from Fastixx.com.
And if you can't make it this weekend, Sleater-Kinney has another date scheduled for Jan. 11 at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland.
Ross Raihala covers music for The Olympian. Send news and Top 10 lists to OlyRoss@aol.com. The Olympian Copyright 2001 back to main SOUND AFFECTS index
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