“She might be a safe space for girls, and she’s probably the Madonna of now, but she’s not interesting as an artist,” says the Hole rock singer
Courtney Love, Taylor Swift (CREDIT: Getty Images)
Courtney Love isn’t a Taylor Swift fan, which shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with the outspoken Hole lead rock singer.
“Taylor is not important. She might be a safe space for girls, and she’s probably the Madonna of now, but she’s not interesting as an artist,” Love told The Standard in a new interview.
As for Madonna herself, there’s never been any love lost between the grunge queen and the Material Girl.
“I don’t like her and she doesn’t like me. I loved ‘Desperately Seeking Susan,’ but for the city of New York as much as her,” Love said of the 1985 Madonna film.
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Love, who was married to Nirvana legend Kurt Cobain, also advised Lana Del Rey to “take seven years off” after her choice to cover a John Denver song.
“Up until ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads,’ I thought she was great,” Love said.
What female singers does the non-Swiftie approve of? Legends like Nina Simone and others who have been around for a long time, such as punk godmothers Patti Smith and Blondie’s Debbie Harry, as well as folk singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Love also likes British singer PJ Harvey, but added she only liked Harvey’s ’90s music. “The first four albums, then I’m done,” Love said.
Love has just finished her memoir, “The Girl With the Most Cake,” as well as a new solo album that the Standard interviewer called “the missing link between early Lana Del Rey and mid-period Marianne Faithful, but with the maturity of Bob Dylan.”
The London-based singer is also presenting a new eight-part series, “Courtney Love’s Women,” on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Sounds.
“It’s great that there are so many successful women in the music industry, but lots of them are becoming a cliché,” said Love. “Now, every successful woman is cloned, so there is just too much music. They’re all the same. If you play something on Spotify, you get bombarded with a lot of stuff that’s exactly the same.”
Oh, and she’s not really a Beyoncé fan, although she respects her Cowboy Carter album… as a concept.
“I like the idea of Beyoncé doing a country record because it’s about Black women going into spaces where previously only white women have been allowed, not that I like it much. As a concept, I love it. I just don’t like her music,” she said.
