Billy Corgan interviews Courtney Love: barbs on '90s indie and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon – The video

In the new episode of “The Magnificent Others,” Billy Corgan hosts Courtney Love, in a way closing a circle opened in the previous episode with Melissa Auf der Maur. If back then Love's name loomed in the background, this time she's at the center of a conversation that quickly slides from promoting new material – a solo album still without a release date, previewed by the documentary “Antiheroine,” which premiered at Sundance – to an unfiltered rereading of the American alternative scene of the '90s.

Below is the full video interview.

During the conversation with Corgan, Courtney Love recounts having to write an actual fawning letter to convince Kim Gordon to produce the debut album by Hole, admitting that the experience also shaped the record's sonic direction, making it more abrasive and more in line with the scene's expectations. “The real compromise was bending to that market,” she notes. Corgan, for his part, recalls how part of the Olympia riot grrrl scene accused her of fabricating a false narrative about her origins in order to gain credibility alongside Kurt Cobain.

From there the conversation widens to the role of so-called “gatekeepers,” the figures tasked with policing indie rock's integrity. Corgan speaks openly of “pervasive pettiness,” pointing to Sonic Youth as one of the poles of that system. “He was never a gatekeeper, but his partner was the worst,” he says, referring to Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. Love confirms the climate: “It really was horrible in the '90s… everyone was so mean,” recalling episodes shared with Corgan, who adds: “I was a fan… but I was treated very rudely.”

The tensions are nothing new. In her memoir "Girl In A Band" (2015), Kim Gordon had described Courtney Love as an egocentric, manipulative personality, while dismissing Billy Corgan as “a whiner” and the Smashing Pumpkins as a band that “took itself too seriously” to really be considered punk-rock. In the same book, Gordon recalls with disgust the time Love told her about her “secret relationship” with Corgan, an episode that implicitly resurfaces in the exchange between the two.

Speaking of that brief but significant relationship, Love claims it influenced part of “Siamese Dream,” while Corgan later reportedly also contributed to the writing of some songs on “Celebrity Skin.”

Alongside the reminiscing, Love also offers some updates on the present. The new album will feature Will Sergeant: “He plays these incredible solos… dreams do come true,” she says, underlining the symbolic weight of a collaboration born from a meeting dating back to the early '80s.

Finally, there's also room for talk of her historically fraught relationship with Dave Grohl. Love claims things are calm between them these days, but asks for a public acknowledgment: “Just say it, admit we're good… I'd really love it if your fanbase stopped coming after me.” Corgan confirms the truce: “Dave has no problem with you.”

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