Courtney Love: Queen of Noise

by Melissa Rossi

"I am not a woman. I'm a force of nature." Courtney Love knows exactly what she is. She created demon diva, goddess of grunge, media super-icon, wife of the late rock megastar Kurt Cobain. Lead singer of the band Hole, her persona is larger than life -- bellowing, ranting, riling up the masses. She was made for the spotlight, and she rules it like a dark angel, her on- and offstage presence seething with such power, venom, and raw sexual fury that she obliterates everyone else on the music scene today. "I want to be the girl with the most cake." Courtney Love may have achieved her goal of becoming a self-made celebrity, but her hungry climb to fame wasn't easy. It took her from a troubled childhood to the sleazy underworld of strip joints to the hardcore drug scene. She was institutionalized as a juvenile delinquent, tormented as a rock groupie, and driven to near suicide as a grieving widow. Then there was her tumultuous relationship with Kurt Cobain -- a sweet-and-sour marriage of twisted passion that ended tragically with a shotgun blast. Here at last the true Courtney Love is revealed...the headstrong hellraiser in a baby-doll dress...the raucous performer ripping up the airwaves, at war with her public image and herself...the unstoppable survivor forever rising from the ashes only to burn more brightly....

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

265 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[East Bay J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never heard anything good about Courtney Love from anyone who's met her. Of course, I've only met a handful of people who have been acquainted with her but it has always struck me that eyewitness testimony backs up every despicable, mean spirited, ugly aspect of this woman's character. Delusional. Narcissistic. Selfish. Self absorbed. Manipulative. That's the picture that is painted.

The only three Hole songs I really like are "Dicknail," "Burnblack," and "Rock Star." I've never been much of a fan. When I read this bio in '96, I was out of college and still trying to figure out how I felt about Kurt Cobain killing himself. I can't remember what I thought at that time about this book but, having read it again, I'm not too impressed.

I remember reading the first book on Jeffrey Dahmer that came out after his story hit the news. I remember how horribly tacked together that thing was, the amateurish, magazine style writing, the sense that this thing had been cobbled together as quickly as possible. I remember thinking I finally had mastered the concept of the "hack."

This book is about as far from a traditional bio as you can get. This is straight up tabloid fodder disguised as investigative journalism. It's not that Melissa Rossi can't write, not at all. It's that it seems she's chosen not to.

The language and tone are very lowest common denominator. It's gossipy, bitchy, simplistic and shallow. There are snarky statements throughout the book that would be better placed in a magazine article from a mainstream publication rather than a biography. It's no puff piece, by any means, but it is aimed at what I can't help but think of as an adolescent reading level, conceptually and emotionally.

It's also full of errors. Bikini Kill was not an "all girl" band as Rossi claims. Fugazi was not one of the "original punk bands." There are only two Vaselines covers on Incesticide, not three. Robert Johnson did not write "Where Did You Sleep Last Night." This stuff drives me crazy. It's just completely lazy journalism and most folks, sadly, take what they read as gospel. I mean, what the heck, why don't you just go ahead and make it all up?

I also have a problem with biographers inserting themselves into their biographies. There are several chapters detailing Rossi's involvement with Love and it's just comes off as, "Look at me! Courtney Love asked me to write an article then dissed me!" I seriously didn't need an entire chapter about Rossi being dragged along on a shopping trip with Love. I've said it before and I'll say it again; the biographer should be INVISIBLE. The biographer is not IMPORTANT. It's not the same as when a long time acquaintance writes a memoir about a famous person they know. It's just shameless self promotion that isn't that interesting and isn't at all important to the big picture.

The book definitely did not change my mind about Courtney Love. If anything, it reinforces every negative impression I have of her. I've never bought this argument about her being a strong woman. A strong woman would have the strength to be kind. Courtney is an insecure mess who takes out her insecurities on others. That ain't strength, that's weakness.

No idea why I bothered reading this, except my mom just sent me a box of my old books and this one was in there. Next...

[Ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this trashy bio Courtney burns down people's houses, takes pills, does hard drugs, lies, cheats, steals, strips, name drops, fights, sleeps with everyone and then marries Kurt Cobain.

What's not to like?

[Bonnie Morse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Courtney's been telling us in no uncertain terms who she is--a raging pile of garbage--since day one. Woe that I did not simply believe her and pass up this poorly written book. Still, I did manage to finish it. Mostly to see her explain how she could spend the better part of a year in "the white slave trade" in Japan as a frail teenager who didn't even speak the language and then suddenly get home safely without having lost her virginity. However she does not. Imagine my disappointment.

[Mentai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm revising my stars to three in light of the Portland-based autobiography by Storm someone that I dipped into, which was trying to out-Courtney Courtney in the most terrible way.
Rossi promised moments of insight but they never went anywhere. This was like reading a string of gossip columns and it got progressively worse as the book went on. However, as this is the first unauthorized biography of anyone I've ever read, I have nothing to compare it to. there were certainly times that played on my need for a narrative about drugs and music ! Very inconsistent.

[Tatiana Jimenez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty quick read. The author's writing style is very "magazine copy." I am a big fan of Courtney Love. I have always known that she stepped on a lot of people to get where she is, but I feel like she is a symbol of power for women, yet at the same time, she isn't. This bio was altogether interesting and depressing. I was crying when I read the chapter about Kurt Cobain's suicide. So incredibly sad. Courtney is hyperemotional and the author does a good job telling her story.

[C. J. Scurria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book I read during my teenage years where I was crazy about rebellious music, rock stars that just went wild, and just pretty much almost everything emo.

I have grown up since then but I do remember enjoying this book though the writing at times seemed at times varied from being garbled to coherent and fun to read.

This is the story about the infamous Courtney Love. If you liked that sentence then this book is perfect for you.

[Less_cunning · Rating 4 out of 5]

the prose is very 'magazine copy' & gossipy but i did learn a lot & i thought it was an okay book.

[Patrick Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. The earlier chapters about the early years were interesting. It lost me when the author described Nirvana's first of two concerts in Seattle (07 Jan 1994). It's on pp. 178-179. She purported that Kurt said "Here's the song that ruined our lives and ruined Seattle and ruined yours too." He did not say that. I was at that concert. It was also recounted in the NYT 5-10 years ago. What he said was, "Here's the song that made Seattle America's most livable city." In early 1990s, Bremerton was named "America's most livable city" and he may have been subtly referencing that. The author misquoted him and made it negative, and it seemed to fit in with a larger narrative in the book. Anyway, that misreporting made me wonder how many of the book's other purported occurrences were fictionalized.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This unauthorized biography is going for high dollar prices on the used market. Published in 1996, it ends with a Courtney apparently getting her career on track with the hurdles to get her into The People vs. Larry Flynt and getting past substance abuse. I saw her perform from the stage of St. Andrew's Hall and from what I saw and also heard I think it would be easy to pile up the reports and recollections for a dishy, dirt-filled biography. Inevitably, such content is here while Rossi balances with arguments she triumphed artistically with Hole and quite possibly is responsible for a depressed, suicidal Kurt Cobain spending more time among us than he otherwise would have.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

provocative, inspiring, and sometimes close to home.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Courtney Love is a perfect angel, actually

[Kees · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ik heb het gekregen toen ik in het ziekenhuis en had het snel uit. Het boek leest makkelijk weg en geeft wel een indruk van deze dame. Of het ook klopt is weet ik niet. Wat ik persoonlijk leuk vind dat er allerlei bandjes langs komen, waar ik toendertijd ook naar luisterde en zelfs naar toe ging., zoals de butt hole surfers, echo and the bunnymen, faith no more en sonic youth.
Mijn mening over Courtney Love is niet echt veranderd. Ze is vooral bekend als weduwe van Kurt Cobain en teert ze nog steeds op zijn roem is mijn indruk. Zelf heeft ze niet veel talent en is het vooral een bitch, die iedereen manipuleert en verdere overal een puinhoop achterlaat. Maar ze heeft ook wel een klote jeugd gehad.
Zo komt het in ieder geval in dit boek. Het is daarom jammer dat de schrijfster op het einde van het boek een draai maakt, waarbij ze Courtney Love de hemel inprijst als self-made woman. Dat dit ten koste gaat van andere mensen is blijkbaar niet relevant.
Het laatste deel van het boek is zo ie zo niet sterk: er wordt weinig tot niks verteld over haar relatie met haar dochter in de periode 94-96.

[dearlittledeer · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'd already read poppy z. brite's courtney love biography (the real story) so i couldn't wait to compare it to this one. the author thanks rozz rezzabek (courtney's lame ex) and hank harrison (biodad) in the acknowledgements, so i could tell it wouldn't be totally pro-c.lo. funny how certain incidents (court versus k. hanna at lollapalooza, for instance) can be told from totally different perspectives. it's important to take anything you read about courtney with a grain of salt. but man, her alleged life story makes for such great reading. props to melissa rossi for the "who's who/what's what" section in the front, and making me feel all cool when she mentions certain seattle hangouts where i've actually hung out.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in college...it's official she's insane but has lead a really interesting/crazy life! An inside look of the Rock star life.

[Coleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

a story about a girl

[Scarlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fan or foe, a good inspiring and emotionally turbulent read.

[Laverne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok but didn't like it