Venue: Late Show with David Letterman
Location: New York, NY
Hole Lineup: Courtney Love (Guitar/Vocals), Eric Erlandson (Guitar), Melissa Auf der Maur (Bass/Background Vocals), and Samantha Maloney (Drums).
NOTE: This is a transcript of Courtney’s interview with David Letterman, which preceded Hole’s performance.
DL: Our next guest is an acclaimed actress and the leader of a great rock ‘n roll band, Hole. Uh, their current CD, look, I got it right here (he shows the CD) – it’s called Celebrity Skin. Here she is, Courtney Love. Courtney…
Audience applauds.
Courtney walks out. David walks over to her and kisses her hand. They go over to the chairs/desk together.
Courtney waves at the audience. The audience applauds.
Courtney sits down in a chair and David sits behind his desk.
DL: Welcome to the show.
CL: Hi.
DL: Hi. Do you like being on TV?
CL: I’ve never been on a talk show.
DL: Really? You’ve never been on a talk show before?
CL: No, never. You’re my first one.
DL: Well, if that’s true, thank you. Thank you anyway for being here.
CL: Uh, yeah, I’ve been waiting for years.
DL: Well, uh, uh, what should we know about you that we don’t know? I understand that there’s a lot of stuff that people think they know about you. Maybe a lot of misconceptions, a lot of stuff that’s true, obviously.
CL: Should I clear ’em all up now?
DL: Yeah, well, take your favorite shot here – what would you like to clear up?
CL: Um, nothing, I’m just…I’m just happy to be looking at you, Dave.
DL: Oh, listen to that.
Audience applauds.
CL: I am, you know. Every…every smart girl in America has a crush on him.
David laughs.
Audience applauds.
DL: Well, my God.
CL: It’s true. (Laughs)
DL: Well, you know what they say – smart girls like dumb guys.
CL: Yeah, I wonder who the dumb girls…who the dumb girls have a crush on though, I don’t know.
DL: Uh, you know, I found this interesting – you, uh, you met uh, uh, Al Gore.
CL: I did.
DL: Now, that’s uh, that’s, uh, visually that’s a nice combination.
CL: There’s pictures.
DL: Yeah. Where was this? What was it, a recent event?
CL: No, it was uh, yeah…it was uh, about a year ago. It was a dinner party in…in Hollywood.
DL: Now, now…don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m…I…I…but how do you…I mean, why would they invite…I mean, why would they…
CL: That’s what I asked.
DL: Are you a registered Democrat?
CL: Yes.
DL: Well, I guess that’s how it goes.
CL: That’s enough, right? No, he has a guy, like, uh, Stephanopolous is to Clinton.
DL: Right.
CL: This guy, I forget his name…Schwartz or something.
DL: Yeah, I think it is Schwartz.
David looks at the camera, like ‘WTF do I know?’ The audience laughs.
CL: Is it? Ok.
Audience laughs.
CL: I wanted to get through this without one eyeroll.
DL: You’re fine.
CL: And I just got it, it’s down hill.
DL: You’re fine, you’re fine – it’s me, relax, you’re talking to a married man now.
CL: I…really? I thought you just…
DL: Ms. Helen Hunt and I are married.
CL: I saw that.
DL: Yes, sir.
CL: She took away my fire.
DL: Huh?
CL: I was coming out here to get the ring off your hand.
DL: Oh, we can make room for you.
Audience laughs.
CL: I sat…I sat next to this guy, this Schwartz guy and I said, ‘Why am I here?’ and he said, uh, (Deep voice) ‘We want your vote, Courtney, we want your vote.’
David laughs.
CL: Like I’m their demographic.
DL: How did that make you feel?
CL: Powerful and cheap at the same time.
Audience laughs.
DL: So did you…did you actually get to talk with the Vice President?
CL: Yeah, it was a dinner, it was a lot of big Hollywood swells and I…I felt a little funny with them – and I went out to the smoker’s section and no one smokes, so I was alone in all of Hollywood and Al…Al came out to meet me and he said, ‘Hi. I’m a really big fan of yours’ and I said, you know what, ‘Name a song.’
Audience laughs.
CL: And he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t do it – and funnily enough, he was very charming, he was very charming, um, but funnily enough, his wife, Tipper…
DL: Tipper.
CL: Did you know that Tipper was in a band, she was in an all-girl band and she was a kick-ass drummer? This is a fact.
DL: No, really?
CL: I swear, it’s a patented fact. They had a 7 inch out and everything.
DL: (Laughs) Tipper was a drummer? Paul, can you verify this?
PS: I cannot, I was not aware of that.
CL: It’s true.
PS: They had a 7 inch out, really?
DL: Paul…
Audience laughs.
CL: Vinyl. Do you remember vinyl?
PS: Vinyl. Vinyl.
CL: Vinyl, it was this thing. Vinyl. Does anyone remember Vinyl?
PS: I know. A big single. ?? play single.
DL: He’s Canadian, I’m sorry.
CL: Oh.
DL: And how did the President seem to you as a guy, because now, you know they’re saying…
CL: The President, he’s not the President yet…
DL: The Vice President. They’re saying that he’s having…his campaign is already kind of having a little trouble.
CL: Is it?
DL: That’s what they say, I don’t know.
CL: We had a Q&A at the end, at desert.
DL: What does that mean?
CL: That means that all the bigwigs got to ask him a question, and there was, you know, everyone was asking very relevant questions and they…
DL: And what did you ask him?
CL: Well, I was trying to be important and thoughtful. I asked him about hemp, like legalizing…
Audience applauds.
CL: I’m really…I’m really good friends with Woody Harrelson.
DL: (Laughs) Uh huh.
CL: I’ve never…I haven’t smoked pot since I was a child.
Audience laughs.
CL: So it’s not about pot, it isn’t about pot, but he really… Woody really convinced me about the value of hemp, really, that like…
DL: There other applications for hemp than…
CL: Paper.
DL: In it’s industrial form, you can’t…you can’t really smoke it anyway…
CL: You can’t get…you can’t smoke it at all anyway. I mean, it’s a real thing, but they laughed at me just like they did…
DL: Really? Well, we’ll see what happens when you know…
CL: I didn’t make a big impression.
DL: And you also know Drew Barrymore.
CL: Yeah, she’s one of my…
DL: You’re like old, old friends, right?
CL: She’s one of my best friends.
DL: And when did you meet?
CL: I met her in a bathroom, we were smoking, and I was nineteen and she was, like, eight (Laughs).
Audience laughs.
DL: A beautiful story, that’s a beautiful story.
CL: She’s um, she’s taught me about a lot of stuff.
DL: You know, it’s uh, I don’t know, but I think there are many, many obvious and probably not so obvious parallels from her life to your life, because here’s a kid and she’s still a kid now and boy, boy, I mean, what were her chances, you could have counted her out like 10, 15 years ago, but she survived, she persevered, and she hung on and now she’s on top of the world…
CL: And she’s America’s sweetheart.
DL: That’s right.
Audience applauds.
DL: She’s a nice, nice woman, isn’t she?
CL: She’s probably my best friend…one of my best friends.
DL: And what is it like when you…when you get together, how do you compliment one another?
CL: Um, I’m really, really nice and she’s really, really dark.
DL: Really?
CL: (Laughs) No, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Uh, what’s…I don’t know, we hang out, we do stuff, we barbecue.
DL: No, you don’t.
CL: Yes, we do!
DL: You don’t barbecue.
CL: We…she’s very down to earth, she’s taught me a lot about being more grounded and barbecuing and things like that.
David laughs.
DL: You were in Australia – how long ago was the show in Australia where you took your shirt off?
CL: See, I took off my shirt in Australia, that’s what he’s referring to.
Audience applauds.
CL: My zipper, my zipper busted and I just said, ‘You know what, forget it.’
DL: Yeah.
CL: I took it off.
DL: You took the whole thing off, so you were saying…
CL: And I learned that from Drew, but I learned that from Drew.
DL: Ok, wait a minute, I’m trying to hang on to this image, hang on a second. You’re on stage and from the waist up, you’re naked.
CL: Because of Drew…Drew dancing…
DL: Yeah, this has got to be…I’m no rock ‘n roller, but this has got to be a crowd pleaser.
Audience applauds.
CL: I thought it was a feminist statement.
DL: You did?
CL: Yes.
DL: Is it part of the show now, do you…
CL: No, ’cause the next night, the ticket sales doubled and I said, they’re not seeing this as a feminist statement, I’m gonna knock it off.
DL: Alright.
CL: And it was Australia, I never thought you’d find out about it.
DL: Is your career…you’re acting now…this is…this is your typical talk show question – what do you like more, the music or the acting?
CL: I like ’em both.
DL: Like ’em both? They’re both excellent forms of expression, aren’t they?
CL: Yes. And as I get older, I uh…
DL: How old are you now?
CL: 22. (Laughs)
DL: 22?
Audience laughs.
CL: I’m uh…23. I’m not telling you how old I am.
DL: Lemme guess, lemme guess how old you are…
CL: I’m old enough that kids throw ti…you know, teletubbies at me at shows.
DL: Really?
CL: Yeah, that what the audience does, they throw dolls, they throw teletubbies at me.
DL: You’re 27.
CL: (Laughs) Yeah.
Audience laughs.
DL: Your career is evolving in a very interesting way, do you sometimes find yourself kind of confused by everything that has come and passed in your life already?
CL: Yes and sometimes I get confused if I have a…you know, I had a…I was at the MTV Video Awards, I…I…I was just…no one was getting anything right and I was just a raging diva and I was really angry and the next day I went to a movie set and everyone was getting everything right and someone came in and said, you know, ‘This dress is too sheer, why don’t you wear a slip?’ (Angry voice) ‘What are you talking about?’, then I was like oh God, I’m sorry, yeah maybe you’re right, so the difference in energies between rock, which is much more violent and aggressive and movies, which is much more genteel.
DL: You’re gonna…you’re gonna sing here with the band and everything later?
CL: Yeah, we’re gonna play.
DL: Alright, we’ll be back here, ladies and gentlemen, with Courtney Love and Hole.
(Commercial break)
DL: Yessiree, ladies and gentlemen, ok, are we all set? Everybody ready, here we go. This is the current CD, it’s Celebrity Skin. Please welcome, Hole.
-AWFUL
After the song ends, Courtney stands on Sam’s drum riser. She falls back, landing on her butt on the stage.
DL: Are you ok? Is everybody alright?
Courtney is holding up her hand like she hurt a finger.
CL: You asked for punk.