Top 10 Celebrity Sites

Courtney Love came by our offices yesterday for lunch on a break frm promoting her new book, Dirty Blonde: The Diaries of Courtney Love. Love is officially clean and sober: She looks healthy, sounds healthy and eats healthy (”no carbs, please”) but she’s still the same riotous, outspoken, attention-seeking, feminist punk-rock scholar she used to be before Mel Gibson helped her get off the stuff once and for all. We asked Courtney to tell us a little bit about the last few years of her life. She told us she thought Court TV covered it all pretty well. We laughed, then we let her talk and now we’re gonna let you hear what she said.

• Courtney on the bad, brown acid at Altamont, for which she claims her father was directly responsible. She also says her family’s photo appears on the back of the Grateful Dead’s Aoxomoxoa. Listen here.
• Courtney on what music she’s been listening to of late and what new bands she knows she’s supposed to like. Listen here.
• Courtney on her future tours, and her visit to AA with a certain other famously, gloriously messy rock chick. Listen here.
• Courtney on downloading and Bono. Listen here.
• Courtney clears the air re: her sale of a portion of Nirvana’s publishing, and her standing with Kris and Dave. Listen here.

After our long chat, we succeeded in coaxing Courtney into playing us an impromptu version of one of her new songs. She shot the rest of a Diet Coke and pulled out a plain acoustic guitar to play a raspy, absurdly awesome version of a new track, “Never Go Hungry Again.” This proud confessional combines simple folk-rock soundcraft with the gutteral scream and lyrical fire of a never-to-be-retired riot grrrl. “It’s time for me to take a stand, it’s time for me to be a man,” Courtney screeched, her voice serrated and raw. It’s 1994 all over again. Damn.