“As remembered by Courtney Love, Flea, Billy Corgan and more…”
I know… we are still waiting on some news about Courtney’s own memoir The Girl With the Most Cake but I am very, very excited to know that Jennifer was able to finish her book before passing away recently.
Courtney’s new Instagram post finally confirms that the album is finished, but she also says, “I’m just tapping in, figuring out how to roll this out” and “I just need to understand how to do this.”
Perhaps she’s a little apprehensive and genuinely figuring out how to release this record. Or maybe everything is already carefully planned and she’s just teasing us before making a huge splash. Who knows?
She did mention that she was going off to do some of that “analog stuff” for the next few weeks, which, in my opinion, could very well mean sitting down and recording the audiobook word for word. But again, who knows…
In case she really is still figuring it out, maybe this is our chance to put our two cents in. 😂 How would YOU roll out Died Blonde?
Personally, I think Courtney should capitalize on September. Melissa is doing her exhibition, releasing new music and putting out a new book at the beginning of the month. And the book is essentially a celebration of Hole through photographs. I think Courtney should show up in Toronto, support Melissa’s exhibition and projects, and help bring even more attention to everything happening.
THEN, right in the middle of September, Courtney could drop a killer first single on Spotify accompanied by a music video on YouTube — ideally just before Eric’s archival campaign and the Hole reissues begin rolling out.
That could create some serious synergy between everyone’s projects. Melissa’s, Courtney’s and Eric’s. The word of mouth would be insane. September could basically become a full-on Hole extravaganza.
And the timing actually works. Artists seem to be releasing lead singles two or three months before an album these days, so Courtney could drop the first single in September, follow it with a second single in October or November, and finally release Died Blonde in December — which, as she’s said before, is the timeframe she’s wanted.
By then, the memoir should also be finished, so December could potentially become the month when the memoir, documentary and album all finally enter the world.
Then Courtney could spend the beginning of 2027 doing the book tour and attending the documentary premiere. The press surrounding all three projects could work together beautifully and finally give her the opportunity to tell the story she has been working so hard to bring into the world.
No one tells her story but her.
And after that? Tour. Melissa’s got new music so she could be opening for Courtney, which would be incredible. And who knows — perhaps Courtney could even open for Michael Stipe, who also sings on the record and is releasing his own record this year. Imagine all three of them on tour together and singing on Courtney’s set!
Anyway, those are my two cents — just in case Courtney really is out there trying to “figure it out.” 😂
What do you guys think? How would you roll out Died Blonde? What are your ideas and suggestions? In case she’s reading this for ideas…
Well, July has come and gone, and we still haven’t heard anything official about Courtney’s memoir The Girl with the Most Cake.
I know I probably come across as an optimistic fan, but I honestly think August is when we’ll finally get an announcement. My reasoning is pretty simple: publishers usually announce books at least four months before they’re released, so an August announcement would line up nicely with a December date.
That also fits with Courtney’s long-standing plan to release the album, Died Blonde around Christmas—a timeframe she’s been talking about since 2013 (for some reason she seems pretty adamant about Christmas 🤷🏻♂️- she said because “important things happen in that time of year”).
Since autumn officially runs from September 22 through December 21, the timing actually makes a lot of sense.
Maybe I’m completely wrong, but if the memoir is really coming out in 2026, then August must be the month we’ll finally hear something.
One last thing: keep an eye on Tuesdays. They’re traditionally the day publishers announce and release books, so if news is coming, that’s the day I’d be watching.
I’m focusing on the memoir because books have a longer span of time from announcement to release date than records (4-6 months vs 2 months). So if we hear about the book, that means news about the record are very close behind…
The announcement that the soon-to-be-released restored trilogy is “part of a comprehensive archival campaign overseen by founding guitarist Eric Erlandson” is incredibly encouraging.
With every new detail, it becomes more apparent that this is about much more than three reissues.
The phrase comprehensive archival campaign I assume suggests there’s a broader vision for Hole’s catalog, and hopefully, much more previously unreleased material waiting in the wings.
It’s an exciting time to be a Hole fan. 🙌🏼
Melissa posted this to her stories just six hours ago.
“Message Received”?!?!
I know Courtney has said that the band is NOT getting back together but what if it’s all been a distraction and Patty and Eric are THE BAND for Died Blonde? 🤔
I mean, Melissa is already onboard…
And add Will Sergeant in the mix 🙌🏼
We will find out shortly, I guess.
The world of Hole is going through a renaissance. And it’s time…
Melissa had talked about it earlier in the year in now deleted video she made with Courtney Love when they met back in January but then didn’t mention much about it so I didn’t want to spoil it.
This no longer smells like just a reissue.
Guys, this might just be the date we’ve been waiting for; when everything comes out…
Small Courtney Love mention in this article.
After reading it, you can tell Courtney is a keen student of Echo & the Bunnymen. Not only does the trajectory of this record mirror some of the travails surrounding Died Blonde, but Ian McCulloch expresses himself with the same ego and swagger Courtney has often displayed herself. 😆
Also, Andrea Wright (I believe the article misspelled her name as “White” 🤷🏻♂️) gets a mention. She helped Will Sergeant with the Pro Tools work* on Died Bl*onde.
Courtney has long cited Echo & the Bunnymen as her biggest musical influence, and has repeatedly called Will Sergeant her favorite guitarist of all time.
In her documentary, Antiheroine, she recalls seeing the band rehearse as a teenager in Liverpool, describing the experience as “magical” and saying it changed her life forever.
For those of you who missed this conversation between Butch Walker, the producer of ‘Died Blonde’ and Scott Lipps, who’s played drums with Courtney Love before.
From Scott Lipps’ podcast ‘Lipps Service”.
Melissa discusses her revitalized relationship with Courtney Love; singing in her new album and how they could not have planned for the synergy of their projects in 2026.
Things have been a bit quiet lately…
According to Courtney, there are a total of 14 songs. However, this past December, Butch Walker (Died Blonde’s producer) appeared as a guest on Scott Lipps’ Lipps Service Podcast, where he mentioned there are “eleven bangers” in the bag. Then, four weeks ago in May, Will Sergeant from Echo & the Bunnymen (historically known to be Courtney’s favorite guitarist of all time) appeared on the XS Noize Podcast with Mark Millar and said he was given free rein to play guitar over 11 tracks.
Which makes me wonder: why wasn’t he sent the remaining three songs to put his magic on? 🤷🏻♂️
I’m very excited to mention that Sergeant also said, “I took it completely somewhere else from what it was,” which aligns with what Courtney herself said: “He’s on this album and elevating songs beyond description.”
Personally, I can’t wait to hear what these two have cooked up.
I had the chance to see an early cut of her documentary, Antiheroine, at Sundance earlier this year in January, and there are snippets of Twisted Little Mermaid and Kinda Beautiful, which sound crazy good and amazing. But again, it makes me wonder about those remaining three tracks. I’d definitely want to hear Sergeant’s magic on those as well… 🤷🏻♂️
In any case, when it comes to the release date, Courtney mentioned that the record was delayed until fall even though it’s done.
For the remainder of 2026, we can look forward to new albums from The Rolling Stones and The Strokes in July, releases from Weezer and Marilyn Manson in August, but still no official date for Died Blonde or Michael Stipe’s new album 🤷🏻♂️
(By the way, I have a feeling those two would tour together… but who knows.)
Regarding the songs, there are currently 10 tracks that have been registered in ASCAP and BMI:
Died Blonde
Kill F*ck Marry
Kinda Beautiful
King James Dagger
LA, You’re a C*nt
Liz Taylor Blue
Star Spangled Bitches
Swans
Twisted Little Mermaid
7/11
That leaves that “11th banger” out of the registry. Perhaps this is one she doesn’t want to give away just yet…
Note: Courtney is known for delivering 12-tracks records. I keep hearing “11 bangers,” but please… at least 12 (just in case Courtney’s management is reading 😭). At one point I was expecting a double album from Died Blonde, but that’s a discussion for another day… shiiiiiiiet…
As mentioned before, Courtney did say there were a total of 14 tracks. So where are the other three?
From the demos that leaked a few years ago, there were three additional songs: Strawberry Fields Whatever, One Big Bruise, and the much-talked-about Justice For Kurt.
Regarding the latter, Courtney said this one would not come out with the record because it would swallow the narrative, and she’d prefer to release it months after Died Blonde comes out.
Perhaps it will be part of a deluxe version of the record?
Last but not least, Courtney’s memoir, The Girl With the Most Cake, written by both Courtney herself and her friend Julie Panebianco, is also scheduled to come out this fall, but still no official release date.
And the documentary, Antiheroine, should be receiving its final finishing touches before release, but there’s very limited information on this.
To my understanding, this is a sort of “trifecta” project in which each release (album, memoir, documentary) will synergize with the others.
I’m not sure what Courtney’s management plan is for releasing these, but my guess is that dropping a new single along with a release date for the album would be the best way to generate buzz for the other projects.
So let’s see how this all pans out.
It’s worth mentioning that Melissa Auf der Maur’s memoir, which came out in March, and her book tour have created enough buzz and discussion around all things Hole. Melissa is also doing an exhibition of her photography in Toronto and releasing her next book, My ’90s Rock Photographs, in early September of this year, which will undoubtedly generate even more buzz.
Plus, there are rumors that Hole’s MTV Unplugged is coming out next year (I wrote a fake article last year - it’s a fever dream about all things Hole and Courtney Love that have yet to see the light of day and I swear we’ve sort of been slowly manifesting everything I wrote there)…
I’m no expert, but in the past few months I’ve noticed somewhat of a resurgence in interest on social media and in the press regarding Hole and Courtney Love — discussions around Olivia Rodrigo’s use of babydoll dresses and mentioning Courtney as one of her idols; Slayyyter saying the same in a recent interview; Katseye referencing Hole in their latest music video; Pitchfork’s recent review of Celebrity Skin; etc.
These all seem like signs that the stars are aligning, the time is ripe, and the way is made for Courtney Love to make her entrance.
Of course, this could all be part of the Courtney machine working behind the scenes — but nevertheless, I’m very excited that it’s all happening this year.
In any case, this is just me ranting and organizing the latest information we’ve got on the several projects while we wait.
But official, significant dates should be arriving very, very soon.
🖖🏼 Janjo
Will Sergeant from Echo and the Bunnymen talks about working on 11 songs from Courtney Love's new upcoming album, Died Blonde.
"I took it completely somewhere else from what it was"
From the XS Noize Podcast with Mark Millar.
Courtney just activated her Facebook page along with her Twitter/X account.
She's got all her socials running now, except TikTok.
I’m guessing this means the time for real advertisement and marketing for her documentary, memoir and album is upon us...
* NOTE: I just received some backlash for posting an AI pic of Courtney using a picture of Joan of Arc as a template. And in a way I saw it coming but I thought it was nice enough looking that others would like to see as well? I guess I’ve learned a lesson here.
So instead, here’s an original sketch made by me. In one of my spurts of inspiration for Hole coming back together I came up with the idea to present the band as knights/warriors (very much a classic “boy drawing” 😆).
-Melissa went through a Viking phase wearing her Viking hat onstage and said she had visions of her Viking forefathers as she played onstage. Eric and Courtney I wanted to present as classic knights and for Patty, I was inspired by how she looked in the Celebrity Skin photo shoots - she almost had “ninja clothes” so that’s why I presented her that way.
So Courtney just activated her Facebook page along with her Twitter/X account. She’s got all her socials running now. I guess TikTok is missing 🤔
The time for real advertisement and marketing for her documentary, memoir and album is about to get real…
*Don’t hate me for the AI image 🙏🏼…