YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 146 (Gaping Orifice)
(Originally finalized on July 7, 2025)
Preface: Apologies for the vulgar title, but it seems appropriate for this week's subject matter. Last quarter, we made a digression into the nineties. This week is going to be a little different, but it's in a similar spirit. Although I've since learned to appreciate the musical contributions Nirvana made to the landscape of grunge, unlike a lot of my generational peers, I never went through a phase of being obsessed with Kurt Cobain. However, I did at some point after the fact go back and explore the music of Courtney Love (who was married to Cobain at the time of his suicide), and her band Hole. It's raw, and not for everyone, but I discovered something of a therapeutic catharsis in its pain and anger and frustration laid bare, frequently manifested in the form of repeated mantra. That's what I want to showcase this week.
Monday: Hole - Dicknail [released as a single, 1991]
Comments: Recorded during the band's second studio session, this was not Hole's first single, but it still predated their debut album. The roaring vitriol with which Courtney addresses the harrowing subject matter (something this band doesn't shy away from) - with references to molestation and subsequent retaliatory violence - really sells it; it's hard to believe she's not drawing from firsthand experience. "You know she liked it. Well, she was asking for it."
Tuesday: Hole - Good Sister/Bad Sister [Pretty On The Inside, 1991]
Comments: In '91 Hole released their debut album, filled with songs about rape, violence, abortion, suicide, and prostitution. Appropriately titled Pretty On The Inside, its sonically abrasive nature belies a compelling artistry, evident in its emotional power and stinging lyrics that cut right through to the heart of human pathos. While some describe it as barely listenable, it nevertheless has a dedicated following. "I try but I can't and I want to so bad and..."
Wednesday: Hole - Mrs. Jones [Pretty On The Inside, 1991]
Comments: Courtney Love is the face of Hole, but lead guitarist and co-songwriter Eric Erlandson deserves mention. His screeching feedback and droning power chords are the perfect foil for Love's howling vocals. This song allegedly describes a rape scene, but honestly, I don't pick out the story so much as groove to the vibe. On the Myers-Briggs personality test, these songs would definitely score Feeling over Thinking. "Don't ask me again. Don't ever talk to me like that again."
Thursday: Hole - Violet [Live Through This, 1994]
Comments: Hole's second album represents undeniable musical growth. It's more melodic, with more conventional song structures, while still possessing an unbridled energy. I consider it the perfect blend between the raw power demonstrated on the band's first recordings (which are not without their own particular appeal), and the more commercial-friendly sound that would be heard on their next album. "Go on, take everything. Take everything - I want you to."
Friday: Hole - Asking For It [Live Through This, 1994]
Comments: As a latecomer to this music, I've mercifully been spared most of the drama surrounding Courtney's reputation, especially in regards to her relationship with Kurt Cobain (if you thought Yoko Ono had it bad, at least she wasn't accused of killing John Lennon). Despite rumors to the contrary, Cobain was probably no more responsible for Hole's success than Love was for Nirvana's demise. "If you live through this with me, I swear that I will die for you."
Saturday: Hole - Doll Parts [Live Through This, 1994]
Comments: I think this is a strong contender for Courtney Love's all-time greatest song. It so effectively evokes the pain of losing a loved one (a universal inevitability that no one, unfortunately, is spared in this life), I was surprised to learn that it was recorded before Kurt Cobain's suicide. A vamp on just three simple chords, it proves that art doesn't have to be complex in order to be powerful. "Someday you will ache like I ache."
Sunday: Hole - Drown Soda (Live) [My Body, The Hand Grenade, 1997]
Comments: Recorded in 1995, this track was included on My Body, The Hand Grenade, a compilation of ouliers which fills in and fleshes out Hole's musical transition from their first album to their second. For the inclusion of their early sessions and some later live cuts, I consider it to be essential. "Just you wait 'til everyone is hooked."
Honorable Mention: Hole - Celebrity Skin [Celebrity Skin, 1998]
Comments: With assistance from former boyfriend and Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, Celebrity Skin features a much more commercial sound. However - and I promise I'm not saying this just to be contrarian - to me it sounds very middle-of-the-road. I know that Courtney Love was on a trajectory of making more "listenable" music, and this album is a bonafide success in that respect. But, while still being heavy and featuring a lot of distortion, I feel that it loses a lot of that raging chaos that initially distinguished her as an artist. "So glad you could make it. Now you've really made it."