The expression of rage in its rawest form was not something any of us had a conduit to as teenagers in the late 80s and first half of the 90s, unless you were into metal, and that was a male heteronormative club by default. As a woman, Courtney Love bridged this channel to girls and gays alike. The counterculture was in full force, and people like Courtney, pj Harvey, Tori Amos and Björk were exploring intimacy and inner darkness and the pain body with a candor never before seen. In many ways what they were doing in the indie world was a graduation point from the work that Madonna had done in the mainstream, which is probably why you have so many gay men in their 40s and early 50s who love this album and are here for your Madonna journey!

Great album. Hole is also featured in the film Jennifer's Body (although the song itself isn't there), so there's certainly some inspiration there for sure. If you're looking for something more polished and a little lighter in sound, then Celebrity Skin is *the* one to listen to! Back to back hits without losing what makes Hole and Courtney so great.

surprised no one has told you that most of the times that “milk” appears in the album, courtney is talking about heroin. this is one of the things her lyrics are famous for

ONE OF THE RECORDS OF ALL TIME TO ME 🖤 i genuinely love and had a lot of punk/grunge ol’ teenage times with this album (and still have)! u unblocked deep rebel emotions bennnn!!!! OMFG

im so happy for this. i never see this album get any attention on youtube

Some of the raunchiest guitars and slamming drums ever committed to tape. Brilliant songcraft with lilting melodies perfectly piggybacked along by powerhouse vocal deliveries. This album was a phenomenally underrated and underappreciated gem than can hold it's own with EVERY SINGLE ONE of the many fantastic albums released by their peers in the 90's.

This album is literally if female rage was a sound.

genuinely can’t tell you how formative this album was in my late teen years.. so happy you reacted!!!! ❤

Yes Courtney!! i was the guy who wrote under the madonna video that courtney was so wasted in the interview because kurt was died a year before in 1994 and that madonna was pissed too because courtney declined to go to madonnas music label. i´m not into rock too but i love hole very much!

she was writing it from 1991-1993-4ish, and she was pregnant and also gave birth so that inspired it a lot obviously also rockstar is basically making fun of riot grrrls.. literally lmao

Doll Parts and Violet were the big hits off the album. That really raw sound is why they called it "Grunge". You for SURE will like the Celebrity Skin album. Its way more your speed.😊

“He hit me and it felt like a kiss is” a very pretty yet scary song which pretty much describes hole perfectly

Courtney and Hole put it all out there with their first two albums. Their debut album Pretty on the Inside was a juggernaut of dirty, raw, unfiltered emotion and anger that held you in a chokehold and didn't let go. It was nasty and honest and like a bleeding wound that you couldn't look away from. Remember that Live Through This was released a week after Kurt killed himself and Courtney was a mess and falling apart in front of the world with everyone accusing her of being the reason that Kurt was dead. She was crucified and pummeled by the media and public for years after that and that led to all the well publicized drug problems and public demons that she had to deal with which made her life a living hell and made her public enemy number one. She didn't deserve any of it. Madonna said that when Courtney interrupted the Kurt Loser interview on MTV she felt incredibly sad and sorry for her cause she saw the hurt and sadness when they locked eyes for a few moments. Madonna admired Courtney very much and thought she was extremely talented and gutsy and she wanted to sign Hole to her Maverick Records label. They met many times after that and crossed paths at the Versace mansion where both of them stayed and visited Donatella at the same time and again spent the whole day together dancing and having fun at the infamous Rolling Stone cover shoot where they put Madonna, Courtney and Tina Turner on the cover together. It was iconic and beautiful. Courtney is a live wire that won't ever be tamed just like Madonna. The energy must be insane when you put those two girls in a room together. Lay low and get out of the way.j

This is one of my all time favorite albums ❤️ It’s the era of rock where the lyrics are a lot of metaphorical phrases and not always straight forward. I think if you lean more pure pop the 3rd album Celebrity Skin would be more your speed.

Just imagine being a 14 year old girl when this came out.

An album full of absolute BANGERS

I honestly love this album so muchhh My Main song I loved from the album is Doll Parts. I’m so happy you did a reaction to it! ❤️

“Credit in the Straight World” is a cover, originally by The Germs. “Credit” is a metaphor for drugs.

There’s a deep meaning behind every song in the album (expect Credit in the straight word as it’s a cover) there are lots of references about pregnancy, break ups, body dysmorphia, drug use, abuse, Frances Bean being taken away after she was born etc all things Courtney experienced her whole life especially during the writing of the album. Songs are short and fast because that’s punk rock. The album was a huuuuge hit, voted by Rolling Stone the best album of 1994 but it being raw and angry had its disadvantages, also not to mention Kurt’s death. Celebrity Skin is definitely their most accessible work. Despite its polished sound it has very deep genius lyrics and it was nominated for for a Grammy and sold millions. Late 90s Hole were EVERYWHERE. Too bad Courtney’s demons never helped her keeping up with everything.

You probably need to hear it a couple more times but doll parts and miss world are amazing!

Omg! You are reacting to two of my all time favorite albums this month! Tidal and this one! Love this album!

Give their debut album Pretty on the Inside a listen. Talking about raw, gritty, yakness lol. It put’s the following albums in perspective.

My favorite album and a album with so many memories

It's one of my favorite albums of all-time it sounds like female rage. I love the emotions of this album.

I love that you're reacting to more than just to pop music.

you HAVE to listen to the album after this one; Celebrity Skin! it’s so much more pop oriented and feel-good :) highly recommend

Hole is so so so underrated. This album is just my absolute favorite from the Grunge era.

Hole and courtney is amazing, we love u LTT ♡

This album has helped me for so long and the references and quadruple entendres are insane, Doll parts and I think that I would die make me teary eyed every time lol

It’s funny how energetic this album made me as a teenager but for you it’s exhausting. Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville which came out around the same time. But it’s a very stripped back lo fi sound. Also Melissa Auf Der Maur (the bassist in Hole) has an incredible solo album you should check out.

Love this album, got to see them in LA and at Festival Hall in Melbourne. Their Album Celebrity Skin is a lot more polished/pop, you'd probably enjoy that one and possibly know the title track, Malibu and Heaven Tonight which was in the movie Never Been Kissed.

As a big fan of Hole/Courtney Love, this is maybe an album who someone new to this music or isn’t used to it - not an album I used suggest to listen to first. Maybe Hole Celebrity Skin or even Nobody’s Daughter first then work your way back on older stuff.

At the red carpet before a comedy show Courtney was asked what her advice for a young girl moving to Hollywood , she answered: “If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party at the Four Seasons [hotel] don't go.” Six days after the broadcast, Love was sentenced to a 28-day lockdown rehab program for being under the influence of a controlled substance, violating her probation.

I’d highly recommend Courtney’s solo album. Her vocals are just as raw but the production is a lot more polished.

I hope you'll react to Pretty on the inside by Hole!

oh my god i have so much to say about this album. i don't have the time to write everything now, but i hope i will. anyway, great reaction!

Love

I ❤ this album.

I think you should react to her Celebrity Skin album or their first one Pretty on the Inside

Can’t believe I missed this! It’s an album that grows on you for sure and once it sinks in it doesn’t let go. Would love you to check out their album Celebrity Skin, it’s very polished and a complete 180 from this production if you’d like a pop album. Also Courtney and Madonna have a pretty interesting history. Madonna tried to sign Hole to her label and they declined, seemed to create some tension between them.

I know Eric Erlandson the co - founder.. he replied to me yesterday! Live through this is a timeless classic in my opinion. Beautiful melodic record. For Eric❣️, Kurt and Kristen. C was here in November 2023'

You should check out The Kills Duo Indy rock back with an amazing guitar player and fantastic female lead. You won’t be disappointed I promise lol

Only one of the most incredible albums of all time. The rawness, the power, the underhanded pop sensibility that is actually running through the whole thing, but not in a way that made the next album, Celebrity Skin totally bland. Her voice, her lyrics, her intensity. For me there is not one bad note on this.

Omg your face during Jennifer’s body! Lol! I love that song!

oh my god i love you so much for reacting to this album

As much of a huge Madonna fan as I am, this album is my favorite album of all time and my most formative one. I was 15 when it came out. I went from pop and freestyle music to Grunge and rock quickly. This album and band is always overlooked in the grunge spectrum but it is one of the best and most important in that genre. I love rock and women in rock and you’re just never going to get as raw and honest and poetic as Courtney. Not Debbie, Not Chrissie, and not Siouxsie. And I say that as huge fans of them. The only one who can maybe touch her is Wendy O Williams and I’m not as familiar with her work. Courtney would stage dive and people would rip her clothes off and violate her and she’d do it again and again. Hole is the only female band that can tour with Marilyn Manson ( the one time I saw her on tour before that tour fell apart) Only Courtney could have beefs with him Trent Reznor and Axl Rose. Only she could have relationships with Kurt Cobain and Billy Corgan. There is no bigger mythical female rock star than her. If you think this is raw, listen to Pretty on the Inside. Live Through This is actually very polished. You may like Celebrity Skin better, but it doesn’t have the same sting and the rawness is more buried under a more polished sound. Babes in Toyland. L7. Bikini Kill. Hole. We were really headed to somewhere with women in rock. Then came Alanis and It was all watered down and then we had Jewel and ultimately the Spice Girls. We don’t have women in music that his hard anymore. Amy Winehouse was one of the exceptions. People will always hate Courtney and Madonna because they were smarter than their male counterparts and they outperformed them and outlived them. Women will always be punished by men when they accomplish more than them. Are you a fan of Olivia Rodrigo? I thought for sure you’d clock that Live Through This “inspired” cover. I recommend her autobiography by Poppy Z Brite. Great book and will give you some background on her wildly interesting young life. 💖

Courtney Love dated Kurt Cobain, and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. Violet is the song I listen to when I'm having a bad day. It''s very cathartic. Doja cat actually covered "Celebrity Skin" by Hole, and it's definitely worth a listen. Doja's cover of Hole was wasted on her old fanbase. Doja cat has always been a rock girly, and I was so excited when she released it. Hole is straight grunge music, which is basically anti-pop. Courtney Love did have help from both Kurt Cobain, and Billy Corgan on several songs in her discography. I will say some of Hole's later music is a bit more digestible. It's definitely a bit more polished.

One of the most complete albums in the grunge genre.

And I’m wearing my live through this t shirt today.

Celebrity skin is probably more your speed. Its holes most pop rockish album.

Wat are the names of these chapters lol

This is very grunge. Grunge is known for very dark subject matter, loud/soft chorus/verse with a lot of dissonance. Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins are like this. Pearl Jam is more melodic, less dissonant but very dark subject matter. Grunge lyrics are less concrete more symbolism and can’t be taken at face value. Growing up during this time, non grunge/early 90s alternative music seems very cleanly produced which is I tend to not like, but I think it is more of what you grew up. I love the messy, dissonant aspect of grunge. If you want a really dissonant, dark song listen to XYU by Smashing Pumpkins from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It’s like 9 minutes of pain from Billy Corgan that is rumored to be about Courtney Love.

No hate to you but I think an album like this wasn't totally consumed by you because you're a man and most women instantly know, embrace, and accept the struggles and life navigated in Live Through This. The lyrics are gut-wrenching and 'Asking for it' is literally about sexual assault!! I am making this remark to show you how your impression of the song was an interpretation of something else but any woman would look at the title and know it is about SA. Again, no hate to you but I think (though her lyrics aren't simple, don't get me wrong, not everyone can get a grip on them) that Live Through This needs a special kind of appreciation and a closer look at the songs and lyrics and what the possibility of the symbolism. I love that you've listened to it, though!

Love Courtney and everything these chickadees were doing for the time. But It just doesnt hit for me at all lol. I like alot of aspects of the vocals but tbh Brody Dalle sounds very similar but over a more modern sound and more polished production. /shrug 🙂Enjoy your honest reactions like always 💖

PLSSS

Interestingly, Olympia - known as Rock Star on the album - was never sposed to be on the album! It replaced the original Rock Star after Kurt’s death because of the lyric “how would you like to be nirvarna?….I’d rather die” but they didn’t have time to change the artwork, so Olympia kind of just got renamed! I do think Olympia is the better song tho! Def listen to Celebrity Skin, I think you’ll much prefer it!

Rock star was the good song to end the album

Please react to Sia's new song "Gimmie love" is the new single from her upcoming album

@bennshouts First of all, much of the music from the 90s is more raw and emotional compared to the overproduced, lifeless music you're accustomed to. Before reviewing these albums, you should research them thoroughly."

You were looking WAY TOO deep into it like politics/feminism & shit? Just feel the emotions in the lyrics, music & her voice. It’s very rebel/raw/emotional/anger & just different energies all manifesting throughout not only the album, but each song🖤