Hole
Biography
Throughout Hole's career, vocalist/guitarist Courtney Love's notorious public image has overshadowed her band's music. In their original incarnation, Hole was one of the noisiest, most abrasive alternative bands performing in the early '90s. By the time of their second album, 1994's Live Through This, the band had smoothed out many of their rougher edges, also adding more melodies and hooks to their songwriting. Through both versions of Hole, Love's combative, assaultive persona permeated the group's music and lyrics, giving the band a tense, unpredictable edge even at their quietest moments. Love formed Hole in Los Angeles in 1989, recruiting guitarist Eric Erlandson through a newspaper ad. Love had played with numerous bands before Hole, including early versions of both Babes in Toyland and Faith No More. Erlandson and Love eventually drafted bassist Jill Emery and drummer Caroline Rue into the band, recording their first album with producer Kim Gordon, the bassist for Sonic Youth. The violent and uncompromising Pretty on the Inside, Hole's debut record, was released on Caroline Records in 1991 to numerous positive reviews, especially in the British weekly music press.
In early 1992, Courtney Love married Kurt Cobain, the lead singer/songwriter of Nirvana. For a couple of months, the couple was the king and queen of the new rock world; soon, that world came crashing in. Cobain became addicted to heroin and the couple fought to keep custody of their baby after a piece in Vanity Fair accused Love of shooting heroin while pregnant, charges which she vehemently denied at the time; she would later admit that she had taken small quantities of the drug. By 1993, their private world had settled down somewhat, with Cobain and Love recording new albums with their respective bands.
Halfway through 1993, Love reassembled Hole with Erlandson, adding bassist Kristen M. Pfaff and drummer Patty Schemel. Hole was set to release their first major-label album, the more pop-oriented Live Through This, on DGC Records in April of 1994. Advance word on the album was overwhelmingly positive, with many critics calling it one of the best records of the year. Four days before the album was released, Kurt Cobain's body was discovered in the couple's Seattle home; he had died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound three days before.
Two months after Cobain's death, Kristen M. Pfaff was found dead of a heroin overdose in a Seattle apartment, with rumors swirling that Love (understandably distraught over the recent tragedies) was abusing the drug as well. Two months later, Hole began touring again, with bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur taking Pfaff's place. "Doll Parts" was released as a single late in 1994, climbing into the Top 60 by the beginning of 1995. Live Through This topped many critics' polls at the end of the year, including Rolling Stone and the Village Voice. Shortly thereafter, Hole toured with the fifth Lollapalooza tour, staying on the road for the remainder of the year.
Despite all the hardships, the album became the group's commercial breakthrough, spawning several MTV/radio hits and being certified platinum early the following year. The band went on an extended hiatus afterwards, during which time many assumed the band had broken up when it appeared that Love was focusing more on her burgeoning acting career (Feeling Minnesota, The People vs. Larry Flynt) than music. To satisfy their fans' demand for new music, two rarities collections were issued -- the 1995 EP Ask for It and the 1997 import My Body, the Hand Grenade.
After numerous delays, the band finally regrouped to work on a follow-up to Live Through This, with longtime friend Billy Corgan signed on to be a musical consultant. The album was finally issued in September of 1998 to favorable reviews, but Schemel left the band (for reasons unknown) around the same time. Former drummer for New York City alt-rockers Shift, Samantha Maloney, filled the vacant slot as the group embarked on their first substantial tour in two years. By the tour's completion, Auf Der Maur had left to join the Smashing Pumpkins, while Maloney eventually served as a stand-in drummer for Mötley Crüe. Even though Skin was certified platinum shortly after its release, Love was unhappy with the way the album was handled by her record company and felt stifled by her contract, eventually bringing a lawsuit against the Universal Music Group trying to terminate her contract (she still owes five more albums under her current agreement), so she can release music via the Internet.
The future of Hole became even more uncertain in early 2001, when Love announced plans to launch a new outfit, called B**tard. Signing with Epitaph, the band consisted of Love, former Veruca Salt guitarist Louise Post, former Rockit Girl bassist Gina Crosley, and to the delight of longtime Hole fans, Schemel is back on drums. In typical Love style, this lineup eventually dissolved into only her and Schemel and the group essentially broke up before it even began. Despite the lack of any substancial project, Love finally announced the end of Hole in May of 2002. Unlike her often bitter press situations, she claimed that the situation was friendly and she would still remain friends with the previous members of the band. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Selected Discography

Celebrity Skin
1998

My Body, The Hand Grenade
1997

Live Through This
1994

Pretty On The Inside (Explicit)
1991
i have to agree with a. anarchy. for some reason courtney love pulls of this trashy sex appeal. i mean she isnt that pretty to begin with but she makes herself attractive by doing this trashy rock chick persona
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"Pretty on the Inside" and "Live Through This" were wonderful. I emphasize those young women who are stuck in this bubblegum society. I, however, went to Lollapalooza '95 and had a great time and saw wonderful bands. Courtney Love is not the best role model, but her music WAS great and Kurt married her, so that says something pretty substantial.
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i wish that i was old enough to talk when there were real bands around. now im cursed to living in the bubblegum pop/ sucky stuff/ country pop era. and worse, being a teenage girl, im stuck listening to all of my friends go "omg did you hear the new taylor swift bleh bleh bleh". "i love the jonas bleh bleh bleh". i have to scream "PEOPLE!!! LISTEN TO SOME REAL @#$%!! MUSIC!!!" ugh. they never listen. what has this world come to?
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I understand both sides of the Courtney: Great Artist vs. Trashy Noise debate. I like a lot of it... I hate a lot of it. It's a hit or miss on every album. Granted, Live Through This is most popular, but not necessarily the best. On the other hand, I've seen them live... and oh jeez... how they sucked so horribly. I would rather have had tarantulas laying eggs in my ears. Perhaps an off night, but I would have preferred less crotch flashing and more actual singing.
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the thing that makes her appealing is that she's so trashy and sexy at the same time.she saw,she conqured,she killed. and she can sing too. what a beautiful b**ch !
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I think they people who hate C. Love and Hole are the same people that think Cobain walked on water. Well I tell you what, he didn't rise three days later, so get over it.
I Love, Courtneys Hole... errr... yeah. =) |
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Okay... So, i hate people that bash hole and courtney love. they are both great. hole is great because it is. and if you deny that.. you are lying to yourself. you know you are. just let it go. they music is raw, packed with emotions from f**king raging mad to solemly lonely. AND NO I AM NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT GOD DAMN LIVE THROUGH THIS! Listen to northern star on celebrity skin..that song is...the are no words for it...it just is...
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Vash the Stampede- Hole did have talent. Go listen to Live Through This and if that is not one of the best albums of the 90's, I'll be damned. And though the music may have been influenced by Kurt(as we all are influenced from our spouses...) the lyrics were most definately Courtney's.
Maybe if Kurt wouldn't have gone and blown his brains out we could have saved all the Nirvana fanboys from having to deal with Courtney Love.... |
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oh,thats right he didn't nod out-he blew his whole head off.
''PRESSURE IS FOR THE OTHER GUY'' WILLIE MAYS |
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and yet-vashy when i saw hole live they were better than when i saw nirvana live-go figure.one is a whore looking for sexual kicks ,the other wants to mainline,fin d a corner and a couch and nod out.HOLE LIVES !
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marrero52182 - Hole NEVER had talent. One of the worst bands ever. The only reason they received coverage, hype and recognition was because of Kurt, NOT because of their "talent."
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Courtney Love and Hole were amazing. I miss the 90's, when bands actually had talent....
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if i could just have neverending sex with courtney-i would never come back on pandora and bash bands. i promise. scouts honor.
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jay its allright to say cunnt-courtn e y was a cunnt but shes HOTTER THAN HELL !!!
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but hole was great live-when they tour again i'll go backstage and see her. but i'll be the perfect gentelman and not let my imagination take the best of me.
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courtney is just a crazed out,drugged out c**t that you want to have sex with.
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but like nirvana-imma t u r e - Y O U SHOULD LERAN HOW TO SAY NO-to all of those thousands of twinkies you eat between bowls...
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''fat waste of space that they call a singer''. Brilliant.Ba l l s y . To the Point. but they made a work of art once and the nite i saw her she wasn't a waste of space-cow palace-marli y n on stilts-good double bill-great audience-I HAD A BLAST...
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This band probably would be good without that fat waste of space that they call a singer
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Hole sucks a big fat c**k and courtney love is a fat whore who never had talent and just leached off of K.D.C. and ultimatly led him to his death either by wanting to get away from her or her finger on the trigger
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i did see thm open for your friend marilyn manson and hole was GREAT!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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rite so why keep talking about it-hole made one decent album-kurt wrote it-end of story...
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"live thru this-best album nirvana ever did."
Haha. Seriously though - this discussion about Courtney killing Kurt and all of that nonsense doesn't need to be had on EVERY "chat" medium. Some of us think she did. Some of us think she didn't. Some of us think he's alive. Some of us think he's a robot. It's music. Shut up. No one cares what you think. Love you guys though. |
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Kurt f**king killed himself, OK! Courtney just tried her best to keep him alive. Give her a f**king break idiots! And she rocks on top of it! Long live HOLE and COURTNEY! Oh God owes us one more song to show us that she is so much better than life!
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My brother loves Hole, although I don't think they are all that great.
He will believe until he dies Courtney killed Kurt. Who really knows though? |
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I reckon I'd have a hard time staying good with all that money...sorr y kid, gotta sell the catalog!
I had the hugest crush on Courtney once...then I went out and found my own Alpha female. I like them. I was born eight minutes after Kurt, so no surprise we like the same kind of hardcore. |
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