Hole (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hole | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Grunge |
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| Years active | 1989–2002 | |
| Label(s) | Sympathy for the Record Industry Caroline Geffen |
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| Former members | ||
| Courtney Love Eric Erlandson Melissa Auf der Maur Patty Schemel Lisa Roberts Errol Stewart Jill Emery Caroline Rue Leslie Hardy Kristen Pfaff Samantha Maloney |
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Hol was an alternative rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1989 and disbanded in 2002. The band was fronted by Courtney Love, and co-founded by Love, Eric Erlandson (lead guitar) and Lisa Roberts (bassist and Courtney's neighbor who dropped the project very early on). The band had a brief period as a three-guitar lineup, with the musician Errol Stewert, but the lineup that recorded the first album included only Love, Erlandson, bassist Jill Emery and drummer Caroline Rue. Emery and Rue left in 1992, to be replaced by Leslie Hardy and Patty Schemel, respectively. Hardy left after recording just one single with the band, Beautiful Son and was subsequently replaced by Kristen Pfaff in 1993. After bassist Kristen Pfaff died of an apparent drug overdose in 1994, Melissa Auf der Maur took her place from 1995 until the band's dissolution in 2002. When Schemel left the band in 1998, Samantha Maloney took her place as drummer. On Vh1's countdown of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Bands Hole was number 77.
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[edit] Overview
Hole has released three official albums, Pretty on the Inside, Live Through This and Celebrity Skin. Each of these albums reflect a distinctive sound and approach. The first release is often described as a raw, punk influenced record. Experimenting with alternate tunings, the guitar parts are chaotic and distorted. Most themes (musically and lyrically) seem to be inspired by the title of the record: harsh, brutal and violent on the outside, but melodic underneath. The second release showcased a more power pop approach, still infused with a raw punk rock edge. The lyrics and guitar parts are less abstract but increasingly powerful in their simplicity. The third release can be seen as a full embrace of power pop. The theme of architecture is present throughout, the attempt to build something from nothing and create a lasting monument. Erlandson's guitar style has been innovative and complex and the lyrics of Love have been multi-layered and sophisticated throughout. Hole have been credited for bridging punk to pop, making the connection between various styles and approaches to reveal the way in which they do not exist independent of one another. Having challenged the underground/indie aesthetic and having put forth the notion that pop music can be complex and sophisticated, Hole has been heralded by some as having made a significant contribution to the canon of rock.
[edit] History
[edit] Early years and Live Through This era
After releasing a number of singles on Sympathy for the Record Industry, Hole released their first full-length album Pretty on the Inside on Caroline Records, which received praise from underground critics. Hole toured North America and Europe extensively in support of this album.
As a result of the album's success and the furious press coverage around Courtney Love and her husband Kurt Cobain, Hole was signed to Geffen Records with an eight album contract. In 1993, Hole entered the studio to record their major label debut. The result was the album Live Through This, which included the hit singles "Doll Parts," "Violet," and "Miss World."
Almost immediately before the album's release, the final song, "Rock Star", was deleted from the album and replaced by the outtake "Olympia". It was widely believed at the time that this was because its lyrics, which included the lines "How would you like to be Nirvana? / So much fun to be Nirvana / Barrel of laughs to be Nirvana / I'd rather die", appeared inappropriate in the wake of Cobain's suicide. However, it was later revealed that the band and the Geffen label had already deemed the track unfitting of a major label debut for Hole, as the song had a very "non-artistic" character which fit poorly with the rest of the album. After the decision to remove "Rock Star" was made, the album artwork and various other inserts had already been printed, and since "Olympia" was put in its place, "Olympia" is called "Rock Star" on the artwork.
Live Through This was released in April 1994, one week after the death of Love's husband, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Two months later Hole bassist Kristen Pfaff died of an apparent overdose. On September 1, 1994 Hole played their first headlining show since the album's release and dedicated it to Kristen. The band, with Melissa Auf der Maur now on bass, toured extensively throughout 1994 and 1995. One of the highlights during these years of touring was the band's appearance on MTV Unplugged on Valentine's Day 1995.
A rare recording from the Live Through This sessions surfaced in 2001 with Cobain providing backing vocals on "Asking for It". After close listening, it was confirmed that Cobain was on the original track, albeit with very quietly-mixed vocals. As many fans had previously thought a studio recorded Love/Cobain duet did not exist, this was deemed a major discovery in the Hole & Nirvana fan community.
[edit] My Body, the Hand Grenade
Three years after the release and success of Live Through This, Hole released an album of b-sides and outtakes entitled My Body, the Hand Grenade. Featured on the front cover was a picture of one of Courtney Love's babydoll dresses in a museum setting — showing that the Kinderwhore look she and Kat Bjelland had started was over and dead. Featuring many unreleased songs from the Live Through This sessions, demos, and live recordings including Hole's Valentine's Day 1995 MTV Unplugged performance, this album is regarded as a gem in the Hole fan community.
One outtake from the Live Through This recording sessions which was included on this release was the song "Old Age". The history and writer of this song was the subject of controversy. It was eventually learned that it had been written by Kurt Cobain for the Nevermind sessions in 1990 or 1991, and its lyrics were later rewritten by Love. Throughout the years, Hole has performed and recorded many versions of "Old Age." One version highly rated among collectors is the "Binge and Purge" boombox demo with lyrics such as "What a waste of sperm and egg," and "you can always go back to rehab." This version can be found on the Beautiful Son single, released in 1993.
Another song on "My Body the Hand Grenade" collection is "20 Years in the Dakota," which touches on many themes, including Yoko Ono's struggles in life as John Lennon's wife. The title of this song is refers to the apartment building outside which Lennon was killed. Courtney Love has herself been frequently compared to Yoko Ono, due to the perception that Ono drew Lennon away from The Beatles and that Love drew Cobain away from Nirvana. Another song included on this release is a "Miss World" demo that features Kurt Cobain on bass and vocals.
[edit] The New Orleans sessions
There were multiple attempts to record Hole's third album. One such attempt was in New Orleans. Interviews with Erlandson have confirmed the authenticity of this session. No demos have surfaced from these sessions, but it is believed that one result of these sessions was an extremely early version of "Awful". Courtney was supposedly unhappy with the quality of the songs recorded and it is believed they had an extremely similar sound to Live Through This. Also denied by Erlandson was a rumor that this album had been completed, but the masters were stolen on an airplane.
[edit] Celebrity Skin era and breakup
Hole's third album had a completely new sound for the band. Featuring a more "pop" sound, the album was a critical success with moderately strong sales and successful singles. The group at the time consisted of Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, Patty Schemel and Melissa Auf Der Maur, although in interviews Love later said Schemel's drumming was replaced by a session musician. On the album Celebrity Skin, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan helped with songwriting and recording.
When journalists asked the subtext to the record, Love refused to offer up explanations for the lyrics, as in her 1998 SPIN magazine interview: "I won't talk about it because it's none of your business...because you will never know." Years later in 2005, she spoke of Celebrity Skin to journalist Phoebe O'Reilly, saying "I did not want to make the widow record. I still haven't made the widow record."
Eric Erlandson has later revealed through posts on the fan site Kittyradio.com's message boards that he was very uncomfortable and displeased with Billy Corgan's involvement on the record. All guitar riffs were written by Erlandson and all lyrics were handled by Love and Corgan, who also played bass on one of the session tracks (a song called "Be A Man", which did not make the record, but ended up appearing on the Any Given Sunday soundtrack in 1999, and was Hole's last proper single/video). However, Corgan did state on the Howard Stern interview that he wrote the guitar riff for the lead single Celebrity Skin. This led to conflict of authorship and credit between Corgan and Love. This strife seemed to dissipate without resolution regardless, and Corgan and Love still maintain friendly and professional relations (Corgan has contributed to production and arrangement on Love's recent solo album). Working titles for the album Celebrity Skin included Reasons to be Beautiful (Love's pick) and Malibu (Erlandson's pick). Three videos and singles were released for Celebrity Skin: the titular "Celebrity Skin", "Malibu", and "Awful" which had a live clip montage as a video.
Love and Erlandson officially disbanded Hole via a message posted at the band's website in 2002. After the split, the four musicians each took on projects of their own. Auf der Maur joined The Smashing Pumpkins and later recorded a solo album titled Auf Der Maur; Erlandson continued to work as a session musician; Maloney toured with Mötley Crüe, Scarling., and the Eagles of Death Metal; and Love began a solo career, releasing America's Sweetheart in 2004. Although several of the band's former members are reportedly on bad terms with one another, they have all at various times discussed the possibility of future Hole releases; in particular, Erlandson has expressed willingness to compile a box set similar to Nirvana's 2004 release With the Lights Out.
[edit] Members
Courtney Love lead vocals, guitar 1989-2002
Eric Erlandson guitar 1989-2002
Melissa Auf der Maur bass 1994-1999
Samantha Maloney drums 1998-2002
Patty Schemel drums 1993-1998
Caroline Rue drums 1989-1992
Jill Emery bass 1989-1992
Kristen Pfaff bass, backing vocals 1993-1994
Leslie Hardy bass, 1992
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums and EPs
| Cover | Information |
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Pretty on the Inside
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Live Through This
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Ask for It (EP)
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The First Session (EP)
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My Body, the Hand Grenade
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Celebrity Skin
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[edit] Singles
| Cover | Information |
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Retard Girl
From the album The First Session
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Dicknail
From the album My Body, the Hand Grenade |
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Teenage Whore
From the album Pretty on the Inside
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Beautiful Son
From the album My Body, the Hand Grenade
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Miss World
From the album Live Through This
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Doll Parts
From the album Live Through This
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Violet
From the album Live Through This
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Softer, Softest
From the album Live Through This
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Gold Dust Woman
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Celebrity Skin
From the album Celebrity Skin
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Malibu
From the album Celebrity Skin
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Awful
From the album Celebrity Skin
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Be a Man
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[edit] Trivia
[edit] References
- ^ YouTube video of Radio interview. Conducted on October 12, 2001. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas & Prato, Greg. "Hole". All Music Guide. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Hole |
| Courtney Love | Eric Erlandson | Melissa Auf der Maur |
| Jill Emery | Leslie Hardy | Samantha Maloney | Kristen Pfaff | Lisa Roberts | Caroline Rue | Patty Schemel | Errol Stewert |
| Discography |
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| Studio albums and EPs: Pretty on the Inside | Live Through This | Ask for It | The First Session | My Body, the Hand Grenade | Celebrity Skin |
| Singles: "Retard Girl" | "Dicknail" | "Teenage Whore" | "Beautiful Son" | "Miss World" | "Doll Parts" | "Violet" | "Softer, Softest" | "Gold Dust Woman" | "Celebrity Skin" | "Malibu" | "Awful" | "Be a Man" |
| Related articles |
| Sympathy for the Record Industry | Kurt Cobain | Nirvana | Billy Corgan | Kat Bjelland | "Asking for It" | "Old Age" |
