For some reason, I'm still in my Hole trip - it's been a year, these usually last me three or four months at a time, but I'm hearing things I want to hear on every single one of their records these days - well, 1991 (Pretty On The Inside) until 1998 (Celebrity Skin), anyway, I never delve into 2010 (Nobody's Daughter) territory.
This song - Celebrity Skin, the title track off their most commercial release - was co-written by Courtney Love with the band's guitarist Eric Erlandson and Billy Corgan (of The Smashing Pumpkins), whose influence is very distinct (the chord progression is very Siamese Dream, the wordplay very Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness), and the beautifully stylized video was directed by Nancy Bardawil; it's the type of imagery (glowing gowns, bright pink and purple with black) that would also have worked wonders for the band's breakthrough hit Miss World.
The only downer in it is seeing future drummer Samantha Maloney wear a wig to look like Patty Schemel who had not yet been told she wasn't in the band anymore; they didn't even really have to go that route since Deen Castronovo (G/Z/R, Ozzy Osbourne, Bad English, Steve Vai, Paul Rodgers Band) was the actual session drummer they used, but I guess having two men (with Erlandson) appear in the comeback video for what is considered a ''girl band'' - and one that the media put the entire weight of feminism in rock on - may have been seen as a treason of sorts.
Showing posts with label Hole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hole. Show all posts
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Top 10s This Week
Top 10 Songs:
10. HIGH ROAD, Cults (2013)
9. ORDINARY LOVE, U2 (2013)
8. THE LORD IS OUT OF CONTROL, Mogwai (2013)
7. FOR IT ALL NOW, Outernational (2013)
6. MALIBU, Hole (1998)
5. BERZERK, Eminem (2013)
4. SACRILEGE, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2013)
3. BIG SHOT, The Pack A.D. (2013)
2. DO WHAT U WANT, Lady Gaga (feat. Christina Aguilera) (2014)
1. HIGGS BOSON BLUES, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2013)
Top 10 Hole Songs:
10. RETARD GIRL, single (1990), then on The First Session EP (1997)
9. TEENAGE WHORE, Pretty On The Inside (1991)
8. CELEBRITY SKIN Celebrity Skin (1998)
7. DOLL PARTS, Live Through This (1994)
6. MALIBU, Celebrity Skin (1998)
5. AWFUL, Celebrity Skin (1998)
4. VIOLET, Live Through This (1994)
3. PALE BLUE EYES (The Velvet Underground cover), Ask For It EP (1995)
2. DROWN SODA, Teenage Whore single (1991)
1. GOLD DUST WOMAN (Fleetwood Mac cover), The Crow: City Of Angels soundtrack (1996)
10. HIGH ROAD, Cults (2013)
9. ORDINARY LOVE, U2 (2013)
8. THE LORD IS OUT OF CONTROL, Mogwai (2013)
7. FOR IT ALL NOW, Outernational (2013)
6. MALIBU, Hole (1998)
5. BERZERK, Eminem (2013)
4. SACRILEGE, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2013)
3. BIG SHOT, The Pack A.D. (2013)
2. DO WHAT U WANT, Lady Gaga (feat. Christina Aguilera) (2014)
1. HIGGS BOSON BLUES, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2013)
Top 10 Hole Songs:
10. RETARD GIRL, single (1990), then on The First Session EP (1997)
9. TEENAGE WHORE, Pretty On The Inside (1991)
8. CELEBRITY SKIN Celebrity Skin (1998)
7. DOLL PARTS, Live Through This (1994)
6. MALIBU, Celebrity Skin (1998)
5. AWFUL, Celebrity Skin (1998)
4. VIOLET, Live Through This (1994)
3. PALE BLUE EYES (The Velvet Underground cover), Ask For It EP (1995)
2. DROWN SODA, Teenage Whore single (1991)
1. GOLD DUST WOMAN (Fleetwood Mac cover), The Crow: City Of Angels soundtrack (1996)
Friday, January 24, 2014
Video Of The Week: Hole
I've been on a Hole tear lately, and decided to share with the rest of the class...
The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1989 by Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson, after Love had spent the better part of the decade parlaying her way into and soon getting thrown out of a multitude of bands (Faith No More, Pagan Babies, Babes In Toyland), either because of her personality or the fact that she didn't really know how to play an instrument at the time.
A sweet talker, she convinced Sonic Youth frontwoman Kim Gordon to produce their first independent record, Pretty On The Inside, dated The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, married Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and got signed to Geffen Records, which released their major-label debut Live Through This in 1994.
By the time touring for the record came about, Love had lost her husband, and the band had lost their original drummer as well as four bassists, including the most recent, Kristen Pfaff, to a drug overdose. The line-up with Melissa Auf Der Maur on bass and Patty Schemel on drums (14994-1998) is widely considered the quintessential Hole, though, perhaps because they appeared in the most videos and played more shows as a unit, but I like to think it held the best combination of balls and brawn, grit and softness, fury and beauty. (And I think Auf Der Maur has a lot to do with it).
Rumours have always floated around Hole that their best songs had been ghost-written by either Cobain or Corgan, and for their third album, Celebrity Skin, Corgan's actually credited as a co-songwriter on five separate songs, so at least the ''ghost'' part was eliminated. One of those songs is this one, Malibu, directed by Paul Hunter:
The band was formed in Los Angeles in 1989 by Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson, after Love had spent the better part of the decade parlaying her way into and soon getting thrown out of a multitude of bands (Faith No More, Pagan Babies, Babes In Toyland), either because of her personality or the fact that she didn't really know how to play an instrument at the time.
A sweet talker, she convinced Sonic Youth frontwoman Kim Gordon to produce their first independent record, Pretty On The Inside, dated The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, married Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and got signed to Geffen Records, which released their major-label debut Live Through This in 1994.
By the time touring for the record came about, Love had lost her husband, and the band had lost their original drummer as well as four bassists, including the most recent, Kristen Pfaff, to a drug overdose. The line-up with Melissa Auf Der Maur on bass and Patty Schemel on drums (14994-1998) is widely considered the quintessential Hole, though, perhaps because they appeared in the most videos and played more shows as a unit, but I like to think it held the best combination of balls and brawn, grit and softness, fury and beauty. (And I think Auf Der Maur has a lot to do with it).
Rumours have always floated around Hole that their best songs had been ghost-written by either Cobain or Corgan, and for their third album, Celebrity Skin, Corgan's actually credited as a co-songwriter on five separate songs, so at least the ''ghost'' part was eliminated. One of those songs is this one, Malibu, directed by Paul Hunter:
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Video Of The Week: Meredith Brooks
She's a bitch, she's a lover, she's a wife, she's a mother... she also has fantasies about having a pretty-boy actor come fuck her in her hotel room.
That's Meredith Brooks
, who had a huge hit in 1997 with the song 'Bitch
', two years after Alanis Morissette
made ''going down on you in a theater'' a female empowerment issue and three years after Hole
femmed-up grunge, and just before the Spice Girls ''invented Girl Power
''. So young ladies found strength in accepting their shallower side, for lack of a better description, in the latter half of the 90s. And most of the girls my age fell victim to this.
In any event, again, I'm not really a fan, but I fell into this video for the song 'What Would Happen
' in my weekly visit to the blog It's My Turn/Kat Gets Her Man, in which an American touring musician chick displays a guy-like obsession for a lost love that she has waited years for - through long-distances, marriage, and other obstacles Life has put in their way. She's nicknamed her man 'Skippy', and that guy should know she's a definite keeper - I know I would, chances are he does too.
And she's a smart one, too - you can tell she knows that perhaps it could go to shit, perhaps they'll have evolved differently through time, but she doesn't care, she's waited for her chance and she wants to take it and see where it leads, and hopefully it'll all work out for the best for all parties involved.
In the meantime, she has a job to do, with co-workers who aren't always easy on her; she isn't always a happy camper, but she fights through it with the means she sees and the friends she makes. She goes on dates, gets sad and drunk, and has developed a taste for spankings.
So, yeah, in a recent post, when shit was hitting the fan but getting better, she had this video embedded, and since it gives me an opportunity to talk about her blog, I've decided to borrow it as my Video Of The Week; in the meantime, she's written a sad post with no happy ending, sadly. Here's hoping she gets to feel better soon.
Hopefully this song helps.
That's Meredith Brooks
, who had a huge hit in 1997 with the song 'Bitch', two years after Alanis Morissette made ''going down on you in a theater'' a female empowerment issue and three years after Hole femmed-up grunge, and just before the Spice Girls ''invented Girl Power''. So young ladies found strength in accepting their shallower side, for lack of a better description, in the latter half of the 90s. And most of the girls my age fell victim to this.In any event, again, I'm not really a fan, but I fell into this video for the song 'What Would Happen
' in my weekly visit to the blog It's My Turn/Kat Gets Her Man, in which an American touring musician chick displays a guy-like obsession for a lost love that she has waited years for - through long-distances, marriage, and other obstacles Life has put in their way. She's nicknamed her man 'Skippy', and that guy should know she's a definite keeper - I know I would, chances are he does too.And she's a smart one, too - you can tell she knows that perhaps it could go to shit, perhaps they'll have evolved differently through time, but she doesn't care, she's waited for her chance and she wants to take it and see where it leads, and hopefully it'll all work out for the best for all parties involved.
In the meantime, she has a job to do, with co-workers who aren't always easy on her; she isn't always a happy camper, but she fights through it with the means she sees and the friends she makes. She goes on dates, gets sad and drunk, and has developed a taste for spankings.
So, yeah, in a recent post, when shit was hitting the fan but getting better, she had this video embedded, and since it gives me an opportunity to talk about her blog, I've decided to borrow it as my Video Of The Week; in the meantime, she's written a sad post with no happy ending, sadly. Here's hoping she gets to feel better soon.
Hopefully this song helps.
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