In the last half of 1993 Hole recorded their second studio album, Live Through This. While I have a love/ hate relationship with Courtney Love, I often remind myself that the media has a tendency to warp reality and only allow you to see what they would like you to. When it comes down to it the only aspect that I can comment on is her body of work as a musician. I think the older I get I’m starting to move past all the hypotheticals that have been written about her marriage to Kurt Cobain. The fact is they both made some incredible music that has shaped almost half of my life. And I couldn’t be more grateful.
Live Through This is a vast departure from Hole’s debut album, Pretty on the Inside. The second album opens with “Violet”, arguably one of the most recognized songs even to this day. Love’s voice remains raspy and derivative of the punk sound that their sound was based on. However this album was poised to appeal to a more mainstream market. “Miss World”, another favorite on the album starts: “I am the girl you know, can’t look you in the eye”. This was direct foreshadowing of the position that women were taking on in the world of alternative rock. Women were moving more into the forefront thanks to help of Kim Gordon, Courtney Love, and Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland.
Toward the middle of the album tracks like “Credit in the Straight World” show a beautiful punk melodic quality that Hole seemed to be moving in. This would be deeper explored on their next album Celebrity Skin, which had mixed reviews because of it’s “glossy” sound. The greatest thing about this album is it takes you on a journey inside the mind of a girl in the 90s and all her emotions on any given situation. Just listening to these tracks take me back to being a confused teen girl in my room cursing the world. She told me through this album that I could in fact, “Live Through This”. A fact this album teaches me almost 15 years later.
The release of this album was shadowed by Kurt Cobain’s death just 4 days before it’s release on April 12, 1994. There is much speculation that Kurt Cobain wrote most of the material on this album. I guess we will never know, but the only thing that remains true after all these years is this was one of the most solid records of the 90s and my life.
photos via google images
4 comments
Live Through This is my favourite Hole album. Listened to it on repeat during my second year at university (which was only two years ago, i came to Hole late in life being a 90s child and all).
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So weird….I was listening to this today.
One of my favorite albums for sure! I also love their first album Pretty On The Inside, now that is an awesome album, all though most people frown upon the savage noisy sound it has.
Actually, even before Courtney and Kurt became a couple, Hole were performing many of the songs from Live Through This.
I think that pretty much proves that Kurt didn´t write the songs…………
sucks