Hole - Live Through This (1994) - Revisited




    "If you live through this with me/I swear that I would die for you" echoes Hole's lead singer Courtney Love on the album's fourth track "Asking For It." One may look at the album's title and think "Live through what, exactly?" Well, a plethora of things. It's living through assault, addiction, heartbreak, self-sabotaging habits, and countless other disgusting feelings. It's living through being treated like doll parts to wanting to down "kill me pills." Hole takes you on a journey through their lives with singer-songwriter Courtney Love's gritty, raw vocals as your tour guide......and it's one hell of a ride.

    The album opens with "Violet." Written about Love's ex-boyfriend, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, "Violet" is a story told from the point of view of an angry woman who has abandoned a romance. A song that also explores themes of sexual exploitation and self-abasement, the lyrics featured are some of the most brutally honest statements made on an album. The same can be said about "Doll Parts." A song dealing with the subject of not feeling worthy of your partner, Love's insecurities are revealed. Written after having felt rejected by Kurt Cobain's lack of communication after giving him a box of items after their first meeting had gone wrong (hence the line "He only loves those things he loves to see them break." which is later followed by "Someday you will ache like I ache."), Love does not shy away from getting her true feelings across. Continuing on with the familiar theme of self-image, substance abuse is also introduced. "Miss World", again penned by Love, expands on the self-image theme with the opening lyrics containing "I am the girl you know, so sick I cannot try" and later lyrics referring to suffering. The term "kill me pills" was inspired by late poet Anne Sexton, who used the term after her brush with death after overdosing on pills.

Patty Schemel, Courtney Love, Kristen Pfaff, and Eric Erlandson in Seattle, 1994


    With the album already being very personal to Courtney Love, "Plump" dives in deeper to her personal life at the time. With the subject matter of her newborn daughter, Frances Bean, and the custody battle that later ensued due to out of control drug habits, Love deals with the shock and overwhelming stress of motherhood. "Asking For It" follows this same layout. Love deals with the pressures of fame all while her personal life is falling apart, causing her to echo the album's title as a plea...."Live through this with me, I swear I would die for you."

    Live Through This turned 25 years old last week, and it has not faded one iota after all these years. It could be due to Courtney Love's notorious legacy that has left many curious about her music. But it can mainly be attributed to her relatable lyrics that will never fade into forgetfulness of music lovers everywhere. Some may say that there are no glimpses of hope throughout the 12-track album, but this was Courtney Love's story.....and not all stories have a happy ending.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Repeat (1/16/21)

Image
*taps microphone* Is this thing still on? Hi guys, I haven't updated this blog in over a year and that's completely my fault. Life got a bit crazy, but I'm back with more reviews and newer content, starting with the songs that have been on repeat for me the past week. These will be posted every Friday and of course, will feature songs from different genres. Happy listening! Rapp Snitch Knishes - MF DOOM https://youtu.be/3EfMMNTD1x4 Remember all caps when you spell his name! To be honest, who hasn't been binge-listening to MF DOOM since finding out about his untimely passing on October 31st, 2020 (announced on December 31st, 2020). With infectious beats mixed with intricate rhymes, hip hop's greatest supervillain was a force to be reckoned with and had a major impact on the genre as a whole. Rapp Snitch Knishes is featured on his 2004 album MM...FOOD. It tells the story of rappers who (directly or indirectly) tell on themselves which can lead to the people they assoc...
Read more

The Velvet Underground (1969) - Review

Image
      Much different from their "classical meets garage rock" 1967 debut album titled " The Velvet Underground & Nico " and their proto-punk sophomore 1968 album " White Light/White Heat ", The Velvet Underground's 1969 self-titled album proved to be a turning point in their overall sound and career. Most of the tracks included on this album have more of a softer sound and Lou Reed's personal touch to the lyrical content provided an inside look into his life and thought process at the time.       The opening track, "Candy Says", is a soft, biographical song about Warhol Superstar, transsexual icon, and Velvet Underground muse Candy Darling. It features member Doug Yule on lead vocals and documents Darling's desire to escape her birth gender. The song also, according to Lou Reed, is about "something more profound and universal, a universal feeling I think all of us have at some point. We look in the mirror and we do...
Read more