Why Hole’s ‘Live Through This’ is Still My Favorite Record — 30 Years After I Bought It

I hadn’t heard Hole, Courtney Love’s band, before Kurt Cobain died in April 1994. I loved Nirvana, of course, and so did everyone else. But while alt-rock radio stations like WHFS (in Washington, D.C.) played “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on repeat, they didn’t play a single track from Hole’s Pretty on The Inside, the band’s 1991 album produced by Kim Gordon.

In fact, I didn’t secure my first copy of the Live Through This CD till June or July 1994, early summer, when my friend Bethany and I — completely curious and entrenched in our alt-rock phases — decided to seek it out ourselves. We were fascinated by Courtney Love and riot grrrl subcultures, and wanted something that felt fresh, feminist, and relatable.

And I’ll never forget the moment I popped that CD into the center console of her car – BOOM! As she sung the opening notes of “Violet,” which segued into a big chorus rife with angst and power, I was hooked. Hole became my favorite band.

Hole is still my favorite band. Live Through This is still my favorite record of all time.

Say what you will about Courtney Love, but this record proves she’s the baddest of them all. Love takes on motherhood, feminism, and more with her unique brand of rage. As Pitchfork aptly noted in a 2018 review, “This woman doesn’t let out sing-screams or tinny emo yelps, but raw, diaphragmatic bellows.”

It’s impossible to pick a favorite song, because, frankly, they are all incredible. The album flows so well, between the anthemic “Violet” and the scream-laced “Olympia” (“Rock Star”), which seizes the listener with a bit of late-stage shock value and cool, surprising turns. There’s the fiery breakout single, “Miss World,” which ties in nicely to the album’s cover image (model Lelani Bishop, dressed as a pageant winner/prom queen, all bloodied up, Carrie-style). And the endearing “Plump,” with its memorable distorted-guitar riff — and the verse, “I don’t do the dishes/I leave them in the crib. And the song with the most cake, “Doll Parts,” the slow-burn tune with haunting vocal harmonies.

But while Courtney Love is the heart of this record, her bandmates are equally essential in bringing it to life —the uber-talented drummer Patti Schmel, the sparkly lead guitar player Eric Erlandson, her longtime right-hand man, and the bassists – first Kirsten Pfaff (on the record), and, in the wake of Pfaff’s tragic passing, Melissa Auf der Maur (on tour).

There’s few quotes that describe how I feel when I listen to this record, but Pitchfork found a great one for me, from Susan Faludi: “While our culture admires the angry young man, who is perceived as heroic and sexy, it can’t find anything but scorn for the angry young woman, who is seen as emasculating and bitter.”

I think things are changing, and that feminine bitterness in music is sexier and more heroic than it’s ever been. And for that, we have Courtney Love — and this record — to thank.

[SEE RELATED: My Top 10 Favorite Hole Songs in Honor of Courtney Love’s Birthday]

Marisa Torrieri Bloom is the editor and founder of Rockmommy.