Reviews (page 8 of 9)
Celebrity Skin is awesome... Awful was a decent second track... Dying was interesting... didn't get much out of the rest. Bad? No. Boring? Yea. Pretty straightforward 90s alt radio rock, with a chick who may or may not have murdered her husband leading the way.
Not for me, then again I’m not a huge fan of 90s grunge/alternative rock. It sounded like I was listening to one really long song.
Ok
Then original Riot Grrl.
Liked a couple songs, actively didn't like a few
Dribble. Mindless dribble.
Mám radšej ich predchádzajúce surovejšie veci...
Honestly, this was all fine. Just not for me. It sounded grungy and Courtney is an incredible performer but the music does not connect with me.
Certainly not a shade on the urgency of Live Through This, but still pretty glammy and shimmery. High 2s.
Doesn't offend
It never occurred to me that there was more than one Hole album anyone would be interested in. Evidently I was wrong. According to Wikipedia, "The band sought to use Los Angeles and the state of California as a unifying theme, and began writing what they conceived as a "California album" in 1997." Amazing! When inspiration strikes, run with it. Mind blowing ingenuity. Where do you get your ideas? Anyway ... I don't know whether this album is good or bad. All I know is that I don't want to listen to it. Not for me.
At the time, I wasn't a big fan of Nirvana. I thought others did it better (Mudhoney), or had more fun with noise and nihilistic rebellion (Jesus & Mary Chain). Maybe I just wasn't ready for my slice of the Gen X lineup to fade into irrelevance, but I voted No on Nirvana. And consequently, on Hole, which seemed to me to be very clearly a money+fame grab on the part of Ms. Love. Throwing Muses and PJ Harvey were infinitely more interesting as proto-Riot-Grrls, I thought. Listening to it now, the idea that Love's sloppy drawl is the equivalent of a radical feminist critique of anything is still laughable. Sorry... there are far better bands from the era doing the Rock of their time.
Obviously the title track is a banger but I think I only actually enjoyed about 3 tracks on this
The kind of rock you would expect in an indie video game from 2007 that you didn't like much, but played anyways because you wanted to be friends with your brother. 4/10
Drums drag. Voice is whining. Guitar is boring.
Well better then the last hole Album I’m still not a fan of country loves voice.
Rockig, aber auf ne sehr langweilige Art. Da sollte nach Nirvana doch mehr gehen.
After discovering the brilliant ‘Live Through This’ on this list, I was actually disappointed to see this also on here. This is the Hole I already knew - the overly produced and much more commercial, watered down version. The early 90s rough and ready grungey stuff is just infinitely better. If Celebrity Skin had come up first it might have scraped a 3 because there is nothing *bad* about it. But now I’m all in on grungey Hole this just sounds like pop music in context.
Strong start then faded
Ett par igenkännbara låtar, men inte min grej
Very repetitive but with some tracks being catchy. Not the biggest fan of the singers voice for the most part and of emo kind of music in general.
A more commercial alternative rock is the general description of this third and final album by Hole. It's a shame, it does sound like it was one of the last puzzle pieces on building a sound that was copied and hashed out excessively over the course of the following decade. There's some respect for how the album was built, it feels artistic, though I feel terrible for Schemel, I don't think the effort would've suffered so much with her on the drums, but I wasn't there. Overall, it might not have been when it came out, but because of future context it feels aggressively mainstream, which was a lot less than I was hoping for this band. I don't know if I should blame them or cultural context, but it's not asking for another listen. 2.3/5
Killer opening to an album and then just ho hum 90s. Would have probably given it a 3 but I need to force myself out of middle
Lacking in emotion and rather flat.
It's got a few ok tracks.. I'll probably never listen to it again.
3/10… grunge / whimsi goth / *1998
Malibu is a great Sheryl Crow song. And Courtney Love's voice is powerful and gritty. But of all the alternative albums, why is this one included on a top 1000 list?!
Errrm, prefer babes in toyland
How did I get two Hole albums in a row? What did I do to deserve this? This one is just as mediocre as Live Through This. Only ok song was the title track, everything else just sucks.
Yo leí que Courtney Love bató a Kurt Cobain, así que como creo todo lo que leo le doy un 2 (igual, re genérico el album)
Pretty generic
2,4/5
never thought I would say this... but I think I officially don't like Hole.
no me gusto
Because of my dislike of Courtney Love I cannot give this other fine record a fair score. Fellow Gen Xer’s will understand.
Kind of the same thing over and over again. Eh.
I could have sworn I've already reviewed this album. I'd basically call this a two-hit-wonder (Celebrity Skin & Malibu). Rest is kind of meh.
I always preferred Live Through This, but this was massive when I was at school so a nice bit of nostalgia.
Quite Poppy, sounded like R.E.M in parts. Quite liked Northern Star
Why RGP do you unfailingly provide us with the least satisfying work of the artists featured, still plenty of time for duplicates I suppose but do come on now. I can’t in good conscience give this a one but right down among the bottom of the 2 stars…Tom.
Aside from the title track CELEBRITY SKIN this a pretty ho-hum album. I remember when it came out that they kept touting how they went in a new direction, except that the new direction sounded pretty much like the old direction, except for "Use Once and Destroy", in which I hear tiny bit of the industrial pop.. I was also not a fan of Billy Corgan's influence over the band (again, with the exception of the title track which Corgan helped arrange) while he and Love kept dipping in and out of a relationship with one another. I think the removal of this album from the list in later years was probably the correct decision. Grunge had pretty much run itself out by this point in the 90s.
4/10 - meh, opens with its best song and just the same song one after another from there on out
nobody would know about this band if the lead singer (who was quite hot in the 90s) wouldn't have been married to Kurt. Is this "grunge for girls"?! I've heard worse, but the band is overrated. standard 90s pop rock/grunge.
had 1 song already which is insanely peak but the others are not resonating with me that much
Like a bit of the tewn rock with the women
It's OK. Title track, "Celebrity Skin" sounds like Hole but with a more pop aesthetic. "When I wake up in my makeup..." Cool bass line though. "Malibu" is too pop-py for my tastes and what they were typically known for. Courtney doesn't really have the voice to do a lot of what she's trying here. She's a better yeller and screamer than a crooner. "Reasons To Be Beautiful is a prime example of what she should Not be doing. I want to give this a 2.5 as I only really like 2 of the songs. Most of the rest are filler and 1 or 2 are actively bad. Now that I think on it, it's getting a 2 I don't think it belongs on the list. It's not groundbreaking or influential, is it? It got a lot of newsplay because of Cobain and Corgan working on it. "Live Through This" was little better as it had more of their raw sound.
I've seen this album cover before, either from encountering it on this website or seeing it while flicking through the book. It's pretty cool - definitely a fan of the misty backdrop concept, though it's anyone's guess as to what this music could be. Their fashion and the album title seem decently countercultural, so I'll take the safe option and assume this is grunge. Here goes. Nope, alt rock. This album occupies the boring side of 90s alternative for me. Disaffected, dated, washed out vocals paired with competent, yet unremarkable electric guitars. There isn't much craft or intricacy to this music. No gripping atmospheres or creative risks, either. It's also punching a little above its weight with that 50-minute runtime - there were more than a few tracks which could do with being merged into other songs or cut entirely. Overall, this was a tolerable album, but one that I will never, ever return to. Book time. There's a whole lot of wank in here, I won't lie. What am I supposed to impart from "From the whoosh that opens the title cut, it is a whirlwind ride into a post-grunge Oz. Courtney is half Dorothy, half Wicked Witch, alternately blessing and blasting those who cross her." The frontman of the Smashing Pumpkins wrote some of the songs on this album. The guitarist of The Go-Go's also lent a hand, which is another surprise. That band is quite pervasive. "...a misunderstood, melodic masterpiece" which apparently didn't perform too well on the charts. Wikipedia says this album was a departure from their previous sound and was inspired by 90s Los Angeles and California. Received a somewhat polarised, yet generally positive reaction from critics. It also performed pretty well on the charts - I'm not sure what the book is on about. The Canucks and Strayliens especially liked this album - it peaked at no. 3 and no. 4 in each respective country, with much of Europe and the rest of the West not far behind. This album doesn't seem to be innovating all that much, but I suppose these are decent qualifiers. I cosign this inclusion.
Title track is a classic, but just never really vibed with Courtney Love’s style.
okay. einzelne songs sind solide. aber wirklich gut finde ich das album aber nicht
NOT THE HOLE I WOULD REACH FOR
I can see how this is absolutely someone, somewhere's favorite album of all time. But it is not mine.
This really let me down. Felt like they lost all the rough edges they had on Live Through This and got super generic. Boo.
I liked this one a bit more than Live Through This, but it still wasn’t for me. I found it a mixed bag because I didn’t like the grungier songs as much as the other ones plus the vocals weren’t doing it for me. I can definitely see why other people would like this album though.
it's okay
Its ok.
Cool if you like nineties grunge, alt-rock, but I’m undecided whether I do or don’t, I seem to get quite bored of it pretty quickly. Idk man how bout two stars.
INPUT = {"artist": "Hole", "album": "Celebrity Skin"} LINEUP = {"men": 1, "women": 3} FEATURED_ARTISTS = {"men": 0, "women": 0} TOTAL_MEN = 1 TOTAL_WOMEN = 3 WOMEN_PERCENTAGE = 75 OUTPUT = "Score adjusted accordingly. 2/5"
The music's not bad, but this has to be the best example of that horrible late 90's/early 2000's production/mastering that sounds like compressed asshole. Hard to listen to.
My second Hole album here. I enjoyed the Live Through This more. This is good for what it is, but LTT was a little looser and more raw. This isn’t going change any worlds.
I feel like my reviews have gotten stale, but also maybe these recommendations just are. I have talked about things being unspectacular too often but I expect more from this list. This is pretty standard/unspectacular 90s angst rock. It’s listenable and fine but pretty whatever
pretty boring
A nice rock album, but not very special for me.
Dreadful, I listened to as much as I could. I begrudgingly cede one star for the music sometimes being less than horrible and the production solid for what they had to work with. But nothing can make up for her wretched voice. I hate everything about her junkie rock star persona.
Honestly, the only thing wrong with this album is Courtney Love’s grating, relentless voice. Otherwise, some decent late 90s grunge-pop.
cancion famosa celebrity skin, rock, turut turut turuuu, ooh make me oooveeer,... es la unica famosa
It was pretty alright. Didn't really stand out to me
This is a bit too 'punk' and not enough 'post' for me
Very underwhelming. Very repetitive. The instrumentation is awful. There are two great songs but the rest is not good at all.
Rock from the late 90s, already drifting into that fully digital, over-polished production. The record really suffers from the comparison with its 1994 predecessor. Still, while Celebrity Skin sounded fairly mainstream back then, it doesn’t really feel that way anymore. And honestly, which singer today would dare to sing like Courtney Love? Clearly below the rest of the band’s discography for me. The acoustic turn sounds a bit artificial and slightly out of place. Only few songs still work for me.
nothing wow
meh. rock. yelling.
I'd rather be listening to Yoko - my skin's not famous enough for this.
Enjoyed parts, but got a little bit too much "Jam session" for me
Nothing stood out to me. Not the vocals, lyrics, guitars, drums…. Admittedly I am not a fan of grunge, but there is a reason Hole doesn’t have the hits that, say, Nirvana had. Didn’t hate it but nothing note worthy.
Ok
Hittibiisi tuttu, loppu levy oli samaa ysärin lopun ajan kuvaa. Rupesin kyllästymään laulajaan ekan parin biisin aikana ja loppu levy meni pakkopullaks. Yks hyvä biisi löyty levyn loppupäästä mikä vähän piristi.
Two solid singles and a lot of meh. It's not bad but it's not good either. Top tracks: "Celebrity Skin," "Malibu"
Not for me. Downhill after the opener.
Final thoughts: this album has decent hooks and some glossy production but most of Love's edge has been sanded down into a poppier presentation. I don't think her voice is versatile enough to match the more radio friendly focus ******************************************************************************* --Celebrity Skin...chunky bass. great opener --Awful...generic arena rock --Hit So Hard...see above --Malibu...radio friendly unit shifter --Reasons to Be Beautiful...more arena rock but this one has bite --Dying...this album is well produced but feels very safe --Use Once & Destroy...thankfully Melissa Auf der Maur is here to add some much needed heaviness --Northern Star...the super serious acoustic ballad. too long --Boys on the Radio...it's perfectly fine but there's no danger here. Courtney Love songs should be dangerous --Heaven Tonight...this could be played at a middle school dance --Playing Your Song...there's a little edge here --Petals...ready to be done
I was vaguely familiar with the opening track "Celebrity Skin", but I'm not sure where from. I have to wonder if its inclusion in this list is due to the band being fronted by Courtney Love because I was unimpressed by this album. The track "Playing Your Song" sounded like Nirvana.
Liked the first song. The rest sounded like filler to me unfortunately
I've never been much of a Hole fan and even though I guess I like this more than their more raw material, I still can't shake the fact that this album sounds like a complete sellout. The glass is so thick on this album that it is really hard to differentiate this from a lot of the mid-90s heavy guitar Alt rock. I guess that's what's curious to me is that this album sounds so 1995 when it's 1998. Though I would have to say this is better than the butt rock emerging in 1998. The first half of the album where all the hits are the gloss is so thick you can cut it with a knife. But there is some of their more raw sound on tracks like "Dying" and "North Star" actually think I have more respect for those than the big hits even though i find the hits more tolerable. The only song on the album I truly did enjoy was "Use Once & Destroy" that song seem to find the right balance as opposed to most of the rest of the album . (5.5) ★★½
Most of this was not my taste. Some highlights here and there with the jangle pop, but I wasn't a fan of the grungier parts
If this list needs an album from a person who is famous only because of being a widow of a rock star, I'd prefer Yoko Ono. Female version of Nickelback
Solid album but produced and polished within an inch of its life. The rawness was the appeal of Live Through This and made it a top 10 of its genre. This is calculated and shined up just right for MTV and American Top 40. Worked as well methinks as it was 12 years before another album. That could have been the objective, but also might just be how Michael Stipe writes.
Other than the singles which aredecent, rest of the album is meh. Northern Star knocked it from a 3 to a 2
I guess it was better than I expected.
The album was just a wall of sound to me and it blended in to the background.
Smelly pub music
Didn't find this sonically interesting, would probably give this a miss. I have heard Love's solo work prior to this and I didn't enjoy that either, so I'm not surprised this wasn't for me.
I didn't listen in its entierety. Not a fan though.
Not even their best
It’s been odd having been around for Courtney’s various transformations and whatnot, seeing her barely make it through a Hole festival set, just...not great...and then younger gens seize on her as An Icon, usually in the context of this album. Which, when it came out, just seemed to be one part of the Courtney Love Experience, second or third to her acting career and time in the press. If anything, working with former beau Billy Corgan seemed to further substantiate the idea that she couldn’t really write her own material and that Kurt likely played a similar role in the creation of Live Through This. Whatever the authorship, Celebrity Skin is a deliberately radio-friendly slick piece of rock craft, and that enough turned me off; as much as I may have not ever bought Love’s persona, I thought Live Through This got the balance of ferocity and melody right, with a throughline of hurt. Celebrity Skin, otoh, was all in on being a Rock Star. Nearly 30 years later, my read is largely the same, tempered some by distance from the indie rock sellout moralizing that informed much of the music experience in the late 90s. I still can’t hear it as anything other than an attempt to sell a whole lot of records and buttress Love’s quest for idolatry. Is it any good as the product of that? Somewhat? But it’s so anonymous, when trying to recall various songs I get them mixed up with material from Garbage, Bush, and Veruca Salt. It’s no wonder that when it came to folks playing at rock star games, I favoured britpop at this time. At least they were honest about it.
Hmmmm. Never was a massive fan, perhaps early albums have a bit more drive in them. The commercial placement and production, diffuses what was a great sounding band. It was hard to get through
One good song. Not even written by the main songwriter.
The kind of rock even haters of the style could tolerate, for better or worse. With its clean and non-challenging sound, its catchiness-by-virtue-of-predictability and Courtney Love's competent but not very characterful voice, you could have fooled me that some of these tracks are straight from a 'The Victorious Cast goes Rock!' album.
I appreciate it the grungy/pop punk take on a California album, and it does a good job of melding glitz and glamour with seedy underbelly, but I just don't love grunge or pop punk. 2.5
Gostei mais da primeira e da última...
++: Hit So Hard, Use Once & Destroy, Heaven Tonight +: Awful +-: Celebrity Skin, Malibu, Dying, Playing Your Song, Petals -: Reasons to Be Beautiful, Northern Star, Boys on the Radio 4,0/10
2.5/5, began with a lot of energy but when you realize half the songs sounds the same and the singing feels so dragging, I just can't I can't with this singer singing every song the same, but I guess I just don't like the style
Better, more original, than the first Hole album.
I’m not really a fan of Hole, but I went in open-minded and I didn’t hate it! So, there’s that. I don’t know what else to say except I find the music unremarkable and not sure why it’s on this list. Oh well. Standout: Reasons to be Beautiful 01-29-2026
I've not heard of Hole before. Musically a little repetitive with little chord variation but made worse by the vocals that sounded partly stoned and mostly strained by trying to sing/shout too loud. Probably intended to make it seound heavier but to me it didn't succeed.
Too grungy. Lol. Not my thing
I focused on the tambourine on most tracks. they use them a lot. I'd like to hear billy corgan cover the songs he co-wrote. there is no reason to hear this before you die.
Hole are a decent band but felt the material was a bit weak here. Felt like they were going for that big cross over hit album and it hasn't really worked 2.5*
Only two of the album touched me. The others are just normal and little boring. But I can feel the California style from this band.
хоул это пас. не помню сколько альбомов мне уже ставили, но возможно был момент когда я сказала что она на удивление по нотам поёт - вот тут всё-таки нет, намеренно под нотами, такое я один раз могу послушать
Once again this generator has generated a mediocre record from the 1990s that might have reasonably stayed put.
Courtney Love is not a very good singer and to me this album mostly sounds like 90's radio pop with bad singer. 'Use once and destroy' is the exeption and is a clear stand out track for me.
It's hard to imagine that Hole was classified in the alternative rock category. The whole term alt-rock just seems so vaguely stupid. The whole album is pretty pop. Halfway through the album I wondered if this album could offer anything new or interesting. It didn't, even though it's a perfectly decent album in a category that's nice to listen to without the need to ever return to the album again.
It's Hole gone pop and Hollywood, for the foreseeable sales I imagine. It's calculated grunge gone mainstream with all the punk fukt off, hired producer to smooth out the rough with buckets of vanilla to drown out the interesting and reel in the average listener. The only thing I find enjoyable on this record is Melissa Auf der Maur's playing.
Não é ruim ou desagradável, mas não trás nada a acrescentar.
I had only heard the first song before and was like wow this is gonna be a great album if that is just the opener!!!
I never listened to Hole in the 90s. I’ve always wondered if I’ve been missing out. I’m happy to confirm I have not been. It feels like it’s trying too hard to sound like something it’s not. Just feels hollow and meh.
I mean, it’s fine. Nothing unique or remarkable. For me, It’s hard to get past the way everything sounds the same and the vocal delivery that lacks nuance. Courtney Love will always believe her music and her thoughts are much more important than the rest of us do. She cites her poetic inspirations as T.S. Eliot and Shakespeare for this album, and compares the musical style here as a deconstructed Beach Boys or the Doors. I’ll suggest this might be loftier company than Hole should ever be mentioned amongst. And I guarantee that bringing Billy Corgan into the mix on any album will DEFINITELY NOT make things less pretentious. So, yeah, it’s just whatever… nevermind.
as 90's of a sound as it gets, also a Smashing Pumpkins with woman lead vibe at times.. The nostalgia I have for the underlying sound here is working against the album rather than for it. It's not a bad album though, just not for me. On the first listen, there'd be like three seconds where I'd think "wow this sounds just like [ other song ]", and then feel disappointed when it was inevitably different. This would be a 2.5 with a half star system.
Meh. Couple catchy songs.
A bit too shouty, and sounds a bit dated now.
It had that one song on it...
Good but mid, it s one of those albums that at first i m like wtf emm sure dont really care about it but as you listen to it you start liking some songs and the vibe but overall not anything spectacular, two good songs tho.
these guys made generic AI music the hard way: hours and hours of studio time spent on riffless, shapeless power chord slop and vague, opaque lyrics about "Los Angeles and the state of California" (their words). the title track is at least memorable because it has an actual riff. there have been some duds on this list, but none of them have been as anonymous as this.
Not my Hole
sux
Sheryl Crow with reverb. Doesn’t sound as fierce as originally did.
Tämmöstä aika perusrenkutusta, ei jatkoon.
Joo ei tää vaan oikein lähe. Pari ihan jees hittiä, mutta jotenkin vähän liian kliinisen laskelmoivaa. Ei nyt ihan nolla eli reikä eli hole ehkä enempi arshoul eli kakkonen.
This is just too generic and average. Overrated.
A bit whiny
Album a gradual downward slope in quality and listenability. Was over it by the time I hit Northern Star
There is just something so fundamentally unauthentic about this music to me. Off key vocals by design. Love seems to have imagined what she wanted her musical persona to be and is then acting it out. I have a sneaking suspicion she's a better vocalist than she lets on. And it's not just her—it's the entire band. I'm not a fan.
Maybe I didn't give this the attention it deserved because i see so many positive reviews. My opinion was this the other Hole album was waaaaay better. This one seemed tame by comparison, and often downright annoying. DIdn't seem worthy of inclusion.
Have you ever seen a cripple dance? Seriously? I did not listen to Hole back in the 90s and now I know why. I’m all for power pop. Just not this power pop.
ok
meh
Nej
Courtney Love would like to thank Mr A Hitler for pushing the standard of 'History's most hated artist' just slightly out of her reach.
An album that sounds of the time with a bit of an annoying female singer (especially clear in "Northern Star"). I found it all very underwhelming. It's not an album that needs to be on this list.
I admire the passion but at a certain point the album felt pretty one dimensional. Northern Star just highlights how bad a singer Courtney is
Definitely transports you straight to the 90’s. More of a fan of the earlier Hole albums.
Can tell Kurt didn't write this one. After track 1 (Celebrity Skin), not much to get excited about.
#122/1001. The album was playing on as I had a boating accident in my garden, failing to change my mood for the good or for the worse. Had to give it a second chance though. 2nd listen: solid playing, good production, ok songs, and music that just doesn't interest me at all.
2/5
good but not my thing
Generic 2000’s sounding album. I suppose it gets points for being first as it’s a 90’s album but it did not age well.
2 at the most.
Courtney Love has a mind blowing career. At 21, she acted opposite Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb in one of my all-time-favorite movies, Sid & Nancy. Here she is--a rock star--13 years later with one of the 1001 albums you must listen to before you die sandwiched between starring roles in The People vs. Larry Flynt and Man on the Moon, opposite Woody Harrelson and Jim Carrey, respectively. Like, she made it in the entertainment business, on two fronts. Yet, she is remembered as an addict, an afterthought, a punchline. Of course, there is...Everything. Else. But still, it feels like she does not get enough credit for her accomplishments. Having said that, the real star of this album, for me, is Courtney Love's crop top on the cover.
I don't think that I've ever listened to this album before, despite knowing their first album fairly well. Not really a fan, but found it listenable.
Averag bar one song
This is a pretty fucking excellent album to capture one of the 90s greatest rock / grunge acts in their more mature phase. Courtney Love is one of the most genuine rock stars of our time and deserves to be shouted. But this does not belong in my precious remaining 1001 days before I die!!!! Two stars only for that, three stars otherwise in terms of musicality, performance, songwriting, emotion (I would rate Live Through This higher).
while i enjoyed some tracks, i felt like it all sounded the same
Never actually listened to hole. Everyone says Kurt cobain wrote a lot on it, the opening track was like a nirvana love letter. Didn’t feel the album struck me like nirvana does, not bad, not great
Ibland bra, ibland rätt jämntjockt, både i produktion och sång. Men sen dyker en bra melodi upp och då blir det bra, men sen slår det över i gnälligt och då blir det tråkigt. 2-3 starka toppar sen albumspår typ. Lyssna igen?: bara hitsen Bästa spår: d - Malibu Dw- Northern star Betyg: d - 5 av 10 (2 av 5) Dw - 5 av 10 ( 2 av 5)
Meh. "Celebrity Skin" is a great song but the rest of the album is a bit of a dud.
Don’t mention Nirvana challenge: Impossible. Three words in baby. New record. Let’s get this out of the way. I definitely think that the depressed drug addict who was actively suicidal was in fact, murdered. Classic scenario. It’s the perfect crime. Anyway. Time for some Hole. Wait, that didn’t come out right. Time to dive into Hole. Fuck. This isn’t working out for me. Let’s uhh listen to this band. Celebrity Skin - Any song that was in Rockband immediately got fried into my brain as a Rockband song. It’s a certain feel. Trying to listen to it as a normal song. It’s too hard, I can still see the word “slut” flashing across my parent’s TV before my 12 year old eyes. This is their hit, and it’s pretty good. Awful - Well the review of this track writes itself doesn’t it? Go ahead. Start writing. Ugh. Anyway, this song reminds me of Avril Lavigne. That’s not something I would consider a positive. This would “slap” if I was a 16 year old girl in 1998. For now, I can only thank my lucky stars that wasn’t the case. Hit So Hard - Now the songs are lying. This song does not hit hard. It “goes hard on mute” as the unfunny nerds on the internet regurgitate. Wait a second I just regurgitated it uhhh. Well. There’s your confirmation. Malibu - Where is the edge? No, that isn’t a flat-earther takedown, but rather a plea to Courtney et al for some roughness to the music. I beg of you. Oh there’s a little growl. The music is just so weak here. Bleh. Reasons to be Beautiful - Finally a riff that contains something. The previous few tracks were severely lacking iron. Anemia was setting in. Get them a steak posthaste. We’ve got something in this track. This one grooves pretty hard. Very simple rock song with a dose of that punk lethargy of the 90s. Dying - This chorus/entire song was pretty obnoxious and I kind of hated it. Makes me pine for Obituary’s version of the song (it’s a different song). Use Once & Destroy - We’ve returned to the “boring songs” portion of the album. Very controversial of them to include boring songs. Perhaps a statement against the state of modern music at the time. No? They intended this to be a good album? Oh. Northern Star - Ughh this one is killing me. Maybe she did do it. Boys on the Radio - This is so dull. Just another three chord rock song but with this gross sort of melody. Heaven Tonight - Is this going to be another one that is tinged with radio accessible sadness? This rips a riff from Spirit of the Radio, and is again, pretty boring. I don’t think I’m the target audience here. Not offensive, but so middling. Playing Your Song - Solid song. Trying to save this thing near the end. Good to hear a little more vitriol. The riff kind of sounds like that one song I remember from “Disney Skate Adventure,” which is a wild pull. I played a lot of video games as a child. Petals - What a sleepy closer. We get a hey ey ey ey reprisal to close this sucker out, but referencing an earlier, better track won’t save this puppy. Man this was not as vibrant as I expected. Sure, vibrant might be the wrong word but Celebrity Skin was just so listless. It used that slacker energy to its advantage a few times, but mostly they just seemed to put very little effort into the riffs and it felt like the whole thing was just to fulfill a label requirement. Very little about this felt urgent. The lyrics were obviously very dense (in a good way) and spoke to some genuine emotion, but the actual music was not great for too much of this. Back into the hole, ladies. Time is money and we’re running dry on both. 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Celebrity Skin, Reasons to be Beautiful, Playing Your Song
Boring. Babes in toyland for me any day of the week.
Meh.
Not for me.
Eh
Pretty forgettable run-of-the-mill alternative rock. I kept waiting for something interesting or different to happen, but it was a fruitless fifty minutes of nothingness. Cut-and-paste melodies, totally expected instrumentation, and below average vocals. Difficult to understand why this would be an album anyone must hear, unless it's just to get Courtney Love on the list or perhaps as an example of the yawnsville American alt-rock scene of the late 90s. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing
I like “Malibu”. That’s about it.
Hole (and more specifically, Courtney Love) was such a polarizing and controversial entity in 90s music. While she gave teeth to the Riot Grrrrl movement, I found her tiring.
Favorites: Celebrity Skin, Awful, Malibu Yeah, I'll be honest... I wasn't a fan of this one. I love Live Through This, I think it's one of the rawest and most interesting grunge records to come out of that genre's boom. Unfortunately, their follow-up is so much weaker, with only a few songs I found myself interested in. Very disappointed.
everything this album is striving towards has been done better before them.
gronge
147/1089 - Sounds like alternative rock with a hit or miss vocalist. Why is this on the list? Maybe lyrically it has something going on but that's not music, that's literature. Musically it's nothing special at all.
1 good track but Courtney Love still sucks
Starts strong then descends into utter trash
Nothing interesting for me here. I probably wouldn't skip a song on a random playlist, but it's nothing remarkable. Listened to the album and couldn't remember one piece afterwards.
2.4 Murderer
Better than expected, but aside from a solid opening to the album and a few songs that made me nostalgic, there's not much here.
Maybe this felt landmark at the time. Now it’s merely Eh.
lets go ladiez! ja tuota ei voi ei. jee jee ysäri musiikki :( voi harmitus :/ heey heeey heeyy lets do it yeaa yeaa yeaaa! ai toi yks on mies ehkä, femiini androgyyni kuningas. tai transu. eihän se nyt kammotus ole mutta äänivalli vaan ja tylsä semmoinen. silmät liukuu ylös kalloon ja aivot sulkeutuu... tärisee vaan horroksessa semmonen fiilis tulee tälläsestä... omg msiikki ei koskaan tälläistä uudestaan, kun olin nuori nuorri 1998 nii tämä top tier musiikki ulostettiin! ei ole parantunut siitä lähtien polvet taikka albumien laatu. imekä celebrity skin
First song is good. Not really into the rest of it.
Not my favorite of the genre or era, but the final song is decent
The effect is poppy grunge, with Courtney Love’s cutting lyrics slightly undermined by the major key upbeat mess of the music. In the end you just have to decide how much she really means it and how much this is a knowing pop product and the truth is I honestly don’t know. Musically I found it underwhelming, formulaic and derivative.
After Hit So Hard, the songs kinda blended together and felt lyrically too adjacent to each other. -Celebrity Skin -Awful
The album cover seems to suggest something like... From the ashes of grunge's demise rises this Phoenix of mediocrity. The dude's expression on the right side of the photo accurately sums up the band's lack of enthusiasm when making this lame record. They as he might, Billy Corgan just couldn't save this album. And I'm not just some boomer hater. I'm gen X all the way and even saw Hole in concert once in 95. Hell, I even own a Courtney Love signature model guitar. But there is no just reason for this album to be on this list. Blind Melon's 'Soup' was robbed! 1.5/5 Album 17/1001
Went on a bit with very similar songs... Not a fan 2/5
Meh. I had never heard of Hole but this didn't interest me much and I'm usually a fan of 90s alt-rock.
Started promising bur descended into generic teen movie stuff quickly
Not really for me. Occasionally enjoyable in parts.
Maso
I think I would have liked it more if not for Love's voice/range
Fun indie pop
This is surprisingly unpleasant. I was pretty irritable during my first listen, and it tweaked me out. So I gave it a second shot, but even then, I was just waiting for it to be over.
Highlight: Celebrity Skin In a nutshell: formulaic AF. The problem with 90s albums is that many reuse riffs and chords. So many same sounding songs are on here. The album begins with a bang then from Awful onwards I find myself asking "what happened? Why are we in cruise control?" I just think this isn't the album to represent Hole. That said, there is no love (pardon the pun) lost from me towards Courtney. She - along with Shirley Manson, Fiona Apple and Kathleen Hanna - are the unapologetic female role models us 90s kids needed in our lives. Flaws and all. Overall: 3/10
Other than the Title Track, it was sub-par. It became stale, repetitive 1990s alternative music over, and over. Favorite Song: "Celebrity Skin".
i hate this album. the song Celebrity Skin rocks though
It wasn't that bad, but I couldn't say I loved it.
2/5 Prima sound, elk nummer wel dezelfde vibe
There's a couple of radio friendly unit shifters on this album but it's mostly pretty bland. Not anywhere near as good as Live Through This.
Not sure I would listen again - I enjoyed this less than I thought I would - I really wish we could give half star reviews. Still love it for mailbu tho. Other faves: the title track (of course)northern star, and boys on the radio.
I didn’t really listen to this because I don’t want to but I recognized the first song from when it was popular.
"Celebrity Song" ist ein wirklich guter Song. Aber dann wird es zu einem Einheitsbrei das Album. Nach drei Songs musste ich nachschauen, ob die Repeat-taste versehentlich eingeschaltet war. Der Gesang und die Arrangements sind mir zu langweilig auf die Dauer
Музыка банальная, да и Кортни безголосая
It’s a bit too poppy for me but there’s some catchy stuff on here.
meh with a side of ok
Good album but nothing special. It feels very average. Bar a few songs I would not listen to this again. Celebrity skin and hit so hard are good songs. Favourite song: Hit so hard Least favourite: All are OK. Album artwork: Cool cover.
I really loved Live Through This but this album not so much. Love's voice is really grating and the songs aren't nearly as interesting.
Love was, and I mean this, the worst front person for the band Faith No More. This was a couple of months in the later 80's. It was interesting in that the band was post-Chuck Mosley but still sounded like FNM...except Love...who insisted by sheer will on being who she is. Which is a very mediocre artist. Hole sounds like someone doing an impression of grunge/alternative. If it were not for her multiple dalliances she likely wouldn't have ascended to a fair degree of fame. I would have 50+ minutes of my life back. What I will grant this album is that it is very well laid out and quite consistent. Like some artificial nutrient paste shaped skillfully into the impression of a complete supper. The entire album I cannot find one moment of excitement. Big Yuck to this album.
This album is pretty mediocre. It has a couple of good songs, but it’s too poppy for me and some of the songs are pretty throwaway.
A dull plodding album with little that stands out.
Ok
Sounds like a bunch of Smashing Pumpkins songs instead with female vocals. Okay album but not sure if I’ll listen again.
Celebrity Skin gave me high hopes
When a new musical trend emerges, music executives are desperate to find something similar to flog and you end up with tat like this landfill alt rock. Celebrity Skin (the song) is fine, Malibu is just about tolerable, but the rest of the album is so dull. It felt a lot longer than its 50 minute run time. Boring
Groupe inconnu. En fait non, j'avais déjà entendu Celebrity Skin (+) sans l'associer à ce groupe. J'aime bien le son de basse sur cet album. Mais c'est à peu près tout. Pas désagréable à écouter, mais rien d'original et très mou. =>2/5
The first two songs are awesome. The rest is not so remarkable – on a positive note, it was nice to find out that Courtney Love had an actual musical career
Not particularly bad, but extremely generic for me. Celebrity Skin could be the sole OST for a US high school teen drama set in the '90s where it is obvious that the actors playing the students are well over 30. 2.5
Quite repetitive but very jumping on bed as teenager 90s classic. Title track was great and overall not a bad listen. I'll go with a decent 2.3.
When my daughter was fourteen, she queued for hours at HMV Record Store in Sydney to get Marilyn Manson’s autograph, so I gave her my Hole CD, the one that included a cover of The Ronettes’ He Hit Me(And It Felt Like A Kiss), unbelievably written by Carole (You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman) King, for a member of Hole to autograph - both bands were out here for the Big Day Out. And she got me Courtney Love’s autograph. I really like the three singles off the album & can’t really be bothered with the rest.
one good song…
..
**Review:** This album starts strong but quickly becomes underwhelming and generic. Despite a few highlights, it lacks originality and feels forgettable. Not as good as some of their other stuff.
This sounds like a bland final attempt to keep a dying genre alive well past the point where it was exciting and fresh. This is "bad ass girl rock" for those who don't know about Sleater-Kinney or PJ Harvey. It's a snoozer that offers up almost nothing of note other than an opening track you've heard in movies.
I find Courtney Love to be quite the compelling character, but that sentiment does not extend to her music.
2.5
Not a lot to say about this album. It was mostly fine, generic late 90s hard rock. A few standout moments but nothing great or offensive. Does feel a little commercialized at times, but the ending of the album does enough to keep it decent. Top tracks. Reasons To Be Beautiful, Playing Your Song, Petals
Uninteresting
I really had high hopes for this album after the first two cuts with their high-energy melodic pop rock sound - after the fantastic opening the rest of the disc was rather disappointing and the vocals quite awful...
Underwhelming
I challenge the fact that there are 2 Hole albums on this list!
Didn’t age well
Celebrity Skin They love the title track on 6 Music, it seems to be on multiple times a week. I’m actually a little partial to it, it’s quite a pleasing bit of late 90s alt rock pop. Didn’t realise Billy Corgan co-wrote it. Awful I enjoyed too, I liked the bubblegum surf vibe to it. After that it descends into a soup of formulaic alt rock I was expecting, with not much musical or melodic variance or interest, making it quite hard to discern the difference between any of the songs. The only one that I noticed on the first listen was Heaven Tonight, it’s synth lines giving it a bit of personality and uniqueness. Second run through I liked it a little more, noticing some quite nice harmonies and backing vocals, particularly Malibu, but overall I still struggled to find much interest in it, it’s fine for what it is and what it’s trying to do but ultimately it all a bit meh. Not terrible, just not something that interests me much ⭐⭐
downloaded 3,6,8&9. didn’t like it much despite the downloads
Sole less pop rock with female vocals.
nothing attention-worthy, almost all of the tracks sound the same except the last one, which was actually good to my surprise overall:4.5/10
avril lavigne if she was bad
Not my cup o tea. To me this honesty just sounds a bit winy and loud.
I Remember this band, still not my jam
Meh. American wining
Meh. And I love the 90's
Kilka fajnych, większość taka sama. Trochę taka chylinska
Live Through This is a much better album. But given the state of mainstream rock in 1998, I guess you could have done worse than this album. Still, I didn't like it then and it hasn't grown on me since.
I have a strong dislike for Hole. +1 for Celebrity Skin 2/5
I had obviously heard the one song Hole had done, but never heard the whole album. I truly never liked them because of her weird relationship with Kurt, but it wasn’t bad. There were some highlights in there.
meh as fuck
Langweilig.
Pretty basic rock, and not in the “theyre really good at this” way, more like the “hey this sounds like every rock song ever” way not very good. Reminds me of blondie with a shitty voice LOL ITS COURTNEY LOVE IT LITERALLY IS BLONDIE WITH A SHITTY VOICE Still it waznt bad Favorite: celebrity skin Least favorite: Malibu 2.8
Did I really need to hear a second Hole album before I die? I think I would have been OK hearing none. At a different time in my life this might have made it to 3 stars. I didn't hate it, I could listen to it not wishing for my early demise but this is still not my thing. 2.5/5
Meh.
Perfectly fine 90's alt rock, but I don't think it is particularly noteworthy overall
Un peu chiant.
Not a Courtney love fan so I wasn't looking forward to this, but it was better than I expected.
This listens like AI tried to make a 90s album. No riffs, just simple chord progressions. Singing is intentionally off key. Guitars are super distorted. But the songs could just as easily be reproduced as Britney Spears songs. So in one way, you know me well AI. I'm here for this. Just most of the songs aren't very good. A couple interesting gems at the end though.
Boring. Couldn’t finish
It’s a certain kind of catchy. Not really my cup of tea, but not as loud as I expected it to be.
This album starts off with the best written song on the album, the albums self titled track. It still sou ds great to this day. Another notable song is Malibu (I believe this was another single). The rest of the songs are pretty mediocre at best. The song Awful is far to repetitive and too long and, well... I wish I could say it is Awful because that would be funny... But it's just mediocre - a lot of words for a song where nothing is being said. Reasons To Be Beautiful is just Courtney Love rambling on and on and on. Dying sounds kind of pathetic angsty. Actually this whole album's overbearing theme is Angst. I feel like Courtney Love is really trying to channel her inner Kurt Cobain - I know the comparison is low hanging fruit... But let's be honest, we know, she knows, that her career would not have gone anywhere if she wasn't Kurt Cobain's wife. I know Courtney Love would tell me to Fuck off and that I don't know what i am talking g about. But it's a hard pill to swallow, isn't it Courtney? Use Once & Destroy is another good song on the album. There are some cool musical arrangements that didn't sound like typical Hole style music.. I had to check to see if this was actually Love's writing. Nope. There's a good chunk of songs that thr musical arrangements were written by Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins. Go figure.
High school garage band with female lead vocals. I made it through the whole album at least.
The song "Celebrity Skin" is catchy and thoughtful enough, so satisfying in a way. Also familiar, being the big hit and title track on the disc. I'm going to break down what I don't like about this and I'll try to keep personality issues out of it. Although I find it to be in extremely bad taste to attempt to force your drummer to quit. Really really bad form. Just have a meeting: "Listen, after doing two albums with you both of which were really succesful and Critically Acclaimed™, we just want to go in a different musical direction and we don't think you're going to want to hang, I'm sorry." Hole was of course just a Courtney Love project, but you don't have to be an asshole. Read the wikipedia article about how Love and the producer conspired to record this with studio guy Dean Castronovo. Even more unethical is not pulling the original grrrl drummer off the credits, keeping Hole's (almost) all girl grunge band aesthetic intact but still able to pull this over-produced attempt at a commercially appealing rock album. This attempt at a grunge-pop mashup (originally perfected by Nirvana) feels extremely disingenuous. Also whatever attempt at the "Califorinia sound™" {citation needed} would be the antithesis to that punk/grunge aesthetic that they were faking before. Nothing about the band Hole feels genuine. From their going to Minnesota (!) to recruit Kristen Pfaff, guitarist Eric Erlander's girlfriend who overdosed at 27, 4 months after Courtney Love's husband, to the above mentioned drummer shell game, to the bizarre choice of Production and musical direction. The best songs here are co-written with Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, which is telling. As a whole it is really not as great as you're being led to believe. So many other grrls did this better, from PJ to The Breeders to L7. Courtney love's singing ruins it for me. It's not good. I love the heavier genres like punk, grunge, an metal, but this is a cash grab or something and it sounds like it to me.
I’m a Hole hater but it wasn’t that bad
Gear: Hifiman Arya Mix: Bass und Gitarren oft rotzig - die Vocals sowieso. Hi-Hats etwas zu klirrend. Musik: "Celebrity Skin" ist einfach nen geiler Opener. Billy Corgan's Einfluss merklich in den ungestümeren Nummern - leider auch ne Menge erschreckend braves Pop-Rock Gedudel dabei ("Awful" + "Hit So Hard" u.v.a.). Wertung: 2-3/5
Strammer Gitarrenrock. Zwei Sterne.
Overwraught slashing guitars and yelled lyrics, truly the sound of the 90's grunge-rock. Dying, Northern Star, and Heaven tonight were a welcome foray into country twanged ballads.
Courtney love is a hack
Very middle of the road, sanitised and over produced.
Favorite Tracks: Celebrity Skin Northern Star
Very very 90s. Some boppers, some meh songs. Not one of my favorites from the era. Love’s voice does grate a bit. She has a whiny quality to her singing voice. 2
started strong but became mostly noise
Really wished I liked the vocals as everything else was great.
Solid punk rocky, got tastes of smashing pumpkins, not my favorite style but cool. 3/10
I didn't dislike it, but the after a while the songs sound too similar to stand apart from each other. Loves vocals were the biggest drawback on the album, but that just made the vocal harmonies sound that much better. Best Songs: TBD Listen Again: Probably
Background tracks over background vocals. Boring
Meh. I only knew the first song coming in but I kinda just don’t like Courtney Loves voice. I did like Northern Star though but none of the rest really did much for me. 2.5 that I’m rounding DOWN.
I think this band is okay, but they never really clicked with me. Most of grunge didn't, even though there are plenty of superb artists who contributed to that genre. Just a personal preference.
well, well, well. I don't relly know
album doesn’t live up to the promise of the first track 2/5
I didn't like it. Sorry courtney
A couple of strong tracks, too many that sounded like an angsty teenager trying too hard.
Would make a really good instrumental album. Courtney's screech get to you after a couple of tracks
Started out strong with the first half. The title track is probably their strongest, where Courtney Love’s snarly Billy Corgan impression works best. Awful is also a surprisingly sunshiny jangle pop tune. By the second half though, the vocals are worn out and annoying and the lyrics are just bad (Northern Star, yuck). Overall it’s much longer than it needed to be, they could have scraped 3-4 songs and this would have been a much better album. 2.5/5.
Not bad, but just okay. Decent enough 90s alternative, but nothing that really jumped out at me
Started out strong, but I quickly got tired of it.
The opening deceptively suggests someone involved in the band cares to write tunes with dynamics, riffs that linger, and choruses - it's a worthwhile tune. Tedium trails Love's drawl and wail, and I chafed at the slack in each song, each a minute more or less too long. Towards the end, I realised I'd made a listener error, and that this cruise-control, repetitive chord parade has purpose, the equivalent of a truck driver simulator or certain minimalist techno, where each song's sequence is repeated until we hypnotically mumble along.
Not abysmal
90’s alt rock. One decent overplayed radio hit. Not sure why it's on the list.
I don't hate this, it's fine, but it's not particularly inspiring. Definitely more listenable than the previous Hole album we had, but a bit more generic too - and you really can't get away with a voice like that when you're singing music like this (whereas she kinda could with the proper grunge album before). 2/5, but a high 2.
The need to pump up the volume comes from the lack of raw power and noise earlier recordings spread. It‘s like artificially faking big boobs - silicone rock from Hollywood.
This was unlikely to appeal to me, and this has proved to be the case. One song felt like it was merging into another and I couldn't get excited about any of these tracks
This is a shame. Nothing close to Live Through This. The first song sounds like what a radio hit sounds like. The rest of it is not so hot.
I can see why this was a big album - pop-rock with a bratty edge that is hummable in a very breezy way. By the same token, I cannot see why it's on this particular list. Cultural impact? Because on the basis of the music, it's as anodyne as could be. It's not bad, by any stretch - but it is bland. 'Celebrity Skin' is a good track though.
Music is ok, but I don't like the singing.
2. Ok but probably won't listen again.
:))
I almost enjoyed this at the beginning, but man... it dragged on and all started sounding the same. If we're being honest, this is just pop dressed up like grunge. Not into it.
Fav tracks: Celebrity skin, Petals
I've never listened to this full album before. For as much as I love Live Through This, Celebrity Skin is surprisingly disappointing. Seems like they leaned hard into what a lot of other post-Grunge era bands were doing, and it just doesn't suite them, IMO.
Nah. D…+, I guess.
You can totally see the bold girl's nipples on the cover of the album. This is very 90/00's grunge rock and I'm here for it. It's not terrible, there are some good songs, but overall not super capturing me. It started out strong but ended up pretty boring after that.
3 March 2023: I'm still deciding on my rating. I might need to listen a third time. 21 August 2023: When I came across Celebrity Skin while going through my master list, a slight jolt of panic went through me--I was afraid that I gave this a 3 when I couldn't recall a single song or a beat, let alone remember if I even listened through it all the way. Thank goodness I ignore my problems when I'm indecisive.
Courtney Love’s nips couldn’t save this from feeling like I was taking a shower with a low pressure faucet. Hole went completely Hollywood here with the music, lyrics, and album cover. They also went completely Hollywood by choosing their new producer over their original drummer, who gave Live Through This most of its heart.
Really? On the 1001 albums you *must* hear? Goodness me.
Not a rock fan so didn’t vibe with the album unfortunately. Celebrity skin was a good single though.
Tracks 2-11 are the definition of MOR 'alternative' radio rock, complete with teenage angst lyrics written by a 34 year old. Track 1 is Nirvana-esque, complete with 'heeeeeeys' and 'yeaaaaahs' in place of actual lyrics. Overall, there is very little of interest on this somewhat dull album. It comes across as little more than a shallow and commercially calculated endeavour to shift units. Rating: 1.5/5 Playlist track: Celebrity Skin Date listened: 06/03/23 (generated 27/02/23)
Ok album, niets speciaals, maar ook niet slecht.
Didn’t Courtney Hate it, but bored me a little at points. 2 stars.
I’d like it if they weren’t so damn whiny
I think this is a whole lot of nothing, really
I was expecting trash from a person I generally consider trash. She may live in infamy, but for killing Kurt, not for her music. But this album wasn't all that bad and now we have the Foo Fighters, so we got that going for us. I'm pretty sure I've heard Celebrity Skin and Malibu before and didn't think they were too bad. Personal favorites were Awful and Use Once and destroy. Awful for the line, I was a punk, now I'm just stupid. All in all, it was rock n roll with some decent songs. Nothing stood out as great, but did not think it was so bad I would struggle to get through. Now the genre it kicked into, on Spotify, after the album was done was kickass. A lot of Foo, Soundgarden, AIC, and Weezer so I spent a lot of time just listening to the classic greats of the greats! Oh yea, first song on Spotify after the Carpenters was Easy by the Commodores. Great tune. Back to the Hole. Another middle of the pack, meh for me. I'm going to score 2.5. Can't give a 3 to this, so will show as 2 Nothing here deemed worthy to download and probably wouldn't listen again 2.5