Celebrity Skin is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Hole, released on September 8, 1998, in the United States on DGC Records and internationally on Geffen Records. It was the last album released by the band before their dissolution in 2002. Hole intended for the record to diverge significantly from their previous noise and grunge-influenced sound as featured on Pretty on the Inside (1991) and Live Through This (1994). The band hired producer Michael Beinhorn to record Celebrity Skin over a nine-month period that included sessions in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. It was the band's only studio release to feature bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. Drummer Patty Schemel played the demos for the album, but was replaced by session drummer Deen Castronovo at the suggestion of producer Beinhorn. This issue created a rift between Schemel and the band, resulting in her dropping out of the tour and parting ways with the group, though she received the drumming credit on the album.
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. Unlike Hole's previous releases, the final songs on Celebrity Skin featured instrumental contributions from several musicians outside the band, primarily Billy Corgan, who co-wrote the musical arrangements on five songs. Auf der Maur's former bandmate Jordon Zadorozny, as well as Go-Go's guitarist Charlotte Caffey, also contributed to the composition of one track. Frontwoman Courtney Love, who wrote all of the lyrics, named the album and its title track after a poem she had written that was influenced by T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land". Motifs of water and drowning are also prominent throughout the album.
Celebrity Skin is Hole's most commercially successful album. It peaked at number nine on the US Billboard 200, number four on the Australian Albums Chart, and number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. To date, it has sold over 1.4 million copies in the United States alone, has been certified as double-platinum in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and platinum in Canada by Music Canada (MC) and the United States by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It garnered Hole a number-one hit single on the Modern Rock Tracks chart with the title track, "Celebrity Skin". Critical reaction to the album was very positive and it was listed on a number of publications' year-end lists in 1998, including those by Time and The Village Voice. The album was named the 265th greatest album of all time by a 2013 poll by NME magazine and was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Beavis: Check it out, Butt-Head…our 69th album just got generated.
Butt-Head: uh-huh-huh, you said “69”.
Beavis: oh, yeah, I guess did….heh-heh…
Butt-Head: so, uh…what is it?
Beavis: Uhh…69 is the sex number, Butt-Head…Jeez
Butt-Head: I know what 69 is, dill-weed. What record are we, like, supposed to listen to?
Beavis: oh…yeah, cool…I knew that…uh, it says we’re supposed to listen to Celebrity Skin by Hole.
Butt-Head: uh-huh-huh…Hole.
Beavis: yeah! and it’s, like, our 69th record, Butt-Head…Heh-heh…69…heh-heh-heh…Hole…Get it?
Butt-Head: Whoa…that’s cool. This generator must know we’re, like, super cool badasses who like to score.
Beavis: uhh…Butt-Head? We, like, don’t score very much at all.
Butt-Head: Uh…speak for yourself, butt-munch. Ladies love the Butt-Head…Now go put on that Hole record, you wuss.
Beavis: oh, yeah…sure thing, Butt-Head.
[they listen to the record]
Beavis: Hey, Butt-Head?
Butt-Head: Uhh….yeah, Beavis?
Beavis: Is it just me or does this record kind of suck?
Butt-Head: yeah, Beavis…it sucks. She’s, like, singing about seeing God and stuff.
Beavis: Yeah…singing about God sucks. This is lame.
Butt-Head: We should, like, leave a bad review and demand the Generator give us a new album that’s, like, cool to listen to for number 69.
Beavis: Yeah! This sucks! I want a refund or I’m gonna find the Generator and, like, smash it with a baseball bat…and then, I’m going to take all the pieces, gather them up and set them on fire! Yeah, fire! FIRE! Heh-heh…that’ll teach them to make us listen to things that suck.
Butt-Head: uh-huh-huh…Breaking things is cool.
Beavis: It sure is, Butt-Head…It sure is.
I'd like to publicly apologize to Courtney Love for just dismissing her as a tabloid time waster. I hadn't listen to any Hole music on principle until now. My loss. I'm sorry. This was really excellent.
I had no idea Courtney Love’s music was actually good! I’d grown up just knowing she had a band and was married to Kurt Cobain but had wrongly assumed the band was trash. This whole thing sounds so full and the melodies are as catchy as they come while remaining powerfully aggressive. Love it!
Easily Hole's biggest release (and their last), Celebrity Skin is a powerhouse alt-rock album. It's got everything you could want from a rock album in '98. It has bad-ass female power vocals, chunky riffs, meaningful lyrics, and all the attitude you can eat. It's a great album.
I've been waiting for this generator to give me more stuff like this. This is my groove, my era. I want to live inside the 90's and never leave. This album hits every level of alt-rock greatness and just demolishes.
A perfect distillation of that nineties sound, Hole were kind of alt / kind of pop, tabloid fodder lead singer / artist with integrity, cynical / sell out - holding all these contradictions together in the one hole. And accordingly, it’s one of the best albums of the nineties. It captures that mood so perfectly - disaffected rich kids, LA is so shallow but means the world.
Someday soon (possibly even while I'm still going through all of these albums), there are going to be serious arguments about either Courtney Love or Hole should be elected to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. I'm not saying her or the band will make it, but the two albums deservedly on this list sure make a good case for election. Both "Live Through This" and "Celebrity Skin" come close to being perfect for their genres and time. I find myself preferring this one, and not because it's more accessible. Courtney leans more into a polished pop sound (similar to what Liz Phair did post Guyville) that seems to suit her more. Some dissed her for that, suggesting she sold out. Courtney could never do right in her critic's eyes. As far as "California Albums" are concerned, I'll put this up with the Beach Boys, Eagles Byrds and Doors similar conceptual albums. Maybe by the time she and Hole are eligible for the Rock Hall, voters will judge Courtney on her musical contributions and forget that she had anything to do with killing Kurt Cobain (allegedly, don't @ me).
Courtney Love is a genuine rock star. Intense, angry, articulate, unpredictable, controversial, ambitious, unfiltered, strong, damaged, impulsive, charismatic. She has copped a lot of flack over the years, some self-inflicted damage, but a lot of grief for being crime of being a woman.
This album came at an interesting time when a major label would drop significant coin on a very abrasive band from the punk tradition to record like they were Fleetwood Mac (a comparison that they would acknowledge themselves, following their cover of Gold Dust Woman on the Crow soundtrack). This has all the hallmarks of a major label blockbuster production; big name producer, 9 months of sessions in various expensive studios across multiple continents, high profile songwriting collaborations, replacing the drummer's tracks with a session guy, drama, drugs, balancing an acting career, etc etc.
If you had asked me five years earlier if Courtney Love and colleagues had a big shiny major label rock album in them, I would have scoffed. They were an angry, shouty punk band, with a controversial point of view, and I was chuffed that they had been given enough money and support to make 'Live Through This', which I regard as their artistic peak. A great sounding record, but still true to who they were and what they did best (energetic, noisy, uncompromising).
While Celebrity Skin is still, I believe, true to Courtney's vision and voice, although I think it is a bit uncomfortable and a stretch of her abilities to try and make a mainstream hard rock record. But try and succeed they did, and this was a substantial success. The singles are pretty listenable, but, to my own tastes, I prefer it when Courtney gets a chance to really cut loose. For me, Live Through This was the perfect balance between decent production and wild abandon. This record, by way of contrast, aims for the radio play (which they achieved) and mainstream sales (which they achieved). It's just not as much to my taste, but a successful effort at what they were aiming for.
As a coda, I think you can really see that this was the beginning of the end for the band. The process of recording the record effectively forced Patty Schemel out of the band, and interviews with Melissa auf der Maur and Eric Erlandson suggest that maybe this approach wasn't quite their preference. While Courtney achieved her ambition of producing a mainstream success, I don't think this satisfied her (in retrospect), and the band (in this form) never made another album. Be careful what you wish for, Courtney, you might get it.
A somewhat uneven album, that doesn't quite contain the passion/angst of live through this and adds a layer of polish that dilutes the predecessors energy. Awful and Celebrity Skin are highlights.
This follow-up to Hole's best album 'Live Through This" is warmer, shinier and has what I imagine to be a Los Angeles feel. Every track is great. I don't understand the hate for Courtney Love but I suspect it has something to do with latent misogyny.
Celebrity Skin is a great power pop album and an interesting way to depart from the grunge style from previous albums produced by Courtney Love's Hole. The changes in the line up and production style resulted in a album about California that works very well as a single theme record. Love's lyrics are at her peak, exploring themes of superficiality and sexism that fits very well with the California motif. "Celebrity Skin" and "Malibu" are alt rock classics and great late 1990s songs.
Energetic, heartfelt, and rock and roll to its core. I listen to so much music like this nowadays that I can't help but wonder how much Hole has influenced this generation's indie rockers. I don't know if they largely invented this sound or not, but regardless, they know what how to make it strong and moving.
I'm a bit biased, because this album came out when I was 16 and I was crazy for it. I bought it on release. I was *there* for it. But 25 years on, I still think this album is fantastic. There's some elements of it that feel a little "filler" ("Playing Your Song"), but for the most part, this is a wonderfully melodic, brutally personal album from Courtney and Eric (and Billy Corgan).
I was honestly blown away by this album. Song for song, just a ton of great rock songs. Courtney is such a great front woman, and every hook hits for me. No lulls, no filler, just great track after great track. I will 100% come back to this.
When I got this album I said to my listening buddy, “I can sing you this entire album start to finish, without accompaniment” I loved it then and I love it now.
My second favourite album by my favourite band. I have loved Hole since I was a teenager and now in my late 30s I still listen to them several times a week. This album reminds me of being a teenager in the 90s and trying to pretend I didn’t like this album because Courtney Love had “sold out” and made a pop album but secretly I loved it. Listening to this album now still makes me dream about moving to California.
Hindsight is a powerful perspective. 90's "alt rock", grunge, alternative, whatever... exists on a spectrum in my mind. It blasted into my young, impressionable brain with the opening chords of Smells Like Teen Spirit (yup, I'm basic, but it was one of my first rock albums on cassette tape that I bought with my own money. Does that give me street cred?) and faded away with the dawn of the new millennium and the era of Creed-like slop and nu-metal. This album is a transition to that end. It's slickly produced, musically competent, and in many parts a good listen, but it's more "American Pie" than heroin-chic and for me it's lost a little appeal. Early Hole was and is more to my taste. While I was living it, I couldn't see the era fading into the rearview. Now I can see the whole road. I don't begrudge Love her drama. She was a magnificent mess for a while and in music, especially rock, that's fine. But hindsight has dimmed this period for me. It's good and a high-3, but not quite a 4. It's the highest 3 I've rated so far, but just so. (3.95/5), rounded down for it's place in my musical history.
I had mixed feelings when this one popped up on the list, because Hole is Courtney Love, and it's hard to seperate Courtney Love 'the artist' from Courtney Love 'the widow of Kurt Cobain,' and not drag along all of the baggage that comes with it. Particularly with the loud and persistent (and vehemently denied) allegations that Cobain had ghostwritten much of their previous album, Live Through This. That album had been a departure from their two years prior debut album, Pretty on the Inside, and would be departed from significantly four years later with their commercially successful Celebrity Skin, featuring writing credits from her ex-boyfriend (before Kurt) and Smashing Pumpkins front man, Billy Corgan.
All of that culminates in an album that exudes more pop-rock/glam sensibilities than its predecessor, with Corgan's influence discernible throughout without hijacking it. It's less aggressive and punky, more traditional in its arrangements, with a more polished production that is unabashedly fishing for the commercial success that it ended up finding. Come for the tabloid queen, but stay for Eric Erlandson, because yeah, this is his band, too (with songwriting credits on every track of all three albums, including solo credit for standouts Northern Star and Heaven Tonight).
They aren't all bangers by any means, but there are a few solid tracks aside from the radio friendly opening title track that keep it interesting. I definitely prefer Live Through This, but there was much worse than this coming out in the late 90s, and I don't hate it. A solid 3/5.
Fantastic songwriting and arrangement especially in the first several tracks. Corgan’s influence is apparent, especially concerning the latter. I wish he and Love had collaborated more. It dips a bit in the middle, but ends well.
"When I wake up in my makeup, Have you ever felt so used up as this?
Album opens with the propulsive mania of the title track "Celebrity Skin". Its got enough wild confidence to throw its name into those "Best Side 1, Track1" arguments. I don't know how well it would fair overall, but any tracks on the other side of the argument probably don't want to get in a tangle with this one either so who knows.
"Awful" loses some of the wild mania to put a glib smile on female rebellion while "Hit So Hard" brings out the distortion in sound and life.
"Malibu" and "Reasons to Be Beautiful" grapple with disenchantment settling in. Now we're faded somewhere in Hollywood.
"Dying" - This is my surprise face to find out Billy Corgan hand his hand on this track. It could've slotted neatly in on "Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness." In fact Corgan got involved on a handful of tracks I see.
Back half of the album is a bit more muted. "Northern Star" is a haunting lament in context "I knew I'd cherish all my misery, alone." that is well paired with proximity to the track "Boys on the Radio" on the album. By the time you reach the end of "Petals" you feel a little fatigued but that maybe going outside and getting some rays of sun would do you good.
Final Thought: There is something about that 90s alternative rock sound. I grew up with it, I still love it. Enjoyed this one. A deep through line of how the pop culture fame machine chews through young hopefuls. Given Courtney Love's position in rock history, perhaps she is one of the few voices that should be heard less as pretentious to on this topic and maybe a little more experienced.
The stuff I can remember people saying and writing about Courtney Love is just unhinged misogyny. Any male punk/alt artist with bad behavior is glorified, but I've seen her name dragged through the mud way too often. Hole is a great band, and this is a great, pop-tinged grungy rock album. Some songs are kinda samey, but plenty of cool stuff. Liked Malibu and Boys on the radio especially, pure 90s alternative
Le chat persan ci-présenté a une jolie tête ronde et des joues bien développées.
On notera cependant que le front paraît trop large et les yeux trop proches du nez, ce qui est un défaut que l'on trouve souvent chez les persans trop racés.
Note générale : 3/5
Aujourd'hui je remarquais avec satisfaction que le generateur faisait peau neuve, en offrant un classement des reviewers les plus populaires. Or, stupeur, ni mon camarade roblumière, ni moi, ne figuront dans ce top 10.
Si il est évident de comprendre pourquoi rob ne figure pas dans ce top, étant donné la qualité minable de ses commentaires, ma non présence a fait l'effet d'une bombe dans le petit monde du générateur. Des émeutes ont été recensées à New York, Sidney et Bangkok, pour protester devant ce traitement infâme imposé par le Diktat de Robert.
J'appelle tout le monde à garder son calme, nous allons tenter de trouver une solution pour palier à ce coup de trafalgar infligé par Robert.
Songs are good enough, but this album was made in 98 and grunge was already dead and this sound played out. It's all generic and been done already. It was fun to revisit/reevaluate the Courtney Love drama as an adult, I feel a bit more empathy for her in hindsight.
I love "live through this". I always had to defend the album to my male friends. It's shrouded in some controversy, but it holds up. I remember being deflated when this came out. I could not have been any less into power-pop at the time. The singles just screamed "sell out". I never listened to the album. I'm shocked by it's inclusion and glowing reviews. It's not as bad as I was expecting, but there is no way a younger me would have like this. Way too polished.
It’s 50 minutes long. I could only hack 40. It sounds like kurt in drag but saccharine sweet and over produced. Maybe Kurt sounded like her though.
It reminded me of when I used to think Latoya Jackson was Michael in drag.
i did not rly look into this before i threw it on, and have no previous experience with hole, but i was still taken so far aback by the power/jangle pop slant lmao. rly rly intensely melodic in a way thats kinda overwhelming, particularly when paired with the fact that despite the "sellout" production values, the sensation of this is still so flailing and complicated and Messy in all its emotions. truly hard to imagine a non-misogynistic reason to not consider love a stellar rock performer based on this alone, she injects so much force and punk and pathos into all the jagged slippery words and luxurious songwriting. a little side A heavy, but the strengths on display never go away, its a brain-scratching and heart-grabbing listen front to back. i flipped back to Always like three times in a row after i finished the rest of the record!
I actually remembered Hole as the band that was only famous because Courtney Love was married to Kurt Cobain. Around 1993, I had heard a few Hole songs that confirmed my opinion, and I didn't pay any more attention to the band after that.
It turns out that was a bit hasty, because “Celebrity Skin” is not only much better than what I remembered of Hole, but also a truly mature alternative rock album with a distinct Hollywood flavor. I can't quite put my finger on what makes it so, but the great guitar sounds and the slightly punkish, sleazy vocal style are definitely part of it. (btw: for me, the ultimate incarnation of this sound is found in Vigil of War.)
In any case, “Celebrity Skin” is now on par with such great recordings as “Californication,” and contrary to my original opinion, quite rightly so. It's a shame I missed it back then! This album might have corrected my opinion of female-fronted bands earlier.
Hole – Celebrity Skin (1998)
On Day 64, Celebrity Skin delivered a smooth 5-star experience with the most consistent energy I’ve encountered in a while. The LP hits hard, especially with the title track’s exploration of how the weight of fame and expectation can leave you feeling "used up." That concept of waking up in your makeup and feeling exhausted by the world is incredibly relatable and gives the high-level production a real, "conscious" weight.
The tracklist is remarkably strong, with Celebrity Skin, Awful, Hit So Hard, Malibu, Reasons to be Beautiful, Northern Star, and Heaven Tonight all standing out as highlights. It’s an immaculate body of work that balances a "triumphant" power-pop sound with a dark, cinematic undercurrent. This is a decent LP that I will definitely be returning to. A definitive 5/5.
I was familiar with Live Through This, and like it pretty well. But somehow I'd never heard any of Celebrity Skin before. It's great! I think I put all but two or three songs on my (very large) favorites playlist. I prefer its slightly more polished sound to Live Through This -- come to think of it, it's kind of like how I like Bleach but love Nevermind.
I owe Courtney Love a huge apology. I thought she got her exposure because of who she was married too rather than any talent.
I was wrong.
This album is excellent. Really, really good - it’s a grungy, rocky, nicely polished slice of what it was like to be in your twenties in the ‘90s.
Listening to this album made me teenaged for fifty minutes. I listened to it and read about the band at the same time. And then I read about CL. I know what power pop is now. Kind of. John said his favourite Hole album is Live Through This. I’m listening to it now.
As someone who hadn't listened to much Hole ever before (partly due to ignorance and partly due to an irrational avoidance of Courtney Love), this was a very pleasant surprise. The album kicks off with a high power title track, and the great instrumentation and lyrics carry on through the rest of the album. My favorite track is probably Reasons to be Beautiful, but there are a fair few great songs on there.
Hole is still a stupid name for a band, though.
Solid record. Comes out of the gate hot, solid mid-way through, and finishes on another real high note. Takes me back to the late 90s in a fun way. Revisited to bump this up, as I've come to embrace my "enthusiast" label.
When this popped up my first thought was, if I never have to see the words 90s, American and alternative-rock together again I would die a happy man.
But I was wrong.
This record is fantastic. It has the same wild frenetic, raw, angry spark of a young P J Harvey or Liz Phair. Really, really enjoyed this one, so much more than i thought.
Celebrity Skin is an absolutely fantastic album that i enjoyed the whole way through. I was already sure i was going to like it but this album still kept taking me by surprise with all the things it tried. The album could show many different styles from hard and rebellious like the title track or epic and melodic like Northern Star. And of course it is all backed up by some absolutely sublime music with some awesome guitar riffs and great vocals from Courtney Love. There was also never a song which went anywhere close to being bad as it was just banger after banger for this whole album. This is easily one of the best albums on this project.
Best Song: Playing Your Song
Worst Song: Malibu
Really like this, and I can't believe I slept on Hole for so long. I prefer the more raw sound of Live Through This, but there are still many great songs on here. 9/10
Learned Courtney Love was founder of hole. Good 90s alt and grunge vibes. For when Alanis just won’t do and you’ve heard every Nirvana song ever lol Knew the songs and had no idea I did lol
Really good alt-rock album with grit. I prefer the earlier, grungier albums but this is still top notch and better than 90% of the rock albums of this time.
Я очень сильно пресильно люблю Риту!!!
После этих слов скажу, ЧТО МНЕ ОЧЕНЬ ПОНРАВИЛСЯ ЭТОТ АЛЬБОМ!!! Я слушал первые два альбома до этого и для меня Celebrity Skin стал самым любимым альбомом Hole!