Live Through This

Hole absolutely rocks, I don’t have much more to say about that. I recently saw that Love and Billy Corgan were on a podcast or something and started talking shit about their peers from the 90s, and I thought, “God bless em.”

Courtney Love gets too much hate.

Courtney, You have the melodic sensibility of a pop star and the grace of a saint, but you'd rather play louder than hell while screaming about all manner of evil in this broken world. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. Thank you. Best, Lukey

ha s erste vo ihne recht guet in erinnerig und de erst song jetz kenni glaub so halbe? recht hässig und no cool. miss world isch uf e recht geili art ruhig und luut glichzitig. plump isch en huere geile titel wemmeren uf schwizerdütsch liest haha. doll party tönt easy guet so de gitarre bass und alles. d songs sind aber scho biitz am inenand verschwinde.

Free of the personal background, this is just a good pop/punk/album

Okay, I know I said this at the beginning of the Celebrity Skin review, but it needs be to reiterated because nothing has changed. Courtney Love does not deserve the hate she gets and she did not have anything to do with Kurt Cobain's death. That last part should probably be a widely accepted truth by this point, but people are dumb, so that will never happen. Although, despite people's criticisms of her character, only some of which are valid, there is one thing related to Courtney Love that I've seen almost nothing but praise for... and no, I'm not talking about Kurt. I am instead talking about Hole's 1994 album Live Through This, an album that is, by all reasonable accounts, a classic. Is it deserved? Of course it is! This album's really great! Courtney's voice and energy are very strong, yet the album as a whole has this sense of vulnerability to it that gives each song an emotional oomph to it. In fact, the songwriting on here is so good that people thought Kurt Cobain was ghostwriting the whole thing! He didn't, but the fact that people were and still are positively comparing this to Nirvana's best work is a testament to the quality of Live Through This. The lyrical themes here all make sense given Courtney's life at this time. Motherhood, crimes against women, society, you get the idea. The themes are explored well, I think. The musical songwriting nails the balance of edge and catchiness that made Nevermind such a smashing success. I don't think this as good as Nevermind, but very few albums are, so I'm not upset. The songs on here are good. "Violet" is an excellent opener. "Jennifer's Body" and "Doll Parts" are two awesome songs that play back-to-back. There really isn't a bad song here! Live Through This is a really cool album. Its blend of pain-laden lyrics and punchy punk music make for an album that can appeal to just about anybody in some manner. It's iconic for a reason, okay? High 4/5.

Oh to be 14/15 years old and have this amazing music to LIVE THROUGH! I remember first hearing Doll Parts and being whatever about it. Then I heard Violet and was all the way in after that. Album went on to join that massive soundtrack of my adolescence, this album featured earlier in the story. Takes me baaaack. I'll admit that it does kinda get into same-sounding-song territory, like maybe a little one-note BUT IT'S A GOOD NOTE! In somewhat recent history, after reading Love's biography that a friend randomly gave me and told me to read, I've totally become enamored with Courtney and see her as the Cancer (zodiac) Queen. Like she's so the essence of Cancer and I absolutely love her for it. I feel a cosmic kinship with Courtney. Not to mention her life's story is incredible. I love her and am super-happy she's still around.

Listened to this album a lot over the years. Still like it.

I like this album more than any Nirvana album.

Way better than in i gave it credit for in 93. I prefer the sludge hole of pretty on the inside but its real good

Другий альбом хоул в цьому списку і знов в мене дуже приємні враження ретроспективно. Кортні Лав чомусь прийняти було хейтити в певний період, але тут справді дуже хороший матеріал, місцями припанкований, місцями сумний як треба. Улюблена пісня тут - Doll Parts. Знов вагаюсь між 3.5 та 4. Хай буде 4.

Hadn’t listened to this album before the project. This is the second time round. It’s really impressive. I am enjoying it more and more. Kinda sorry that Courtney was eclipsed by Kurt and that she “looked” so bad in the public eye. Because I was definitely guilty of dismissing her without actually giving Hole a chance. I’m curious how things might have gone for her if she hadn’t hitched her wagon to the Nirvana train. 4 Boolean: True

Everything I wrote a couple of days ago about grunge and Mudhoney goes for this Hole album too. At the moment it feels like a 3.5-star record, but I'm rounding up to four stars thanks to the Young Marble Giants cover.

7/10

As good as, if not better than, anything Nirvana did.

This album was really great. The guitar riffs are chunky and the vocals are killer. Everything is so expressive here. I definitely liked it more than Celebrity Skin. Favorites were Violet, Plump, Jennifer’s Body, and Rock Star.

Courtney Love’s voice is extremely powerful and the songs have a driving emotive character. Sprinkle in the context that her husband likely helped write a lot of the music and ended his life right before it came out. This album’s like a dark cloud and I like that a lot.

Pretty great! Grunge isn’t super my thing (too much yelling), so I doubt I’ll get a lot of play out of this, but it rocks pretty hard. It definitely belongs on this list. 8/10 Most Excellent

A good listen. Some great tracks.

Courtney Love was the Meghan Markle of the 90s. A target of the arsehole-male-dominated media's hatred of strong young women. The commercial peak of the riot grrrl movement (but not the artistic peak - that was Bikini Kill's Rebel Girl). Also the only appearance on this list for Young Marble Giants in the form of the cover of Credit In The Straight World. Fine album which gives a voice to women in the world of rock. Inspirational to this day. Deserves to be on this list, unlike Celebrity Skin, the overwrought follow-up.

Loved this when I was 15, still love it at 45. Honestly we needed more alt-grrrl music in the 90’s. Thx Hole for being one of them. This was an important record of the grunge era. despite all the bad publicity Courtney Love got she fuckn rocks hard! What a treat to revisit this :)

Girl power punk rock

not something i would usually listen to but i like it to some extent (?)

this is fire. enjoyed reading up on the context surrounding it and gaining a better understanding of the album as a statement from courtney love about the way women are treated in the media and in society. great performances all round. 3.9/5

This album is one that I heard all the hits off of when it came out, they felt right at home with other alternative acts. It sounds better so many years later with more mature ears. It's a solid album all the way through with only a couple of misses. Biggest Hit - Violet Biggest Miss (if I had to choose) - Gutless Hidden Gem - She Walks On Me

12 songs Actually really good. I had never listened to any of Love's music prior to this, and for some reason I had this idea in my head that it must've sucked. Pleasantly surprised to say that I was wrong!

Yo, this was pretty damn good 🕳️🕳️🕳️🕳️

I love hole

Of all the albums from this era, I don’t think I ever would have chosen this one to have aged well and held up over time, but here we are

There’s a point about a minute into opener violet that the band just tears into you and it pretty much doesn’t stop from that points. This is music built on rage, pure white knuckled rage . Courtney Loves voice is a howl and at times cracks under the pressure. It’s a visceral jolt of an album and all the better for it

the woman who wrote 'Credit in the Straight World' and 'Dollparts' is an honorary trans woman, as far as im concerned. this album rules

this was so fun!!!!

more mainstream than I thought it would be and I liked it more than I thought I would!

Noisy, angry and with an attitude. Also packs a lot of great songwriting - the hooks pop! I love the distorted guitar on here, makes it sound even angrier. It's another grunge album that sounds like nothing else in the genre, but it's damn brilliant.

You know, I am a bad girl? I never listened to this album. Tracks from it, sure. But never, have I ever actually listened to a Hole album. Such a bad feminist. Bad bad bad. Ok. At the time I stayed away from all things Nirvana, all things Courtney and Kurt media madness. Call me more of a Mazzie Star kinda girl. Courtney Love has such a reputation that I don’t believe I have ever felt the need to break through and actually listen to her work. I am glad this project made me do it. This is an awesome album. It’s too… long? It starts out strong. I am familiar with those first few tracks. All the way through Doll Parts. And then the closer, Rock Star. Maybe because I know Olympia WA from just a few years later the way I do, this closer is… perfect. So the middle loses me for a minute. Maybe on another day this would get a 5. 4 Boolean: True

A very good punk album, deeply rooted in themes of feminism and injustice, which color not only the text, but also the tone. The songs feel spiteful and angry in the best of ways - the exact tone punk was made for.

A capa do álbum me lembrou 'Carry a estranha' assim que eu bati o olho. Tem uma pegada punk e uma guitarra incrivel, principalmente mais para o meio do álbum. Interessante saber que a música "jennifer's body" inspirou Diablo Cody, a diretora do filme de mesmo nome, anos depois. Antes de descobrir isso, eu estava achando a música um tanto 'gestures to make you more femenine and elegant' (a playlist de filmes), porque de fato é. Infelizmente, essa banda não é tão reconhecida como deveria.

Man, these chicks can rock! Hole is so much more than the meme they have become for better or worse because of the Courtney Love baggage. But this one rips, beginning to end, no prisoners taken or fucks given.

Omg this is such a badass album. But also heartbreaking to think that Kurt passed days before this was released and never got to see Courtney kick major ass in this.

A couple of standout songs, a couple of average songs. Not the biggest Hole fan, but still a pretty good album. Mid 4.

Great album that fit in with the rise of Grunge and Punk in the 90s

Cooles Album, kickt richtig

Really liked it, especially Violet.

Not bad - I don’t think this one has aged badly. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it

BUENISIMO uno de los mejores albums para chicas enojadas

The singles off this album still hold up as some of the best songs of the era.

UHH MITKÄ KITARAT?? guunasin laulu lowk hyvät energiat ja tuff, levy jäi ehk kaipaa jotai rauhallisempii biisei mis vähä vähemmä huutolauluu? varsinki biisien alut peak!

Lady rock with balls?

Great album!

The best thing about the record is that it understands contradiction. It wants beauty and despises what beauty demands. It wants love and distrusts dependence. It wants power but knows how often power arrives contaminated.

Raw, heavy and powerful from start to finish. Courtney Love makes this album a statement on how women can make great rock albums, a pioneer and unapologetically herself. Heavy guitars and vocals, it's so good.

i liked it

Punky, heavy grunge music. Didn't expect this. It's pretty cool. I can hear stuff that sounds like that Seattle grunge sound we know best from Nirvana. There's some loud quiet loud stuff here too like Nirvana and their heroes Pixies. I liked this much more than I thought I would. Didn't know Love could do that growly screamy thing.

I enjoyed this (my wife hated it)

Feral feminine fury 💪

Angry grunge. Almost like a woman-led Nirvana... wonder if there's any connection? :-)

Enjoyed the album for the most part I'd say, not much else to say

Absolute classic, love it so much

its a bit too good if you ask me...

honestly I get it. I dig the feminine rage. I won't listen to it all the time. but i could see myself returning to this when I'm in a mood. 4.5/5

Courtney Love’s voice is bloody amazing on this. A reminder that a good frontperson can be all you need.

Esse trabalho do Hole é magnífico! Toda angústia e Raiva de Love e sua banda estão bem representadas. É um trabalho muito significante do rock alternativo dos anos 1990. TRIxHBB Kai.

Very familiar with Celebrity Skin but this was just as good and a bit more raw. Asking For It was a standout.

Menetteli, ehkä parempi kuin odotin. Toki hitit oli parhaat biisit levyltä. 3,75/5.

Wasn’t familiar with most of this album before listening, besides the first song. Liked the angry girl rock sound and the all the songs matched the vibe well.

I was a fan of grunge back in the day, but Hole/Courtney Love was not a band I took seriously. For no other reason than I just bought into the negative narrative about her. That being said, I never listened to this album until today. One of the hardest parts of this project is putting aside preconceived notions about artists and trying to listen without prejudice (thanks George Michael). Sometimes I think I'm better at it than others, but I really tried today. And I'm very glad that I did. I really liked this album a lot. It is definitely grunge, but also a bit more punk sounding at times. There is the quiet-loud-quiet part for sure, but not every song has that dynamic. And the band can rock out and Courtney can sing the hell out of a song. Standouts were Miss World, Asking For It, Softer Softest, I Think That I Would Die, and Rock Star. There were no songs I didn't like.

This is pretty good! The album opens on a great note with "Violet," and is pretty interesting throughout. Courtney Love's vocals are great and there's a number of stand-out tracks. Favorite track(s): "Violet," "Softer, Softest," "Rock Star"

Excellent.

Very good. One of the best grunge albums, which I feel gets overlooked for various non-music reasons.

love when you find an album that's like "oh this is gonna hit when i'm in xyz mood". can't wait to revisit this muchly when i'm angry

Nice alt-rock/grunge album! Fed energi og hooky rytmesektion. Albummet skriger 90'erne på den gode måde, og kan godt forstå at Courtney Love og Kurt Cobain fandt sammen. Standouts: Violet (more like violent); Asking For It (Nice dynamisk væksling); Softer, Softest (Interessant lyrik, fed. Nok det mest dæmpede nummer på albummet)

Liked this one more than I feared. Thought it was gonna be some dudes but I love femme rage

One of those albums I never owned but still manage to know fairly well. While there's all kinds of context people might want to put around it, in the end it's still an extremely good album.

Meilleur que Pearl Jam

Les adultes étaient très en colère quand on était ados. 3.75 étoiles

Veeerrryy fun!!! Loved it

Proper grunge - really liked it

Don't Judge a Book by It's Cover. Whether that's true or not is worth a philosophical digression. Who decides on the cover, anyway? Well, when I saw the album cover, I expected something terrible. Some girl with a thin voice and insipid pop. But no, the album has some punch to it. I think I’ll give it another listen and check out Hole’s other albums as well. 4/5

Pretty good!

3 or 4 absolute bangers of the grunge era. I see a lot of hate directed to her as if she was some sort of 90's Yoko but this album is fucking fantastic. Not quite 5 stars but there aren't a lot of 5 star grunge albums around for me.

Like many others here, I also feel like I didn't give Hole a fair shake. In my case, though, I definitely feel like it was more the fact that I just wasn't into grunge at the time. I still don't think I am, but this was an incredibly strong album.

I understand that Kurt Cobain didn’t ghost write this one, but I hear a lot of grungy influence throughout.

4.5 Hole are great, and deserve more recognition and respect beyond just the cobain association, a really good album and some great songwriting

yup this fucks peak grunge, peak alt rock

They said "Lyle you're a misogynist" "Lyle whens the last time you read a female author" "Lyle this" Well look at that. I gave Hole a 4, that's right. Courtney Love is a fantastic vocalist and great lyricist even if she did kill Kurt. Love the very open and echo-y production. Not gonna pretend I have anything pithy to say about the albums themes of feminine rage. Very good. 3.5-4

Courtney Love is like the best frontwoman ever. So much energy. So unpredictable. I love this album. Kind of the pinnacle of grunge for me. Need to listen to Celebrity Skin still

it's awesome. can't believe i hadn't listened before. i liked when she screamed FUCK YOU!!!!

90s era grunge rock is really something. Favorite track: Doll Parts other picks: violet, miss world, rock star

Solid PNW grunge. Great if you're into that sort of thing.

I think this album is very good. It was ultimately released at a time of a lot male energy but stands out as a very strong female led band and album at that time. Low 4s.

I get why someone would assume Kurt Cobain ghostwrote this. It feels raw, harsh but also vulnerable and authentic. A cool album, but I could not remember any of the songs the next day sadly.

This album isn't a mind blower but it's a bit punkier then the rest of the stuff coming outta the grunge scene. The vocals are fantastic, so raw, aggressive and passionate. Production is crunchy which would have made it steller live

3,8 Highlights: Asking For It, Doll Parts

I was so excited to get a female fronted band I think I over indexed this one a bit. Doesn’t really stand up to the rest of the albums I’ve rated 5 but still a bowl you over piece of music. Maybe I’ll bump it up again in a few months who knows

i think the last track really was what made me "get" this record. it's quite good and pretty consistent throughout, i think i would probably listen to this again

Hard to separate the person from the art, but although she’s completely insufferable and I’m really not sure what she’s contributed musically over the past three decades- this album still rips. I’m not leveling the accusation or contending that it was written but someone else but it certainly does bear the influence of her partner at the time with some Bleach era riffage and lyrical content similar to that that consumes Kurt. That said, she completely sells it on this album. I like it.

On the harder side of pop rock (punk ig). Interesting message and lyrics but not particularly pleasant.

Never given the band a chance because, well, you know. Should have done.

its very neat, you dont usually expect women to sing this kinda genre but im all for the ladies doin whatever they like, you go girlies. sometimes the songs are too rough tho

As good as almost any of us contemporary grunge albums at the time. An album I flirted with but never dived into due to a bit of indifference with the genre. But I'm enjoying this. Raw, visceral and legit.

Big fan of this! My only exposure to Courtney Love has been Kurt Cobain-related slander, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It evoked an Ann Wilson sound, but if she was way more angsty. I’m exactly sure why, but something about it won’t let me rate it a 5. It’s easily a 4.5 though.

This is an album that I've been meaning to listen to ever since Olivia Rodrigo started venturing into a heavier sound and Courtney Love said that she was biting Hole's sound/aesthetic (is she wrong?). I was not disappointed! The first three songs I felt were especially strong. I'll be returning to this one a lot.

Dude I just listened to this for the first time last week and texted my brother the following: “Just listened to Hole for the first time and it turns out I love Courtney Love, who expected that one” For real gang I think Courtney Love might actually be the single most underrated songwriter of all time relative to her standing and reputation in pop culture. The reasons are obvious but unfortunate but like… shit nobody told me this.

Some albums are unpleasant to listen to because they hold a mirror up to society and expose the ugly truths underneath it. This is one of those albums. If the songs weren't so dam catchy and full of killer hooks this could have been a dour record, but Courtney Love takes all of the sexism and wrongs done against her and turns them into songs that you want to belt at the top of your lungs.

One of the best grunge albums of the 90s. Hole were criminally under-rated mostly due to the hate Courtney got.

Fuck yeah! I was already prety familiar with this one, right up my alley. Wouldnt be surprised if Violet is my most listened to song of the year. Edit-Just want to point out after reading some reviews, I am absolutly loving the sheer amount of love this seems to be getting from people.

A good grunge album

Grunge

I had never given this one much thought, but man, this is really good. You can see how she has influenced a generation of female led bands in a very heavy way. Great listen.

Decent, but kinda a bummer given everything else going on at the time. Would pick it up on vinyl if I found a used copy digging in the crates but it's from the "you'll never find a used copy of this in the crates" era. I'm gonna go listen to L7 now, which was much more my shit.

Classic album of the grunge era. The first half is five stars for sure, but fades a bit in the second half (other than the final track, which is also fantastic). Great stuff.

This was better than the previous Hole album, and I gave that a 4/5. Not better in a score sense (it'll still be a 4/5), but better in that this was basically a hard punk album that was pretending to be a grunge album. Really good, high voltage vocal work from Courtney Love, and the guitars were tuned down and angry. Really liked this one!

I owe you an apology Courtney Love, I was unfamiliar with your game.

This was even better than I remembered it

Faves: Plump

A triumph of mainstream alternative rock, crashing and limping through the female experience and the razor's edge existence of 90's culture. Provocative motifs of motherhood, violence, and innocence lost, the songs showcase raw emotion on a spectrum from anger to depression, poking at things in between. Feels like a band that is hitting it's stride and was ready to show the world something; perhaps the world's own twisted preconceptions and the people & things we turn a blind eye to.

Courtney Love’s voice steals the show, which is saying a lot because the instrumentation is often solid on here as well. “Violet” blew me away as an opening track. I can see why she and Kurt Cobain went so well together in at least one aspect: her voice has that same harmonic chainsaw quality to it. She sings with such a sharpness, but still hits every note right where it’s needed. I loved the first part of “Credit In A Straight World”. It was a needed little switch in composition/approach right at the perfect time. Beautiful track sequencing. “She Walks On Me” - holy shit! The ability to turn on the screaming voice mode and then dice right back into more mellow, melodic singing. I’m impressed. Last shoutout is to the closer “Rock Star”, on the ever-relatable feeling of thinking you’re not the same as any other kids in high school. Maybe this was actually true a bit more for Courtney Love. Either way, I too went to a school in Washington and used my taste in music to leverage the angsty ideology that I wasn’t the same as most kids too. Funny. Though this hit me as a 3/5 on first listen, I know that I’ll go back and in my heart of hearts feel like this is more 4/5

Lived through it.

It’s unfortunate that the whole Kurt and Courtney drama and her other personal issues tend to overshadow Hole but this album is great.

I had this band's other album earlier in the project and thought it was pretty meh, so I expect mediocrity from this as well. It's actually a lot better than I would have thought(and Celebrity Skin was). The album is raw, passionate, and angst-filled in that oh-so-early 90s tradition. The lyrics are rage-filled and deeply personal, and the songs are strong alt-rock numbers with clear hooks. The vocals are as passionate as everything else here, and the album as a whole is very angry. It has everything you could expect from a grunge album in spades, and it isn't too polished. It's very of its era, but it encapsulates the spirit of the era perhaps as well as any other album of the era.

Wasn't familiar with Hole. Great lyrics, fantastic guy wrenching vocals and some interesting tunes. Not really my style particularly, but enjoyed regardless.

not bad, liked it more than i thought i would

Fuck this is good.

I think I like this album now more than it was released.

Passed me by a little at the time - had fairly low expectations, but actually really enjoyed

Mega spoko, przesluchalem najwięcej razy ze wszystkich podanych albumów 8,5/10

I needed a view runs to get used to it, but finally I liked it a lot. (Except the screaming on some tracks) favourite: "Doll Parts" 3,5

Banger

No lo conocía. Pura época.

Spotify has just done its annoying thing of starting an album over again once it’s reached the end. Fuck it, this is getting a second whirl. Never gave this the time or respect it deserved when it came out. Violet is one of the best songs of the grunge era.

pewww

This album was released a few days or weeks after Cobain's death and I've always found strange that the title of the album was so strangely foreshadowing of what was to come. Any way, I have memories of listening to this album in a friend's room while discussing all the things teenagers talk about (girls mainly). Nirvana's influence is all around this album but it stands on its own with great songs and Courtney Love screamings. Favorite Songs: Violet ; Doll Parts ; Olympia

Odd I don't have, but there I know and like a few tracks. Its good, poppy grunge, Somewhat samey, but the good ones rise above. 3.5 rounded up Heard before? Some Owned: No 66/267 (24%) Will I get: Yes

I only know the opening track. Courtney Love is a very controversial figure and always has been. To the point where people write off her talent. This opening track is a banger. Looking forward to the rest of the album. I don’t know how she does it but she just teeters at being off-key when she sings. And it brings so much character and emotion to the songs. Ok, I might get pushback on this, but if someone wanted to understand 90’s music. This is the album to start with. It’s brilliant in a way where it sounds like it will fall apart at anytime but yet seems bulletproof.

So Hole - Live Through This Blistering companion to Nirvana's In Utero with Kurt's fingerprints all over it but with Courtney and Kristen's feminine swagger. And, whisper this, Patty Schemel is a puncher and balls out drummer than Dave Grohl. Not a single weak track, although the standouts for me are Violet, Doll Parts, She Walks on Me and Olympia. Perhaps the greatest set of postpartum songs recorded? Not sure how many other albums have that as a major theme though 😂 8.5/10

Oh Courtney love, I can never form a solid opinion on you

Big week for 🪨music

Brilliant ! Loved it !!!

Great Songs: Plump, Jennifer's Body, Credit in the Straight World, Gutless Good Songs: Violet, Miss World, Asking For It, Doll Parts, Softer, Softest, She Walks On Me, I Think That I Would Die, Rock Star Mid Songs: Bad Songs:

This was my first listen of this album and I'm honestly blown away. Definitely a controversial figure, but her music stands strongly and distinctly.

Giving a 4 cause women.

4 stars I love this. So 90s. Angry female energy. It’s great! More of this!

Really great Album, can hear the nirvana influences

Hellllll yeah. Courtney Love is such a good lyrical writer. I can’t help but spaz out when I get to, “I want it again, but violent, more violence / Yeah, I’m the one with no soul / ONE ABOVE AND ONE BELOW!!!!” Ugh, this may be my favorite heroin addict of all time, barring maybe her husband. Doll Parts is also obviously goated similarly, but softer. The contrast between the hard and soft elements in this album is part of what makes it so good.

Do un 4 per premiare il fatto che le hole siano state praticamente le uniche donne a fare grunge, per il resto un album carino ma non speciale per me

rock folk girlie, me gustó no me mato. siento que me puedo encariñar si lo sigo escuchando.

Ugh, ful mam mešane občutke glede Courtney Love. Po en stran je edina probala javno od Weinsteina govorit milijon let prej, po drugi strani je pa clusterfuck od človeka, ki je dokazano večkrat javno lagal o random shitu + to kar sm zjutraj na wiki od tega albuma prebrala, mi je pustil nek grenak priokus - kot prvo je izšel en teden po Kurtovi smrti, kot drugo je Courtney promovirala album na fakin vigilu od Kurta. Da fak. Probejmo bit objektivni. Prvi komad, "Violet", mi je sicer amazing. Unfortunately. V primerjavi s Soundgarden, k je bil zadnji grunge, k sm ga dobila, je tole men severely boljše. I guess pomaga, da je album prežet s tematikami, ki se velikrat tičejo žensk? Ampak niso sam besedila, muska mi je kul.

Great rock album. Courtney Love's vocals are perfect for this music. Really enjoyed this. Violet was my fav song and first listen. Doll Parts and She Walks On Me were my other highlights

A grunge album that does everything I like about the style in a super straightforward manner: it is angry, youthful, energetic, raw, melodic, catchy and rebellious. It is hard to say what element shines the most about this, because I did love both Courtney's voice delivery and the instrumentation, with the two of them contributing incredibly well in the sentimental and frenetic sides. In the more melodic moments, the vocals sing super soothingly and guitars switch to clean or acoustic; and in the powerful moments the voice screams and shows an incredibly amount of attitude while the guitars play some incredibly hard hitting riffs and the tempo is fast. Beyond of all that, there is not really anything more about the record. The composition is very simple but incredibly effective thanks to the incredible performances. Although it sometimes may be too formulaic, like the songs "Doll Parts" and "Softer, Softest" sounding way to similar in therms of structure and melody. Either way, a very fun and great experience.

Great songs throughout this album. Lyrics drip with sarcasm as they lay out many of the negative aspects of the female experience. There's a tinge of punk throughout, musically as well as any time Love releases a guttural yell. There are radio hits scattered throughout, showing that Hole can write a great hook to go with their interesting lyrics and music with an edge. There is a little bit of filler on a fairly short album, preventing it from getting a full five stars, but excellent nonetheless.

Impressive.

Un disco muy guay, con una energía que se desborda. El tipo de disco que me hubiera impactado fuerte de haberlo descubierto en la adolescencia.

I grew up during the grunge-postgrunge era and wasnt familiar with Hole until Celebrity Skin, which was a hit, but got overplayed very quickly. Only heard the singles from this album over the years and listened to it for the first time now. This much better than I expected. It reminds me more of the Pixies than other grungy counter parts. Jennifer's Body is great, Doll Parts is a classic, Credit in the Staright World is fun, starts hard, ends hard. Might have to revisit other Hole albums to find anything i missed throughout the years.

enjoyed this a lot 4 stars

This album is a solid entry from the 90s. Raw, unfiltered, angry, great music.

Back in the 90’s I wasn’t a fan of Hole, but I was doing myself a disservice. The music is good. Singing too. My only gripe is when she screams her vocals. That’s the only part of this I’m not a fan of.

cool

cunt

Okay, so I used to have this weird thing against this album and band as a whole, mostly because Courtney Love is such a complicated figure. So I wasn't a Hole fan, but hearing Celebrity Skin made me rethink things. Live Through This came out so soon after Kurt Cobain died, it was impossible to separate the music from all the tabloid garbage. For a long time, I let all those dumb rumors about ghostwriters and copying Nirvana keep me from even listening. Big mistake. This is a wild record that's both a creepy time capsule and still sounds amazing. It proves Love's music is totally her own. From the super angry "Violet" to the super vulnerable "Doll Parts", the album captures how complicated it is to be a woman, with a loud-quiet-loud thing that still slaps hard. The band is tight, especially Kristen Pfaff's bass and Patty Schemel's drums, it's melodic and rough at the same time. It's a must have grunge record from the 90s that's still holding up... It's a feminist rock masterpiece that perfectly nails a certain kind of anger.

I really enjoyed this. I like how it balanced the melodic based songs with the more grungy and punk energy. The themes it explores like female rage and body image are things I’ve never really heard discussed in punk so that was refreshing. As polarising as she may be, I think Courtney Love is a great lead and brings a real attitude and presence to the songs. This was great.

I thought underrated at release, good album.

this album is why I love this process. I missed this album when it first came out. I loved it. Courtney Love has such raw energy.

Listening session: march 25th, while commuting to internship Listened to before: heard a few songs before Thoughts: soooo I actually love feminist grunge/rock even more than I thought and this album was a really pleasant surprise in the early morning, so I think I will be revisiting this album soon Favourite tracks: Violet, Doll Parts & She Walks On Me

One of the strongest grunge records of the 90s. Overhated because of Courney Love's antics, but the music speaks for itself. Violet and Doll Parts are all-timers. 8/10

Love this band. Not my favorite album of theirs, but overall a great listen.

My favourite album by them - perfect grunge

Enjoyed this a lot more than the previous Hole record we've had on here. Powerful lyricism and a sense of raw power which I found missing on the other album. Highlights for me include 'Asking for It' and 'Doll Parts'.

7/10

- Very much like Nirvana - Love the lyrics, vocals are great - Fairly melodic - Liked ‘Jennifer’s Body’ and ‘Rock Star’

Attitudeee

This is a great 90's alternative rock album. Strong from start to finish, with a handful of standout tracks like “Violet,” “Miss World,” and “Doll Parts.”

Wasn’t expecting to enjoying this album as much as I did! Very of its time, but it works. Favourite track: Jennifer’s Body

Courtney Love had already been through the wringer in the early 90s, including a short period where child welfare removed her baby after a magazine firestorm, and then the album comes out basically a week after Kurt Cobain died. You can hear all of that pressure and anger baked into the performances, and it gives the album real weight instead of just attitude. The songs are sharp, loud, and catchy in that raw way where it feels like everything is about to fall apart, but it never does. Solid grunge/post-grunge album. Favorite song: Plump

album dobry, sporo bangerów, violet najlepsze, pzdr

歌い上げている感じが聞いていて気持ちいい。

Really liked this one. Angry and noisy but with enough melody to keep me interested. I liked how raw her voice was, I think it worked with the intensity of the songs. Fav song: Doll Parts Least fav: Gutless

I love an angry woman album. There's some stunning feminist anthems on this album and I wish I'd heard it sooner. Think it could do with a little less milk chat, and sometimes I find her voice a little too rough to fully enjoy the songs. Favourite song: Doll Parts (also love Jennifer's Body- never knew the film was named after a song!) Least: Softer, Softest

lowkey enjoyed this more any nirvana project. not that this really sounds like nirvana, but everyone associates them with them. super dope

Some pretty good songs in there. I like the ones where Courtney is less shouty the best. Some good guitar and drum work throughout. I think this one will grow on me with repeated plays therefore rounding up from 3.5 to 4.

I had never heard any of Courtney Love's songs before but I really liked this one. Never realized the movie Jennifer's Body was a reference to this album. Pretty cool.

It was fun. I liked it

youthful anger, energy

gutless tiene un riff cochinazo me gusta como suena el bajo awante courtney amor

It's so beautifully gritty and aggressive that I find it hard to dislike despite often feeling like barely more than a wall of noise. The lyrics are quite strong (when I could make them out).

Anything Courtney related is sure to attract a level of irrational hatred. She's the Yoko of Gen X, which is to say an immensely talented and complex woman who was dismissed as some real life succubus because of misogyny and Stan-dom. Meanwhile, Love Through This is every bit as good as Nevermind. Yeah, I said it. Which is to say that Nevermind is slightly overrated (but great) and Live Through This is underrated and unfairly painted as the work of Kurt, which has been thoroughly disputed by everyone involved in making the record

cool album, like Hole back then, still like them now. Even if I never listened to an album before

Pretty cool stuff, actually.

Good

Courtney Love did anything & everything in her power to get famous & it shows. Courtney Love is that skanky twat that just wanna hate but you can't because she's just talented. Now whether or not she surrounded her self with talented people (Kurt Cobain or Billy Corrigan) is another story. Which brings me back to my first point: ANYTHING to get famous. That's Courtney Love. PS Today would've been Kurt Cobain's birthday. Sometimes this isn't so random, is it?

I loved this album. It’s not a masterpiece for me but I was really taken aback by how solid this whole thing is. It’s distinctly grunge but its own thing almost entirely. Courtney Loves vocals are incredible and can fully see why they were the grunge it couple. My only complaint is the album stated to wain in quality towards the closing but that could just be fatigue on my end. Great album, would recommend!

This is pretty awesome

Violet is such a song to start this album with. I was never really into Grunge at the time, but this album and L7 really stuck with me at the time, and listening to it again after all these years it is still as strong as it was then. I think Courtney Love got a lot of criticism that she was riding the coat tails of Kurt Cobain, but this is proof that she was not. I prefer this to any Nirvana album personally. 4 stars

LAUVE

First time listening to Hole, loved it

A great album, distinct songs of a piece and they go hard. Her voice is good for the songs but does get to be a bit much by the end, the only thing keeping me from giving a 5.

There are very few holes in this album.

Pretty good. A few songs on here are great and still sound really good. A few songs haven’t aged as well and seem a little stale.

A perfect grunge album.

Really very good.

god this was angsty

GOOO ON TAKE EVERYTHING, TAKE EVERYTHING, I WANT YOU TO If you like this do yourself a favour and check out Fontanelle by Babes in Toyland

This fuckin' rips. Maybe a hot take but it's at least as good as anything Nirvana made. Must-listen #296.

Makes me think of something my mom would listen to back in her day. (It does kinda check out with the releasedate of the album)

Good stuff, nothing much to note

Really good ! 3.75/5

Damn this was great.

For all the shit society gave her and the junk she shot up, we forget how fucking cool Courtney Love was and her absolute powerhouse voice. Sure Celebrity Skin was a better reflection of her pop range but she's screaming here with some of the absolute all time grunge greats. This is a Mudhoney record with a deep sense of pain and hurt wrapped inside, and while a bit of it is petty, there's a lot of it that is incredibly powerful.

I feel this album is a tad overrated in the grand scheme of things but still a really fun listen. First half of this album I find to be strong. In between a 3 and a 4 for me.

Great work throughout. Hole in a new light but still brilliant.

There are several good songs and some clunkers. Love's more of a presence than a singer, but the overall sound is good. Miss World was a hit but I do not care for it. Violet, Jennifer's Body and Doll Parts are good.

Me: “Murderers can’t make good music” Hole: Live Through This Me: :0

Surprisingly good, and kudos to the restraint in making a 38 minute album in the age of the compact disc. Why add filler when it's usually just garbage.

This was cool. Quiet loud thing but woman. Certainly a good album

A lot of people shit on Courtney Love for her lackluster singing voice and association with Kurt Cobain, but I have always liked Hole and I think her voice fits the vibe perfectly. This album is slots in right in between the more "sophisticated" grunge of the 90's and it's more punk and hardcore past. Love's voice is gravelly and uncoordinated and it matches the recording style and unfiltered guitars just right. The songwriting isn't particularly captivating but it's aggressive without being washed out and angry all the time. Violet is the pick of the bunch for me, but I enjoy all of it for its own reasons. I think Rock Star is a perfect finisher for it and it's even more perfect for a kid listening to it at the time. The nostalgia is very present for me in this album, so it's with a bias that I rate it so highly. It's still good though, and I think Hole deserves their place among the great 90's bands.

OK I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did!

This is #day535 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'll admit I've never really been a fan of Courtney Love. Live Through This, however, is a case in point of '90s alternative rock, grunge, and punk, and that's what matters. Knowing that Love was listening to The Breeders, Pixies, the Bunnymen, and Joy Division while making this record kind of says it all. The whole affair is melodic, tight, and agonizing. A cover of Young Marble Giants' song turned out to be a nice surprise. "I Think That I Would Die" is my favorite here. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day536.

Very good. Enjoyable 90s grunge. Some belters on here.

Great album that for the longest time resisted taking an interest in. Vocals are good, guitars are fuzzy and the songs are well written

really good! sounds great and lyrics hit hard, it's such a nice mix

Phenomenal album

Lots to like about shouty albums by women

She is an icon. She is the moment.

The Good: We will be able to live through this, or so we are told! The Bad: We aren’t explained what “this” is… The Ugly: What if this is getting a hole perforated somewhere where we don’t like there to be a hole??? Courtney… she is such an angry lady… should we offer to give her a hug? I had the unfortunate surprise to find another Hole album to be on this list, which I gave a 3… in retrospect, that album is borderline 2. Yet here, in the early ‘90s, Live Through This is a perfect example of the angsty music which was starting to take over the landscape. I can’t say that I am not enjoying the experience, even if I still am a person who can’t stand Courtney and her attention-seeking-shit… Kudo’s for this album, and kudo’s for getting over your hubby blowing his head off… I guess you lived through it! 4*

Decent album. I think I prefer the album with Celebrity Skin though, which I think is not the popular opinion. 3.5/5

Yesssss

Glad I listened to this finally. It’s really good and I think she’s a great frontwoman, imo heaps better than many of the male fronted grunge bands. I think as with all ‘grunge’ to some extent, it’s rooted in punk and hardcore, but also has very heavy pop influences. This is certainly the case for this album, but I think the pop aspects positively affect it. Obviously this album will always be linked with Kurt Cobain’s death at a similar time, and I guess it’s quite sad to read into some of her lyrics about their faltering relationship, knowing what would happen. Guitars are brilliant, very well produced. And these songs are also really dynamic, there’s loads of bits where it’s just acoustic guitar. I feel like some of singing can be a bit jarring, but it doesn’t really bother me that much. Favourite songs: violet, Miss world, plump, Jennifer’s body, doll parts, credit in the straight world, softer, softest, gutless, rock star. Overall around 8/10

This was my first proper listen to Live Through This by Hole, and I was genuinely looking forward to it. I wasn’t expecting it to be this good. The album is raw, loud, and full of attitude, but it’s also packed with really strong, catchy songs. There’s a proper energy running through it from start to finish – it moves quickly, never hangs about, and feels exciting the whole way through. Punky, messy, and melodic in the best possible way. I loved it and I’ll definitely be coming back to this one. Favourite tracks: Doll Parts, Rock Star, and Softer, Softest are all cracking songs and really stand out. Least favourite tracks: There isn’t a bad track here – and even if there was, it would be over in two minutes and you’d be straight onto the next one. Album artwork: Great album cover – iconic and suits the record perfectly.

Violet - 5/5 Miss World - 4/5 Plump - 4/5 Asking For It - 4.5/5 Jennifer's Body - 4.5/5 Doll Parts - 4/5 Credit In The Straight World - 4.5/5 Softer, Softest - 4/5 She Walks On Me - 4.5/5 I Think That I Would Die - 3/5 Gutless - 4/5 Rock Star - 4/5

For as complicated a character as Courtney Love seems to be, she does, quite simply, rock. Haven't really listened to Hole too much before getting into this list but I'm just about ready to classify myself as a passing fan.

So strange that we got both this and Celebrity Skin in the first 100 albums. I'm not complaining though, I think Live Through This is awesome. This follows the quiet-loud-quiet formula laid out by Pixies and adapted by nearly every alt-rock/grunge band worth their salt to a T. Love's voice is great; it cuts and grinds against the shredding guitars and angular jagged choruses in harsher tracks like opener Violet but then you've got stuff like the Credit in the Straight World cover which is such an excellent version of the YMG original. It extracts the marrow from the song, taking its hook and driving bass structure while exploding its introspection into this assertive, confrontantial song. An excellent riotgrrl/grunge reinterpretation of an evasive post-punk classic. The ear for hooks works it way over to songs like Miss World, Jennifer's Body, Plump, which all have killer riffs. Always dug the closer Rock Star too - I'm weak to that stop-and-start take. For my money, the album's greatest moment is in I Think That I Would Die when Love's voice rolls up and down on the "Rose white, Rose red" bridge like she's caught on a wave. Hypnotic. Favorite Tracks: Miss World, Plump, Jennifer's Body, Credit in the Straight World, I Think That I Would Die, Rock Star.

3.5

Hole’s debut album Pretty On The Inside wasn’t great - it was just too relentlessly antagonistic. Courtney Love was pissed off, we got it, but art needs more than that to make an impact. The follow-up, Live Through This, channelled the anger into proper songs with proper hooks and was all the better for it. Love pretty much reinvented the band, retaining only guitarist Eric Erlandson from the previous line-up and upping the production values - and for all its snarly attitude and loud guitars, Live Through This sounds great. Turn it up and it pops out of the speakers, giving those hooks every chance to catch. Highlights include opener Violet (shouty and angry), Miss World (angry and nihilistic) and Doll Parts (nihilistic and fatalistic) – which probably limits its audience, but Love was an important voice at the time, and this album is one of the best ways to reconnect with it. 8/10

Great grungy feel

oh kurt if you know that courtney was shamed like this what would you say. would you feel sorry for the tabloids making up the rumours as she is a great musician and you indeed love her 4/5

This band sounds so cool and Love has a great grunge voice. I like this album a lot. The production is also very crisp which I like.

Raw and powerful.

way more rock-metal than I thought

fjckjn FIRE

I just know I would've loved this as a teenager

This is a very angry chick

Re-listened on 4/16: 3 -> 4 This album has such a strong and cohesive sound, and it has a cathartic energy. Thematically too, the album is very powerful and important. It’s not for everyone, but it hits so hard in the moments it needs to. Love is a genius lyrically and doesn’t hold back here at all. You know who she is and what she stands for in these songs. It’s not perfect but the emotion is unmatched. Top Songs: Doll Parts, Softer, Softest, Violet, Plump, I Think That I Would Die

I can’t get behind the emerging hot take that this is better than Nevermind. I listened to both with an open mind. I tried. But it’s a fantastic rock record and Courtney Love is a force of nature.

I enjoyed it! I’m pretty sure this is one of the albums that inspired Olivia Rodrigo that little Mexican girl that be crying

Hole is actually pretty solid.

Criminally underrated album. When talking about grunge itbis oft left out, but it is an important part of that conversation. And better than anything Alice In Chains ever did.

Really enjoyed. Solid rock

3.5

Discovering 90s grunge in my 30s is wild. Painfully emotional lyrics capturing womanhood. Who knew courtney love.

Fantastic album

first listen i'm a simple man i like angry girl music

I think I liked it more than I thought. It holds together pretty well in the end. At first I thought it was running out of ideas a bit after the first 5 tracks but on repeat listens it's still entertaining. It's not the best thing ever but it's made me curious enough to try again.

Yesterday, I was talking about 1990s albums, and Courtney Love, so the 1001 Albums Generator gods presented this, and I liked it so much more than I thought I would. I felt like an edgy teenager again. In other news, my grandpa died today. At least he lived a good, long life. The angst in this album is how I felt today, even though his soul is thriving in a much better place than the Pale Blue Dot. Favorite Track: "Violet".

Some welcome grunge and a fantastic album to boot

Pretty good

Courtney Love. Great album. -1 for Kurt. 4/5

There are a couple of true gems on this album (Doll Parts, Violet) and some that feel a bit like generic anger. But female anger needs space to be expressed and this sounds like freedom in that way. So while not perfect, this album always hold a special place in my heart.

Rumours abound and sledging is rife, Was this really written by his wife? Until today I had listening delayed, Despite copies hanging in all stores portrayed. ……. It’s hard for women to get credit in the real world, But this album is bejewelled and often pearled, And after two listens my decision is final, Rumours be damned, I will get it on vinyl.

Pretty cool

Great rock record. Controversial opinion I don't think Kurt Wrote it.

Nice and punk, sounds very 90s. Second song sounds quite Nirvana like which isn't surprising. It's pretty good but I don't see myself listening to it again. Listening to this I want to hear their harder sounds (as this apparently their softer albums). I feel like those may resonate more with me. "She walks on me" confirms that I'd probably love that even more

Grunge, rock, tutto. Potente ed incazzato, mi piace.

It’s good. More like 3.5 stars, but I like it.

Solid album. Standout songs: Miss World Gutless She Walks on Me

Angery

Really enjoyed - not as good as Celebrity Skin for my money - but still a great listen and far better than majority of their contemporaries.

More entertaining than I was expecting. Classic Grunge with some good melodies going on.

Interesting. I remember listening to Celebrity Skin a lot but missed this one. Yay this is awesome. So much part and parcel of the punkish indie rock of its time. This is in the same vein as the pixies, L7, mid career Sonic Youth. It’s noisy chaotic and beautiful. Also it doesn’t like it’s something that’s just a copy cat of that scene it sounds like a living part of creating this sound. If, like me, you only ever heard Celebrity Skin and felt that was some watered down grunge for the masses… this ain’t it. It’s abrasive punk with a lot of rage and the talent to express it via music. Also very biting feminist lyrics that literally scream at you and very interesting sludge metal influences. Four stars.

good rock/grunge

IMHO as someone who grew up in Washington state, this album is underrated. It's both a major influence in the grrrrl rock movement, and a really good grunge record. I think it speaks for many women of a certain age and the realization that society has unrealistic visions for what they should be as "young ladies". Courtney Love is a bit of a polarizing figure but I appreciate that she frequently says exactly what she thinks, a rarity in the rock world.

Good stuff

You can definitely hear the similarities between Hole and Nirvana, though who influenced whom is up for debate. I love Love's vocal timbre – it's absolutely perfect for the mood and lyrics of each and every song. From the opener, Violet, we hear the anguish, the strain, the anger that you always hope to get from an alternative rock band. And yet it manages to avoid being overblown, maintaining a pretty tasteful musicality. The same cannot be said for other sub-branches of rock like post-punk and death metal. She Walks On Me is probably the closest Hole gets to these more experimental genres, what with its filtered vocal, guitar distortion, and fast, angry rhythm. Credit In The Straight World is also a standout, musically, though it's hard to tell why. It has an unconventional opening sections that's mostly echoed vocals, and it's very cool. Exotic, almost. On the other hand, the songs Plump and Jennifer's Body are excellent examples of keeping this balance between (radio-)friendliness and harshness, and they're two of my favourites for that reason. The lyrical themes in this album are pretty frustrating (or maybe "harrowing" is a better word) to listen to in 2025. It feels like nothing has changed in 31 years. There still has to be an active push against misogyny, body shaming, and societal standards to keep people safe. (And, in some places, it's gotten significantly worse since the 90s.) "Every time that I stare into the sun / Angel dust, and my dress just comes undone / And every time that I stare into the sun / Be a model or just look like one / Wild-eyed, rot gut, do me in / Do you think you can make me do it again?" Damn. I know there's plenty of similar themes being expressed in music nowadays, but that music isn't gaining as much traction as it did in the 90s. The main thing stopping this from reaching 5 stars is that none of the songs are particularly catchy or obviously "hits". 4/5 Key tracks: Violet, Jennifer's Body, Doll Parts

Great stuff. Underrated.

One of those albums where the most famous tracks are actually the weaker ones

I think this is a pretty great record. Not 5 stars great but really very good. I think it helps that this actually kind of is my thing this grungy sound and raw expression. It also still has a bit of that pop sensibility that the best ‘grunge’ always brought tot he table. I think their next record Celebrity Skin had bigger hits and was better in that sense but this is the real deal - broken people making heartfelt music that expresses their life experience.

It's pretty good. 3.75 stars.

8/10

Violet 4.3 Miss World 3.7 Plump 3.6 Asking for It 3.8 Jennifer's Body 3.9 Doll Parts 4 Credit in the Straight World 3.5 Softer, Softest 3.7 She Walks on Me 3.6 I Think That I Would Die 3.8 Gutless 3.7 Rock Star (Olympia) 3.7 Score: 3.775

Screaming

I despise Courtney Love but can’t deny this album. Violet is a great grunge song

Waiter, waiter! More furious 90s female artists please! Love’s excellent songwriting ability makes this feel like a 38 minute tumultuous therapy session, being both thoroughly personal and accessible. It was bizarre to read that there was a rumour that Kurt Cobain was a ghostwriter for this album, they’re both grunge acts but Love’s lyricism is a lot more pointed and less word salad-y than Cobain’s. Without addressing the elephant in the room, this is a killer album. Highlights: Violet, Asking for It, Doll Parts, Gutless

Better than I though it was

Strong 3,5

good energy Will I listen to again: 95%

Really enjoyed this one, better than I was expecting.

Sort of dismissed Hole back in the day, so good to re listen now. The songwriting is really strong and there are some great songs on here, Violet and Doll Parts are the obvious examples. A great energy and balance is evident, with only Love’s shrieking vocals the real downside.

Good if not really for me, I kinda preferred the poppier sound of the other Hole album, much to my shame.

yeah, a solid grunge album with super fucking awesome cover

an album that ironically was intended to be less noise focused and more pop-centric, Hole's 1993 album that was released a week after lead singer Courtney Love's husband, Kurt Cobain, committed suicide, tried to lean into melody while still maintain hardcore sensibilities. In her words, she was very competitive with Kurt.

First time listening to this album. Pleasantly surprised. Raw, powerful.

I want to hate this record but I actually really like it

Boy, she was something else.

I’ve always felt Hole received more hate than they deserved. Courtney Love in particular has long been treated as a lightning rod, often overshadowed by gossip and controversy rather than taken seriously as a musician. But Live Through This makes the case that Hole was never just hype or tabloid fodder - they were a genuinely great band. This record feels like the culmination of their early energy, sharpened into something both raw and strangely polished. The guitars are abrasive yet hook-filled, the choruses stick in your head, and Love’s voice vacillates between a sneer and a scream. You can hear the band’s growth from Pretty on the Inside that they’ve kept the fury but refined it into songs that cut deeper. What really stands out, though, is the perspective. This isn’t just an album about being angry at an ex or railing against the system in the abstract. It’s a scorned woman album, but the scorn is directed at society itself - it is targeted at the way women are looked at, diminished, commodified, and silenced. Songs like “Violet” and “Miss World” take direct aim at the contradictions of femininity under a male gaze, while “Doll Parts” is almost unbearably vulnerable, as if Love is peeling back the armor to reveal the insecurity underneath. It’s easy to see how many modern female alternative and indie musicians owe something to Hole. You can hear echoes of Live Through This in everyone from Mitski to Wolf Alice to Olivia Rodrigo when she leans into distortion. The combination of unflinching honesty, jagged guitars, and the refusal to soften rage for palatability paved the way for a whole generation. Nearly thirty years later, Live Through This holds up not just as a relic of the 1990s alternative boom, but as one of its most essential documents. It’s an album that’s as confrontational as it is catchy, as painful as it is cathartic. And it proves that the dismissals Hole received at the time say more about how we treat outspoken women than about the music itself.

Great album. Haven't listened to much of them, but might have to check out the rest now. 4/5

this was a surprisingly solid album and i'm really glad i listened to it! i knew the radio hits from HOLE before but had never dove into a full album. doven? dived? doved? why do none of those feel right? anyway, i had mostly just thought of courtney love as kurt cobain's crazy trashy druggie girlfriend... and i still do but now i know that she also very skillfully pulls her own weight as a grunge singer and songwriter. i really enjoyed the lyrics and appreciate that she wasn't afraid to get into some pretty dark themes. standout tracks for me were "jennifer's body" (which was the inspiration for the name of the film!) and "rock star". i would play this album while fighting the patriarchy! or finally standing up to the bully on the school bus that's been stealing my snacks and lunch money all year. that's MY fruit by the foot ROGER and today's the day I'M gonna eat it NOT YOU DO YOU HEAR ME!? I'VE HAD ENOUGH!!

The music press did Courtney Love so dirty in the 1990s. This album holds up really well - it’s angry and grungy but it also has tunes.

Good album with some great songs. It did fall off about half way through for me.

4/5 meow meow this is nice

Good in-your-face, unapologetic rock. Not pretty per se, but a really fun listen.

I'm not a huge fan of Grunge in general, and I actually think Nirvana is HUGELY overrated. That said I have to admit that I enjoyed this album a lot more than I thought I was going to - at the very least it has a distinct sound and the songs are remarkable on their own.

Good. Grungy as expected. I hadn’t listened to this album in at least 10-15 years. Way better than I expected. The songs I like the best sound a lot like Nirvana. No surprise there.