Hole Lotta Love
Hole is L.A., but not the L.A. of bass-slapping jerk rock where all roads
eventually lead to Chili Peppers. The band opts instead for a post-Black Flag
vibe. Sure, Hole wants to be huge. Its members are addicted to opulence, but as
lead singer Courtney Love insists: "I'm never gonna make disco music to support
my habit."
Hole's first album, Pretty On The Inside, revolves around a fascination with the
repulsive aspects of L.A.- superficiality sexism, violence, and drugs. Love is the
embodiment of what drives the band: the dichotomy of pretty.ugly. From far
away, she looks like a glamorous Debbie Harry, yet close up, her features are a
little skewed, burning with an unsettled intensity. One minute she's showing off her
latest French skin products, the next she's regaling you with scary stories of her
teenage years. The band tempers what she calls the "crazy girl" image with
drummer Caroline Rue, hard and steady as a rock; bassist Jill Emery, a thoughtful
jazzbo; and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson, about the nicest person you'll ever meet.
The pretty/ugly dynamic also comes across in Hole's music. A song like "Teenage
Whore" at first comes across like a ranting noisy rage, but underneath is a
surprisingly lush melody. Onstage, Love writhes and grinds and flirts with the
audience like the go-go dancer she once was, but she's really just a tease. She
gets you hot by panting into the mike, then rips you apart with a vulgar Axl howl.
Hole has a typically mixed attitude about being perceived as "chick rock". Its
members aren't all girls, and Love hates a "whiny minority", but she does think that
"chicks can rock in a new, different, and better way." If Hole isn't easy to digest
or categorize like its other "punk" contemporaries, Love thinks it's because its "a
Ramones-free band." But if Hole can convert the metal "idiots" in L.A., then it
shouldn't be long before everyone jumps onto the Hole bandwagon.
Email: jacqui_missworld@hotmail.com