Published on Jan 15, 1998
Forget for a moment that Courtney Love is a “star.” Forget Kurt.
Forget Francis Bean. Forget Larry Flynt. Let’s talk about Hole the
band as a whole. That’s what this compilation package,
My Body The Hand Grenade, tries to achieve. So, c’mon, give
it a try.
Hole was formed in 1991. After releasing a couple of early
singles (included here) and
Pretty On the Inside, their critically acclaimed debut
album, after losing band members to drug overdose and general
attrition, Hole settled down and released a fine sophomore effort
in 1994,
Live Through This. Written and recorded during the
stressed-out final months of Courtney’s marriage to Nirvana leader
Kurt Cobain, it reflected her efforts at survival and the efforts
of her bandmates to keep one another afloat.
According to the liner notes, this album provides the missing
link between those first two successes, linking early efforts with
“Unplugged” and other live performances. Rarely is a catch-up
document so ripe with emotion. Rarely is one so caught up in aural
darkness. It is extremely difficult to stay objective. I would
guess, either you hate the music and Hole or you love them. I love
them. Melissa Auf der Maur, Patty Schemel, Eric Erlandson, and
Courtney Love are excellent musicians who provide a much needed
energy to such dark topics.
Yes, the darkness can be overwhelming at times. Themes abound
that, quite frankly, are foreign to me, the average Joe Schmoe
male. Raising two daughters, I find myself cringing at what may
await them outside our doors (or what may be ruining them inside
our doors!). Betrayal: by friend, lover, body, and society
apparently waits around the corner. In “Drown Soda,” written about
Courtney’s falling out with her friend Kat, she screams, “Sit in
the corner and drink drown soda, I wanna bomb the whole state of
Minnesota.” Nice girls don’t think about mass annihilation, do
they?
But, underneath the bravado is a very real fear of shrinking
into nothing. “I am the girl you know, can’t look you in the eye,”
sings “Miss World.” “If you live through this with me, I swear that
I will die for you,” sings the young rape victim in “Asking For
It.” Indeed. Not only are their bodies hand grenades, ready to turn
against them every step of the way, but their entire world is a
minefield. Only a witch can survive.
My Body The Hand Grenade may not be comfortable. Several
songs, however, are achingly beautiful. The interplay between Eric
and Courtney’s guitars and Courtney’s voice can raise goose bumps.
The acoustic numbers (including “Season Of The Witch,” written by
folkie Donovan) are breathtaking. It may be a dark world, but
sometimes the hole can be filled.