 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrity Skin Needs A Makeover By Katie Silberger and Charlotte Landrum First of all, despite anything we write, we are still die hard fans of HOLE. But you can't just ignore everything she sings on Celebrity Skin and accept that she's the same Courtney everyone either hates or loves. I know we were skeptical when we heard about Billy Corgan working on it in the first place, and when you listen to some of these songs like "Dying" and "Malibu" how can you keep from noticing a striking resemblance to Melon Collie. To start from the top, Celebrity Skin (the song) is pretty good and is a good single 'cuz that's the shit you people buy. It does sound like it could pass as a low point on Live Through This. After all, Live Through This had some ballads like "Softer, Softest" and even "Asking For It". Speaking of ballads, what about the ORIGINAL Sugar Coma? Or should we say "Boys on the Radio"? What the fuck was she thinking? That song (the original version) could bring tears to your eyes and now it's pop. If you listen to some of these songs thinking "this is the band that wrote Live Through This" that could bring tears to your eyes, too. Even that is almost acceptable. But if you listen to Celebrity Skin thinking "this is the band that wrote Pretty on the Inside" you just want to take a lighter to the CD and throw it in Billy Corgan's general direction. Now let's talk about something else. There is a band called Hole. There is NO band called Courtney Love and the Gang or Courtney's Band or Courtney and a Bunch of Ass-kicking Musicians Who Just Happen to Back Her Up. What Hole does is something entirely different from what Courtney does. That's been proved recently at the Oscars. So what about the rest of the band? After listening to the music on Celebrity Skin the first thing that pops into you head is "God, isn't Patty bored?" They might as well just sample one song and play back that beat for the rest of the album. And I guess she got bored, cause from what I've heard she's been skipping out on some performances, maybe by choice or maybe by force. But honestly the way Courtney said it I wouldn't be surprised to learn she's getting kicked out of the band for drug abuse which, I must say, would be rather hypocritical of them. No one in that band, except maybe Melissa, I wouldn't know, has the right to reprimand or definitely penalize drug use. We all know Courtney did heroin, we also know that they didn't kick Kristin Pfaff out until she DIED, not to mention the countless others who've abused drugs and been in Hole. And I for one could give a SHIT less about the squeaky clean reputation Courtney's trying to get for the "new" Hole. How about Eric? He's been with the band as long as Courtney, but we haven't heard a word from him. Obviously he's not exactly the most vocal member of the group, but I have a hard time believing that he is agreeing with Courtney all the way about the shit they put on Celebrity Skin. It's also really hard to swallow when she's singing this stuff but still sticking her tongue out and cursing out the audience on national television. Come on, Courtney. The two things don't mix. And when you think of Eric another question has to come to mind: Exactly how much credit does he deserve that he isn't getting? Anyone see the VMA's pre-show? In that interview Courtney keeps joking around with Eric, telling him to stick up for himself, that she's tired of taking his credit for him. So exactly how much credit does Eric deserve and always has deserved that he hasn't gotten? And speaking of the Video Music Awards, let's end this thing on a positive note. Hole had to be the best band there. Courtney's a great performer and she knows how to put on a show. She's come a long way and she deserves our applause for that. Growing up a little is part of the package when you've got a daughter. But, girl, you've had enough cosmetic surgery yourself. Your "Celebrity Skin" needs a little work. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrity Skin, Hole's Tusk By Dan Lets face this is a bit of a dissapointment, after waiting four years for an album from Hole who wouldn't be dissapointed with songs like 'Awful' 'Malibu' 'Boys on the Radio' and 'Heaven Tonight'...Live Thru This was Hole's Rumours, it is a masterpiece, and if it contained Old Age it would've been even better. Celebrity Skin's flirtation with and sometimes flat out pure pop is disturbing. Celebrity Skin the song is actually really good, it's Miss World on a deeper level, but it lacks the rage. Awful is a song I skip whenever I listen to the album, it's message is good, but bad packaging. The pop actually works on Hit so Hard, it sweetness hides it sickness which is very effective irony, I could just picture some pretty preppy girl singing it and never knowing the meaning. Malibu, alot has been said how this bares resemblence to a Stevie Nicks song, please it lacks any of the intensity invovled in most Stevie Nicks songs. Pretty words with hollow meaning. Reasons to be Beautiful is where the album actually gets good, from there to Northern Star is a near perfect. Sure Dying is a little sappy but it definitely has force. Surgar Coma was butchered doused in sucrose and wrapped in bright plastic package called Boys on the Radio, this one really got me. It lacks any catharticism, which Love used to say was the reason for Hole. Heaven Tonight I'll even give credit to Hole for, sure it is pure pop, I might even like it if it was a b-side. Playing Your Song is another high point, you can hear seething disgust in a song, it is a credit to the genius of Hole. Petals is the perfect fusion between this new Hole and the old one. The idea of pop is even permissable if it has meaning behind it, few bands can carry it off though. Fleetwood Mac is an example, but when Hole try's it they seem to miss the point sometimes. The studio version of Best Sunday Dress on the B-side to Celebrity Skin should be on the album in place Malibu or Heaven Tonight, it has all the rage of the unplugged live version in the studio, something that doesn't happen very often. The promise in this album is hopefully like Fleetwood Mac's Tusk this is alot of experimentation. Another hope is that Hole won't be able to carry of this sappiness live, their performance at the video music awards showed that they even had to make Celebrity Skin a little more hard edged, how can they hope to do Boys on the Radio the way it is on the studio album. But really how many of us miss Pretty on the Inside and the old grindcore ways, me for one, and who wouldn't. Hole will continues to kick ass even if they go in worse directions, just for the sake of Pretty on the Inside they will always be held in my esteem..so try not to take Celbrity Skin to seriously and you can enjoy it. The sad thing is this album really had alot of potential but so much of it falls flat. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrity Skin review By Anonymous I know alot of people are gonna bitch at me for this but I really like Hole's new album. I have always been a fan of Hole and Live through this was my favorite album but I think celebrity skin is a welcome change. What would be the point of putting out an album if it was exactly the same as the rest. I like the band's new pop sound and I dont think there's anything wrong with it. The change fits the band well and I think they pulled it off nicely. Hole has changed as a band and this is what they are like now, not 4 years ago. All the people that complain that this album sucks are just stupid and hypocritical. Hole grew up and they have a new sound. If you dont like it then you can stay in the past and be a loser. I had hoped that more of Hole's fans would have grown up with them. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrity Skin review By Johnniee My entail thoughts, when listening to the "new" sounds was of Celebrity Skin a week and a half before it's release, were disappointment. I bought the album though, the day it came out, and fell in love with it. In my opinion, Pretty on the Inside, My Body the Hand Grenade, Live Through This, Asking For It and Celebrity Skin are all basically planted and rooted in the same ground, by the same farmers. The flowers may smell a lot better, but they are still poisonous, just the same. Hole has just found more creative ways to show their rage to the public. I am glad they moved on and will hopefully take most of their fans with them. That whole riot grrl thing is so early nineties anyway. This doesn't mean P.O.T.I. is not worth listening to any more, it just OLD and TIRED and Hole knows that better then anyone. I love what they did with Boys on the Radio, it so much more descriptive then Sugar Coma. Heaven Tonight is a good one too, all of the Celebrity skin tracks are great, you have to be open minded and more creative when you listen to it. Hole took the dysfunctional of Pretty on the Inside and made it into a functional album and called it Celebrity Skin. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrity Skin review By MJDscully@aol.com I dont know what everyone has a problem with i really like the cd. I only recently became a fan of hole when i saw the vidio for celebrity skin on mtv. the new cd is the only one i own as of now but i think im gonna buy pretty on the inside.I am familar with their early work from clips on the internet and i like the early stuff as well as new.though celebrity skin might not be as punky as there early albums i think it is a great cd though i also like the early stuff like the song "teenage whore". well thats my review and i hope there will be other people who arent pissed at the album!! - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrity Skin review By Blue106517@aol.com I understand she changed a lot in her life for the better but that is no excuse to take such a beautiful song-Sugar Coma, which means so much to so many of us. Fans who have been following her for so many years.Making it a pop song?????She made me cry!........... Shw wasn't thinking.....but the whole album with the except a couple of lyrics here and there is Fucking Garbage.......It was a slap in the face....but i learned my lesson....a lesson that she tought me, even though anyone listening to this album wouldn't understand, because it has no magic."If you put people on a pedestal, the only way is down".So i fucked up by putting Courtney in a pedestal (6 years) she fell down hard....she hit the floor.... should have known better. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrity Skin review By Lisa You canīt complain on it becuase it is a very good record, but I think that it is too much pop. The best songs on the cd (in mine opinion), is Use once and destroy, celebrity skin and northern star. But the best cd Hole has made is live trough this, I love that record! Point:***(*) - - - - - - - - - - - - - Psuedo-review By Joe Christopher Regardless of all the things written in magazines and newspapers about Courtney's transformation...no matter how many times Serena Altschul or Chris Norris refer to her as the "New Courtney" on MTV News...one thing remains the same...Courtney Love knows how to write great lyrics. I may be in the majority, I realize this, but I cannot find one bad thing to say about "Celebrity Skin." I'm not a new fan, or a post-LTT fan either, so don't try to say that I'm jumping on the calmcourtney bandwagon. "Malibu" is one of the best songs of 1998...whether Billy would like to take a little credit for that, who knows? Who really cares either? "Reasons to be Beautiful" and "Northern Star" bring tears to my eyes with every note. Call me a pussy, sure, but who out there can really hate this stuff? Honestly, I can't believe the bad things I've heard from quote-unquote fans of Hole. I've already seen six or seven used copies of "CS" at Streetside Records, and it's only been out for two months! This is ridiculous!! In a time where one-trick ponies rule the airwaves (Offspring, I'm looking in your direction), it's nice to see a band reinvent themselves for the times, without necessarily compromising everything they stand for. So Courtney looks more like a movie star than a junkie--who cares? I, for one, would rather see Beautiful Courtney on TV. I can't wait to open up an issue of Rolling Stone in twenty years to see "Celebrity Skin" as one of the most important albums of the twentieth century... probably ranked even higher than "Live Through This." - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrity Skin review By Disarm19@aol.com I became a hole fan after hearing 'celebrity skin' on the radio. I bought the new album and couldn't stop listening. Even though I already owned live through this, I honestly hadn't listened to it all the way through. I know now I was really missing out. 'Celebrity Skin 'is a great album! Make no mistake, behind the layer of power pop, lurks the same good old hole. I own all of hole's albums now, and am collecting singles, bootlegs, etc. ... and although this is an obvious change in direction, don't call yourself a hole fan and criticize the new album. A real fan is a fan no matter what the band puts out. This album has a lot of talent and the songwriting is definitely up to par. I have heard so much crap about Billy Corgan ruining the album, and that is so not true! Billy is one of the most talented musicians. He did nothing but help! I am first a smashing pumpkins fan, and every sp album is great! I know that 'Celebrity Skin' lacks some of the emotion from 'Pretty on the Inside' and 'Live Through This' , but can you honestly say the songwriting was great on POTI? The album was mostly driven by great lyrics and raw power and emotion, and it turned out wonderful still. LTT was a combination of both, just the pop wasn't there, or not as obvious. 'Celebrity Skin' is a good change for hole, what, did you want another LTT ? Memoirs of the grunge widow? Or songs about Kurt? (i am a huge nirvana fan, so that's not at all an insult to him) Courtney grew up and moved on... she had to. God help us all if she hadn't. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrity Skin review By Austin To me celebrity skin means a lot of things. For one thing, its shows the maturity of courtney and her lyrics. It also shows the maturing of the rest of the band, namely Eric, by way of "northern star" and "heaven tonight". Sure "Live Through This" was a fantastic album. But everyone(i know that i am overexaggerating) seems to think that HOLE has sold out in some way. How can true HOLE fans have this mentality, if HOLE were to release another album like "Live Through This", then there would be absolutly no reason to but the album at all. For one thing, Courtney was extremly angry when she wrote the lyrics to "Live Through This". She was very angry at the world for many reasons. But, when the lyrics to Celebrity Skin were penned, she seems to have this glimmer of hope that shines in through every song, a message that kind of reads "I told you so". No one but HOLE can relay that message, no one has been through as much shite as Courtney and Eric. They have been with the band from the beginning, tuffed it out through the thickest of the thick, and it is all summed up in "Celebrity Skin". In short "Celebrity Skin" is an awesome album, and it needs to be given a chance by HOLE fans, old and new. - - - - - - - - - - - - - |