By Haley
Released: September 8, 1998
I'd have to say that Hole is one of my favorite female fronted bands although a lot of people disagree with me. In my opinion, to truly appreciate this CD, one must sit and listen, expecting nothing, and not trying to categorize what it might be. Celebrity Skin has a great mix of everything from punk-ish, fast songs, to slow melodic ones. The title track 'Celebrity Skin' gives a little insight to the rest of the album, and is a perfect opener but doesn't really set the mood for the album as a whole. This CD, simply put, is sad, and if you're sensitive to music and lyrics, I don't recommend it, because not only are a lot of these songs very sad, but musically they're put together well and they set the mood exactly to the lyrics and do what music is suppose to do - convey the feelings of the writer. For example, 'Reasons to be Beautiful', "Love hangs herself with the bed sheets in her cell/threw myself on fires for you/ten good reasons to say alive/ten good reasons that I can't find/oh, give me a reason to be beautiful" and 'Northern Star', "And I cry, and no one can hear/Inhale-the blinded eyes that see/The chaos- bring the pitiful to me/Even though I'm wide awake, I will/And the blackest nights and I wait for you/It's cold in here, there's no one left/And I wait for you/And nothing stops it happening/And I knew I'd cherish my misery alone". I must not forget to mention that not only are the lyrics to the songs amazing, but the music itself is beautiful. Hole definitely chose to explore their limits for this CD with instruments ranging from the electric guitar to the violin and the diversity in instruments just accentuates the vocals. There is one thing that sets Hole apart from the many other female fronted rock bands, and that is the difference in lyrics, one listening to, lets say, the Donnas, might find a dozen meaningless songs bitching about bad relationships, and not even necessarily just the Donnas, but almost all of the chick bands that I've listened too (and I have listened to quite a few). I'm sorry girls, it doesn't mean they're bad songs, but the same old thing tends to get, well, old. The difference that I found was, not a bunch of songs about juvenile relationships, but twelve songs from the heart (from the soul! woo! sorry but I couldn't help but use the RCR reference), twelve songs that are meaningful in a different way.
In conclusion, I've heard many people who have said that the only reason that Courtney Love ever made it in the music industry was her deceased husband, Kurt Cobain, and I must admit that I'd much rather listen to Hole than Nirvana. So, I urge you to check out Hole, especially if you appreciate music from the other sex, women! HA!
For More Information:
Label: Geffen
Skip To Track Listing
2. Awful
3. Hit So Hard
4. Malibu
5. Reasons To Be Beautiful
6. Dying
7. Use Once And Destroy
8. Northern Star
9. Boys On The Radio
10. Heaven Tonight
11. Playing Your Song
12. Petals
• Label's Official Site: www.geffen.com