Hole

Forget, just for a moment, everything you've heard about Courtney Love for the past three
years – the tales, apocryphal and otherwise, of substance misadventure; her, uh, lively
marriage to Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and checkered passage into motherhood; the endless
Yoko Ono comparisons and dragon-bitch disses. Then go straight to the lusty, vengeful,
lung-busting "Fuck y-o-u-u-u-u!" that blows the roof off "I Think That I Would Die"... More >

Punk aesthetic or no punk aesthetic, Courtney Love's songs wouldn't be compromised and might be deepened by steeper momentum and more articulate guitar noise. But they prevail anyway. Their focus is sexual exploitation, and not just by the media, evil straights, and male predators of every cultural orientation. She's also exploited by Courtney Love, and not only does she know it, she thinks about it. These are the confessions of a self-made feminist bimbo--of the girl who wanted the most cake. Just because she's a phony, whatever that means, doesn't mean the world isn't out to deny her her props. (Grade: A)