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Hole
DISCOGRAPHY
Celebrity Skin, the new album from Hole, is a rock record filled
with swirling guitars and sumtuous harmonies. Its pop chops indicate a
seasoned commitment to craft. Eric Erlandson explains, "Our last
album was recorded in five weeks. We were able to take a lot more time
with this one." Courtney Love declares, "We set out to alter the
skyline, to build a monument to our past and to the present. And, almost
as a joke, to redefine the California sound."
Celebrity Skin is a pop masterpiece and recognized as
such by the recent Grammy Nomination of the albums first single, "Celebrity
Skin", for Best Pop Song. Written in collaboration between
Courtney
Love, Eric Erlandson and Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins).
Hole was formed by Love and Erlandson in Los Angeles in late 1989. The
band released their debut album,
Pretty On The Inside, in 1991 on
indie Caroline Records. Live Through This, Hole's platinum 1994
bow on DGC Records, was deemed "Album of the Year" by Rolling Stone, Spin
and the Village Voice.
Acoustic guitar and strings bring new textures to the band's sonic palette.
Sharing credit is producer Michael Beinhorn who oversaw Soundgarden's
Superunknown, Soul Asylum's Grave Dancer's Union, and The
Red Hot Chili Peppers' Mother's Milk.
The inspiration for Celebrity Skin, beyond the obvious glamour of Hollywood,
is the states musical past. The Byrds, The Eagles, The
Doors, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell,
Jane's Addiction,
X, Guns N Roses, The Beach Boys, have all seized on
California as muse. But it was at a rehearsal for Fleetwood Mac's
reunion tour that inspired the members of Hole to lionize all things California.
"It was ambitious and almost silly," explains Love, "but we wanted to redefine
everything about the California sound, from the California boy and girl
to the beach and sun."
Love points out, "In 1849 prosperous farmers looked at their perfectly
fine lives and knew they could have even more. They could have a palace,
and even gold out there in California. The key to understanding Southern
California culture is to realize that even the drinking water there
came from somewhere else. People come here by the millions, and yet all
the water we use is pumped in from thousands of miles away. Underneath
the palm trees and lawns is chaparral and desert. It's all false."
Bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur adds, "Eric and I didn't have any prior
Fleetwood Mac influence, but seeing them play in that incredibly intimate
setting re-awakened the melodic training from my classical music background.
That experience forced me to reach further than I ever did before."
Erlandson confesses, "When I was first learning guitar, my teacher tried
to get me to play "Don't Stop", but I was more interestred in Kiss and
Aerosmith."
Love asserts, "We wanted to challenge the tradition in a totally organic
way. We took our time writing every note and every word. We made it lean
in some places and plump in others. We got help from some great people."
(Billy Corgan in particular)
Love continues, "I ached over my guitar for months and months on some
of these songs, I'd hit a wall, so Billy came in for 12 days last year.
Eric, Billy, and I wrote "Hit So Hard", "Celebrity Skin",
and "Malibu" together. Two of the songs, "Northern Star"
and "Heaven Tonight", were solo compositions of Eric's. "Awful"
and "Use Once & Destroy" were an all band thing. When Michael
Beinhorn(Producer) came onboard, he really flushed out the aesthetic."
How did the band choose Beinhorn? Love: "We picked Michael because
he was ready for us, and we were ready for him. He's made good records,
but he hasn't made his great record. So I knew he'd be hungry and
passionate, and we were hungry and passionate too. What we didn't want
was someone who'd already been there and had become a hack. We needed someone
who had experience, but who also understood how to achieve the quality
and elegance we were looking for."
Auf Der Mar points out, "Michaels a hard worker, and his attitude was
inspiring, he really pushed me on the process of making a record. He would
say, "Learn your instrument, learn your voice, just learn. Go rip up old
Led Zeppelin records and figure out what the rhythm section is supposed
to do. It's been a good, defining few years of my life." (Auf Der Mar joined
Hole four years ago and Celebrity Skin is her first record with the band)
Erlandson says, "There are a lot of engineers and producers who just
aren't interested in the big picture- Michael's not like that. He always
had his ear on where we were going. But he also came in and analyzed the
songs, put a lot of thought into them, and really got down to the details.
That's how all those old classic records were made."
For all who contributed, Love comments, "I'm grateful for the help,
but I'm very glad it's over.
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