Hole - Doll Parts

I am doll parts. Bad skin, doll heart.

Album: Live Through This [2nd album]
Recorded: Marietta, Georgia, USA
Genre: Rock, Grunge
Album Release: April 12th 1994
Single Release: November 15th 1994 [2nd single]
Length: 3:31
Producer: Sean Slade & Paul Q Kolderie
Vocalist: Courtney Love [age 29]
Label: DGC [Geffen - Universal Music Group]

Music Video


Live on Jools Holland in 1995


Early version from 1991 on The BBC's Peel Sessions

Charts, Streams & Sales

Australia (albums): Certified platinum
Canada (albums): Certified platinum
UK (albums): #13 [Certified gold]
USA (albums): Certified platinum
Spotify: 58,000,000 +
YouTube Music: 22,000,000 +
Los Angeles Times Best Albums of 1994: #1
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020): #106
Rolling Stone Best Albums of 1994: #1

Credits & Gear

Bass, drums, guitar [x2], piano

Details

• Some say the release of Live Through This was cynically timed to capitalize on the suicide of Kurt Cobain and is indicative of Courtney Love's callous nature. It could also be interpreted as an attempt to connect with fans at such a heart-breaking moment. People process grief in different ways and it takes courage to bleed in front of everyone.
  
  During live sets Love would rock while some in the audience wanted to see her break. They saw her unflinching performances as proof of a cold-hearted woman cashing-in on her dead husbands fame while failing to understand how effectively heroin can create a feeling of false contentment. Love managed her live performances so well it made me pity the fool who had to tell her the drugs had ran out.
  
  
• Hole's first album Pretty on the Inside is an alternative rock, riot-grrrl album that sounds much different than the grunge of their follow-up. Other riot-grrrl groups such as The Slits had not been shy about putting their femininity up front and centre. They took pride in their lady parts and sought to offend the mild mannered by wafting them about. They were a new breed of woman (debut album released in 1979) unafraid to do things their own way.
  
  Many people thought Hole took their name in the same spirit. However, Courtney Love has said that hole refers to an emotional hole that runs through her instead of being a genital reference.
  
  
• Hole aren't a riot grrrl act because their pain is emotional whereas the pain in riot grrrl comes from the role of women in politics, punk and society.
  
• There is a cover version by Tricky.
  
  

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