In 1995, Hole‘s chart achievements and commercial certifications were relatively modest — Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 peaks in the 50s, a single RIAA platinum certification for its breakthrough masterpiece Live Through This — but few bands were as signature to the era, or as unavoidable. That was in large part due to the celebrity of its frontwoman, Courtney Love, who had become a media fixture before the band’s breakout, due to her marriage to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain — who died by suicide in 1994, days before Live Through This‘ release, thrusting the polarizing Love into the spotlight, where she and her band would stay for the entirety of a dazzling, devastating, combustible and utterly unforgettable 1995.
This month on the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, we’re returning for another mini-series spin-off of our usual Vintage Pop Stardom series, titled Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom. All October, we’ll be welcoming on some of our favorite guests (and one or two first-timers) to look at a quintet of really interesting artists during years in which they brushed against pop stardom, but perhaps never quite got all the way there (at least in this country). This week, we’ve got good friend of the program Lina Morgan of the Song vs. Song podcast on to talk about 1995 Hole, where the band became stars and Courtney Love became one of the most divisive women in America, in ways that proved both transfixing and wildly prophetic.
Along the way, we answer all the most pressing questions about one of the greatest rock bands of the decade’s most visible year: Why did the songs still feel seismic even with such relatively low mainstream profiles? Why were the conspiracy theorists about Courtney Love so inclined to believe the absolute worst about her? Did Hole’s MTV Unplugged live up to the Nirvana standard? Does “Doll Parts” make sense as a signature hit? Was Patti Schemel or Melissa Auf Der Maur the bigger secret weapon in the band’s lineup? What actually went down between Love and Kathleen Hannah backstage at ’95 Lollapalooza? Should someone have put a stop to Hole’s incessant touring throughout the year? And most importantly: Does Courtney Love need to just come hang out with the trans community already?
Check it out above — along with a YouTube playlist of some of the most important moments from Hole’s 1995, all of which are discussed in the podcast. And subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom, including more Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom episodes all this October!
And finally, as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights: