Hole's MTV Unplugged performance (1995)

Publish date: 2024-05-08

I rewatched this last night for the first time in many years, and was curious how it would hold up. It was an interesting concert, and, though a fan, I do think Courtney Love's throaty vocals stick out like a sore thumb at times when they're accompanied by acoustic guitars and strings. When she's howling like a coyote in the context of sludgy, distorted electric guitars, it makes sense, but less so here (she is certainly not the queen of restraint). There are some beautiful moments in it though, and the spunky energy of the whole thing made it kind of fun. Overall, I think it was a solid performance.

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by Anonymousreply 8November 12, 2022 12:15 PM

Is this the one where she covers Duran Duran’s Hungry Like A Wolf?

That was so good.

by Anonymousreply 1November 12, 2022 7:08 AM

R1 yes, it is. They also covered "He Hit Me (And it Felt Like a Kiss)", which was fantastic, and Donovan's "Season of the Witch" (the latter for some reason did not make it to broadcast—there are audio-only versions floating around of it).

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by Anonymousreply 2November 12, 2022 7:13 AM

What the hell is drown soda about, anyway?!

by Anonymousreply 3November 12, 2022 7:20 AM

R3 I think it's about heroin ("just you wait till everyone is hooked"). In one of the earlier versions of that song, there are some lyrics that go something like "It's my lie and I believe in it, it's my bed and I'll bleed in it, it's my bed and I'll lie"—that imagery always stuck with me, and I took it to be referring to a junkie lying in bed with blood-stained sheets from using needles. It's actually one of my favorite songs by them. The early studio version of it is frightening—her screaming at the end of it is astonishing, and the distortion effects on the slide guitar literally makes it sound like a drain choking on fizzling soda.

by Anonymousreply 4November 12, 2022 7:25 AM

So odd that this genre once reigned supreme, and now alternative music is hardly acknowledged on MTV.

by Anonymousreply 5November 12, 2022 7:36 AM

I recorded this on VHS as a teenager and watched it repeatedly until VCRs weren't really a thing anymore. I still play it on YouTube and would say this is as good, if not better, than Nirvana's Unplugged.

by Anonymousreply 6November 12, 2022 8:07 AM

Did the MC say, And now, ladies and gentlemen, presenting HOLE!

by Anonymousreply 7November 12, 2022 8:59 AM

R5 is music in general even acknowledged on MTV today? I thought that ship had sailed a long time ago.

by Anonymousreply 8November 12, 2022 12:15 PM

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