Live Through This - HOLE

Holes 'Live Through This' was released four days after Kurt Cobain was found dead. It is a particulary short album, playing for around 38 minutes in total. Since the bands riot grrrl debut 'Pretty On The Inside' the songwriting has come a long way, pretty much all of the songs still feature lots of yelling and screaming, a trademark of riot grrrl and expression of anger, but in a more structured way than in 'Pretty on the Inside', the songs sound much more refined yet still raw. This could be seen in two different ways, one it could be the advancements and progressments of the band and their writing, or two it could be a move towards being a bit more commercial. The second option at the time seemed out of the question, but it was only four years later that the commercially successful 'Celebrity Skin' was released. The track "I Think That I Would Die" was co-written with Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland, who are often heralded as being leaders in the riot grrrl movement. The albums last track, "Olympia", which is printed as "Rock Star" on album covers but was later changed after the covers were printed due to the fear of legal problems, is about Olympia, Washington, where riot grrrl was born, and criticizing the people there and their narrowminded ways. The album also features the successful tracks 'Violet', which apparently targets Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan, 'Miss World' and 'Doll Parts', released after the death of bassist Kristen Pfaff. 'Live Through This' is short but great and demonstrates the bands progression whilst still being a part, whether they liked it or not, of the riot grrrl culture.