Love began her professional music career with a brief stint as the lead singer of Faith No More in the 1982. Shortly, she was kicked out of the band, due to the band wanting a male singer. Three years later, she formed an all-female pop-rock band called Sugar Babydoll with Kat Bjelland and Jennifer Finch, and later - also with Bjelland - the Pagan Babies. Love had greater early success as an actress, appearing as the best friend of Nancy Spungen in Alex Cox’s Sid Vicious biopic Sid and Nancy in 1986, and in Cox’s Straight to Hell in 1987, as well as small roles on television episodes.
Returning to music in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Love claims she co-founded the all-female rock band Babes in Toyland with Kat Bjelland in 1987, but others deny it;. Acrimony between Love and Bjelland led to Love’s quick exit from the band. The band’s biographer claims she stole house receipts to a Butthole Surfers concert. In 1989, Love formed her own band, Hole, with guitarist Eric Erlandson. The band’s 1991 debut album garnered little critical or popular attention in the United States but was celebrated in the influential British alternative-music press. Already a star in England, Hole’s fortunes improved considerably wtih Love’s marriage to Kurt Cobain and the publicity about Cobain’s death.
Unpopular with some Nirvana fans (comparisons to Yoko Ono were made early on and persist to this day), Love’s image was further tarnished by a 1992 article in Vanity Fair entitled “Strange Love,” in which she admitted to using heroin in the early stages of pregnancy. As a result, Child Welfare Services briefly investigated the Cobains’ fitness as parents. Love claims to this day that she was misquoted, saying she had told author Lynn Hirschberg that she had stopped using it once she learned she was pregnant.
Like Axl Rose, Love was ridiculed in the press for her abrasive, sometimes erratic behavior, such as cursing at paparazzi and publicly harassing Cobain’s former girlfriend, folksinger Mary Lou Lord.
Shortly before the release of Hole’s breakthrough album Live Through This in April 1994, Cobain committed suicide. Love read his suicide note at a televised memorial a few days later, sobbing hysterically and alternately cursing her husband as a “fucking asshole” and pleading with him to come back. Hole's bassist Kristen Pfaff died of drug overdose two months later. She was replaced by Melissa Auf der Maur later that year.
Love was a fashion trend-setter. In her early career, she modelled a “kinderwhore” look, which she was accused of having ripped off from Bjelland, although other sources suggest that the ripoff was in fact in the opposite direction. Love stated that the look was inspired by Christina Amphlett of 1980s rock group The Divinyls, most famously in a lengthy phone message recorded and subsequently released by The Muffs, who had ironically titled their album Blonder and Blonder after a sarcastic quote by Love regarding lead singer Kim Shattuck. Love’s style has since evolved, and she has modeled for more sophisticated designer labels.
Love received considerable acclaim for her role as Larry Flynt’s wife, Althea, in Milos Forman’s 1996 film The People vs. Larry Flynt, opposite Woody Harrelson as Flynt. She was also praised for her supporting role in the 1998 Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon, which starred Jim Carrey as Kaufman. Other notable film credits include Basquiat, 200 Cigarettes, and Feeling Minnesota.
Love released solo album ‘America’s Sweetheart’ in 2004, which contained a lot of collaborative work with Brody Dalle of The Distillers. In 2010, she resurrected the Hole name with a new lineup and released ‘Nobody’s Daughter’; this album contains some tracks from the never released album ‘How Dirty Girls Get Clean’.
In late 2012, Love announced per a Twitter account that "Hole is dead", and confirmed she would return to performing as a solo artist under her own name. She also referred to an upcoming single she recorded, produced by James Iha. On December 29, 2012, Love performed an acoustic show in New York, and performed at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013. Love has booked a tour of the east coast beginning in June 2013.
[2] Courtney Love is also the name of a band with Lois Maffeo and Pat Maley (Yoyo Recordings Founder). There are multiple explanations for the name, but this was before Love herself became famous. The duo would release three well-regarded 7” singles on K Records and a few compilation tracks, but no albums. They disbanded on 1991.
singles and EPs:
* Uncrushworthy 7” EP, 1990, K Records
* Highlights 7” EP, 1991, K Records
* Hey! Antoinette 7” EP, 1991, Feel Good All Over
compilations:
* “Don’t Mix The Colors”, Kill Rock Stars, 1991, Kill Rock Stars
* “Spray”, Throw: The Yoyo Studio Compilation, 1992, Yoyo Recordings
* “Baseball Bat”, One Last Kiss, 1992, Spinart
* “Motorcycle Boy”, International Pop Underground Convention, 1995, K Records
Dirty Girls
Courtney Love Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And i’ve lost the feeling in my arms, and i’m a lost soul
Make the most of me baby don’t spit me out,
This is how dirty girls get clean,
Don’t leave me now, listen to her lust yeah, hear her disgrace
Listen to the fragile things, as they all break
Through the eyes of sleep baby, down down we go
What angry star, runs your devil heart
What angry star, runs your devil heart
Oh hoo this is what i mean? this is the only way? the dirty girls get clean
And I wanted you, like no one before
Said your coming back for me honey
This is how hell forms
This is how a storm begins
This is how trouble's born
Listen to her slit, yeah, listen to her wail
You’ve givn birth to terrible things, now watch them unveil
Listen to my torment, listen to my pain, please come on back here baby let me try again
What angry star, runs your devil heart
What angry star, runs your devil heart
Oh hoo dont you get so mean?this is the only way
The dirty girls get clean
And the rain it came down and the wind it moaned
And she wrapped her legs around him and she’s got no home
And he’s looking at me, god he looks so dumb
Why are you staring baby, this is how its done
This is how it numbs, this is how it stretches
Like all of your whiplashes, on all of your bitches
What angry star, runs your devil heart
What angry star, runs your devil heart
Oh hoo dont you get so mean, this is the only way
The dirty girls get clean
Oh hoo dont you get so mean, this is the only way
The dirty girls get clean
Oh hoo dont you get so mean, this is the only way
The dirty girls get clean
The song Dirty Girls by Courtney Love is a powerful and emotional ballad that explores the dark and turbulent world of addiction and desperation. The lyrics speak to the inner struggles of a lost soul who has lost control of their mind, their body, and their life. The opening lines express a feeling of complete hopelessness and despair, as the singer reflects on their lost sense of self and their inability to regain control.
The chorus of the song is particularly poignant, as it speaks to the paradoxical nature of addiction and self-destruction. The singer pleads with their lover not to abandon them, even as they descend further into the depths of their addiction. The lyrics suggest that the only way to find solace in this world of pain and chaos is to embrace the darkness and surrender to the allure of self-destruction.
The final stanza of the song is particularly haunting, as the singer describes a scene of violence and degradation that seems to encapsulate the entire experience of addiction. The chaotic imagery of rain and wind serves as a metaphor for the turbulent emotions of the singer, and the cyclical nature of addiction and self-destruction.
Overall, the song Dirty Girls is a powerful and deeply personal reflection on the nature of addiction and the struggle to regain control of one's life. Through powerful lyrics and haunting melodies, Courtney Love captures the raw emotion and pain of this difficult and often misunderstood experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Now i’ve lost my mind, yeah and i’ve lost control
I feel completely lost and out of control.
And i’ve lost the feeling in my arms, and i’m a lost soul
I feel numb and disconnected from myself.
Make the most of me baby don’t spit me out, This is how dirty girls get clean,
Use me for all I'm worth, don't reject me. This is how people who feel dirty or damaged try to feel clean again.
Don’t leave me now, listen to her lust yeah, hear her disgrace
Stay with me and listen to my desires, even though they may be shameful or embarrassing.
Listen to the fragile things, as they all break
Pay attention to the things that are vulnerable and easily broken.
Watch from the comfort,the comfort of your home, Through the eyes of sleep baby, down down we go
Obsess over me from the safety of your own home, while we both fall asleep and check out from reality.
What angry star, runs your devil heart
What motivates your dark and negative impulses?
Oh hoo this is what i mean? this is the only way? the dirty girls get clean
Is this all there is for someone who feels dirty or damaged? Does this behavior provide the only chance for feeling clean again?
And I wanted you, like no one before, Said your coming back for me honey
I desired you more than anyone else and thought you would come back to me.
This is how hell forms, This is how a storm begins, This is how trouble's born
This behavior, this situation is the beginning of something very dangerous or chaotic.
Listen to her slit, yeah, listen to her wail, You’ve givn birth to terrible things, now watch them unveil
Hear the pain and distress caused by your actions. You have created something terrible that is now going to reveal itself.
Listen to my torment, listen to my pain, please come on back here baby let me try again
Acknowledge my suffering and come back to me so we can try to fix things.
And the rain it came down and the wind it moaned, And she wrapped her legs around him and she’s got no home
It was a stormy and chaotic scene, and she clung to him for safety even though she had nowhere else to go.
And he’s looking at me, god he looks so dumb, Why are you staring baby, this is how its done
He looks clueless or foolish, but she tells him this is the way things are done in this situation.
This is how it numbs, this is how it stretches, Like all of your whiplashes, on all of your bitches
This behavior deadens the pain or stretches out the pleasure, much like the way you hurt other people for your own satisfaction.
Oh hoo dont you get so mean, this is the only way, The dirty girls get clean
Don't become cruel or judgmental. This is the only way these girls know how to cleanse themselves.
Contributed by Liam K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vince F
I love the contrast between the pop demo and the finalized album version. Both are great in their own way
Dolly’s Llama
Best song on the album
Remy Martínez
love it
Vésanie
Her voice 😍
Courtney Shane
where can I get these songs??
jj williamsoconnor
here!
zefiro
yeah!!!!