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
Life Despite God
Courtney Love Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I was nothin', nothin' at all
I used to bleed for you
Just to watch you fade
Baby, baby, baby
Rock and ruin
Baby, baby, baby
I never came home to a burnt out room
You should've loved me baby
When redemptions too blind
Nature took my soul
And sin left a scar so wide
Time ravaged my body
And now I live in the house
Where the red lights always on alone
Baby, baby, baby
Shame on you and me and you
Here we go now
I'm under your skin
Can't rub me out
Can't rub it in
Oh, baby running away
Running away, to you
Now I will wait for you
But I won't wait very long
I will wait for you
And when you bore me ill be gone
And I will cheat on you with your daddy or son
I will fuck you up I'm so sorry
Its just in my nature, baby
Well there ain't nothing I can do to stop
Oh bastard
Here comes the rain
Here comes the rain
My, you're blood is pumpin'
Good and evil
God and the devil
Ain't no ones pity
Well baby your loves with me
Your loves with hate
I will fuck you up
I will feel no guilt
that's right rub it in rub it in can't get me
Watch my face under you skin
Ill never got back
Oh nest our head
Till you can't see straight
I watch you blood
Its pumping black
Baby your loves with me
Here we go round
You're red and you're red
You writhing away
From under my heel
Run way your heads on fire
Can't tell the difference between hate and desire
Everything went all fucking wrong
Chaos reigns when I'm along
Fuck you up
Won't get me out
Wash that slain under your skin
Can't wash it out
Coz id wash it in
All my loves in vain
All my loves in blood
All my loves in vain
I cannot find a vein
The song "Life Despite God" by Courtney Love is a complex and emotional exploration of love and pain. The lyrics suggest a deep sense of regret and self-loathing, as the singer reflects on a failed relationship and the ways in which she has hurt herself and others. The song is filled with stark imagery of blood, scars, and burning rooms, creating a sense of darkness and despair.
In the first verse, the singer addresses her former lover, lamenting that they should never have loved her when she was "nothing." She describes how she used to "bleed" for them, perhaps indicating that she was willing to hurt herself in order to keep the relationship going. However, she also suggests that the relationship was doomed from the start, with the repeated refrain of "baby, baby, baby, rock and ruin." This sense of doom is reinforced in the second verse, where the singer reflects on her own flaws and the damage they have caused. She describes how "nature took [her] soul" and how "sin left a scar so wide," indicating that she has been deeply wounded by her own actions.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of anger and bitterness underneath the surface, as the singer seems to blame both herself and her former lover for the failed relationship. She describes how she will wait for them, but only until they bore her, and suggests that she will cheat on them with either their father or son. However, this anger is mixed with a deep sense of sadness and despair, as the repeated refrain of "here comes the rain" suggests a feeling of hopelessness and grief.
Overall, "Life Despite God" is a powerful and raw meditation on the complexities of love and pain, and the ways in which we can hurt ourselves and others.
Line by Line Meaning
You shouldn't have loved me baby
I wasn't worthy of your love.
When I was nothin', nothin' at all
I had nothing to offer you.
I used to bleed for you
I would sacrifice for you.
Just to watch you fade
But I couldn't hold on to you.
Baby, baby, baby
My love for you is overwhelming.
Rock and ruin
Our love is like a destructive force.
I never came home to a burnt out room
At least I didn't burn everything to the ground.
You should've loved me baby
I deserved your love later on.
When redemption's too blind
Because I needed to redeem myself first.
Nature took my soul
I lost something fundamental to who I was.
And sin left a scar so wide
But I was also hurt in the process of sinning.
Time ravaged my body
I'm not the same person I used to be.
And now I live in the house
I'm stuck in a place of depravity and sin.
Where the red lights always on alone
A place where all I can do is give in to temptation.
Baby, baby, baby
We're both to blame for our failed relationship.
Shame on you and me and you
We both failed each other.
Here we go now
I'm trying to get under your skin again.
I'm under your skin
I want to be in control of you again.
Can't rub me out
You can't forget about me completely.
Can't rub it in
But I can't let go either.
Oh, baby running away
But you're just escaping.
Running away, to you
Trying to relive what we had.
Now I will wait for you
I'm willing to give it another try.
But I won't wait very long
But I'm not going to stick around if you're not interested.
And when you bore me I'll be gone
I'll leave without a second thought if you don't satisfy me.
And I will cheat on you with your daddy or son
I'm willing to do whatever it takes to break you.
I will fuck you up I'm so sorry
I'm not really sorry at all.
Its just in my nature, baby
Being destructive is who I am now.
Well there ain't nothing I can do to stop
I can't help myself.
Oh bastard
I hate myself for what I am.
Here comes the rain
More destruction is coming.
My, you're blood is pumpin'
I enjoy seeing others suffer.
Good and evil
I'm now indifferent to morality.
God and the devil
I'm caught in between.
Ain't no ones pity
Nobody can help me now.
Well baby your loves with me
Our relationship is now centered on hatred.
Your loves with hate
But that's all we have left.
I will fuck you up
I'm not done hurting you.
I will feel no guilt
I'm past feeling remorse for my actions.
that's right rub it in rub it in can't get me
I enjoy your pain.
Watch my face under you skin
I'm trying to get back in your head.
Ill never got back
I'll never be the person I once was.
Oh nest our head
Try to forget who I am now.
Till you can't see straight
But you'll never escape me completely.
I watch you blood
I'm enjoying the pain I'm causing you.
Its pumping black
I'm reveling in the darkness of our relationship.
Baby your loves with me
You're trapped in this cycle of pain.
Here we go round
We're stuck in this pattern of pain and hatred.
You're red and you're red
We're consumed by anger and passion.
You writhing away
But you can't escape me completely.
From under my heel
I'm still in control.
Run way your heads on fire
But you just can't resist me.
Can't tell the difference between hate and desire
We're consumed by both emotions and can't distinguish them anymore.
Everything went all fucking wrong
We can't escape the past and our mistakes.
Chaos reigns when I'm along
I bring destruction wherever I go.
Fuck you up
I'm not done causing pain.
Won't get me out
You can't forget about me.
Wash that slain under your skin
The hurt is still there.
Can't wash it out
And we can't escape our past.
Coz id wash it in
Because I'm the cause of all this pain.
All my loves in vain
All the love we had was wasted.
All my loves in blood
Love is now synonymous with pain and destruction.
I cannot find a vein
I'm now numb to anything resembling love.
Lyrics © TEAMJBTUNZ, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BEST, LOVE, PERRY, SCHEMEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind