Fronted by Courtney Love, Hole is one of the most successful female-led rock bands in history, and their sophomore album — 1994’s Live Through This — was their biggest hit. And yet, this record was almost entirely new to me.
Hole’s debut album, the hard-edged, punk rock Pretty On the Inside, was released three years earlier, and Love wanted to go in a new direction musically, introducing softer sounds and more melody. The change led to the departures of the band’s drummer and bassist, forcing Love to recruit a whole new rhythm section for Live Through This.
The resulting album is far from quiet — Love is a riot grrrl at heart — but the thrashier moments are tempered by stretches of real delicacy and beauty. Today’s song, the band’s biggest hit, is a great example of the album’s dueling aesthetics.
Live Through This was written while Love and husband Kurt Cobain were expecting a child, and it was released a week after Cobain took his own life. The publicity surrounding his suicide no doubt contributed to the album’s sales. What a bizarre time that must have been for Love.
I am doll eyes, doll mouth, doll legs
I am doll arms, big veins, dog beg
[Pre-Chorus]
Yeah, they really want you
They really want you, they really do
Yeah, they really want you
They really want you, and I do too
[Chorus]
I want to be the girl with the most cake
I love him so much, it just turns to hate
I fake it so real, I am beyond fake
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
Someday you will ache like I ache
[Verse 2]
I am doll parts, bad skin, doll heart
It stands for ‘knife’ for the rest of my life
[Pre-Chorus]
Yeah, they really want you
They really want you, they really do
Yeah, they really want you
They really want you, but I do too
[Chorus]
I want to be the girl with the most cake
He only loves those things because he loves to see them break
I fake it so real, I am beyond fake
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
Someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
[Outro]
Someday you will ache like I ache
Meet Me In Montauk 
I never really got into any of the grunge sound. That train left the station long ago and I’m not chasing it now.