Celebrity Skin (song)
Encyclopedia
"Celebrity Skin" is the tenth single by the American alternative rock
band Hole
, released on September 1, 1998 by Geffen Records
. It is the debut single from their third studio album
Celebrity Skin
and is Hole's most commercially successful single, being the only one to reach #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks
chart. In October 2011, NME
placed it at number 126 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
's rising movie career. Love claims that co-writer Billy Corgan
wrote the song's main guitar riff and the opening lyrics "oh make me over" during his time at the Celebrity Skin sessions. The lyrics contain references to Dante Gabriel Rossetti
's poem A Superscription, and William Shakespeare
's Merchant of Venice, and Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night
("My name is 'Might-Have-Been"), as well as the song sharing the name of an indie American pornographic magazine and a short-lived punk rock group from Los Angeles. Love joked on Later... with Jools Holland in 1995 that the song was entitled "Celebrity Skin" "'cause [she] touched a lot of it."
It was also used in the film American Pie
, but did not appear on the soundtrack, as well as being featured in the video games Rock Band
and Sing Star as a playable track and downloadable content. The song received two Grammy nominations for Best Rock Song, losing to "Uninvited
" by Alanis Morissette
and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, losing to "Pink
" by Aerosmith
.
Japanese CD single MVCF-12012
US Promo CD SAM 157CD
and Melissa Auf der Maur
. The video was shot in black and white with the footage colorized
in post-production.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
, released on September 1, 1998 by Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
. It is the debut single from their third studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
Celebrity Skin
Celebrity Skin
Celebrity Skin is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Hole, released worldwide by Geffen Records on September 7, 1998 and one day later in the United States...
and is Hole's most commercially successful single, being the only one to reach #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart. In October 2011, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed it at number 126 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Background and history
The song was written and recorded in 1997 after Hole's reported hiatus in 1996 due to frontwoman Courtney LoveCourtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
's rising movie career. Love claims that co-writer Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
wrote the song's main guitar riff and the opening lyrics "oh make me over" during his time at the Celebrity Skin sessions. The lyrics contain references to Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
's poem A Superscription, and William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Merchant of Venice, and Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night is a 1956 drama in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play is widely considered to be his masterwork...
("My name is 'Might-Have-Been"), as well as the song sharing the name of an indie American pornographic magazine and a short-lived punk rock group from Los Angeles. Love joked on Later... with Jools Holland in 1995 that the song was entitled "Celebrity Skin" "'cause [she] touched a lot of it."
It was also used in the film American Pie
American Pie (film)
American Pie is a 1999 teen comedy film written by Adam Herz. American Pie was the directorial film debut of brothers Paul and Chris Weitz, and the first film in the American Pie film series...
, but did not appear on the soundtrack, as well as being featured in the video games Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
and Sing Star as a playable track and downloadable content. The song received two Grammy nominations for Best Rock Song, losing to "Uninvited
Uninvited (song)
In October 2007, a new Freemasons electro/house version was released, featuring a vocal by Bailey Tzuke. This version is shorter than their earlier mix and arranged in a more radio-friendly way....
" by Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, losing to "Pink
Pink (song)
"Pink" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler and professional songwriters Richie Supa and Glen Ballard...
" by Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
.
Track listing
UK CD single GED 22345- Celebrity Skin (Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, Billy Corgan) - 2:42
- Best Sunday Dress (C. Love, E. Erlandson, Kat Bjelland) - 3:05
- Dying (original demo version) (C. Love, E. Erlandson, B. Corgan) - 3:44
Japanese CD single MVCF-12012
- Celebrity Skin (C. Love, E. Erlandson, B. Corgan) - 2:42
- Reasons To Be Beautiful (C. Love, E. Erlandson, Melissa Auf der Maur, Charlotte Caffey, Jordon Zadorozny) - 5:19
- Dying (original demo version) (C. Love, E. Erlandson, B. Corgan) - 3:44
US Promo CD SAM 157CD
- Celebrity Skin (C. Love, E. Erlandson, B. Corgan) - 2:42
Music video
Recorded in mid-1998, the video, directed by Nancy Bardawil, features the band performing the song on a stage with women wearing purple gowns falling slowly from the ceiling. They begin to lift their skirts as they amble around the stage. There are also many close-ups of Courtney LoveCourtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
and Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur is a Canadian rock musician from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her career has included 5 years as bassist with the band Hole and she later toured with The Smashing Pumpkins for their 2000 tour. Her second solo album, Out of Our Minds, was released on March 30, 2010. She is also a...
. The video was shot in black and white with the footage colorized
Film colorization
Film colorization is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia or monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, or to modernize black-and-white films, or to restore color films...
in post-production.
Charts
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Alternative 30 |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
19 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
85 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
4 |
| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
1 |
See also
- Number one modern rock hits of 1998Number one modern rock hits of 1998These are the Billboard magazine Modern Rock Tracks number one hits of 1998....
- List of RPM Rock/Alternative number-one singles (Canada)