Violet (song)
Encyclopedia
"Violet" is a song by American alternative rock
band Hole
, written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love
and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson
. The song was written circa 1991, and was played at several live shows between 1991 and 1992 during Hole's Pretty on the Inside
tours. The song was eventually placed as the opening track on the band's second studio album Live Through This
(1994) and was released as the group's seventh single and the third from that album in January 1995.
Courtney Love has stated several times that the song was written about her relationship with Smashing Pumpkins
frontman Billy Corgan
in 1990, and the lyrics speak from the point of view of an angry narrator who has given up on a romance, with the verses: "Go on, take everything, take everything I want you to", and "I told you from the start, just how this would end / When I get what I want, I never want it again". The song also explores themes of sexual exploitation
at the hands of others and of oneself.
"Violet" peaked at number 29 on the Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks
after the album's release in 1994, and is arguably one of Hole's most well-known songs. It charted at number 116 on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born list by Blender magazine in 2005.
, Canada
on November 1, 1991 during the band's tour to promote their first album, Pretty on the Inside. Early versions of the song were played several times between 1991 and 1992 at other live performances.
The first known studio version of "Violet" was recorded on November 19, 1991 at Maida Vale Studios
as part of Hole's first radio session with BBC
DJ John Peel
. In October 1993, the band recorded the album version of the song as part of the Live Through This sessions at Triclops Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
. The recording from the 1991 Peel session was included on the band's 1995 EP
Ask For It
, along with "Doll Parts
", which was recorded during the same studio visit.
On both Live Through This and the individual single, the songwriting is credited collectively to Hole, however according to BMI
's website, "Violet" was written only by Eric Erlandson and the lyrics by Love.
-F5-G5), as well as a chord progression similar to that of the chorus (E5-C5-D5-A5). There are two guitars featured in the song, with Love playing clean rhythm guitar
and Erlandson playing lead guitar
with heavy distortion.
frontman Billy Corgan
, with whom Love had had a relationship with prior to her relationship with Nirvana
frontman Kurt Cobain
. On May 5, 1995, Love introduced the song on Later... with Jools Holland as "a song about a jerk, I hexed him and now he's losing his hair", which is seen as a reference to Corgan's hair loss. Specific lines in the song, such as "the sky was made of amethyst" and "the sky was all violet" also potentially allude to Corgan, whose astrological sign
is Pisces
; amethyst is the birth stone for Pisces, and violets are the typical birth flower
for those born under this sign. As a result of the reports that the song was written about Corgan, it was featured at #9 on The Daily Beast
s "14 Fiercest Breakup Songs" list in 2010.
Variations of lyrics that would end up in the song, most distinctly lines like: "The sky turned violet / I want it again / And violent more violent", are featured in a poem titled "Above The Boy" that Love had written earlier in 1991. The syntax of the words "violet" and "violent" also bear similarity to lyrics from Patti Smith
's "Kimberly", which features the line: "Burst from the barn and flames in a violent violet sky". Courtney Love has cited Smith as a major influence several times.
In a more general sense, the lyrics in the song allude to a person accepting and even enticing abuse, especially in the lines "Go on, take everything / Take everything, I want you to", and "I want it again, but violent, more violent". There is also some evidence that the song alludes to Love's days as a stripper— she has on occasion made reference to the "violet lights" in a strip club which she used to work in. The official music video for the song also follows this theme. It features a vintage 1920s-era burlesque
style strip club
with exotic dancers, as well as Love, with countless male-onlookers in the audience.
The title of the song may also stem from Love's friendship with friend and Babes in Toyland
frontwoman Kat Bjelland
. The term "violet" was reportedly a muse between Love and Bjelland when working together in projects such as The Pagan Babies
. Babes in Toyland also use the term in their 1992 single, "Bruise Violet".
", charting at number 29 in the Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks
in April 1995, and went on to become one of the band's signature songs.
The song was well-reviewed by critics, and Rolling Stone
said of it: "With its daydream whispers and startling gunshot-guitar chorus, "Violet" shakes, rattles and roars like a godless marriage of "Smells Like Teen Spirit
" and Fleetwood Mac
's "Go Your Own Way
."" The song was placed in a 2010 NME
article titled Hole's 10 Finest Moments, where it was referred to as "the quintessential Hole track" and a "titanic temper tantrum and exhilarating rush of inconsolable rage at full vent... “Go on, take everything, take everything I want you to”, she bellows, turning powerlessness into power over riffs that swing from sweet and melancholy to boiling and volcanic on a dime."
The song has been featured in several films, and in 2005 ranked at number 116 on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born list by Blender magazine.
and Fred Woodward. The video is filmed largely in sepia
tones and features a 1920s-era strip club with burlesque
dancers, juxtaposed with footage of several young ballerinas and young girls dancing on a theatre stage. Courtney Love pole dances in the music video in the period fashion, and is also featured in a tutu on the ballet stage with the girls. These scenes are integrated with footage of the band performing the song.
The juxtaposition of the young ballerinas onstage illustrates the dynamic between dancing as an art form and dancing for the sake of others' visual and sexual gratification. The ballerinas featured in the video are also possibly referential to Love herself, who took ballet classes for a great portion of her childhood, and later ended up working as a stripper in her teenage and early adult years.
The video follows themes discussed in the song, particularly sexual exploitation
of women. According to Love, the content of the video was inspired by "acid
flashbacks" and "old film stock". "I love old pornography," Love said, "But I wanted to at the same time, you know... all of the [music] videos for years that have put stripping or half-naked women on a pedestal, I wanted to sort of show the degrading experience that it is."
Many of the scenes in the video aesthetically mimic early-20th century silent film
s and talkies, with faux-aged cinematography and lapses in audio and visual synchronization. A child seen in the video is also an analogy to the single's cover artwork which features an anonymous memorial photograph
, most likely either a daguerreotype, or a tintype post-mortem photograph of a deceased girl in a coffin with her doll.
The music video was the first video to feature newly-recruited bassist Melissa Auf der Maur
after the death of Kristen Pfaff
in June 1994. In a 1995 interview during the KROQ Weenie Roast
, Auf der Maur commented on the music video's themes, citing "pornography versus ballet, strippers, and beautiful out-of-synch artwork". According to drummer Patty Schemel, the dancers featured in the music video were actual strippers handpicked by Courtney Love from Jumbo's Clown Room
, a Los Angeles dance bar
where Love had worked in the 1980s.
's film in the skateboarding
video
Really Sorry produced by Flip Skateboards
. It was also used for the Tank Girl
movie trailer and is featured in the end credits of the 2009 horror-comedy film Jennifer's Body
, an eponym of another Hole song. Most recently, the song was featured on the soundtrack for the film Bridesmaids
(2011).
and Eric Erlandson
, unless where noted.
US 7" single
European CD single and UK CD single
German 12" single
Australian CD single
Guest musician
Technical personnel
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...
, written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love
Courtney 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 lead guitarist Eric Erlandson
Eric Erlandson
Eric Erlandson is an American musician known as the co-founder, former songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole.-Early life and career:...
. The song was written circa 1991, and was played at several live shows between 1991 and 1992 during Hole's Pretty on the Inside
Pretty on the Inside
Pretty on the Inside is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Hole. Released August 23, 1991 on Caroline Records, it was Hole's first major label release after their formation in 1989 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
tours. The song was eventually placed as the opening track on the band's second studio album Live Through This
Live Through This
Live Through This is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Hole. It was released by Geffen Records on April 12, 1994, just four days after frontwoman Courtney Love's husband, Kurt Cobain, was found dead in their home....
(1994) and was released as the group's seventh single and the third from that album in January 1995.
Courtney Love has stated several times that the song was written about her relationship with Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
frontman 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...
in 1990, and the lyrics speak from the point of view of an angry narrator who has given up on a romance, with the verses: "Go on, take everything, take everything I want you to", and "I told you from the start, just how this would end / When I get what I want, I never want it again". The song also explores themes of sexual exploitation
Exploitation
This article discusses the term exploitation in the meaning of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.- As unjust benefit :In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for...
at the hands of others and of oneself.
"Violet" peaked at number 29 on the Billboard's 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...
after the album's release in 1994, and is arguably one of Hole's most well-known songs. It charted at number 116 on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born list by Blender magazine in 2005.
Origin and recording history
Erlandson and Love are known to have written "Violet" as early as October 1991 as the song was premiered live in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on November 1, 1991 during the band's tour to promote their first album, Pretty on the Inside. Early versions of the song were played several times between 1991 and 1992 at other live performances.
The first known studio version of "Violet" was recorded on November 19, 1991 at Maida Vale Studios
Maida Vale Studios
Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC studios on Delaware Road, Maida Vale, London.It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 from 1946 to the present...
as part of Hole's first radio session with BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. In October 1993, the band recorded the album version of the song as part of the Live Through This sessions at Triclops Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. The recording from the 1991 Peel session was included on the band's 1995 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Ask For It
Ask for It
Ask for It is the first EP by alternative rock band Hole, released on September 8, 1995. It was the band's second and last release on Caroline Records, the first being their debut album Pretty on the Inside . Although the EP was released after 1994's platinum-selling Live Through This, its contents...
, along with "Doll Parts
Doll Parts
"Doll Parts" is a song by American alternative rock band Hole, written by vocalist and guitarist Courtney Love. The song was released as the band's sixth single and second from their sophomore studio album, Live Through This, in November 1994 to accompany the band's North American tour...
", which was recorded during the same studio visit.
On both Live Through This and the individual single, the songwriting is credited collectively to Hole, however according to BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
's website, "Violet" was written only by Eric Erlandson and the lyrics by Love.
Music
The song is composed of a series of 3-note power chords and barre chords, and features sliding techniques. The verses of the song feature a singular chord progression composed of the power chords (E5-C5-G5). The choruses of the song feature a three-chord progression (E minorE minor
E minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
-F5-G5), as well as a chord progression similar to that of the chorus (E5-C5-D5-A5). There are two guitars featured in the song, with Love playing clean rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
and Erlandson playing lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
with heavy distortion.
Lyrics
"Violet" was reputedly written about The Smashing PumpkinsThe Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
frontman 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...
, with whom Love had had a relationship with prior to her relationship with Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
frontman Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
. On May 5, 1995, Love introduced the song on Later... with Jools Holland as "a song about a jerk, I hexed him and now he's losing his hair", which is seen as a reference to Corgan's hair loss. Specific lines in the song, such as "the sky was made of amethyst" and "the sky was all violet" also potentially allude to Corgan, whose astrological sign
Astrological sign
Astrological signs represent twelve equal segments or divisions of the zodiac. According to astrology, celestial phenomena reflect or govern human activity on the principle of "as above, so below", so that the twelve signs are held to represent twelve basic personality types or characteristic modes...
is Pisces
Pisces
Pisces may refer to:*Pisces , a constellation*Pisces , an astrological sign*Fish , as an obsolete taxonomic term*OZ-09MMS Pisces, a fictional mecha in the Gundam Wing anime...
; amethyst is the birth stone for Pisces, and violets are the typical birth flower
Birth flower
Each month has a flower that symbolizes the month of somebody's birth. Every month has a flower that is sometimes referred to as a Birth Month Flower.- British style :-US style:...
for those born under this sign. As a result of the reports that the song was written about Corgan, it was featured at #9 on The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
s "14 Fiercest Breakup Songs" list in 2010.
Variations of lyrics that would end up in the song, most distinctly lines like: "The sky turned violet / I want it again / And violent more violent", are featured in a poem titled "Above The Boy" that Love had written earlier in 1991. The syntax of the words "violet" and "violent" also bear similarity to lyrics from Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
's "Kimberly", which features the line: "Burst from the barn and flames in a violent violet sky". Courtney Love has cited Smith as a major influence several times.
In a more general sense, the lyrics in the song allude to a person accepting and even enticing abuse, especially in the lines "Go on, take everything / Take everything, I want you to", and "I want it again, but violent, more violent". There is also some evidence that the song alludes to Love's days as a stripper— she has on occasion made reference to the "violet lights" in a strip club which she used to work in. The official music video for the song also follows this theme. It features a vintage 1920s-era burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
style strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
with exotic dancers, as well as Love, with countless male-onlookers in the audience.
The title of the song may also stem from Love's friendship with friend and Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (band)
Babes in Toyland was an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland , with Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon , who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992...
frontwoman Kat Bjelland
Kat Bjelland
Katherine "Kat" Bjelland is an American musician who is currently the lead singer-guitarist of the band Katastrophy Wife, and is the former lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Babes in Toyland....
. The term "violet" was reportedly a muse between Love and Bjelland when working together in projects such as The Pagan Babies
Pagan Babies (band)
The Pagan Babies were a short-lived American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed by Kat Bjelland and Courtney Love circa late 1985...
. Babes in Toyland also use the term in their 1992 single, "Bruise Violet".
Reception
"Violet" was the band's third most popular single from Live Through This, behind "Doll Parts" and "Miss WorldMiss World (song)
"Miss World" is a song by American alternative rock band Hole, written by frontwoman Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson. The song was released as the band's fifth single and the first from their second studio album, Live Through This, in March 1994.-Origin and recording:Erlandson and...
", charting at number 29 in the Billboard's 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...
in April 1995, and went on to become one of the band's signature songs.
The song was well-reviewed by critics, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
said of it: "With its daydream whispers and startling gunshot-guitar chorus, "Violet" shakes, rattles and roars like a godless marriage of "Smells Like Teen Spirit
Smells Like Teen Spirit
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, Nevermind , released on DGC Records...
" and Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
's "Go Your Own Way
Go Your Own Way
"Go Your Own Way" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham and performed by Fleetwood Mac. It was released in late 1976, the first single from their then forthcoming Rumours and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's first top ten hit in the U.S...
."" The song was placed in a 2010 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...
article titled Hole's 10 Finest Moments, where it was referred to as "the quintessential Hole track" and a "titanic temper tantrum and exhilarating rush of inconsolable rage at full vent... “Go on, take everything, take everything I want you to”, she bellows, turning powerlessness into power over riffs that swing from sweet and melancholy to boiling and volcanic on a dime."
The song has been featured in several films, and in 2005 ranked at number 116 on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born list by Blender magazine.
Music video
The promotional music video for "Violet" was filmed in late 1994 and was directed by Mark SeligerMark Seliger
Mark Seliger is an American photographer noted for his portraiture.Seliger was born in Amarillo, Texas and attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, and Texas A&M University–Commerce. Seliger served as the chief photographer for Rolling Stone from 1992 to 2002 and...
and Fred Woodward. The video is filmed largely in sepia
Sepia
-Marine life:* Sepia , a genus of cuttlefish* Cephalopod ink, a dark pigment released into water by Sepia cuttlefish-Media and entertainment:* Sepia , an African Americans focused Photojournalism magazine...
tones and features a 1920s-era strip club with burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
dancers, juxtaposed with footage of several young ballerinas and young girls dancing on a theatre stage. Courtney Love pole dances in the music video in the period fashion, and is also featured in a tutu on the ballet stage with the girls. These scenes are integrated with footage of the band performing the song.
The juxtaposition of the young ballerinas onstage illustrates the dynamic between dancing as an art form and dancing for the sake of others' visual and sexual gratification. The ballerinas featured in the video are also possibly referential to Love herself, who took ballet classes for a great portion of her childhood, and later ended up working as a stripper in her teenage and early adult years.
The video follows themes discussed in the song, particularly sexual exploitation
Sexual exploitation
Sexual exploitation may refer to:*Sexual slavery*Sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian response...
of women. According to Love, the content of the video was inspired by "acid
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
flashbacks" and "old film stock". "I love old pornography," Love said, "But I wanted to at the same time, you know... all of the [music] videos for years that have put stripping or half-naked women on a pedestal, I wanted to sort of show the degrading experience that it is."
Many of the scenes in the video aesthetically mimic early-20th century silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s and talkies, with faux-aged cinematography and lapses in audio and visual synchronization. A child seen in the video is also an analogy to the single's cover artwork which features an anonymous memorial photograph
Post-mortem photography
Post-mortem photography is the practice of photographing the recently deceased.-History and popularity:...
, most likely either a daguerreotype, or a tintype post-mortem photograph of a deceased girl in a coffin with her doll.
The music video was the first video to feature newly-recruited bassist 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...
after the death of Kristen Pfaff
Kristen Pfaff
Kristen Marie Pfaff was an American bass guitarist, best known for her work with Hole.-Early life and career:Pfaff was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, attending Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart. She spent a short time in Europe and briefly attended Boston College before ultimately...
in June 1994. In a 1995 interview during the KROQ Weenie Roast
KROQ Weenie Roast
KROQ Weenie Roast is a multi-artist alternative rock concert, presented annually in June by the Los Angeles, California, USA radio station KROQ-FM. Since its beginning in 1993, the event has been traditionally held on a Saturday in June, except from 2005 to 2009 when it occurred in May.Every year...
, Auf der Maur commented on the music video's themes, citing "pornography versus ballet, strippers, and beautiful out-of-synch artwork". According to drummer Patty Schemel, the dancers featured in the music video were actual strippers handpicked by Courtney Love from Jumbo's Clown Room
Jumbo's Clown Room
Jumbo's Clown Room is a dance bar located on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California. It was opened on July 27, 1970 and later became a dance bar in 1980. Jumbo's Clown Room embodies the burlesque spirit more than its counterparts in Hollywood and farther west. Some of the interior and front of...
, a Los Angeles dance bar
Dance bar
The term dance bar is used in India to refer to bars in which adult entertainment in the form of dances by relatively well-covered women are performed for male patrons in exchange for cash. Though dance bars were banned in the Maharashtra state, in August 2005, with the passing of the Police Bill,...
where Love had worked in the 1980s.
Appearances in popular media
This song is used as background music in the part of Mark AppleyardMark Appleyard
Mark Appleyard is a professional skateboarder. He currently resides in Huntington Beach, California. He is 6'1", 160 pounds, has a size 11 foot, and his skateboarding stance is goofy. Appleyard is known for his technical skating...
's film in the skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
Really Sorry produced by Flip Skateboards
Flip Skateboards
Flip Skateboards is a US-based international skateboard company, owned by Jeremy Fox, Ian Deacon, and Geoff Rowley. The company produces skateboard decks, wheels, and clothing. Flip is distributed by NHS Distribution in the US.- History :...
. It was also used for the Tank Girl
Tank Girl (film)
Tank Girl is a 1995 science fiction action film loosely based on the Tank Girl comic book created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett. It was directed by Rachel Talalay and stars Lori Petty as Rebecca Buck, aka the eponymous Tank Girl, who had originally appeared in the UK comic magazine...
movie trailer and is featured in the end credits of the 2009 horror-comedy film Jennifer's Body
Jennifer's Body
Jennifer's Body is a 2009 black comedy horror film written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. The film stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, and Adam Brody. Fox portrays a newly-possessed teenage serial killer specializing in killing her male classmates as her best friend...
, an eponym of another Hole song. Most recently, the song was featured on the soundtrack for the film Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids (2011 film)
Bridesmaids is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend. The plot centers on Annie ....
(2011).
Track listing
All songs written by 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 Eric Erlandson
Eric Erlandson
Eric Erlandson is an American musician known as the co-founder, former songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole.-Early life and career:...
, unless where noted.
US 7" single
European CD single and UK CD single
German 12" single
Australian CD single
- "He Hit Me", "Whose Porno You Burn" and "Credit in the Straight World" were recorded live at MTV UnpluggedMTV UnpluggedMTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...
in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on February 14, 1995, Tempodrom in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
on April 22, 1995 and Hollywood PalladiumHollywood PalladiumThe Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an 11,200 square foot dance floor with room for up to 4,000 people.-History:...
on November 9, 1994, respectively.
Chart positions
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 29 |
| 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 ... |
17 |
Musicians and personnel
Hole- Courtney LoveCourtney LoveCourtney 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...
- lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Eric ErlandsonEric ErlandsonEric Erlandson is an American musician known as the co-founder, former songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole.-Early life and career:...
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound... - Kristen PfaffKristen PfaffKristen Marie Pfaff was an American bass guitarist, best known for her work with Hole.-Early life and career:Pfaff was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, attending Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart. She spent a short time in Europe and briefly attended Boston College before ultimately...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, backing vocals - Patty SchemelPatty SchemelPatricia Theresa Schemel is an American drummer, most notably known as the drummer of the alternative rock band Hole from 1992 until 1998.-Early music career:Schemel learned to play drums after her father bought her a drum kit at age 11...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion
Guest musician
- Dana KletterDana KletterDana Kletter is an American musician and writer.Kletter and her twin sister Karen were born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in New York. Dana began playing piano at age four. She attended American University in Washington, DC where she studied piano with Alan Mandel...
— additional vocals
Technical personnel
- Paul Q. KolderiePaul Q. KolderiePaul Q. Kolderie is a record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Abandoned Pools, and The Go-Go's...
- producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineer - Sean SladeSean SladeSean Slade is a record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with artists including Hole, Radiohead, Warren Zevon, Juliana Hatfield, Dinosaur Jr., Uncle Tupelo, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Boo Radleys, Sebadoh, Lush, the Go-Go's, and The Dictators among others. In 2005 he produced The...
- producer, engineer - Hal WillnerHal WillnerHal Willner is an American music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles...
- producer (on "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)") - Levi Tecofski - engineering (on "Whose Porno You Burn (Black)")
- Scott LittScott LittScott Litt is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums.-Biography:...
- mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Pat McCarthy - mixing (on "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)")