"Is she pretty on the inside? Is she pretty from the back?... Is she ugly? ugly? ugly? ugly? ugly? ugly?"
Pretty on the Inside is Hole's first studio album, released on September 17, 1991. It's much harsher than their later albums such as Live Through This and Celebrity Skin, blending elements of Sludge Metal, Punk Rock and Noise Rock, and features screaming vocals, distorted guitar and graphic, uncomfortable and violent lyrics.
Pretty on the Inside was well received by alternative critics, receiving good reviews from Spin, NME and The Village Voice, and it even sold more copies at the time than Nirvana's first album Bleach. It did particularly well in the UK, where the lead single "Teenage Whore" reached number one on the indie music chart. It has a cult following among punk and grunge fans and has been cited as an influence by Scout Niblett, Brody Dalle and Nine Black Alps. Despite the album's success, lead singer Courtney Love later went on to describe the album as "unlistenable" to her.
Tracklist:
- Teenage Whore (2:57)
- Babydoll (4:59)
- Garbadge Man (3:19)
- Sassy (1:43)
- Good Sister/Bad Sister (5:47)
- Mrs Jones (5:25)
- Berry (2:46)
- Loaded (4:19)
- Starbelly (1:46)
- Pretty on the Inside (1:27)
- Clouds (3:58)
Tropey on the Inside:
- Album Title Drop: "Pretty on the Inside", the Title Track and penultimate song on the album.
- Badass Boast: In 'Good Sister/Bad Sister':I'll be the biggest scar in your back
Run down and jagged, and naked, and blind
I'll be the biggest dick that you've ever had
Hey, want it back? - Big "WHY?!": Multiple times in "Sassy".
- Careful with That Axe: The album heavily features Courtney Love screaming her lungs out.
- Central Theme: The dichotomy between beauty and ugliness.
- Cover Version: "Clouds" is a hard rock version of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now", with additional lyrics by Courtney.
- Drone of Dread: In "Pretty on the Inside/Clouds".
- Either/Or Title: "Good Sister/Bad Sister."
- Fading into the Next Song: "Pretty on the Inside" fades into "Clouds".
- Get Out!: The protagonist of "Teenage Whore" is told to "Get out of my house!" multiple times.
- Harsh Vocals: Love gargled whiskey and smoked cigarettes before recording sessions to achieve this effect.
- Hated by All: Not the album itself, but 'Sassy' features an angry voicemail Courtney Love received from Inger Lorre of The Nymphs telling her she has this.Inger Lorre: You're so stupid, I would have done anything for you...Honey, your reputation is shit in this town.
- Miniscule Rocking: "Sassy", "Starbelly" and the Title Track are all under two minutes.
- One-Word Title: "Babydoll", "Sassy", "Berry", "Loaded", "Starbelly", "Clouds".
- Parental Abandonment: The protagonist of "Teenage Whore" is a teenage prostitute whose parents abandon her in disgust. "Garbadge Man" alludes to Courtney's stepfather divorcing her mom and marrying another woman, which tore Courtney apart as a child.
- Parental Issues: The protagonist of 'Teenage Whore' has problems with her mother.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: "Babydoll" and "Mrs. Jones" contain references to rape and some live performances of 'Mrs Jones' feature additional lyrics such as "You can't rape my woman!" and "You can't rape the world!"
- Real Life Writes the Plot: "Babydoll" and "Good Sister/Bad Sister" are widely believed to be about Courtney Love's complex friendship with Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland. 'Garbadge Man' is about Love's feelings of abandonment by her stepfather, who was a garbage man.
- Record Producer: Kim Gordon and Don Fleming, whose work helped give it its harsh Noise Rock sound.
- Recycled Lyrics: The phrase "sugar star" appears in both "Good Sister/Bad Sister" and "Mrs. Jones". "Sugar runs from my arteries" is featured in "Good Sister/Bad Sister" and "Burn Black" from the album My Body The Hand Grenade.
- Sampling: "Mrs. Jones" samples Bauhaus's "Dark Entries" and "Starbelly" samples "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac, "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young and Kat Bjelland's vocals from the original version of "Best Sunday Dress" (which Courtney Love would later rewrite with Hole), which was on the demo tape Courtney and Kat made in 1984 for their short-lived band Pagan Babies.
- Shout-Out: The title of "Starbelly" is probably a reference to Dr. Seuss's Starbellied Sneetches.
- Slut-Shaming: The protagonist of "Teenage Whore" is slut-shamed by her mother.
- Studio Chatter: There's some at the beginning of "Sassy."
- Title Drop: Pretty on the Inside is both the name of the album and the tenth track.
- To the Tune of...: "Starbelly" borrows its riff from Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl".
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: The deliberately misspelled title "Garbadge Man".
- "Don't talk to me like that again. Don't ever talk to me like that again."
