Celebrity Skin

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Celebrity Skin
Studio album by
Hole
ReleasedSeptember 8, 1998
RecordedApril 1997 – February 1998
StudioConway Recording Studios (Los Angeles)

Record Plant West (Los Angeles) Quad Studios (New York City)

Olympic Studios (London)
Length50:28
LabelDGC, Geffen

Celebrity Skin is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Hole. Billy Corgan co-wrote the arrangements for five of the songs and played bass on three. As a member of Hole, former Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur performs on the album as well.

Background[edit | edit source]

The original plan was to have Corgan as executive producer, who was a second choice after Brian Eno,[1] however, Corgan did not initially participate in, or contribute to the recording process.

According to Courtney Love, her vision for the album was to "deconstruct the California Sound" in the L.A. tradition of bands like The Doors, The Beach Boys and The Byrds,[2] but she was struggling with the composition of the record and felt like she was "in a rut".[2] After sending early recordings of the songs to Billy Corgan, Corgan joined the band in the studio for a total of twelve days.[2] Love compared Corgan's presence in the studio to "a math teacher who wouldn't give you the answers but was making you solve the problems yourself",[2] and stated that he had her study key changes as well as melodies and phrasing from songs by Frank Sinatra and The Beatles:[2]

What [Billy's] great at for me— what he did for me has nothing to do with Eric and Melissa. It has to do with me. I was in a rut, I could not even get out of bed. I didn't want to make this record, I didn't want do anything. I was dull, my blade was not sharp, and he's probably one of the only people on the planet that can challenge me. My craft was at this place and Eric and Melissa and Patty couldn't help me; they all have brilliance and craft, but because I'm in a band within a family context with them, they weren't outsiders enough to really just help me.[2]

Of the album's twelve tracks, Corgan shares instrumental songwriting credits on five.[3]

Track listing[edit | edit source]

All lyrics by Courtney Love.

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Celebrity Skin"
2:42
2."Awful"
3:16
3."Hit So Hard"
  • Love
  • Erlandson
  • Corgan
4:00
4."Malibu"
  • Love
  • Erlandson
  • Corgan
3:50
5."Reasons to Be Beautiful"
  • Love
  • Erlandson
  • Auf der Maur
  • Charlotte Caffey
  • Jordon Zadorozny
5:19
6."Dying"
  • Love
  • Erlandson
  • Corgan
3:44
7."Use Once & Destroy"
  • Love
  • Erlandson
  • Auf der Maur
  • Schemel
5:04
8."Northern Star"Erlandson4:58
9."Boys on the Radio"
  • Love
  • Erlandson
  • Auf der Maur
5:09
10."Heaven Tonight"Erlandson3:31
11."Playing Your Song"
  • Love
  • Erlandson
  • Auf der Maur
3:21
12."Petals"
  • Love
  • Erlandson
  • Corgan
5:29
Total length:50:23


Japanese bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Best Sunday Dress"
  • Love
  • Erlandson
  • Kat Bjelland
4:25
Total length:54:48

Release history[edit | edit source]

Released Label Catalog ID Format Country External sites
September 2, 1998 Geffen MVCF-24035 CD Japan Discogs MusicBrainz [1][2]
September 7, 1998 Geffen GED 25164 CD UK & Europe Discogs MusicBrainz [1]
September 8, 1998 DGC DGCD-25164 CD US Discogs MusicBrainz [1]

More releases: Discogs • MusicBrainz

Charts[edit | edit source]

Certifications[edit | edit source]

Certifications for Celebrity Skin
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[27] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Love, Courtney (1997). "Courtney Love à Rock Express". Rock Express (Interview). Interviewed by Laurence Romance. Neuilly-sur-Seine. We're gonna make a record in April, Billy Corgan's gonna be executive producer. We went through everyone, we went to Brian Eno and he said we don't have to be rock anymore.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Interview (CD). Hole. Geffen. 1998. PRO-CD-1232.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ↑ Kafuman, Gil (August 6, 1998). "Pumpkins' Corgan Tells Radio Jock He Inspired LP". MTV. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Hole – Celebrity Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Hole – Celebrity Skin" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Hole – Celebrity Skin" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Hole – Celebrity Skin" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7048". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Hole – Celebrity Skin" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  10. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 40. October 3, 1998. p. 14. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  11. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Hole – Celebrity Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Hole – Celebrity Skin" (in German). w:GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  13. ↑ ホールのアルバム売り上げランキング [Hole album sales ranking] (in 日本語). Oricon. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Charts.nz – Hole – Celebrity Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Hole – Celebrity Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Hole – Celebrity Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Hole – Celebrity Skin". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Hole Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1998". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  22. ↑ "RPM's Top 100 CDs of '98". RPM. Vol. 68 no. 12. December 14, 1998. p. 11. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  23. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1998". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  24. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1999". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  26. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Albums". ARIA. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Hole – Celebrity Skin". Music Canada. December 17, 1998. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  28. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Hole – Celebrity Skin". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  29. ↑ "British album certifications – Hole – Celebrity Skin". British Phonographic Industry. July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  30. ↑ "American album certifications – Hole – Celebrity Skin". RIAA. December 21, 1998. Retrieved April 9, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

External links[edit | edit source]

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