Editing Hole (band) (section)

===1989–1991: Early work and indie success===
[[File:Hole 1989 LA.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.75|Love and Erlandson performing with Hole, {{circa|1989}}.|alt=Woman in dress playing guitar, with a man in background]]
In the months preceding the band's full formation, Love and Erlandson would write and record in the evenings at a rehearsal space in Hollywood, loaned to them by the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]];<ref>{{cite interview
 |last           = Love
 |first          = Courtney
 |interviewer1   = Anthony Cumia
 |interviewer2   = Greg Hughes
 |title          = Interview with Anthony Cumia and Greg Hughes
 |work           = [[The Opie & Anthony Show]]
 |location       = New York City
 |date           = May 30, 2013
 |quote          = Without insulting one of my oldest friends who let me use his rehearsal space before I even had a band, therefore I wouldn't even be here without Flea
 }}</ref> during the day, Love worked as a [[stripper]] to support the band and purchase amplifiers and their [[backline (stage)|backline]] for live shows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04lcct3 |work=BBC Radio 6 |title=The First Time With&nbsp;... Courtney Love |date=October 12, 2014 |access-date=October 15, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017083140/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04lcct3 |archive-date=October 17, 2014 }}</ref> Hole's first official rehearsal took place at Fortress Studios in Hollywood with Love, Erlandson and Lisa Roberts on bass. According to Erlandson, "these two girls show up dressed completely crazy, we set up and they said, "okay, just start playing something." I started playing and they started screaming at the top of their lungs for two or three hours. Crazy lyrics and screaming. I said to myself, "most people would just run away from this really fast. But I heard something in Courtney's voice and lyrics."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Erlandson |first1=Eric |year=1999 |title=''Skin Tight'' |journal=Guitar World |issue=January 1999}}</ref> Initially, the band had no percussion until Love met drummer Caroline Rue<ref name=flipside/> at a [[Gwar]] and [[L7 (band)|L7]] concert in Long Beach.{{sfn|Rue|2022|loc=17:04}} The band subsequently recruited a third guitarist, Mike Geisbrecht. Hole's first show took place at [[Raji's]], a small bar in Hollywood, in October 1989.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96264521/l7-oct-14-1989-rajis/|date=October 12, 1989|page=112|title=Calendar of Events: Raji's|via=Newspapers.com|work=[[LA Weekly]]}}</ref> By early 1990, Geisbrecht and Roberts had both left the band, which led to the recruitment of bassist Jill Emery. According to Caroline Rue, Love fired Roberts after she threatened a Long Beach club owner—the wife of [[gangster|mob]]ster [[Eddie Nash]]—with a screwdriver when the club refused to pay them for their performance.{{sfn|Rue|2022|loc=23:08}}

Hole released their [[no wave]]-influenced debut single "[[Retard Girl]]" in April 1990, and followed it with "[[Dicknail]]" in 1991, released on [[Sympathy for the Record Industry]] and [[Sub Pop]], respectively. According to disc jockey [[Rodney Bingenheimer]], Love would often approach him at a [[Denny's]] on [[Sunset Blvd.]] where he went for coffee in the mornings, and convinced him to give "Retard Girl" airtime on his station [[KROQ-FM]].<ref name="etrue">{{cite episode|series=The E! True Hollywood Story|title=Courtney Love|airdate=October 5, 2003|network=E!}}</ref>

In 1991, the band signed onto [[Caroline Records]] to release their debut album, and Love sought [[Kim Gordon]] of [[Sonic Youth]] to produce the record.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monochrom.at/cracked/music/noiserockfaq.htm |work=Monochrom: Cracked Webzine |author=Cracked, George |date=April 2002 |title=The Noise Rock: F.A.Q. |access-date=February 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208063144/http://www.monochrom.at/cracked/music/noiserockfaq.htm |archive-date=December 8, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1020294/a/Pretty+On+The+Inside.htm|work=CD Universe|title=Pretty on the Inside|access-date=June 30, 2010}}</ref> She sent a letter, a [[Hello Kitty]] barrette, and copies of the band's early singles to her, mentioning that the band greatly admired Gordon's work and appreciated "the production of the [[SST Records|SST]] record"{{Sfn|Love|2006|p=116}} (either referring to Sonic Youth's album ''[[Sister (Sonic Youth album)|Sister]]'' or ''[[Evol (Sonic Youth album)|EVOL]]''). Gordon, impressed by the band's singles, agreed to produce the album, with assistance from [[Gumball (band)|Gumball]]'s Don Fleming. The album, titled ''[[Pretty on the Inside]]'', was released in September 1991 to positive reception from underground critics, branded "loud, ugly and deliberately shocking",<ref>''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''. "Review: Pretty on the Inside by Hole". (1991-10). p. 138</ref> and earned a spot on ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''{{'}}s "20 Best Albums of the Year" list.<ref name="best20">{{Cite news|work=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|date=December 17, 1991|title=20 Best Albums of the Year|page=122|author=Spencer, Lauren}}</ref> It was also voted album of the year by New York's ''[[Village Voice]]''{{Sfn|Strong|Peel|2002|p=696}} and peaked at number 59 on the UK albums chart.<ref name="charts">{{cite web|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/HOLE/#albums |title=Hole |work=The Official Charts Company |access-date=December 15, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615185443/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/hole/ |archive-date=June 15, 2011 }}</ref> The album spawned one single, "[[Teenage Whore]]", which entered the UK Indie Chart at number one,<ref name="twchart">{{cite episode|title=Indie Charts: September 28, 1991 |series=[[The Chart Show|The ITV Chart Show]] |network=Channel 4 |date=September 28, 1991 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfnOji_bk_M |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122122301/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfnOji_bk_M |archive-date=November 22, 2015 }}</ref> as well as the band's debut music video for the song "[[Garbadge Man]]".

Musically and lyrically, ''Pretty on the Inside'' was abrasive and drew on elements of punk rock and [[sludge metal]], characterized by overt noise and feedback, chaotic guitar riffs, contrasting tempos, graphic lyrics, and a variation of Love's vocals ranging from whispers to guttural screaming.<ref name=grievous>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1485868/courtney-love-talks-kurt-loder.jhtml |work=MTV |title=Courtney Love, Grievous Angel: The Interview With Kurt Loder |date=March 21, 2004 |access-date=October 7, 2013 |author=Loder, Kurt |author-link=Kurt Loder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604001851/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1485868/courtney-love-talks-kurt-loder.jhtml |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In later years, Love referred to the album as "unlistenable", despite its critical accolades and eventual [[cult following]].<ref name="hitsohard">{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/10-things-we-learn-about-kurt-cobain-and-courtney-love-from-hit-so-hard-776113 |work=[[NME]] |date=March 24, 2011 |author=Cooper, Leonie |title=10 Things We Learn About Kurt Cobain And Courtney Love From Hit So Hard |access-date=March 27, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312200928/http://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/10-things-we-learn-about-kurt-cobain-and-courtney-love-from-hit-so-hard-776113 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 }}</ref> The band embarked on a European [[Pretty on the Inside Tour|tour in the fall of 1991]] supporting [[Mudhoney]].{{sfn|Brite|1998|p=115}}{{sfn|Crawford|2014|p=37}} They also toured intermittently in the United States between July and December 1991, playing primarily at hard rock and punk clubs, including [[CBGB]] and the [[Whisky a Go Go]], where they opened for [[the Smashing Pumpkins]].<ref name="sp">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-19-ca-712-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=December 19, 1991 |access-date=September 15, 2011 |title=Pop Music Review: Pumpkins, Hole Unleash Frustrations |author=Cromelin, Richard |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108044636/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-19/entertainment/ca-712_1_pumpkins-album |archive-date=November 8, 2012 }}</ref> In a write-up by the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' on the band's final show of the tour, it was noted that Love smashed the headstock of her [[Rickenbacker]] guitar onstage.<ref name="sp" />

In mid-1991, the band began to get the attention of the major labels. The first to court them was [[Maverick (company)|Maverick]] — a [[Warner Music Group|Warner]] subsidiary founded by [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] and music executive [[Freddy DeMann]]. Love, however, was uninterested: "[They] would have me riding on elephants. They don't know what I am. For them, I'm a visual, period."<ref name="vanityfair92">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|author=Hirschberg, Lynn|title=Strange Love|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/love-story-of-kurt-cobain-courtney-love|access-date=December 22, 2017|date=September 1, 1992}}</ref> She was also uneasy about sharing the spotlight on a label so heavily associated with one of the industry's most iconic female performers. In a 1992 interview with ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', Love described Madonna's interest as "kind of like Dracula's interest in his latest victim".<ref name="vanityfair92"/>