It's a really great fucking record. Before I first listened, I knew about the Courtney Love hate, that people thought she was always trying to exploit Cobain's success, that she had him killed, this and that.

So, I went in expecting a barely above average album with a couple of great songs.

I was surprised to find from top to bottom a really really great album, rocking but poignant, engaging, emotionally impactful; it's got that classic gritty but melodic grunge style.

So why are some people so intense about putting it down, and Hole in general? I'm very hesitant to throw out accusations of sexism (or any of the other -isms) over something as subjective as art, but in this case, how many of those bad reviews are people simply hating Courtney Love, and being predisposed to dislike anything she ever put her hands on?

I've read people simultaneously say the album's trash and at the same time it's good, but because Kurt Cobain ghostwrote it. There's no evidence he ever did anything other than provide a source of inspiration for the writing. Producers and band members all say it was Love and Erlandson who wrote the whole thing. Why the vitriol? There's plenty of controversial musicians out there, male, who were never on the receiving end of all that venom.

Let alone to suggest she had the father of her daughter killed, a man who had severe depression, had stated his desire to kill himself several times, and who did the deed while under the influence.

So, I felt I had to throw some appreciation Hole's way. There was even a poll recently on this subreddit about the best grunge albums, it was the first album eliminated, when it's easily top 5 material!