Doll Parts Explained

Doll Parts
Cover:Dollpartscov1.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Hole
Album:Live Through This
B-Side:
Studio:Triclops Sound (Marietta, Georgia, U.S.)
Genre:
Length:3:31
Label:DGC
Producer:
Prev Title:Miss World
Prev Year:1994
Next Title:Circle One / Shutdown
Next Year:1995

"Doll Parts" is a song by American alternative rock band Hole, written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love. The song was released as the band's sixth single and second from their second studio album, Live Through This, in November 1994 to accompany the band's North American tour. It was also the first single to be released following the death of bassist Kristen Pfaff in June 1994.

Love wrote the song in late 1991, soon after she met Kurt Cobain, and has admitted that its lyrics were about her insecurity of his romantic interest in her. It became one of the band's most popular songs, peaking on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks at number 4, and is considered by fans and critics alike as one of Hole's signature tracks.[4]

In September 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the track 208 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[5]

Background and recording

Courtney Love is known to have written "Doll Parts" as early as November 1991, performing it acoustically at a Hole concert in Massachusetts.[6] The song developed into its final form less than two weeks later and became a regular number on setlists during the band's tour of Europe and the United Kingdom the following month. Journalist Everett True also noted that Love performed an acoustic version of the song to him over a telephone at 4 a.m. during the band's tour.

The first known studio version of "Doll Parts" was recorded on November 19, 1991, at Maida Vale Studios as part of Hole's first radio session with BBC DJ John Peel.[7] A second version of the song was recorded on March 27, 1993, with Mark Goodier, another BBC radio host, during a short three-date tour of England. 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.

Composition

"Doll Parts" thematically focuses on themes of love, rejection, and fear of unrequited romance.[8] Speaking to Uncut magazine in 2010, Love stated that the song was specifically about Kurt Cobain,[9] who she thought "didn't like [her]." Love divulged that she wrote the song while staying at the Cambridge, Massachusetts apartment of Joyce Linehan, a music executive,[10] and that she had written most of it while locked in a bathroom.[8] Love has said that the line "dog beg" was worked into the first verse because there was literally a dog in the apartment begging for food.

Both the title of the song and the lyrical meaning are inspired by an encounter Love had with Cobain in 1991 prior to their relationship and marriage. Love had sent Cobain "a heart-shaped box scented with perfume and inside a porcelain doll, three dried roses, a miniature teacup and shellac-covered seashells" to apologize for their first meeting in May 1991, where Love infamously wrestled with Cobain. The box, purchased in an antique store in New Orleans, was later the influence for the Cobain-penned Nirvana song, "Heart-Shaped Box." The lyrics reflect Love's initial feelings about Cobain having felt rejected by his lack of communication, which is most acutely conveyed in the line: "he only loves those things because he loves to see them break."

After Cobain's death in April 1994, "Doll Parts" took on a more tragic meaning with Love giving anguished performances of the song on tour. Drummer Patty Schemel has said that "certain things would remind her, a lot of the time on-stage, and it would just come out. Certain lyrics had a lot more meaning."[11]

Musically, the song is composed of only three chords: A, Cmaj7, and G. In retrospect, Love noted the song's musical simplicity: "I still don't understand why that one song with just three chords is such a big thing, but it's definitely got some good lyrics." On both Live Through This and the individual single, the song is credited on record as written by Hole as a band, however according to BMI's website, the official author is solely Love.[12]

Release

"Doll Parts" was released on November 15, 1994, in the United States as the second single from Hole's second studio album, Live Through This (1994).[13] It was released as a CD single, cassette and 7-inch on DGC Records, with alternate track listings for each pressing. Upon its release in Europe, three CD singles were released on DGC, Geffen Records and City Slang, with additional live recordings.

The song became Hole's highest-charting song in the United States, peaking at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1995 chart. "Doll Parts" also peaked at number four on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in December 1994. The song later charted on Canada's RPM Singles Chart, the UK Singles Chart, Belgian Singles Chart in Wallonia, and the French Singles Chart.

Music video

The music video for "Doll Parts" was directed by Samuel Bayer[14] —who had also directed music videos for The Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana—and who Hole commissioned following the death of bassist Kristen Pfaff. Jennifer Finch of L7 is featured as the bassist in the video. Bayer has said that he wanted it "evoke the feeling of death"[15] and used ideas conceived by Love throughout the video.

Love's ideas included a large amount of doll imagery, herself "in a babydoll dress looking demure while playing guitar on a bed" and "walking in a bleak backyard passing a children's table set for a tea party." Bayer designed the garden scenes to be "decaying" and added "a hundred plaster-wrapped dolls dangling from trees." Other scenes features a young blonde boy, a reference "meant to invoke Kurt [Cobain]",[16] and footage of the band performing the song. Most of the video was shot in black-and-white and interspersed with various color shots. Two edits of "Doll Parts" have been broadcast—an original edit and a "producer's version."[17]

The video for "Doll Parts" was nominated for Best Alternative Video at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards but lost to "Buddy Holly" by Weezer.[18]

Track listings

All songs were written by Courtney Love, except where noted.US 7-inch single (DGCS7-19379)

  1. "Doll Parts"3:31
  2. "Plump" (Love, Eric Erlandson)2:42

UK 7-inch single (GFS 91)

  1. "Doll Parts"3:31
  2. "The Void" (Ana da Silva, Gina Birch)2:57

UK CD single (GFSTD 91)

  1. "Doll Parts"3:31
  2. "The Void" (Da Silva, Birch)2:57
  3. "Hungry Like the Wolf" (Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor)1:42

UK CD single (GFSXD 91)

  1. "Doll Parts" (Love) – 3:31
  2. "Plump" (Love, Erlandson)2:42
  3. "I Think That I Would Die" (Love, Erlandson, Kat Bjelland)4:22
  4. "Credit in the Straight World" (Stuart Moxham)2:49

Credits and personnel

All personnel credits adapted from Live Through Thiss liner notes.[19] Hole

Production

Charts

Chart (1994–1995)Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[20] 136
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)[21] 28
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[22] 75
French SNEP Singles Chart[23] 45
UK Singles Chart[24] 16
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 58
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks4

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United StatesNovember 15, 1994DGC
United KingdomApril 3, 1995[26]

Cover versions

English trip hop artist Tricky covered the song on his 2017 album Ununiform under the title "Doll", featuring Avalon Lurks.[27]

Miley Cyrus covered the song live on the Howard Stern Show in December 2020.[28] Love praised the cover as a "sweet version", and said she was "touched" by the gesture.[29]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Ultimate Nineties Alt-Rock Playlist. Yglesias. Matthew. May 21, 2007. The Atlantic. August 31, 2020.
  2. Web site: The 50 Best Grunge Songs. Danaher. Michael. August 4, 2014. Paste. August 31, 2020. September 28, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190928214417/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html. dead.
  3. May 31, 2012. 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. August 31, 2020. Rolling Stone.
  4. Web site: Hole – Live Through This (album review) . Sputnik Music. November 21, 2006. December 11, 2010.
  5. Hole: Doll Parts. Rolling Stone. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. September 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210930012117/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/hole-doll-parts-1225130/. September 30, 2021. live.
  6. Web site: Holelive.com – The Ultimate Hole Trading Community. 2010. Holelive.com. December 11, 2010.
  7. Web site: BBC – Radio 1 – Keeping It Peel – 19/11/1991 Hole. October 2005. BBC Radio 1. December 11, 2010.
  8. Billboard. Courtney Love Is 'Touched' by Miley Cyrus' 'Doll Parts' Cover, Shares How Kurt Cobain Inspired the Song. Aniftos. Rania. December 8, 2020. dead. https://archive.today/20210218044509/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/9496287/courtney-love-miley-cyrus-doll-parts-cover-kurt-cobain-inspired/. February 18, 2021.
  9. Love . Courtney. Ask Courtney Love . . August 2010 . 26 .
  10. Web site: You Will Ache Like I Ache: The Oral History of Hole's 'Live Through This'. Spin. Hopper. Jessica. April 14, 2014. May 7, 2017.
  11. Schemel, Patty. Interview on Behind The Music: Courtney Love. 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  12. Web site: BMI Repertoire Search, BMI.com. https://archive.today/20120713141953/http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyID=1935873&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID. dead. July 13, 2012. BMI. April 8, 2010.
  13. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=doll-parts-cassette-single-mw0000124822|pure_url=yes}} Doll Parts [Cassette Single] – Hole: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards|work=[[AllMusic]]|publisher=Rovi Corporation|access-date=December 3, 2012].
  14. Web site: Doll Parts | Hole | Music Video. https://web.archive.org/web/20090210130702/http://www.mtv.com/videos/hole/8792/doll-parts.jhtml#id=1536070. dead. February 10, 2009. MTV. Viacom. July 3, 1996. December 2, 2012.
  15. Chaplin. Julia. 1995. Exposure: Nerve TV. Spin. March 1995. 26. Buzz Media. December 2, 2012.
  16. Marks. Craig. 1995. Endless Love. Spin. February 1995. 50. Buzz Media. December 2, 2012.
  17. Web site: Hole. YouTube. December 2, 2012.
  18. Web site: MTV Video Music Awards | 1995 | Highlights, Winners, Performers and Photos from the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards . . . December 2, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160510091655/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/1995/ . May 10, 2016 .
  19. Live Through This. Live Through This. Hole. 1994. CD. Geffen Records. LC 07266.
  20. Web site: Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received July 12, 2016. Imgur.com. July 12, 2016.
  21. Web site: Hole – Doll Parts. Ultratop. Hung Medien. June 23, 2012.
  22. Web site: RPM 100 – Hit Tracks & Where to Find Them. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. November 14, 1994. May 1, 2012.
  23. Web site: Hole – Doll Parts. lescharts.com. Hung Medien. June 23, 2012.
  24. Web site: Hole | Artist. The Official Charts Company. British Phonographic Industry. December 11, 2010.
  25. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=live-through-this-mw0000624149|tab=awards|pure_url=yes}} Live Through This – Hole: Awards]. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. June 23, 2012.
  26. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 35. April 1, 1995.
  27. Web site: Cardew. Ben. September 20, 2017. Tricky: ununiform. September 20, 2017. Pitchfork.
  28. Web site: Watch Miley Cyrus' powerful cover of 'Doll Parts' by Hole. . December 4, 2020.
  29. Carter, Emily. "Courtney Love praises Miley Cyrus' cover of Hole’s Doll Parts: "I'm touched"". Kerrang!, December 9, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2022