In 1995, other alt-rock bands had bigger albums and bigger hits than Hole, but none dominated media and pop culture in quite the same way — mostly due to the increasingly high profile of explosive frontwoman Courtney Love, who became a celebrity thanks to her marriage to late rock icon Kurt Cobain, and spent '95 proving herself an equally iconic and brilliant artist in her own right. In this second week of our 2026 kickoff to our annual Vintage Almost-Pop Stardom mini-series — looking at close-but-not-quite pop stars during their biggest years — Lina Morgan of the Song vs. Song podcast joins to talk about Hole's and Love's greatest year of pop culture centrality, with "Doll Parts," "Violet," MTV Unplugged, Lollapalooza '95, and a particularly unforgettable showdown with Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Listen to the excellent Song vs. Song podcast here:
https://www.patreon.com/songvssong
Check out our 1995 Hole YouTube playlist here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDSujJgL70RA&si=5MfavVmk6GTyuqPf
And if you enjoy the pod, please consider donating to the following causes:
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Trans Lifeline
https://translifeline.org/
Destination Tomorrow
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/destination-tomorrow-inc
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
https://www.gofundme.com/c/gender-confirmation-surgery-fundraising
Human Rights Campaign - In Your Area
https://www.hrc.org/in-your-area
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.
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