`Courtney Love: The Hole Story,' 8:30 tonight
Hole, 9 tonight The Cranberries, 9 p.m. Tuesday Live, 9 p.m. WednesdayA new episode of "MTV Unplugged" with the controversialalternative rock band Hole fuels both sides of the heated argumentabout Courtney Love's talents.
The Hole show, debuting at 9 tonight on the cable music channel,kicks off a week of premieres celebrating the fifth anniversary ofthe "Unplugged" series. The week also features two concerts by theCranberries and Live, as well as an "MTV News" documentary on theseries.
Though Hole clearly remains the rock band of the moment, somehave charged that the songs on Hole's second album, "Live ThroughThis," were ghost-written by Love's late husband, Kurt Cobain.Others maintain that she sang over guiding vocals or that her partswere "sweetened" by studio singers.
The acoustic forum of "Unplugged" offers Love the opportunity toshow exactly what she's capable of. Hole's basic two-guitar, bassand drums lineup is augmented by a cellist, a horn player and a harpplayer, but Love's expressive vocal growl is always the focus.
Hole's "Unplugged" makes it clear why Cobain - one of the bestrock singers of the '90s - was such a huge fan of his wife's voice.Love lends drama and urgency to stripped-down renditions of "MissWorld" and "Asking for It."
Hole uses the show to spotlight several new tunes, including"Drown Soda," "Best Sunday Dress," "Old Age" and "You've Got NoRight," a powerful tune that's introduced as "almost the last songKurt wrote."
"Things have never been so swell, and I have never been sowell," Love sings, quoting her husband. Her voice is layered withpain and irony.
With its somber blue lights and roman columns, the set looks abit like a funeral parlor. Love is dressed for a wake in a blackdress. Detractors will criticize her for exploiting her latehusband.
But Love is certainly entitled to her pain, and who has moreright to cover an unreleased Cobain song?
In the end, the band punctures the serious mood by smashing itsinstruments, though Love doesn't make her trademark leap into thecrowd.
MTV's other "Unplugged" debuts aren't nearly as galvanizing.The Irish pop band the Cranberries perform rote renditions of thehits from their first two albums at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Like Hole, the Cranberries are backed by three orchestramusicians. While Hole's "Unplugged" offers ample time for each bandmember, the Cranberries' show focuses almost exclusively on singerDolores O'Riordan, who is due to start her solo career any minute.
Live isn't backed up by any extra musicians during its"Unplugged," which airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday. The York, Pa., quartetshows a lot more depth than on its hit singles, which shamelesslymimic R.E.M. crossed with Pearl Jam.
The religious imagery of vocalist Ed Kowalczyk jumps out in theacoustic performance. But Live doesn't take itself too seriously: Itwins points for making fun of MTV producers who insisted that thegroup's parents move out of camera range "because they looked tooold."
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