Hole Is Getting Back Together!

In addition to considering the possibility of a Nirvana musical and scanning for lost planes (/Daniel Tosh's manhood), Courtney Love has also found time recently to get back to her own musical roots. Sure, the singer had a deliciously Love-ian cameo in Fall Out Boy's latest video, but as unexpectedly fun as that megaphone-shouting proved, it just made us Hole fans miss her early-to-mid-'90s angry-girl thrashings all the more. And yet, lo and behold, it appears our prayers have been answered: Love recently announced that the Celebrity Skin -era line-up of Hole is playing together again, planning a UK tour and a single, "Wedding Day," to be released in May.

Though Hole technically re-formed in 2010, after having disbanded officially in 2002, the return was mainly in name and not in players: Founding guitarist Eric Erlandson and bassist Melissa Auf der Mar were reportedly blindsided (and ultimately upset) by Love's reclaiming of their title without their involvement — a moniker she would shuck off only two years later to perform under her own name again. And sure, her latter-day Hole album, Nobody's Daughter, was essentially fine despite the surrounding betrayal controversy — its single, "Skinny Little Bitch," ended up a bit over-produced and predictable, but clangy slow-jam "Someone Else's Bed" strikes a surprising emotional chord or two. Still, when it comes to Love's musical career, nothing (repeat, nothing) beats the raw, cheeky wail that is the singer's mid-'90s fare backed by Erlandson's strum. In short, the thought of having that back again, in new iterations — of 2010's "Yeah, okay" effort not being Hole's last word — is nothing short of jump-up-and-down-worthy.

Of course, there's always the danger in reunion tours — just as in movies made from TV shows, spin-offs, re-makes, really any pop-cultural resurrection — that sharks have been jumped, rifts will prove unbreachable, and a history once doomed will simply repeat itself. Because as we all well know, some differences are indeed irreconcilable, and there must have been a reason Hole split in the first place (and, until now, refused to reunite). However, Love reports that the group has played "three or four times in the last week," apparently without incident — so kudos, all ye rock stars, for keeping level and music-filled heads. And there's certainly something to be said for the strange, electric passion that can come out of intra-band conflict, which, when channeled productively, would ideally infuse old dynamics with new life (Fleetwood Mac's Rumors, anyone?).

So, while it's always prudent to mind Love's power-chord-interjected "Celebrity Skin" advice, namely that "You better watch out what you wish for," something tells me we're okay this time — because yes, I'm willing to bet that this Hole resurrection will be worth it, and indeed to die for.