Dicknail

"Dicknail"
Single by Hole
B-side	"Burn Black"
Released	March 1991 (1991-03)
Format	7"
Recorded	November 1990 (1990-11) at Radio Tokyo, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Alternative rock, grunge[1]
Length	3:39
Label	Sub Pop
Writer(s)	Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson
Producer	Michael James
Hole singles chronology
"Retard Girl" (1990) "Dicknail" (1991) "Teenage Whore" (1991)

"Dicknail" is a song by American alternative rock band Hole, written by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson. The song was released as the band's second single in March 1991; however, like the band's first single, "Retard Girl", it was only released on 7" vinyl. The song is noted for its disturbing verses that allude to themes of rape and incest. Courtney Love referred to the song as an "anti-misogynism anthem".^[2] The single's cover artwork features a prepubescent Love lying naked in a bathtub with the band logo superimposed over the photo.

Origin and recording

Love and Erlandson are thought to have written "Dicknail" in 1990. The song's first documented performance was at a concert on September 15, 1990 at The Shamrock, a club in Los Angeles.^[3]

The first and only known studio version of "Dicknail" was recorded at the band's second studio session in November 1990 at Radio Tokyo in Los Angeles. The song's eventual b-side, "Burn Black", was also recorded at the session, which was produced by Michael James and mixed by Seattle producer Jack Endino. Later mixes of the song — mixed by Barry Goldberg and Erlandson — were released on Hole's 1997 compilation album, My Body, the Hand Grenade.

Composition and lyrics

In an interview with the Los Angeles fanzine Flipside in 1990, Love and drummer Caroline Rue revealed the meaning behind the song:

“

Love: "We just wrote this song called 'Dicknail'. It's about different kinds of, it's an anti-misogynism anthem. It has a verse about rape, it has a verse about incest, it has a verse about... Okay it's a male-bashing song! No, it's not..." Rue: "It sounds like a rationale for a gang bang sometimes, the excuses..." Love: "The words to the song are very simple, they're like, you know in rape cases how people say 'she liked it' or 'she was asking for it' or 'look at how she was dressed'. A lot of times in rape cases people don't even go to jail because the woman was wearing a fucking miniskirt!" Rue: "They're exactly like the witch trials, you have to prove that you are completely, immaculately, virginally pure or else you are asking for it." [2]

”

The idea of a woman "asking for it" also influenced later work by Hole such as the song "Asking for It" from the band's second album, Live Through This. In this thematic respect, "Dicknail" can be seen to be an earlier forerunner of this song, even though the musical and vocal styles are evidently different with "Dicknail" being influenced by no wave and punk rock music and "Asking for It" being influenced by more standard alternative rock and powerpop.

All releases of the single list the songwriting credits collectively as Hole, however BMI's website shows that "Dicknail" was written by Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson.^[4]

Packaging and artwork

"Dicknail" was originally released in March 1991 on Sub Pop as a 7", even though Hole had never signed to the label. First pressings were part of Sub Pop's "Single of the Month" series with grey, light green or pink marble vinyl and wraparound pressings. Later copies were issued with card pressed on green, purple or blue vinyl. The artwork on the front cover of the single features a photograph of a pre-pubescent Courtney Love naked in a bathtub, with the band logo superimposed over it.

Even though the single was Hole's only appearance on Sub Pop, it has nevertheless been reissued as a part of several collections of early Sub Pop music such as Revolution Come and Gone and The Birth of Alternative Vol. 1, alongside songs from contemporaries such as Nirvana and The Afghan Whigs. The B-side, "Burn Black," appears on The Birth of Alternative Vol. 2.

Track listing

All songs written by Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dicknail"		3:39
2.	"Burn Black"		4:56
Total length:			8:35

Musicians and personnel

Hole

• Courtney Love - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Eric Erlandson - lead guitar
• Jill Emery - bass
• Caroline Rue - drums, percussion

Technical personnel

• Michael James - producer, engineer
• Jack Endino - mixing

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ ^{a b} Love, Rue, Courtney, Caroline (October 1990). Flipside (68). 
3. ^ "Holelive.com - The Ultimate Hole Trading Community". Holelive.com. http://holelive.com/show.php?id=17. Retrieved December 15, 2010. 
4. ^ "BMI Repertoire Search, BMI.com". BMI.com. http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&keyid=300711&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID. Retrieved April 8, 2010..