I pretty much agree with this evaluation of the album, by Tim Byrnes, which uses Emersonian language to describe the singer--and the idea of the "rock star" in general (as in: "[the self-reliant individual] numbers himself never about consequences, about interests: he gives an independent, genuine verdict. You must court him: he does not court you.") Meanwhile, Rob Sheffield, at Rolling Stone, offers up perhaps the most clueless review I've ever read...

Want an excerpt? Sure:

"But the shocker is Love's ravaged voice. No matter what you've heard about her real-life problems, nothing could prepare you for how busted up she sounds."

Really? Nothing? Not even, oh, "Retard Girl" (1990), or "Teenage Whore" (1991)? I guess I missed the mellifluous phase of Ms. Love's career... Yeah I know they fuzzed out her voice on Celebrity Skin, and that was interesting, but this is much better. Sheffield seems to think that she is no longer capable of "faking it so real" that she's "beyond fake", but I'm not sure what he's been doing with his ears. I don't turn to rock performers for a balanced account of life on earth--I'm looking for a visceral experience, an encounter with raw personality.

There's nothing ersatz about Love's delivery on this album--although the lyrics are a bit monotonously self-loathing at times ("all my love's in vain/can't--cannot find a vein"), the countervailing force of pride and "self-defiance" in the voice is what counts... As Courtney puts it (in "I'm A Little Bit Older than you Julian", which is one of my favourite songs on the album, along with "Life Despite God", "Mono", "Hello" and "Never Gonna Be the Same")--"I know where you live"... She's right--and she knows exactly how to hit you there too! Ultimately, no matter what she does (and that cheesecake cover had me a little worried), I don't see how anyone could fail to respect her accomplishments in the studio or on the screen. If you deplore her tabloid-attracting antics (as I do), then just stop thinking about them... and stop blaming the victim!

Courtney Love, Corin Tucker, Kathleen Hanna--these are the throats and minds in contemporary music that mean the most to me. Some of them (or all of them!) might grate on your nerves--but you can't say they're not giving it their all! If Sheffield can get away with comparing this genius/monster to a cypher like Paris Hilton, then we've got a real problem...