Malibu (Hole song)

"Malibu" is a song by American alternative rock band Hole. It is the fourth track and second single from the band's third studio album, Celebrity Skin, and was released on December 29, 1998 on DGC Records. The song was written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, lead guitarist Eric Erlandson and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, who contributed to a number of other songs on Celebrity Skin.

This article is about the Hole song. For the Miley Cyrus song, see Malibu (Miley Cyrus song). For other uses, see Malibu (disambiguation).
"Malibu"
Single by Hole
from the album Celebrity Skin
B-side
ReleasedDecember 29, 1998 (1998-12-29)
Format
RecordedApril 1997 (1997-04)–February 1998 (1998-02)
Genre
Length3:53
LabelDGC
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Hole singles chronology
"Celebrity Skin"
(1998)		 "Malibu"
(1998)		 "Awful"
(1999)
Alternative cover
Alternative CD single cover art
Music video
"Malibu" on YouTube

The single was released on vinyl and compact disc in multiple countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan. The standard releases of the single feature "Drag" as well as a cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" as b-sides.

"Malibu" was one of Hole's most commercially and critically successful songs.[lower-alpha 1] The song peaked at number 3 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, and garnered a Grammy nomination in 1999. The song was ranked number 264 on "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" list by Blender magazine in 2005.

Composition

"Malibu" was written by frontwoman Courtney Love, lead guitarist Eric Erlandson, and Billy Corgan. The lyrics were written solely by Love, while the musical composition and arrangements are credited to Love, Erlandson, and Corgan. While it has been speculated that the song was written about Love's husband, Kurt Cobain's stay in a rehabilitation clinic in Malibu, California, Love has stated that the song was actually written about her first boyfriend, Jeff Mann, whom she lived with in Malibu the late mid-1980s.[2][3] In 2018, Love revealed at a concert with Smashing Pumpkins that the song was initially written for Stevie Nicks.[4]

Release

"Malibu" was released as a single on CD, 7" vinyl, and other formats in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It was first released in the United States on compact disc on December 29, 1998,[5] followed by a 7" vinyl release in the United States on May 25, 1999.[6]

The single also includes "Drag", an outtake from Celebrity Skin which was replaced by "Malibu". The song was nominated for a Grammy Award[7] in the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal field, losing to "Put Your Lights On" by Santana. The single was certified Gold in Australia in 1999, with sales in excess of 40,000.

Reception

Billboard gave the song a positive review, writing: "Detractors of Love and company may consider this the ultimate sellout, but programmers would do well to give this edgy but hooky track a listen. Love sounds downright dainty in comparison with past works—OK, well, tamer anyway—and is accompanied here by some great guitar hooks, swirling harmonies, and a sticky melody that could attract stations that like to maintain a tough exterior without sacrificing accessibility."[8]

Music video

Directed by Paul Hunter, the music video for "Malibu" was shot in the eponymous city on a beach. The video features burning palm trees and the band performing the song. Eric Erlandson is also seen waxing a surfboard, and Melissa Auf der Maur lies on a rock over the ocean. The video also alludes to Baywatch at its conclusion, featuring a mass of lifeguards holding plastic dolls on the beach while Courtney Love walks into the ocean.[9]

Samantha Maloney, who replaced drummer, Patty Schemel, appears in the video.

Formats and track listings

All songs written by Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, and Billy Corgan except where noted.

Credits and personnel

All credits adapted from Celebrity Skin's liner notes[11] except where noted.

Chart positions
Chart (1998-99) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 11
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[14] 16
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 46
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 38
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17] 22
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[18] 37
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[1] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 81
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[20] 16

Notes
  1. Per the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, "Malibu" peaked at number 3 in 1998; second to "Celebrity Skin," which peaked at number 1, "Malibu" was Hole's highest-charting singles.[1]
  2. The track listing for the United Kingdom CD single (GFSTD 22369) is identical to the Japanese release.[10]
  3. Both live tracks recorded at Later... with Jools Holland at BBC Television Centre in London, United Kingdom on October 20, 1998.
  4. Deen Castronovo is uncredited on both the single and album.[12]

References
  1. "Hole Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  2. "Love is a Battlefield". Entertainment Weekly. March 22, 2002. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  3. Love, Courtney (March 17, 2016). "Courtney Love & Todd Almond: The San Francisco Sessions". San Francisco Curran (Interview). Interviewed by Kevin Sessums. That's [where] the song "Malibu" comes from—it comes from him. People thinks it comes from all sorts of other things, but it comes from Jeffrey Mann Video on YouTube.
  4. Courtney Love. "Smashing Pumpkins Malibu Cover with Courtney Love 30th Anniversary Show 8/2/18 PNC NJ 4K".
  5. "Malibu - Hole : Releases". All Music. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  6. "Hole - Malibu - Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  7. Kaufman, Gil (February 23, 1999). "Hole Members' Opinions Mixed Over Grammy Nods". MTV. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  8. "Hole: Malibu". Billboard. Singles. November 14, 1998. p. 23 – via Google Books.
  9. Kaufman, Gil (May 11, 2017). "How Miley Cyrus & Courtney Love Both Hit 'Malibu' for a Re-Set". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  10. "Hole Malibu Japanese Promo CD single (CD5 / 5")". EIL. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  11. Celebrity Skin (CD). Hole. Geffen Records. 1998. LC 07266.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. Patty Schemel, Eric Erlandson, Chris Whitemyer (2011). Hit So Hard: The Life and Near-Death Story of Patty Schemel (DVD). The Ebersole Hughes Company.
  13. "Australian-charts.com – Hole – Malibu". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  14. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 7450." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  15. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7494." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  16. "Charts.nz – Hole – Malibu". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  18. "Hole Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  19. "Hole Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  20. "Hole Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2020.

Sources
  • Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-607-6.
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