F major · Camelot 7B · 188 BPM
Teenage Whore
by Hole
- 188
- BPM
- F major
- Key
- 7B
- Camelot
- 11
- Danceability
- 1
- Acousticness
Bassist Jill Emery helped write "Teenage Whore" shortly after joining Hole, and the song became the opening track of the band's debut album, Pretty on the Inside. It was one of the first songs written by the group's second lineup, which featured Emery following the departure of original bassist Lisa Roberts and additional guitarist Mike Geisbrecht. Emery, lead guitarist Eric Erlandson, drummer Caroline Rue and vocalist and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love composed the track in 1991.
The song was recorded over four days in March 1991 at Music Box Studios in Los Angeles, with production handled by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth and Gumball frontman Don Fleming. Its arrangement drew on noise rock and grindcore, using rapid string muting, tritones and diminished fifths to create what was described as a "sonic uncleanliness." Love's lyrics told of a dejected teenaged prostitute abandoned by her mother, a narrative dealing with negative self image and the perception of oneself as a "whore."
City Slang released "Teenage Whore" as a single in the United Kingdom in September 1991, available on compact disc and 12" and 7" vinyl, with "Drown Soda" and "Burn Black" as b-sides. It entered the UK Indie Chart at number 1, though by September 17 it had slipped to number 2 behind Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like a Hole." It was also the band's first CD release, and later appeared on the soundtrack of the 1994 film S.F.W.
Teenage Whore runs at 188 BPM, the tempo of fast punk, speed metal and hardcore. In classical terms it sits in presto territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 1.28 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 319 ms. It is in F major, Camelot 7B, which shares its notes with D minor and mixes cleanly with Bb major and C major.
We use multiple sources as part of our online research for the song story including Wikipedia.