Who is America's Sweetheart?

Artist: Courtney Love
Album: America's Sweetheart
Produced by: Virgin Records
To buy: www.amazon.com ($14)

If that old saying "sex sells" really were true, Courtney Love would be a millionaire. Wait, I suppose she is a millionaire. Anyway, that's what her new album, America's Sweetheart, is all about--that and drugs. Before I go into detail, here's a disclaimer for sensitive types: Don't buy this album and stop reading now.

The subject of nearly every song is sex or drugs or the devil or all of the above, making for some very entertaining lyrics. But Love doesn't stop there. She backs it up with a hard-hitting rhythm that begs to be turned up to full blast. And she doesn't waste any time getting there. Straight from the gun, Love puts listeners in their place with "Mono." Her raw, Janis Joplinesque voice howls out tunes with more attitude than a U.K. soccer hooligan after a hometown loss.

That's what sets Ms. Love apart from the other young ladies in the music world. She's not the first to rage about drugs and Lord knows there are plenty of girls singing about sex; but America's Sweetheart flaunts a crude disregard for fitting the "proper" mold--kind of like that lady of the night on the corner that catches your eye. Love combines the same forbidden charm with a unique rock/punk sound that keeps the needle red-lined for most of the disc.

America's Sweetheart isn't without a few skip-over tracks, though. Mellow, emotional melodies that are meant to make us feel sympathetic and touched fall short and end up grating on the nerves. They just don't fit in with the rest of the album's piss-off! theme. But with CD and MP3 technology, mediocre songs aren't such a shortcoming. We can easily blast right by, en route to our favorites.

Don't feel like picking the girl up on the street corner? Not up to getting all strung out on cocaine and opiates, smashing-out all the windows of a friend's house and fleeing from police? No problem. You can live vicariously through Love and hear some good music in the process. You can get all this for a fraction of the cost of good coke, court costs and nice-looking whores.