Monday, December 29, 2008

Pop Rocks

Speaking of fire bombing, can we fire bomb all girl pop from Britney Spears forward? (even though I like Brit Brit in a historical freak context) and go backwards from No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom? When Gwen wrote feminist anthems for highschool girls and shook her funny smart pop music ass to real rock n roll? Can we then stop her career and freeze her in 1996 and forbid her from moving forward?
Gwen Stefani wrote this!
Hey you with the wedding dress on
Made of white chiffon blowing in the wind
Hey you with the dreams in your head
You've been so mislead by your heart's pull
I know you're waiting for your ship to come in
You anxiously wait for such a long time
You're just like my Ken and Barbie Doll
You dress up and play the game
You're just like my Ken and Barbie Doll
You're name will never change

Hey you with the eyes full of hope
You think you can rope your desire
Hey you, you naive thing
Your patience in time will tire

I know you're waiting for your tide to roll in
How did you ever set such high hopes?
You're just like my Ken and Barbie Doll
You dress up and play the game
You're just like my Ken and Barbie Doll

You're name will never change
You're just like my Ken and Barbie Doll
In a plastic world of make believe
You're just like my Ken and Barbie Doll
You know he's gonna leave
What happened to my high school Gwen?! Sassy, original, talented outlets for girls can and do exist. Not everyone has to be Patti Smith, but what happened to Cyndi Lauper and PJ Harvey? Funny, cool chicks who wore clothes to express themselevs and ruffle feathers, not to make best dressed lists, who wanted to rock because that was a way to get their voices heard, not a way to make the cover of Vanity fair- I'm talking to you Miley! Rock stars should not have stylists- Katey Perry! Come on!
Beth Ditto, you are a candle in the wind. Keep going, Keep going Karen O. Keep getting bigger and more famous and pull your peers up with you! Oh, and don't fucking change once you make it to the top! Pop can be cool! Oh, and while were at it, can we just drop Ashley Simpson off on some faraway island and then experience collective amnesia?
While all these current pop princess's play at rebellion, it's all affectation, rather than appropriation, tear out your hair extensions and smear the stage with your pissed off hormones. Don't learn the moves, make them.