Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Janis Joplin and Dick Cavett

"...they just always holdin´ up something more than they´re prepared to give"(Joplin, 1970).


Most people will remember Janis Joplin as a "tragic heroin" that died from drug abuse.
However, there is far more to her bio than just her death that needs to be acknowledged in the light of her rebellion against male music rebellion that suppressed her as a woman.

Some quotes from Maria Raha`s book "Hellions- Pop Culture’s Rebel Women" (2008, Seal Press)

- She was an "outsider" and "outrider"(p.67).

- "It was Joplin’s utter fearlessness of being herself- a single, wild, uncontrollable, unapologetic woman in a pressure- cooker culture wincing at authentic difference- that made her contribution so startling and confrontational , and simultaneously such a challenge for her in her personal life" (p.65).

- "gender bending"(p. 65)

- "...Joplin infused the dialogue with unconventional ideas and shifted boundaries of outcast women’s acceptable public behaviour"(p. 66).

- "broke a bottle over Jim Morrison’s head"

- "got ready to hit rock´ n roll performer Jerry Lee Lewis" (p. 65).

However, this is just an appetizer. The book costs some 16 dollars at the moment.




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