:: mike errico diary ::

:: Monday, May 23, 2005 ::

LEXA VONN/LESLEY GORE CONNECTION

Lexa fronts Ophelia Rising, a hardcore grrl band reminiscent of Bikini Kill and described as "the Go-Go's meets Marilyn Manson". She rose to unexpected notoriety by wearing a White Zombie T-shirt to her Massachusetts high school and getting thrown in jail on obscenity charges, an act which briefly inflamed the national debate on censorship. Ophelia Rising cut a dark, sinister version of "You Don't Own Me" on 2001's Step 1: Acknowledge You Are Part Of The System.

Interview with Lexa Vonn
Q: What made you decide on doing the Lesley Gore song?
A: Pretty much the lyrics. I thought, for a female to be saying those things and making those declarations was kind of a controversial thing and it was one of the earlier songs of declaration of feminine independence. And being able to have a strong interior underneath a very feminine exterior. Because she was... the epitome of blonde femininity, but that song, along with a lot of her other songs, were "fuck the husband and kids, I want to do my own thing."
:: mike 5:55 PM [+] ::

SHUDDER TO THINK/LESLEY GORE CONNECTION

Technically, "Own Me" is not really a "cover", but more of a "well-credited reimagining," although with it's chorus that reads, simply, "You don't own me..." it's hard to find where the original ends and the "reimagining" begins. Not that it matters much - it's a cool song. From a press clip: "1994's Pony Express Record is Shudder to Think's Big Rock Move, with production by Ted Nicely and a blast-out-of-the-speakers mix by Andy Wallace (of Nirvana's Nevermind fame). "Own Me" is a cunning Larson rewrite of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me." Amazon has a clip of it here.


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:: mike 3:10 PM [+] ::

RASPUTINA/LESLEY GORE CONNECTION

This all-grrrl cello society brushes with Lesley on their 1998 Columbia release, How We Quit The Forest. "It might have been the dealings with Marilyn Manson (on a remix EP)...but whatever caused their new edginess is most welcome. Rock music thrives on uncontrollable urges, primal desires and passion, and Rasputina manage to infuse these elements into their well structured string arrangements. And that doesn't just mean volume. Their take on the classic "You Don't Own Me" is a sultry, minimalistic one, which carefully builds into a frenetic cry of empowerment."
:: mike 2:58 PM [+] ::

Thanks to all of you for coming out to two packed shows at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh. Thanks to Bill Deasy for putting on a great show, and putting me up for the night, too. I hope you check him out, if you haven't yet. www.billdeasy.com

Special thanks to Suzanne who worked the merchandise table for both shows.



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:: mike 2:28 PM [+] ::

KLAUS NOMI/LESLEY GORE connection

dude:

can't believe you have not yet hit on the lesley gore-klaus nomi connection.

"Through then-RCA artist David Bowie's connections, the Klaus Nomi LP appeared on French RCA in late 1981. Side One closed with a razor sharp "metal" reinterpretation of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" (1963), complete with wailing female back-up singers and customized lyrics ("You don't Nomi / I'm not just one of your little toys")."

And that's not all: Klaus Nomi Lives on Rush Limbaugh



"You Don't Own Me" can be heard on the Rush Limbaugh Show as part of a category of update theme. Six degrees between chick singer, German homosexual opera queen, and conservative talk-show host! How much more rocking can THAT be? a pop-culture trifecta, if you will.

-k10

Wow.

Want to know more? Sure, you do. From a bio:

Klaus Nomi dared to be great. He dared to combine opera, 1930's German Cabaret, 1960's American Pop and 21st century synthesizers. He also dared to present the visual image of a high fashion, heavily made-up futuristic robot/alien. The world became aware of Klaus Nomi on December 15, 1979, when he backed David Bowie on NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live. Tragically, Klaus Nomi died of AIDS in August 1983. During his lifetime, he issued two albums, Klaus Nomi and Simple Man.

According to band member and songwriter, Kristian Hoffman, "Klaus was a face-- elfin and painted as a Kabuki robot. He was a style--a medieval interpretation of the 21st century via Berlin 1929. He was a voice, almost inhuman in range, from operatic soprano to Prussian general. He was a master performer--a master of the theatrical gesture. Above all, he was a visionary. He said the future is based on the needs of the artist, deciding how to live and living that way every minute. Klaus, the man from the future, lived that way in the present, and held out his hand saying, 'Come with me. You can do it too.' "


Documentary, "The Nomi Song"



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:: mike 10:17 AM [+] ::

FABOLOUS/LESLEY GORE connection

Mike,
If you're going to make a hip hop/Gore connection, how about Fabolous and his hit, "This Is My Party," with its credited "interpolation" of "It's My Party" on his "Street Dreams" from 2003?
Jim

Done and done. My diary is now writing itself. Fabolous! (sic)

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:: mike 7:52 AM [+] ::

LUDACRIS/LESLEY GORE connection

Luda has a new single out called "Number One Spot" which, strangely, occupies the number two slot on his new CD. The song is basically all about him, and his song, "Number One Spot", going to the number one spot on the charts. I have no idea if that has happened, although his video is getting played a lot. In it, Ludacris reworks an Austin Powers theme, even strapping Verne Troyer (reprising his role as Mini-Me) on his body for continuity. Perhaps he didn't watch Verne on VH1's The Surreal Life, where he battled alcoholism and his propensity to urinate freely.

The Lesley link? In the beginning of the video, Quincy Jones makes an appearance, while a sample of one of his songs plays in the background. Quincy produced, among other things, "It's My Party" for Lesley, which did, in fact, go to the number one spot. Quincy went on to appear in bit parts alongside The Surreal Life's Verne Troyer in hip-hop videos.

Oh yeah. And he produced Thriller, too. But don't make me post a Michael Jackson picture.



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:: mike 1:38 PM [+] ::

SIMPSONS/LESLEY GORE CONNECTION: A DAILY DOUBLE

EPISODE: "Marge on the Lam" (Original Airdate: 11/5/93)


Homer and Chief Wiggum sing Lesley's #13 hit "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows" during a Thelma and Louise-styled police chase to catch Marge and Ruth. Just as Ruth is about to give herself up, Marge steers the car across the desert, unaware they are heading right for the Grand Chasm. Homer convinces Marge to stop, however, he and Wiggum go over the edge of the chasm, landing on a big pile of garbage.


EPISODE: "Bart of Darkness" (Original Airdate: 9/4/94)


Martin (above) sings "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows" at the end of the episode. Stuck in his room with a broken leg (a la Rear Window), Bart watches Ned Flanders through a telescope and thinks he sees his neighbor murder his wife Maude. After Bart and Lisa go through several crazy escapades, Ned breaks down in tears and confesses his awful crime: He killed Maude's favorite plant and buried it in the yard so she wouldn't know.



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:: mike 8:12 AM [+] ::

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD/LESLEY GORE CONNECTION

"You Don't Own Me" (which is also on "Ever Since")

What I found (I'll have to check it with Lesley): Originally recorded by Lesley Gore and produced by a young Quincy Jones, this record was only made because Lesley was asked by Quincy to record a song she didn't like and she made a deal with him to record it if he let her record one of her own compositions. She selected "You Don't Own Me" an anthem of women's rights that predated Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" by several years.
:: mike 7:30 AM [+] ::

JOAN JETT/LESLEY GORE CONNECTION

From the press kit for BAD REPUTATION: "She's perfected an "if-you-don't-wanna-fuck-me-fuck-off" stance that makes good on all the Runaways' potential for glittery sexual threat. The first song she recorded for the album, with ex-Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook, was Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me," which includes its own litmus test for legitimacy--if you can cover Gore's protofeminist anthem without coming off as a pretentious spokesperson, you've got a right to its power."



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:: mike 12:34 PM [+] ::

MICHELLE BRANCH/LESLEY GORE CONNECTION

In 2002, Michelle appeared on an episode of American Dreams on NBC portraying Lesley Gore and performing Gore's hit "You Don't Own Me," which is also on the new one.

I have a feeling this game of "six degrees" could go on for a pretty long time.

Michelle Branch
American Dreams


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:: mike 12:06 PM [+] ::

NIKKA COSTA/LESLEY GORE CONNECTION

I'm just digging around... amazing what comes up.

(Out Here) On My Own (which is on "Ever Since") - written by Michael Gore and Lesley Gore for the movie "Fame," reached #19 for Irene Cara, and got an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. Nikka covered it on her first album, "Nikka Costa". It was a major hit in Europe.

http://www.nikkacosta.com/


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:: mike 11:13 AM [+] ::