ONE STEP UP

V.

Oh yes, I do recall that statement about Turner. I dunno though... I just don't see her as being relevant any more. What do people talk about when they talk about her--how she survived Ike (but what does that say about her being with him and staying with him in the first place) and her legs. I don't find that very interesting or significant in terms of feminism today. I think of Janis Joplin as being more significant with feminism in rock n' roll than Tina, regardless of a lack of songwriting. She showed that she could do anything with the guys, and I guess that's what's important to me as a feminist.

I don't recall why I made that sweeping statement about Spingsteen being the "only living feminist male rocker." As I've already mentioned, I'm not a fan of Bruce, and reading that chapter didn't make me more of a fan. I mean, I never thought of him as a masogynst. Who does? I've always thought of him as a working-class Jersey guy who writes songs without catchy choruses. But the chapter about Springsteen is about him and his dad, not him and women. That's my beef.

But I think back to what I was saying at first about you ignoring hair metal and other 80s stuff. I think makeup-wearing members of Poison speak more about how rock transforms gender than Springsteen has. Then again, that's the era I know best, so I'm biased. We both are, generationally. I guess I take appearance into account more than you do. I mean, in the MTV age what matters most--the LOOK, or the MUSIC?

laaa deee daaaa
SM from heresyourwater.com/blog