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No one is as cool as Kim DealIf I ever doubted for a minute that Pixies bassist Kim Deal is the coolest woman alive, the proof is in Fool The World: The Oral History of A Band Called Pixies by Josh Frank, Caryn Ganz and Chas Bank. The book, published earlier this year, chronicles what seems like every waking moment of the indie rock quartet that formed in Boston in 1985 and went on to redefine rock.
Everyone from Bowie to Bono has rhapsodized about the Pixies’ appeal with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain famously saying his band cribbed everything they did from the Pixies. I could do without the book’s exhausting recollections by producers and gadflies in the studio, but I relished what everyone, including band members, record execs and other indie rock stars such as Tanya Donnelly and Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses) had to say about Deal, who was so charismatic, it caused turmoil between her and the band’s leader Black Francis (née Charles Thompson).
In the early days, according to several of the book’s interviewees, Deal would show up at gigs in the same secretary skirt and heels she wore to her day job. She was married at the time so she famously billed herself as Mrs. John Murphy in tongue-in-cheek solidarity with the old ladies who corrected Deal on the phone when she called them by their own names and not their husband’s. Deal’s playfulness is her greatest asset. Her girlish, giddy backing vocals and friendly on stage patter made fans fall in love with her. Next to sourpuss Black Francis, the ever-smiling Deal’s seemed radiant. Crowds in cities from New York to London clamored for Deal for merely lighting a cigarette. Of course, all this was in the mid-to-late 1980s when a chick in a band came along as often as Haley’s comet. In fact, one of the only other well-known female musicians in a band was another bassist named Kim: Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. What an influence both Kims were. The following decade, every cool indie rock band around had a lady bassist, but not all of them were named Kim: the Blake Babies (Juliana Hatfield), My Bloody Valentine (Debbie Googe), Hole (Kristen Pfaff, Melissa Auf de Mar), Smashing Pumpkins (Darcy Wretzky).
After that, we all, including Deal, started taking over other instruments, too. Deal returned to the guitar (which was her primary instrument all along ) and went on to form the female friendly the Breeders, which in different incarnations featured Donnelly, Deal’s twin sister Kelley and at least one out-and-proud lesbian, Josephine Wiggs, scoring a gigantic hit with 1993’s "Cannnonball," which only upped her cool quotient. The Deal appeal got so strong the Dandy Warhols wrote a song about her, "Cool As Kim Deal."
In 2004, Deal regrouped with the Pixies for a much ballyhooed reunion tour and wrote the band’s only new song, the wacky "Bam Thwok!" Fans like me got to see the band for the first time. (In my case, the first and second time, since some friends and I caught the band in two cities). To say that Deal changed everything for lady musicians is no overstatement. It’s no longer strange to see a girl in a band and she’s one reason why. Are you a rocker? A Deal fan? A bassist named Kim? Submitted by on July 2, 2008 - 11:00am. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media
That is for damn sure!
Finally!
Rotezora gets a worthy article, and she's not here!!!
Kim Deal is wizard!
We are shaped and fashioned by what we love...
H!
you know what?
mistakes keep us humble, Gyps ...
deal with it. :P
We are shaped and fashioned by what we love...
YOU Are The Coolist
You called?
;-)
Ya know what, Gypsy?
You could actually start a trend.
Perhaps "coolist" could mean "cooler than the coolest."
Edit: Bummer! It's already in the "Urban Dictionary":
(I'm sure this is not the definition you want!)
(It seems to be the Wikipedia of dictionaries.)
OK, H...
how sad is it that my whining post about not being able to fix my typo had a typo in the subject? WTF! I love you, and call you (in my mind) on every post....but I think I meant "ha!" Maybe "h!" was better... :D
hell yeah!
Kim Deal has always been my favorite. When I was younger and in my first band I just wanted to be her so bad. I just bought the new Breeders album, it's great.
I love that there has been
I agree
Especially about all the artists I am into....or was into (damn, I am too young to be getting old).
It's so true, no one is as cool as Kim Deal.
I heart the Pixies. And the Breeders.
- - - - - - - - - -
-Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
For the Roses
I la-la-love her.
I <3 Kim Deal, she's just
I <3 Kim Deal, she's just so...cool. There's an interesting short documentary made by a Dutch tv station about the Breeders. It focuses mainly on the Deal sisters.
The real Deal: pt1 http://youtube.com/watch?v=FgS45udHYk8
pt2 http://youtube.com/watch?v=SsESLtiE5_0
pt3 http://youtube.com/watch?v=8Cxutc5oLTg
pt4 http://youtube.com/watch?v=CiDQW71zpKM
pt5 http://youtube.com/watch?v=DSNCZWnzx2o
Kim/Kellie Deal - thank you!!
Thank you thank you thank you for posting those links. I fell in love with the Breeders and both the Deals the second I first heard Cannonball, many summers ago. I hadn't seen this doco and just gobbled it up whole when I saw the links.
They're both just really mental, aren't they? But in a good way. There's something terribly Grey Gardens-ish about their interaction in this film. And somehow it just seems so right.
And now I'm off to spin me some Cannonball.
Not Only But Also
KristIn
Great article and I am so glad Kristin and Kim got mentions on this site. Kim is a very nice person on top of being incredibly cool. Along with quitting drinking and drugs, she also quit smoking earlier this year. I feel like she is truly an inspiration for women who want to get into music but want to do it for MUSICAL reasons (ie- not necessarily showing off your body, but showing off your talent). I harbor a TINY grudge against Kim because she is the reason Pixies didn't release a new album following their reunion tour in 2004-2006, but the new Breeders record is ace.
Just a comment, but I STRONGLY recommend Kristin and Tanya's band Throwing Muses (for those who are interested in the Breeders).
Kim honestly is a legend. I hope to one day see a Throwing Muses/Pixies show that doesn't require a time machine.
Kim Deal
I worship the stage she rocks on. Nice to see an article on her. I'm def going to have to pick up Fool The World.... now.
______________
Say who I am.
Say I am you.
When I was learning how to
When I was learning how to play the guitar, Kim Deal was one of my role models (PJ Harvey was the other one).
I also love Josephine Wiggs - that bass line on Cannonball made it cool to play bass for my generation and I got a bass guitar just so I could play it too!
Like yourself, I was lucky to see The Pixies when they reformed - and like you, I saw them twice! The second time was at a relatively small venue (compared to the first one) and I could watch the band directly, rather than having to rely on the giant screens. My eyes were glued on Kim. It was so great to see her on stage and I was hanging on to her every gesture, and word.
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Taking off - the novel, coming soon. Starring Katie, a lesbian in London...
In the meanwhile, you can read reviews of films and books with lesbian/bi characters and/or taking place in London at www.takingoff.org
Quiet LOUD Quiet
Wow i've been in love with the Breeders and the Pixies forever! I have a Breeders relapse ocasionally and I have to ban myself from talking about kim deal ( Love POD). I saw the ducth TV docu on the deal sisters, enjoyed it loads! I'm actually in the Quiet LOUD Quiet docu. I was asking Kelley Deal a question outside the brixton academy in london and they threw a video camera in my face. I was petrified.
Saw My Bloody Valentine in London and Manchester last week! I'm still in shock now. I was blown away!! Amazing...........................
MBV
Oh i'm so happy
check check check
The first song I learned to play on the bass was Gigantic. And the rest of my band complains that I rip off Kim Deal too much.
I saw Kim and Kelley at the last SXSW...they were so awesome and funny and smiley...and their performance of "Here No More" was hysterical. At one point during the show, Kim said, "Don't play too fast. I don't like to play fast," and when some girl from the audience kept shouting at Kelley, she made a face and said, "Sssh. I'm trying to ROCK." She also was wearing tape that said "Kelley" on her arm. LOVE THE DEAL SISTERS.
Thanks for the shout-out,
fellow Dealites!
The following decade, every cool indie rock band around had a lady bassist, but not all of them were named Kim: the Blake Babies (Juliana Hatfield), My Bloody Valentine (Debbie Googe), Hole (Kristen Pfaff, Melissa Auf de Mar), Smashing Pumpkins (Darcy Wretzky).
This reminds me of a radio program called "A Secret History of the Breeders." When Kim is recalling that Kelley insisted she be lead guitarist despite not having played before, she says that at least Kelley actually plays the guitar, as opposed to, say, The Smashing Pumpkins, with its "representation of a bassist"! See? Hot, brilliant, and witty.
I was going to post a photo of my "Hellbound" tattoo, but on a site that voted Tina Fey as its hottest woman, I'd hate to cause mayhem...
[MEMBER EDIT: As an online lesbian, rotezora likes romance, buttons and bows, and hamfists]
Really?
I was going to post a photo of my "Hellbound" tattoo, but on a site that voted Tina Fey as its hottest woman, I'd hate to cause mayhem...
Why don't I believe you, PiRo I?
My treasure is my gallant bark,
My only God is liberty;
My law is might, the wind my mark,
My country is the sea.
Fair cop,
i just meant *that* kind of mayhem...
[MEMBER EDIT: As an online lesbian, rotezora likes romance, buttons and bows, and hamfists]