Carole Pope
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Carole Pope

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Music

The best kept secret in music

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"Carole Pope"

Know your truth

Lisa Foad / Xtra / Thursday, June 23, 2005


"Ms Pope, please report to the principal's office/ Ms Pope, to the principal's office." This sly demand, amid relentless guitar riffs, thumping techno beats and the ominous ringing of a school bell in the song "The Pleasure Principal," is Montreal-based Lesbians On Ecstasy's slick-lipped homage to Carole Pope and her creamed-jeans Rough Trade classic "High School Confidential."

UNREPENTANT. "The power of speech is an amazing weapon," says Carole Pope. (Paula Wilson)

That 1980 hit smacked queer shame upside the head, brazenly championing queer, female and teen desire, all in the span of one four-minute track.

The iconic status of Ms Pope is undeniable. Unapologetically pushing borders, she's been a pioneer in the world of radical music-making since her emergence in the early 1970s punk scene and the new wave movement of the '80s.

She's still pushing, storming 2005 with two brand new solo CDs that have just dropped: Transcend (on the La Petite Morte label) and Transcend: The Remixes (Play Records).

It's only fitting then, that in addition to the much-anticipated Sat, Jun 25 Rough Trade reunion show during Pride, she was also just honoured, along with other such luminaries as city councillor Kyle Rae and writer and social justice activist June Callwood, at the Pride 25 Awards Gala on Jun 21.
In bed with Carole



Pope, however, maintains a humble outlook. "I'm extremely honoured and excited. But I'm also kind of shocked. June Callwood is in the mix. What have I done?

"People come up to me all the time and tell me they've been really influenced by Rough Trade, so it kind of makes sense. Rough Trade music touched a lot of people - gay, straight, whatever. It's exciting to think that people are still inspired by me as an artist."

During her 12-year run with longtime collaborator and coconspirator guitarist Kevan Staples, Rough Trade released six full-lengths: their 1976 debut Rough Trade Live (on Umbrella), Avoid Freud from 1980, For Those Who Think Young (1981), Shaking The Foundations (1982), Weapons (1983), O Tempora!, O Mores! (1984), Birds Of A Feather: The Best Of Rough Trade (1985), all issued via True North, garnering three Junos and a Genie Award, as well as four gold and two platinum records.

Since Rough Trade's dissolution in1986, Pope hasn't stopped to catch her breath. Her solo releases include the 12" recordings Nothing But A Heartache (on RPM in 1988) and All Touch/Transcend (BugEyed, 2003), two EPs, Radiate (La Petite Morte, 1996) and 1999's The Silencer, (privately published by Pope) the soundtrack that she wrote and performed for the 1992 film of the same name.

It's hard not to be roused and provoked by Pope. Her autobiography, Anti-Diva (from Random House in 2000), dishes on- and off-stage gossip and politics told with Pope's clever blend of raunch and wit. In 2001, she guested in the Toronto production of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues at the New Yorker Theatre. And her music has been snatched up by the likes of The L-Word and Queer As Folk.

So how does she account for her longevity as an artist? "It's simple," she says. "It's all about knowing your truth and not letting anyone or anything stop you from making your art. I'm performing and writing for the sheer joy of making music. It's all about passion. When that goes, I'll stop. Until then, I do what makes me feel good and hope that translates to the audience.

"It is hard, though. I'm not in my 20s. I've been doing this for so long and I'm kind of insulted that I don't have a record deal, that things are so hard. But I'm not trying to conform to the norm and my stuff is political - I focus on sexuality and politics. Even though there's a lot of sexuality in music, mine is still considered threatening.

"I think that what's most important is having an absolute sense of self - and, of course, the way I can blow people away with my evil eyeballs alone," she says, laughing. "My mouth is really important to me. The power of speech is an amazing weapon."

Transcend, Pope's latest weapon, is explosive, electronica that swaggers with rhythmic confidence while Pope's husky vocals both dare and deliver with the swelling abandon for which she's known. "World Of One" is dark and smoky, a visceral and sexy send off. "I won't play nice and make it easy/ In your world of one," Pope promises. In "Dream6" she blends the lure of desire with relentless, restless guitar riffs. "Americana" is a delicately hypnotic tour of landscapes and politics. "We ventured into some kind of unholy covenant/ With the government/ The rat pack, the leader, the freak, the conformist/ The screamer, Hey! That's me! Let's go down to Washington/ The mountains, the citadels, the place of detention/ The literal, the visceral, all our good intentions/ Get out of the car, run screaming."

"Transcend took forever to make because there was no money and no way on - Xtra


Discography

Weapons (Rough Trade) Sony Universal 2007
The Trailer Park Boys Soundtrack Athem Records 2006
Transcend Le Petite Morte Records ITunes 2005
Transcend The Remix album Play Records ITunes 2005
All Touch(Jimmy La Mort Mix) BugEyedRecords 03
High School Confidential Queer As Folk Soundtrack 2001
Radiate EP Le Petite Morte 1995
Shaking the Foundations (Rough Trade) Sony
The Best of Rough Trade Sony
For Those Who think Young (Rough Trade) Sony
Avoid Freud (Rough Trade) Sony
Rough Trade Live Umbrella Records

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

About Carole Pope " You can get my music at www.carolepope.com and cdbaby.com My album transcend is now available on iTunes With three Juno Awards, (The Canadian equivilent of the Grammys) a Genie Award, and four Gold and two Platinum records to her credit, Carole Pope is an icon of transgressive music. In sharing her thoughts on sexuality, and sexual politics, her music makes you "Think and dance at the same time." Her latest albums Transcend Le Petite Mort Records had garnered rave reviews and Transcend the remix album Play Records is charting on college and dance radio. She has contributed songs to: The Trailer Park Boys, The L Word, Queer As Folk, The Five Senses and This Revolution. She is the author of a best selling autobiography entitled Anti Diva published by Random House. "Transcend, Pope's latest weapon, is explosive, electronica that swaggers with rhythmic confidence while Pope's husky vocals both dare and deliver with the swelling abandon for which she's known. "World Of One" is dark and smoky, a visceral and sexy send off. "I won't play nice and make it easy/ In your world of one," Pope promises. In "Dream6" she blends the lure of desire with relentless, restless guitar riffs. "Americana" is a delicately hypnotic tour of landscapes and politics." Xtra"