In the interests of promoting writings that aren’t necessarily found online, we’re proud to introduce the Idolator Book Club, in which we look at music books that may be residing in a remaindered pile near you. In our first installment, Idolator intern Cortney Harding gives a once-over to the 1994 biopic Babes in Toyland: The Making and Selling of a Rock Band, by Neal Karlen; it’s currently available for less than a dollar at Amazon.
The gist:
Karlan follows the members of the riot grrl group and their A&R guy over the course of a few years in the early ’90s. The label guy thinks the Babes will be the next big grunge sensation; they aren’t.
The takeaways:
1. Boys will screw everything up. Lead singer Kat Bjelland’s now-ex husband, Stu Spasm of Lubricated Goat, manages to interfere with the recording process and destroy Bjelland’s friendship with drummer Lori Barbero.
2. Kat and Courtney Love both invented the “kinderwhore” look of baby-doll dresses, plastic barrettes, and ripped fishnets. The much-buzzed-about drama between Kat and her frenemy turns out to be a wash–in the end, they tell the media, they both pioneered the look.
3. Being the queen of the scene doesn’t make you immune from moochers or jerks. Barbero is one of the most popular women in the Minneapolis rock underground, and one of the most long-suffering. The dreadlocked lady looks like a badass, but she’s sweet to a fault–when her stoner boyfriend loses his job, she hires him to work the Babes tour, during which he spends most of his time hitting on other women.
4. Rock critics’ opinions mattered at one point. Whole chapters are spent dissecting the nature of Robert Christgau’s disdain for the Babes.
The body count:
Three (four if you count the obligatory Kurt Cobain reference in the epilogue): Original bassist Michelle Leon’s boyfriend is stabbed in a mugging; Barbero’s father dies of a heart attack; and 7 Year Bitch guitarist/friend of the Babes Stefanie Sergeant ODs.
The verdict:
Babes is a mostly fast and fun read that occasionally veers off in weird directions (do we really need a chapter on the history of Jews in the music business?). The first time I read it, back in high school, I responded by promising myself I’d never be a shrinking violet who dated musicians. I’m finally fulfilling that vow, after enduring many years of “hon, have you seen my amp and could ya spot me twenty?” Reading it now, as a recovering riot grrrl/’90s nostalgist, I was reminded of a magical time–a time before bloggers, when critical opinions mattered. Ah, the good old days. When once we prayed to Christgau, now we sacrifice to the Hype Machine.
Babes In Toyland - Won’t Tell [MP3, link expired]
Babes in Toyland: The Making and Selling of a Rock Band [Amazon]
I enjoyed this book a lot, even if did go off on some weird tangents and could be somewhat patronising.
I think the tangents are part of the perverse charm, and I’ll take it as a portrait of a time and place more than a lot of similar books (whether about music or not). Lori Barbero’s the heroine and her story is the one I remember the most.
I remember reading this book around the time it came out and being surprised just how much of a hardass Lee Ranaldo was as a producer. He comes off as a patronizing jerk, which is not what you’d expect.
Wait, there are Jews in the music business?
Not only that, some musicians use heroin.
At this point it seems like Courtney-related books are a whole sub-genre, and I’m perversely interested in putting together a bibliography.
Also, there must be some dissertations out there. If people can spend years studying The Bachelor, there must be an International Courtney Love Research Symposium somewhere.