Provocations

by Camille Paglia

  5)Foxy Lady, Jimi Hendrix (1967). Oh, those crazed, strutting, supersonic, wham-bam chords! Their shock on the nerves still excites, more than 40 years later.

  6)Lickin’ Stick, James Brown (1968). A deliciously sly exercise in sexual suggestiveness underpinned by Brown’s hypnotic, trademark, heavy-bass rhythms. Is the lickin’ stick an antebellum whip or melting phallic candy?

  7)Wooden Ships, Jefferson Airplane (1969). An apocalyptic spectacle of wandering survivors of nuclear war. Male and female voices meet and bond as humanity renounces aggressive nationalism.

  8)Bitch, The Rolling Stones (1971). Powerful, jagged, stabbing chords that seize the mind. Is the Stones’ bitch goddess a capricious woman or enslaving heroin?

  9)Hotel California, The Eagles (1976). West Coast hippie hedonism meets the new satanism. Staggeringly brilliant double guitar solos ecstatically entwining—men in love!

  10)On Broadway, George Benson (1977). The Drifters’ aspirational 1963 hit song tooling along on a seductive Latin jazz beat. Benson explicitly flaunts his guitar as his artistic alter ego.

  11)Straight on for You, Heart (1978). The Wilson sisters give a throbbing, sonorous tour of erotic neurology. Phenomenal display of basic, stripped rock rhythms.

  12)Edge of Seventeen, Stevie Nicks (1981). The only woman rocker with a majestic orchestral flair. Stevie as Druid seer showering her maternal compassion on youthful romantic trauma.

  13)Coming Out of Hiding, Pamala Stanley (1983). Now a gay anthem, this song is actually a soaring assertion of female power. It’s an exuberant war whoop, flawlessly executed by Stanley’s witty, knockout voice.

  14)Ain’t Nobody, Chaka Khan with Rufus (1983). A masterpiece of modern popular culture. The passionate lead voice stays cool and low amid the pulsing, swooping neo-African rhythms. This song is a living, breathing organism.

  15)Middle of the Road, The Pretenders (1983). Chrissie Hynde at Dante’s midlife crisis. She ingeniously fuses explosive, in-your-face street attitude with rueful reflections on her new role as mother.

  16)On the Turning Away, Pink Floyd (1987). Celtic mysticism rising to a grand, Wagnerian finale. David Gilmour’s luminous lead guitar is ravishing beyond words.

  17)Hazy Shade of Winter, The Bangles (1987). The best rocking the Bangles ever did. Simon and Garfunkel’s classic aria of angst given a crisp, slamming treatment. The drums are like artillery fire.

  18)Black, Pearl Jam (1991). Deep-sea diving in the inky depths of male emotion, explored by Eddie Vedder’s rich, keening, achingly honest baritone. Wonderful interplay with the band’s virtuoso instrumentalists.

  19)Un-break My Heart, Toni Braxton (1996). Two centuries of African-American church singing produced the expert dynamics and peaking structure of this elegant display of musical theater. Poignant and devastating.

  20)Easy, Groove Armada (2002). An ultra-sophisticated Euro-tech descendant of Giorgio Moroder’s seminal disco collaboration with Donna Summer. Sunshine Anderson (a North Carolinian in a British band) brings introspective intensity to the moody, multi-layered soundscape.

  * [“Living with Music” series, Dwight Garner, ed., The New York Times, July 16, 2008.]

  8

  OSCAR STYLE

  Screen shot made by America Online (later AOL Inc.) of March 1996 advertisement for online dialogue by Camille Paglia and Glenn Belverio. Paglia did everything she could to support the development of the Web at a time when it was still not taken seriously by established writers, journalists, and academics.

  [Transcript of Camille Paglia and Glenn Belverio (in his drag persona as Glennda Orgasm) on “Oscar Style,” Style Channel Live, America Online/ABC CyberPlex Auditorium, an interactive online event, March 26, 1996. The text has been slightly shortened but has been reproduced exactly as it appeared in process on the computer screen. Belverio was at home in New York, while Paglia was in Philadelphia.]

  StyleABC:Hello and welcome to Style Channel’s CyberPlex! Coming up next—Camille Paglia and Glennda Orgasm to discuss Oscar fashion. Send in your questions and comments for Camille and Glennda. Click on INTERACT. Go to keyword PICS to see the Oscar picture show! Welcome Camille and Glennda!

  CamillePag:It’s great to be here!

  OnlineHost:Welcome to Style Channel Live in the CyberPlex. We are thrilled to present America’s hottest intellectual, Camille Paglia, and her special guest, Glennda O (aka Glenn Belverio). The two recently starred in the frock-u-drama, Glennda and Camille Do Fashion Avenue. Our topic this evening is Oscar Style, last night and every Oscar night.

  GlenndaO:Here we are together again, Glennda and Camille.

  StyleABC:Here’s our first question…

  Question:Didn’t Whoopie look REALLY bad last night? What was with that dress?

  CamillePag:I thought it looked like a gospel choir robe!

  GlenndaO:Whoopie looked like Darth Vader.

  CamillePag:It could have been a fabulous opera diva look, but she didn’t practice whipping it around!

  GlenndaO:Where are her eyebrows?

  CamillePag:Her makeup was disastrous—her face and neck didn’t match her bosom.

  GlenndaO:It needs to be blended. BLEND!!!

  CamillePag:Where were the makeup artists throughout the show?

  GlenndaO:The podium was really distracting—it had glitter on it!

  GlenndaO:I thought everyone had sequins on the lower half of their outfits.

  CamillePag:The main problem for me is that hardly any of the women knew how to wear a period dress.

  StyleABC:Darracq wants to know about Sharon Stone…

  Question:A question for Glennda: Does Sharon Stone’s sensuality seem “armored” and unreal to you, or is she really a sensual person?

  GlenndaO:How can one be armored in a GAP t-shirt?

  CamillePag:I love the idea of armored and unreal!

  GlenndaO:She looked like she was going to a tennis match.

  CamillePag:It’s very Amazon like! I adore Sharon Stone! I thought she looked fabulous—because everyone at the show was doing her in Casino, that 70’s Sharon Tate look, and she surprised everyone and in fact upstaged everyone by coming out in a very minimalist costume that accentuated her blonde beauty!

  GlenndaO:It was really inappropriate for the Oscars—even though it was iconoclastic. She was single handedly trying to revive grunge! GAP sales will go through the roof.

  StyleABC:Next question…

  Question:What did you people think of Mira Sorvino?

  CamillePag:I thought she was one of the few actresses at the Oscars who showed real old-style movie star class. She had a wonderful early 50’s look to her.

  GlenndaO:She defined the whole jewelry motif of the night! She was great!

  CamillePag:And she was one of the few women last night who had appropriately sized jewelry. Half the women looked like they were in dog collars or suffocating in King Tut’s mummy pectorals totally out of proportion to their anatomy! Her hair was quite beautifully styled in that complex way—very eighteenth-century French, I thought.

  GlenndaO:Sandra Bullock had on an antique choker.

  CamillePag:I liked Sandra’s lush, flowing hair, which was a nice change from her usual sorority girl look but I thought the choke collar was quite wrong and looked as if the Marquis de Sade had designed it. And I also thought that very beautifully styled dress was too flat a brown for her—she needed more highlights in the color.

  GlenndaO:The choker was from 1910 when women were smaller. She had a perfect Valley of the Dolls look.

  CamillePag:And we do adore Valley of the Dolls—it’s one of my favorite movies of all time!

  GlenndaO:She was playing against her “plain-jane” type.

  Online Host:For those of you who are just joining us, Style Channel’s guests are intellectual extrao
rdinaire Camille Paglia and drag queen extraordinaire, Glennda O (Glenn Belverio). Our topic: Oscar style—who had it, who didn’t, and who ought to just give up and slink out of the limelight. Click INTERACT to send Camille and Glennda a question.

  StyleABC:Go to keyword PICS to see the Oscar Photo Show! Our next question is from Kyle Mile…

  Question:What did you think of Emma Thompson?

  CamillePag:I thought she had a Queen Mum look

  GlenndaO:The Queen Mum approved her outfit.

  CamillePag:and although it was a gorgeous glittering fabric it was far too conservatively cut at the neck area. And she looked like she was on her way to a secretarial job!

  GlenndaO:She took her pumps off after the show, no self-respecting woman would do that. But she was very prim and proper in the British tradition, I approve of that.

  CamillePag:But I did love her hair—very lavishly styled, like Hillary on the way to her Whitewater testimony—and the color was a very vibrant blonde.

  GlenndaO:Did Emma Thompson find any document outside her bedroom?

  StyleABC:Dykedr wants to know about sweet Winona…

  Question:What about Winona Ryder’s look? Old-style too?

  CamillePag:Someone should slap Winona and give her some color!

  GlenndaO:She had nice finger waves, but a flesh tone dress…NO!!!!!! I don’t approve of dresses that match skin tones.

  CamillePag:She was totally drab and washed out, and it didn’t help that she introduced Bruce Springsteen in a whiney, wimpy manner. She needs some spunk, some spine—even though her hair was nicely styled in a late 20’s way.

  GlenndaO:But she had great cleavage, and we love that!

  StyleABC:Let’s get down to basics…

  Question:What do you think of the Wonderbra. It seemed to be all over the Oscars (except of course, on Sharon Stone). Is it revolutionary for women?

  CamillePag:I believe that if the dress is correctly cut, the more bosom the better!

  StyleABC:RedTiger1 wants to know about…

  Question:How could Nicole Kidman look so great in everything she wore in To Die For…and then wear that THING to the Oscars?

  CamillePag:She was in tatters!

  GlenndaO:She was wearing lingerie that looked like she sewed it on a toy sewing machine that morning.

   It must’ve been her revenge outfit for not being nominated.

  CamillePag:Her silhouette was too faint.

  GlenndaO:Tom looked embarrassed.

  CamillePag:She is a large, handsome woman who could have made a truly spectacular effect.

  StyleABC:Check out our photo show—keyword PICS. Next question…

  Question:Why does Brad Pitt always look so homeless?

  GlenndaO:He lost his bowtie in the limo. It was casual. I approve of that.

  CamillePag:He looked like a 70’s gigolo.

  GlenndaO:We knew he wasn’t gonna win anyway.

  Question:There seemed to be an Audrey Hepburn revival going on at the Oscars. You both admittedly adore her. Why are we suddenly so fascinated by her again?

  CamillePag:We are certainly part of that! We worship Audrey and regard her as a paragon of modern chic.

  GlenndaO: NO—Audrey had more taste. I was disappointed to not see any Givenchy. But there were some nice Galliano’s. Her dress in Breakfast was a flashpoint between the 50’s and 60’s.

  CamillePag:Most of the young women in Hollywood have no taste whatever—it all began with Daryl Hannah, whom I publicly prodded to get some taste. My efforts do appear to have partially succeeded.

  CamillePag:On a more serious note, I think the massive deaths from AIDS of so many gay men took out of the New York and Los Angeles scenes the principal tastemakers who helped these young girls along.

  GlenndaO:Jessica Lange was GORGEOUS! I’ve loved her ever since King Kong.

  CamillePag:I think she looked like a bag of beans! And you talk about droopy boobs?

  StyleABC:A question from Hottieboy…

  Question:Whoopi made a slick comment about breast implants last night. What’s the consensus, guys: enhancer of sexuality (e.g. Demi) or silly, unnatural body ornamentation?

  GlenndaO:Some women feel self-conscious about their breasts. I’m sensitive to that.

  CamillePag:If any person, male or female, wants to use the body as a living sculpture, I approve of it! But we must be prepared to face the toxic or mutilating consequences!

  GlenndaO:Silicon breast implants are dangerous. I saw a documentary on PBS about it and I’m very concerned.

  StyleABC:Getting personal…

  Question:Camille, do you own any designer clothing? Why? Why not?

  CamillePag:I do own a few remnants from Syms! But I really don’t have the finances to afford anything major. However, my lecture tour look for 1994 made a huge effect with my Donna Karan tuxedo outfit!

  GlenndaO:I wear Halston. He and I were close in the 70’s.

  StyleABC:BO DOME wants to know…What do you think of all of the vests worn by the men?

  CamillePag:I liked them very much, because I love the dandy look of the nineteenth century.

  GlenndaO:Contrast vests were the look for men this year. It was a great departure from the monochromatic look. Steven Spielberg lost out with his tired monochromatic look. Will Smith was wearing an ascot.

  CamillePag:Spielberg is too small to wear jackets with huge lapels. He looked like he was wearing a bathrobe!

  StyleABC:Finally, a question about Joanie…

  Question:What do you think of the way Joan Rivers looked?

  CamillePag:I hope to catch re-runs later, but I adore Joan Rivers—she is my patron goddess. I am called the academic Joan Rivers.

  Question:Who do you think was the hottest couple at the Oscars? Claudia and David or Nicole and Tom?

  GlenndaO:Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell were my faves.

  CamillePag:Me too.

  GlenndaO:I loved Goldie’s pistachio CK gown.

  CamillePag:Goldie knows how to wear a dress and walk across a stage—she has that superb dancer’s carriage. However, that stringy hairdo does not go with elaborate diamond pectorals.

  GlenndaO:She had a great flower power look during the Laugh-In era.

  StyleABC:Good question…

  Question:Is there any difference between the Oscars and a drag ball?

  CamillePag:A drag ball is more vicious. People will use their stiletto heels and pierce your instep.

  GlenndaO:There’s more real designer gowns at a drag ball. And everyone has eyebrows.

  GlenndaO:You would never see GAP at a drag ball.

  StyleABC:Racybird asks about lovely Alicia…

  Question:What about Alicia Silverstone’s ‘look’? A far cry from Clueless.

  GlenndaO:AWFUL—especially for an actress in a movie about fashion and style. And she forgot to brush her hair before she left the house.

  CamillePag:I love Alicia, but she looked like a bag lady. No one was there to help her learn how to walk in a dress of that consequence—much less how to handle that fiendish chiffon wrap.

  GlenndaO:I thought it looked tulle.

  StyleABC:Onlysis wants to know about the SUPERMODELS:

  Question:Do you think supermodels are out of place at the Oscars?

  CamillePag:Supermodels are the heirs of the great Hollywood studio system past and therefore do belong at the Oscars. But they were horrendously misused and looked like jerks for the most part—They were awkward, sheepish, off-balance. That production number should have been brilliant, but it was a huge waste of everyone’s time and money.

  GlenndaO:That fashion production will come to define the 90’s much the way Debbie Allen defined the 80’s.

  CamillePa
g:For heaven’s sake, if you wear Jane Austen clothes, you’d better learn how to walk in them and how to move your arms in a graceful manner

  GlenndaO:It was gratuitous to name all the models—it was an unholy marriage between Hollywood Blvd. and 7th Ave.

  StyleABC:Writer595 writes…

  Question:Camille—Been a fan for some time. :). I’m curious…what do you think of the choices for best actor/actress and what they say about Hollywood and ourselves?

  CamillePag:I love Susan Sarandon, and it’s about time she was honored by the industry. She is one of the most intelligent of all contemporary performing artists. However, I am underwhelmed by Nick Cage and do not find him interesting at all.

  StyleABC:It all comes back to Streisand:

  Question:Remember Streisand in her Funny Girl Oscar outfit? Does anyone have individual style anymore?

  GlenndaO: Where was Barbra? We needed her there.

  CamillePag:People in general have lost the individuality of the Sixties/early Seventies.

  GlenndaO:Her Scaasi outfit was the best ever in history.

  Question:Do you think men wore too much jewelry at this year’s awards?

  CamillePag:Well, there were so many diamonds on the women that surely the men must compete somehow.

  GlenndaO:I hated Mel Gibson’s tacky sword in the lapel. Nothing should go into men’s lapels at the Oscars.

  CamillePag:Of course, I adore martial symbolism of all kinds—since I am a natural born pugilist.

  GlenndaO:Women can wear flowers and jewelry, but I would discourage men from doing it.

  Online host:For those of you who are just joining us, Style Channel’s guests are intellectual extraordinaire Camille Paglia and drag queen extraordinaire, Glennda O (Glenn Belverio). Our topic: Oscar style—who had it, who didn’t, and who ought to just give up and slink out of the limelight. Click INTERACT to send Camille and Glennda a question.

  Question:What do you think was this year’s worst fashion mistake? Be brutal.