Michelle Shocked

By LORI SELKE

In the wake of folk singer Michelle Shocked's anti-gay tirade at Yoshi's on Sunday, many of her old fans were stunned and dismayed, in large part because many were convinced she was a lesbian. And not without reason, although Michelle Shocked had been cagey about her sexual identity right from the start. But if she didn't say she wasn't a lesbian, then the possibility remained that she was. Look at her androgynous fashion sense and her Mohawk; didn't they speak louder than words? In 1990 she admitted to the Chicago gay paper Outlines that she'd had at least one woman lover, but insisted "I felt like I was put in a position where I was damned if I did come out and I was damned if I didn't. So for my part, I just leave the question open."

See also:
* Michelle Shocked Concerts Canceled Nationwide After Anti-Gay Tirade in SF
* Here Are the Best Michelle Shocked Anti-Gay Tweets
* Michelle Shocked's Wikipedia Page Was Briefly Updated to Call Her a "Bigot"

Last week, musician John Roderick wrote in Seattle Weekly about how upset he was with his chosen youth subculture, punk. Like John, I have been around the block a bit in a particular youth subculture. For those of us who grew up in the shadows of World War I, being force-fed neo-nationalist propaganda and antiquated Victorian values before our parents led us off the marbled cliffs of excess into the greatest economic depression in history, during the rush of the Great Migration and the crush of Prohibition -- in what we hardcore kids used to call the Jazz Age -- jazz culture was a place we rebel kids could find truth. The new jazz was weird and dirty, and it was ours.

We took this music, which was different and new and hated by our parents, and developed it into a vibrant youth subculture based on one core principle: to rebel against the prevailing social and political standards, and to do it by partying hard on the dance floor and wearing clothing with a new aesthetic. But man, it turned out that once I got a little bit older, the Jazz Age totally disappointed me. And now jazz means something different than it did almost a century ago when I discovered it. Now, young kids get into jazz who don't even know what jazz really stood for. Jazz has failed us. So can we finally admit to ourselves that the Jazz Age was bullshit? Because it was. Here's why:

Dave Bryan

Unwoman in concert.

I'm a solo singer-cellist. I've been performing as Unwoman for 12 years now, after studying cello, composition, and electronic music rather seriously. I've been a fan of Amanda Palmer since I saw the Dresden Dolls open for Nine Inch Nails in 2005-ish. I've found her music inspiring -- of tears, musical expression, and confidence in my ability to do this as a career. In fact, it was her blog "Why I Am Not Afraid To Take Your Money," that inspired me to take the plunge into doing music full-time, supported directly and solely by my fans. In a slow and steady climb, my most recent Kickstarter -- partly because it got Amanda's attention and she tweeted about it -- raised $23,000, or 306 percent of my goal.

Now, that's about 2 percent of what Amanda raised on her last Kickstarter. But her endeavors are on a vastly greater scale than mine, and she actually talks about where all that money goes, even though in my opinion she doesn't need to justify taking money that people want to give her. In fact I will say this: if you think artists are accountable to use Kickstarter funds beyond the goal (and apart from obviously delivering their promises) for what you want them to use them for, please do us all a favor: Stop pledging on Kickstarter and STFU. As my dad said once, some people give you a dollar and think they own you.