52 Weeks of Music - Week 5 - I Feel Cream by Peaches

[Reader Advisory: This post contains explicit and exquisite lyrics.]

"Big trouble in little Mangina..."
from the song "Billionaire" by Peaches

I first learned about Peaches several years ago. Of course I heard "Boys Wanna Be Her" in the movie Whip It, but I was a fan even before that.

A couple of years ago, I came across a fan video on YouTube of "Slippery Dick" where the song plays over a video montage of Divine, the John Waters drag superstar. (See video below.)



As far as I know, this is just a fan video, but since I've always loved Divine, the song stuck with me. There are tons of videos on YouTube and I've included a couple more at the end of the post.

I don't buy music as much as I used to, mainly because I am drowning in CDs and I don't want to put much more stuff on my computer, for fear it will crash. But for my birthday and Christmas gifts in 2009, I got some iTunes gift cards, and one thing that was for sure on my list was "Slippery Dick."

I listened to some more Peaches tracks from the album, Impeach My Bush, but I wasn't thrilled. "Slippery Dick" was it for me for the time being. Yet later I came back to iTunes for more and wound up buying the more current album I Feel Cream.

I Feel Cream has some great rhythms, and the sound is much more eclectic. If there's one thing that can truly describe my taste in music, it's eclectic, so I bought the album. It resides on my iPod, there for when my mood is down and I need a little subversive electroclash pop to perk me up. It's my favorite album to listen to while I work out.

Like the art of Robert Mapplethorpe, Peaches music and videos are not everyone's cup of tea. But the way Peaches explores themes like gender identity, body image and sexuality is utterly fascinating to me. In an age of vapid pop stars like Katy Perry and Britney Spears, I'm glad we have Peaches.

On a side note, I was shocked however when I heard "Talk to Me" on the Muzak at work. They finally changed the channels up after the holidays this year. I get to hear Peaches, Pink, and even the Scissor Sisters. It doesn't ruin I Feel Cream for me yet. In fact, I would say that it might get more people aware of Peaches shear genius as a lyricist and performer.





Peaches - I Feel Cream on Wikipedia


I Feel Cream album link for iTunes