“A Real Purity”: Karen O on Performing Before the Internet Changed Everything - Vanity Fair

From the infinitesimal she introduced herself to a packed assemblage astatine New York City’s Mercury Lounge implicit 20 years ago, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ vocalist and songwriter Karen O, calved Karen Lee Orzolek, has been regarded arsenic 1 of the astir captivating performers successful music.

In those aboriginal years spent arsenic the lone frontwoman successful an explosive male-dominated euphony country that gave commencement to bands similar the Strokes, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem, and TV connected the Radio, Karen wielded the microphone similar a bullhorn, simultaneously commanding and submitting to a crackling vigor of bodily chaos and affectional catharsis. Many of these sweaty, beer-spitting exorcisms are connected afloat show successful the newly released movie Meet Me successful the Bathroom, a documentary adaptation of euphony writer Lizzy Goodman’s acclaimed 2017 publication of the aforesaid name. 

Directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, the movie premiered astatine the Sundance Film Festival backmost successful January, but its nationwide organisation seems serendipitously timed, released conscionable a period and fractional aft the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ latest effort, Cool It Down, the band’s archetypal grounds 9 years. With the 20th day of the trio’s debut album, Fever to Tell, besides acceptable to hap adjacent year, Karen has recovered herself successful a unsocial play wherever her past is successful dependable speech with her present. After precocious performing 2 of the biggest headlining shows of her band’s vocation astatine Forest Hills Stadium successful Queens, New York, and the Hollywood Bowl successful Los Angeles, she spoke with Vanity Fair astir the improvement of her performance, seeing a mentation of herself done archival footage, and being portion of an creator question that could ne'er beryllium duplicated today.

Last month, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs headlined 2 large shows successful New York and LA, wherever the Linda Lindas and Japanese Breakfast were opening acts. That indispensable person been incredibly satisfying for you arsenic an Asian American, being capable to elevate different Asian American philharmonic artists, giving them the benignant of accidental that possibly you weren’t afforded erstwhile you were starting out.

It’s funny, due to the fact that I truly consciousness that it was specified a mutually beneficial situation. I consciousness successful a batch of ways the Linda Lindas and Japanese Breakfast gave maine an opportunity, elevating maine and selling retired the biggest shows we’ve ever played successful the States. Michelle [Zauner], particularly with her book, [Crying successful H Mart], she conscionable cracked unfastened this presumption connected Asian American artists and Asian American women, putting them truthful overmuch much connected the radar. She’s generated truthful overmuch involvement from her story. I consciousness she opened a batch of doors for radical to announcement that I’m half-Asian again. Because I’ve gone done the bulk of my vocation wherever astir speech topics were “what’s it similar to beryllium a pistillate successful rock?” and truthful seldom was asked astir being biracial oregon having Asian heritage. And past with the Linda Lindas, speaking to conscionable sharing the shows with them, usually playing immoderate benignant of hometown amusement successful New York, I don’t cognize what happens to me, but I mostly spell truly dark. It’s conscionable truthful much, and pressure, and determination are a batch of ghosts. There’s an strength to playing New York. And if it wasn’t for the Linda Lindas virtually dancing successful unison during our soundcheck similar they were successful a musical—and conscionable seeing them successful this bare tennis stadium—it filled maine with conscionable truthful overmuch joyousness seeing that freshness of their position and worldview wherever everything is conscionable amazing. They did maine a existent coagulated conscionable taking the borderline disconnected the anticipatory anxiousness I had astir that show. It was meaningful to each of america and our fans. I was getting texts from radical who were saying “I’ve ne'er felt this represented before.” It was conscionable specified a joyful, cathartic show. 

I person my transcript of Meet Me successful the Bathroom on my support and person watched the documentary. When you look backmost to that past self, to that freshness arsenic you were describing with the Linda Lindas, what tends to instrumentality retired successful your caput successful presumption of your growth, not conscionable arsenic an creator but arsenic a person?