Candye Kane
Turn on MTV or modern-rock radio these days and you can’t escape an emaciated waif named Meredith Brooks crooning, “I’m a bitch / I’m a lover / I’m a child / I’m a mother / I’m a sinner / I’m a saint / I do not feel ashamed.” No doubt she intends this cloying chorus as a statement of self-empowerment–“Take me as I am!”–but it’s just as certain that the guys who program the aforementioned media outlets are getting off on hearing this walking Calvin Klein ad confess that she’s a bitch, the same way they got their jollies from listening to her obvious inspiration Alanis Morissette trill about sucking some guy’s Tootsie Pop at the movies.
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When it comes to issuing statements of strength, individuality, and unabashed sexuality, blues belter Candye Kane outpowers Brooks, Morissette, Tracy Bonham, and the whole rest of the alt-rock sorority, primarily because she outweighs them. Kane proudly describes herself as a “fat, X-rated welfare mom from East LA”; she used to support herself and her child by posing nude for such specialized men’s magazines as Plumpers and Big Women. Now that she’s also a “bisexual large-size activist,” she flaunts her ample charms to get your attention, then cheerfully spreads her message.
Fat pop musicians have suffered some awful indignities, most notably the assumption that they are devoid of sexuality simply because they tip the scales. From Fats Domino to Pere Ubu’s David Thomas right up to John Popper of Blues Traveler, fat male singers have been portrayed as clowns rather than sexy, dangerous vocalists in the mold of, I don’t know, Gavin Rossdale. (The sole exception would seem to be Barry White, a master of seduction despite his girth.) But the women have had it worse, sometimes barely being portrayed at all: Carnie Wilson of popsters Wilson Phillips and Ann Wilson of the pioneering female hard-rock band Heart have been made to hide behind flowing robes, long coats, and veils in their videos, while their thinner sisters are invariably shown romping around in bikinis. Martha Wash, the rotund R & B diva who powered hits by the C+C Music Factory, was replaced outright in the group’s video by a model.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Candye Kane photo/ album cover.
