Anti Diva

Known for their sexual lyrics and provocative act, Carole Pope and Rough Trade ushered Canada from the punk movement of the 1970s to the new wave sound of the 1980s and vaulted themselves into the international music scene. Attracting what she calls "a diversified audience, and other artists who were practising their own forms of nihilism," Pope learned how to preen with the best of them and let the raunch shine through. In "Anti Diva," Pope offers a no-holds-barred look at her adventures in the music scene -- on the concert stage, in the recording studio, in the bedroom -- and tells of all the mind-blowing, gender-bending parties along the way. Here Pope takes readers along her life's trajectories: from her early days partying with Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Bill Murray and Dan Ackroyd in their "Saturday Night Live" heyday to her love affair with Dusty Springfield; from starring with drag queen Divine in the stage play "Restless Underwear" to singing high opera; from touring with David Bowie to playing the Womyn's Festival. Throughout her career, Carole Pope has blazed a trail for the diva and anti-diva in all of us. And in sharing her thoughts on AIDS, sexuality and sexual politics, and the new breed of music divas that dominates the charts today, she never hesitates to risk it all.

About the Author :
With three Juno Awards, a Genie Award, and four Gold and two Platinum records to her credit, Carole Pope (top, with Divine; above, with Anne Murray) is an icon of transgressive music. A new CD as well as a TVO production of "Shaking the Foundations," a musical based on Rough Trade's songs, are expected in the fall. Carole Pope now lives in West Hollywood, California.

Review :
"This book is about my experiences as a sexually confused teenager who became a disgruntled rock icon. It's a comment on the times, beginning in the summer of love. It drags me kicking and screaming into the 21st century." Carole Pope "I have to bear the flower-bedecked cross of the baby boomer. For me the sixties consisted of taking every drug possible, hallucinating Shiva and Vishnu cartoons on hardwood floors, and having really bad sex with everybody. I almost forgot, we actually thought you could deal with your emotions with the aid of psychedelics and, yes, we did try to perpetrate the myth of a Utopian Atlantis-like lotus land where we could live together in peace and harmony. Yeah, right. Put me in a room with those losers now and I would run screaming to the nearest exit." From "The Sixties (What Were We Thinking?)," Chapter One of "Anti Diva "Praise for "Anti Diva" Apart from divulging/confirming some undeniably hot gossip the book details the rise of a challenging and uncompromising rock band. Kieran Grant, "Toronto Sun," 8 Mar 2001 "Anti Diva" is stacked with hundreds of similar caustic toss offs, thrown about with the kind of casual abandon you d expect from a self-confessed and inveterate name-dropper It s the kind of book you take in a single gulp, for fear of losing step with its breathless, pulp-noir pace Greg Quill, "Toronto Star," 19 Nov 2000 Pope s humour and sexual bravado have translated well onto paper. "Anti Diva "is a subtle but scathing attack of those who have drifted into complacency both on a cultural and personal level. It is both a challenge and an invitation, especially to women and cultural producers, to keep kicking at the pedestals. Donna Lypchuck, "National Post" [It s] an entertaining, saucy, naming-names kind of book that no fan of rock n roll in Canada ought to miss. Bill Reynolds, "eye," 23 Nov 2000 "Anti Diva" [is] a partly affectionate but mostly scathing look at herself and at the decade that brought her fame. Heather Malick, "Globe and Mail" "Anti Diva" is deeply enjoyable, nasty without apology, and unexpectedly deft Pope is saucy and willing to say just about anything Unrepentant is the word that best applies Refreshingly, Pope does not feel the need to apologize in any way for this behaviour, or to seek forgiveness. There is no closure, no reckoning, no teary epiphanies on mountaintops or Costa Rican yoga retreats. Elizabeth Renzetti, "Globe and Mail" 14 years after the official retirement of Rough Trade, Carole Pope has produced what is probably the raunchiest, trashiest, funniest autobiography ever penned by a Canadian celebrity. Paul Gessell, " The Edmonton Journal/The Vancouver Sun/Ottawa Citizen/ The Telegram" (St. John s) Pope made sexual politics the grist of 80 s rochers Rough Trade a decade before k.d. lang started cross-dressing..[she] distinguishes herself by her frankness Pope s confessions are those of an unreconstructed celebrity. "Elm Street" ["Anti Diva" is] a titillating walk on the wild side. "Maclean s" It s the personality behind the words that makes "Anti Diva" an enticing read. "Chart" magazine (Toronto) A provocative and enjoyably trashy autobiography. "The Edmonton Journal" Those hungry for bits and pieces of dirt won t be disappointed. Pope is a world-class namedropper (and I mean that in the best sense of the word). "Montreal Mirror" Carole Pope manages to dish the celebrity dirt in an attractive manner by not taking herself or anyone else too seriously. "The Vancouver Sun""