This evening, as some of the world's most bold-named and beautiful women make their way to the Met Gala in honor of "Punk: Chaos to Couture," the scene will be a full 180 degrees from what made the original punk promise so compelling for many women: It was about the rejection of popular standards of female attractiveness. Most of the women who self-identified with punk would not have imagined a day when Vogue or any mass magazine would canonize their nonconformist stance. With names like the Muffs, X-Ray Spex, and the Castrators, these ladies were trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the subscribers of those magazines.
If you have a night to fall into a YouTube hole, you can find a million great old performances by some of the best lady-punks. In the meantime, and in honor of another great punk ethos — irony — I've pulled one of my personal favorites, "Typical Girls" by the Slits, from their 1979 debut album Cut (no relation to our website, sadly). Watch lead singer Ari Up perform crazy dance moves in a public park before an unsuspecting group of "normals." She looks pretty great with her short skirt, boots, red blazer, and long bangs.
Below, we've provided the lyrics, in case you want to do some karaoke later tonight as you enjoy the Fug Girls live-blogging the red carpet.
Don't create
Don't rebel
Have intuition
Can't decide
Typical girls get upset to quickly
Typical girls can't control themselves
Typical girls are so confusing
Typical girls - you can always tell
Typical girls don't think too clearly
Typical girls are all predictable
Typical girls try to be
Typical girls very well
Typical girls are looking for something
Typical girls fall under spells
Typical girls buy magazines
Typical girls feel like hell
Typical girls worry about spots, fat, and natural smells
Stinky fake smells
Typical girls try to be
Typical girls very well
Don't create
Don't rebel
Have intution
Don't drive well
Typical girls try to be
Typical girls very well
Can't decide what clothes to wear
Typical girls are sensitive
Typical girls are emotional
Typical girls are cruel and bewitching
She's a femme fatale
Typical girls stand by their man
Typical girls are really swell
Typical girls learn how to act shocked
Typical girls don't rebel
Who invented the typical girl?
Who's bringing out the new improved model?
And there's another marketing ploy
Typical girl gets the typical boy
The typical boy gets the typical girl
The typical girl gets the typical boy
Are emotional
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Filed Under:
riot girls
,met gala 2013
,punk
,girls rock
,typical girls
,theme songs
,the slits
,video