Introduction
As I read about Boyfriend for the review of her new concept album In The Garden (out tomorrow, May 9), I learned a lot about Suzannah Powell, the artist behind the Boyfriend persona. Born into a super-Christian family, she’s been a schoolteacher, a rapper, a performance artist and a songwriter. All of this led me to suspect that she might have some unusual and compelling book recommendations. What she provided is pretty clearly all the background you could ask for when you’re digging into her new project: memoirs of her co-stars, different perspectives on the Bible, and a stage play.
I was surprised to see that Peaches (who steals the show as the serpent on In the Garden) hasn’t written a memoir. How is this possible? I was there when Peaches scandalized the Toronto weeklies with her wild live performances. Michael Barclay wrote about her in Hearts on Fire, his book about the Toronto music scene in the early ’00s. Short version: Peaches was Leslie Feist’s roommate, Toronto was too prudish for her outrageously sex-positive music, and only when she moved to Europe did she find a receptive audience. She’s built a career that spans decades and has fans all over the world.
Peaches, if you’re reading this: Boyfriend and I are two guaranteed buyers of your memoir. I bet it’d be a barnburner.
At any rate, here are the books that shaped Boyfriend’s eclectic and subversive new record, along with her commentary on each.
Boyfriend’s Backstory
The New Oxford Annotated Bible
Growing up I was taught that the Bible was the word of God… so even though I had been engaging with this text intimately my whole life, it wasn’t until college, when I took a “bible as literature” course that I had any sort of academic context for these stories. This was our textbook, and it blew my mind.
Paradise Lost by John Milton
My graduating class at UCLA was actually the last in the country required to read both Milton and Chaucer in order to get an English degree! From that year on, you could pick one or the other – but I’m so glad we didn’t have to choose. Paradise Lost is heavily responsible for the idea that the serpent is genesis is actually satan. There are plenty of connotations, assumptions and cultural premises that come from some secondary work or interpretation rather than the biblical text itself.
The Woman’s Bible by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
I wish I had had this when I was 13!!! Which is particularly annoying considering it was written in 1895. I didn’t encounter this until after starting the project, which is… embarrassing. But in a way this album is my attempt to do with Genesis what she did with the whole bible!
Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman
I was in this play in high school, so it definitely impacted me then, but I re-read it when working on this project because it is an original work interpreting mythology (much like my album!). And I knew I wanted the narration in the album to be in the tone of a play, so stage directions, the garden is set in the theater!
Boys Keep Swinging by Jake Shears,
Unprotected: A Memoir by Billy Porter, and
God Save the Queen Diva by Big Freedia
Still an English major at heart, I always do a deep dive when working with published collaborators! I think it’s crucial to understand the voice you’re writing for… and also just fun and inspiring to read about the incredible lives and careers I am so insanely honored to have represented on this project!
Available at Bookshop.org:
About Boyfriend
Boyfriend has earned international applause for her provocative musical artistry, powered by complex lyricism, extravagant theatricality, and radical social commentary tackling gender roles, sexism, body positivity, the patriarchy, and more. Since making her debut as Boyfriend in 2012, the multi-talented New Orleans-based artist has unleashed a long series of singles and EPs while also staking a claim as an in-demand songwriter and producer with credits spanning Charli XCX, Troy Sivan, Mykki Blanco, Mala Rodriguez, Pom Pom Squad, Cimafunk, The Revivalists, and Rebecca Black, placements with ABC, Comedy Central, HBO, Hulu, Netflix, and Starz, including major motion pictures Space Jam: A New Legacy and Office Christmas Party and spots for Amazon, Apple, Marc Jacobs, Monster Energy, Red Bull, and Walmart. More here
Review: Boyfriend’s In the Garden
Presave In the Garden
What’s Your Backstory?
“The Backstory” is a feature where artists share the things that shaped them. I’d love to hear what’s influenced you and your work. If you’d like to share your own story, reach out.
