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257th out of 280 books
—
335 voters
Cat Power: A Good Woman
How Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, Survived Herself–and Became the Indie Rock Queen.
Chan Marshall’s stark lyrics, minimal arrangements,and wounded, smoky vocals, were an instant indie hit in the nineties–but her mental instability nearly derailed her career. How this sensitive but headstrong Georgian daughter of an unstable mother and a relatively unknown musician father–ma...more
Chan Marshall’s stark lyrics, minimal arrangements,and wounded, smoky vocals, were an instant indie hit in the nineties–but her mental instability nearly derailed her career. How this sensitive but headstrong Georgian daughter of an unstable mother and a relatively unknown musician father–ma...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
April 7th 2009
by Three Rivers Press
(first published 2009)
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I, purely playing the reactionary, quit listening to Cat Power when I was seventeen. Her downbeat melodies and stylized voice, frenzied guitar, intense lyrics were such a mirror of my private teen angst to my solipsistic little mind that tossing her albums was like casting off filigreed headgear or diamond-encrusted retainers--we're our most intense at that age/unwitting of our smoldering but surrendered to it. The blank-faced stare of her post-rehab Chanel shilling phase was a bit confounding t...more
Feb 07, 2012
Vicky
marked it as abandoned
Recommended to Vicky by:
via Ryan on Thought Catalog
Shelves:
biography
It feels "out of character" for me to pick up this book (maybe I feel weird, reading about people who are still alive who didn't approve of the book?), which I did so suddenly yesterday at the library on the same day I came across the title. Elizabeth Goodman's intro, with the whole "Chan does not want you to read this book" headline, made me especially uncomfortable. Her justification for this book, and despite Chan's protests or something, was that Chan did not warn her family members about th...more
I didn't realize how much I liked Cat Power until I read this book. I mean, my God, I must be interested in her to have finished this awful book. (To be fair, I did read it in an afternoon; it's that kind of book. As Nick Cave said when Elizabeth Goodman mentioned to him she was writing a book about her: "You're doing a book on Cat Power? An entire book? I mean, I could see a pamphlet.") So the two stars are for the tidbits of info I didn't know about her, which frankly wasn't that much since Go...more
I guess there are a few questions that come to mind when reviewing this book. . .first and most importantly - why did I read it? I'm not a fan of Cat Power, I'm barely curious about her. It just illustrates the depths of my thirst for anything related to pop music and the life of a performer. I read it in pretty much one sitting. . .so take that for what it's worth.
The bio starts with the classic journalistic ruse: "Chan Marshall does not want you to read this book." OK - so it's not official....more
The bio starts with the classic journalistic ruse: "Chan Marshall does not want you to read this book." OK - so it's not official....more
So, a lot of this book was good. I think mostly because Chan Marshall is an interesting person, and I think there were some cool ideas about identity and binaries in there. But, there could have, and perhaps should have been more of that. And I also kept finding myself really annoyed with the author's dismissal of the misogyny Chan faced as a young female artist in a community of male artists. Goodman also said a lot of really annoying stuff about Chan's "transformation" from "tomboy" to "glam i...more
I could hardly get past the introduction. I have never read any published material that sounded more pathetic, defensive, and ridiculous as what Elizabeth Goodman writes in "A Good Woman." I recently purchased this book used from Ameoba in San Francisco, and it is an uncorrected proof version, so I would like to peruse the final version of this book and merely hope that the introduction didn't make the final cut. She explains that Chan Marshall hated her for writing this book and paints herself...more
I always like to learn about the events taking place in musician lives and how it parallels the music they are making at that time. There was a coverage of that in this book- Chan's love life, Chan's varying points of (in)sanity. There was a decent amount of information regarding Chan's upbringing and background. However, it needed some sort of extra oomph. I suppose that extra spark may have been received if the author had been allowed to speak with Chan and the people in Chan's life. She defin...more
There are some actual obvious factual errors in the text that made me question everything else in this book. I also got this weird feeling that the author wanted to really "knock her down a peg" and expose Chan Marshall instead of treating her with respect as an artist. Elizabeth Goodman seemed to both resent and revere her at the same time, which is a scary combination. It's hard to explain but it seemed like Goodman was really just trying to deal with her own odd feelings toward Marshall. That...more
I am pretty certain that this book will really only be enjoyed by long time fans of Cat Power. I started listening to Cat Power around 1996. I was really into Sonic Youth, and heard that Steve Shelley, Sonic Youth's drummer, had a new record label with a band called Cat Power. This was my introduction to Chan Marshall. Her music is strange, haunting, depressing, and sometimes addicting. I saw her live several times, both in Minneapolis and Albuquerque, and she was usually pretty terrible and/or...more
I had been obsessed with Chan and her music for years when I discovered this book, and my obsession only increased as a result. I read this in one sitting...it really exposes the complexities of her character and provides a level of insight into her experiences that really enhanced my experience of her music. A must read for anyone who is interested in Cat Power...you don't have to have the fan-obsession level that I do to really enjoy this account.
Nick Cave basically sums it up, something like "A whole book? I mean, I could see a pamphlet..."
And Cosloy saying that he wasn't surprised when Chan said she was giving up her career to live in a house with Bill Callahan and have kids because he's heard about 5 other ladies say the same thing? Made me laugh.
In all fairness, I found this on the shelf at the library and sat down and read the whole thing.
And Cosloy saying that he wasn't surprised when Chan said she was giving up her career to live in a house with Bill Callahan and have kids because he's heard about 5 other ladies say the same thing? Made me laugh.
In all fairness, I found this on the shelf at the library and sat down and read the whole thing.
Cat Power makes some of my favorite music. And Chan Marshall is an interesting woman. But this book is not very well written. There are some details that make it occasionally satisfying, but it's less a book than an overlong article. Or, it could be a really good Rolling Stone article at 5,000 words or so instead of a book.
The introduction is extremely off putting. Without Chan's permission it's hard to really get a great overview. Skips over so many important moments too quickly and addresses very little about Chan's songwriting process in general. When the music is reviewed it is done in very much an oversimplified Rolling Stoneish fashion. But disappointing but still rather interesting.
Reading this biography gave me great insight into Cat Power and her music. One would think that the lives of indie rockers aren't extensive and exciting enough for such a length biography to be written about them, but I was impressed with Goodman's thorough research and detail.
found myself vacillating between feeling sorry for chan marshall and then angry at her, and between feeling angry at elizabeth goodman (the biographer) for intruding, and then grateful that she did...
I love Chan Marshall, but ether her life is boring or it's this book. I couldn't decide. Also, it has the most hideous font usage in a book. I felt like I should be reading Teen Beat magazine.
chan marshall is intriguing. reading this book set off an extended period of listening only to cat power. knowing her story gives more meaning to her music, i think.
I was intrigued by the subject of this unauthorized biography and was not disappointed. It started off a bit slow. Chan was not directly interviewed for the book, but the author found plenty of interviews from family and childhood/fringe friends. A lot of the content was a mix of conjecture and excerpts taken from magazine articles. All said, the book was interesting and completely renewed my interest in Cat Power and Chan in general.
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Poorly written and somewhat repetitive, but entertaining. Gave me a new appreciation for Cat Power's music (especially her early stuff) and how she lives life.
An alright read. Chan Marshall comes off as completely self-indulgent, but it's an interesting look at a particular music scene at a particular time.
This book is pieced together entirely from past interviews and distant secondary sources, making most of it rooted in conjecture and heresay. Although a bit dry at points, I found the book enthralling at points and worth reading. However, this is due to the fact that I have a personal interest in Chan Marshall, and wonder who the beautiful woman behind my favorite albums is. Those who don't like her music/persona will most likely not like this book.
apparently Chan Marshall doesn't want me to read this book, but I'm reading it anyway. I learned some things. Took it all with a grain of salt. nice quick read.
Any Cat Power fan will love how insightful this book is regardless of how "true" it is. It inspired me to start writing and recording my own songs. There's also glossy a middle section with a few photos of her, bwadass. Good for anyone who like to collect muso bios.
If you're a fan of Cat Power and/or Chan Marshall and her music and mental-emotional inner life this is a truly interesting read! I'm quite partial to listening to the Moonshine or Dark End of the Street recordssssss whilst reading.
jesus christ, passive voice.
I never listened to Cat Power and had no idea that she was from Atlanta. Definitely a fan-book, an enjoyable one.
Easy, quick read. I love Cat Power's music and I found the book interesting.
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