King Princess

Listening to the yearning R&B swoon of "Prophet" - from King Princess' debut album, "Cheap Queen" - you may imagine its maker as a sad-eyed recluse, one who wears her sorrow like armor. In between takes at the video shoot for "Ohio" - a slow-burn ballad that de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New York times magazine 2020-03, p.16-8
Main Author: Goodman, Lizzy
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Gays & lesbians
Highsmith, Patricia (1921-1995)
Musical recordings
Personal profiles
Rhythm & blues music
Singers
Straus, Mikaela
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Listening to the yearning R&B swoon of "Prophet" - from King Princess' debut album, "Cheap Queen" - you may imagine its maker as a sad-eyed recluse, one who wears her sorrow like armor. In between takes at the video shoot for "Ohio" - a slow-burn ballad that descends into an unhinged rock jam - she asked several members of her team to smell her armpits (noting that the left one was noticeably more rank than the right) and talked colorful smack about other artists, esteemed music-industry institutions and an ex-girlfriend's new girlfriend. Watching her stalk the stage - as she did in Los Angeles that night - wearing a leather codpiece, smashing guitars into kick drums and making out with her girlfriend side-stage, you saw how last century's notions of what transgression and decadence look like in a rock star can be reclaimed and repurposed. At Avenues, a private school in Manhattan, Straus tried oral sex with boys ("I wasn't a hit - they were like, 'Please stop,' ") dressed superfeminine, "felt the most gender-dysphoric ever" and discovered she harbored a seething proletariat rage; she was the resentful financial-aid kid eating Chipotle while her friends took one another out for swanky Italian at Serafina.
ISSN:0028-7822