Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2003)
MUSIC ..............▼................ 8m inuteDating Lesbo Lolitas Event in Portland! Hailed by pop fans and censored on Leno. Who is this t.A.T.u? by E ls D ebbaut t all began three years ago in the strikingly entrepreneurial (if perverted) mind of Rus sian advertiser and psychologist (!) Ivan Shapovalov, never seen in the music business before. He dreamed of starting a provocative “project” starring two teen-age girls willing to act out his vision o f selling music through sex. To find his two Lolitas, he arranged a singing contest. O ut of 500 competitors Volko va Yulia Olegovna (Julia) and Katina Elena Sergeevna (Lena) were independently selected to form the hand t.A.T.u. • Lena’s dad is a distinguished Russian musi cian, and Julia attended state music school. Both entered the contest separately hut had formerly participated together in a children’s music group. Rumor has it Julia was expelled from the hand for “unworthy behavior and depravity of collective.” (Did she talk hack to her elders? Put stink bombs in toilets? Kiss other girls? No one is talking.) T he slick Shapovalov promised the duo instant fame provided they sign a stifling con tract— tight schtxilgirl outfits and obligatory onstage kissing and fumbling. T he teens would have no hand in the creative process or in the manipulation of their public image. Redhead Lena (then 16) was immediately instructed to lose 20 pounds, and Julia (then 15) was to have short, jet-black hair (you know, to butch her up a little). T h e group t.A.T.u was bom , and scandalous music clips with the teens lip-locked and grop ing each other in white cotton underwear have rocked the Russian music industry since. T he acronym stands for “ta lyubit tu” or “that girl loves that girl.” T heir catchy pop debut, 200 Km/H in the Wrong Lane, released with a concurrent barrage of tabloid advertising, took Russia by storm. T h e C D and clips were banned in several east ern European venues, but in most o f the con ti nent they spread like wildfire. T he pair do especially well in the European disco scene; Kylie Minogue fans and electro pop lovers are in for a treat. T h e attractive, high-energy tunes and catchy melodies are fair ly irresistible and entrancing on the dance floor. The single “All the Things She Said" reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Austria; has climbed to No. 13 in Canada; and has reached No. 20 in the United States. (The album peaked at No. 13). T he album s English version came out in the United States last December on Interscope Records, and it’s no coincidence that Shapo valov chose producer Trevor Horn— known for his success with wicked pop acts Pet Shop Boys, G race Jones and Frankie G oes to Holly- wcxxl (the outrageous gay band o f 20 years ago, with its notorious S/M clips). Since the addition of the English version, more than 1 million copies of 200 Km/H have sold worldwide, and the girls arc effortlessly fill ing giant stadiums and vast amphitheaters with their explicitly lesbian stage performances. Deliberate absence of press communication and vague explanations about their relation ship ( “Maybe and maybe not; you know, we are not going to give you a straight answer”) are meant to fuel the interest of genuine music fans and middle-aged drrxiling men alike. But the tired conventional motions of the girls are a pretty see-through straight male fantasy, and their real love interests are starting to show. IT’S BACK! ■ (m u M arch 25 at Hobo's ( jay a L esnah G ins D ance Lesbians ages 30-44 At 8minuteDating you'll have: •8 Great Dates in 1 Fun Night! • Complimentary Appetizers! • Door prizes! • A room full of eligible, attractive singles who want to meet you! / D fin a t o roup ffiv o p iT f hits fP O M THE PAST <3 PPESEhT SATURDAY, MAR. 2 9 2 0 0 3 AT THE PORTLAND METRO CLUB (formerly PPAA) 618 SE ALDER STREET Our Guarantee $5 COVER We Guarantee you'll meet someone you want to se - again or your next eve is on us! fULL SfPVICf bflP non-SM O KinG Dona A peh (SMOKIhG HPEfl flVflILfl&LE) Sign up now! •Advance registration required TICKETS @ TOUCHSTONE COFFEE • 7631 NE GUSAN O R CALL: 503-262-7613 www.8niinuteDating.com -PRESENTED BY CME PRO DUCTIO N S- Kiddie pom or artistic expression? Above: Lena (left) and Julia in one of many, many undie promo shots. Below: Helping each other out of their clothes on stage. In Concert Journalist Svetlana Makunina writes: “T hey’ve been hiding two boys from their fans. T h eir boyfriends are both students.... Nobody in Russia believes they arc lesbians.” Song lyrics are unquestionably lesbian, but none of them are written by Julia or Lena. "All the Things She Said” was a collaboration of co-prixlucer and journalist Elena Kiper and theater student Valery Polienko. T h e overall message of the debut disc is simple and simply ironic: D on’t pretend, be who you are, and express what you feel. ( “W hen they stop and stare/don’t worry me ’cause I’m feeling for her what she’s feeling for me/I can try to pretend, 1 can try to forget/But it’s driving me mad, going out of my head.”) And, heck, that’s not a bad message when you’re a queer teen-ager. T h e video for the song depicts the couple falling for each other with occasional lip-locks. O f course, they’re garbed in schoolgirl uniforms, but it’s still undeniably groundbreaking for same-sex attraction on MTV. T here’s no question t.A.T.u. is exploiting images of scantily clad young women, but you can ’t argue with the outrage around their cen sorship. T heir videos have been banned by the British Broadcasting Corp., and during their Feb. 25 performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the camera quickly panned away when they performed their signature kiss. Both girls are now over 18; would Leno’s camera have shied away from an 18-year-old hoy and girl kissing during a love song? Let’s guess not. O n the official Internet site www.tatugirls.com, Lena says, “People love us or hate us hut nobody thinks nothing about us.” Trxichd. J H J odi B enson Voice of Disney's “The Little M erm aid” Fri. & Sat., March 28th & 29th fè iv e r : i;;:: - C ruise P ortili F ri . 7-9PM & io -M idnight * S at . 3-5PM Show Times M ingle with Jodi Benson and get a personalized autograph in this intimate evening o f music and entertainment. C A L L ( 8 O O ) 2 2 4 - 3 9 O I OR ( 5 0 3 ) 2 2 4 - 3 9 O O Visit www.portlandspirit.com E ls DEBBAUT is a Portland free-lan cer writer. *
