Karen O
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Karen O | |
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 Karen O
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Karen Lee Orzolek |
| Born | November 22, 1978 South Korea |
| Origin | New Jersey, United States |
| Genre(s) | Indie rock[1], Art punk |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Label(s) | Interscope |
| Associated acts | Yeah Yeah Yeahs Native Korean Rock |
Karen Lee Orzolek (born November 22, 1978), better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for the New York art rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
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[edit] Early life
Karen's mother is Korean and her father is Polish.[1][2] Karen was born in South Korea, but eventually moved to America. She grew up in Englewood, New Jersey,[3] and attended Oberlin College, but transferred to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Karen is now based in Los Angeles.
[edit] Reputation
Karen O has been noted for her sense of fashion, wearing over-the-top outfits made by her friend, fashion designer Christian Joy. In the early days of the band, she became well known for her outrageous antics during live shows[1].
Playboy had made an offer to pose on their cover. Karen said on the subject, "I was approached but I said, 'No'. Who knows though? Maybe I'll do it in the future, but now doesn't seem to be the right time[4]." Since then, however, Karen stated in an interview with NME magazine that she has changed her mind on the issue due to the audience that Playboy magazine attracts[5].
During a tour for the 2003 Livid Festival in Australia, at a sideshow at The Metro in Sydney, she accidentally danced off the stage and was reluctantly taken to a hospital. A few days later at the Sydney leg of the Livid Festival, she appeared in a wheelchair pushed by Angus Andrew.[6]
She won Spin Magazine's Sex Goddess Award in both 2004 and 2005. In 2006 she was named one of rock's hottest women by Blender.[7]. In 2007 Karen placed #3 on Spinner.com's Women Who Rock Right Now.[8]
She had begun working on a small side project called Native Korean Rock and the Fishnets with fellow NYC musicians in 2008.[9]
[edit] Soundtrack work
For the movie Jackass 2, Karen O collaborated with electronic artist Peaches and Johnny Knoxville to record a track entitled "Backass". In 2007 Karen contributed vocals to a version of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" for the I'm Not There movie soundtrack.[10] She also appears on the soundtrack of the forthcoming movie, Where The Wild Things Are, directed by former boyfriend Spike Jonze.[11] At the end of Episode 409, Cinco Brothers, of the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! she performed a short song. On the collaboration-project "N.A.S.A. The Spirit of Apollo", she appears on the track "Strange Enough", together with Ol' Dirty Bastard and Fatlip.
[edit] The K.O. At Home Demo Leak
On December 10, 2006, a home-recorded album titled KO at Home was leaked via an invite-only BitTorrent tracking site. The album, originally a personal gift to Dave Sitek of the NYC band TV on the Radio, was discovered inside a suitcase Sitek left behind in a New York City apartment. The disc's 14 tracks and scan of the cover — a photograph of Karen O with a poem written by Oscar Wilde on the back — quickly spread. The music news site stereogum.com broke the story of the leak[12] the following morning and continued their coverage[13] when Sitek lashed out at the fan who leaked the demos.[14] Eventually Sitek followed up his comments with an apology letter.[15] Karen O's response to the leak was "shit happens" and although she was somewhat "grossed out," she offered advice on which of the mp3s she liked the best,[16] namely the tracks "Pumpkin" and "Snakes and Worms".
[edit] Video work
In 2004 Karen, using the moniker Marshmellow, directed the music video for "We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own" by the Liars, fronted by her then boyfriend Angus Andrew.[17][18] The following year she directed the "Blessed Evening" video for Foetus with her then boyfriend Spike Jonze working as cinematographer.[19] In 2006 she directed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' video "Cheated Hearts".[20][21]
Under the moniker Kids With Canes, Karen and her boyfriend Barnaby Clay directed the music video for the Tiny Masters of Today song "Hologram World", released on February 8, 2008. Karen also contributed vocals to the song, served as choreographer of the video, in which she appears along with Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmates Nick Zinner and Brian Chase as well as Mike D from the Beastie Boys, Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers, Russell Simins from the Blues Explosion and Sam James from The Mooney Suzuki.[22]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (2006-04-07). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Goth, Nerd, Slut". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/yeahyeahyeahs/articles/story/9596960/yeah_yeah_yeahs_goth_nerd_slut. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ Chi, Minnie (2003-07-18). "Half Korean, 100% Rock Star". Asia Pacific Arts. http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/030718/20030718_kareno.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- ^ La Gorce, tammy. "Success Stories In New Jersey Rock: The Un-Springsteen", The New York Times, November 16, 2003. Accessed January 2, 2008. "All of which is fine by Ms. O, 24, an Englewood native who still lives in Bergen County but declined to say where. Any rock star who struts around in outfits made specifically for her by the designer Christian Joy can expect some of that, she said."
- ^ Yeah Yeah Yeahs - O Says No To Playboy June 10, 2003
- ^ Yeah Yeah Yeahs Deal with Fame and Change
- ^ Boys with the hoods clean up - www.smh.com.au
- ^ Errico, Mike (December 2006). "Hottest Women of. . .Rock". Blender Magazine Online. http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?ID=2295&src=wiki. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
- ^ Women Who Rock Right Now: No. 3 - Spinner.com
- ^ Native Korean Rock & The Fishnets: Various Tracks (Stream)
- ^ stereogum: New Karen O - "Highway 61 Revisited" (Stereogum Premiere)
- ^ Kasia Galazka (2007-11-20). "Karen O is Where the Wild Things Are". Paste Magazine. http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/5880/news/music/karen_o_is_where_the_wild_things_are. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ stereogum: Karen (Dem)O
- ^ stereogum: The Story Behind The Karen O Demo
- ^ completely surrounded by no trees: 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007
- ^ Blogger: completely surrounded by no trees - Envoyer un message à un ami
- ^ Karen O on Demo Leak: "Shit Happens"
- ^ "Liars - We Fenced Other Gardens With The Bones Of Your Own". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/release/316656. Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
- ^ Katie Zerwas (2004-07-15). "Liars: We Fenced Other Gardens With The Bones Of Your Own". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/21208/liars-wefenced. Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
- ^ "Foetus: "Blessed Evening"". foetus.org. http://www.foetus.org/video/Foetus%20-%20Blessed%20Evening.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
- ^ Michele Lu (2006-07-28). "Fans star in Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Cheated Hearts" video with help from Final Cut editor Stephen Berger". Internet Video Magazine. http://www.internetvideomag.com/News/News2006/072906_YeahYeahYeahs.htm. Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
- ^ "New Release: Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Cheated Hearts"". Video Static. 2006-08-04. http://www.videostatic.com/vs/2006/week31/index.html#entry-12010342. Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
- ^ David Knight (2008-03-06). "Tiny Masters of Today’s Hologram World by Kids With Canes Inc.". PromoNews. http://www.promonews.tv/2008/03/06/tiny-masters-of-todays-hologram-world-by-kids-with-canes-inc/. Retrieved on 2008-08-26.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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