I used to be a closet Taylor Momsen fan. I kind of liked her faux trashy goth rebel chic style and confess that I would often crack a smile while thumbing through the latest set of Taylor’s overly eye-shadowed eyes and platinum blond hair dressed up in some sort of lacy inner wear as outer wear look. She was the consummate angsty privileged sexy teenage girl with an F-you attitude and an F-me body that literally played the part of private school Goth locker poster girl perfectly.
But lately the Pretty Reckless lead singer seems to be losing her balance while walking the tight rope of rebellious-and-shocking envelope pushing, resulting in her crashing descent on the side of boring. (See: Marilyn Manson and Ke$ha)
Taylor’s latest heavy-handed attempt at raising eyebrows and stirring up headlines (to that extent she was successful – after all, I’m writing about her right?) was wearing a black t-shirt with a white pentagram and the words “I F**K FOR SATAN” on the front during a Pretty Reckless concert at Tattoo Rock Parlour in Toronto, Canada last night. Ho-hum. (With and emphasis on “ho.”)
(Click photo for larger, uncensored version)
I’m not shocked or angered by the shirt or the message, just disappointed. Being shocking is an art (See: Banksy and Lady Gaga) and just like any art form you have to be careful with your ingredients. You don’t want too much or too little anger, fun, campiness, angst, trash, glamor, etc or else it ceases to be something people want to pay attention to and lapses into uncreative intentionality.
Perhaps I’m over-thinking it? Maybe so. All I know is that seeing these photos was disappointing and elicited a one word response in my brain that was different than my usual words for Taylor Momsen (hot, fun, gothtrulescent) and that was “lame.” Here’s an old-school image of Taylor from the same concert sans the Sally sells sex to Satan shirt:
Can you say “Taylor Moonson?” I know I can! (There‘s my smile!)
Photos: Stephen Fernandez / Splash News
