10 Quotes From Kim Gordon’s Girl in a Band

Bushwick’s next event, original music inspired by Kim Gordon’s Girl in a Band, is just about a month away. That means there is still plenty of time to read this great book. It’s my favorite book we’ve read this season so far. It has themes of love and heartbreak, performance, feminism, art and fashion, and fame. These quotes from Girl in a Band touch on all those themes. There is also one particular quote that displays Gordon’s raw writing style. Enjoy!

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“I couldn’t decide if I was a courageous person in real life or whether I could only sing on stage.” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


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“After 30 years of playing in a band it sounds sort of stupid to say, ‘I’m not a musician.’ But for most of my life I have never seen myself as one and I never formally trained as one. I sometimes think of myself as a lowercase rock star.” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


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“I wonder whether if you can truly love or be loved back by someone who hides who they are.” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


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“Culturally we don’t allow women to be as free as they would like, because that is frightening. We either shun those women or deem them crazy.” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


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“But being that woman who pushes the boundaries means you also bring in less desirable aspects of yourself. At the end of the day, women are expected to hold up the world, not annihilate it.” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


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“I’ve never thought of myself as a singer with a good voice, or even as a musician. I’m able to put myself out there by feeling as though I’m jumping off a cliff.” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


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“Every woman knows what I’m talking about when I say girls grow up with a desire to please, to cede their power to other people. At the same time everyone knows about the sometimes aggressive and manipulative ways men often exert power in the world, and how by using the word ‘empowered’ to describe women, men are simply maintaining their own power and control.” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


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“Back then, and even now, I wonder: Am I ’empowered’? If you have to hide your hypersensitivity, are you really a ‘strong woman’?” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


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“What is a star? Is stardom a kind of suspended adulthood? Is it a place beyond good and evil? Is a star a person you need to believe in–a daredevil, a risk-taker, a person who goes close to the edge without falling?” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


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“An unending kiss–that’s all we ever wanted to feel when we paid to hear someone play.” – Kim Gordon, Girl in a Band


 What are your thoughts on Kim Gordon’s Girl in a Band? Do you have a favorite passage? Let us know in the comments.