Girls of Slender Means

by Barbie Army

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about

Who were the Barbie Army? Barbie Army was a late-80s all-female punk band in Chicago. Their performances were a cross between a pyjama party and a case of raging menstrual cramps. Primitive enthusiasm drenched their sound of fuzz-guitars, bass and drums-- at a time when synthesizers dominated the airwaves. They sang three-minute power-chord songs of heartache, alcohol and other concerns of the modern woman. In late1980s, they played Chicago, Wisconsin and Indiana and also two short tours of the South. They set Barbie dolls' heads aflame and enjoined lawmakers to abolish the Tampon Tax. They were featured in Maximum Rock-n-Roll magazine at a time when few women were playing electric punk rock. When Courtney Love and the Veruca Salt girls still wore training bras, the Barbies were pathbreakers in Chicago.

lyrics

Girls of Means (Jean Lotus/Girlfriend, Please Music)
We are the girls of slender means,
We do not share our lipstick or our men.
We work all day in the canteen.
Our puuse is empty but our hips are thin.
Stocking ladders, nothing matters, Hey GI!
Ration brandy, ration love
Do you have Lucky Strikes?
We share but one green satin gown.
We put it on to go downtown.
We are the girls of slender means.
But I was born to be a queen.
We are the girls you've never seen.
Our uniforms are drab and gray.
For just one weekend by the sea,
I'd sacrifice a fortnight's pay.
Bombs are dropping, people stopping sky caves in
Watch the boats go, keep your head low.
Lights out.
We share but one green satin gown.
We put it on to go downtown.
We are the girls of slender means.
But I was born to be a queen.

credits

released September 1, 1990
Jean Lyons/guitar, Tina Matlock/drums Ellen Phillips/guitar, Liz Tate/bass all vocals. Recorded in 1990 by Lee Pope.

license

about

Barbie Army Chicago, Illinois

Read our graphic novella at www.barbiearmy.com. Deluxe LP available from Berlin's NoPlan Records with 19 original songs.
goodwillrecords.net?s=Barbie+army&post_type=product
Barbie Army was a late-80s all-female punk band in Chicago. Their performances were a cross between a pyjama party and a case of raging menstrual cramps. ... more

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