Overview

“I'm a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie world,” the ubiquitous refrain that dominated the airwaves in summer 1997. Aqua's single from their debut album Aquarium spread like wildfire, topping charts across the globe. With their erotically charged lyrics and dance beats, Aqua moved beyond their Danish Eurodance beginnings and achieved global renown in the late 1990s. In the US, however, they are an infamous “one hit wonder,” remembered for their highly publicized lawsuit with Mattel. Although Aqua's fame waned at the turn of the millennium, the 25th anniversary of their debut precipitated a resurgence in their popularity. This book unwraps a bubblegum dance classic to offer the first in-depth examination of what lies beneath Aqua's sticky-sweet veneer. It traces the history of Aquarium alongside interpretations of the album’s singles informed by queer theory and covers by contemporary musicians commissioned for the book. Peeling back the layers of Aquarium reveals a confection rife with unexpected contradictions and possibilities; videos permeated by seemingly innocuous articulates of heteronormativity are held in tension with suggestions of queerness, fetishism, and adolescent lust when heard through the ironic lens of camp.

Full Product Details

9781501384189

Table of Contents

Reviews

An erudite and passionate celebration of queer culture and a band who may well have been a great deal more layered and whip hand than most of us ever imagined. * Louder than War *

Author Information

C.C. McKee is Assistant Professor of Modern Art in the Department of History of Art at Bryn Mawr College, USA. McKee has curated exhibitions at the Block Museum, Iceberg Projects (Chicago, IL), and the Ghetto Biennale (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) and published various pieces of art criticism and articles in Art Forum, Art Journal, and CASVA Seminar Papers. McKee’s research and curatorial projects have been supported by a number of grants including the American-Scandinavian Foundation Research Grant and the College Art Association Professional Development Fellowship.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available