12. No DoubtTragic Kingdom
Third concert. It was Green Day, Alanis, Gwen. There were oranges everywhere because of the Tragic Kingdom cover. Again, she was saying the things girls wanted to say. With the clothes and what she was emulating, now we may say it’s appropriation, because God knows, she was doing a lot of it. But for whatever reason, it resonated. She had the braces. Everything that was not pretty, not considered or perfect. We needed that. ‘I’m this little girl that you are going to underestimate and watch me fucking break all your rules’ – that’s what Tragic Kingdom was. It was a spit in the face to every man. Even her making the ironic Barbie of a song, ‘I’m Just A Girl’
My favourite record was ‘Sunday Morning’. If you pay attention to the drum work of that second verse, they were dope. I was leaning into, like, not just Gwen, but them as a band. It was what I needed. It was multiracial. It was unique. It was fun. They had a lead girl fronting it.
