Tunic (Song for Karen)

and oh yeah, i thought everyone knew karen carpenter died of complications from anorexia nervosa. she'd been obsessively dieting--and abusing laxatives (in unbelievable quantity)--for years and years.

it was probably a classic case of maintaining control over the one thing you actually can control, when everything else in your life is controlled by others. the A&M label (and owner herb alpert) were notorious for not allowing them to make decisions about their career, esp. karen.

only occasionally were they allowed to choose the songs they recorded. karen loved playing the drums but their management insisted she needed to be more visible on stage (and they hardly let her play in the studio either). presumably so her cute wholesome face would help sell records (I'm sure it did), and also they probably believed the idiotic stereotype that drums aren't feminine.

i spoke with a european flautist who was stunned & appalled when i mentioned how a friend's nephew was getting beaten up for playing the flute (it's too "girly") and had to stop. there's nothing gendered about it. you don't play a musical instrument with THOSE parts of your body.

karen entered therapy and was getting better. unfortunately eating disorders were poorly understood at the time. we know how important it is to put the weight back on gradually. when karen recovered, she gained 20 pounds in a couple of weeks and her heart couldn't take it.

because of the ignorance at the time, her death was ruled to be not only from the complications of an eating disorder, but also a toxic reaction to abuse of syrup of ipecac. richard always firmly denied the latter.

he and karen lived in two apartments which they bought, and had them modified to be adjoining. he said if karen had been abusing ipecac, he'd have seen the empty bottles (he was aware of her laxative abuse; they lived too closely together for her to be able to keep too many secrets from him). also if she'd vomited repeatedly over a long period there would have been observable signs, which there weren't.

both were naive young people who overnight became among the most successful musicians ever (many of their recordings sold more than the beatles). richard had a problem with quaaludes, although in the '70s that wasn't too unusual.

i would sonic youth genuinely appreciate Carpenters songs on a musical level, simultaneous with the endless possibilities for ironic humor and social commentary of an odd pop cultural phenomenon.

when i had this song on repeat, and all the other times before i listened to this song, everytime i heard the part "you aren't never going anywhere" i always visioned karen's mother telling her that it'll all be right and that she won't die, at least, die like the way she did. but after watching the video just now on youtube, i got the impression that maybe karen had a rough relationship with her mother and her mother told her all her life that "you aren't never going anywhere" thus the basis of her anorexia.

which one is right?

its about karen carpenter right?

I'm pretty sure it's about Karen Carpenter, cause I know Kim and Thurston really loved the carpenters.

Yes - it's about Karen Carpenter. And that 'incomprehensible' bit in the middle is Kim Gordon and J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr) singing 'Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft'. Top trivia!

definitely definitely aboyt karen carpenter

gosh this song has that something... it just feels desolate when you listen to it or soemthing but is a great great song, cant stop listeining to it

I think this is about anorexia/bulemia brought about by the pressure of fame and necessity to be perfect before the media. All the people referenced in the song including "mum" are the people she's trying to reach out to for help.

"hey mum look i'm up here i finally made it i play in a drumsband too don't be sad the band doesn't sound half bad "

I thought that part was supposed to be Karen Carpenter in heaven

It's about Karen Carpenter's anorexia. just do a little research. ...end of story.

Whatever it's about- it tells such a sad story, and it's added to music very well. top notch Sonic Youth tune here.