Sweet Apple is more than just a question of Cobra Verde’s John Petkovic and Tim Parnin having some teenage kicks with Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis and Witch’s Dave Sweetapple. It’s the answer to the heartache, grief and depression that led Petkovic to drive from Cleveland to Vermont, where he rediscovered the healing powers of rock ‘n’ roll with some help from his friends. Love & Desperation (Tee Pee) isn’t a fountain of youth, but it’ll do in a pinch: a combination of stomping ’70s arena-rock riffs, Petkovic’s well-honed T Rex swagger and Mascis’ hard-wired guitar leads servicing lurid tales of sex, drugs and vampires. The members of Sweet Apple will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with Petkovic.
Petkovic: “Sex is currency. What’s the use of being beautiful if you can’t profit from it?” Lili St. Cyr got to live her infamous quote—and, in the process, turn sexuality into an art. The burlesque performer made her breakout while performing in Montreal in the ’40s. The Catholic clergy condemned her, and she was even arrested and charged for immoral, obscene and indecent behavior. Lili glowed in the attention. By the ’50s, she was America’s most famous burlesque performer. She’d come in a bubble bath or perform as “The Wolf Woman” or “Jungle Goddess,” in which she would “make love” to a parrot. Lili did some movies, but she spent more time in scandal sheets—and not just because of her act. She was married six times, was the object of public brawls and attempted suicide more than once. (She actually used to do a show called Suicide, in which she reveal her body to win back a lover.) I’ve always loved her who-cares attitude, not to mention her love of the spectacle. She also had a sense of humor about it all. She was also a fashion pioneer, with her line of costumes, “The Undie World Of Lili St. Cyr.” She spent the last years of her life alone and in seclusion, tending to her cats. I wish I could’ve been one of them.
Video after the jump.
