What’s going on with Dolly?
The internationally beloved, DOLLY PARTON has released the latest track from her upcoming Rock n’ Roll album, titled Rockstar (available on November 17th via Butterfly Records) – and it’s her rendition of the 4 Non-Blondes’ neo-hippie hit anthem “What’s Up?,” and it features the song’s writer and lead singer, Linda Perry.
The song, originally from the band’s Bigger, Better, Faster, More! album (1992) had its beginnings prior to the formation of 4 Non Blondes. Frontman Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind described playing their original songs to one another while they were struggling musicians in San Francisco. According to legend, Linda Perry was a waitress who worked across the street from him, and they played each other early versions of “Semi-Charmed Life” and “What’s Up?”. Both songs would later become huge singles for their bands.
“What’s Up?” has been consistently ranked in top 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders across the intervening years!
Rock is about anarchy: rock is about overthrow. Rock is about awakening. Rock is about disruption. Rock is about brutAlity…
Raw Ramp Music Magazine
In our opinion DOLLY PARTON is too perdy to be a rock star. And by perdy we mean she’s too pretty, too nice, too cool, and far too sweet!
We might imagine Dolly cryin’ herself to sleep at night… but does she cry for the overthrow of man? Does she cry for the destruction of the prevailing order? Does she scream for justice? Does she pray for revolution? Meh, we don’t think so… Dolly’s estimated wealth is $650 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Not that she isn’t benevolent. Not that she isn’t humanitarian… of course she is. She’s a very kind and very emotional person. And, yes, she’s a deep thinker. She cares about injustices. Gosh, we love her as much as anyone. But is Dolly the type of person who demands anarchy?
Rock is about anarchy: it is about overthrow. Rock is about awakening. Rock is about disruption. Rock is about brutality. And, yeah, rock is about busting the system into pieces! Whereas, Dolly is about daffodils and butterflies, about sewin’ lil’ patches of love together to make a quilt, and about orchard shacks and bouncing right backs.
Think about how Janis Joplin’s heart-and-soul anguish, or Stevie Nicks’ feathery bedraggled grizzle, or Debbie Harry’s gloomy ambivalence, or Nina Hagen’s dramatic nihilism might have interpreted this song differently. Next, contrast those ideas to Dolly’s rendering (video shared below.)
The house of rock does indeed have any number of rooms, and the view from each of those rooms is unique… we get it! But a political (often anti-establishment) attitude, a D.I.Y. rawness, and a disrespectful mindset that yells about things such as angst-filled love, disobedient sex, and political disaffection are essential ingredients that feature in all the best definitions.
So we politley ask: where is the resentment? Where is the agony? Where is the hate? Where is the lust? And, most importantly, where is the dark psychosis in Dolly’s interpretation?
where is the dark psychosis in Dolly’s interpretation?
Raw Ramp Music Magazine
The six decade institution comes across as emotionally fragile, frequently introspective, and at times heartbreakingly lion-hearted in her performance, and, yes, she has a perfectly nuanced voice, though it sounds as if she could be browbeaten into submission if the system demands it… and that ain’t right… is it? That ain’t rockstar! Dolly’s characteristics suit country & western very well, but we demand a taste of resentment, of bitterness, and of unforgivingness in our rock.
We’ll leave it to Linda Perry to sum things up in her own words: “How is one supposed to react when the greatest and most prolific songwriter in the world wants to cover a song YOU wrote? Her version of What’s Up? is so good. Her spin on it made me feel like it was her song. No surprise there. Being on set making the video was a comfortable easy experience. The vibe on set was chill and Dolly and I got to catch up and laugh a lot. I could go on and on, obviously I’m a fan!”
link to Rockstar: https://dolly.lnk.to/Rockstar