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Cat Power: A Good Woman
How Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, Survived Herself–and Became the Indie Rock Queen.
Chan Marshall’s stark lyrics, minimal arrangements,and wounded, smoky vocals, were an instant indie hit in the nineties–but her mental instability nearly derailed her career. How this sensitive but headstrong Georgian daughter of an unstable mother and a relatively unknown musician father–managed to make it big, burn out, and rise up again to become not only the darling of the indie music scene but also a fashion and Hollywood icon is the fabric of this irresistible story.
Covering her musical beginnings in the south and her booze-soaked rise to fame in New York City to her eventual breakdown and subsequent reclamation of herself and her music, Cat Power delves into the soul of this fragile but ferociously gifted young talent. With seven albums behind her, the hottest designers clamoring to dress her, and perpetually sold-out venues, Marshall is at the height of her career–a perfect vantage point from which to look at her notorious and intriguing history.
From interviews with her family, musicians such as Thurston Moore, Nick Cave, Dave Grohl, and Jack White, past loves like Bill Callahan and Vincent Gallo, and current friends such as Karl Lagerfeld and Wong Kar-Wai, Elizabeth Goodman gives us the real Chan Marshall–the little girl, the woman, the artist.
Chan Marshall’s stark lyrics, minimal arrangements,and wounded, smoky vocals, were an instant indie hit in the nineties–but her mental instability nearly derailed her career. How this sensitive but headstrong Georgian daughter of an unstable mother and a relatively unknown musician father–managed to make it big, burn out, and rise up again to become not only the darling of the indie music scene but also a fashion and Hollywood icon is the fabric of this irresistible story.
Covering her musical beginnings in the south and her booze-soaked rise to fame in New York City to her eventual breakdown and subsequent reclamation of herself and her music, Cat Power delves into the soul of this fragile but ferociously gifted young talent. With seven albums behind her, the hottest designers clamoring to dress her, and perpetually sold-out venues, Marshall is at the height of her career–a perfect vantage point from which to look at her notorious and intriguing history.
From interviews with her family, musicians such as Thurston Moore, Nick Cave, Dave Grohl, and Jack White, past loves like Bill Callahan and Vincent Gallo, and current friends such as Karl Lagerfeld and Wong Kar-Wai, Elizabeth Goodman gives us the real Chan Marshall–the little girl, the woman, the artist.
- GenresMusicNonfictionBiography
298 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
January 20, 2010
There are some actual obvious factual errors in the text that made me question everything else in this book. I also got this weird feeling that the author wanted to really "knock her down a peg" and expose Chan Marshall instead of treating her with respect as an artist. Elizabeth Goodman seemed to both resent and revere her at the same time, which is a scary combination. It's hard to explain but it seemed like Goodman was really just trying to deal with her own odd feelings toward Marshall. That's how I felt reading it, anyway. I ultimately just feel bad for reading the book considering it was unauthorized and seemed sort of exploitative.
Even if you don't have an "ethical" problem reading it, I would avoid the book based on how many facts were just not right. I didn't write them all down or even investigate very deeply, but some errors jumped out at me as I was reading. One error I noticed was Goodman claiming that the cover of the first Cat Power album is a picture of Marshall as a child, which is not true. It's a famous photo by Emmet Gowin taken in 1969, three years before Marshall was even born. There isn't even an excuse for that mistake because 1st) there's no reason to think it's Chan Marshall, considering at that point she wasn't the only person in the band and that the photo is never credited as being her and 2nd) the photographer is credited right on the back of the record. It took me 2 seconds of googling to figure out when the picture was taken. It's ultimately not that important of a detail, but it does make me wonder what other weird assumptions Goodman made while writing the book due to the limited information she had.
In the last 2 pages of the book, Goodman writes: "Like Covers, Jukebox features mostly cover songs except for one of Chan's old tunes ("American Flag," originally off Moon Pix) revamped to reflect changes in the composer." The song actually covered is "Metal Heart," not "American Flag," and it seems weird that Goodman and the editors would miss such an obvious error, especially in the last 2 pages of the book. It seems nitpicky, but the least Goodman could do was get the facts right about Chan's music, especially when all it would take is a look at the back of the cd case. It also really undermined my faith in the accuracy of anything Goodman was saying.
Most of the good information in there are things you can access in interviews available on the internet.
Even if you don't have an "ethical" problem reading it, I would avoid the book based on how many facts were just not right. I didn't write them all down or even investigate very deeply, but some errors jumped out at me as I was reading. One error I noticed was Goodman claiming that the cover of the first Cat Power album is a picture of Marshall as a child, which is not true. It's a famous photo by Emmet Gowin taken in 1969, three years before Marshall was even born. There isn't even an excuse for that mistake because 1st) there's no reason to think it's Chan Marshall, considering at that point she wasn't the only person in the band and that the photo is never credited as being her and 2nd) the photographer is credited right on the back of the record. It took me 2 seconds of googling to figure out when the picture was taken. It's ultimately not that important of a detail, but it does make me wonder what other weird assumptions Goodman made while writing the book due to the limited information she had.
In the last 2 pages of the book, Goodman writes: "Like Covers, Jukebox features mostly cover songs except for one of Chan's old tunes ("American Flag," originally off Moon Pix) revamped to reflect changes in the composer." The song actually covered is "Metal Heart," not "American Flag," and it seems weird that Goodman and the editors would miss such an obvious error, especially in the last 2 pages of the book. It seems nitpicky, but the least Goodman could do was get the facts right about Chan's music, especially when all it would take is a look at the back of the cd case. It also really undermined my faith in the accuracy of anything Goodman was saying.
Most of the good information in there are things you can access in interviews available on the internet.
May 18, 2009
I guess there are a few questions that come to mind when reviewing this book. . .first and most importantly - why did I read it? I'm not a fan of Cat Power, I'm barely curious about her. It just illustrates the depths of my thirst for anything related to pop music and the life of a performer. I read it in pretty much one sitting. . .so take that for what it's worth.
The bio starts with the classic journalistic ruse: "Chan Marshall does not want you to read this book." OK - so it's not official. . .and it's a few steps above a hack job. "Hack" in that the author hacks up interviews with Marshall done over the course of her career into a narrative. It also makes a big deal about her not talking about her half-brother with cerebral palsy as if she's trying to sweep a family skeleton under the rug. That strikes me as a loathsome reach for this writer who seems to have a chip on her shoulder about the fact that Chan wasn't psyched for her to do the book. I mean - umm - why the fuck would she talk about her half-brother who happens to be in a wheelchair in an interview. Yes - Marshall exploits her troubled southern childhood to no end in interviews but who the f' cares? She wants to sell records and Northern music media idiots have no bullshit detector related to the south. There also some glaring factual errors about ages of people and New York fashion culture which should have been cleaned the f' up. It's weird. Nobody gives a shit about proof reading anymore.
So what does this book do? It traces Marshall's career while managing to speak to very few principal players within it. . .but I guess now I know that she tried to become a housewife with Bill Callahan for 9 months before she recorded Moon Pix!
I have a Chan Marshall story that's better than any of the shit in the book - but did I get a call?! Noooooooo. . .
Such iz lyfe.
The bio starts with the classic journalistic ruse: "Chan Marshall does not want you to read this book." OK - so it's not official. . .and it's a few steps above a hack job. "Hack" in that the author hacks up interviews with Marshall done over the course of her career into a narrative. It also makes a big deal about her not talking about her half-brother with cerebral palsy as if she's trying to sweep a family skeleton under the rug. That strikes me as a loathsome reach for this writer who seems to have a chip on her shoulder about the fact that Chan wasn't psyched for her to do the book. I mean - umm - why the fuck would she talk about her half-brother who happens to be in a wheelchair in an interview. Yes - Marshall exploits her troubled southern childhood to no end in interviews but who the f' cares? She wants to sell records and Northern music media idiots have no bullshit detector related to the south. There also some glaring factual errors about ages of people and New York fashion culture which should have been cleaned the f' up. It's weird. Nobody gives a shit about proof reading anymore.
So what does this book do? It traces Marshall's career while managing to speak to very few principal players within it. . .but I guess now I know that she tried to become a housewife with Bill Callahan for 9 months before she recorded Moon Pix!
I have a Chan Marshall story that's better than any of the shit in the book - but did I get a call?! Noooooooo. . .
Such iz lyfe.
Did Not Finish
June 7, 2011It feels "out of character" for me to pick up this book (maybe I feel weird, reading about people who are still alive who didn't approve of the book?), which I did so suddenly yesterday at the library on the same day I came across the title. Elizabeth Goodman's intro, with the whole "Chan does not want you to read this book" headline, made me especially uncomfortable. Her justification for this book, and despite Chan's protests or something, was that Chan did not warn her family members about the writing of this "bio" (like not warning them not to give Goodman any info on Chan), thus implies that Chan was indirectly communicating to Goodman that it was an ok signal/hint for her to go ahead and write the book anyway (wtf?). So Goodman seems to set out to understand Chan, to crack open how Chan is exhibitionist/prude, humble/entitled, trusting/paranoid, tomboy/glamorous, etc. and does so by creating a narrative out of interview pieces and stuff, which I guess is nice to read it all as a story. I am only part way done with this book, though. A minute ago I came upon this line from Chris Marker in Chris Marker: Memories of the Future—
People exist with their complexity, their own consistency, their own personal opacity and one has absolutely no right to reduce them to what you want them to be.
People exist with their complexity, their own consistency, their own personal opacity and one has absolutely no right to reduce them to what you want them to be.
December 17, 2012
I could hardly get past the introduction. I have never read any published material that sounded more pathetic, defensive, and ridiculous as what Elizabeth Goodman writes in "A Good Woman." I recently purchased this book used from Ameoba in San Francisco, and it is an uncorrected proof version, so I would like to peruse the final version of this book and merely hope that the introduction didn't make the final cut. She explains that Chan Marshall hated her for writing this book and paints herself as a villain defeating the good guy. It is clear throughout the entire book that Goodman is defending her accusations against Chan Marshall personally, trying to do damage. Who knows how many people in high places Elizabeth Goodman had to sleep with to get this book published. Better stick with Blender magazine honey, something nobody reads.
November 28, 2018
2.5 stars... I didn't know before I started it that Chan Marshall hadn't consented to the biography (doesn't it usually say unauthorized biography on the cover??) and I was already invested in it by the time the author dropped that in so I kept with it. It made the book feel sleazy to me, like gossip instead of a honest portrait of the artist who likely had the most influence on my teenage years. The writing style didn't help that feeling, either.
Instead of really examining how a woman from and representative of a huge group of America (uneducated, lower-class Southerners) made it in indie rock, a genre that is mostly comprised of privileged hipsters, it's boiled down to a rags-to-riches "she went from tossing pizzas to staying at the Ritz!" with no deeper analysis. I hope this isn't the last book on Chan because she deserves a better story.
Instead of really examining how a woman from and representative of a huge group of America (uneducated, lower-class Southerners) made it in indie rock, a genre that is mostly comprised of privileged hipsters, it's boiled down to a rags-to-riches "she went from tossing pizzas to staying at the Ritz!" with no deeper analysis. I hope this isn't the last book on Chan because she deserves a better story.
April 13, 2010
found myself vacillating between feeling sorry for chan marshall and then angry at her, and between feeling angry at elizabeth goodman (the biographer) for intruding, and then grateful that she did...
February 16, 2010
chan marshall is intriguing. reading this book set off an extended period of listening only to cat power. knowing her story gives more meaning to her music, i think.
June 8, 2010
Reading this biography gave me great insight into Cat Power and her music. One would think that the lives of indie rockers aren't extensive and exciting enough for such a length biography to be written about them, but I was impressed with Goodman's thorough research and detail.
February 12, 2019
I first saw Chan Marshall singing in 2007 Chanel Haute Couture, while models were swanning around like ethereal fairies in gorgeous Chanel wardrobes. Better known as her stage name “Cat Power,” she was the Queen of the Show in her graceful poise whimsically mixed with her super cool urban retro chic fashion singing a soulful and powerful melody of ballads like a stylish bohemian troubadour. So I downloaded her songs from iTunes and loved her solitary lyrics imbued with Southern blues soul and offbeat timbres probably as a result of her elbow room in the beloved New York City. To top it all off, Chan Marshall became something of my musical heroine and fashion muse.
Cat Power: A Good Woman by Elizabeth Goodman is a beautifully written memoir of the enigmatic singer as a result of Goodman’s own adoration of the singer as a fan. Of all other books on Chan Marshall, this book is par excellence in the context of regarding the beautiful play of words, the elliptical table of contents, the journalistic efforts to sleuth for buried truths, and the audacity to publish all of it against her adored heroine’s own disapproval thereof afterwards because the book seemed to lay it all bare in public. But Ms. Marshall’s worries could have been rest assured, for the book makes her all the more human and real, imparting a sense of empathy and sympathy because all her frailties and foibles pertain to ours as well. Does every body not have a dark registrar and think the cold star on a wide sea betokens one’s life? Goodman whose writing feat had featured in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and NME (“New Musical Express”) knew the universal ethos of such human conditions that had also enveloped the beautiful musician in the person of Chan Marshall. The title of the book is a summation of Goodman’s reality of the star.
In summary, the book is a comprehensive memoir of Chan Marshall, who reminds me of a cross between Francoise Hardy in style and Patti Smith in music. In the peculiar alchemy of literature, Goodman wielded her writer wand to conjure up the image of Chan Marshall in the book that also appositely strikes the cover of the book. Pace the criticism of the book as a rip-off from Ms. Marshall’s privacy and of the author as a jilted ex-friend for the reason unknown, it is worth the reading by the sheer enjoyment of good writing and Goodman’s affinity for popular culture, especially in music.
Cat Power: A Good Woman by Elizabeth Goodman is a beautifully written memoir of the enigmatic singer as a result of Goodman’s own adoration of the singer as a fan. Of all other books on Chan Marshall, this book is par excellence in the context of regarding the beautiful play of words, the elliptical table of contents, the journalistic efforts to sleuth for buried truths, and the audacity to publish all of it against her adored heroine’s own disapproval thereof afterwards because the book seemed to lay it all bare in public. But Ms. Marshall’s worries could have been rest assured, for the book makes her all the more human and real, imparting a sense of empathy and sympathy because all her frailties and foibles pertain to ours as well. Does every body not have a dark registrar and think the cold star on a wide sea betokens one’s life? Goodman whose writing feat had featured in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and NME (“New Musical Express”) knew the universal ethos of such human conditions that had also enveloped the beautiful musician in the person of Chan Marshall. The title of the book is a summation of Goodman’s reality of the star.
In summary, the book is a comprehensive memoir of Chan Marshall, who reminds me of a cross between Francoise Hardy in style and Patti Smith in music. In the peculiar alchemy of literature, Goodman wielded her writer wand to conjure up the image of Chan Marshall in the book that also appositely strikes the cover of the book. Pace the criticism of the book as a rip-off from Ms. Marshall’s privacy and of the author as a jilted ex-friend for the reason unknown, it is worth the reading by the sheer enjoyment of good writing and Goodman’s affinity for popular culture, especially in music.
January 8, 2022
The author goes out of their way to write in the intro that Chan Marshall didn't approve of the book, but tries to justify writing the book by saying that Chan often reveals deeply personal things with interviewers but also tries to control her own narrative and what gets reported. It was a weird intro, especially for a book that spends most of its time quoting Chan from existing interviews and providing album reviews of everything she had put out up until that time (the book was published in 2008 I believe). The author evidently got some interviews with friends and family members, and does a good job in the beginning of setting up the background details, but the book kind of spirals into the author's takes on what songs and albums were best and speculation on what Chan was feeling and doing based on existing interviews. There are also quotes from a random psychiatrist that are very bad, calling people with mental illness "crazy" and "shitty parents." It was unclear what connection that particular psychiatrist had with the subject matter (it reads like the author just knew a guy who happened to be a psychiatrist) but all of those quotes and some of the author's takes on mental illness in the family were a bit off. It's clear that the author is a big fan and did the leg work in researching the early part of Chan's life and career, but the book felt padded with what seemed like the author's personal views on what songs and albums were good and bad. Overall, worth a quick read / skim if you're a big fan of Cat Power, but would otherwise avoid.
August 29, 2026
The author comes across as quite mean spirited. When a person declined an interview, she goes on to insult them and call them "bitter". She describes Cat Power fans as "self loathing adolescent girls". She refers to Chan Marshall as "manipulative" and "obnoxious". It's just plain strange. I found the tone so oddly angry, I had to stop reading. It made me uncomfortable, I felt like I was reading a high school bully's journal. However, the final chapters shift in tone and suddenly the author is defending Chan. Strange.
September 22, 2022
as a cat power fan this was worth a read on insight alone, but with amateurish writing and a weirdly vindictive streak in the narration, it's clear goodman's reach exceeded her grasp. a biography is not an article, yet book has the bone-dry register of a reporter's notes and the ethically dubious prodding of a gossip columnist. goodman would eventually redeem herself with meet me in the bathroom, but this is not a good book.
October 4, 2024
Una biografía elaborada con todas las entrevistas de Chan a lo largo de su carrera. Si tienes curiosidad hay alguno que otro dato que sirve de gran ayuda. Sin embargo la autora termina agarrando un protagonismo extraño que por momentos quita la veracidad e intención de esta obra dedicada a una artista que supuestamente admira.
December 19, 2018
Elizabeth Goodman didn't thoroughly check all her material, like when she misreports a song by Peter Laughner as being by Peter Lofton, but the people she did talk to are interesting all the same.
October 20, 2019
Interesting enough read though obviously hampered somewhat by Chan Marshall's non participation.
August 20, 2020
Con buona pace di Chan Marshall, che non avrebbe voluto questo libro, mi è piaciuto.
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December 1, 2009
I am pretty certain that this book will really only be enjoyed by long time fans of Cat Power. I started listening to Cat Power around 1996. I was really into Sonic Youth, and heard that Steve Shelley, Sonic Youth's drummer, had a new record label with a band called Cat Power. This was my introduction to Chan Marshall. Her music is strange, haunting, depressing, and sometimes addicting. I saw her live several times, both in Minneapolis and Albuquerque, and she was usually pretty terrible and/or strange. This book is interesting because even though it is an unauthorized biography of Chan, the author was able to interview many friends, collaborators, family, and other people in the music and fashion industry who know Chan. This book chronicles her childhood, career, sub careers in fashion and film, and her mental breakdowns. I finished the book feeling like it was sad in two ways: sad in that her struggles with alcohol and mental illness have impacted her life in lonely and terrifying ways, and sad that this woman has access, talent, money, fame, and several homes, but seems to be on the brink of losing it all. Or not? Sometimes it seems like Chan Marshall may be playing fame games with her fans and critics.
July 24, 2012
So, a lot of this book was good. I think mostly because Chan Marshall is an interesting person, and I think there were some cool ideas about identity and binaries in there. But, there could have, and perhaps should have been more of that. And I also kept finding myself really annoyed with the author's dismissal of the misogyny Chan faced as a young female artist in a community of male artists. Goodman also said a lot of really annoying stuff about Chan's "transformation" from "tomboy" to "glam indie idol". I think the few quotes that Goodman has from Chan about either of these things suggests that Chan has much of a stronger stance than Goodman on both of these things. Although, she was really good at allowing Chan's voice to be heard about her mental health status and I think that was written about with a lot of grace, which I think mental health rarely gets. An interesting read, overall. Just probably would have gotten the same pleasure (if not more) from another author (or even Chan herself) on the same subject.
May 16, 2009
I always like to learn about the events taking place in musician lives and how it parallels the music they are making at that time. There was a coverage of that in this book- Chan's love life, Chan's varying points of (in)sanity. There was a decent amount of information regarding Chan's upbringing and background. However, it needed some sort of extra oomph. I suppose that extra spark may have been received if the author had been allowed to speak with Chan and the people in Chan's life. She definitely made do without that. And, although I don't think it affected my opinion of the book, I couldn't wrap my head around what the author was trying to get across through making this book. There seemed to be a love and a hate of Chan... Anyway. Quick read, worth it if you like Cat Power and are familiar with the music.
April 23, 2009
I was intrigued by the subject of this unauthorized biography and was not disappointed. It started off a bit slow. Chan was not directly interviewed for the book, but the author found plenty of interviews from family and childhood/fringe friends. A lot of the content was a mix of conjecture and excerpts taken from magazine articles. All said, the book was interesting and completely renewed my interest in Cat Power and Chan in general.
June 23, 2009
This book is pieced together entirely from past interviews and distant secondary sources, making most of it rooted in conjecture and heresay. Although a bit dry at points, I found the book enthralling at points and worth reading. However, this is due to the fact that I have a personal interest in Chan Marshall, and wonder who the beautiful woman behind my favorite albums is. Those who don't like her music/persona will most likely not like this book.
December 27, 2012
I had been obsessed with Chan and her music for years when I discovered this book, and my obsession only increased as a result. I read this in one sitting...it really exposes the complexities of her character and provides a level of insight into her experiences that really enhanced my experience of her music. A must read for anyone who is interested in Cat Power...you don't have to have the fan-obsession level that I do to really enjoy this account.
Read
January 5, 2016Defensive, overwrought drivel. It's like Goodman took it as a personal affront that Chan Marshall objected to an unsolicited biography being written about her, and thus she tried to make it as salacious and scandalous as possible. I was only ever a casual fan of Cat Power, and I haven't heard her music or seen her live since 'The Greatest'. Still I thought this might be an interesting read (I found it lying around the house). Unfortunately, I couldn't even finish it, I abandoned it by page 95.
July 8, 2009
Cat Power makes some of my favorite music. And Chan Marshall is an interesting woman. But this book is not very well written. There are some details that make it occasionally satisfying, but it's less a book than an overlong article. Or, it could be a really good Rolling Stone article at 5,000 words or so instead of a book.
August 10, 2009
Any Cat Power fan will love how insightful this book is regardless of how "true" it is. It inspired me to start writing and recording my own songs. There's also glossy a middle section with a few photos of her, bwadass. Good for anyone who like to collect muso bios.
May 7, 2011
If you're a fan of Cat Power and/or Chan Marshall and her music and mental-emotional inner life this is a truly interesting read! I'm quite partial to listening to the Moonshine or Dark End of the Street recordssssss whilst reading.
April 7, 2009
apparently Chan Marshall doesn't want me to read this book, but I'm reading it anyway. I learned some things. Took it all with a grain of salt. nice quick read.
August 11, 2009
An alright read. Chan Marshall comes off as completely self-indulgent, but it's an interesting look at a particular music scene at a particular time.
August 23, 2009
Easy, quick read. I love Cat Power's music and I found the book interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews