Young Jean Lee is a playwright who’s become an it-girl of experimental theater in New York City. Her play The Shipment is a study of black identity, though she is Korean-American; most recently, she created a wordless piece called Untitled Feminist Show performed by a half dozen women in the nude.
Growing up in the late 1980s in Pullman, Washington, Lee was one of the only Asian kids. Attempting to blend in, Lee toed the line, dressing in Esprit and listening to Tiffany and New Kids on the Block. But a Rolling Stone review convinced her to splurge on Paul’s Boutique, the Beastie Boys’ 1989 album.
“It basically rewired my brain,” she remembers. “This album, it’s confusing and it’s messy. It’s meticulously constructed but things are put together because of how they sound and feel.” The record’s mix of ’70s funk samples and lyrical nonsequiturs exposed Lee up to a radically new style of creative expression. And she was blown away by the cowbell.
“The album really opened my mind to unconventional structures,” Lee says, “the idea of playing with form and the idea of things just being right together without necessarily having a clear logic behind them.”
â?? Is there a book – or a movie, album, or other work of art – that has changed your life? Tell us in a comment below or by e-mail.
Video: “Hey Ladies” by the Beastie Boys
At The World, we believe strongly that human-centered journalism is at the heart of an informed public and a strong democracy. We see democracy and journalism as two sides of the same coin. If you care about one, it is imperative to care about the other.
Every day, our nonprofit newsroom seeks to inform and empower listeners and hold the powerful accountable. Neither would be possible without the support of listeners like you. If you believe in our work, will you give today? We need your help now more than ever!