In 2005, Karen O wrote a solo album in secret. This album, which she describes as "simultaneously the ace up my sleeve and the albatross around my neck" eventually turned into an opera called
Stop the Virgens, a collaboration with Sam Spiegel and Yeah Yeah Yeah's guitarist Nick Zinner.
How do we know this stuff? Well, The Creators Project has made a 30 minute mini-documentary about Karen O's seven-year journey, from recording in her bedroom, to meeting with an orchestra in a cramped room in Williamstown, to eventually performing the psycho-opera in Brooklyn. Nick Zinner says the opera "is gonna blow people's minds", and if the doco is anything to go by, this shit will give you nightmares (but in a great, creative way).
For fans of Karen O and/or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, these videos will thrill your pants off, as they feature pretty rare footage of Karen O being, well, normal (in between the writhing on stage in fake blood, that is). There's no feather headdress or face-paint, just a musician talking about how exciting it is to release her "autobiographical, emotional journey", while at the same time being totally terrified to do it.
Now we know that it's easy to click on a video and get bored after 2.45, but you should definitely give them some time.
SPOILER ALERT: At one point, Nick Zinner smiles.
More at
thecreatorsproject.com.