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Wendy Williams was a true artistic hero, a true pioneer who
risked
her life and career time and time again for her art. Wendy and
the Plasmatics were one of the most influential bands of all
time,
although because they were so radical and far ahead of their
time
they were marginalized (although repeatedly copied) by the status
quo. In rock and roll (and also performance art) there never
has
been a female performer (and perhaps a male too) who has matched
her. There's no one who has ever been just as plain courageous
as
the amazing Wendy O. The Plasmatics not only brought the mowhawk
haircut to rock and roll, they brought all kinds of innovative
performance
that has been copied and used (usually without credit) by bands
ever since. One of the biggest uncredited, and most famous copy
cat cases was the much publicized Apple computer TV ad for the
introduction
of the Mac in 1984 (premiered at the superbowl), and still used
by Apple to this day. In it an athletic woman with s!
hort blond hair and shorts runs into a 1984 Orwellian meeting
swinging
a sledgehammer which she then uses to demolish the huge TV screen
symbolizing Big Brother and the status quo. On first look fans
thought it was Wendy, since this is just how she looked and just
what she did during the "1984" tour (which ran in 1982)
during which
she took on the complacency and comformity of "Big Brother"
putting
her famous sledgehammer through the front of countless TVs. Credit
was never given to Wendy or the Plasmatics, and this is just
a single
example. Wendy, you were (and are in our memories), a true artistic
hero, and we'll always love you. You had the guts where others
tremble. Long live your memory!
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