Peaches

Hard-core provocateur Peaches is the type of artist every parent fears. In a way, though, the Canadian electroclash queen—born Merrill Nisker in 1966—has always been an educator. Before taking on her Peaches persona in the mid-’90s, Nisker was a daycare teacher who created a popular music program for kids in Toronto. After playing on the side in folk band Mermaid Cafe, she began experimenting with punk and electro-rock; worked alongside local musicians like Feist and Mocky; and developed her racy stage act. After moving to Berlin, Peaches scored a record deal and unleashed 2000’s sex-positive statement The Teaches of Peaches, written and recorded on a Roland MC-505. Featuring instant electro-punk classic “F**k the Pain Away,” the album is loose and liberating and defined the self-proclaimed feminist’s empowering stance on sexual and gender identity. Follow-up albums—including 2003’s F**********r and 2006’s Impeach My Bush—helped bring her glammy shock-rock music to the masses with guest stars like Iggy Pop and Joan Jett, while 2015’s Rub infused her sleazy dance roots with hip-hop and a little Kim Gordon. As long as Peaches’ confrontational art remains taboo, she’ll continue to use her platform to teach the power of owning one’s sexuality.