But she also has a flirtier, more humourous side that she shows to her fans. Contrast the QT segment which you can see in streamed video with the interview she did for our sister show BookTelevision. In this case, she was still on the stage at Lee's Palace, and the questions come from both the commentator Daniel Richler, and from her fans. Short sections of her book were read as reference to some of the questions and these appear in italics.

Question: You talk about the penis in your book.

Anti Diva Excerpt: "In my view, the penis has serious flaws. It's all function over form, like whoever designed it couldn't wait to use it. The helmet part is great, but then aesthetically, the whole structure falls apart. Balls seem like an afterthought."

Question: So if you had a chance to have a second go round, what would you do with it?

Carole Pope: I'd just make it more streamlined. Cause women are all kind of neat and tidy (shapes a vulva with her hands). I don't like those veiny things. Too sloppy. It's like a body turned inside out.

Question: Well, this is the day of sex changes and redesigning.

Carole Pope: Well then, I think somebody will come up with a better version!

Question: Can we talk about Dusty Springfield? There is what I think is quite a beautiful moment where you describe you and Dusty in bed.

Anti Diva Excerpt: "I had let her voice caress me for years before I met her. I had fallen under its silken spell. The most erotic thing we would do in bed was this - I would beg Dusty to sing to me. She would put her mouth up to my ear. The sound of her voice, so intimate and close, washed over me like waves of pure pleasure."

Carole Pope: Yes, I used to ask her to sing to me. To sing in my ear. It was incredibly erotic. I had my very own diva in bed. She was amazing.

Question: Can we talk about the lesbian thing?

Carole Pope: Yeah Baby!

Question: You remark that:

Anti Diva Excerpt:"It's so much work being a lesbian. Multiply that by a thousand when you move in with one. You have to operate on a totally unrealistic level of sensitivity. One look or word can spell disaster. You have to develop the hands and seductive skills of a trained courtesan, and you must be attuned to every nuance, every shift in the wind of emotion. Sometimes it's worth it; sometimes it's hell on earth."

Carole Pope: Absolutely. It's like a mine field sometimes, living with another woman. When women make love, even if it's just casual sex, the mental-physical connection is just too much sometimes. Then when the U-Haul thing happens and you are living together, I felt like, oh my god, I have to watch what I say, what I'm doing. It turns me into this paranoid creature.

Question: There's an amazing revelation here. You don't hear people talking about this one very often - about menopause.

Anti Diva Excerpt: "I'd also started going through what is the biggest nightmare a woman has to deal with - menopause.

Say it with me, people, it's a word that strikes terror into every woman's heart. She's lying if she says it doesn't. Irregular bleeding means you're riding the red saddle, as John Belushi so succinctly put it, for three weeks at a time. You're so weak you're crawling around drained of blood, but wait, there's more - you have psychotic mood swings; your skin breaks out. Did you think you'd be using Clearasil in your forties? The topper is, it lasts for ten years! What's up with that?

I don't care how much soy, calcium supplements, tofu, South American yam, Pro-gest, hormone replacement therapy (if you want to flirt with breast cancer), black cohash, ginseng and evening primrose oil you cram down your throat, or what Germain Greer crone-tome mother earth-empowering chick mag you read, waking up and looking in the mirror and seeing the lines in your face deepen and the spectre of your own mortality staring back at you is hell on earth - especially if you're an egotistical, Leo rock Diva suffering from the chick version of the Peter Pan syndrome."

Carole Pope: Yes. It's like a nightmare. I think Cher said it was like a nightmare and I have to agree with her. It's such a fucking, hideous nightmare.

There's no books on it, or the books are all stupid - "take estrogen" - which you don't want to do, cause you don't want to get breast cancer. I think people should talk about it more.

I'm in it. I think it's a fabulous cosmic thing, except any time you do something bad like drink, or smoke, or anything enjoyable, you have a hot flash. That's not good. Or even if you drink coffee, anything fun activity. If you have sex!

Question: But …

Anti Diva Excerpt: "The one positive thing that happened was that going through menopause made me fearless. Talk about connecting with your inner eighteen-year-old - I did, and she wants to hurl herself into Xtreme sports, flirt with death on mountaintops and start a second career as an assassin. She wants young beautiful women to whom she can impart her wisdom, and with whom she can share her pretty good sexual technique, and she's getting it all. I suddenly realized why everyone, male and female, wanted to bone Catherine Deneuve, who must be pushing sixty. Yes, she's still earth-shatteringly beautiful, but you just know she knows things, secret womyn things. She's worldly, and that is a big fucking aphrodisiac, oh my brothers and sisters."

Carole Pope: Yes, it did make me fearless. It made me want to embrace life more. It is such a big turning point. All of a sudden I'm more athletic. Maybe it's from living in California. I don't know what the hell's going one. It makes me want to take more risks. You realize this is my mid life, and how many more years do I have left? I'm going to just go fucking crazy for the rest of my life. So that's my plan. Yeah baby! I think it is going to be an amazing decade.

Originally, I was slated to do the story on Carole Pope and her new book Anti Diva. I made the contacts and was looking forward to our interview but, unfortunately, my schedule got too packed. QT’s Co-producer Adriana Salvia stepped in and shot the story, but I’d still like to share a few Carole Pope anecdotes.

Back in my teenage years I used to spend hours, like countless other teenagers, listening to the stereo in my family's front room. It was proof that there was a world outside of the small city of Oshawa. And that world wasn't all straight.

While many artists around that time may have hinted at alternate sexualities, Rough Trade screamed it. High School Confidential made same-sex love seem hip, cool, dark.

There was hope. There was Carole Pope!

How do these lyrics grab you for 1980?

She’s a cool blonde scheming bitch
She makes my body twitch
Walking down the corridor
You can hear her stilettos click
I want her so much I feel sick
The girl can’t really help it now
It’s like high school high school confidential
High school high school confidential

OR

She drives a candy pink Cadillac
If I don’t get her soon I’ll have a heart attack
When she flashes me a look
I wanna burn my books
Give up high school
High school confidential
High school high school confidential
High school high school confidential
High school high school confidential

These were, of course, lyrics sung by a woman.

I was a big fan and even won a local radio contest by naming 3 Rough Trade songs. The prize was all their albums.

I followed Rough Trade's career and whenever I'd see Carole Pope at Chaps or another gay bar I felt blessed. (I never dared introduce myself--her butchiness scared the shit out of me).

A few years back a buddy and I went to a Rough Trade reunion concert at the Phoenix and had a blast. It seemed that I was back in the 80's and we could finally cope with whatever had made us so uptight and tense.

I got a similar feeling while reading Anti Diva. Carole Pope has had some horrible chapters in her life. Her brother died of AIDS, later her ex-lover Dusty Springfield lost her struggle with cancer and Carole's run at fame in L.A. was less than a cake-walk. But she has survived and kept her rebellious and fighting nature.

After the release of her solo album Radiate I went to see her at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. I hung out around her dressing room after the show, hoping to run into her. It wasn't happening so I asked someone in her entourage to pass my CD to her so she could sign it.

It came back signed: "To Frank, Eat me".

There is something comforting about having Carole Pope around. I hope she's keeps on pumping out stuff.

And Carole, if you’re reading this: Blow me.