Brooklyn Vegan released the lineup for Lollapalooza 2011, Chicago's contribution to the summer festival circuit, today, and I'm sure they just MISPLACED the list with all the female acts on it, and that's coming shortly. Right? There's no WAY such an enormous festival wouldn't include a SINGLE WOMAN in their list of headliners? Ouch, Lolly. Ouch. I thought our love went deeper than that.
Mega-Feminist Eminem is the headliner this year (last year Lady Gaga ran the show), which is sort of, you know, THE OPPOSITE of having a lady-fronted band, but that is far from the only issue here. Sure, talented male acts exist all over the place, and absolutely, they deserve to headline festivals. But reading the list on Brooklyn Vegan, I got to the TWENTIETH ACT before finding a band with a female member. And those are the 20 biggest acts in the show. A male headliner? Totally cool. 19 main attractions with not a single woman anywhere to be found? Not even a little bit cool.
The rest of the lineup is more of the same. Five or ten dudes or dude bands, one lady or lady band. There are 100 acts playing at Lollapalooza this year. 32 of them have a woman in the band. Not at the center of the band, not necessarily the singer. Just in the band, anywhere. 32, out of 100. I think that's pretty disgusting. But, because I like to look on the bright side, here are three acts to watch at Lolly this year. (If you feel like paying at least $215 to see women get utterly ignored by the music industry, that is.)
Ximena Sariñana is a 25-year-old Mexican singer and songwriter whose videos have been known to include Muppets along with messages of self-love. Did you need to know anything else? She was nominated for two Latin Grammys? Was a successful child actor in Mexico? No? Icing on the Muppet cake? I agree.
Imelda May is an Irish musician who, like Ximena, has had huge success at home and is using Lollapalooza as a launchpad into American earholes. (Being a woman and all, she's bound to stand out, amiright? HEYO!) Imelda is, in my mind, one of the queens of contemporary rockabilly, and I'm counting down to the day when junior highschoolers are sporting her famous updo and singing her bluesy, no-nonsense songs.
Lissie, born Elizabeth Maurus, is that old-school kind of musician with a mysterious past who lets her folksy brand of country-rock speak for itself. She doesn't talk about her age, her relationships, or really even her song material. She just takes fabulous vintage-looking photos and releases excellent music. She's got a husky, soulful voice that can only be sung along with properly after staying up too late and drinking heavily. Just the sort of act a summer festival should have.
So, to sum up, there WILL be some women onstage at Lollapalooza this year, kicking a lot of ass. But there won't be enough of them, and it's our job to let the festival organizers know that we noticed.
Saturday at Fun Fun Fun Fest felt like pictures you see of mud-soaked supermodels at Glastonbury Festival in England, except for the rain. And the supermodels. So mostly it was just windy and dusty. But that didn't stop us from seeing a couple of great acts!
First up was the Joy Formidable, a Welsh noise-rock band fronted by singer-guitarist Ritzy Bryan. This was my first time even hearing of the band, although it turns out I've heard their music before. The set yesterday converted me. Bryan's guitar playing is fierce and frantic but precise, and her voice sounds record-ready, even after complaining about getting a mouthful of dirt every time she tried to sing. The music is loud, but the lyrics and tone are shoe-gazey (which explains the Twilight soundtrack nod, probably). Bassist Rhydian Dafydd (I LOVE WELSH NAMES) said "fuck" about 25 times per 15 seconds he would talk to the crowd between songs, which endeared him well to the audience. And finally I should probably mention that their set inexplicably ended with giant blow-up cat heads. I had headed to the next-door stage to see tUnE-yArDs by that point (see below), but here's a fuzzy picture to give you an idea. Whatever Joy Formidable is about, I'm looking to find out.
From Joy Formidable I walked to the neighboring stage and waited to see tUnE-yArDs. I was thinking she might need some introduction, but the size of her draw is making me re-think that.
Merril Garbus is jubilation, personified. She looked ecstatic to be playing, and her energy got all over everything. "It's a suspenseful moment for you!" she said while starting loops the audience couldn't hear until they were done and put together. Suspense and awe are both critical parts of a tUnE-yArDs performance; Garbus jumps between drums, ukulele, pedals, vocals, and a collection of glass soda bottles laying down samples, and somehow they all come together to form incredibly full-sounding experimental pop. She and guitarist Nate Brenner performed songs from both her albums, crowd favorites being "Gangsta" and "Bizness" from this year's w h o k i l l.
The clouds rolled in during her set, and her drums could be heard all the way across the river. Crowd favorite of the day!
Mates of State played a packed show at the Parish at midnight Saturday night. Check back tomorrow for notes from their show, and a final round-up up FFF Fest acts!
The weekend is over and we've (for the most part) washed off the dust from Auditorium Shores. Check out our coverage from the third and final day at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas!
The pared-down ferociousness you can hear on Le Butcherettes’ 2011 album Sin Sin Sin comes so much more alive in person. Teri Gender Bender struts and stretches around the stage, imploring and egging on the audience with her expressions and movements. Although there was no fake blood or flour (which she's occasionally deployed) this time, Teri commanded with her grimacing expressions, slinking around with her guitar in a stained vintage skirt and bright red lipstick, dragging around the mic stand like a bad habit, daring the audience to give themselves over to her. She would address the audience in Spanish, purposefully sing off the mic (Pitchfork livecast be damned!), and sing into the crowd, treating the outdoor audience like that of a packed punk club. In other words, giving zero fucks and kicking serious butt. Definitely look for this trio when they come your way! —Kjerstin Johnson
Asobi Seksu hit the Orange stage before the rain started up, and the windy, sunny mix was the perfect setting for this New York City band. Frontwoman Yuki Chikudate’s bright, clear vocals layer melody over shoegaze rock, but unfortunately the mixing for their show made it difficult to understand some of the words (and not just because some of their songs are in Japanese), and her already-light soprano got lost occasionally in guitarist James Hanna’s powerful droning. The set was still good, overall, and I totally saw Chikudate and Hanna scrambling to catch the opening of experimental-metal band Boris later that night. For better mixing but just as fun pop, check out their new album, Fluoresence. And while I think band Tumblrs are usually hit or miss, theirs seems like a hit.—KJ
Mates of State are multi-instrumentalists Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, and they played mid-day at FFF Fest Sunday. Their performance was made more epic by a sudden rainstorm, and Gardner and Hammel clearly loved every minute of it. They played "Palomino," which has probably been stuck in every single head that has ever heard it, right as the rain started, and it was impossible to tell if the dehydrated crowd was dancing to the song's energetic, anthemic chorus or to thank the clouds. Such is Mates of State's gracious, friendly playing style that the energy was infectious and either scenario was likely. Their peppy set endeared me to them anyway, but their gush-y picture of their (ADORABLE) children with Ryan Gosling at the festival (and their whole blog in general, really) made me love them. In other news, Gosling was seen at Lykke Li, Big Freedia, YACHT, Mates of State... I think he probably wants to be a Bitch correspondent. Right?!? —Katie Presley
Amanda Warner of MNDR (pronounced “em en dee arr,” not “minder” as I’d been saying it in my head) took to stage sporting black vinyl pants, platform velour shoes, a neon green streak in her up-do, and a pink t-shirt with Divine’s face on it, looking like the raddest babysitter ever, especially once she started her one-woman show. I had only heard a few of her songs before, but her live act showed that she was more than a dance-y beatmaker. Warner had a huge amount of stage presence, and performed earnestly—fist-pumping, bum-shaking, and audience-encouraging. I mean, I respect anyone who has to entertain hundreds of people alone on a stage, but she was great, and never missed a beat, even when her mic got unplugged momentarily or when it started to sprinkle. She sang some songs off a forthcoming album, “a tribute to Marina Abramović (“Wooo!” I shouted, alone), and dedicated her final song to Occupy Oakland. I also appreciated that she gave shout-outs to Austra and Grimes, two other electronic female artists sharing the stage with her that day. Speaking of Austra....—KJ
Austra has gotten a lot of love from Bitch staffers in the past, and rightly so! The entire (touring) band is female, the lead (opera-trained!) singer identifies as queer, and the music is irresistible. Mixing dark electro backgrounds with singer Katie Shelmanis' dreamy, haunting vocals, Austra's was the kind of set that makes you forget that you're tired and dirty and surrounded by be-feathered hipsters. The crowd, speaking of which, was enormous and appreciative. The band played most of their debut album, this year's Feel it Break, which we've reviewed on this site as well as in the Reverb issue. (Spoiler alert: We're fans!) This was the last show I covered at FFF Fest, and it was an ethereal, gorgeous end to the weekend. —KP
While Katie and Kjerstin spent last weekend at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, I hung out in Portland, basking in a whole bunch of awesome lady-made music for Portland's annual Siren Nation Festival. In the Ladyfest spirit, Siren Nation celebrates the many contributions women make to the arts, whether it’s music, crafts, art, or film. Siren Nation, now in its fifth year, is more than just a one-weekend festival. In addition to the annual festival, the organizers of Siren Nation hosts fundraisers throughout the year in Portland, including Dolly Parton, Billie Holiday, and Patti Smith tribute nights, providing opportunities for women in the arts all year long.
This year's music line-up was phenomenal, and turned me on to lots of new music from female artists.
Ximena Sariñana
Ximena Sariñana's catchy pop songs are bound to get stuck in your head. "Different," the first track on her self-titled album, is a sassy pop song embellished with whistles and brass instruments, but with lyrics like keep in mind I'm not here/I'm from a different world, it also reminds English-speaking listeners that this is not Sariñana's first album or the start of her career (Mediocre, her first full-length album in Spanish, was released in 2008). The new self-title album is Sariñana's first English-language album, and she says, “It’s my first record to a lot of people. I just hope listeners can hear the honesty in the album. I titled it after myself because my name keeps it close to me and who I am as an artist and a person.”
Lemolo
Lemolo is a dream pop duo from Seattle. Meagen Grandall (vocals, keyboard, guitar) and Kendra Cox (drums, keyboard) make thoughtful, swoon-worthy music with lots of synth and simple but awe-inspiring lyrics. In an interview earlier this year, Grandall said, "What we are shooting for is to create beautiful music that moves us as we play it. We hope that this comes across to our audience." And their live show really does make it clear that they love what they're doing. Plus, Cox is one of the most dynamic drummers I've seen as of late, and she does it while wearing high heels. With lyrics like, she sees the world the way she wants/oh, the way she wants/and it looks like..., Lemolo makes me wish that I was still sixteen and could borrow my parent's car to drive around in the woods and listen to these songs. Lemolo will be releasing their first full-length album soon. Make sure to keep tabs on these ladies!
Kimya Dawsom
If there were a Best Album Title of the Year award, I would nominate Kimya Dawson's brand-new album, brilliantly titled Thunder Thighs. Her new album, like her others, is as heart-warming as it is heart-breaking. No one else manages to place a kids' song about a mare and a bear ("Mare and The Bear") on the same album as a chilling song about the end of the world ("Driving Driving Driving") as well as a celebratory song about why the library is so cool ("The Library"). Thunder Thighs tackles motherhood, corporate media, and sobriety, and Dawson sings each song with earnestness and a smile. Bonus points for Aesop Rock fans: Ian Matthias Bavitz worked on six of the songs on this album (look for a forthcoming album by the two of them soon).
Here's a mix including the above artists as well as a few others who performed at Siren Nation last weekend. Enjoy!
1. Ximena Sariñana - Different
2. Lemolo - Whale Song
3. Y La Bamba - Fasting in San Francisco
4. Kelli Schaefer - Gone in Love
5. My Brightest Diamond - There's a Rat
6. STLS - ABC
7. The Corin Tucker Band - Doubt
8. Kimya Dawson - Same Shit/Complicated
Thanks to Siren Nation for an amazing weekend celebrating women in the arts!
Approximately 100% of the time that someone mentions the name Selena outside of Texas, they are talking about Selena Gomez. Approximately 100% of those times, I wish they were talking about Selena Quintanilla, and I pretend in my heart that they are. In Hill Country, though, que viva La Flor. Selena, Selena of my heart and of Jennifer Lopez's breakthrough role, lives on, and she's one of many. Don't let the cowboy/machismo-fueled street harassment, Governor, ex-President, sky-high teen pregnancy rate and matching refusal to accept sex-education funding associated with the Jumbo State fool you. There is a fabulous tradition here of women rebelling (look up Angelina Eberly, for example) and making great music to boot. Here's a mix of lady Texans who make being a Lone Star sound gooood.
1. Let 'Er Rip: Dixie Chicks. Only one of the Chicks is a native Texan, but all three were raised here, and they have gone from busking on Texas streets to being the best-selling female band of all time. Pretty sure they came out on top after the G.W. debacle, as far as Texas favorites go.
2. Bidi Bidi Bom Bom: Selena. It's Texas-treasonous of me to say that her music sounds a little cheesy today, but the movie-ready story of her life and murder have kept Ms. Quintanilla a pop culture icon even 16 years after her death. Not to mention how ridiculously danceable this song is. Let's just stop denying it and start dancing.
3. Truth: Ruthie Foster. I get that the '60s and '70s were great for music. I get that the girl groups were swinging and Aretha was killin' it. But we've got Ruthie Foster, thank you very much. Lady blues and folk are not dead. When I'm old, I'll be grumbling about nobody playing guitar like Ruthie Foster anymore. The aughts, I'm telling you. THOSE were the golden days.
4. Kerosene: Miranda Lambert. This is my karaoke song forever, and for that alone it makes this list. Not the most complex or intelligent of songs. BUT I LOVE IT SO.
5. Love at the Five and Dime: Nanci Griffith. Changing tack entirely, this song is quiet, sweet, nostalgic and relatively intelligent. And also from Texas. And I also love it so.
6. Piece of My Heart: Janis Joplin. Rips the heart right out of my chest every time, and no Texas music list is complete without her.
7. Tyrone: Erykah Badu. I grooved to her music for years, and then she became a doula and her place on my hero-list got bumped way, way up.
8. Cheerleader: St. Vincent. Born in Oklahoma, grew up in Dallas, darling with the Brooklyn crowd. Maker of one of 2011's best albums, but that's neither here nor there. Annie Clark is definitely a Lone Star.
9. Creepin' In: Norah Jones. Also grew up in Texas! She's singing here with a lady I WISH Texas could claim, Dolly Parton. Alas, she's a Tennessee gal.
Other fabulous women who now call Texas home, despite being born elsewhere: Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Alison Krauss. Who are your favorite Lady Lone Stars? Leave 'em in a comment!
It's about to get really hot in Texas. Like, really hot. Our social calendars here in the Lone Star State will soon be limited to the following activities:
Seek cold water
Bathe in cold water
Drink cold water
Drink Lone Star
Sweat
Open Facebook relationships with Air Conditioners.
And I'd like to add one to the list. Listen to music about MORE HOT THINGS! This week's BitchTapes is one big missile, heat-seeking a groove. DON'T FORGET TO HYDRATE. (Thanks for the recommendations, if you sent 'em my way this week!)
1. "It's Always Summer" by the Corin Tucker Band From the first bent note, through Tucker's famously emotive voice, to the last echoing twang, this song is all windows down and hot, dusty wind blowing.
2. "The Height of Summer" by The Knife This song sounds like what the air above concrete on a scorching-hot day looks like. Undulating, surreal, maybe the result of heat stroke...
3. "Fire" by the Pointer Sisters Originally a Bruce Springsteen song, but you have the Pointer Sisters sing anything and it's pretty much going to be a perfect summer record that sounds like it was made for them. Ooooh, fiii-iiyah...
4. "Burning Hell" by John Lee Hooker This was recommended to me by a native Texan, who said simply, "This sounds and feels like Texas in the summer." She's absolutely right. Hooker's voice oozes heat. The sweat is audible. Harmonicas may or may not have been invented to play outside a corner store on a hot day, in a tiny slice of shade.
5. "Music is My Hot Hot Sex" by CSS So quotable. So danceable. So hilarious in a weirdly sexy way, or sexy in a weirdly hilarious way...
6. "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads I LOVE! SONGS! WITH! EXCLAMATION! POINTS! AFTER! EVERY! LINE!
7. "Too Darn Hot" by Ella Fitzgerald In which The First Lady of Song is clam-jammed by rising temperatures. We sympathize.
8. "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash Written by June, sung by Johnny. Here's hoping the burn was purely metaphorical.
9. "Hot Summer Night" by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, here's a song to make you feel like it's a hot summer night, even though it's the middle of the winter, man, it's really bad weather.
10. "Danger! High Voltage" by Electric Six I keep listening to this song whenever there's an electrical storm in Austin (which has been almost nonstop this week), hoping that the power will go out dramatically right in the middle. No luck so far, but the summer looms large...
11. "Love Shack" by the B-52s I am never NOT going to put this song on a mix about heat or the summer. TIIIIIIN ROOF! (RUSTED.)
Girls Rock Camp summer showcase season is back! Since 2001 in Portland, OR, Girls Rock Camps have been empowering girls and women through music creation in cities and towns across North America and Europe, with a total of 37 camps in the international GRC network, Girls Rock Camp Alliance. GRC Summer Camp is a week-long program where girls and women ages 8-18 learn a new instrument, form bands, and collaborate to create an original song performed live complete with screaming fans and camper-designed band t-shirts. This BitchTapes is a sampling of songs written and performed by campers from Girls Rock Camps across North America and Europe. Check out a camp showcase this summer at a GRC near you!
Thank you to all the Girls Rock Camp organizers and campers for sharing your songs!
Image borrowed from Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls the book published by Chronicle Books. Design by Jacob Gardner, Photo by Shayla Hason, Copyrighted by Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls.
It took me two showers to wash off the dirt from Portland-area roots music festival Pickathon last weekend, but I'm still basking in the glow of new music discoveries. When I hear the term "roots music," I tend to think of banjo-based rock from a bunch of white dudes wearing porkpie hats. While this festival, which happens each summer at Pendarvis farm, had its fair share of those bands, the buzz from most of the folks I talked to in the moment was very much about the bands with women as leading or key roles. While three days straight of 45-minute-ish sets can blend together, there were some really memorable standouts... and a few surprises.
(Above: Sherry Pendarvis, owner of Pendarvis farm, makes an appearance)
Neko Case
You should know that I'm biased when it comes to Neko Case. Her voice is like a train, and that is a very good thing to me. Case is very much her own unique flavor, but to me it's like if Corin Tucker and Bjork's voices had a dreamier, slightly "country" baby. She collaborates with some top-notch musicians and this show was no exception—Case called on support from some of her New Pornographers bandmates. I caught her on the Woods Stage, a hobbit-hole of a place hollowed out amidst the campsites in the forested area of the festival, on Saturday night. With powerful songs about having a love affair with a force of nature like "Middle Cyclone," to reinventing old favorites like Sparks'"Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth," it was a pretty magical place to hear her, and she seemed to feel the same way about the setting as she dished out love to the crowd (it was, unfortunately, absolutely packed so I barely caught a glimpse of her). Lights hung from and projected onto the canopy added to the mood. I did not, however, expect her to be quite as much of a ham. Someone commented to me that there's no better backdrop for bad (read: awesome) puns and comedy than bluegrass, and there was a bit of that vibe to the show as she riffed with bandmates and cracked jokes in between songs. The whole experience was kind of like hanging out with her in a (giant, super-full-of-people) woodland living room. I half expected to run into her in line for beer after the show finished (sadly, I did not). You can listen to the first in a series from NPR's Morning Edition on Neko Case in the studio recording her next album, here.
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
I hadn't heard of Kitty, Daisy & Lewis previously, but they were at the top of my must-see list for the weekend. This trio of siblings plays ska-inspired, swing-inspired stuff. They're multi-talented musicians, switching from one instrument to another, ranging from piano to lap steel banjos, ukulele, accordion, xylophone, and trombone (to name a few). This weekend they were joined by former drummer for British post-punk band the Raincoats', Ingrid Weiss, and other guest stars. The festival website swooned, "There's no compromise when Kitty's howling harmonica solos backed by Daisy's battered snare drum and Lewis' guitar work drive crowds into a southern evangelical frenzy." I heard them sitting outside a barn around a fire pit, and it was the perfect mood music. Preview their album here.
Heartless Bastards
Fronted by singer/guitarist Erica Wennerstrom, the main force behind the band and writer of all their songs, Heartless Bastards have recently added another guitar player to their lineup. Their sound is now a bit more layered and intense, and the live show captured that. Inspired by spaghetti western film scores, '70s soul, psychedelia, funk, blues, glam, and of course roots rock, the band has been touring nearly non-stop for two years, so they have great synergy on stage, but their lead singer is the star of the show. She has a huge voice. In the midst of yet another tour now (check out dates here), you can see them on the road through the summer. Watch the latest video from their new album, Arrow, and get tour info, here.
Y La Bamba
Frontwoman Luzelena Mendoza, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, has a lush, slightly hazy voice that gives Y La Bamba's mariachi-inspired art rock a somewhat unsettling edge (again, in a good way... Like a gorgeous but somewhat creepy fairy tale). At the hottest point of the day on Sunday afternoon, the performance was a bit more subdued than I expected, but the musicianship of the band and how well they played together really impressed. The instrumentals were rich and layered, they were really together but still relaxed, and in a way, loose. It was a great changeup from the more country-inspired performances that framed their set. This Portland band is kicking off a national tour right after the festival, and you can see tour dates here and listen to them online here.
TheeSatisfaction
I heard rave reviews from folks who saw TheeSatisfaction early in the festival. This neo-r&b, hip hop, queer lady duo from Seattle stood out from the rest of the lineup by genre, and their set would have seemed more at home at night in a jazz club than in the sweltering, hay-strewn Galaxy Barn with horses panting in their stall close by. They write what they describe as "funk-psychedelic feminista sci-fi epics with the warmth and depth of Black Jazz and Sunday morning soul, frosted with icy raps that evoke equal parts Elaine Brown, Ursula Rucker and Q-Tip." YES. The sung vocals were rich and sultry, and the raps were tight in contrast. In spite of the heat and close quarters, their performance was poised and hypnotic, and when I ran into them later in the day they were super-personable and friendly. Listen to new music and remixes on their website.
Lake Street Dive
Based in Brooklyn, this was the Lake Street Dive's first trip to Portland and I caught them twice. Their late-night set was a total surprise and a crowd fave. With steamy, downtempo, sexy (believe it!) covers of "I Want You Back" (the Jackson 5) and "Faith" (George Michael), it might sound campy. Lead singer Rachael Price's voice is a little bit like Joss Stone, with an edge more jazz than blues, and a nice foil to the bright trumpeteering of Mike Olson. I loved the story they told late night, situating song "Don't Make Me Hold Your Hand" as a tribute to The X-Files' Mulder and Scully's sexual tension. Stand-up bassist Bridget Kearney absolutely wails, and I could listen to Price sing the alphabet, as they say. Check out more music on their website, and watch this video of "I Want You Back" for a taste.
Shovels and Rope
My absolute favorite performance of the weekend hit me out of left field. Shovels and Rope, a guy/girl duo out of South Carolina, was described to me pre-festival thusly: "They're from the south. They harmonize." But Cary Ann Hearst sounds a little bit like Dolly, and like her, she is a ball of fire with a big personality and a super-positive stage presence. She and bandmate Michael Trent switch on guitar and drums, and I found myself wishing she would just play both instruments all the time—not because Trent isn't talented, but because I loved watching her bob up and down as she beat the drums, or lean into her guitar with an energy that takes advantage of the percussive possibilities with the instrument. It was all about love with them... The heat was "fantastic, I love it!" The crowd was "beautiful, gorgeous, dirt-coated people." The wilted (but gorgeous) crowd gave a standing ovation. Get a taste of their personality, show info, and some hottt sounds, here. Be sure to check out any live performances you can dig up.
While I wasn't able to see everybody, these bands in particular made me want to check out what I missed. You can hear some of their music, plus songs from some of the rest of the lineup, in our Pickathon Preview post mixtape here, see more pics from the festival, and check out the Pickathon website for more info about, and links to, the full lineup. See you there next year!
Although it's often used as a stand-in for elevator music, bossa nova really doesn't deserve the square reputation it's somehow acquired. When it began, it was actually considered cool and bohemian (bossa nova literally translates to "new trend"). If you've never listened, it's time to give bossa nova another try, and what better way than to check out the many great ladies of bossa nova past and present? It's super '60s, the perfect soundtrack to your Mad Men kick and ideal mellow end-of-summer music. This mix can only provide a small sampling of the bossa that's out there, but it's enough for you to temporarily pretend you're lounging on the beaches of Brazil, wearing a retro swimsuit and sipping a daiquiri.
1. The Girl From Ipanema - Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto/Astrud Gilberto The bossa nova song; this was the first international bossa nova hit, and is the one most often associated with stereotypical Muzak. Joao Gilberto, one of the fathers of bossa nova, got his wife Astrud to do the English vocals (the only ones present on this recording, but on the original he sings the same verses in Portugese) because he couldn't sing in English. It ended up launching her career as a samba and bossa nova singer.
2. Mancada - Claudette Soares
This "grande dama" of bossa nova got her start by singing on a radio program at the age of ten and has been putting out recordings on a regular basis since 1954. Her latest release is intriguingly titled A Bossa Sexy de Claudette Soares and features some surreal cover art.
3. Siam-neko Wo Daite - Ruriko Asoaka
I was surprised to find out that bossa nova apparently is, or at least was, pretty popular in Japan. This track comes off a collection called Tokyo Bossa Nova Lounge, and the best review I've read of it comes from an Amazon user: "this is such a great cd to have and you can listen to it at anytime.. while cooking, cleaning, 'getting it on', etc." Bossa nova is truly a multipurpose genre.
4. Blame It On The Bossa Nova - Eydie Gorme
This one is hardly even bossa, but it's a cute pop tune that's significantly less date-rapey than "Blame It On The Alcohol."
5. Baby Face - Elis Regina
Baby face indeed: this song is from the 1961 record Viva A Brotolandia, which Regina recorded when she was only 16 years old.
6. Sayonara Mo Ienakute - Kyoko Enami
How many languages is this? Maybe just two. Another from Tokyo Bossa Nova Lounge.
8. Berimbau - Nara Leao
Leao began as a main player of the bossa nova movement in the late 1950s and early 60s, but her music soon became more political than pop. I don't think this one is political, but then again, the only translation I could find of these lyrics made them sound pretty oblique ("he who does not leave himself will die having loved no one... / the berimbau assures me it will have lovers quarrel / such sadness, my friend" etc). Better translations welcomed in the comments section.
9. So Nice (Summer Samba) - Bebel Gilberto
As the daughter of Joao Gilberto and his second wife Miúcha (also a singer and composer), it was pretty inevitable that Bebel Gilberto would become a musician.
10. Samba De Mon Coeur Qui Bat - Coralie Clement
Absolutely heavenly French pop-inspired bossa.
11. Tema de Nao Quero Ver Voce Triste - Sylvia Telles
This one's the A-side of a 1966 EP; the B-side features Telles singing "Canto de Paz" with her brother Mario. If you're hooked by her voice, you can listen to the B-side here.
12. Grao de Mar - Maria Bethania
Bethania's uber-dramatic voice kind of reminds me of Edith Piaf crossed with Kathleen Turner. God bless Kathleen Turner, why doesn't she have a record yet? If William Shatner can do it, so can she.
This mix originally appeared on the Bitch blogs on August 27, 2010. It's a bossa nova time of year, so we're bringing it back for your groovy listening pleasure.
Those of us who've been paying attention for, oh, EVER know that women in the music industry are given sexist special treatment by the media. "How did someone so pretty get so good at guitar?""Who helps you carry those heavy instruments?""Isn't it hard being a woman in a man's world?""Do you worry about finding a husband and having babies?""Where do you buy your stage outfits" and so on. Questions that men, the default when it comes to music journalism, are rarely asked.
In this week's edition of The Stranger, Emily Nokes and Bree McKenna hilariously turn sexist music journalism on its head with their local bands feature "Men Who Rock!"
Guys who aren't afraid to get their rock on!
Like all good parodies, this feature highlights problems so common we've pretty much stopped noticing them. For example, the tendency of stories written about women musicians to discuss looks first and music second, or the notion that women musicians are trendy and "happening." Here's the intro to "Men Who Rock!":
It's that time of year again—time to pay attention to the men who rock, FOR A CHANGE! Everyone knows that there is nothing sexier (or more rare) than a man who knows how to rock. Being a gorgeous man in music is one thing, but add talent to the mix? That's taking it to a whole 'nother level. With male-fronted bands, male solo acts, and even all-male bands becoming more and more commonplace, 2012 has definitely been the year of fierce men in music.
The feature includes interviews with six Seattle-area men musicians, accompanied by the kind of photos that are usually taken of women (think bare midriffs, coy gazes, and roses). They're eye-opening and hilarious, but the best part is the questions Nokes and McKenna asked in their interviews. A sampling:
I'm not one to argue that what's good for the objectified goose is good for the gander (we're better off with no sexism, not double the amount), but these interviews are funny not because of the shirtless pics, but because they get at a larger truth: Women are treated this way by the media all the time and men aren't. We laugh because it's absurd, but if these interviews were with women, the douche-y infantilization and focus on looks probably wouldn't even register. Don't believe me? Check out Rolling Stone's"Women Who Rock!" issue. Here's the style video of this year's cover artist, Karmin. You can get Amy's hairstyle!
Hair is such a great way to express yourself.
Aaand the Stranger feature becomes that much more relevant (and sadlarious). Read the full piece here and see how "Men Are Doing It For Themselves."
Top 40 music seems to be undergoing a sea change lately. Cher has a feminist song on the radio and in the club. Neko Case is taking gender identity straight to task. Frank Ocean and Macklemore are topping the charts with songs that carve space for queer-friendly voices in the machismo-drenched worlds of R&B and hip-hop. Ann Powers at NPR declared 2013 "Country Music's Year of the Woman," and Jewly Hight at the Nashville Scene pointed out a similar trend last year, of female artists whose sounds still fit the country genre, but whose lyrics and personae push the boundaries of country femininity.
All of this points to something big: It's been a good year for not only women in music, but feminism in music.
None of the women listed below are Top 40 fodder, but their recent releases are part of this same trend. Here are five recent releases from one of hopefully many Years of the Woman to come.
1. Betse Ellis: High Moon Order
All of the press I've read surrounding Missouri-based fiddler Betse Ellis's latest solo release uses some form of the words "kickass or "badass." I think those words are a little redundant, but what folks probably mean when they say "kickass" is "plays the shit out of her instrument." And that would be correct. Ellis plays an intense, visceral fiddle in the rural Ozark style, at stark odds with her classical training. And she plays it very compellingly. Her singing voice even sounds like a fiddle on her cover of The Clash's "Straight to Hell." Here she is playing "Straight to Hell" solo on St. Louis's KDHX:
2. Paula Cole: Raven
Yes, thatPaula Cole. After one album's worth of mega-90s stardom, plus the third-ever Grammy nomination for a woman "Producer of the Year" in 1997, Cole dropped out of the mainstream to raise her daughter and release several albums to less fanfare (and pressure). Not that the industry seemed to understand to her all that much when she was ubiquitous; she famously sang about gender double standards ("Where Have All the Cowboys Gone"), almost just-as-famously didn't shave, and called herself the "most raging feminist of the whole [Lilith Fair] bunch" in 1998, when Girl PowerTM was the way much of America thought about gender politics. Cole's latest release, funded by Kickstarter and released independently, finds Cole singing frankly feminist songs about women accepting themselves ("Strong, Beautiful Woman"), lady-centric eroticism ("Secretary"), and struggling in the domestic sphere ("Life Goes On"). Her voice is stronger now than it was in the 90s ("Manitoba" is a vocal highlight), and she sounds like a musician in control of her message, her voice, and her career. Here's the video for the first single, "Eloise."
3. Patty Griffin: American Kid
It's not especially easy, or even really advisable, to write songs from the perspective of a gender other than yours. Results usually vary from appropriation to condescension; only rarely does an artist find the sweet spot of conjecture and compassion needed to gender bend. Anaïs Mitchell did a gorgeous job last year with Young Man in America, and singer/songwriter Patty Griffin joins the light side with her June release American Kid. Like Mitchell's eponymous Young Man, Griffin's Kid chartacter is centered on her father (the album was written as he was dying), and explores the secret worlds of his mind as both told in stories and imagined from photographs. Griffin's music has always been hard to categorize (Americana/folk/country/gospel is a small sampling), but has never been anything less than stellar in any genre. Her father's tumultuous life story sounds exactly right sung in his daughter's stark, room-silencing voice. My Album of the Year already. Calling it. See the video for the record's first single, "Ohio," a duet with Robert Plant, below:
4. Dessa: Parts of Speech
Every Dessa album is different, but the Minneapolis rapper, writer, poet, and spoken word artist's vision has never changed. Her second full-length album was an orchestral re-imagining of her production-heavy first, and her third album—last month's Parts of Speech—was previewed on her second. Parts of Speech finds Dessa singing as much as she raps, which gives her music warmth and smoothness that didn't exist in her earlier collaborations with Doomtree, the underground hip-hop collective where she got her start. Her lyrics deal with the same themes as most hip-hop: anger, sadness, ambition, love, lust—LIFE, in other words—but she completely avoids devolving into superficiality or obscenity to make her points. Hip-hop always needs whatever Dessa says next. Here's the video for "Call Off Your Ghost":
5. Scout Niblett: It's Up to Emma
"Haunting" is a word often used to describe music, and it works for Portland multi-instrumentalist Scout Niblett. But a better one would be haunted. Her guitar and drum playing are cavernous, and instead of being filled by her gripping vocals, the open space they create is amplified. The songs on "It's Up to Emma" are drenched in regret, anger, memory, and general gravitas. Her cover of TLC's "No Scrubs" cuts out the original's humor and instead injects it with gravelly dismissal. Below is the video for the final song on the disc, the violent, unnerving revenge narrative "Gun."
What new releases have you been listening to lately? Let us know in the comments!
A baby chills the heck out during an Alela Diane set at Pickathon Music Festival in 2012. (photo by Sarah Mirk)
Summer music is all about the festivals, but it can be hard to catch female artists at any of the major fests. Only 10 percent of acts at Coachella this year, for example, were women-fronted bands.
Now that Lilith Fair is done toting five-dollar lattes in the name of commercialized feminism, and MichFest is busy denying claims of discrimination, this summer is the chance to get to know lesser-known feminist music festivals that are thriving across the country.
Sixteen years ago, singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan created Lilith Fair. At a time when mainstream female musicians rarely crossed touring paths, Lilith Fair felt like a breath of feminist air to many. The commercial success and popularity of the fest planted it firmly in mainstream music's consciousness. But as Lilith Fair positioned itself within a corporate-funded arena, the festival's lady-positive message carried both a hefty price tag and contradictory subtext. With financial support from giants such as Starbucks, Levi's, and Volkswagen, the intention of being a progressive response to the male-dominated music industry seemed lost in gratuitous advertisement.
So what feminist music fests can we actually look forward to?
Two of my favorite lady-centric music happenings are C.L.I.T. Fest and Ladyfest. Informed by a firmly DIY ethos, these events focus on showcasing independent, female-produced music and hosting workshops centered on pressing social justice issues such as being an effective ally and fat positivity. Both fests donate their proceeds to non-profits that benefit women.
Although C.L.I.T. Fest—which happens this weekend (August 2-4) in Chicago—has received criticism for their anatomically focused name, the fest seeks to be inclusive and welcoming of all identities. Anyone is welcome to attend and support the fest, regardless of gender.
In a review of a recent C.L.I.T. Fest, Dominique Montgomery of band The Two Funerals, said, "The acronym in C.L.I.T. Fest stands for 'Combating Latent Inequality Together' and the event focuses on fighting patriarchy, homophobia, and transphobia in the punk and DIY music communities. There is sometimes controversy around the name, but it is not supposed to be about alienating those who don't possess a clitoris."
Yet, for the sake of promoting visibility among traditionally marginalized groups, the fest refrains from having cis-men serve as organizers. Since its inception in 2004, C.L.I.T.fest continues to be an undertaking spearheaded by those whose voices often go unheard in both mainstream and DIY communities.
C.L.I.T Fest and Ladyfest share similar missions to undermine oppressive forces present within music. Centered at the forefront of DIY culture, Ladyfest has taken on a life of its own with various cities hosting the event each year.
When Ladyfest Philly announced their June 2013 fest schedule, Danya Evans of Impose Magazine noted, "For nearly fifteen years, Ladyfest has been a driving force in exposing all-girl bands to the uninformed masses. Founded in Olympia, home of K Records, in 2000, the construct has been that female bands play, workshops be held, and a greater understanding of women in music is reached."
Like Ladyfest and C.L.I.T Fest, Musicians for Equal Opportunities for Women (MEOW Con) aims to push women's visibility within music to the forefront. MEOW Con takes a more professional-oriented approach by addressing the unique challenges women face in the music industry. For three days, MEOW Con brings diverse musicians, journalists, academics, students, bloggers, and filmmakers together to discuss topics such as music licenses, balancing parenting and touring, and effective crowdfunding.
On the more outdoorsy end of the fest spectrum is SisterSpace, a weekend-long showcase of varied music, creative workshops, and athletics. Originally known as the Lesbian Feminist Weekend, Sisterspace stretches over 200 scenic acres on a Northern Maryland campground for a weekend in Septmber. The fest seems to be a kind of feminist summer camp, where "Weekend friends" return each year for empowering activities with a healthy dose of lady-centric music.
While many fests remain led by broader activist objectives, other festivals zero in on particular feminist concerns. Smash it Dead, a Boston-area event founded in 2011, seeks to use punk music and educational forums as a means to raise awareness about sexual assault. The annual fest serves as a benefit for the city's rape crisis center and opportunity to facilitate greater discussion surrounding the issue of sexual violence. For three years, bands travel from as far as California to support Smash it Dead's focused mission. This year's festival already passed in March, so mark your calendar for next year.
There are several other regional festivals worth noting that feature a lot of female musicians front-and-center. Portland's Pickathon is a roots-focused music fest happening this weekend on an idyllic Oregon farm (check out Bitch's sneak-peek mixtape of great bands from the festival) and there are some good acts at Brooklyn's Afropunk Festival coming up in late August. Bitch writer Laina Dawes covered the pros and cons of that festival last year (and will be reporting from the event this year, too), which drummer Jacqui Gore summer up as, "It is a bit confusing about what exactly this festival is about, but it does provide us with an opportunity to teach the younger generation about rock n' roll." Despite not having an explicitly feminist-focus, both these festivals contribute to enhancing women's presence in music.
Drummer Jacqui Gore at Brooklyn's Afropunk Festival in 2012. (photo by Laina Dawes)
There are several other feminist summer music festivals on my radar, including Portland's FOC Fest (a small, rad DIY fest in June that Bitch covered last year) and Not Enough Fest (which happened in April in New Orleans and last September in Portland). I'm sure there are others I'm missing—add your favorite feminist summer music fests to the comments.
By ramping up the visibility of those who often go underrepresented in music, all these fests' existence serve to not only widen perspectives, but foster a sense of solidarity among those who attend and organize. And to have a good time while listening to great music! They might just inspire you to get up, get out and organize one of your own.
Riot Grrrl Berlin recently released their sixth music compilation—joining mixtapes like "This is What Feminism Sounds Like" and "Mansplaining on the Dancefloor"—that highlights 95 bands from a variety of countries and musical genres.
This new collection is not only a free five hours of music, it's got a great name: "Cats against Catcalling." This is an anti-street harassment tactic we haven't seen before!
On the collection, you'll find Belgian singer-songwriters, Portuguese punk, low-fi Canadian rap, and German rock, to name a few.
To spread the word about the compilation and its message, Riot Grrrl Berlin is using DIY memes and a Tumblr page, and worked with Hollaback Berlin (the German branch of an international anti-street harassment organization), to create flyers and posters. As they wrote on their website, "this compilation is worthless if no one will hear it. so please, share about it on your blog, post it on facebook, print some posters and paste your town. this is what d.i.y. is about."
Many songs on the compilation do not explicitly address catcalling, which may be for the best: varied content will appeal to a wider audience. But even within the songs that take the subject head on, approaches differ. The catchy punk number "I Fight Back" by Doll Fight! of Burlington, Vermont is angry, empowering: "I know you think its funny and the world would be a better place if only we would all lighten up and laugh," the lead vocalist sings, "I got your message loud and clear, you're the one in power here/but I got my taste of freedom/I don't give up so easily/Is that all you've got?"
Singer-songerwriters have their say, too. "I'm not trying to be rude/I just enjoy my solitude/Didn't do this for your staring/Just what I chose to be wearing," sings Feminist Princess in "My Dress is Not a Yes," a cutesy acoustic number. "Je ne sues pas interesée" by the Belgian group Nele Needs a Holiday and "Walking's Cheap Cheep Cheep" by Jez Sings Things of Manchester, UK are also lighter, more accessible songs that balance out the metal/rock/punk numbers, and possibly perfect to show to friends and family to show why 'being complimented' on the street pisses you off so much.
Basically there's something for everyone: "My Love" by Chris Wind is on the dreamier side, with a delivery of lyrics similar to spoken word; "I am the Avalance" by the Clibber Jones Ensemble is a classical-electronic-jazz-rock fusion; "Booty" by Nicky Click is an electronic trance that will, as the group demands, encourage you to "shake it" and "push your tush." And the fact that male artists were not excluded shows a recognition on the part of Riot Grrrl that social change requires everyone's participation.
But there are a few problematic songs. As discussed in March by Bitch blogger Laina Dawes, the Riot Grrrl scene has historically been a very white one. In an ode to the lead singer of Motorhead, "Lemmy I'm a Feminist," German/Austrian group Half Girl claims that "those who call you sexist are just like the KKK." It should go without saying—and yet here I am, saying it—that the terrorization and lynching of black people is not synonymous with calling someone out on their sexism.
Another problematic track was "All U Men" by Swedish group Fuk. Here's why: "All your boyfriends and all you dudes/if I had a hammer you know what I'd love to do"; "Every uncle and every dad/if I had a gun you don't wanna make me mad." This stance of all-men-are-the-enemy, also adopted by some extreme separatist feminists, is unproductive on all fronts, as it ignores the power dynamics between groups of women, the privilege that some women have over others, and the distribution of power among men. It also contributes to tired stereotypes of feminists as angry man-haters and advocates violence as a solution.
Though using a mixtape as the medium for this particular message is, as far as I know, a fairly new approach, it's certainly not the only one. In the 1970s, photographer Laurie Anderson decided to turn the tables on men cat-calling her in her Lower East Side neighborhood in NYC after realizing that photography could also function as "a kind of assault." This passage from her 1973 book Fully Automated Nikon (Object/Objection/Objectivity)shows how little has changed in 40 years:
"I decided to shoot pictures of men who made comments to me on the street. I had always hated this invasion of my privacy and now I had the means of my revenge. As I walked along Houston Street with my fully automated Nikon, I felt armed, ready. I passed a man who muttered 'Wanna fuck?' This was standard technique: the female passes and the male strikes at the last possible moment forcing the woman to backtrack if she should dare to object. I wheeled around, furious. 'Did you say that?' He looked around surprised, then defiant. 'Yeah, so what the fuck if I did?' I raised my Nikon, took aim, began to focus. His eyes darted back and forth, an undercover cop? CLICK."
These days, Hollaback, an international nonprofit and anti-street harassment movement, also uses the medium on photography, in addition to storytelling, as tactics to combat both harassment itself and to process being harassed.
Recognizing stereotypes of men of color as sexual predators, iHollaback also specifically advocates antiracism in their anti-harassment work, asking contributors the worldwide site to not include the race of their harasser unless they can can explain the relevance of doing so "clearly and constructively" (though the group was criticized on social media today for working with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn—who backs stop-and-frisk policies—on the release of their new app). For more on this, read the deputy director Debjani Roy's piece on why criminalization of cat-calling would "have a negative impact on families and communities within already marginalized and targeted groups."
Take a listen to the new "Cats Against Catcalling" mixtape and let us know how you think that we, as a society, can develop effective and empowering tools to not only combat street harassment, but to also unlearn it.
Related listening: If you're looking for good tunes, check out the BitchTapes Songs About Patriarchy mix!
This month's new music roundup is heavy on the dance music—consider it a DIY antidote to the gray sky and wintery weather. We've got music from Ghana, Berlin, Portland, Brooklyn, the UK, and the tippy-tippy top of Cape Cod. Plus, we've got guitars and remixes and cow hearts to boot.
1. The Julie Ruin - "Right Home" (YACHT Remix) Yes, you read that right. West Coast superduo YACHT collaborated with Kathleen Hanna's new band The Julie Ruin and came out with this upbeat, dance-punk remix version of "Right Home." It's not too good to be true. It's real, and it's here, and it belongs to the world! THANK YOU, UNIVERSE.
2. Wiyaala - "Make Me Dance" I promise this song is not appearing on this list purely because of its line about "feeling the heat," which is wishful thinking for the next several months. It's here because Ghana native Noella Wiyaala's fluffy, Whitney Houston-esque lyrics and peppy, cheesy EDM backing track are, simply put, irresistible. Speaking of irresistible, here is what Wiyaala told Africa on the Blog about what feminism means to her right now:
Here in Ghana, we want to embrace change and modernisation. And it is happening fast. But that can conflict with some of our traditional views... For me right now, feminism means encouraging young girls into completing their education so that they themselves can be the ones that make the choices in their lives... With my high profile, especially in the North of Ghana, I do sometimes get to speak out in the media to support the education of girls. I think this is a responsibility that goes with my career as an artist. I think as I get older, I may have more to say about this.
Unlike most of the young women with whom our air waves are saturated, Wiyaala applies the parameters of feminism to her surroundings, instead of distancing herself from the movement and deeming it unnecessary, constricting, or disconnected. She's also comfortable acknowledging that she's young and has to live a little more to figure out how politics and identity fit into her life. If the next wave of global feminism starts with cheesy dance music and an androgynous, intelligent pop star at the helm, pretty much SIGN ME RIGHT UP. Watch the original version of "Make Me Dance" below, or grab a copy of the Remixes EP in early December!
3. FEMME - "Heartbeat" The video for "Heartbeat," the second single released this year by UK singer and producer Laura Bettinson, who performs as FEMME, plays like a string of outtakes from Sofia Coppola's version of Marie Antoinette. Bettinson's young, peppy vocals and the track's liquid electro-pop bounce form the soundtrack for a series of spotlit scenes drenched in pink hair, lacy underthings, and bold fashion accoutrements. This is pop with an avant-garde edge, and Bettinson is responsible for all of it: writing, recording, producing, directing, and shooting. The video is all decadence, but FEMME's lyrics are relatable, and her commentary on the gendered aftermath of a failed relationship is clever and true. Adele smashed plates and lit things on fire; FEMME dressed up with her girlfriends and tossed around a cow heart. BREAKUPS, amirite?
4. Oh My Goodness - Oh My Goodness EP REMIXES The title "multi-instrumentalist" comes in several shades. There's the Sufjan Stevens variety, wherein a person has actually mastered every major instrument; there's the Shook Twins variety, in which life for the person or band involved seems like one giant French salon-style musical orgy, and everyone plays everything beautifully, and all the instruments are handmade or vintage; and there's the Oh My Goodness track, which I find to be the most accessible. OMG, comprised of Maine natives and current Brooklynites Therese Workman and Tyler Wood, both play several instruments, but their eyes are tuned to experimentation over mastery. OMG's self-titled EP was released earlier this year, but this month they put out an album of remixes which push their funky, futuristic electro-pop out of pop and squarely into electro. A standout track is "Not Lying," remixed by Elliot Krimsky, which features what sounds like a wedding toast as an effect, and highlights the alienation and angst of the original lyrics with dischordant, reverb-heavy washes of sound. It's harder to pinpoint multi-instrumentalism in a band on an album of remixes, but OMG's knack for exploration is intact, and their selections for REMIXES are themselves an instrument well-played.
5. Marisa Anderson - Mercury On the flip side of the multi-instrumentalist genre is the musician who defines and is defined by a single instrument (or, in this case, a family of closely related instruments). Portland guitarist Marisa Anderson, whose foundational book Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls was reviewed by Bitch in our Winter 2009 issue, is a different musical animal altogether. She records in single takes, doesn't use lyrics, features no electronic layering or looping, and made an entire album (her first, no less) of in-studio improvisations. Her second album, Mercury, came out in June but just made its way to us now—a fittingly peripatetic journey from an artist who spent 15 years walking across the United States. Anderson's playing is deeply emotional and sounds on its first listen like a perfectly preserved artifact of American musical history. Blues, jazz, American Primitive, country, rock—if a guitar can play it, Anderson can tell the story.
6. Parkington Sisters - "In the Pines" When last we heard from Wellfleet, MA quartet the Parkington Sisters, they were singing their sweet, folksy harmonies to us in a church in Austin. These days, eerie is the new sweet, and the ladies are singing decidedly unholy murder ballads in the forest. But the harmonies remain, and in fact have grown stronger and more arresting in the interim.
7. Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas - Demons EP Detroit singer Jessica Hernandez describes her latest album as "the perfect soundtrack to drive around to on those creepy fall overcast days." Her soulful, swooping voice, and the Deltas' reliance on Tu Fawning-esque, carnival-ready trombone from the opening notes of the album's first track, do fit the season and its macabre undertones perfectly. Hernandez has one of those voices that early 20something female singers occasionally get landed with; the kind with an ingrained chip on its shoulder and the whole of life in its rearview mirror. But Jessica and the Deltas are far from done living, and the energy behind her performance on this EP makes clear that her voice isn't world-weary, it's purely powerful.
8. AVAN LAVA - "So F*kt Up" This haunting breakup track by Brooklyn rave-pop outfit AVAN LAVA just came out this week. Trippy dime-stop beats lend swagger to lead singer TC Hennes' vocals, which are all vulnerable falsetto. Watch the party-gone-wrong video here, or listen below.
9. Take Berlin - Lionize EP Another early December release is Lionize, the new EP by acoustic singer-songrwriters Take Berlin. One of the magical things of the modern world is that music this intimate can be made by band members on different continents: Yvonne Ambrée lives in Berlin and Jesse Barnes lives in Brooklyn. But together, the pair weave intricate, quiet harmonies into their timeless tracks, which utilize old found instruments and minimal production. This is the kind of music apartment-dwellers wish their building-mates would make, singing sweetly into their computers late at night. Take Berlin just wrapped up their first US tour in November, but keep an eye out for a stateside return in 2014. Hear the first single from Lionize, "Vermona," which tells the true story of a young German girl whose mother escapes from East Germany to West in the trunk of a car, below.
10. Poliça - Remixes Electronica phenom Poliça released a stellar second album, Shulamith, in October, and has been leaking remixes of new and old material in the month since. Noisetrade released a free sampler, but my favorite is this one, from Doomtree's Paper Tiger, which jolts the sexy "Chain My Name" with club energy and bounce, and gives singer Channy Leaneagh's voice even more space to bloom than the original.
What have you been listening to this month? Let us know in the comments!
Let's start by saying this: Calling a year "good for women in music" is fairly ridiculous. What that phrase translates to is usually more like "I can name three lady songs from this year!" or "Beyoncé made an album this year!"
Summing up a year as particularly kind or unkind to female musicians marginalizes the performers all over again. No one anywhere, ever, says a year was particularly good for men in music, or straight people in music, or cis-gendered folks in music. There was a metric tonof great feminist music this year, which is remarkable because feminist music is the best, not because it's unusual that it was great for 365 days in a row.
In celebration of the constant flow of stellar feminist music to the world, date be damned, my end-of-the-year Top 10 is in musical discoveries (ranked in no particular order). Most of the artists here are new to me, but had released one or two albums before 2013; some are new to the scene entirely. All of them would have made it a great year for women in music, if I believed in such a thing.
1. Sharaya J
It's incredibly difficult for me to write about Sharaya J without a ZOMG preceding her name every time. She's signed to Missy Elliott's Goldmind label, she's only released three singles over the past three years, and there's no sign yet of a full-length album. Which gives us ALL THE ROOM IN THE WORLD to hope. Every Sharaya song is an event—flamboyant, creative, cocky, effortlessly trendsetting. She's working from the Missy Elliott playbook, in other words, which would be irresistible on a molecular level even if she WEREN'T rapping with a distinctly oppositional gaze. But she is, so resistance is entirely futile. Her lyrics are specifically female-centric and she uses her videos to queer the expectations an audience might have for a rap performance. (Eg. is this about to be a gang intitiation...or a seriously intense Double Dutch competition?) Sharaya is all swagger, even when her first video, "BANJI," is deliberately, hilariously low-fi. She can be dancing on a loading dock and she's still making a scene. My 2014 New Year's Resolution is to have a Sharaya album in my hands by the end of it. Check out "BANJI" below.
2. Gaby Moreno
Singer-songrwriter Gaby Moreno was new to me when I saw her at SXSW this year. I was enchanted immediately. I missed four shows in order to stay longer and hear the rest of her electric-bluesy set, which brought in bossa nova rhythm and a rousing horn section, proving as fluid stylistically as Moreno is linguistically. She's been recording since 2009, but this year's outstanding Postales is her first global release (prior albums were independent or dropped only in Europe), and, I hope, initiates phase one of her world domination. Hear "Ave Que Emigra," Moreno's ode to her native Guatemala, below.
3. Kacey Musgraves
I wrote about Kacey Musgraves for the first time right after her major-label debut record Same Trailer Different Park came out in the spring and I haven't stopped talking about her since. Neither have lotsofpeople. She's nominated for four Grammys, tying Taylor Swift and Lorde for most-nominated female artist. So she's not especially underground, but that's what makes her so exciting: she's a mainstream country artist pushing the edges of her genre's envelope. She's taking homophobia, small-mindedness, fat-shaming, and slut-shaming to task, and she's doing it with Nashville dollars and glitz backing her. 2013 was, in short, the year of the Musgrave. Here's the single that got folks talking, "Follow Your Arrow."
4. Lorde
Speaking of not-so-underground newcomers in 2013, it turns out I wasn't alone in my love of Lorde this year. I wrote about her for the first time in September, after a summer of mainlining "Royals." She's young, she's smart, and she's got an outsider's refreshingly critical eye on the sparkle and opulence of fame and fortune. Let's hope she keeps it as her star rises. Here, once more, with feeling, is the video for "Royals."
5. My Midnight Heart
In November, Electronic avant-pop band My Midnight Heart released my favorite EP of the year, setting the stage for what I hope will be one of my favorite LPs of 2014. Singer Angélica Allen's voice fills the void created when 1980s and 90s Whitney Houston became 2000s Whitney Houston, and adds a darker, distinctly millennial layer to the mix while doing it. The dream of 1987 is alive in MMH, and I, for one, don't want to be woken up. Here's the EP's title track, "Chest of Hearts."
Canadian singer and guitarist Mélissa Laveaux released her second full-length record early this year, but her December EP Memory is a Strange Bell was the first I'd heard of her. Her rootsy, scratchy vocals are a force alone, but I was most drawn to her percussive guitar playing. Her music is subtle, but wants for nothing. Bombastic performance would smother Laveaux's intimate lyrics, and detract from the nuance of her playing. Here she is performing "Pié Bwa," a re-imagining of Billie Holiday's canonical anti-lynching masterpiece "Strange Fruit," from the perspective of the hanging tree.
7. Angel Olsen
Angel Olsen would have made this list based purely on the title of her forthcoming second album, Burn Your Fire For No Witness (out in January). But what might actually makes her my favorite discovery of the year is the record's contents. She's singing devastating songs and maintaining eye contact while she does it. Instead of wallowing, Olsen introduces a new vocabulary with which to experience heartbreak. Her voice blooms in a silky mid-range, and the music backing her ranges from crunchy garage rock to acoustic whisper. It's all flawless. The album's first single is "Forgiven, Forgotten."
8. Dessa
Okay, this is cheating. I found out about rapper, writer, and spoken-word artist Dessa in 2011, but she released a new album this year, Parts of Speech, and not putting it on my top 10 list I wrote would be immoral. Dovetailing nicely with my obsession with Parts of Speech, I was fortunate enough to sit on a panel with her for NPR Music in October, followed immediately by her coming to Austin for Fun Fun Fun Fest. If Dessa's powerful lyrical delivery is new to you, I envy you the discovery. Here's "Fighting Fish," my favorite track from Parts of Speech.
9. V V Brown
I reviewed singer-producer V V Brown's new album Samson & Delilah for the Food issue of Bitch, and couldn't keep my mouth shut long enough for the review to go to print before I told everyone how much I loved it. "The Apple" contains the year's best insult to an ex ("You're not the apple of my eye," delivered with enough scorn to put the judgiest in-laws to shame), and the whole record bristles with dark, disconcerting electro-pop I played on repeat for months. It's still what I put on in my headphones if I have somewhere I need to walk to quickly, driven as I am by the thumping low end and Brown's deep, compelling voice. Have a listen to "The Apple," below.
In November, Bitch hosted the world premiere of the video for "You Never Know," the second single from Brooklyn singer Julia Weldon's latest album Light As A Ghost. The video is gorgeous; shot on the coast of Maine, it tells the story of Weldon's poignant burial at sea surrounded by her real-life loved ones. The record, though, was the star for me. Weldon is a thoughtful, relatable songwriter, and her delivery is plaintive without being melancholy. Her thoughts for our world premiere preview on her own gender politics and how they factor into her musical persona were equally eloquent, making her both an artist and a person I'm excited to hear more from in the new year. Here's "You Never Know."
What were your favorite musical discoveries this year? Let us know in the comments!
I've been listening to Courtney Barnett nonstop all summer. Her hazy alt-rock and clever, conversational lyrics make for the perfect soundtrack on a lazy, hot day. The best thing about Barnett's music is her songwriting, with tracks that take on everything from panic attacks to masturbating. Oh, and did I mention that she shreds?
After seeing Barnett at Pickathon earlier this month, I had the chance to talk with the Melbourne-based artist about her label, her vegetable garden, and the best female musicians in Australia.
When I call Courtney Barnett, she's in the middle of reading a book of Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo. "It's a really interesting look into the mind of an artist, the ups and downs, that kind of stuff," she says. "It's pretty depressing, and probably not the best thing to read on tour. I just find stuff like that interesting. It's good to keep an open mind and understand how other people think, and how lots of people go through the same things."
As a songwriter, Barnett absolutely gets that lots of people go through the same things, and her songs tap into small details that most wouldn't think to write a song about. She takes everyday acts like house hunting ("Depreston") and worried phone calls from parents ("Are You Looking After Yourself?"), crafting them into catchy, diary-like tracks. Her music is unfiltered and sincere; she doesn't hold back when recounting drunken evenings ("I got drunk and feel asleep atop of the sheets/ But luckily I left the heater on"), the similarities between asthma inhalers and bongs ("I was never good at smoking bongs/ I'm not that good at breathing in"), and masturbating to another musician's songs ("It felt wrong but it didn't take too long/ Much appreciated are your songs/ Doesn't mean I like you man/ It just helps me get to sleep").
In addition to being a brilliant songwriter and guitarist, Barnett illustrates her own album covers (and tea towels!), and even started her own record label, Milk! Records. Barnett started Milk! in 2012 as she was self-releasing her first EP, I've Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris. Her second EP, How To Carve A Carrot Into A Rose, was released in 2013. The two EPs were later combined and released as The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas. Over the past two years, as Barnett has gained international acclaim, Milk! has grown into a supportive, fun project for Barnett and several other Melbourne artists. "It was a really low-key project. It just kind of grew, and we put out some other people's records. Because I didn't really know what I was doing, I did things in a slightly different way. The way that I figured out how to do it, it's kind of more like an art project."
A video recently released by Milk! Records after a weekend in the studio. Music from Barnett.
It's been a busy year for Barnett. In addition to Pickathon, she played Lollapalooza this summer, and even found herself on The Tonight Show earlier this year. When she gets back to Melbourne from her current tour, gardening is up high on her to-do list. She says her vegetable garden needs to be replanted after all her time away from it. Her favorite vegetables to grow? "I like kale, chard, and big leafy things. They're really easy to grow!" While we're on the subject of gardening, be sure to check out Barnett's brilliantly-titled song "Avant Gardener".
Barnett tells me that there are lots of women making music in Australia that we should know about. "Jen Cloher. She's on the label. She's great. We put out her third album, and we pretty much run the label together now. She came along and had more of a business brain that me. There's a band called Beaches. Teeth & Tounge. Big Scary." When asked if she has advice for women or girls who are wanting to make music, she says, "I would say to just do it." She laughs and then grows sincere, "Yeah, just keep doing it."
Courtney Barnett will be out and about all year long, with shows booked in Australia, the U.S., Canada, and Europe. She recently recorded her first full-length album with her band, which we can anxiously expect early in 2015.
Ashley McAllister is Bitch Media's Development & Outreach Coordinator. She also likes to grow kale. Find her on Instagram @ashleymacrina.
While Katie and Kjerstin spent last weekend at 
