(no subject)
Happy International Women's Day!
In celebration...
A not-even-close-to-complete list of awesome women in music:
Adele
An extraordinary voice and unequivocal talent so far beyond her years. Power and energy and heart, pure and unadorned.
Azam Ali
Born in Iran, raised in India, and having spent significant time in America and Canada, Azam Ali's globetrotting life comes through in layers of limitless sound in all her music.
Tori Amos
From the first time I heard "Silent All These Years," she pulled me into her world - one that never shook off the grit of reality (one of my strongest teenage memories was listening to "Winter" and crying over the way it outlined the transition from childhood to adulthood, echoed that transition in my own life - yes, emo) but still provided escape.
Fiona Apple
She ricochets between strength and vulnerability, so real and raw, so brave for laying it all bare.
Babes In Toyland
One of the first all-girl groups I ever knew who could mesh metal and punk and alternative, with Kat Bjelland at the helm slamming between extremes of false timidity and near-horrofic cackles and screams.
Erykah Badu
She still seems like she ought to be a greater presence in the music world than she is, more of a household name. Her blending of politics and poetry, soul and jazz and R&B and hip hop makes her a stand-out, commanding attention without needing to demand it.
Björk
The oddest of odd girls. Proving it's okay to be a weirdo. And if people don't get it, if they point fingers and poke fun? Well, fuck 'em, and keep going.
Eliza Carthy
Resurrecting British folk, making this fabulous urban/rural mash-up out of traditional songs and new creations.
Neko Case
Fiery redhead with a forceful voice. Sharp-tongued. Able to leap the fenceposts of country, rock, folk and indie in a single bound. Her first audience consisted of the animals with which she grew up. How cool is that? She trained her voice to the ears of cats and dogs and such, not people who might tell her what she was doing was wrong or should be done some other way. Anyway, total BAMF.
Exene Cervenka
Half of my f-list probably knows her as Viggo Mortensen's ex. What she should be known for are her powerhouse vocals co-fronting the band X.
Sheila Chandra
Indian-English singer-songwriter with a voice like a siren.
Jenny Conlee
Currently, the only permanent female member of the Decemberists. She recently kicked cancer in the ass, but has long kicked ass on every possible keyboard-based instrument, especially the accordion.
Ani DiFranco
Not just a feminist. Not just a folk singer. With her bandaged-up fingers, she bends the guitar strings to the point of breaking. With her restless spirit, she breaks through genres. With her whip-smart words, she delights, inspires, calls to action and leaves nothing unsaid. Ani was a significant part of the soundtrack to my college years, but still as relevant today.
Beth Ditto
The Gossip's kickass frontwoman with a voice that smashes straight through blues and rock and punk and electro.
Beth Gibbons
Of Portishead fame. I imagine this is what a banshee might sound like. A banshee you'd happily let guide you to your death.
Gigi (Ejigayehu Shibabaw)
Fusing Ethiopian folk songs with funk, rock, jazz, dub and other genres, Gigi makes world music that truly sounds worldly. A seamless, timeless patchwork, threaded through with her amazing vocals. I've described her before as sounding both earthy and ethereal, and still can come up with no better description.
Macy Gray
Funky and fun come to mind first with her music. That unmistakeable rasp reminds us to enjoy life. And I often look to "Do Something" to remind me to do just that.
Patty Griffin
This woman can sing the happiest song and make me choke up. See, for example, "Heavenly Day," a song supposedly written for her dog... the mere fact that she wrote it for her dog makes me cry!
Kathleen Hanna
Head Riot Grrrl. She let us all vent vicariously through Bikini Kill, Julie Ruin and Le Tigre, linked us together in punk and rock and techno and dance. She never backs down and continues to be an inspiration. Oh, and "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? You can thank her for providing the title of the song that kickstarted grunge.
Polly Jean Harvey
A unique presence, embodying each of her characters in a way that's both shy and in your face. I think it's been long enough now to declare Rid Of Me one of the greatest rock records ever made.
Kristin Hersh
The first single of hers I ever heard was "Your Ghost" - appropriate, considering her haunting vocals. How haunting, too, are her eyes, staring straight ahead during live performances as if she's seeing through the audience to the worlds of her songs. She marries fierceness with fragility, producing entirely human, evocative work.
Billie Holiday
The voice of heart break. Worn right on the sleeve. Her voice wasn't as polished as Ella's or Dinah's or Sarah's. But, to me, Billie was a rough gem, burning brighter for the flaws she let show through.
Indigo Girls
Emily Sailers and Amy Ray. I swear, I saw them live at least six times, almost all during my college years. Their beautiful harmonies and politically-fired folk made an impact. And, although I prefer Amy's edgier solo work now, I look back on those years fondly.
Joan Jett
Rock & roll badass.
Janis Joplin
Kicking ass and taking names. Still, beyond the grave.
Zoë Keating
This list needed more instrumentalists. Who could be better to include than this madly-talented cellist?
Cyndi Lauper
I was an impressionable little kid when She's So Unusual came out, and loved her instantly. I think she was one of the first public figures who taught me that weird really is okay.
Mary Lou Lord
She has probably made more money busking than through sales of any of her cds. Her chops were street-honed, toughness behind the seemingly sweet facade.
Kirsty MacColl
Her last work before her life was cut short remains my favorite: Tropical Brainstorm fused South America with England. A continental shift in 16 songs.
Lois Maffeo
An influential part of my latter college years and onward, Lois caught me by the ear first with her song "Strumpet," in which she proudly claims her supposed flaws, singing: You say I'm walking around like I own the whole place. / Well, I do.
Miriam Makeba
Mama Africa. Strength and joy.
Aimee Mann
One of the strongest singer-songwriters around. Apparently, she also does housekeeping. (<-- joke for the Portlandia fans)
Loreena McKennitt
Sometimes reality is too much. Loreena's music offers escape. In one single song, you can circumnavigate the globe. It's like getting lost in a book, the new and different worlds therein, only easier, quicker.
Alison Mosshart
One half of The Kills. Also shares lead vocal duties with Jack White in the Dead Weather. Her bluesy howl makes me want to stomp down the streets at night, maybe knock over a liquor store. And she's friends with Noel Fielding, so awesomeness verified.
Sinéad O'Connor
To some people, she's still a punchline for her (sometimes) shaved head and apparently gasp-worthy ability to tear up a glossy paper product. But have you heard her sing? Have you listened to that gorgeous voice? The visceral wails intermingled with equally visceral whispers transcend trivial things like hair and photographs and other tabloid fodder.
Amanda Palmer
Playing with theatrics, putting the cabaret into contemporary music. Like a vaudeville pirate. Or something.
Sam Phillips
Sharp and smartly poetic, Sam (born Leslie Phillips, under which name she recorded several albums) writes pop that's substantive. Although several of her songs have been featured in television ads and shows, and she was (I think "was," not "is") married to T-Bone Burnett, she remains as relatively unknown as the first time I heard about her: when Toad the Wet Sprocket's Glen Phillips (not related!) mentioned her album Cruel Inventions during a 1994 radio interview. I'm glad I took Glen's recommendation so strongly and chanced buying her record without a clue as to how it might sound.
Oumou Sangaré
This Malian artist not only has a beautiful voice, transcending the tradition of Wassoulou, but the strength to speak out for women's rights in a culture where to do so holds more danger than it does in the western world.
Santigold
She's a lady. Fuck yeah.
Nina Simone
Unapologetic, bold and powerful, yet with the kind of vulnerability in her voice that could knock you down fast, drag you down slow and steady, then push you back up again. One of the greatest jazz artists, full stop.
Sleater-Kinney
Now, very sadly, broken up. But Corin Tucker is making her own music now while Janet Weiss (far left, one of rock's best drummers) and Carrie Brownstein (far right) have teamed up with the marvelous Mary Timony to form supergroup Wild Flag. So strong all-female rock forges on. \m/
Grace Slick
Imagine classic rock without her. No, I can't either.
Patti Smith
Queen of punk and spoken word. All hail.
Bettye Swann
A tragically underrated (hell, mostly unknown) voice of 60s Southern soul and R&B. You probably know "Make Me Yours." You should know more.
Thao Nguyen and Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn
Collectively brilliant as Thao & Mirah, but also individually excellent: Thao typically recording ballsy indie rock as Thao with the Get Down Stay Down and Mirah exploring a wide range of folk, indie, dance remixes and even klezmer, occasionally with other indie artists like the Black Cat Orchestra and Ginger Takahashi.
Florence Welch
She's had a formidable start. I can't wait to hear what comes from her future projects. There's the legacy of Kate Bush, Stevie Nicks and Tori Amos behind her. But just like them, I think she has something unique to offer. Dancing between the walled worlds.
Gillian Welch
An extraordinary storyteller and unsung heroine, unearthing old sounds and reviving them, revealing the darkness and pain that makes light and life all the more poignant.
Ann and Nancy Wilson
A.k.a. Heart. Wailing vocals meet wailing guitars. Both ladies shred through the male-dominated hard rock competition.
Amy Winehouse
A soulful voice that should have seen more years, could have been so much more.
In celebration...
A not-even-close-to-complete list of awesome women in music:
Adele
An extraordinary voice and unequivocal talent so far beyond her years. Power and energy and heart, pure and unadorned.
Azam Ali
Born in Iran, raised in India, and having spent significant time in America and Canada, Azam Ali's globetrotting life comes through in layers of limitless sound in all her music.
Tori Amos
From the first time I heard "Silent All These Years," she pulled me into her world - one that never shook off the grit of reality (one of my strongest teenage memories was listening to "Winter" and crying over the way it outlined the transition from childhood to adulthood, echoed that transition in my own life - yes, emo) but still provided escape.
Fiona Apple
She ricochets between strength and vulnerability, so real and raw, so brave for laying it all bare.
Babes In Toyland
One of the first all-girl groups I ever knew who could mesh metal and punk and alternative, with Kat Bjelland at the helm slamming between extremes of false timidity and near-horrofic cackles and screams.
Erykah Badu
She still seems like she ought to be a greater presence in the music world than she is, more of a household name. Her blending of politics and poetry, soul and jazz and R&B and hip hop makes her a stand-out, commanding attention without needing to demand it.
Björk
The oddest of odd girls. Proving it's okay to be a weirdo. And if people don't get it, if they point fingers and poke fun? Well, fuck 'em, and keep going.
Eliza Carthy
Resurrecting British folk, making this fabulous urban/rural mash-up out of traditional songs and new creations.
Neko Case
Fiery redhead with a forceful voice. Sharp-tongued. Able to leap the fenceposts of country, rock, folk and indie in a single bound. Her first audience consisted of the animals with which she grew up. How cool is that? She trained her voice to the ears of cats and dogs and such, not people who might tell her what she was doing was wrong or should be done some other way. Anyway, total BAMF.
Exene Cervenka
Half of my f-list probably knows her as Viggo Mortensen's ex. What she should be known for are her powerhouse vocals co-fronting the band X.
Sheila Chandra
Indian-English singer-songwriter with a voice like a siren.
Jenny Conlee
Currently, the only permanent female member of the Decemberists. She recently kicked cancer in the ass, but has long kicked ass on every possible keyboard-based instrument, especially the accordion.
Ani DiFranco
Not just a feminist. Not just a folk singer. With her bandaged-up fingers, she bends the guitar strings to the point of breaking. With her restless spirit, she breaks through genres. With her whip-smart words, she delights, inspires, calls to action and leaves nothing unsaid. Ani was a significant part of the soundtrack to my college years, but still as relevant today.
Beth Ditto
The Gossip's kickass frontwoman with a voice that smashes straight through blues and rock and punk and electro.
Beth Gibbons
Of Portishead fame. I imagine this is what a banshee might sound like. A banshee you'd happily let guide you to your death.
Gigi (Ejigayehu Shibabaw)
Fusing Ethiopian folk songs with funk, rock, jazz, dub and other genres, Gigi makes world music that truly sounds worldly. A seamless, timeless patchwork, threaded through with her amazing vocals. I've described her before as sounding both earthy and ethereal, and still can come up with no better description.
Macy Gray
Funky and fun come to mind first with her music. That unmistakeable rasp reminds us to enjoy life. And I often look to "Do Something" to remind me to do just that.
Patty Griffin
This woman can sing the happiest song and make me choke up. See, for example, "Heavenly Day," a song supposedly written for her dog... the mere fact that she wrote it for her dog makes me cry!
Kathleen Hanna
Head Riot Grrrl. She let us all vent vicariously through Bikini Kill, Julie Ruin and Le Tigre, linked us together in punk and rock and techno and dance. She never backs down and continues to be an inspiration. Oh, and "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? You can thank her for providing the title of the song that kickstarted grunge.
Polly Jean Harvey
A unique presence, embodying each of her characters in a way that's both shy and in your face. I think it's been long enough now to declare Rid Of Me one of the greatest rock records ever made.
Kristin Hersh
The first single of hers I ever heard was "Your Ghost" - appropriate, considering her haunting vocals. How haunting, too, are her eyes, staring straight ahead during live performances as if she's seeing through the audience to the worlds of her songs. She marries fierceness with fragility, producing entirely human, evocative work.
Billie Holiday
The voice of heart break. Worn right on the sleeve. Her voice wasn't as polished as Ella's or Dinah's or Sarah's. But, to me, Billie was a rough gem, burning brighter for the flaws she let show through.
Indigo Girls
Emily Sailers and Amy Ray. I swear, I saw them live at least six times, almost all during my college years. Their beautiful harmonies and politically-fired folk made an impact. And, although I prefer Amy's edgier solo work now, I look back on those years fondly.
Joan Jett
Rock & roll badass.
Janis Joplin
Kicking ass and taking names. Still, beyond the grave.
Zoë Keating
This list needed more instrumentalists. Who could be better to include than this madly-talented cellist?
Cyndi Lauper
I was an impressionable little kid when She's So Unusual came out, and loved her instantly. I think she was one of the first public figures who taught me that weird really is okay.
Mary Lou Lord
She has probably made more money busking than through sales of any of her cds. Her chops were street-honed, toughness behind the seemingly sweet facade.
Kirsty MacColl
Her last work before her life was cut short remains my favorite: Tropical Brainstorm fused South America with England. A continental shift in 16 songs.
Lois Maffeo
An influential part of my latter college years and onward, Lois caught me by the ear first with her song "Strumpet," in which she proudly claims her supposed flaws, singing: You say I'm walking around like I own the whole place. / Well, I do.
Miriam Makeba
Mama Africa. Strength and joy.
Aimee Mann
One of the strongest singer-songwriters around. Apparently, she also does housekeeping. (<-- joke for the Portlandia fans)
Loreena McKennitt
Sometimes reality is too much. Loreena's music offers escape. In one single song, you can circumnavigate the globe. It's like getting lost in a book, the new and different worlds therein, only easier, quicker.
Alison Mosshart
One half of The Kills. Also shares lead vocal duties with Jack White in the Dead Weather. Her bluesy howl makes me want to stomp down the streets at night, maybe knock over a liquor store. And she's friends with Noel Fielding, so awesomeness verified.
Sinéad O'Connor
To some people, she's still a punchline for her (sometimes) shaved head and apparently gasp-worthy ability to tear up a glossy paper product. But have you heard her sing? Have you listened to that gorgeous voice? The visceral wails intermingled with equally visceral whispers transcend trivial things like hair and photographs and other tabloid fodder.
Amanda Palmer
Playing with theatrics, putting the cabaret into contemporary music. Like a vaudeville pirate. Or something.
Sam Phillips
Sharp and smartly poetic, Sam (born Leslie Phillips, under which name she recorded several albums) writes pop that's substantive. Although several of her songs have been featured in television ads and shows, and she was (I think "was," not "is") married to T-Bone Burnett, she remains as relatively unknown as the first time I heard about her: when Toad the Wet Sprocket's Glen Phillips (not related!) mentioned her album Cruel Inventions during a 1994 radio interview. I'm glad I took Glen's recommendation so strongly and chanced buying her record without a clue as to how it might sound.
Oumou Sangaré
This Malian artist not only has a beautiful voice, transcending the tradition of Wassoulou, but the strength to speak out for women's rights in a culture where to do so holds more danger than it does in the western world.
Santigold
She's a lady. Fuck yeah.
Nina Simone
Unapologetic, bold and powerful, yet with the kind of vulnerability in her voice that could knock you down fast, drag you down slow and steady, then push you back up again. One of the greatest jazz artists, full stop.
Sleater-Kinney
Now, very sadly, broken up. But Corin Tucker is making her own music now while Janet Weiss (far left, one of rock's best drummers) and Carrie Brownstein (far right) have teamed up with the marvelous Mary Timony to form supergroup Wild Flag. So strong all-female rock forges on. \m/
Grace Slick
Imagine classic rock without her. No, I can't either.
Patti Smith
Queen of punk and spoken word. All hail.
Bettye Swann
A tragically underrated (hell, mostly unknown) voice of 60s Southern soul and R&B. You probably know "Make Me Yours." You should know more.
Thao Nguyen and Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn
Collectively brilliant as Thao & Mirah, but also individually excellent: Thao typically recording ballsy indie rock as Thao with the Get Down Stay Down and Mirah exploring a wide range of folk, indie, dance remixes and even klezmer, occasionally with other indie artists like the Black Cat Orchestra and Ginger Takahashi.
Florence Welch
She's had a formidable start. I can't wait to hear what comes from her future projects. There's the legacy of Kate Bush, Stevie Nicks and Tori Amos behind her. But just like them, I think she has something unique to offer. Dancing between the walled worlds.
Gillian Welch
An extraordinary storyteller and unsung heroine, unearthing old sounds and reviving them, revealing the darkness and pain that makes light and life all the more poignant.
Ann and Nancy Wilson
A.k.a. Heart. Wailing vocals meet wailing guitars. Both ladies shred through the male-dominated hard rock competition.
Amy Winehouse
A soulful voice that should have seen more years, could have been so much more.