Recently in Music Category

In response to the constant objectification of women, the recent gang rape of a 15 year old girl in Richmond, CA, the unjust incarceration of Sara Kruzan and even the highly publicized violence faced by Rihanna, conscientious rapper and activist Jasiri X has put out a track that discusses the injustice and inhumanity of these crimes.

Love it. Lyrics after the jump.

Ann linked this piece from Davey D's blog of an interview with KRS-1 where he discusses the lack of women in hip-hop:

CP: What do you think is missing in hip-hop today?

KRS ONE: "I am not just saying this because you [a woman] are asking the question, this is my real answer: More women. More women. Not just emcees or b-girls, but women taking control of hip-hop. Let me be culturally-specific- hip-hop's women should teach hip-hop's men how to speak to them. Because when we learn how to speak to you, we can learn how to speak to the whole business world. It's not just about respecting you...it is...but it's deeper than just respecting another human being. Everytime you degrade a person, you degrade yourself, because you are standing next to that person. You can't diss a person, and not diss yourself...I should say 'she's a queen.' And what does that make me? A king. So now at the end of the day, what's missing in hip-hop? Knowledge of self, that should only come from women. I know that sounds feminist, but that's real talk.

Happy Birthday k.d. Lang!

Today k.d. Lang turns 47. I'd say that's a moment in feminist history. k.d. Lang is best known for being an openly lesbian, gender-bending Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. She is also, according to Wikipedia, known for her commitment to animal rights and vegetarianism. See after the jump for her gender-bending and oh-so controversial Vanity Fair cover from 1993, that features Cindy Crawford shaving k.d.'s face with a straight razor. Her activism has also included work on behalf of HIV/AIDS research.

One note: One thing I can't say I love about her activism, although I support her vegetarianism, is her affiliation with PETA, the organization we criticize for their blatantly sexist, racist and overall offensive ads. She did an advertisement with them in 2006. My only hope for k.d. is that their most recent stunts (and advertising) would make her think twice about working with them again.

Via Jill at Feministe, I see that John Mayer is being more of an asshole than usual - he recently threatened to sodomize a New York Magazine editor. Seriously.

UPDATE: Ann's take after the jump.

The newest from Bryan Safi takes on "No homo." But as commenters pointed out, what's up with the Tara Reid comment?

Jay Smooth has some background on the phrase in the hip hop community, which has been around for quite some time.

Props to commenter raspberrying for pointing out Safi's new video to us in this week's WFR.

Friday night at UC Berkeley, a hip-hop show called Breaking Beats and Borders attempted to bridge the hip hop community with activism surrounding Palestinian rights. The highlight of my evening was the performance by Invincible, or Ilana Weaver, a queer white Israeli-born woman who learned English by listening to hip-hop.

Based in Detroit, Invincible works with the Detroit Summers Live Arts Media project, to bring arts and awareness to urban educational curriculum. Check her out:

"I'm striving to be one of the best period/ Not just one of the best with breasts and a period."

I got an email from this band, Team Smile and Nod, who thought I might like their music since I'd posted Athens Boys Choir before. Turns out they were right! Here is how they described themselves:

We are a lesbian-fronted electro anti-folk duo from Columbus, Ohio. Our tunes touch on a lot of what you write about...feminism, LGBTQ issues, politics, vegetarianism (food politics).

Definitely up my alley. You can listen to their tunes at their website, or on their myspace page. Here's what one reviewer had to say about their music:

"With 20 tracks, it (debut CD) blasts through themes of homophobia, vegetarianism, and consumerism like a smoking chunk of political dynamite. Some of her lyrics make hardcore statements and others teem with dark humor, but all are designed to provoke discussion." -Alexandra Kelley, Columbus Underground

Also after the jump an acoustic video version of "Truth and Fact."

Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer. From the Times:

Their sound may have been commercial and safe, but early on their politics were somewhat risky for a group courting a mass audience. Like Mr. Yarrow and Mr. Stookey, Ms. Travers was outspoken in her support for the civil-rights and antiwar movements, in sharp contrast to clean-cut folk groups like the Kingston Trio, which avoided making political statements.

Peter, Paul and Mary went on to perform at the 1963 March on Washington and joined the voting-rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965.

Over the years they performed frequently at political rallies and demonstrations in the United States and abroad. After the group disbanded, in 1970, Ms. Travers continued to perform at political events around the world as she pursued a solo career.

At a time when there are too few women singing about social justice in the mainstream music world, it's easy to admire such a bold, unapologetic voice. And hot damn if she didn't have some hot dresses back in the day. RIP Mary.

That is more or less all Chris Brown could say in this teaser of his Larry King interview when discussing his feelings about attacking his ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

It's like he completely disconnects himself from that person who did what he can't even publicly say he did. Tracy from Broadsheet hits the nail on the head in her sum-up of what this guest appearance seems to be: convincing the public that he is a good boy who would never do such a thing, that he still loves Rihanna and doesn't even remember brutalizing and threatening to kill her (despite prior incidences), and in other words, he's talking the same talk most abusers do but imploring America - not Rihanna - to forgive him.

Ugh.

UPDATE: A reader alerted us to Brown clarifying that he does, in fact, remember the attack.
Approximate transcript after the jump.

Who said there is no feminism in hiphop?

Via Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Roxanne Shante gets her Ph.D. on Warner Music's dime because of a clause in her contract that said they would pay for her education for the rest of her life. Frickin' love that. Shante said: "This is a story that needs to be told. I'm an example that you can be a teenage mom, come from the projects, and be raised by a single parent, and you can still come out of it a doctor."

A new video from one of my favorite performers, Athens Boys Choir. I have to say this song doesn't top my love for Fagette, the song and video that got me hooked on ABC.

While Kelly Clarkson's body has apparently been airbrushed away in SELF magazine's September cover, members of the UK Parliament are calling for disclaimers on advertisements that have been airbrushed. Love it.

Airbrushing is sadly no new trend in women's magazines and ads, but the thing about Clarkson's "slimmed down" cover that's particularly disturbing is that September is SELF's "Total Body Confidence Issue," not to mention Clarkson talks about her (non)issues with weight fluctuation in the piece and the media's hissies that she just doesn't get:

"My happy weight changes. Sometimes I eat more; sometimes I play more. I'll be different sizes all the time. When people talk about my weight, I'm like, 'You seem to have a problem with it; I don't. I'm fine!'"

In the meantime, UK Democrats from the House of Parliament just released 42 recommendations to "help improve the lives of women in the UK," with one of the most controversial being the suggestion that airbrushed ads have a disclaimer saying so.

What really pisses me off is the contention by fashion folks supportive of airbrushing that it somehow benefits the subject being airbrushed. Photographer Nigel Baker said in response to the proposal:

"The idea is that you want to produce the most flattering image possible . . . The reason why talent in the modeling industry is so young is because of this desire to have flawless-looking women. But with good retouching, you can have older-looking women working longer. You can show her maturity, but perhaps you don't show every wrinkle and line. What you are seeing are older models having longer careers that they never would have had because of retouching.''

See, airbrushing is good for women! We're allowing older, "flawed" women to continue to work even though they shouldn't be! In response to Clarkson's airbrushed cover, SELF editor Lucy Danziger says the "retouching" was "only to make her look her personal best." But how could that be her personal best when it's technically not even all of her there?

h/t to Ethan for the link.

Vanessa and I went to hear Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal in Prospect Park last night and I was, once again, reminded of why Bonnie Raitt is literally one of the coolest women alive (Taj was awesome too, of course!). Many people don't know Raitt's story and it's a truly radical one. From her official bio:

In the late '60s, restless in Los Angeles, she moved east to Cambridge, Massachusetts. As a Harvard/Radcliffe student majoring in Social Relations and African Studies, she attended classes and immersed herself in the city's turbulent cultural and political activities. "I couldn't wait to get back to where there were folkies and the antiwar and civil rights movements," she says. "There were so many great music and political scenes going on in the late '60s in Cambridge." Also, she adds, with a laugh, "the ratio of guys to girls at Harvard was four to one, so all of those things were playing in my mind."

Raitt was already deeply involved with folk music and the blues at that time. Exposure to the album Blues at Newport 1963 at age 14 had kindled her interest in blues and slide guitar, and between classes at Harvard she explored these and other styles in local coffeehouse gigs. Three years after entering college, Bonnie left to commit herself full-time to music, and shortly afterward found herself opening for surviving giants of the blues. From Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sippie Wallace, Son House, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker she learned first-hand lessons of life as well as invaluable techniques of performance.

"I'm certain that it was an incredible gift for me to not only be friends with some of the greatest blues people who've ever lived, but to learn how they played, how they sang, how they lived their lives, ran their marriages, and talked to their kids," she says. "I was especially lucky as so many of them are no longer with us."

In a time when so many white musicians seem to take what they want from historically black music and then promptly get amnesia about where it came from, Raitt has always honored her influences and been deeply involved in social justice work. Her truly unique voice and stunning guitar skills are gracefully situated in the blues she was brought up in and she's constantly creating opportunities for the somewhat forgotten blues greats to get on stage and enlighten people.

Thanks for eighteen albums and forty odd years of bad-assery Bonnie!

Not questioning the purple wig (which I actually think sort of rocks), but in the midst of her bizarro interview, she (see 1:55 in) calls an interviewer out on the double standard that women artists get expressing sexuality as opposed to male rock artists, but then quickly shies away from the f-word:

You see, if I was a guy, and I was sitting her with a cigarette in my hand, grabbing my crotch and talking about how I make music 'cause I love fast cars and fucking girls, you'd call me a rock star. But when I do it in my music and in my videos, because I'm a female, because I make pop music, you're judgmental, and you say that it is distracting. I'm just a rock star.

Are you also a feminist?

I'm not a feminist - I, I hail men, I love men. I celebrate American male culture, and beer, and bars and muscle cars... (Emphasis mine)

Sigh, and the stigma continues. Good on Gaga for making a feminist statement, but bad on her for not owning it as one.

Community poster fwordspeaks also offers thoughts on the video.

This is just too cool:

At one point during Monday night's Green Day show at Madison Square Garden, Billie Joe Armstrong announced that he needed someone on stage who could play the guitar. And not just for a "three-chord song," he added, "for one with four, five, maybe six chords" -- "Jesus of Suburbia." After rejecting a few wannabes he stopped and asked a girl in the mosh pit if she knew how to play, then looked unconvinced when she said she did.

...The girl -- her name later was revealed to be Stephanie -- was wearing jeans shorts, a torn Misfits t-shirt, and a head scarf over her pigtails. Mr. Armstrong handed her the guitar, conferred with her briefly, then let her sit on an amp to get started. And then she...ripped! A few bars in she was wandering the stage like a pro and when Mr. Armstrong introduced her at the end, the crowd was shouting "Ste-pha-nie! Ste-pha-nie!" in appreciation.

Via Jezebel.

I haven't been able to write a post on the loss of Michael Jackson. Not quite sure why, but I have read so many amazing posts looking into how complicated a figure he is and all the different thoughtful positions folks have taken in understanding his story.

I am sure you are sick of reading about MJ at this point (I am not and continue to listen to his music and read more about him), but please check out Jay's newest video on the tragedy of fame that played out in Michael's life.

I think this is essentially a feminist reading of the way fame played out in his life, looking at the production of fame. Also, I have been looking for some queer readings of Michael and his play with masculinity. My friend Cole passed this link along.

New York native Melissa Giges just released her national debut of Evident, where she sings with a soft yet almost haunting voice which conveniently matches the production of the music in the album, particularly the song, Evident. (Listen below.)

Utilizing off-key notes in the crux of a song - and making them work - come from of my favorite songs and artist, like Fiona Apple, Portishead, etc. She's no Fiona or Portis, but surely has great potential. She told us why and how feminism effects her life and music:

I grew up in a family where there weren't gender-defined roles: Mom and Dad were interchangeable as caretakers and wage earners. As a result, I simply expected to be treated with respect and equality even as I recognized that women often did not get the same treatment as men. I believe my album "Evident" reflects this mind-set, telling a story from an independent, strong woman's point of view and using music as an outlet to express--not silence--strong feelings.

You might say it was serendipity that the producer of my album (and owner of Engine Company Records, the record label I am signed to) is Blake Morgan, a man steeped in the feminist tradition. The son of feminist writer, Robin Morgan, Blake insisted on making sure the album is the one I wanted to make. He used his talent to help me strengthen my viewpoints to convey my story in a way that allows listeners to be challenged by the powerful female voice. The title track "Evident" does just that. It is a song I wrote about my frustrations with not being listened to or respected in a male-dominated musical environment. "Oh it's evident that this is happening to me. I hate to think it, but it's true. Oh it's evident that you're not listening to me. ... I won't rely and I won't cry. Even while I'm scrutinized. ... I won't let this get me under."

Ew! And why Jenny Lewis, why?

You could say he was just another celebrity, another pop star, the King of Pop, but Michael Jackson did have an impact on our society. For his time, he made it ok for white girls to scream at a black man, to say that they wanted him. He made it ok for white boys to do the moonwalk. But you know, it wasn't ok for Michael Jackson to be Michael Jackson. It was written all over his face -- or the face that he changed into. And that's a shame.

Adrienne Maree Brown on the responsibility of his fans:

When it became clear that the boy's face we had loved had become the face of a man who didn't love himself; we judged him. We tore at him and he fell apart. He was living proof of the impact of our rabid pop culture, an early sacrifice to the new mechanisms of fame which allow no privacy, no time to learn, no mistakes.

Still, he kept producing for us.

When the rumors and the truth were all too prevalent (the children, both his and others), and he wasn't getting the psychological support and accountability he needed, we turned from him and derided him. We made the distinction of loving the child, but ridiculing the man.

Toure at the Daily Beast on how Jackson broke the color barrier with his music:

I like Off the Wall and Dangerous better, but I can't help but think about Thriller's massive socio-cultural impact. Rev. Al Sharpton referred to Michael as a pre-Obama Obama-esque figure in that he's a black man who knows how to make millions of blacks and whites fall in love with him. He's an integrationist, a racial unifier. He made two pop songs as overtly about race as anyone's ever made: Ebony and Ivory with Paul McCartney and Black or White. He was a Motown guy, after all. But he left Berry Gordy's house and went to CBS/Epic, a big-time label, to forge an adult solo career. CBS pushed his record as hard as they did their huge white stars and Off the Wall was a huge crossover success: young Michael was established as not an artist for black fans but an artist for everyone at a time when that was rare. Four years later, when Thriller came out it broke the radio color barrier: black and white stations played its singles until MTV, which had not previously played videos by black artists, had to play Michael. For a while they played Thriller every hour at the top of the hour. Back then he was MTV's Jackie Robinson.

My friend Gwen sent me this awesome video of Bad Brya, a Moroccan MC who performed this song at the 7th European Feminist Research Conference. Love it.

Earlier this week, Chicago blues queen Koko Taylor passed away.

...she said she gave little thought to pursuing a career in music until she was living in Chicago, working as a cleaning woman by day and frequenting the city's blues clubs with her husband by night. At Robert Taylor's urging, she began asking the performers to let her sit in.

In 1962, Willie Dixon, an influential behind-the-scenes presence in Chicago blues, heard one of her impromptu performances and said, as she later recalled, "I never heard a woman sing the blues like you sing the blues." He took her to Chess Records, where he was a talent scout and producer, and wrote a number of songs for her, most notably "Wang Dang Doodle," which she recorded despite her initial trepidation about its raunchy lyrics. It made her a star.

Her voice was just amazing. Have a listen:

More at Shakesville.

Asher Roth, the latest white wonderkind in the rap world, dealt with some controversy a month ago that we neglected to comment on. In short, he tweeted that he was hanging with some "nappy headed hoes" while at one of his college shows. He supposedly thought people would know he was referencing and making fun of the Imus debacle. A lot of people weren't so convinced and called him out. He publicly apologized, saying, in part, "The twitter situation was an immature attempt to poke fun at an infamously moronic joke. In doing so, I unconsciously stooped to the level of its originator, making it just as bad, if not worse. Pathetic. Lesson learned."

Leave it to J. Smooth to not only comment on the whole thing, but bring the "lesson learned" from 101 to Advanced Thesis Seminar type shit.

I can think of so many important parallels to experiences I've had with friends who thought we were close enough that they could be sexist in a funny-sort-of-way and get away with it, because of course I understood they didn't mean it because I knew them well enough to know that they weren't actually sexist.

And on that note, kinda wish J. Smooth had also explored the "Gender Crossroads." Maybe next time?

The awesome Jessica Hopper has written a new book for girls about how to start your own rock band. What I love about this idea is it takes the brilliance of the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls and gives girls (and, um, adults, too!) who can't make it to camp a jolt of music-making inspiration.

Check her out on her book tour. And get the book for the future-rocker in your life.

And, for no reason other than it's Friday afternoon, let's play a vid from the Hopper-endorsed Katie Stelmanis. (I love the animation.)

Love this.

Twenty songs that refer to women as "hos" and other derogatory names won't be played at the Arcadia High prom Saturday night.

That's because senior Madeline Conrique and fellow members of the Women's Health and Issues Club brokered a deal with school administrators limiting songs with misogynistic themes and lyrics.

The group wasn't making a push for squeaky clean Disney pop groups. Club member Lani Luo says, "We are not trying to push for abstinence...We are just trying to advocate for respect."

Awesome.

I went to see Lady Sovereign in concert on Wednesday, and all I can say is that this woman is off the hook! The rapper (and a self-proclaimed feminist, I might add) from the UK is gritty, enthralling and powerful and I loved every minute of her performance. (Especially when she started jump-roping with her microphone cord. Another favorite moment was when a nearly 7-foot tall guy somersaulted from the stage to body surf only to land back-down on the floor - and pop right back up with glee. True story.)

As a hip hop lover, I have to say that it's so refreshing to experience a great female hip hop artist again. After decades past of strong rappers like MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill, I felt like the last 10 years hasn't had much new talent to offer to the genre - well, with the exception of Missy Elliot of course. (Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown made it big too, but I was personally never a huge fan.)

In short, I'm glad that it seems lately that more talented female rhymers like Lady Sovereign and M.I.A. are getting the props they deserve. Any other female rappers out there who inspire you? Or simply get your blood pumping and booty on the dance floor?

For those of you that are hip-hop heads this is a must see video interview with Sheri-Sher who discusses her experience with being a female MC back in the day (late 70's and early 80's). There is a book out about Sheri-Sher, the Mercedes ladies, hip-hop and the Bronx called Mercedes Ladies. They were the first ever all female hip-hop crew.

There is also a part 2 after the jump. In part 2 she gets into why they chose not to be overly sexual, but rather focus on their lyrical abilities and a little about how and why they were generally ignored by the larger hip-hop community. I recommend watching both parts. Apologies for not having a transcript.

via Davey D.

This is one of my favorite songs, from one of my favorite movies, Shortbus.

Jay definitely has a certain sense of humor. The video could be considered NSFW, since he's shirtless and possibly sitting on a toilet seat. Just a warning.

I'm posting this because I think it's a great song. Nothing deeper than that.

Lyrics after the jump.

Community blogger Lynne C. had a post that she wrote for Feministing reprinted in the Toronto Star. And yesterday we got a radio interview request for another Community blogger to speak about the issues she's been covering.

I think this is totally bad ass - and part of the reason we wanted to start the Community site. The idea was to highlight all of the amazing feminist voices out there and to try and get more mainstream attention paid to more feminist perspectives - and that's happening. Woot!

Check out Cocorosie's deconstruction of Akon's "I Wanna Love You," which essentially amounts to him, Snoop, Tego Calderon, and Sean Paul talking about how the way "you shake your ass," "winding, grinding" etc. makes them want to love you. Amazing how winning their heart's affection apparently has absolutely nothing to do with the mind, heart, or humor of a woman.

Akon's video:

Cocorosie's response:

Lyrics to Cocorosie's version after the jump.

Thanks to philadelphiastory for the heads up.

I needed a mid-afternoon pick me up!

It is clear that we have been in Austin for 6 days, I have lost my voice and we may have lost our minds. But please enjoy our take on being feminists at SXSW.

Check out our other posts on SXSW music and SXSW Interactive if you haven't already.

Full transcript after the jump.

One of the highlights of SXSW music so far for me has been seeing Grizzly Bear play in a church. Not only do the songs from their new album sound phenomenal, they played a cover of "He Hit Me and It Felt Like a Kiss":

Not from SXSW, but you get the idea. MP3 is here.

You're perhaps familiar with this song. It was recorded by girl-group The Crystals in the 1960s, and produced by Phil Spector (musical genius, perhaps, but total fucking misogynist). Songwriters Carol King and Gerry Goffin penned the song after learning their nanny, singer Little Eva, was being abused. King and Goffin meant the song as a critique of domestic violence. But Spector pushed the Crystals to record the song in a pretty straightforward manner:

Someone tallied the numbers on how many women artists are here at South By Southwest music. I was kind of surprised at the low numbers, because I feel like we've seen a lot of female acts (both live, and on the schedule). But in relatively speaking, there are few. Only 388 of the more than 2,000 bands feature even one woman.

(via Jessica Hopper)

So we are in the music portion of SXSW and Ann and I are having a blast. The city has gone wild and there is so much live music it is a little overwhelming. I am discovering tons of music and checking out things that I already love.

Of all the bands we saw yesterday and last night, I think Ann and I were most excited and taken aback by female MC Rye Rye. She is 17, from Baltimore, has a female DJ (who is basically the rebirth of Spindarella) and two back-up dancers who come out and dance during the chorus of her tracks. It is an amazing show.

Young, independent, confident women of color tearing it up. That is something I can get behind.

Other music I am checking out includes, King Kahn and the Shrines, Toki Wright, Janelle Monae, Jean Grae, Kid Cudi and an encore show from Rye Rye. I am so not ready.

I'm a little late to this, but did you catch the Times' profile of amazing artist/singer/songwriter Neko Case? In it, she gets political:

IN HER RATTLY BROWN CHEVY VAN, Case returned to the issue of abortion. She deplored some recent movies that raise the matter as one of its crucial plot points -- "Knocked Up" and "Juno," for example -- and then "solve" it with a sweetly positive ending or a miscarriage or some other sidestep. "Just have the abortion," she said of "Juno." "Just have it and get on with your life." She continued: "Years ago, I went to Planned Parenthood in New York -- for another reason -- and I saw these girls waiting there, and it was just awful. It was cold, they were in gowns that didn't really close, and their boyfriends and parents weren't with them, and they were sitting under these bright lights, and the people were mean."

Surely this experience lies behind one of her most readable songs, "Pretty Girls," on "Blacklisted":

The TV is blaring and angry,
as if you don't know why you're here.
Those who walk without sin are so hungry --
Don't let the wolves in, pretty girls. . . . .
Don't let them tell you you're nothing.

Love her.

I suppose it is asking too much that when we cover the politics of complicated artists such as M.I.A., we not call them terrorist. In last week's NYTimes Thomas Fuller calls her politics "dissonant" and implicates her with supporting a well-known "terrorist" organization. Being a transnational feminist is exhausting since you have to problematize everything with quotations. Ha!

Let me not pretend I know any more about the conflict in Sri Lanka than you do or this reporter. But, in general, when a group is marked as "terrorist" by Europe and the United States, I read that implication with a grain of salt, feeling the need to hear both sides of the story. It has been a long time since we have actually waged a just war and have frequently labeled groups fighting for their own land, rights, freedom and resources as terrorist. This is not to suggest that the Tamil Tigers, who Fuller claims that M.I.A. supports, haven't been ruthless in their tactics, but to ask us to read both sides of every story.

And perhaps all of this would be more serious if M.I.A. were a politician, not a recording artist, but I can't help but see irony in implicating a woman-that performed on stage at the Grammies 9 months pregnant, has made clearly feminist statements about the recording industry and its sexism and has discussed intersectional identities within the context of Eurocentrism-with support of "terrorists." M.I.A. already pushes the average viewer out of their comfort zone, calling her a terrorist empathizer is the next logical step.

Would a white male folk singer be labeled the same if he were to show direct or indirect support for an international cause? Is M.I.A. only legible as an "other" because she is foreign and South Asian? Can she not have complicated political analysis without being implicated in supporting terrorists? I mean, seriously.

Boondoggle has more.

UPDATE: More from Amnesty International on M.I.A. and her criticism of the Sinhalese government and how this criticism does not make her a supporter of the Tamil Tigers. Furthermore, this assertion has led to a decrease in the attention genocide in Sri Lanka is getting from the international community.

I really just love her.

Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine has a great interview up with Elizabeth Mendez Berry, who wrote a 2005 Vibe magazine article about domestic violence and the hip hop community, Love Hurts. Watch it. Seriously.

If you tuned in to the Grammys on Sunday, you already caught this tidbit. MIA, who's baby was due on Sunday, showed up to the Grammys and performed her track"Swagger Like Us," in collaboration with T. I., Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne, nine months pregnant. I think bad-ass is an understatement.

Start your Tuesday dancing!

I love this track. I will post better quality video when I get a chance. I am impressed by her energy level and slap in the face to conventional beliefs that pregnant women should hide themselves and their bodies. I have heard rumors that MIA is retiring early. I really hope this is untrue, she brings such a refreshing confidence and unapologetic feminism to her work. This South Asian sister beams with pride knowing someone so bad-ass is repping us.

Meganaut524 covered on the community site as well.

Kelly: an anti-feminist riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

In a recent interview, singer Kelly Clarkson went off on why she's not a feminist.

Would you call yourself a feminist?

No, not at all. I mean, that was the first time in my life -- which maybe I'm naïve and I've not been put in any situations like that -- but that's the first time in my life I've ever even heard someone use that mentality. I'm like, "Hey, knock-knock, 2008." Most of the men in my life have been very highly supportive. I've never had to even think like a feminist because no one around me even thinks one [sex] is higher than the other.

Really? Well it must be nice to work in an industry that's completely sexism-free! But wait...another question from the same interview.

Do you consider the record industry to be a boys' club?

I just know for a fact ... why I said that was because I was actually on a phone call with two people who did not know I was on the phone, and I literally heard somebody I used to work with say, "Well, you know what, he can get away with it because it's a guy. She's a girl, so let's just face it, it's different." And I was like, "Is this the 1950s?" I hung up and didn't listen to the rest.

Does. Not. Compute.

Via Womanist Musings.

Transcript after the jump.

You can check out more of MC Flow here.

Via Queers United.

This last year was an amazing year in art, music, literature and politics, not to mention some serious personal transitions including a 3000 mile coast to coast move back to my hometown in NY. Here are some of the things I loved this last year.

Favorite movie: Milk. You can read what I wrote about it here. I haven't felt so inspired by a motion picture since Ghandi. Honestly, Slumdog Millionare was a close second, but Milk was my favorite because it combined both great film and a brave and beautiful story.

Favorite Album: Benga, Diary of an African Warrior. For those of you who don't know me personally, you don't know that my other personality is that of an electronic music nerd that goes all over the place to dance to new and interesting forms of electronic music. My most recent favorite being a form of music called dubstep. This album got me up and out of my chair consistently and does what we would call, "bring the noise." Check it out if you dare and remember to keep an open mind.

Favorite art exhibit: Josue Rojas, Deporting the American Dream. Yeah, I know Josue personally, that might be part of it, but his short lived art exhibit in San Francsisco was hands down the best art I saw this year which mixed media, images and one of the most powerful stories, not being told in mainstream media.

Favorite book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz. Diaz won the Pultizer for this this. I can't speak highly enough of this book, I have sat to write reviews about it time and again and I feel I have to read it again to do it any justice. If you are a fiction fan, it is a must read. You can also listen to an interview with him here. The man is an inspiration to the aspirations of immigrant writers and artists.

Favorite live show: Erykah Badu with the Roots. Do I really need to say more?

Favorite city: New York. After 7 years on the West Coast I made the move back to NY and fell in love with this city all over again. San Francisco will always be in my heart, but right now, New York is who I am dating.

Favorite moment of 2008: When it was announced that Barack Obama is to be the 44th president of the United States of America. Yeah, that is cheesy and everyone else's moment, but damn, it was pretty great.

What were your favorite things of 2008?

I went to a School of Seven Bells show Monday night at the Mercury Lounge and then had the absolute pleasure of reading this profile of them in Sadie's latest edition. (Sadie, if you're not hip to it yet, is "where feminism meets art meets grrrls.")

Their sound, if you haven't heard it, is sort of like Enya indie rock. That might sound terrible, but it's actually wonderful. It's all deep, affecting beats and angelic harmonizing by twin sisters Alley and Claudia Deheza. And while I don't know these ladies, I get the sense that they are very much in control of their own creative choices and totally committed to their art (not objectifying themselves like so many newbies who get manipulated in the music biz).

Check em out their sounds and Prefuse 73's graphics:

So this is pretty much unrelated to feminism, but I just want to start Tuesday off on the right foot with this gem from a band I got to see on Friday in their first ever US show. They are called Little Dragon and they are from Sweden and have a nice electronic neo-soul sound with lovely strong female vocals. I love new music that has yet to be tarnished by the mainstream and I was so pumped about this band, I had to share. Check em out and tell me what you think.

Happy Tuesday! What did you do over the weekend? Anything interesting?

Via the f word, we find out that Amanda Palmer of Dresden Dolls fame has left her record label after they refused to promote her new single and video (above) because of her "fat" stomach. Seriously.

[Palmer] refused to let them remove shots of her "fat" belly from the video for Leeds United (see above), and is therefore "uncommercial". This comes from a metal label where, I have it on good authority, "you can count the number of women on the fingers of one hand and most of the people on the label are decidedly chunky hairy dudes".

Amanda's fans are quite rightly outraged by this shoddy, sexist behaviour and have begun a Rebellyon, posting pictures of their own bellies on fan forum Shadowbox and sending them to Roadrunner in protest.

Too ridiculous for words - but you've gotta love awesome fans taking action.

P.S. Community poster lefthandedpenguin beat us to this punch on this last week!

UPDATE/CORRECTION: Palmer has not left her label - they won't let her. She gives the full story here.

...because the Accolade, a rock band made up of four women, is looking for one. I know we're a little behind on this, but it's never too late to recognize some bad-ass women:

"In Saudi, yes, it's a challenge," said the group's lead singer, Lamia, who has piercings on her left eyebrow and beneath her bottom lip. (Like other band members, she gave only her first name.) "Maybe we're crazy. But we wanted to do something different."

In a country where women are not allowed to drive and rarely appear in public without their faces covered, the band is very different. The prospect of female rockers clutching guitars and belting out angry lyrics about a failed relationship -- the theme of "Pinocchio" -- would once have been unimaginable here.

But this country's harsh code of public morals has slowly thawed, especially in Jidda, by far the kingdom's most cosmopolitan city.

The band's namesake is this painting, which guitarist Dina says she likes "because it shows a woman who is satisfied with a man." In some ways, all women-only music groups are transgressive. But the Accolade takes it to a new level.

Here's how the band describes itself:

Dina -the ( guitarist ) was so interested in music.. especialy rock & metal music. Her dream was to make a band!she started learning how to play the guitar at the age of 16.. Also, Dareen ( bassist) was a huge support for her and even shared the same dream, so they started to look for members to create the band.. they met Lamia (vocals ) & Amjad who happened to be intrested in the same thing. By 2008, they took things seriously and started to practice and create their own music!!! Their music is inspired from paintings that tell a story of certain situations in our lives...it's a blend of art & music..

Hear them on their MySpace page.

I couldn't choose just one (there are so many!) but below are a few of my faves, in no particular order. Leave yours in comments...

Queen Latifah, UNITY

More after the jump!

Ugh.

It's not ironic. It's not edgy. It's not retro-cool. It's just sexist.

For previous posts of the "it's not hip, it's racist/sexist" variety...
American Apparel: Jungle prints are back!
Not-Thinking and Drinking: On feminism, role models and humor
Andy Samberg: Pro-feminist or ironic hipster douche?
Gentrification, Hipsters and "Ghetto Chic."
Groping, leering and hipster harassment
Meet Paternalism.
I am now about to lose my shit... (on "kill whitey" parties)

In an effort to continue the dialogue idea Jessica and I started recently (also, Michfest belated update to come later today) I wanted to respond to this post about the church signage.

First, I've been thinking about writing an (un)feminist guilty pleasures post about the Katy Perry song for some time now. Honestly I was almost too embarrassed about how much I liked the song, but after seeing this, I can't avoid it.

You can see the video here on youtube, the embedding has been shut off.

Obviously the church signage is absurd. Not really much debating there. What is debatable is his comment that the music video is so suggestive it borders on pornography. Now, it's true that there are many scantily-clad women in lingerie (male slumber party fantasy anyone?) in the video, but there was surprisingly little objectionable behavior. I mean, she never even kisses a girl in the damn thing! And then, to top it all off (if her lyrics weren't bad enough "it's not what good girls do, not how they should behave") the video ends by making it seem like it was all a dream.

So Pastor David, I think there about a million other music videos out there with more suggestive behavior. And, do you really likethink kissing a girl in your dream is worthy of an eternity in hell? Actually, don't answer that.

And to Katy Perry, come on! I really want to like your upbeat, pop like song, but you're killing me. Don't capitalize on the idea of kissing women and then lame out like that. Oh, and have you all heard her other song, Ur so gay?!?

My partner Nik is sort of a juggernaut when it comes to contemporary music--he reads lots of music sites, mines the best of bands before they hit it big, and goes to tons of shows. I, on the other hand, can't really stop listening to the mainstays of my high school days--Patty Griffin, Shannon Worrell, Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt's old stuff, Common, Mos Def etc.

A couple of weeks ago, however, Nik said that he'd gotten me a ticket to a show at Bowery Ballroom to see a band he really thought I'd like. I was a bit skeptical, not because he doesn't know my taste, but because a lot of indie rock sounds like white kids whining to me.

Low and behold, I discovered my new favorite band: Thao with the Get Down, Stay Down. Thao is a badass lady who stomped around the stage in her cowgirls boots, strumming on her guitar, and belting out her totally original and awesome lyrics. She and her band members (two dudes, one a guitarist, the other a drummer) played a really riveting, spirited show; none of the blasé apathy characteristic of the band before it. When dudes yelled idiotic things at Thao (who is super cute) from the audience, she just went on doing her thing--a consummate professional and, I can't help but guessing, a feminist superstar.

Check out her music here, and definitely splurge for tickets if she comes your way.

Ann and I had the pleasure of seeing Athens Boys Choir (I'm sure you haven't forgotten the video Fagette, from a few weeks ago) perform in DC recently. Harvey Katz was gracious enough to give Feministing a free copy of his new CD, Bar Mitzvah Superhits of the 80s, 90s and Today.

If you like a great mix of spoken word tracks with upbeat pop songs than you'll love this album. Katz takes on heavy subjects like his mother's death, his own struggles with gender identity and US politics but intersperses it with great pieces that make anyone who was a child of the 80s reminisce hardcore. My favorite track was definitely "Our like like is a caboodle." Katz shared at the show that he doesn't fall in love, he falls in "like like." The piece is riddled with awesome 80s references to everything from magna doodle, holograms, shake and bake to trapper keepers.

Other great tracks include "I like you but I love your jazz hands" and "The Metrosexual threw off my gaydar."

You can preview the album on CD baby and purchase it!

If you didn't listen to WBAI's Hip-Hop Takoever-Election Style this weekend, you definitely missed out. But lucky for you, we have a segment that you can listen to right here: "Politics for Goddesses Rising: Our Relevance in Election '08."

Hosted by Feministing friend jaz and Nida Khan, the show featured Rosa Clemente, VP Presidential Running Mate of Green Party and Presidential Nominee Cynthia McKinney and Kevin Powell, who is running for a Congressional seat in Brooklyn. The show takes on how women's issues are being addressed in this election; the importance of local politics and politicians, the media's lack pundits who are women of color and more...

WBAI 99.5 FM's Hip-Hop Takeover was 17 hours of non-stop hip-hop programming - but this is definitely the hour to listen to!

On her website, Bjork (one of my favorite musicians) tries to figure out why men keep getting the credit for production work that was actually done by women:

it could be that this is some degree of sexism . m.i.a. had to deal with this with the respected website pitchfork.com where they assumed that diplo had produced all of her kala album without reading any credit list or nothing , it just had to be , it couldn´t have been m.i.a. herself ! it feel like still today after all these years people cannot imagine that woman can write , arrange or produce electronic music . i have had this experience many many times that the work i do on the computer gets credited to whatever male was in 10 meter radius during the job . people seem to accept that women can sing and play whatever instrument they are seen playing .but they cannot program , arrange , produce , edit or write electronic music .

(Emphasis mine.) Bjork points to some specific incidents where dudes got the credit, and then pleads with music reviewers to read the fine print. After all, she herself is more than just an awesome voice. On Vespertine, for example, Bjork is credited with: Programming, Producer, String Arrangements, Vocal Editing, Main Performer, Harp Arrangement, Music Box.

After distancing herself from feminism in an interview in Bust some years ago, Bjork has gone on to express some awesomely feminist sentiments, describing her album Volta this way:

"It's sort of trying to put out some good vibes for the little princesses out there. There are actually other things than losing a glass slipper. I mean, part of it was having a little daughter and realizing, what are we telling girls? All these books out there about finding your prince. All these little girls, all they want to do is be pretty and find their prince, and I'm like, what happened to feminism here?"

Any readers out there with experience in music production who can relate to the phenomenon Bjork describes above?

Thanks to fellow Bjork fan Leslie Fay for the link.

Since the theme of this afternoon's posting seems to be gender (soon to come, a post about the olympic's and gender verification) I thought I'd post this music video from Athens Boys Choir. He's pretty fantastic and I think the video speaks for itself. I promise it will be stuck in your head.

Warning: Not appropriate for work, unless sexual words are okay...

Happy Monday, folks.

We posted on this song before, but now there's a lovely video to go along with it! This is now officially my favorite song titled "Mother of Pearl." (Sorry, Roxy Music, #2 slot for you.)

via Lauredhel (and lots of other feminist bloggers, too). Lyrics after the jump...

I love NYC in the summer. There's always a ton of amazing feminist events going on, and it seems to have begun. This weekend kicks off with Rock for Young Women, an event to support the New York Metro Chapter of the Young Women's Task Force.

Then Monday, the amazing Girls for Gender Equity will be partnering with HollaBack NYC for a post-show talk back about subway harassment after a special showing of the play Standing Clear, described as "an ensemble piece that digs deep into the personalities we commute with each day."

Support and enjoy three awesome organizations in one week. If you're in the NYC area, be sure to check em out.

I can't stop dancing to this so I just HAD to share. His outfit is amazing.

Not completely sure what this has to do with feminism, except feminists need to dance sometimes. This might be my Halloween costume.

Check out Jay Smooth's take on the historical problem of homophobia in hip hop culture and what we often call the politics of outing or "spotting the gay." You won't regret it. I swear.

No, but I can always love her more. Mary J. Blige has started a women's group to help women develop confidence and increase success in their careers.

via.

Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute, who founded a youth-oriented brand-consulting firm, say they're setting up the Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now.

The foundation will concentrate first on the Yonkers, N.Y., area where the 37-year-old Blige grew up. The charity will fund scholarships, grants and programs that help women gain confidence and skills to succeed in their careers.

Bad-ass.

Mary's songs always gave me more confidence.

via Our Bodies, Our Blog, I belatedly found Kate Harding's ode to Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville," which Kate calls, "the album that made me a feminist."

A few years ago, I wrote my own mash note to "Exile" -- which is being rereleased this year for its 15th anniversary.

Kate and I had remarkably similar experiences with this album -- and I imagine we're not alone. I wrote, "I certainly didn't think of "Exile" as a feminist statement. It was just good music. But the album was sort of my musical bridge from Pavement to riot grrrl -- which was, I think, my bridge to feminism." Kate wrote, "'Guyville' was not only my favorite album of 1993 but an early foundation of my feminism."

(As a side note, I also love that Kate cites "6'1"" as a song that made her, a 5'2" woman, feel incredibly strong and empowered -- the lyrics go, "I kept standing 6'1" /instead of 5'2"/ and I loved my life/ and I hated you." The funny thing for me in reading Kate's post was that it's eminently clear to me now that the song is about a super bad-ass 5'2" woman, but I had always heard it as an anthem for over-6' women who is proud of her unconventional height. Hahaha. It's so awesome that both Kate and I identified with the song.)

Recently, Courtney and I were talking about "click" moments -- you know, the point at which it all came together for you and you started identifying as a feminist. (Courtney's story is great -- she should really post about it.) I told her I couldn't think of my "moment" -- that it was an evolution for me, and no single experience stands out as a turning point. And while I'm not quite willing to say that listening to "Exile in Guyville" was when it all clicked, this album is certainly one of a series of things that led me to feminism.

So what about you? What was your "click" moment?

Not only because he is fucking right on, but also because he throws in a small mention one of my favorite songs ever. See if you can catch it. First person to email me the name of the song gets a Feministing shirt...

Congrats to Melissa, who correctly guessed A Tribe Called Quest's Check the Rhime.

Check out one of my favorite blogs, 37 Days, for this personal essay on playing an instrument previously considered just for dudes. As if.

"I let my uterus do the listening!"

Lesley Douglas, head of popular music at the BBC, has said that men "tend to be more interested in the intellectual side of music," while women are more "emotional."

Addressing the issue of making 6 Music more accessible to women in an interview with Radio 4's Feedback programme, Douglas said: "It's partly how you talk about music. For women, there tends to be more emotional reaction to music. Men tend to be more interested in the intellectual side of the music, the tracks, where albums have been made, that sort of thing."

Seriously, we might as well hold our iPods up to our vaginas.

I saw Leslie and the Ly's live tonight. It was amazing. Their rendition of "Midwest Diva" nearly reduced me to tears of joy. Leslie Hall does all Midwest ladies proud. (Especially those of us from Iowa.)

I also nearly passed out upon discovering that Leslie is a fan of Feministing. Swoon!

Leslie and I strike our fiercest "I'm from Iowa, bitch" pose. (Photo by fellow Midwest diva Kay Steiger)

Can I just say that I can't fucking wait for this movie to come out?

I spent many a college night dancing my ass of to Anything Can Happen, so it pains me to report that Wyclef Jean is, well, an asshole.

Thanks to Ashlee for the link.

UPDATE: Reader Rachel Fallon writes,

I saw Wyclef perform at the House of Blues in San Diego on Monday (the day after the Super Bowl) he dedicated about half an hour refuting the fact that he dislikes fat girls...he only allowed "bigger" girls onstage for 3 or 4 songs and danced with every single one. he seemed extremely pissed that anyone would accuse him of disrespected full bodied women.

There's an interesting article in the latest New Yorker about all the British pop stars who have become so popular as of late (Kate Nash, Lilly Allen, Adele, Remi Nicole, Amy Macdonald). Sasha Frere-Jones makes the argument that MySpace has essentially "made" some of these stars too early--that Nash, in particular--needed more time to mature as an artist before she hit the big time.

I find that thesis less interesting (and a little patronizing) than the idea that MySpace has created a new way for these young women to "make" themselves. Power in the music industry has been consolidated in so few hands for so long and all of that is changing thanks to both MySpace and so many other technological innovations. The days of male music execs shaping teenage girls into pop hit machines and pushing them to market their voices only as an extension of their bodies may be coming to an end (at least in Britain). Even if you look at Allen or Nash's style ("granny dresses", vintage, healthy figures) it seems testament to the fact that objectification in the music industry is shifting. These girls may still objectify themselves to varying degrees, but at least they're the ones with their fingers on the button. Thoughts?

Sorry we're a little light on the posting, I'm still a bit jet lagged and catching up on emails. Have a great weekend everyone, and enjoy a little bit of the most crush-worthy boy band ever. (Ad Rock...swoon.)

Aretha and Annie are here. This has got to be within the top three feminist music videos of all time.

Thanks to Michael.

Go listen to Nellie McKay's Mother of Pearl. It will put you in a good mood, I promise.

I have just been alerted to the fact that Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein has a blog on NPR.com.

After graduating high school, Michelle Walker left NYC for the UK to spend years singing in renowned clubs like The Limelight and Ronnie Scott's. After moving to the D.C. area to study voice, she spent graduate school at American University, and continued her jazz studies privately with Madeline Eastman, Jay Clayton, Nancy Marano, Pam Bricker, Dena DeRose, Rhiannon and jazz vocalist Mark Murphy. Michelle also studied at the Amsterdam Music Conservatory in Holland and the Stanford Jazz Summer Workshop in Palo Alto, CA.

Some highlights of her work include opening on tour for jazz vocalists Mark Murphy, Rene Marie, Chris Botti, George Benson, Spyro Gyra, Terrell Stafford and opening for Wynton Marsalis. Michelle currently teaches privately and conducts workshops on musical performance and career management when she's not on stage. Here's Michelle...

Left, Judy Nails in a previous version of the game. Right, in the latest version.

When I picture guitar heroines, they're usually sporting jeans and a tank top. Or menswear. Not the case in the Guitar Hero video game, apparently, where all of the ladies wear midriffs or bikini tops. Cara laments the sexing-up of her favorite Guitar Hero character, Judy Nails, in the latest version of the game:

Basically, I’m not sure why they bothered to put a shirt on her. There are copious amounts of cleavage, her entire stomach, and at least half of her bra hanging out. The shirt is really more of an accessory than an actual article of clothing. Even on stage with all of those bright lights, she still might get a little cold. And every outfit change I could give her doesn’t make it any better.

Even worse, I don’t have any other female options. There’s Cassie, who has always worn a bikini top in lieu of a shirt (which I was originally fine with, because there were other options and there is a male character with no shirt). And there’s a new Asian female character who, though she is covered, is dressed like she works for Gwen Stefani. And since I see it as pretty racist, I can’t go with her, either.

So. Apparently Guitar Hero now thinks that it either A. does not have any female fans or B. their female fans will, for some reason, not mind being objectified and forced to play with a character who is half naked, if they want to play with a woman.

Add to that Axe sponsorship (including the eau de asshole promotional jingle actually placed within the game), a guitar shaped like a woman's disembodied leg in a fishnet stocking, and a guitar called "Lady Shapes" with an airbrushed blonde in a bikini on it. More from Cara:

Okay, is anyone else totally icked out by the new 50 Cent/Justin Timberlake song? "She Wants It" (don't they all?) seems like an ode to stalking in the video above, and the lyrics aren't much better. A couple of snippets:

She she, she want it, I want to give it to her / She know that, it's right here for her / I want to, see her break it down

...Look at the way she shakin' shakin' / Make you want to touch it, make you want to taste it / Have you l / lustin' for her, go crazy face it / Now don't stop, get it, get it / The way she shakin' make you want to hit it
Think she double jointed from the way she splitted / Got you're head f**ked up from the way she did it

...She always ready, when you want it she want it / Like a nympho, the info, I show you where to meet her

Along with the video, these lyrics seem doubly as creepy. It's like someone took a bunch of traditional excuses to rape women (look at how she's dressing/dancing/acting, she totally wants it) and put them to a beat. What do other folks think?

Via Show Me Your Wits

A Reuters article titled, "Sexy rap videos suspected to be damaging to young girls" says:

Watching rap music videos that are overly sexy and violent can lead to alcohol abuse and promiscuity among young black girls, according to a study into sexual stereotypes in rap music footage.

Firstly, putting "sexy" and "violent" within the same category is a bit disconcerting. (Not to mention "promiscuity" and "alcohol abuse.") The actual study was even more so:

The research was based on a survey of 522 African-American girls aged 14 to 18 who were asked how often they watched rap videos, questioned about their sex lives and asked to provide a urine sample for a marijuana screening.

While obviously the media and pop culture (which does include the misogyny that exists in many rap videos) has a huge impact on girls' lives, why not focus more on their self esteem and confidence rather than their sexual activity and pot smoking? (The research method itself is pretty problematic to me as well, but that's a whole other discussion.)

Thoughts?

Kira Cochrane at The Guardian has a great article on feminist folk singer and all around kick-ass gal Ani DiFranco. I love me some Ani.

Just a taste: "I think what we need to do is to understand feminism as a prerequisite to saving the environment, to ending war, to ending racism. We need to understand that feminism is not for women, it's for humanity. Patriarchy does not work for men - they go and get killed in wars. Patriarchy hurts all of us. You know...the older I grow, the more I understand peace and stability as a product of balance, and human society is fundamentally imbalanced. Patriarchy is like the elephant in the room that we don't talk about, but how could it not affect the planet radically when it's the superstructure of human society?"

Swoon.

Gawker does the math on the pretentious-record-review gap over at Pitchfork. Women had 6 to 8 percent of all bylines.

To find out what women think about new music, please please go check out Venus Zine.

Also see Amanda's list of Myths that Run Women Out of Insufferable Music Snobbery.

Elizabeth Dahmen front; Photo by Liz Liguori

Elizabeth Dahmen is a comedian, actor and singer who's performed in countless productions in NYC over the last 10 years. She's been featured in The L Magazine, and in GO Magazine’s “100 Women We Love.� She also hosted karaoke at Meow Mix for three years before it closed down and starred in the hit lesbian short "Bar Talk " directed by Cheryl Furjanic. She starred in "Ex-Antwone" a controversial play directed by Juan Souki that had an English language world premiere at PS 122 last fall, and just recently shot a scene in Madeleine Olnek's upcoming film.

She's also Terry Tone of The Lesbian Overtones. Here's Elizabeth...

I didn't watch the MTV Video Music Awards, so I didn't see the entirety of Britney Spears' performance. I did, however, see sections of it replayed (over and over again) on several cable news networks. Now, there's not doubt that it was a bad performance. She seemed to just be going through the motions and I felt kinda bad for her.

But if I hear one more person comment on how "fat" she was, I'm gonna lose it. Whether it's a news story saying she has a "paunch" or a cable news dude calling her chunky and fat--it's fucking gross and wrong. When was the last frigging time a male musician's beer belly made news? Assholes.

You know, i think Carey Roberts is maybe my favorite anti-feminist. He's at least in the top five. Because he's nothing if not original. First it was that feminists have a mental disorder (which he called "FIPH – feminist-induced phobic hysteria."). Then it was that feminists ruined Amnesty International.

Roberts' latest gripe? American Idol winner Carrie Underwood:

Dial up your local Country and Western station and you may soon find your fingers tapping out the beat of Carrie Underwood’s latest hit, Before He Cheats. Underwood suspects her boyfriend is probably cheating on her (in matters of infidelity, I guess “probably� is proof enough).

This how she extracts her revenge:

“I dug my key into the side
of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive,
Carved my name into his leather seats…
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,
slashed a hole in all four tires…�

Trashing your boyfriend’s car has little to do with sugar and spice and everything nice. But it’s the title — Before He Cheats – that turns this song into a bitter gender tirade. Just imagine a male star reaching platinum for crooning, Before She Aborts.

I'm unsure how Roberts makes the leap to abortion here, but I'm impressed. (Equally as impressive is how he goes from Carrie Underwood to The Color Purple to women feminizing the church all in the same article--kudos, Carey!)

But you have to love that anti-feminists hold on to things like this (and Lifetime and Oprah to prove that women have power!) for dear life in order to prove how the world is out to get men. I mean, Carrie Underwood is the best they can do. Yeah.

This interview in Pitchfork with the fabulous, Sri Lankan via GB, M.I.A. bangs out just what she thinks is wrong with the way that she is portrayed in the US media. That perhaps the US media focuses on the "who" is behind the production and lyrical genius of M. I. A., as opposed to recognizing that she is responsible for her own creativity.

M.I.A.: Yesterday I read like five magazines in the airplane-- it was a nine hour flight-- and three out of five magazines said "Diplo: the mastermind behind M.I.A.'s politics!" And I was wondering, does that stem from [Pitchfork]? Because I find it really bonkers.

Pitchfork: Well, it's hard to say where it originated. We certainly have made reference to Diplo playing a part on your records, but it seems like everyone plays that up.

M.I.A.: If you read the credits, he sent me a loop for "Bucky Done Gun", and I made a song in London, and it became "Bucky Done Gun". But that was the only song he was actually involved in on Arular. So the whole time I've had immigration problems and not been able to get in the country, what I am or what I do has got a life of its own, and is becoming less and less to do with me. And I just find it a bit upsetting and kind of insulting that I can't have any ideas on my own because I'm a female or that people from undeveloped countries can't have ideas of their own unless it's backed up by someone who's blond-haired and blue-eyed. After the first time it's cool, the second time it's cool, but after like the third, fourth, fifth time, maybe it's an issue that we need to talk about, maybe that's something important, you know.

She is awesome. However, in response to Diplo not helping her mix the album, well I heard maybe that is not true, but who knows.

Singer and songwriter Nicole Nelson recently returned to New York City after a long run in Boston, MA where I first saw her perform. Her voice and music are often compared to the artistry of Eva Cassidy, Donny Hathaway, Gladys Knight and Erykah Badu; and her style and poise are often compared to those of female greats well beyond her years.

I thankfully caught up with Nicole over email amidst her hectic schedule. Here's Nicole...

Yeah, I miss the 90s. So sue me.

This one totally passed me right by, but today is a "Day of Silence" to save internet radio. Why should we care about the corporate takeover of web radio? Because people that can't get radio stations on the airwaves anymore and folks (community run women and people of color stations) that have been put out of business by companies like Clear Channel, have gone to internet radio. But now internet radio is at risk as well.

via Wired News.

Barring Congressional intervention or the success of one of the many appeals of the Copyright Royalty Board's decision, Internet radio will die on July 15th, when payments under the new scheme are due, though SoundExchange recently back-pedaled a bit by exempting small webcasters until 2010. (It's worth noting that SoundExchange collects royalties for all artists and labels, so webcasters can't even stay online by refusing to webcast music from RIAA bands.)

However, no music doesn't mean that all webcasters will go offline completely. For instance, KCRW plans to air a loop of an hour-long discussion of the copyright royalty situation called "D-Day for Webcaster (there was talk of me appearing near the beginning of the show to introduce the situation, but the timing didn't work out -- bummer).

Also according to the Media Action Center at YMC:

The new rates mean fewer outlets to get the music and diversity we don't hear on broadcast radio. Putting webcasters out of business will only hurt artists more. They depend on Internet radio to get their music out to fans and build new audiences. When the webcasters go off the air, so do artists.

This is particularly alarming for youth, women and communities of color that have been pushed out of any meaningful participation in broadcast radio. A recent study by Free Press found that despite compromising 51% of the U.S. population, women only control 6% of commercial radio stations. Racial or ethnic minorities make up 33% of the population but own just 7% of radio stations. For our communities, saving Internet radio is a matter of maintaining power in a media system wherein we have so little already. It means making sure we have choices and control over who and what we hear. It means radio belongs to everyone, not just who can afford it.

You can take action here.

On the monkey bars.

Sorry, it's Wednesday and I needed a break. Not that I dance around my apartment to this song wearing a fifteen-year old Cross Colors shirt. No, that couldn't be it.

(Lovingly dedicated to my junior high school peeps.)

OK yeah so maybe I know some of these people, but I had to give a quick hit to my friend Olivia's new website, Wiretap Music, about local San Francisco music. It is innovative, interesting and employs multimedia (documentaries of featured bands!), so if in the Bay or just a music nerd, please check it out.

That said, first band to be showcased, the very locally popular, slightly feminist, ladies delight, Boyskout.

It's taken me forever to get around to posting this, but Beth Ditto's bare-it-all cover of British music mag NME has got everyone talking.

My initial reaction? YES! She looks fabulous. It's so incredible to see a mainstream music magazine put a sexy, anti-sizist, feminist artist on the cover, who stands apart from your typically emaciated covergirl and presents an entirely different beauty standard. Size-positivity! Armpit hair! It's as if NME declared May "Love Your Body Month." Ditto has long been an ambassador for all the girls who don't fit the media construct of "perfect female form" -- she's also posed nude for the Sunday Times of London and is fond of stripping down during her live shows.

But I've got a few reservations, too. I'm not generally in favor of serious female musicians having to get naked in order to make it onto the cover of a mainstream magazine. It's worth noting that NME is not Maxim. It's not even comparable to Rolling Stone in terms of fleshy photos. It does not regularly publish cover shots of any naked woman. (I wonder if they considered shooting Ditto with her clothes on?) This post speculates that NME would have come in for more criticism if it had published a naked cover photo of a thinner woman, possibly facing accusations that it was turning into a lad mag when it supposedly focuses on music. But because Ditto does not have the body of a conventional, skeletal cover model, NME was shielded from this argument. (Thoughts?)

Ditto has had some interesting interactions with super-skinny stars who we typically see on magazine covers. Back in February, Ditto complained that she was up against Kate Moss for the "Sexiest Woman" title at the NME Awards, saying "I don't even know why she's here. Just because she's sleeping with a singer and sings a few backing vocals she thinks she's it." But after a serious heart-to-heart, now Ditto and Moss are apparently best pals. Ditto said recently:

"Kate is amazing. I spent one night talking to her and she just said the most amazing things about bodies," explained Ditto. At first I didn't think I was going to like her, but she just turned up to one of our shows and said, 'Do you know what I hate Beth? I hate it when people tell my big girlfriends, 'You have a beautiful face...' I mean, that's a really radical concept."

Ditto was also praised by Keira Knightly in a recent issue of In Touch, where Knightly said, "Oh my god, that woman is so sexy. She has the most amazing body." Check out the photo juxtaposition that accompanies the quote. It's that image that convinces me to quit fretting and celebrate the nekkid NME cover. Her cover photo is transgressive. It's groundbreaking. And putting on the newsstands an alternate version of what is normally presented as SEXY is incredibly important. So kudos to NME. And Ditto rocks.

(Thanks to Becky for the link, long ago.)

From the Girls Rock Movie. Sweet.

Apparently Clarkson has spoken out about her experiences with sexist music executives and their blatant disapproval of her writing her own music because she's a young woman:

"Everybody doesn't like me writing all the time, no matter how many No. 1's you write. It's clearly like yelling at a brick wall....It's because I'm a woman — because I'm a young woman. I literally heard someone say it [during a conference call]. They didn't know I was on the phone. Like, really? We're living in what century? I hung up. I was like, I can't even address that. 'Cause that was the most ignorant thing I've ever heard."

In the meantime, she just won a Song of the Year award for, yes, a song she wrote herself. Take that.

Amanda and Lauren are talking about the riot grrl movement tonight on Radio Free Pandagon. Make sure to tune in!

You gotta love how the media just loves to throw the word feminist around just because someone said something that is slightly pro-woman. In the post-Imus fall-out Snoop Dogg did manage to emerge as a spokeperson for women in hip-hop videos (which is both frightening and endearing). I mean Doggystyle is one of my favorite positions albums, but I don't exactly look to Snoop for political commentary, what with his own connection to GGW and a clearly misogynistic attitude throughout his music and public personality.

So I was surprised to read that he has been defending "video ho's," a term that has gained fluency, but is nonetheless degrading and inappropriate.

The rapper is insisting the semi-naked girls in his videos are simply 'following their dreams'.

Snoop waxed philosophical as he told MTV.com: "Who's to say that these women in videos are hos? They are classy women. Not every girl in the videos has sex with the rappers. A lot of these women do this as a means of modelling or being appreciated for their looks."

"The women allow themselves to be in these videos. We don't force them to be in these videos. They want to be seen, and they have calendars, portfolios, headshots, cards."

I do agree with him on one level. I don't like the way "video vixens" are talked about, as opposed to talked too. And I think it is good to counter the belief that these women will do anything to get to the top, sleep with the rappers, appear naked for free, etc. It feeds into inaccurate stereotypes about women of color's sexuality and self-esteem. I do bet that a lot of these women are savvy and recognize what they are doing and why.

But I don't think this gets to the heart of the issue. The misogyny for me in "video ho" culture is not that the women are choosing to do this, but the question of a) what other choices do they have for careers and b) ultimately where does dancing take them? It is not some utopia where you will dance in one video and then you will make it in a career in modeling, acting or dancing. It is really competitive and when you are already seen as a "video ho" I am thinking it is much harder to break out.

Everyone wants to make dancing in videos a morality issue. Should these women be "allowed" to dance this way, should our children be "allowed" to consume these images? Ultimately, for me it is a labor issue. Are they getting paid what they should, especially in comparison to the rappers that make the videos and are they getting any kind of longterm benefits?

I feel like I could write a much longer post on this, but some initial thoughts?

And Snoop is NOT a feminist.

Check out this review of Tori Amos’ new album, “American Doll Posse,� which is said to be a critique of the Pussycat Dolls’ ridiculousness.

Has anyone heard the album? Thoughts?

(Warning: This video is very explicit and may be upsetting)
Obviously, we haven't.

Excuse me while I got delete all Akon from my playlist.

This video, "A Little Too Late," features Toby Keith singing to this tied-to-a-chair-in-the-basement-girlfriend. He threatens her with a shovel, then it looks like he's going to drown her, or maybe bury her alive. It's fucking sick and scary.

It was nominated for Best Video at the Country Music Television Awards. Nice, huh?

Via Fun with Feminism.

I'm running around like a mad person, so I'm sorry for the slow posting today. But I figure Dolly always makes everything okay.

The super amazing Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls is holding an online auction until May 7--and damn do they have some great stuff!

The “So You Wanna Be A Rockstar� Online Auction is an opportunity for you and yours to get the hottest rock star hook ups – all for a good cause! Awesome items are on the block, including a guitar signed by the Beastie Boys, a bag by Marc Jacobs, weekend getaways, recording studio time, and much much more. The auction runs April 23 thru May 7. 100% of every winning bid will go straight to scholarship fund.

There's an item on there I'm dying to get (though I won't tell you which one, in case you fuckers decide to bid against me!)...I must have it.

Martha Diaz is the president of The Hip-Hop Association, and producer of the H2O International Film Festival and Hip-Hop Education Summit, amongst many other projects. An educator, organizer and filmmaker, her impact in hip hop can be traced to her early days as a young and aspiring production assistant for the late Ted Demme, the groundbreaking producer and director behind "Yo! MTV Raps. "

The H2O International Film Festival is taking place May 31-June 15, 2007 in New York City and its theme is "The World Is Yours?" It “highlights the Hip-Hop community of the early/mid 90’s; a time when youth in the community began demanding money, power, and respect.�

I caught up with Martha over email. Here's Martha...

Contributed by Suzanne Grossman

I first met Hugo Orozco and Zora Sicher of the band Magnolia at the inaugural Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls in August 2005. While most girls returned to the post-camp real world of school, friends and typical after-school activities, these girls kept at their rock band with rehearsals, songwriting and soon, performances all over NYC.

The 11-year-old girls of Magnolia have songs like "Miss Scream-a lot" and "Whatcha Gonna Do"; how can you not find them adorable? But the drum and guitar-playing duo are more than just super cute. These girls write their own songs, each sing and play two instruments in the band, and are now seasoned performers at classy NYC rock venues like the Bowery Ballroom (opening for indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at a Rock Camp benefit in January), the Knitting Factory, and CBGB's, performing at the latter the weekend it closed. They are preparing for a show hosted by the Wilie Mae Rock Camp for Girls this weekend at the Brooklyn Museum's First Saturday, April 7.

Read the rest at HuffPo!

Can't. Stop. Laughing.

I am loving this title. I have written about the ever-amazing MPX before, however this is her newest project. Get familiar and if you are interested or in the LA area, shoot them a message. Three South Asian women sing about nation, women, peace and liberation. Gotta support that transnational art.

Photo by Patrick Bishop

When I think of Etta James, I think of her sultry and indescribably amazing voice singing the words to “At Last.� Then I think of Melissa Acosta. I saw Melissa sing “At Last� at a bar in Boston. I think Etta would have been proud.

Melissa has been climbing the music scene since as far back as she can remember. She’s now singing with the progressive hip hop/R&B/reggae/funk New York City-based band, Emergency Service. Melissa is currently on tour with them, so catch her if you can.

She took time to email me her answers to my questions. Here’s Melissa…

I know I've posted this vid before, but I don't care--it makes me happy.

All of this just fell into my lap at once so I thought I would lump it into one post about hip-hop and spotlight films, activism and music that is going down showing the changing face of hip-hop and responding to the hypermasculinity portrayed in mainstream hip hop today.

Firstly, I was reading over at New American Media about Byron Hurt's new documentary on manhood in hip hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs in on Manhood in Hip-Hop Culture. In it he tackles what he finds as a formulaic presentation of contemporary rap artists. Vibe writes. . .

Hurt’s relationship to some of hip hop’s lyrical content shifted soon after college, when he was hired to educate high school and college athletes about gender issues. “I didn’t know anything about ‘gender awareness’ when they hired me,� he says. “It made me nervous. I was worried my friends would think I was soft for what I was doing.� The training he received on the job, though, changed his life. “I realized for the first time that sexism and violence against women were real issues. And I felt like I could make a difference.�

Then, while watching Rap City one day back in 2000, Hurt suddenly found himself noticing that “all the videos looked very … formulaic.� Thugged-out rappers, scantily-clad women, cash, and cars – it all seemed to be playing on repeat, and it all seemed to present the same message: these are the things you need in order to be a “man.�

Photo by Kaya Nati

Hanifah Walidah is a hip hop artist, playwright, actor, music video maker, and filmmaker. Her list of accomplishments goes on and on, literally. Here are just a few of them: Her first LP, “A Headnadda’s Journey to Adidi-Skizm� was released in 1994 under the name Sha-Key. In the early 90s she was co-founder of two poet/performance collectives, The Vibe Khamelons and The Boom Poetic, both recognized as groundbreaking for fusing a hip hop approach to traditional beatnik rhythm. In 2002 she wrote and performed her one-woman show “Straight Black Folks Guide to Black Folks.� In 2006 she was the musical director of “What It Iz,� a hip hop/spoken word adaptation of “The Wiz.�

And thankfully, Hanifah is at it again. Hanifah’s new album, “Once Upon It Is� debuted this month. Check out her new song and music video, “Make a Move� on her website. Or better yet, vote to make it #1 on LOGO’s [LGBT-focused channel] “Click List.� It’s the first video that depicts gay women of color in a positive and celebratory light.

Hanifah will also be releasing an accompanying documentary to the video, U People, this June for Pride. The documentary features behind the scenes discussions on the video and a closer look at the women who make up the video. It will be debuting on LOGO.

You can also catch Hanifah on a European tour this spring. Here’s Hanifah…

Ever since I got cable (bad choice when you have as much to do as I) but I have been watching a ton of Vh1 Soul, soooo good. And I love this song. All I can say, "I can have another you in a minute, so don't ever get to thinking your irreplacable. . . "

For some reason several of my girlfriends have been sending me this song/video. I guess it is important to remember the strength we have on our own, despite the nefarious implications of hetero-romance and what not. It is corny, it is mainstream, it is entrenched in disgusting capitalist patriarchy, but I can't help but get a little happy that young girls (and my girls) are singing this song.

Oh my god, I love this song. It's from a band called Dites Donc out of Wisconsin...I'm crushing hard.

Thanks to Christopher for the link!

Photo by Rosalia Rivera

Caridad De La Luz, whose name translated in English from Spanish means “Charity of Light,� is a slam poet, screenplay writer, actor, hip hop artist and reggaeton artist, and social justice activist. I saw Caridad perform as La Bruja this fall at a human rights forum provided by Breakthrough, an international human rights organization. She’s also married, and the mother of an 8-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl.

Caridad has appeared on HBO’s Russell Simmons’ “Def Poetry Jam.� Is the author of the highly successful one-woman comedy show, “Boogie Rican Blvd.� Was Cuca in Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled� in 2000. And played Lucky in the Sundance-winning 2004 film “Down to the Bone.� She just released her latest CD, “Brujalicious.� It’s all about hip hop, reggaeton, social justice, and good beats.

For non-Spanish speakers, “La Bruja� means “The Witch.� I’ll let her explain. Here’s Caridad…

I interviewed Colin Meloy of the Decemberists for Venus Zine. We talked about the new album, and he said some things about pregnancy that I think are really interesting:

The album is so dark and gloomy. Not exactly what you’d expect from someone who’s just had his first child.
The songs were written in January and the first part of February. My son was born at the end of February. I was discovering that a lot of the songs I was writing at the time — even though the expectation is that when a songwriter is having a child, they end up writing kids’ songs — I found myself pushing in the completely opposite direction. There’s a darkness to pregnancy, to a certain degree, and it’s really messy and kind of unpleasant. [My girlfriend] Carson’s body was kind of fighting against this alien thing, this thing in her belly that wasn’t part of her body. Her body was trying to support that growing life, but there’s another side of her body that’s trying to get rid of it. That process really struck me, and really influenced the songwriting.

I also asked him about being a male artist who writes songs about rape, and whether any of the war-themed tracks on the new album were inspired by the current fiasco in Iraq. Check it out.

Qiao Qiao, the first out lesbian artist in China, has just released her first single: Ai bu fen (爱�分), which means “love does not discriminate.�

Qiao Qiao, 28, is already well-known for running a popular girl bar in Beijing.

“The first time you hear it you might think it’s sappy,� she says. “But then when you listen again and again it grows on you.�

“Ai bu fen� was released over the Internet last month, tagged as “a song of brave love.� Two stick-figure girls holding hands under a heart make up its icon.

You can watch the music video here.

Contributed by Jess Wakeman.

Broadway revived the musical comedy The Fantastiks recently, the story of young lovers Matt and Luisa and the rogue El Gallo. The original 1960 song version featured a song titled "The Rape Ballet," which is not actually about rape [or ballet], but about El Gallo's abduction of the fair maiden, Luisa.

If you read 18th century poem "The Rape of the Lock" in high school or college English, your professor likely explained to you that Alexander Pope's piece is about a man surreptitiously snipping a lock of his beloved's hair. Etymologically speaking, "rape" also can mean abduction of a female.

But songwriter Tom Jones no longer felt comfortable using the word so glibly and changed the lyrics, so the song is now titled, "The Abduction Song." Last week, he told NPR, "my consciousness was raised."

Here's part of the original lyrics:

"Rape! R-a-a-a-pe! Raa-aa-aa-pe!

You can get the rape emphatic.
You can get the rape polite.
You can get the rape with Indians:
A very charming sight.
You can get the rape on horseback;
They'll all say it's new and gay.
So you see the sort of rape
Depends on what you pay.
It depends on what you pay."

Gee, why would anybody have a problem with that?

Hey everyone,
For those of us who can't make it to any of S-K's last live shows, they will have a live-online concert through NPR's Music concert series on Tuesday, August 1 at 10 p.m. ET. That's 9 for us CST folk.

It's being streamed from DC's 9:30 Club and found at www.NPR.org/music. You can download it the next day for free on the site or in the weekly NPR All Songs Considered podcast.

Any speculation on who the media will covet as the next "accessible" feminist rockstars?

Some of us are still upset over Sleater-Kinney's impending breakup, and now the SF Bay Guardian pours salt in the wound by asking if this is part of a larger trend of all-girl rock bands calling it quits or simply fading from the limelight.

Writer Kimberly Chun laments that the majority of women on the charts this summer are sexed-up solo singers like Nelly Furtado, Rihanna, Shakira and, sadly, Paris Hilton. And while I agree that there's a dearth of good all-women groups on the radio (the Pussycat Dolls? Puh-leeze), I don't think pioneer Riot Grrrl bands-- L7, Bikini Kill, our beloved Sleater-Kinney-- ever spent much time on MTV or the Billboard charts. Still, it's undeniable that great all-woman (and pro-woman) acts have a hard time getting airtime once they've been pegged as feminist or political.

Le Tigre's Kathleen Hanna told me last year that... "MTV didn't play our video and radio didn't play our single either. Some of that is that we're women and they've already got Gwen Stefani. So we just have to wait till she stops making music or something like that." She was told that a group of three women was less likely to get play than a band of men fronted by a female vocalist.

This isn't only a mainstream music problem. I'm headed to Chicago this weekend to soak up the summer heat and indie rock at PitchforkFest, where I'll see a total of three or four women on the main stages. (And all of them will be singing/playing backup.) They could have called it DudeRockFest.

So what happens when entire genres of music become completely male-dominated? Music critic Jessica Hopper summed it up in her amazing essay, "Emo: Where the Girls Aren't":

Girls in emo songs today do not have names. We are not identified. Our lives, our struggles, our day-to-day-to-day does not exist, we do not get colored in. We span from coquettish to damned and back again. We leave bruises on boy-hearts, but make no other mark. Our existences, our actions are portrayed SOLELY through the detailing of neurotic self-entanglements of the boy singer. Our region of personal power, simply, is our breadth of impact on his romantic life. We are on a short leash in a filthy yard. We are mysteries to be unlocked, bodies to be groped, minimum wage earners of fealty, harvesters of sorrow, repositories for scorn. Vessels redeemed in the light of boy-love. On a pedestal, on our backs. Muses at best. Cum rags or invisible at worst.

And speaking of Hopper, she also recently wrote a column about women artists taking on feminist issues in their music videos. She compares two videos by Pink and the Gossip, whom she describes as "the most beloved feminist band still active in the American punk underground now that Le Tigre has broken up."

What?! Is it true that my favorite feminist electro-punkers are no more? At least we've got the Willie Mae Rock Camp. Hopefully the camp will produce some girl rockers who will not only grow up to make it on the indie-rock festival circuit, but on MTV as well.

And not only when singing.

As a huge fan, I was thrilled to find that the singer spoke on a panel at the Essence Music Festival on Monday titled, Who You Calling a Ho? Sisters, Take Back Our Sex!

Scott spoke out against degrading images of women -- particularly black women -- in music, and urged the boycott of any sexist material.

“This is about choosing what we will allow in our lives. We can force things. We can change things. Challenge the music industry with your purchasing power.�

I always knew she had to be a feminist.

Say it ain't so! In a recent Blender interview, Nelly Furtado says, “I went through a feminist phase and read a lot of philosophical stuff. Some of the male bashing brainwashed me for a bit so I stopped. I love men!�

Just all part of her new image I guess. From her website: Nelly Furtado has gone from flower child to "Promiscuous" girl.

Oh dear.

Regina Spektor
Begin to Hope
Sire Records (2006)

Some likened Regina Spektor’s previous work and success as an anomaly—cutesy music from a cutesy girl, a shiny new thing that would lose its appeal all too quickly once the “Next Big Thing� luster went bust. And ya know, who could blame them? Her last album IS titled Soviet Kitsch, after all. Well, tell them haters to shove it because Begin to Hope is auditory divinity.

The kookiness is still there, but Spektor has made it much more endearing, her lilting vocals sailing over punchy piano pieces, simple drumbeats and the occasional cameo from a backing band. “Better,� a series of coquettish conditionals, gets the album started proper, and “On the Radio� is curious and uplifting, a welcome change to the many pop songstresses out there who think they have to sing “sad� (and typically lyrically empty) songs to be taken seriously.

This isn’t to say she’s pitch perfect here. “That Time� does a superb job of making you sentimental over your own set of funny memories until Spektor asks “Remember that time you OD’ed?,� which left me feeling panicky, then cheated from some silly and overtly “bizarre� wordplay. Still, Spektor shows some range on her first major label effort, and that’s something to believe in. As she sings in “Hotel Song,� “Come into my world.� Begin to Hope is reason enough to do just that.

Awesome! Feministing's favorite summer camp--the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls--is featured on SPIN's website. Love them.

Ludacris has narrated a new women's basketball documentary, which he says will empower women:

One of my main reasons in doing it is because of how powerful I think it is for ladies to watch it. We have a lot of problems and troubles with the youth, period, but it's the young women who need to be especially strong at this point. [...] I want to empower the young ladies out there. It's about women's battles on and off the court.

Like women's battle not to be seen as meat? The cover of his album Chicken-n-Beer features Ludacris salting a woman's leg and getting ready to bite into it. (Sexual Politics of Meat, anyone?)

He's also said:

"People give hip hop a bad rap. It's the easy cop out. Everybody wants to blame us for everything... By me doing this documentary about empowering women, I can lead by example."

His example? "Bitch your pussy smell like Pepe Le Peu. / You filthy, nasty, sick in the head, / Sittin' in my dressin' room with dick on your breath." Off the court, women are surely empowered by such Ludacris hits as "Hoes in My Room," "Ho" and "Move Bitch."

Ludacris is first and foremost a multi-platinum hip-hop artist, not a professional narrator. His lyrics reach a much wider audience than the documentary ever will, and his involvement in one project that positively portrays women doesn't counteract the overwhelmingly negative messages in his music.

The documentary, "The Heart of the Game," is getting great reviews. Right now it's only showing in New York and LA, but will open in wider release on Friday.

Metallic Falcons
Desert Doughnuts
Voodoo-EROS (2006)

The freak-folk music family has expanded its repertoire with the 6.6.06 release of Metallic Falcons Desert Donuts, which speaks of desolation and time forgotten.

The soft metal duo consists of Voodoo EROS’ Matteah Baim and Sierra Rose Casady, who is also a member of CocoRosie. Baim and Casady take you to an unknown world with murmured chants, spare guitars, fastidious use of strings and hypnotic drumbeats. “Journey,� the album opener, immediately transports the listener from the bedroom, car, wherever you were to a higher plane of existence, one where mysticism reigns over the rigmarole and parameters of our current times.

The tracks that follow “Journey� all contribute to a sound that’s peaceful yet haunting, enjoyable yet disturbing. Guest appearances by Devendra Banhart, Jana Hunter, Tarantula A.D.’s Greg Redgrove, Antony of Antony & the Johnsons and Casady’s own sonically blessed mother punctuate the solid debut album. As Casady counts out “1, 2, 3, 4� on the album closer “Four Hearts,� you’ll be sad to hear the journey end, yet will know that its essence of haunting melodies and simplistic beauty won’t be leaving you soon.

The Metallic Falcons will fly on by the Troubadour in L.A. tomorrow nite and hit some spots in Poland, Spain, Belgium and Italy before a September appearance at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle. Get more info on the duo and their cohorts here

Look for a new review next Wednesday. Again, I’m totally up for suggestions.

Sonic Youth
Rather Ripped
Geffen Records (2006)

Indie rock legends Sonic Youth burst out of the summer music pack with their latest album, Rather Ripped, to be released June 13 on Geffen Records. Though predictably unpredictable in terms of musical experimentation, the group delivers its characteristic guitar renderings and thoughtful lyricism, appealing to devoted fans and new initiates alike.

The former five-piece has been trimmed to four, as producer and multi-instrumentalist Jim O’Rourke left the band to pursue his film studies. Over the final days of 2005 and into early this year, the band recorded and mixed twelve new songs, each with a touch of sonic splendor and liberation that SY is known for.

Rather Ripped begins with driving tracks “Reena� and “Incinerate� and quickly transitions to curious and midbeat “Do You Believe in Rapture?� The trademark guitar sound is present on “Sleeping Around� and “Turquoise Boy.� Quirky, art-punk verse is found throughout. On “Rats,� a song that speaks of closeness and separation with lyrics such as “You could be my open road/You could be the reason why/You could ease my heavy load/But I’m gonna freeze you out.�

For those familiar with Sonic Youth, the new album doesn’t map much new territory, but for newbies, the only thing you can expect about the noise rock troubadours is their inventiveness. The band’s appearance on the season finale of Gilmore Girls further confirms the group’s status in the mainstream. In sleepy album closer “Or,� co-vocalist Thurston Moore asks, “What comes first, the music or the words?� Thankfully for us, both aspects are present, strong and carry through to the end.

SY+YYYs in an empty Williamsburg pool this August = Y can't I be a New York girl? Presale tix start in mere hours, so get on with it here.

Peep the song titles and lyrics and stream the album here.

Check out this Women’s eNews article by Courtney Martin on the much-discussed new Pink song, Stupid Girls.

Played over and over on MTV, the "Stupid Girls" video parodies conspicuous consumption, cosmetic surgery, eating disorders and vacuous celebrities. One refrain also raises a puzzling political question: "What happened to the dreams of a girl president?"

...Pink--one part pop, one part rock and one part hip hop--pens her own testimonial to her song and video. "A lot of people are relieved that someone has finally said something about the mindless epidemic of unhealthy girls out there promoting consumerism and escapism," she writes on her site.

I won’t bore you with my opinion again, so watch the video here and judge for yourself.

By the way, I may have to steal this quote from Pink: “smart and sexy are not oil and water.�

“Yo my sister, yo my brother!
When they ask you, you check ‘other’
You don’t fit in, you’re in between
You push their buttons Boo
You’re just like me

Ahha, This is Womyn’s Music baby
Ahha, It’s a good thing!�

Just in case you didn’t hear Nedra’s “Ahha (It’s a Good Thing)� on Showtime’s “The L word� last season, here are some of her in-your-face lyrics. There’s definitely more where that came from. Nedra’s all about staying true, and her lyrics definitely don’t sway from the truth. From “Prozac (So Fun Living…) to “Any Way You Need Her,� Nedra keeps it socially conscious and butchy sensual.

I caught up with Nedra that morning in April, when it was snowing in NYC. And did some follow-up emails throughout the month. She does freelance web design work when she’s not on the road. And this July…girl is turning 40.

“Just not cracking yet,� she said. Here’s Nedra…

You know you want to.

If you're in the NYC area, the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls (who we love) has just announced the dates for this summer's sessions. They're looking for campers and volunteers (counselors, musicians, etc.) so please spread the word.

And of course if you can't volunteer, you can always pony up some cash.

Check out this exchange between Cyndi Lauper and interviewer Deborah Solomon:

I think of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" as the first feminist-backlash song. It came out in the 80's and goes against the preachy and high-minded tone of 70's feminism.

That's not true! It's totally feminist. It's a song about entitlement. Why can't women have fun?

Indeed.

Should we be surprised?

Simpson actually turned down the invitation to attend a GOP fundraiser. She was on Capitol Hill yesterday to lobby for Operation Smile (which provides reconstructive surgery to children with deformities). When she discovered that the GOP was more of a fundraiser for the Republican party than anything, she declined the invite.

In reponse to her decline, House Majority Leader John Boehner said, "You know, I really feel like I got bagged."

Geez. I was waiting for him to add, “No one rejects our invitation! NO ONE!!!”

We're gonna getcha getcha getcha in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That's right! Later this month, they're inducting Blondie.

This makes Debbie Harry only the 43rd woman -- out of nearly 500 people total -- to be honored by the rock hall since it opened in 1983.

Hm. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame claims you don't have to have a penis to get in:

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artist's contribution to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.

If members of the selection committee are scratching their heads over significant women rockers deserving of admission, they can borrow my copy of She's a Rebel: A History of Women in Rock and Roll for a few ideas.

Or I can suggest Wanda Jackson, Odetta, the Shangri-Las, Heart, Patti Smith, Marianne Faithfull, Kate Bush, the Raincoats, the Slits, Siouxsie Sue... Which women would you like to see in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Check out the Painted Bride, which will be presenting “Phresh: A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop.”

The art center will be holding a number of workshops, a panel discussion, and film screenings addressing the issues of women in the hip-hop industry. There will also be entertainment, including a dance performance by Michele Byrd-McPhee’s (one of the organizers) dance group, rock-rap artist Malene Younglao (above) and wordsmiths Versus and DJ Sparkles.

The other organizer, Maori Karmael Holmes, is a filmmaker who just finished “Scene Not Heard,” which is about the history of Philly women in hip-hop. The B-Girl Summit in Minneapolis this past summer gave Holmes the idea.

Let’s hope the inspiration doesn’t end here.

I couldn’t help it.

You must check out BUST magazine’s Feb/march Music Issue with the ever-so-hot Peaches on the cover. This issue takes on a number of kick-ass musicians/performers, including Feist, Trina, and special guy guest, the scary-but-strangely-sexy Henry Rollins.

Click here for more info on the issue.

And just when you thought the feud was over...

Several years back, Moby called out Eminem for promoting homophobia; now he’s accusing the rapper of misogyny. (Duh.)

Moby’s outrage stems largely from a recent case in which an Eminem fan and impersonator recently was convicted of murdering a woman and stuffing her in a suitcase. The man had just finished a karaoke performance singing Eminem’s music. In his video, “Stan,” Eminem murders a woman he put in the trunk of a car.

“If a musician made a record wherein he talked about killing blacks and Jews would he get covered in the press and played on radio and MTV? If the answer is ‘no’ (as it should be), then why is radio and MTV filled with music that has lyrics about killing and brutalizing women and gays?” Moby asks on his Web site. “Any employee of a record company or journalist or radio programmer or MTV employee who has promoted and celebrated misogynistic or homophobic music should be ashamed. You have blood on your hands, and you should be deeply, deeply troubled at the culture that you’ve helped to create.”

I’m not a fan of censorship, but he does have a point about the way Eminem’s music is promoted--particularly on MTV. Is it that violence against women and gay people is somehow more acceptable?

Wow. I’m all for fighting sexism, but this is a bit extreme.

There has been some criticism in the Central African Republic of a ban on misogynistic songs which came into force over the weekend.

Communication Minister Fidel Ngouandjika threatened action against the broadcasting of songs that portrayed women as inferior to men.

He said they undermined the role of women and contravened their rights.

Women only got the vote in the former French colony 20 years ago and men are allowed to marry up to four wives.

The BBC's Joseph Benamse in Bangui says the minister has been condemned by many for acting beyond his authority.

However, he says, most people feel it will help reinforce women's rights in the country, where they are still subjected to abuses, violence and ill-treatment.

I’m glad the minister wants to battle misogyny, but I don’t think censorship is the way to do it. Seems to me that a ban on songs is more likely to cause anger than a change of heart about women.

If you're in or by the NYC area, make sure to stop by The Knitting Factory tomorrow night for the First Annual Rock n’ Roll Auction to benefit The Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls.

We’ve been avid fans of the organization for quite some time; Jessica is even on the host committee for the auction. It’s a $10 admission fee, and you get a paddle to bid on a number of fantastic items to be auctioned. Food, drinks and musical performances by the rock camp bands Hellish Relish and The Curses will follow.

Can't go wrong with good times for a good cause. (Not to mention seeing the girls rock out!)

I won’t deny that I’m absolutely ecstatic that Margaret Cho linked to us on her blog yesterday. In all honesty, I had a dream last night that we met and became best friends instantly. Sigh.

Aside from my new imaginary relationship, check out her thoughts on Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Girls that Samhita posted on a while back.

This review of Liz Phair’s new album got me all nostalgic for Exile in Guyville.

I was an Exile devotee long before I identified as a feminist. (Even though in those years Phair wasn’t shy about her feminism.) I certainly didn’t think of Exile as a feminist statement. It was just good music. But the album was sort of my musical bridge from Pavement to riot grrrl—which was, I think, my bridge to feminism. So Exile has a special place in my music collection, even though my Phair fandom lasted only as long as she was signed to Matador Records.

I don’t have a problem with the trappings of her new(ish) grab for stardom. I wasn’t disappointed to see her writhing onstage in a leather miniskirt, or posing naked on an album cover. (Ah, those "fuck-me feminists.")

The review points out the real problem: Phair stopped writing good songs. Compare these Exile lyrics to some of those from her newer albums:

From Exile: I bet you fall in bed too easily with the beautiful girls who are shyly brave and you sell yourself as a man to save but all the money in the world is not enough.

From the newer albums: Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you / Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you and You can count on my love / With me you'll feel protected/ And you'll never be rejected.

Barf. Then she took the poorly written songs, and had them over-produced. The reviewer claims the new album is a bit better than Phair's recent efforts, but I won't be buying it. I will, however, be dusting off my copy of Exile in Guyville.

Beyoncé talks about how she has “grown up” in the November issue of Vanity Fair, but I’m not sure I like her idea of being an adult:

Having Jay in her life has changed a few of her attitudes about how men and women relate to one another too, she said, which helped her transition from writing songs like "Independent Women" and "Survivor" to man-tending anthems such as "Cater 2 U," in which she sings about bringing him slippers and drawing his bath.

Excuse me while I throw up in my coffee. Sounds like Beyoncé has been taking music video tips from a 50s home mag.

From MTV via Gawker.

Women's eNews ran an interesting story today on the plight of the female DJ. Apparently, while hired less often and compensated less well, women are breaking into the DJing profession at a steady rate. The article states:

...[W]omen are heading to DJ school in record numbers. For example, when the pre-eminent Scratch DJ Academy opened in Manhattan in 2002, the male-female student ratio was 80-20. Now, says Mike Cannady, the academy's director, "Our courses are about a 50-50 split between men and women. We just opened up an academy in Los Angeles, which was about 50-50 from the start. I think this shows a major change in the DJ industry as a whole."

One explanation for the influx of women DJs is the creation of female collectives and support groups sprouting up in the community. Groups like Sister SF, Shejay, and Girlsdj.com help female DJs get gigs, vent their collective frustration at the sexism of the industry, and network with other like-minded women.

If you're interested in spinning records but not sure where to start, you're now a click away from finding hundreds of women to help.

Make sure to check out the NY Times’ piece on the Willie Mae Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls.

Not only is it a great piece, but it also gives me an excuse to feature the above pic. (Thanks to Kriston for pointing it out!)

New York’s Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls had their culminating show this past weekend, and from all accounts it was pretty bad-ass! I mean, just look at this girl--can you get any cooler?

Spin magazine online featured a story on the camp, and a NY Times story should be coming out this weekend.

In the meantime, check out a couple of pics after the jump (Spin has some more). My friend Kate was a counselor there, so the second picture made me a little teary. I, too, would like to be “realy cool.” Sigh.

It looks like Queen Latifah has got her work cut out for her as of late. Not only is she touring in concert for the first time in eight years, but has launched her own feminist campaign, Project Confidence, mobilizing women across the country.

She’s been touring across the nation with the Sugar Water Festival all summer, which is an all-female showcase of hip-hop, rap, R&B and jazz artists, including Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and Floetry. Her new album, The Dana Owens Album, is close to platinum.

Project Confidence is a campaign intended to recognize inspirational women across the nation who have invoked confidence in other women’s lives. The Project Confidence Awards is sponsored by Curvation, a clothing line for full-figured women. Latifah will be on the panel of judges, who will award a number of nominees with prizes and acknowledgment for their work.

Glad to see she’s still pushing for U-N-I-T-Y. She ends every concert this summer with the Grammy-winning song. "I think UNITY is one of the strongest records I've ever written and performed that embodies my views on things.”

This is one regal lady I would roll out a red carpet for.

I feel like I’m often posting on misogyny in hip-hop, and I know it’s the oldest story in the book. It’s clearly not news that rap lyrics and rap culture often degrade women. Yet somehow, possibly because I still love the art, I am consistently waiting for its redemption.

No such luck today.

Check out some lyrics from the new Ying Yang Twins hit, "Wait (the Whisper Song)."

Ay bitch - wait til you see my dick
I'm gonna beat dat pussy up

You're 'bouta get ya feelings hurt.
Cuz I'll beat dat cat with a dog.
And knock da walls off a broad til she scrawl...
Fuck dat, bend over.
I'ma give you a smack, bitch.

Charming, right? What's worse is that the remix version, all over national radio right now, features none other than feminist rapper Missy Elliot. Why Missy? WHY?

Possibly most alarming is this quote from the Ying Yang Twins themselves:

"We're just trying to put the love back in the music and let people know that there are still people who really make music from the soul."

YIKES.

Sorry to keep posting NY-based events, but this one was too good not to feature.

Robin Morgan’s son, Blake Morgan, is debuting his new album tonight in the East Village. A portion of the $10 cover will go to the United Women Firefighters of NYC. (Plus you’ll get a free copy of his album.)

There will also be a special appearance by Lesley Gore (of It’s My Party fame) who will join Morgan onstage. Craziness!

Here’s the info:

Sin-e
8pm
148-150 Attorney Street (Between Houston Street and Stanton Street)

From The New York Post gossip section:

A Christian group calling itself "The Resistance" wants Jessica Simpson to apologize for her "slutty" video of "These Boots are Made for Walking" and re-shoot a clean version. The group objects to Simpson's racy antics in the vid, especially because her father was a pastor and she's a Christian role model. "It's sad to see her whore herself out like this," declares the group's, rep "John Conner" (he won't divulge his real name). "She's a singing stripper." The Resistance has also blasted MTV for "celebrating the homosexual agenda."

Now I’m not into censorship, and I’m definitely not into wacky groups calling women sluts.

But honestly, this video is sooo depressing and terrible. It’s borderline pornographic, complete with Simpson washing (humping) a car in a bikini. I just can’t believe that 13 year-old girls are going to watch this.

Not to mention how Simpson has completely killed Nancy Sinatra’s original.

Then:

You keep playin' where you shouldn't be a playin
and you keep thinkin' that you´ll never get burnt.
Ha!
I just found me a brand new box of matches yeah
and what he knows you ain't HAD time to learn.

Now:

Strut yourself, come on, hey ya’ll come on, come see something, uh huh, uh huh, can’t touch, can I get a hand clap, for the way I work my back.

Tick tock, all around the clock, drop it, push ya tush like that, can I get a Sooey, can I get a Yee-haw!

God help us.

If you’re in New York tonight, get your ass over to this fundraiser for the Willie Mae Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls.

We’ve told you about this kick-ass program for girls before, but here’s a refresher courtesy of their website:

The Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls is a non-profit educational arts program serving girls ages 8-18 from a range of socio-economic, racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds in New York City. The program will offer girls the chance to learn how to play musical instruments, write songs, perform, and participate in team-building activities in a supportive environment that fosters self-esteem, self-confidence, creativity, tolerance, and collaboration.

I wish I could go...for some reason three years of flute lessons didn't make me the rock star I always knew I could be.

Here’s the info for tonight:

The Girls Room (210 Rivington between Ridge and Pitt St.)
6-10 pm
DJ’s, drink specials, snacks, and a special appearance by radical marching band The Rude Mechanical Orchestra.
$10 donation at the door, cash bar.

Then check out this dope female tribute band, AC/DShe.

They’ve been performing since 1999, and have been touring nationwide since. They cover Bon-era songs, and are dedicated to rocking as hard as they possibly can to salute the kick-ass band. They’re actually the first of the female tribute band phenomenon.

You can even check out video clips on the site to see if they’re worth the hype. Also look for them in this month’s SPIN magazine.

Thanks to Ray for the link.

Make sure to check out writer Julianne Shepherd’s recent piece, Hip Hop's Lone Ladies Call for Backup, on the recent B-Girl Summit. It’s good shit.

Shepherd takes on a range of issues in the piece: the roots of the event; notions of competitiveness (battling) and how that affects women; how blogging has furthered the discussion of hip-hop and feminism; and why now is the time for a hip hop feminist revolution:

If it sounds a little utopian, it is: Uniting and empowering women in hip hop, and encouraging them to collaborate, is certainly the shiny, happy side of a coin where the other option is the mainstream's violence and naked, gyrating women as props. However, if there was ever a ripe time in history for an event like B-Girl Be to occur, it's now. Over the past year, the hip-hop feminist movement has congealed somewhat magically. About a year ago, Spelman College initiated a boycott of Nelly for his graphic, misogynistic video for the song "Tip Drill"; subsequently, the Ying Yang Twins were barred from performing at Florida Atlantic University for their women-degrading lyrics. Essence magazine launched a "Take Back the Music" campaign, printing a series of articles addressing "hip-hop's outlook on black women's sexuality." And recently, the University of Chicago hosted a Feminism and Hip-Hop Conference, which brought together activists, academics, and critics for three days of panels on the mistreatment and degradation of women in hip hop. To some, these events and activities look like signposts that the ladies are getting organized: It's too soon to call it, but the signs are there for a critical mass of hip-hop feminism, which could, ideally, change the way women--especially women of color--are viewed in the hip-hop mainstream.

While you’re at it, check out Shepherd’s other articles.

Via Can't Stop Won't Stop.

Thanks to Amanda for the link.

Why, Madge, why?!

In an unfortunately-titled article, Madonna tells of sex shame, the material girl says that she regrets her sexuality infused image.

...Madonna has admitted that she pushed her explicit image too far.

...The Like A Virgin singer's admission comes just days after the publication of her fifth children's book, Lotsa De Casha, which she hopes will complete her makeover from raunchy star to demure mother of two.

Because you can’t be slutty and a mom. Choose just one, please.

I recognize that Madonna may genuinely regret her past “image” on a personal level, which I can respect. But it seems to me that Madonna has always been a savvy-ass lady and knows that a woman who posed in and produced a book called SEX is going to have hard time selling herself as a children’s book writer in this society. She needs to distance herself from her cone-bra days if she wants to be successful as a respected mommy/writer. And this sucks.

Billboard magazine just came out with its first Top Women in Music list.

From label executives to digital gurus, publishers to artists, the women included have not only helped shape the music business, they are the architects of its future. The criteria used to decide the ranking weighed accomplishments during the past year, power to greenlight projects, status in their respective companies and overall career achievements. The artists listed were chosen based on their business prowess and ability to transform their fame into a multi-layered brand.

This is a definitely a good thing, but I don’t know how I can get behind a list that rates Jennifer Lopez as the number one artist (and higher than Queen Latifah!).

B-Girl Be, started by a group of Minneapolis women, will hold its first summit on Women in Hip Hop this weekend:

B-Girl Be: A Celebration of Women In Hip-hop will be a place to make connections, build confidence, sharpen skills, and to gain access to the tools to create music, film, poetry, rap, aerosol art, and dance.

For these women, hip-hop is about gender, politics, or even body image or abortion, instead of the violence portrayed in mainstream hip-hop.

Awesome. If you're in the area, make sure to show your support. The line-up of artists and events looks amazing. All of a sudden I kinda wish I lived in Minnesota.

M.I.A. has been all over San Francisco this weekend and I didn't get a chance to check her out, but I wanted to post on all the buzz. My friend just sent me an interesting article on Popmatters.com talking about the ways in which this British/Sri Lankan rap superstar to be has been able to engage pop culture and music with a seriously revolutionary edge. Have we truly imbibed MTV with revolution?

The superficiality of M.I.A.'s chosen media -- graffiti stencil art and popular music -- makes politics a risky business. Her approach is the opposite of that of radical artists like Fernando Solanas and Octavio Gettino, who followed Franz Fanon in calling for an art that documented resistance while breaking down the barriers between spectator and artist.

M.I.A.'s art and music, by contrast, are all spectacle.
What's more, the distance that comes from rendering real-world political conflicts in such a stylized, vibrant medium feels very much like the distance afforded by nostalgia, hero-worship, and romanticism. Graffiti -- like hip-hop -- is a superficial, ephemeral medium, with its own set of artistic risks.

I mean, think back, Rage Against the Machine was on MTV as well. But despite these negotiations her intent is clear. She is working to fight all the brainwashing images of Bentley's and bling that have overtaken pop culture. She says simply, "All I want to do is exist as a voice for the other people that you don't get to hear from. That's all."

I am definitely feelin it...I mean I still dream of being the next big South Asian rap sensation...feel me!

As an update on the Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls in Oregon that we're a wee obsessed with, we had to spread the word and let y’all know that the bad-ass ladies have expanded to the big apple, and are ready to rock.

Here’s the New York camp’s mission statement:

The Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls is a non-profit educational arts program serving girls ages 8-18 from a range of socio-economic, racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds in New York City. The program will offer girls the chance to learn how to play musical instruments, write songs, perform, and participate in team-building activities in a supportive environment that fosters self-esteem, self-confidence, creativity, tolerance, and collaboration.

The camp session is only a week long during August, but they put on a kick-ass show on the 13th so the girls can strut (or should I say, strum) their stuff.

So if you're in New York and have a little lady at home that might enjoy some rocking out this summer, or would like to volunteer and join the fun, click here.

I know I’ll be in the front row come August.

Bitch Magazine's theme this month is Masculinity, and there's a really fantastic article by Juliana Tringali about how rock music came to be dominated by men, and female musicians who subvert that. Anyone who read Mouse Words regularly knows that this is a subject of much fascination for me.

Tringali tracks the early days of rock music, where men were mostly the musicians but there was a heavily female audience (think the Beatles' early days) to when rock music became "intelligent" and therefore women had to be shoved to the margins even further to maintain the illusion. Of course, things got weirder and weirder until the heyday of cock rock in the 80s with the hair metal bands, where women's main role was to be wet and roll around in music videos.

I love it. if you're in the D.C. area, check out the Bread and Roses Feminist Singers, a politically active chorus group who "strive for musical excellence" and "project a message of feminism, social justice and peace." I'm a groupie already!

They've been singing their music o' love and justice since 1978, when they were first formed as the D.C. Area Feminist Chorus. They've recently changed their name, but still sing the same message. "Our politics are still a very important part of what we sing." says Carol Wheeler, who's been a group member for more than a decade.

Check out their website for more information and concert dates. These ladies kick ass!

Check out this commentary on Salon about the harajuku girls Gwen Stefani has been rockin'.

Some highlights:
They shadow her wherever she goes. They're on the cover of the album, they appear behind her on the red carpet, she even dedicates a track, "Harajuku Girls," to them. In interviews, they silently vogue in the background like living props; she, meanwhile, likes to pretend that they're not real but only a figment of her imagination. They're ever present in her videos and performances -- swabbing the deck aboard the pirate ship, squatting gangsta style in a high school gym while pumping their butts up and down, simpering behind fluttering hands or bowing to Stefani. That's right, bowing. Not even from the waist, but on the ground in a "we're not worthy, we're not worthy" pose.
She's taken Tokyo hipsters, sucked them dry of all their street cred, and turned them into China dolls.

Like the article says it's, "Springs must have accessory: Giggling Geishas." Awesome. And what of this hipster obsession with all things Japanese?

Not long ago, the Boston Globe featured an article, Step off, about "the objectification of black women -- both visually and lyrically --" in contemporary rap music and videos. Old news, right? Not so fast. Apparently, "as this years-old aesthetic reaches a crescendo, a rumble of complaint is emerging from black men and women."

As the article reports, students at Spelman College in Atlanta organized a protest of a campus fund-raiser by Nelly after getting a look at his ''Tip Drill" video, which shows the rapper sweeping a credit card down a black woman's buttocks. In January, Essence began a "Take Back the Music" campaign that was initially scheduled to last a year, but it will now ''go on until we see change." The magazine featured stories on the subject in its January and March issues, spearheaded a national weeklong campaign to write letters of complaint to programming directors at BET, MTV, and Fuse, and, last month, held a packed town hall meeting at Spelman to discuss the subject with six panelists, including representatives of BET and of TVT Records, the Atlanta-based home of hit crunk acts the Ying Yang Twins and Lil Jon. Next month the issue takes on a scholarly tone when the University of Chicago brings in more than 1,000 people to a three-day conference where professors, artists, and activists will talk about feminism's place in hip-hop.

And (though not mentioned in the article), let's not forget Sarah Jones.

The author of the article was careful to point out that these campaigns are not about indecency, but are a legitimate fight against (and examination of) the intersection of racism and sexism in our culture.

''While there's sexism out there in society," says Cathy J. Cohen, director of the University of Chicago's Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture, "we have to be especially concerned with media images [of black women] because, in fact, that's how most people understand and interact with black communities. We live in a segregated society. People generally don't interact." And, the potential political implications are huge. ''Hypersexual deviance," says Tricia Rose, author of the seminal 2003 book on black women's sexuality Longing to Tell "has been associated with black women historically for a very long time. It's tied to the logic that cuts welfare policies for black women, right? The idea that they're promiscuous, they're irresponsible, or they're emasculating -- all of those kinds of representations impact policies."

Thank god people are rallying around these issues. Anyone still want to claim that "feminism is only for white women" or that "feminism is dead"?

I recently heard American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino's new song, "Baby Mama", and was curious to find out what kind of press it was getting.

Barrino won the ridiculously popular karaoke contest last year, and felt it was appropriate to give single mothers -- like herself -- their own personal anthem in her new album, Free Yourself. Yet the song, while quickly climbing up the Billboard R&B chart, has (unsurprisingly) received more criticism than praise.

For example, this article in USA Today scrutinizes the song. The author gives numerous statistics on single-parent households as her proof, claiming that the media shouldn't be portraying a woman's "poor choice" as a "badge of honor." (In the song, Fantasia says single mothers should have one.)

The song brings up a number of different issues that many single mothers have to deal with, including the shittiness of the welfare system and struggles with employment. I may just be a sucker, but I started tearing up when I heard the song for the first time. Single mothers are stigmatized enough as deviants, continuously shamed for their own "poor choices" and blamed for their economic struggle. The general theme of the song seems to totally subvert that idea. To me, this song is quite due.

Thoughts?

Check out this review on Ani DiFranco's new album, Knuckle Down. Sounds like a hit, but can we expect less from our girl?

My only complaint with the review: Why do the words "feminist" and "man-hater" seem to belong together in every form of media I see these days? Grr.

An article on BBC news yesterday discussed a deal that was struck between Stop Murder Music (SMM) coalition and several major dancehall reggae record labels and concert promoters to ban the proliferation of violently homophobic lyrics through their artists. The artists include some of our favorites like Beenie Man, Sizzla, Elephant Man, Buju Banton, among others. This has been an ongoing campaign by SMM prompted by "lyrics that allegedly call for gay people to be killed or assaulted." Stop Murder Music includes gay groups OutRage! , the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group and J-Flag. Although the artists themselves haven't said anything, the record companies have pledged not to release or re-release any offensive songs .

I think this rules! I am a huge fan of reggae, but find myself conflicted between the original message (peace, love and revolution), and what has become widespread and popular in reggae music (homophobic and mysogynist lyrics). This confounded by the historical tension between race and gender/sexuality politics creates a complicated situation for many folks that just want to listen to some good music.

Luckily despite this historical tension, the face of activism is changing. Homophobia and sexism are issues throughout the global community, especially in popular culture, and need to be (and are being) dealt with from within those communities. This is an example of how within a community, through activism led by diverse constituents, progress was made. Let's see if the artists honor the deal.

Women’s eNews has a great article on the newly popular Rock ‘n’ roll camps for young girls that have been rapidly spreading across the country. I wanna go!

When young girls develop an interest in rock, much of the time they are ignored or not taken seriously. For example, Ingrid Dahl was told she looked very “pretty” playing her electric guitar, but wasn’t regarded as much as her brother who had the same interest.

Now 24 and a musician, Dahl played at a benefit at the Knitting Factory in NYC to raise money for the new Willie Mae Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls in Brooklyn, which will be opening this summer. So for the young ladies from ages 8-18, they will have the chance to rock their hearts out.

These inspiring camps for girls have already started in Washington, D.C., Nashville, Portland, Tucson, and California. At the one-week sessions at the camps, the rockers learn to play electronic instruments, sing and write their own songs, learn about stage presence, and participate in panel discussions that are formed to encourage self-expression and self-reliance. At the end of the session, they give a kick-ass live performance.

The founder of the camps, Misty McElroy, actually discovered the need for the camps when she quit the music world to get a degree in women’s studies at Portland State University. In a project she was doing for a course, she took a year to plan the camp and began the first session during the summer of 2001. She wasn’t expecting more than 20 girls to sign up, and ended up getting 300.

One of the campers, 10-year old Una Rose, has attended the rock camp for the last three summers, and has formed her own full-time all-girl band, The Ready. “One of the things I like best about the camp,” she says, “is girls forming bands and getting together to express themselves and having fun. It’s a good feeling.”

I’m a groupie already.

Shocking that a man whose first album was titled "Doggystyle" is now embroiled in a sex scandal. According to TheSmokingGun.com, a Hollywood make-up artist filed a lawsuit last week against Snoop Dogg claiming that he and several of his "associates" raped her in the entertainer's dressing room following a January 2003 taping of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

(As if Jimmy Kimmel, former host of The Man Show, weren't bad enough!)

Now, Mr. Dogg (aka the Shizzolater) has also filed a lawsuit, claiming this woman's rape claim is actually an extortion scheme to rob him for all he's worth. Check out his complaint HERE.

Now, I believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty. And who knows what went on in that room. But there are few things I must point out:

1) You might lose some credibility in this area when your lyrics include gems like,

"Guess who's back in the motherfuckin' house
with a fat dick for your motherfuckin mouth";

"Dre got some bitches from the city of Compton to serve me,
not with a cherry on top
Cause when I bust my nut, I'm raisin up off the cot
Don't get upset girl, that's just how it goes
I don't love you hoes, I'm out the do'";

and

"Must I remind you I'm only here to twist you
Pistol whip you, dip you then flip you...
Baby come close, let me see how you get loose."

2) Snoop began paying this woman's expenses after the woman told him she was going to sue. Does that seem fishy to anyone else?

We'll keep you posted...

As an update to my post earlier today, check out Ms. Musings' article on Essence magazine's 12-month campaign, Take Back The Music, which is discussing and creating awareness about the ways black women are depicted in music.

There’s a great article in the Washington Post on the soon-to-be extinction of female rappers in the music world.

As a native New Yorker and lover of hip-hop from a young age, I was drawn to writer Teresa Wiltz’s nostalgic talk of old school hip-hop, and the female MCs who were a huge influence on hip-hop world and the young generation of that time. But where have they gone? Queen Latifah has moved to movies, Monie Love disappeared, MC Lyte is rarely heard of, and even Lauryn Hill is pretty much out of the scene these days.

What’s left (in mainstream hip-hop, that is) is Foxy Brown, Lil’ Kim and Trina -- who although I do enjoy their rhymes and consider them good rappers -- seem to feel that their most interesting topic of their rhymes is about their sexcapades. Now, do I object to that? Not at all. I love talking about sex. Have female rappers of this age possibly become more sexualized as women rappers and less valued as serious rappers? Hell yeah. And that is what Wiltz is trying to get at.

“The day of the tomboy -- think MC Lyte, Bahamadia, Da Brat -- is over. (Even Eve's covered up her TWA -- teeny-weeny Afro -- with a blond weave.) Today, there's just one role that a woman can play in hip-hop, so long as she knows, and keeps, her place: the chanteuse. Of course, this only works if you look like Beyonce or Ashanti or Ciara or the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie -- think long, blonde-streaked hair -- and sing like them, too. "Sing" is the operative word here. You can sing hooks to a rap song; you can even sing your own songs, songs steeped in a rap sensibility. You just can't rap. Understand that your role is to look and sound pretty, sort of like aural wallpaper.”

What has happened to the ladies in hip-hop? But some may correlate this with the question that many also ask, “What has happened to hip-hop”? The language and image of today’s female rappers may just compliment the language and image in general of mainstream rap these days.

Any thoughts?

Was anyone in Pittsburgh on the 27th? Turns out Gloria Steinem introduced Le Tigre's show at Mr. Small's Theatre. Steinem discussed the political process, especially the importance of voting in the upcoming election. It's amazing that Steinem, second-wave extraordinaire, recognizes the influence music (Le Tigre, Ani Difranco, etc.) has on third wave women. "The ability of music groups of all kinds to go directly to the public without passing through the media is crucial," she recently told Billboard. "People know and trust musicians based on their records and their lyrics. In this age of pretty skewed media, that's precious." Right on.

We may not all be big fans of Eminem, but I do think this is a pretty incredible video and would love to know what y’all think of it.

The question is: Clearly Eminem has been continually and unabashadly misogynist, and has promoted violence against women. Should feminists embrace this video, that I’m sure will be extremely popular in the days to come before the election because of its potential political power? Should we push aside our opinions about Eminem?

Before you get going, make sure to read Echidne's excellent take on the issue.

I’m open for comments...

According to iVillage’s Business Women's Network & Diversity Best Practices, among 128 members of the board of directors of ten entertainment conglomerates, only 16 are women. Of 13 directors of seven entertainment conglomerates, only 12 percent are women. The percentage of female executives in these 10 entertainment companies is similar to that of female directors. Among 193 top executives, 27 are women. Among the 130 top executives of seven entertainment companies, 13 are women.

These statistics confirm my suspicion about the lack of women in the entertainment industry. As an aspiring entertainment lawyer and the music-obsessed girlfriend of a guy in the business, I spend significant time at shows, with people in the music business, and with artists. I have found it to be a shockingly male dominated industry. There seem to be fewer female band managers, fewer female A&R people, a smaller number of women in powerful positions at labels, and recognizable double standards for women performers.

Until July 2003, when Diana Meltzer at Wind-Up Records became the first woman ever to go to No.1 on the HitQuarters.com World Top 20 A&R Chart, the Chart had always been led by male Americans. And, according to Backstage Spotlight, being a female concert producer was such an aberration that people would line up at the box office just to see Gina Zamparelli, the first female producer in L.A. to turn out concerts with national-level artists.

This has got to change.

If you’re a young woman interested in the music business, here are some great resources for us, by us. Check them out…

A resource for women in business, with specific pages on women in the entertainment industry.

A site for women in the music business, with networking events, mentoring opportunities and career advice: http://www.womeninmusic.org and http://www.womeninmusic.com

A site for women in the independent music business.

If you are interested in the classical music scene check out http://music.acu.edu/www/iawm/home.html