Bikini Red
One time during my tenure at AP (I think it was 1947, but I could be wrong), a publicist told me that I had to do a story on one of his clients, a singer-songwriter hippie chick. The pitch he gave me was, "Dude, she's incredibly hot. She'll look sweet in the mag." Never mind that her music sounded like the tired old mewling you can hear at any coffeehouse on open-mic night. When I purposely asked if she could come to my office and help me launch a new piece of office furniture as a "casting couch," he got all offended and began spitting out a series of politically correct diatribes about my implied chauvinism. When I reminded him that his rationale for getting his proud arteest in the pages of AP was because said gal was "hot," he suddenly got off his morally superior hobby-horse and poured himself a tall cold glass of Shuthafackup. (Sidebar note to singer-songwriters: I don't like you. I don't care what rest room you use, you people work my nerves. If you feel compelled to send me your music, make sure it is as good as or better than this dude or this gal.)
This past summer, I was invited to Guitar Center in L.A. to chair a summit meeting with some well-respected members of the punk community. A young woman in the crowd raised her hand and told the panel how the band she was singing in fired her because apparently female singers, according to the chief band dude, "weren't happening right now." Hayley Williams was unavailable for comment, so I said, "Well, men are douchebags. There, I said it." I don't think the guys on the panel really appreciated it, but I'm pretty sure they weren't offended, either.
Now people who have been subjected to my record collection/personal taste know I tend to be slightly more unhinged than most of the stuff I see being worshipped in the blogosphere. So my question is: Where did all the girls go? A defined aesthetic that's considered left-of-center isn't something exclusive to penis owners, is it? One of my favorite players in life was Larissa Strickland, the bad-ass guitarist in late-'80s Michigan attitude-rockers Laughing Hyenas. She was capable of insane dynamics, corrosive textures and was a tempered foil to singer John Brannon's lupine growl. Sadly, Larissa is no longer with us, but she was a world-class firebrand. Your band would be 56% cooler if she merely walked into your practice space.
Which makes me wonder why there aren't more girls fucking shit up. Where is the estrogen-ical version of Dillinger Escape Plan? Is there an all-girl analog to the Locust operating under my radar? Is there a sinister collective of women who make Converge sound like Tony Toni Tone?
I was talking to an acquaintance the other day who explained to me that such extreme aesthetic attitudes come off looking like The Three Stooges in the eyes of the sisterhood. "It's just too brusque and obtuse," he posited. "For the most part, women are masters of subtlety, hence the indie world's puppy-dog devotion to stuff like Joanna Newsom, Neko Case and Cat Power."
Realizing that asking a dude about the female headspace is as enlightening as asking Sarah Palin complex questions on marine biology, I spoke with some women whose opinions I trust. "Women have strong personalities," offers Jessicka Addams, frontperson from atmospheric rockers Scarling. "You can't have four alpha-female types in one band; they will inevitably slash each other to ribbons. If you have a powerful woman in a band with guys, you have a hierarchy where most of the time you know who's on top. The entertainment industry works that shit to no end. Look at the popularity of shows like Rock Of Love or Bad Girls Club or Redemption Song. There are a lot of stupid women on those shows, but they all inhibit a drive to mow over anything that will stand in their way. I think for awhile now, women have equated aggression with stupidity. They might be taking a more subtle route in their art to show they are more intellectual and able to get their message across clearer. I think that comes from being inundated with date-rape nu-metal bands and pop-punk. I'm looking toward the future, because it can't get any worse."
Maria Catamero, proprietor of the firm Blueghost Publicity (whose client list is populated with all kinds of sonic daredevils), agrees--kind of. "I agree with [that point of view], but only to a certain extent. The girls that have the confidence to get out and do a band like that in the first place are going to be alpha-females anyway-- and yes, those bitches suck to work with. But while perfect-bodied girls like Katy [Perry] and Hayley [Williams] and the chick from Lacuna Coil are the types of girls the press is going to continue to over-cover, then "normal" girls aren't going to have the confidence and be inspired to actually do anything. Millions of girls play instruments, but until there are strong women that get really over-exposed to the extent that a little junior high school girl in middle America is going to pick up AP and see and become inspired, then girls are just going to continue rocking out in their bedrooms. There are lots of girls at death-metal shows and hardcore shows and a lot of them probably play an instrument. But they need to feel like they are part of the scene and that they would be accepted. They go to all these shows, read magazines and drop serious cash at the merch table, but they don't see anyone like them in the spotlight. They need to see. They need to have the idea, the challenge presented to them for it to click in their mind. A 14-year-old girl who loves hard music is not going to feel confident enough if she isnt getting bombarded by role models. We need a real-life Emily The Strange. We need to find a Locust-y Bikini Kill that AP puts on the cover and in every issue. Guaranteed, you will start seeing talented girls in bands that actually have talent and not just looking cute and playing keytar."
I guess I'll take craziness where I can get it. Like in the smokin' hot frettery of Marnie Stern (pictured above), who seemingly pulled off more obtuse finger-tappery in a 50-minute set than the entire duration of the last Van Halen reunion tour. Or Amanda Palmer's idiosyncratic worldview that's musically engaging and gloriously twisted. There's some real scary types like Akiko Matsura from British angular-rockers Pre (whose voice cuts through everything like the biggest handle-free knife you've ever held) and Chloe "Special Deluxe" Lum from AIDS Wolf, who can throw down a nightmare as good as Dick Cheney. I still wish for a day when the planets align and Aixa Vilar, Josie Outlaw, Claire Ingram and Tracy Bellaries all share a table at Starbucks with a thirst for white chocolate mochas and bold ideas. I can dream can't I?
Come on, girls. I'm beggin' you: Now more than ever, America needs you to school America's assembly line of pop-punk bitches.
9 Comments:
You can't see me right now, but I am giving you a standing ovation. I've been thinking about re-investing in a guitar sometime next year when I can muster up enough money, and it's things like this that make me want to do it even more. We need more dudes like you out in the world to encourage us chicks rather than just those scant few woman we come across.
I was literally thinking the same thing earlier today. I was watching a Breeders video and was like "why is Haley Williams the only strong girl in rock and roll these days?" Pop's got some tough cookies (Beyonce, I must say is mos' def' an independent Woman) But Hayley's it. Other bands are trying, but they suck for multiple reasons, not just a female frontwoman.
I Flyleaf will inspire females in bands. Imagine a 14 year old hears flyleaf, goes to shows, and starts her own band. Hopefully it'll have more to it than them, but their a stepping stone band. Paramore may be the same way.
Also I want to see more bands with girls playing the instruments and not "keyboard/vocals". A girl with mad guitar skills, or a drummer chick can really help shove it to the boys only club. Personally I wouldn't be offended if more girls got into making music and not just joining street teams. But it's not ganna happen if we say they need to see someone first. I think some girl out there who plays guitar needs to say "I'm ganna start a band" and be a bitchin (no pun intended) lead guitar.
Well, unfortunately they broke up a few months ago, but one awesome band that deserved more exposure was I Hate Sally. Dirty, crushing and noisy metal whose diminutive female singer has a roar that would send most males running for cover. Too bad about the break-up but so it goes. In any case, I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said, JP. I've been wishing for years that there more females involved in the world of rock 'n roll. I always felt that if I were in a band, I would insist that there had to be at least one woman. Unfortunately I'm not in a band. Oh well.
Oh, another great female musician is Anneke van Giersbergen. She fronted Dutch metal/prog rock band The Gathering (my all-time favorite band) for over a decade, and now she has a solo project called Agua de Annique. Check it out! NOW!!!
This is something I was discussing recently with my friends, and I agree with you and with your second person 100%. We need women in the scene, women who may not be cute, but it's also like going to the gym and trying to lift weights with the guys looming and staring-- confident or not, it's not going to be comfortable working in that situation. Give us a chance, and we'll bring the rock.
Find them and put them in the front of AP, in the best unsigned bands, and give them a chance.
For now, I'll just have to rely on Kitty and Lyn-z in MSI, and the hot, dirty girls in Nashville Pussy. :)
As a woman who came of age in the '90s when musicians such as Veruca Salt, Liz Phair, Kim Gordon, Courtney Love and the Deal twins were huge stars, it pains me to have to read a column like yours ... and agree with it.
I am still waiting with baited breath to hear Courtney Love's next record, or praying that Le Tigre gets back together (O, Kathleen Hanna, where art thou?) The Donnas still kick ass, but their relevancy is waning.
In the meantime, I'd advise you check out two Los Angeles-based grrrl groups: The Randies and Pretty in Stereo. The Randies are punk pop perfection, and PIS was the only all-female band that made it to the Top 5 contenders to open for Motley Crue on their upcoming tour.
This is great and so true. However, while flipping through the pages of AP lately, I do tend to see a lot more women in the pages than, say, two years ago. It's a small step, but more and more girls are getting the message that they can. Many just won't be stopped from playing music anyway!
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This post has been removed by the author.
I kind of disagree with certain points. Of course, I wholeheartedly agree with the idea that women should have a larger share of the musical spotlight (though I see no reason why people like Joanna Newsom, Cat Power, Jenny Lewis, etc. can't be just as good at being role models). I just think there's a lot more to the issue than music. I don't think you'll change the mind of the Midwestern high school junior by regularly putting powerful females in AP. The world would be a much easier place to fix if that were the case. It's an issue that starts much earlier and needs to be remedied in both men and women. Traditional male/female gender roles have to be shaken up in order to realize the sort of female rocker you're talking about, and I don't see that happening on a large scale with social norms being what they are right now. Somehow we seem to have taken a step backwards in a lot of ways. I think statistically things might be more equal, but socially, it feels like there's a lot of confusion when it comes to feminism. We've been trained to see all feminists as militant (and a variety of other "unsavory" adjectives). I think those are the sort of mindsets we need to strive against first. Of course, that can be done through music and art (as it so often is), but I think it goes against the ultimate goal to divide women, already underrepresented, into "normal" and "cover ready" (which is what seemed to be happening in the discussion...to an extent anyway). I think, in the end, it actually sort of enforces the female hierarchy (of attractive women at the top) even if you're saying there should be more "normal" girls.
That was a bit all over the place and definitely not the best argument I've ever presented. Apologies. If anyone is actually interested in what I have to say, feel free to ask. Otherwise, I'll leave it as a ramble.
PS: If anyone is interested in a magazine that does a good job of merging a typical women's mag with modern feminism (at least I think so), Bust is pretty cool. And Jezebel.
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