I MET MY CURRENT BOYFRIEND A YEAR AGO TO DATE and the attraction was instant and intense. One of the things we bonded over was our mutual appreciation for independent music. Shortly after we started dating we exchanged mix CD’s, but it was there that I ran into our first conflict – he found it impossible to enjoy female musicians. Even in bands he liked that feature strong female songwriters, like Sonic Youth and Pixies, he found himself turned off by songs written and sung by women. His reasons included “chicks singing about chick things” that were inaccessible to him, as well as distaste for female vocals.
As both a feminist and a music snob, I made it my personal vendetta to find a female musician so full of raw genius that it would be impossible for him to dislike her. I started off by introducing him to Patti Smith, the Godmother of Punk and someone of undeniable reputation and credit. I thought that “Gloria” would be the perfect introduction, since it’s a song written in male perspective and includes Smith’s signature poeticisms and sweeping vocals, as well as thrilling guitar rifts and a dynamic piano part. But while his tastes slowly adapted to mine, he still denied affiliation with any of the “chick music” I’d adored for years. As a result, I toned down the estrogen for a while, and conceded to his male-dominated music taste.
That is until, four months into the relationship (after exhausting the male half of my music library), I rediscovered my inescapable adoration for feminist music when I listened to Le Tigre’s Feminist Sweepstakes. I heard it in a different way, as if I were overcoming something by listening to it, instead of just indulging; I began to listen to riot grrl music again, and found myself with a new appreciation for it, even if it was something my boyfriend couldn’t share.
Shortly thereafter, I came across a compilation disc released in 1997 by my favorite indie record label, and discovered the artists Liz Phair, Barbara Manning, and Mecca Normal. These artists pioneered the alt-rock sound that dominated the 1990’s and paved the way for the wide-spread popularity of indie music at the turn of the century. They have often been neglected by audiences; the standard influential bands from the indie scene in the early 90’s are pretty much exclusively male. But the most awesome thing about these three specific artists is that they made their name writing songs in a feminist context, even if they are not often recognized for their contributions to the music scene.
Discovering these artists made me appreciate the birth of third wave feminism in the 90’s, because it is the only instance in music history that being explicitly feminist, for the purposes of feminism, was not only popular subject matter for music, but a music movement in itself; feminists musicians were able to openly express their beliefs without fear (and often reveling in) the critics’ reactions. Of course feminist artists never went away, and many have been able to sustain careers, but for the past decade, most popular female artists adamantly deny being a feminist while reaping the benefits of the movement (using female sexuality is a big one here). But, in recent years, artists like Regina Spektor and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have increasingly embraced feminist themes in music. I predict that within the next five years, there will be resurgence in the underground feminist music scene.
I WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO FIND a chick band my boyfriend can dig (Bettie Serveert). In return, he bought me an album by Free Kitten, Kim Gordon’s side-project of Sonic Youth, which he finally admitted to enjoying. Listening to so much awesome music inspired me to make a 19-track mix CD featuring woman musicians who have made their names either as musical geniuses or feminist rockers – to be a female of either category is empowering, especially for those working outside the white/male dominated mainstream music industry.
The influence and talent of women in the underground music scene is undeniable and unstoppable. Even when sexist images and expectations of women prevail in popular music, counter culture will always exist to bring light to these issues and fight against them, and to present the real ideals of its listeners.
This makes me miss music performance.
It also makes me want to listen to more awesome female musicians.
It also makes me seethe more at my parents, as they didn’t let me go to girl rock camp (my sister offered to pay my camp fees for Christmas). Because it was “too feminist.” I don’t think they knew that I danced around the garage singing all angstily into my fists in front of an imagined audience.
Hmph.