Words are metaphors: in the one case, my mother fills me, drop by magic drop, with music; in the other, she extracts what I need—which was also what she needed—from music and offers it to me like an essential oil, powerful and sweet. Oil and water: both sacramental, both used in baptism.
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Playlist: Women Rock the World
We, at Women In Rock, love to highlight the local scene, but lately we’ve been just as inspired by women rockers from all over the world. This playlist offers a sampling from Iceland to India. 1. Hórmónar Iceland “Kynsvelt” https://youtu.be/SuYPmUDs-xQ 2. Pussy Riot Russia “I Can’t Breathe” (dedicated to Eric Garner) https://youtu.be/dXctA2BqF9A 3. La Hijas de Violencia Mexico “Sexista Punk” Pussy Riot-inspired protest band with confetti guns! yeah! https://vimeo.com/111910656 4. Destruye y Huye Mexico “Oscura Socieda” https://youtu.be/kANWiwTBMt0 5. LiLiPUT Switzerland “Split” (1980) https://youtu.be/qjKCzauOumg 6. Kumbia Queers Argentina “Celosa” https://youtu.be/MWV9Bu5_-1s 7. A-WA Israel “Habib Galwi” https://youtu.be/g3bjZlmsb4A 8. Aziza Brahim Algeria “Calles de Dajla” https://youtu.be/LxP0Ngt3s5o 9.…
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Rock-Ed: In Praise of Anger
Smile, the world says to women. Fuck off, anger responds.
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The Cool School Girls of Mason’s School of Rock
"We’re sometimes told ‘you’re good …. for a girl.’ We’re here to disprove that whole sexist idea.”
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Pussy Riot: “Show Them Your Freedom!”
If you followed the news coverage of the 2012 arrest and trial of three members of Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist punk collective, then you know that Nadia, Masha, and Katia are not the only women in the group, even if they are the most famous. Pussy Riot is one part punk music, one part performance art, and one part guerrilla feminism. Members refer to the band as “they,” refuse to give details about their activities, and perform in colorful balaclavas to protect their anonymity. They perform spontaneously and in guerrilla fashion in public spaces in Moscow, such as beauty salons, prison rooftops and, of course, church altars. Pussy Riot…
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It’s Oh So Noisy: The Icelandic Punk Museum (Pönksafn Íslands)
You don’t walk into Pönksafn Íslands; you descend into it. The new Icelandic Punk Museum in Reykjavík is located in a former public toilet: 0 Bankastræti in the city centre. As I descend into Pönksafn Íslands on my second day in Reykjavík, curator and famous Icelandic punk Svarti Álfur Mánason is rocking out, noisily and messily, at the bottom of the graffiti-covered steps, his pink spiked hair the first thing I see. He apologizes for his messy riffing, welcomes me to the museum and tells me I can play any of the instruments and put on any of the clothes in the place. “Go in order,” he advises. “And…
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Song of the Moment: “Nothing’s Gonna Change That Girl” by Hurray for the Riff Raff
I’ve been obsessed with Hurray for the Riff Raff for years, in love with their bluesy bayou folk and with frontwoman Alynda Segarra’s brilliant songwriting. But in the indie folk band’s newest album, The Navigator (2017), Segarra draws on Puerto Rican protest music too. The Navigator is a political concept album about a Nuyorican girl (quite like Segarra) named Navita Milagros Negrón who learns about her ancestral history and develops a resistant consciousness. She sings about gentrification, genocide, and gender politics. My current Song of the Moment, “Nothing’s Gonna Change That Girl,” is a danceable, defiant ballad with Segarra’s characteristic illustrious strumming and unforgettable voice. Listen for my favorite part, the shift…
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The Venus Flytraps: We Met in a Dream
The Venus Flytraps (Cleveland, Ohio) chats with Women in Rock about animal language, biker bars, and wanting to do everything. Your first EP, Clamp Down, was released on Quality Time Records just last year. Congrats! When and how did you start playing together? In the spring of 2016, we met in a dream. Besides a mutual fascination with all things other-worldly we are drawn together inexplicably and irresistibly and now here we are. Can you describe your sound in your own words? Rock n roll from the midwestern jungle. Do you have a favorite song or lyric from your album? (Personally, I love the title track and “Cherry…
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An Interview with Joe Klug from Wussy
We had the opportunity to sit down with Joe Klug, the drummer from Wussy, and ask him about his work with Cincinnati’s most beloved indie band, the role of indie music, and being a stay-at-home dad. How did you get your start playing with Wussy? Some years ago there was a benefit at the old Southgate House (I believe it was for Donna Jay’s dog “Bunny”) where there were like fifteen to twenty bands, and we all had to play one song that had something to do with a dog. I was playing in Staggering Statistics at the time, and Lisa Walker walked up to me and said: “Our drummer’s…
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Sharon Jones Brought the Funk (Over 40)
"To see me, the same woman that – the guy from Sony said I was too fat, too black, too short, and too old. And look at me now, you know?”
