Nina
EMMA
Filed under: Emma | Tags: aimee mann, alanis morisette, ani difranco, brighton music hall, female singer songwriters, Jessica Lea Mayfield, liz phair, pj harvey, riot grrrl, Sharon Van Etten, the '90s, tori amos, visible voice, Wye Oak
I don't know if this is the best photo for this post, but look at all the colors!
We here at Restless Leg Syndrome were only halfway to our tenth birthdays in the mid-90s; Nina was fresh off the boat from Russia working towards her now-impeccable grasp of the English language by watching cartoons in Brooklyn, and I was… well, I guess I was just building snow tunnels in New Jersey with my dad during the blizzard of 1996.
As far as my individual appreciation of music and my ability to find music I liked from a source other than my parents’ record collection, I couldn’t pin point an exact year or song or date. I do know, however, that although I would have come inside from making snow tunnels and my parents would have inevitably put on Bruce Springsteen or The Beatles, there were a bunch of pretty bad ass female singer songwriters back in ’96.
PJ Harvey (whose new album Let England Shake is probably going to be one of my favorites of the year, if I can call it this early), Liz Phair, Aimee Mann (“You Could Make A Killing” may trigger that scene from Cruel Intentions to reel in my mind, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great song), Tori Amos (who is 47 right now, wtf??!?) and even Ani DiFranco (yeah, I said it, what do you wanna do about it?) all ruled the ’90s with their indie-rock songwriting. Coupled with the tail end of riot grrrl bands like Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre and Bikini Kill (and more) the ’90s were a good time to be a female musician.
And I could probably says something sorta mean about Alanis Morisette (couldn’t we all?) but dammit if Jagged Little Pill isn’t a solid album. Sure, the lyrics to “Ironic” may not hold up over time or even really correctly define what irony is, but this was before the “ironic t-shirt” phase in hipster history, so let it go guys, let it go.
*For a more detailed explanation of Alanis Morisette and basically anything that happened between 1990 and 2000 in alternative music, read Stephen Hyden’s 10-part “Whatever Happened to Alternative Nation” on the A.V. Club.
Point is, I like to think that although I mostly listened to classic rock until I was about ten or so, the female singer songwriters of the ’90s shaped my music sensibilities. That is why now, in the early ’10s (what the hell do we call this decade, has anyone decided yet?) when singers like Sharon Van Etten and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak have come out with these epic new albums (one of which is called Epic), I gravitate towards their style. I saw Sharon Van Etten last week at Brighton Music Hall and not only did she look straight outta ’96 with her pencil skirt, baggy shirt and shaggy haircut, she sounded it. And that is a good thing. That back and forth, chorus heavy style sang with soul and bravado is what made mid-’90s ladies so catchy and powerful. Listen to Visible Voice’s recording of the show here.
There have of course been female singer songwriters throughout the earlier 2000s; Tegan and Sara and St. Vincent are some favorites of mine. But this seeming revitalization of a very specific kind of music style is quite welcome by me. It sounds like a return to a more emotional and proud kind of music, and I think it’s the kind of move we ladies could use. So, if you haven’t gotten Epic by Sharon Van Etten or Civilian by Wye Oak, or Tell Me by Jessica Lea Mayfield, for that matter, do it.
I know I haven’t mentioned all the ladiez out there, so please forgive me. This was not meant to neglect, I just can’t name ‘em all.
Here’s some tracks.
Blue Skies Again by Jessica Lea Mayfield on Tell Me Buy on Amazon
Don’t Do It by Sharon Van Etten on Epic Buy on Amazon
The Last Living Rose by PJ Harvey on Let England Shake Buy on Amazon
Filed under: Emma, Nina | Tags: boston counter cultural compass, brighton music hall, das racist, dom, great scott, lady lamb the beekeeper, middle east, o'death, Sharon Van Etten, starfucker, the kills, tt the bear's, upcoming concerts in boston, Wye Oak, yuck
An accurate depiction of Allston in Spring, I hope the mysterious JHamel doesn't mind it's use here.
So we’re a bit late on this due to procrastination and frolicking in the nice weekend weather, but here is the official, seemingly never ending, list of shows we’d like to go to this month if time were no factor. Unfortunately, as April showers turn to May flowers and our rate of panic attacks to… non-panic attacks turns against us, we can’t see them all. Instead, if you need us, we can be found hyperventilating about the future somewhere in a curled up ball in Allston. Or reading this new found blog This Horrid Life. Read: How to Overcome a Bender. But you should go to these shows! And dig these tracks listed in conjunction, because they’re all great.
As always – Boston Counter Cultural Compass has an abundance of shows not listed here. So check it out, too.
4.4 Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys at TT the Bear’s for Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble
4.5 Starfucker at Brighton Music Hall
Bury Us Alive from Reptilians - Buy on Amazon.
Das Racist performs at Stereogum's Last Night party at the Pure Volume House in Austin.
Gobble Gobble at Boston Family Dinner during SxSW
Wye Oak at SxSW 2011
4.13 Handsome Furs at Great Scott
4.13 Chris North Residency at The Haven, with Mount Peru
4.14 Girlfriends at Middle East Upstairs
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper at Cafe 939
Kingsley Flood at SxSW 2011
4.30 Yacht at the Paradise
Filed under: Emma, New Music, Uncategorized | Tags: Chappo, Mixtape, Screaming Females, Slang Chickens, Spring, SxSW, The Boom Bang, Wye Oak, You Can Be A Wesley, Young Adults
So far this month: We’ve had the continuing attack on Planned Parenthood complete with an attempt to create an institutionalized difference between “rape” and “forcible rape”; a meltdown of democratic rational in Wisconsin; Libya and the Qaddafi family situation (and I’ll just group Charlie Sheen in there because I actually don’t care about Two and Half Men at all, but all the “Who said it?” games were pretty funny for at least a minute); the attack of NPR by irresponsible right wingers seemingly learning about the powers of the internet from Anonymous and 4Chan; and, most tragically, 9,700+ missing in Northern Japan after the record breaking earthquake and tsunami with a lingering potential for nuclear disaster… and the list goes on and on.
While enjoying arguably the first truly nice Boston day this year, I couldn’t get the never-ending newsreel out of my head. And I shouldn’t be able to, because whitegirlproblems (like trying to figure out which South by Southwest showcases to go to) are pretty pathetic in contrast to the global disasters abound. Actually, they are incredibly pathetic. Even completely irrelevant.
Of course, this narrative probably goes through the mind of every remotely informed college kid, sitting in their favorite dive bar, complaining about how their landlord painted the interior of their house a nice poop brown color. We’re learning to carefully contain our inescapable, egotistical bullshit as we wade into the world like babies in diapers, while remembering the importance of perspective. Essentially, none of us are alone in this. We’re all just parts of this entire culture-specific generational clusterfuck, experiencing the same things on both a large scale and a small scale, even if the casts of characters and circumstance are tweaked.
…
Whoa, apologies for the intensity there. Anyway, back to that whole “enjoying the spring day” thing. This SxSW planning situation has caused me to enter into some serious internet loop-age, as I find myself trying to listen to as many bands playing around Austin next week as possible, focusing on those who aren’t already well-represented across the music industry. Kudos to Bandcamp (which I really hope replaces Myspace soon) for streaming all the bands registered with their site who will be at SxSW. I’ve been listening to that off and on all week, and in the process, found some pretty cool music.
Plus, a plethora of bands, both well known and becoming more well known, have released stellar new albums in this shit storm of a month (apologies again for using the word “shit” so often in this post, it just feels appropriate these days). So, without further ado, LET’S SHARE, shall we? No mind-fi required.
Let Us Out – Young Adults / buy full album on Bandcamp
Gotta start by representing Allston here, though (and this is the honest truth) I first heard this track by chance while doing SxSW research and THEN realized they hail from only a few blocks away. These guys are kicking off The Phoenix/Great Scott/Private Promotion! First Contact party on March 16th in Austin, and they sound like they were formed in a basement somewhere (because they were). They’ve opened for Wavves and Best Coast, and they do their best to yell above the noisy, noisy punk emanating from their guitars and amps. All in all, sounds like a good Allston time. Here’s an article from the Phoenix about ‘em.
Come Home – Chappo / buy full album on Bandcamp
Can’t find too much information on this band, but this single from their EP Plastique Universe, released last April, is some pretty catchy stuff. It’s got a bit of a Flaming Lips sound, and lead singer Alex (sweet last name) Chappo’s semi-falsetto vocals keep the back and forth tempo from losing it’s psychedelic poppy-ness in the repetition. They’ll also be playing at SxSW at about five different times and venues, according to their MySpace.
Civilian – Wye Oak
Wye Oak’s new album Civilian is getting much press coverage from NPR’s All Songs Considered (you can stream their live show from them here), so I don’t think I need to rave about it too much. Every “I want to go to there” showcase in Austin features this Baltimore based duo of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack at some point, from Brooklyn Vegan to the A.V. Club. They’ll also be at The Middle East in April. This title track is excellent, reminds me of some ’90s Aimee Mann style folk with a funky 21st century twist, fuzzy guitar solo and all.
Tropics – Slang Chickens / buy full album on Bandcamp
Sidenote: Covering “Age of Consent” ever is cool, but covering it with a BANJO!? Be still my heart.
Another Bandcamp find: Though I’m not quite sure how I feel about their name, this L.A. band proves once again that if you sound anything like the Kinks, I’ll probably like you. From what I’ve read, no one seems to see this connection, so maybe it’s just this single. Or maybe I’m crazy. Regardless, they’ve got a nice blend going on, sometimes harmonizing, sometimes breaking into a punk rock frenzy, sometimes playing horns, sometimes sounding like surfer rock. Color me intrigued.
Tokyo Roll – The Boom Bang / buy the full album on Bandcamp
Speaking of surf rock… This is another band I can’t find much info on, but they sound like they’d be a damn good sweaty mosh pit of a time live. There’s quickened heartbeats all over this song, and their whole EP, for that matter. Plus, their 7″ is called Bummer Camp. That’s pretty great. Also, their from Oklahoma City, which is in OKLAHOMA. DIVERSITY? Sure.
Daisy – Fang Island
Just threw this in as a cushion from the last song to the next, but only because Fang Island’s self-titled album isn’t quite timely news anymore. But, if you didn’t give them much of a listen last year for some reason you can’t remember now (like me), now’s a good time for revisiting. Right. Now.
Old in Florida – You Can Be a Wesley You Can Be a Wesley – Old in Florida / this is a single, buy (a different) full album on iTunes
Another Allston/Boston/BU band. Genuinely don’t think there’s a song of theirs I don’t like, and this new one doesn’t disappoint. At least, I think it’s new. There’s even this swell house party-esque music video to go with it.
I Don’t Mind It – Screaming Females / buy full album on Amazon
There are few things I like more than a punk band with a female lead singer, and Screaming Females, another band featured in almost every SxSW showcase I’ve written in bold letters on my face somewhere, hail from New Brunswick, N.J.! Jersey! Woo! Double time. They’ve got a DIY punk sound that wavers from Sleater-Kinney yelling to more controlled, rhythmic tracks reminiscent of The Pixies.
