Essays

26 Nov 2011

Gendered Language | Women in Music Videos

The music video got famous in the Eighties; bands embraced the new technology in a flash, using the opportunity to communicate a strong image and increase their selling power. Characters like Malcolm Maclaren used Vivienne Westwood’s creations to give acts like Bow Wow Wow an animated, colourful appeal, while at the other end of the spectrum Duran Duran began to produce almost mini-films, romantic snapshots of a fantasy high life, which of course included wish fulfilment for the male gaze - sun tanned, bikini clad women. Cable TV and MTV came next (as a music critic for a National music paper at the time, it pained me to see the apathy of the next generation; happy to lounge like Curt Kobain and Courtney Love, watching music videos ad infinitum.) Since, YouTube, Vimeo and MySpace have ensured the music video becomes an even more powerful and desirable medium, with both major labels and independent acts ensuring that there are music videos of released EP’s, singles and album tracks available at a click. (more...)

13 Nov 2011

Ineffable She | Why Kim Gordon is my Feminist Hero

It is possible that none of us are ever going to see Sonic Youth play live again. The king and queen of the 'Alternative Nation', Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, are separating after 27 years of marriage. It is hard to imagine that even a band with the longevity of Sonic Youth could survive that level of upheaval. Sonic Youth are my favourite band and I've been lucky enough to see them live on several occasions. There are very few things I enjoy more than SY gigs, but it wouldn't be appropriate for me to write about those things in a public arena. They've been a continuous influence on me since my early teens – I firmly believe I'd be a wildly different person if I hadn't seen the video for100% on MTV2 when I was 14. The song was (is) incredible, and the video was full of hot boys in plaid shirts (yes please), but it was their bass player who left the biggest impression on me. Who was that sassy blonde chick in the sunglasses? (more...)

15 Apr 2011

Retrospective | Blondie

Thinking of Blondie today, what usually springs to mind is the enviable coolness of Debbie Harry, memories of screeching along to their top hits with friends, aunties and mothers alike, and the kind of epic and successful comeback usually reserved for aging, leather-decked rockers. The fact that scores of party-goers are still guilty of breaking into yelling-into-fake-phone dance moves at the chorus of 'Call Me', and that 'Heart of Glass' and 'The Tide is High' still echo out from any self-respecting club (whether it be a retro night or otherwise), impressively demonstrates how their legacy spans both time and genre. Besides being the poster children for the burgeoning New Wave in the 1970s, what set Blondie apart from other bands on the scene was the way they broke the man-centric mould of the time and pioneered the way to the charts for women-fronted rock bands. Without them we might not have had Gwen Stefani fronting the ska-punk of No Doubt, Shirley Manson's rebel-cool in Garbage, or Courtney Love leading Hole down the punk-pop road in a blaze of glory. (more...)

21 Aug 2010

Guilt Schmilt | The X Factor And The Barlow

I love The X Factor. A statement regularly met with surprise, disdain and mildly withering stares. The kind of glance one doles out to over-confident teenagers waxing lyrical on the meaning of life. Should the listening party be so obtuse, a snort or condescending bark might also make an appearance. Perhaps it is simply that one would not expect someone like myself to regard this kind of programming as anything other than brainless tripe: on any given day I can be found vehemently expounding on the general vomitous nature of series' like Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity, Someone Do Us All A Favour and Drop an H Bomb. I am a bit of a music nerd (by no means possessing an encyclopedic knowledge, but nonetheless am endlessly enthusiastic and eager) with a penchant for the lo-fi/underground musical spectrum. On the whole, chart fare goes a long way to making me want to remove my own eyeballs with a rusty, blood-spattered spectrum simply as a means of distraction (there are exceptions to this rule, more of which will be covered at a later date). (more...)

30 Nov 2009

Penny Lane Has Got A Lot To Answer For…

My friends have already heard this mini-tale now turned into an article, mainly due to the fact I regale in telling it. It all starts with my big sister Olivia, who used to live in LA. She worked as a model and Laker Girl, enjoying a totally fabulous blonde hair, tanned skin life or so I thought. I am ten years her junior and was only a teenager then. Any lifestyle in the Santa Monica sunshine would have appeared glamorous and fabulous to me. So, during a rather poignant West Coast visit, big sis give me a piece of advice that has stuck to my conscious ever since, "Steph, promise me you'll never date a musician. Musicians go on tour and fuck groupies." (more...)

29 Nov 2009

Girls in the Garage | The Case of Char Vinnedge and the Luv’d Ones

The Wikipedia entry for garage rock defines it as a ‘raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to about 1967’. Nevertheless, garage rock was not a recognised genre in the 1960s, and the term only came into being in the 1970s. The style had been evolving within regional US scenes since the late 1950s, but the triumphant appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and the consequent British Invasion marked a huge increase in the number of bands. The stereotypical garage band comprised of amateurish but enthusiastic youngsters who rehearsed in their parents’ garage (hence the name). (more...)

4 Nov 2009

Remembering Ladies Who Britpopped

Sometimes it feels as though just looking back at yesterday afternoon is going retro; slipping through a vortex of fuzzy memories tinged with alcohol, bad hair and detrimental friendships. One thing, however, always manages to claw through the gloom of these pallid cold memories, and plant a smile firmly on my face: the music which hangs it all together. Music adheres the snapshots of memory to the pages of the mental photo album. Ask me anything about my early teenage years and I can recall but two things. Gladiators and Britpop.

Whilst worrying over what to contribute to a new blog, I dug out a very old CD copy of Untitled; a compilation of nineties alternative sounds that was to gloriously drag some more fuzzy opaque memories screaming into these electro-synthed days. (more...)

4 Oct 2009

God Bless The Ipod God

"My life deserves a soundtrack."

I'll never forget reading that.

I keenly remember feeling somewhat amused, wondering if the statement's author could sound more arrogant. Over time though, I've come to realise that everyones' life does have a soundtrack, of sorts. I could swear that at times, mine does. Granted, there are definitely a few tracks (along with a couple of chapters), I'd like to have skipped. All those emotions linked to specific songs, albums and soundtracks. Don't deny it. We all do it. It's inevitable.

The first time my boyfriend heard me sing was only a month or two into our relationship. He'd popped out quickly and I was doing the washing up, in his flat. More glam than it sounds, honest. I had sparkly marigolds and everything.

Expecting him to take longer than he inevitably did, I'd put my phone into the dock and was singing along (do I need to say at the top of my lungs?), with Ms Carter and Mr Cash to the tune of Jackson, courtesy of the shuffle. Completely absorbed by one of my favourite songs and giving it my best country impression, (more...)

27 Sep 2009

The Great Debate | La Roux

Leisurely flicking through The Guide on Saturday morning, I was disappointed to stumble across yet another damning review of Elly Jackson. Is it just me, or does this girl receive an unnecessary level of criticism? Firstly, it is worth pointing out that La Roux are a duo. For those who are linguistically challenged, this means there are TWO people in this band. I hate hate hate that only one of them gets vilified, and for the rubbishest of reasons. Journo Alex Macpherson opines "Her staggering ignorance is rivaled only by her lack of talent: the woman cannot sing". Much of the debate surrounding the lovely little ginge concerns her ability (or lack thereof) to actually sing. Not to mention the flack she receives all over YouTube for being 'just so ugly'. Ummm, has anyone taken a look at Thom York recently? When did having a good face have anything to do with musical prowess? Now, I'm certainly not saying La Roux are up there with Radiohead, but crikey moses - cut the girl some slack. (more...)

20 Sep 2009

The Girls Are…. Wanted?!

I was scouring the web for a beautiful new band to be a part of, when I spotted the girls are.

I was suddenly aware of my aggravated inner chatter, but this site had now given me a clue how to put my mind at ease. Moments ago, my afternoon lull had been rudely interrupted, when I discovered the shocking news that a girl I know ‘Jill’ had just bought a shiny new guitar, and she was beaming about it.

Why did this irk me so much? A post-purchase glow is well expected under these circumstances, but I couldn’t even pretend to be on side to celebrate this event. Was it a classic case of the green eyed monster? (more...)