in/audible - Ibiblio

too haphazard and drug-fueled to be intentional,
betraying nothing more than a massive,
bloodthirsty ego.
In all seriousness I am concerned about
Courtney and the very low standard that
she represents. Remember her before the
makeover and the subsequent downfall?
Even if her longevity has something to do
with selling out (which is kind of a pointless
complaint), wasn’t she, way back in the early
1990s, a critically acclaimed musician, who
wrote confessional songs challenging common
notions about gender and stereotypically
female roles? Whose “kinder-whore”
image defied what was conceived as “sexy”
and “feminine”? Even if it was all bullshit,
Courtney was also called an inspiration of
the Riot Grrrl movement. Today I can only
think of Missy Elliot as a viable icon – she
has agency and legitimacy in the mainstream
music industry. But to ask,
“Why aren’t there more legitimate
female artists in popular
music?” is kind of boring. It’s
been answered already, hasn’t
it? It reeks of feminism at best,
a movement that is not necessary
any more since women
and men are equal now.
A few years ago I participated
in a radio interview with a woman
who had written a DIY how-to book for
girls making their own movies. Of course we
also wondered where not only the girl directors
were, but also the girl mechanics and the
girl composers and most importantly the girl
Presidents of the United States (vote Hillary
2008!!). We received a rather angry phone
call from another woman who demanded to
know what the hell the point was to wonder
about these things and that we should
be thankful that women of her generation
made so much progress during the 1970s
for the benefit of us whippersnappers. And
what about the Spice Girls, eh? That’s Girl
Power if she ever saw it! Cute and packaged
for consumption. Has feminism become a
relic that has retreated back to academia to
be forgotten, or are we not living and breathing
the feminist third wave?
What does it matter if female artists are
visible in popular culture if they exist in the
underground or avant-garde? When we
were blossoming and desperately seeking
people to emulate, popular musicians were
the prime examples, and most of them were
men. When you are that age, it’s pretty much
a live-or-die situation as far as your fragile
little personality goes, and you really believe
that rock equals rebellion – that it isn’t some
myth. This rebellion is testosterone-driven
but we all desired it. Unfortunately, I came
too late to witness the female rock musician’s
emergence during the punk and post-punk
years, but had watched Cyndi Lauper and
other new wave women on MTV and, of
course, thought that they were cool. When
grunge hit, new icons emerged; I saw Courtney
Love and was immediately interested
just based on her deviant look.
The very first musical experience I ever
had was inspired by a woman: Kate Bush’s
The Dreaming. It genuinely scared me and it
brought lasting, dark images into my head.
More importantly, it affected me on a deep
emotional level that was highly addictive.
From that day forward, music has served
to remove me temporarily from this real-
Most of the girls I knew preferred
Glenn Danzig, in his satanic Elvis
swagger, singing about chopping
our heads off and raping our
mothers.
ity – an active listening experience. This is
a phenomenon that affects women more
than men; it’s been proven by scientists (see
below)! I listened to Kate’s voice and looked
at the pictures of her in that flying bat costume
and thought that she was a howling,
beautiful, evil witch-goddess. Very inspirational,
indeed.
When the Riot Grrrl movement hit and
trickled down to me, its energy was infectious.
It was my first experience with “girl
power,” but to tell you the truth, I ultimately
didn’t identify with it. I was not inspired to
pick up a guitar and smash patriarchy, especially
since I didn’t know what that meant.
Even though I sought female inspiration, the
cutesy girly aesthetic was not my thing. As
far as the music goes... well, I couldn’t help
but compare it to at least three other bands
from the same general era and geographical
region. Soundgarden, Mudhoney and the
Melvins? Hot damn, son, them boys can play,
by God! To me, if you were intentionally
touting girl guitar power, then that would
mean playing some damn rawk and hopefully
playing it well. The concept of “women
making music for women” only appeals to a
small section of the female audience. If there
is an established, male-dominated canon,
establishing a rival, female-dominated
canon fails to further the cause of women. It
assumes that there is something inherent to
being a woman that they are appealing to. It
wasn’t just me feeling conflicted; most of the
girls I knew preferred Glenn Danzig, in his
satanic Elvis swagger, singing about chopping
our heads off and raping our mothers.
I felt guilty that I preferred the boy bands
to the Bikini Kills, but you can’t argue with
the concept of girls rocking. That rules! But
like the voracious monster the American
media is, Riot Grrrl was sucked into the
mainstream and because of the cutesy amateurism
of it all, the movement was picked
apart and made out to be a fad, like “Isn’t it
sweet how girls nowadays rock and get all
political?” Women are looked at; they are
seen. They do not create or innovate. Court-
ney Love’s activity as a musician
(and as a “feminist”), due
in part to her own sorry behavior,
has been forgotten. Now
she is some caricature to be
gawked at in designer clothes.
Subconsciously women know
that that’s the only way that
they are really going to get any
attention, so why not just be a
model or an actress? Or, á la Courtney, use
“rock ‘n’ roll rebellion” as an excuse to overdose
in front of your daughter!
I read an interview with Adverts bassist
Gayle Advert where another woman asked
her, “Why do girls only play bass?” I felt
sorry for Gayle even having to entertain that
question, which was actually asking, “Why,
since the guitar is synonymous with the
phallus, did you not single handedly destroy
patriarchy by choosing to play guitar?” Even
though, at the time, she was defying the
norm by simply playing music. This also
reflects the perception that the bass is somehow
a lesser instrument than the guitar. But
if women decide to play rock music, do they
avoid the guitar? I recently went to a music
school recital for preteens and adolescents,
and sure enough, out of ten guitar players
none were little girls. The girls played piano.
Oh my God, they were right!
I can’t imagine a young girl not being
intimidated by playing guitar or any other
instrument with some of the leading music
magazines resembling the Sports Illustrated
Swimsuit Edition, with Carmen Electra
POSSE continued on page 34
IN/AUDIBLE fall 2004 11