Author Topic: "Tell Me About the Game You Won"- Feminist Music  (Read 49524 times)

Offline Brown Eyes

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"Tell Me About the Game You Won"- Feminist Music
« on: November 16, 2008, 03:44:20 am »
Hey Buds!

This thread is dedicated to all the wonderful music by or about women that inspires us.

Keith Richards once said (and I'm paraphrasing here) that music is the little spark that can see us through the darkest of times.

And this is something that I truly believe.  On a personal level, for me, music certainly has helped me through some tough times... and particularly music by or about women.

There are so, so many examples of powerful songwriters and musicians that have inspired women throughout the ages.  Please, please post lyrics and recommendations here!  And, also please post stories about why the music is important to you personally.

From folk singers to rock stars to riot grrrls to country singers to jazz and blues singers, etc. there are so many types of music that have been important to women.  Please share examples that are important to you.



Also, if you make a request, I'll change the title of this thread to reflect a favorite lyric of yours.   Something that inspires you, or that makes you think about something important to women's issues.

« Last Edit: August 09, 2011, 11:26:59 pm by Brown Eyes »
the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: "My doll mouth to your deaf ear" - Feminist Music
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2008, 03:52:08 am »
I started with a lyric in the thread's title that's pretty important to me and that seems to be important for a lot of feminist music... the question of the audience.  Who is listening to feminist music?  And, is music with an important message reaching listeners who might be open to feminist suggestions or ideas (as in changing peoples' minds)... or is a lot of feminist music either not taken seriously or simply "preaching to the choir" in terms of an audience of women who already agree with the content of the lyrics?


The quotation I put in the title of the thread initially "my doll mouth to your deaf ear" ... (for now, until someone else suggests a new lyric) is from a pretty obscure song called "Burn Black" by Hole.  And, it's about just this anxiety... the anxiety about women's music reaching a significant audience... and the question of being taken seriously.

This is a running theme in many songs by Hole... another great lyric on this theme is:

"No one is listening my friends..." from the song "Miss World"

These lyrics are sung somewhat ironically because there's a self-consciousness that there is an interested audience.


But anyway, for me personally, music is hugely important and I love a lot of different kinds of music.  From David Bowie (his music has shaped my life in ways I can hardly describe) to other forms of classic rock, to folk, to punk to even the BBM soundtrack... music has always been an important way in which I cope with life and the world.

When it comes to women's music, I love Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Ani Difranco and a host of other people... but one genre that I run to a lot is riot grrrl music (or feminist punk/ rock).  Some of my favorite bands include Hole, Sleater-Kinney, L7, Le Tigre, Bikini Kill... and other tangentially related bands like Garbage.  The aggressiveness of this music and the bluntness of the lyrics can often be really cathartic to me.  The "surliness" of the music can be such a relief in terms of dealing with frustrations and the inevitable anger that can come up when thinking about some of the more dire and depressing aspects of feminist issues and women's rights struggles.

One of the most interesting things about riot grrrl music is that it's very self conscious and self referential... the music often talks about the music industry itself and the place of women in the music world.  It talks about women trying to make it as professional musicians, but it also talks about things like the safety of women in rock concert audiences, etc.  The lyrics can be truly fascinating.



And, I chose a Hole quotation, because, music by this band really truly saw me through some of my hardest, darkest hours.  And, I can sit and listen to Hole albums almost endlessly.  Courtney Love is definitely a fiasco in terms of being a general public figure.  But, in her real work as a musician she truly is brilliant... her current state is tragic in comparison to her original project.  Her career initially was all about producing really smart, feminist punk rock, which got derailed for obvious reasons.  In her heyday, she was the queen of the riot grrrls and one of the most fierce songwriters.  And, like I said, in my mid-20s when I was going through some tremendously hard times emotionally, her music was really helpful to me.

Reading lyrics without the accompanying music can sometimes be hard, but I'll definitely post some of the more interesting lyrics here in days to come.

 


the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline southendmd

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Re: "My doll mouth to your deaf ear" - Feminist Music
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2008, 11:42:04 pm »
Cris Williamson's "Waterfall" from her album "The Changer and the Changed". 

I was one of the three men in the audience full of hundreds of women who would go to hear her at Harvard in the 80s.

But it was my best, gay man friend who introduced this to me.

"Filling up and spilling over...."

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dpYoK20QpU[/youtube]

Sometimes it takes a rainy day
Just to let you know
Everything's gonna be - all right
All right

I've been dreaming in the sun
won't you wake me up someone
I need a little piece of mind

Wake me from this dream
That I have dreamed so many times
I need a little piece of mind
Oh, I need a little piece of mind

When you open up your life to the living
All things come spilling in on you
And you're flowing like a river
the Changer and the Changed
You've got to spill some over
Spill some over
Spill some over
Over all

Filling up and spilling over
It's an endless waterfall
Filling up and spilling over
Over all

Filling up and spilling over
It's an endless waterfall
Filling up and spilling over
Over all

Like the rain, falling on the ground
Like the rain, falling all around....

Sometimes it takes a rainy day
Just to let you know
Everything's gonna be - All right
I know, I know, I know all right

Filling up and spilling over
An endless waterfall
Filling up and spilling over
Over all

Filling up and spilling over
It's an endless waterfall
Filling up and spilling over
Over all

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: "My doll mouth to your deaf ear" - Feminist Music
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2008, 11:47:06 pm »
Cris Williamson's "Waterfall" from her album "The Changer and the Changed". 

I was one of the three men in the audience full of hundreds of women who would go to hear her at Harvard in the 80s.

But it was my best, gay man friend who introduced this to me.

"Filling up and spilling over...."

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dpYoK20QpU[/youtube]

Heya Paul!  Thanks!!

Can I change the title of this thread to: ""Filling up and spilling over...." ? As, I mentioned in the first post, I'd love to change the title of this thread frequently to reflect favorite lyrics discussed by folks here in this thread.  And people are welcome to make requests of course.
:)




the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline southendmd

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Re: "My doll mouth to your deaf ear" - Feminist Music
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2008, 11:48:39 pm »
I also love Cris's "Song of the Soul".

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-7yjMLNops[/youtube]

Song of the Soul
(Cris Williamson)

Love of my life I am crying
I am not dying, I am dancing
Dancing along in the madness
There is no sadness
Only the song of the soul

cho: And we'll sing this song
     Why don't you sing along
     Then we can sing for a long, long time
     Why don't you sing this song
     Then we can sing along
     Then we can sing for a long, long time

What do you do for a living
Are you forgiving, giving shelter
Follow your heart, love will find you
Truth will unbind you
Seek out a song of the soul

Come to your life like a warrior
Nothing will bore yer, you can be happy
Let in the light, it will heal you
And you can feel you
Sing out a song of the soul

Love of my life I am crying
I am not dying, I am dancing
Dancing along in the madness
There is no sadness
Only the song of the soul

Offline southendmd

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Re: "My doll mouth to your deaf ear" - Feminist Music
« Reply #5 on: November 19, 2008, 11:49:44 pm »
Heya Paul!  Thanks!!

Can I change the title of this thread to: ""Filling up and spilling over...." ? As, I mentioned in the first post, I'd love to change the title of this thread frequently to reflect favorite lyrics discussed by folks here in this thread.  And people are welcome to make requests of course.
:)

Absolutely, Amanda! 

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: "Filling up and spilling over...." - Feminist Music
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2008, 11:55:36 pm »
Thanks Bud!  :D

I really liked this ...

"Sometimes it takes a rainy day
Just to let you know
Everything's gonna be - All right"

the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: "Filling up and spilling over...." - Feminist Music
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2008, 12:03:00 am »
This music is really new to me, and I look forward to discovering it!!
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline southendmd

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Re: "Filling up and spilling over...." - Feminist Music
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2008, 12:08:04 am »
This music is really new to me, and I look forward to discovering it!!


I sort of got interested in the so-called "women's music" of the 70s and 80s.  Personally, I admired Cris Williamson and Meg Christian for their sincerity.  (Holly Near was also very popular, but I didn't relate to her as much.)  They sang unabashedly about loving women!   

Cris and Meg both have "best of" albums on Olivia records; I listen to them often. 

In fact, Cris and Meg appeared together in Carnegie Hall in 1983:


Offline Ellemeno

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Re: "Filling up and spilling over...." - Feminist Music
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2008, 05:08:19 am »
I'm with Paul, hunnerd per cent on Cris Williamson and Meg Christian.  In fact I was electrified to see "filling up and spilling over" as part of a thread title here at BetterMost.  Thanks for those YouTubes, Paul, I looked for some about a year ago, and there warn't much.

Not long ago (early this summer?) I saw that Cris Williamson was giving a weekend songwriting workshop about 3 hours from here.  At first instant, I mentally had my bags packed to go, then as I thought about it a few hours, I didn't want to risk reality to spoil my memories of the last nigh on 28 years of love for her music.