We Need to Talk About Romeo Void

So here’s a band I haven’t yet had the chance to talk about much, which seems like a crime because they’re easily one of the greatest GEMS of the ’80s. (And considering I’m bringing up the ’80s, even though, uh, I love ’80s music…and I’m calling them a gem…just give them a chance if you don’t already know of them. Trust me.)

Romeo Void’s music makes me ecstatically happy. What doesn’t make me happy is realizing how little their music is known or acknowledged, especially today. I don’t expect them to be considered on the level of ’80s pop greats, but in terms of new wave and post-punk bands, they have all the distinctiveness of being remembered alongside bands like The Pretenders, Talking Heads, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

What’s so inspiring and amazing to me in spite of the band’s short-lived career is how unapologetic lead vocalist Debora Iyall was as a singer, songwriter, and frontperson. (Not to leave out or ignore the equally great musicianship of the band: guitarist Peter Woods, bassist Frank Zincavage, saxophonist Benjamin Bossi, original drummer Jay Derah and proceeding drummers John Haines and Larry Carter.) Iyall should undoubtedly be one of the most recognized Native people in pop/rock music, especially in regard to her nonconformist attitude and commitment to the DIY spirit of punk rock. Her resolve to form the band, and as the frontperson, should also be more acclaimed as a woman and as a fat woman, proving that music (and most importantly, rock music and music maintaining punk ethos) could be wielded despite race, gender, and bodily appearance/ability, and one could in fact prosper by drawing strength and creativity from these facets. You might think I’m being optimistic when I suggest one can ‘prosper’ from drawing on those facets – please be aware that I do not necessarily mean in mainstream, capitalism-conforming ways. 😉 If you’ve read my blog(s) before, you should know I believe in success beyond societal and capitalistic definitions.

Everything that categorizes rock music as great rock music is easily found in Romeo Void’s music, from the band’s growth sonically and creatively to Iyall’s command of it as their frontperson. But I know it’s a lot to ask for you to just believe me without hearing them (if you haven’t already), so let’s consider some of their greatest gems in my opinion.

Since I like to go chronologically, It’s a Condition‘s first single “White Sweater” is an excellent example of their burgeoning influence, the way it builds and how the story it tells is one that, by then, had not really been explored in music, especially from the perspective of a frontwoman. Not to mention that musically, the tension created by the bass line (by the way, Romeo Void has some of the best bass lines, I think), accented by the guitar and quick-paced beats, and then released by Iyall’s sustained wail wholly supports the theme of the song and makes it notable. Also, the fact that the song speeds up toward the end instead of choosing the easy pop-route and changing keys is another noteworthy method that points toward the band’s punk-focused influences over just pop or rock. And another thing: this was just the beginning of Romeo Void and the evolution of Iyall’s songwriting style (not to mention artistic style, too: Iyall is responsible for the album’s cover art). They set the stage for themselves with a song like this, damn what everybody else was doing. The clear dance element in their music and the addition of a saxophone is also what sets them apart from new wave, punk, and rock bands during that time, especially in the United States. Romeo Void were indie by those standards, but they knew what they were doing.

Now the song that anyone who at least knows of Romeo Void would know – the bold declaration that “I might like you better if we slept together/but there’s something in your eyes that says maybe…/that’s never/never say never.” As I alluded to, Iyall had no qualms singing about controversial topics like sexuality, in this instance. But as it originated from a fat Native woman, you pretty much can’t get more punk rock than that; leave it to a Native woman to embody the genuine spirit of punk rock by shamelessly telling her story and subsequently epitomizing important ideas like feminism and decolonization during a period when such an act was rare to find or hear in music. However, truth be told, I’m not the biggest fan of this song. While I’m intrigued by the story it tells, the music isn’t quite my taste as far as Romeo Void’s music goes. But I must acknowledge that it matters as a piece of music and as a part of their discography, and that I cannot talk about them as a band without showcasing it. By the way, the video is kind of cheesy but I love the studio scenes where the band’s performing – it’s so cute. Don’t judge me for saying that.

Finally, this song is, to me, the nitty-gritty of what made Romeo Void great. Lyrically, it follows the evolving themes of Iyall’s songwriting style, which I would define as exposing double standards and, at the same time, reinforcing her humanity on behalf of herself and underrepresented groups. (I can’t be sure she would agree with my estimation especially if she never took herself that seriously! Oops, but that’s how I see and understand the themes of her writing – telling the truth because it’s her truth, as well as acknowledging countless others’ truths which are often inaccurately represented.) At the same time, I think you could also hear the band imploding in this track – seeing as this was on the last album they released, the tension musically and lyrically seems obvious. But just look at The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac – tension like that is what made great music, historically. Although it does seem like the album might’ve benefited from that considering it reached #68 on The Billboard 200 chart, and the single “A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)” peaked at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart – so I can’t complain too much about that. While “A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)” is definitely my favorite track on the album, “Your Life is a Lie” stands out to me as an altogether interesting song in a way that makes me think it could’ve been skipped over in consideration of the album; in other words, it’s a real gem.

Now, I know that I heaped tons of accolades onto lead vocalist and songwriter Debora Iyall (she is amazing, though, so sorry not sorry), but I mean to say that the band as a unit is equally as important and part of the appeal, to me. While they had a couple lineup changes when they were first together and releasing albums, they still managed to sound cohesive throughout their discography which makes their music so worthwhile. While I can’t ignore that it must’ve helped to have such an uncompromising, visionary frontperson as Iyall, the band’s instrumental tracks like their cover of “Apache” and their song “Going to Neon” showcase their creativity and investment into coalescing as a group – perhaps besides co-founder Frank Zincavage’s distinguishable bass lines which obviously carry much of their music, there seems to be little perceptive ego present. (Besides, egotistical bassists seem pretty rare, so I don’t see a big downside to that for them, anyway.) Maybe it’s my opinion that less ego musically results in a better, more consolidated sound, but honestly, what music is really worthwhile that chiefly pays tribute to one or two instrumentalists and sidelines the rest? You know? Maybe it works for one-person bands or duos, but especially for bands of four members or more…that just wouldn’t seem right. So if that were the case, then by definition, it shouldn’t be “a band.” Perhaps it would work all right for studio musicians, though. But as far as my ears can tell, Romeo Void fit the description of “a band,” and that’s an important element to acknowledge.

I could probably go on and on about Romeo Void, honestly, but for an intro post to them, I think I’ll leave it at that. I would love to analyze their lyrics or perhaps review one of their albums some time, though, so don’t think this is the last time I’m discussing Romeo Void – they are SO worth mentioning on more than one occasion.

Happy Birthday to Alice Bag!

Alice Bag deserves all the happy birthday wishes in spite of the fact that I’ve kind of dropped the ball this year posting happy birthday wishes to my favorite musicians especially since I abandoned my other blogs. So I’m not letting her down!

Y’all should check out her discography if you didn’t see my excessively detailed reviews of her albums already, and you can find her discography on Spotify, Youtube, Bandcamp, and other music streaming platforms. (But you should also buy her albums, if you can. TRUST me – they’re worth it. You will not be disappointed.) One thing I wanted to add that’s so amazing about her and her career in music: to me it seems like she’s sincerely continued the DIY tradition of punk rock, all the way up through now. Which – just saying – makes her a true representative of punk rock. You can’t say that’s not respectable…

In honor of it being her birthday, and knowing how steadfastly she supports and promotes other women musicians, I’m also listening to the band Fea for the first time, and I’ll probably continue my weekly tradition of listening to Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries (because I adore them and their music!). I’m not done listening to Fea’s album yet, but so far I’m impressed and I appreciate their music a lot!

So happy Alice Bag day! It’d probably also be appropriate to put a paper bag over your head and jam out to some badass punk rock (by women, for sure…or by fellow Chicanx/Latinx! I’m sure that’d also be great!).

*Thunderpussy/Sleater-Kinney SCREECH*

I haven’t talked about Thunderpussy or new music in awhile, I feel like, so excuse me while I yell about it for a bit.

If y’all didn’t know, allow me to update you: Thunderpussy released their second EP Milk It today and it’s all I’ve been listening to since about 1:30am (I thought I was going to check it out right at midnight but I lost track of time).

I’m not intending for this to be a review exactly, but my basic thoughts about it are that I’m a fan of every song except for “Powerhouse.” Conceptually, I want to like “Powerhouse” (it’s like the rock version of “Dear Mama,” but from the heart of women – no offense, Tupac), and musically it’s nice, but something about the vocals bothers me. I’m not sure if they could’ve been mixed better or maybe if lead vocalist Molly Sides could’ve enunciated better (“And she’ll take you out” would seem a lot more forthright if I could be sure she was saying “out“), but when I listen to it I just feel like it could be better. Honestly, I wondered if performing/recording it with their drummer might make it better. Even though I have yet to personally see them live with Lindsey Elias, from what I heard of recordings they posted of shows at the beginning of their tour, Elias just seems to work really well with them. Not that I’m questioning Chad Smith’s or even Elias’ abilities, but like I’ve said before…drummers are not that easy to replace. I think they just sound good as a band with Elias, which is lucky since Ruby Dunphy was SO FUCKING GOOD. But I digress.

Otherwise, “Never Know” is an instant classic that I already figured out is about performing, “On the Line” is completely gorgeous and the strings are so unexpected but it makes me cry so I love it!, and I’ve been listening to “Trust a Man” on repeat for the past five hours so that’s how I feel about it (it’s important – especially the sentiment in the chorus), plus I vividly remember hearing this when I saw Thunderpussy live in June which makes it that much sweeter. I’m definitely trying to savor this EP before I start wondering when their next album comes out and what it’ll sound like. I think there’s great likelihood that they’ll wholly improve on their debut album when their second album comes out (which is to say I believe that their next album will be AMAAAAAAAAZING).

There is another band whose new music is also worth mentioning, though, and that would be Sleater-Kinney. (That, and now I get to mention that I’m officially seeing them for the first time next month and I will SCREAM about it every day until the day of the concert because I am that excited. I feel like, in terms of amazing rock bands that I’ve become obsessed with over the past few years, I HUGELY missed out on getting to see Pearl Jam live last year, so I’m not missing my chance to see Sleater-Kinney!) They put out their newest single “Animal” earlier this month and I listened to it soon after it was released, and man, it knocked me out. On one hand I felt like it was a song written and put out in response to The Center Won’t Hold naysayers – as though to prove they could reach for their roots any time they wanted (and that Corin Tucker could wrangle her rock vocals into a new arrangement any time she damn well pleased) – but I could also hear it as an extension of the album’s social commentary leanings, which I completely appreciated. And this might sound strange, but musically – not lyrically – the song reminds me of Halloween which makes me think it was released at an appropriate time, too.

Basically, I’m just super excited about some of my favorite bands’ new music, and I’m even more excited to see them live.

And now, for the first time in a long time, I get to brag about the bands I’ll be seeing this year (unless another artist/band chimes in that they’re touring/performing at a venue near me, in which case it might be more) in addition to new music excitement: Sleater-Kinney in November, The Black Tones in November, and Thunderpussy with Bear Axe on New Year’s Eve (a couple other bands who I’m mildly interested in will also be playing, but out of them I’m most excited about Bear Axe who I’ve already listened to). Not to get too off topic, but considering I didn’t get to go to my first concert until 2015, the fact that I’ve been to three shows this year and am planning for three more is a dream I didn’t anticipate having for a LONG time. Maybe six shows doesn’t seem like many to you but my record of seeing bands live is two in one year, so this year has DEFINITELY improved for me! It’s a good year for live music, apparently. It’s a good year for music, too, I must add, if you look in the right places.

Why Fanny Should Be the First Band of All Women To Be Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

I’ve been meaning to post this article since I wrote it earlier this year, and I finally posted it! I don’t know if I’ve posted it in time to make any difference at all for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but who cares – it’s important to know of and think about at any point.

It’s here on Medium.

Finally I fulfilled my goal of writing about Fanny and why they’re so important. But one day, still, I would like to write about things I didn’t mention in this article – like the blatant, inherent sexism that has plagued bands of all/mostly women, perhaps starting with Fanny, and which has literally affected their music. If you think sexism is just a thing subtly thrown at [women] via phrases and means of marginalization…well, as far as music goes and how much I know about it, just consider the fact that sabotage has also come into play. That’s what I’m going to write about eventually. So look out for it one of these days!

Linda Ronstadt’s Voice is the Sweetest Gift – So Why Can’t You Appreciate That?

All I did was look up Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice once and now I’m here, about to rant. So fair warning.

One thing that’s not rant-y: I’m SUPER EXCITED to see the documentary. I adore Linda Ronstadt with all the fangirl love and appreciation possible in my heart. The first song I ever sang at two years old was her version of “Blue Bayou,” and since re-discovering her and listening to most of her discography a few years ago, I am FULL of appreciation for what she’s done as an artist – and what a fucking artist. A multi-genre-wielding singer with a considerate ear (and heart) for the technical like NO OTHER. If you can’t respect her for anything else, I don’t care who you are – you HAVE to respect her for that.

Anyway, before I go off on a tangent…oh wait, that’s what I’m doing here. But not about her art – about a review for this documentary.

What I found in my basic search of the documentary is that some asshole reviewer decided that it was treated too “PC” and the first sentence started with some unnecessary bullshit about “leftist filmmakers.”

Okay okay, I’m going to consider some context before I go full speed ahead: Ronstadt is a country-rock artist primarily, though of course she has her Spanish albums (which are beaut) and jazz, standards, etc. She went everywhere musically because she’s Linda fucking Ronstadt and she could, but first she was known as the queen of country rock. What’s the biggest demographic to like country music, especially in the decades when she was most popular? Hmm wait, lemme guess: WHITE PEOPLE. Tons of snowflake-y white people. Yes, indeed! And that’s probably who feels most protective of her (besides, uh, Latinx people, okay…). I also know this personally because my grandparents are those exact [conservative white] people, and it was my grandfather who taught me to sing “Blue Bayou.”

So obviously this reviewer who decided that the documentary was “PC” made by “leftist filmmakers” is one o’ those special snowflakes who apparently doesn’t even recall that Ronstadt herself has been a liberal since – well, I don’t know, but she’s a fucking liberal is all you need to know. (Oh, also, to make this even better: as a zillennial I discovered that the filmmakers made quite a few LGBTQ-centered films and that at least one of them is gay. Which means “leftist filmmaker” is an innuendo for ‘I’m obviously a homophobe.’ If you don’t want to sound like a bigot, you’d consider your language usage better. But I suppose if you don’t care that you’re a bigot, you wouldn’t care about not sounding like one, either.)

My other problem with the idea of the documentary being “PC” is – oh, you mean it didn’t actually go into the sex and drugs and rockstar vice stereotypes and instead just focused on her art and influence of her art? Oh shit, bro…that sounds like an actual, legitimate documentary of an artist to me.

In other words: this person’s superficial expectations of a rockstar-centric documentary weren’t met, so of course they’d write a senseless “article” about its “PC” tone and “leftist” filmmakers.

I could go further by looking through my feminist lens and examining the fact that this writer with a masculine name, who’s then most likely male, wanted something that validated the male gaze and his, I don’t know, fetishized fascination with her. (A surprise that will come as no surprise: he described her physical appearance in an entire paragraph. Like that fucking mattered. Except – oh wait! She’s female, so of course it matters. Would you dedicate an entire paragraph to what Mick Jagger or Tom Petty looked like for the most successful period of their career? That’s why when I write reviews and shit I don’t say a GOD DAMN WORD about how the artists dress or present themselves unless it’s absolutely relevant, because that’s not what matters to me and frankly I don’t think that’s what should matter to readers, either, if I’m deigning to write about art for art’s sake. And I do prefer to write about art for art’s sake, so if you ever expect anything else besides feminist rants and critiques, hi, goodbye I guess.)

It’s just fucking ironic that he went on this over-saturated tirade about how the film was apparently ‘colored through a PC lens’ but he obviously didn’t pay ANY attention to the whole point of the film; it obviously went RIGHT over his head. In which case I would boldly declare: then maybe the film wasn’t made for him. And that’s exactly where those special snowflakes come from – expecting every-single-god-damn-earthly-thing to be made SPECIFIC, ESPECIALLY for that gaze when that’s exactly what mainstream media, laws, and politics has catered to since…I don’t know, I’d wager since at least the beginning of colonialism. And of course that gaze befits a straight, white cis-male, which he probably is. (If he isn’t, then he’s upholding the white, heteronormative, patriarchal, colonial system that America was built on and still appeals to.) If you’re one of those people like he clearly is, it’d be great if you’d stop complaining when you can’t drool over female bodies who were not made solely for your pleasure or when you can’t see yourself in some major form of entertainment. How much have you heard women and POC complain about the fact that they’re not represented [positively] in the mainstream? Probably not much because the mainstream discredits and excludes that, too.

Basically, I hate to be so inflammatory, but I feel it’s wholly deserved: fuck off and let other people enjoy a documentary about a female artist and her art without smearing it with heteronormativity, homophobia, and sexism. And for the love of everything good in the world, don’t forget that it’s art. It doesn’t matter who made the art, it just matters what it says and how it makes you feel. That is the purpose of art, ultimately. Any artist will tell you that, too – “I just wanted to create something that would garner a reaction from someone.” If you can’t dig deep enough to ever be able to focus on that, then that is your problem.

Unfortunately, there’s one final beef I have to add: this reviewer acted like Ronstadt hadn’t been referring to her Mexican heritage since the ’70s – like she was white-passing up until she released her Spanish albums and redundantly added “Oh, I’m Mexican,” from there on out. I’ve read numerous articles and interviews with Ronstadt that go back to the early ’70s where she called herself Mexican, and German. She never made it seem like she was only white. If other people only saw her as white, they literally chose to only see her as white. That’s not her fucking problem – it’s THEIRS/YOURS. So please fuck off with that racist bullshit slandering mixed people. I am not here for it.

Honestly, I’d much rather focus on the fact that this documentary – judging from other reviews I read/skimmed/noticed since I have not seen it yet – is about her music and what a phenomenal vocalist she was. It’s about giving proper credit, FINALLY, to easily one of the greatest voices of the 20th century. It’s CELEBRATORY, not dramatic and scandalous, and from what I know about Ronstadt (as evidenced through her memoir, which I read and loved), that’s exactly what she would’ve preferred.

So anyway, I’m excited to see one of my favorite singers ever represented in a documentary and to hear what the interviewed artists had to say about her and her music, too.

Not to Hate on Pearl Jam But Have You Heard Sleater-Kinney

Okay, here’s an unnecessary, wholly-opinionated rant for you all that I’ve been thinking about:

Pearl Jam wishes they could be as relevant as Sleater-Kinney.

Seems weird that I’m comparing two bands that are pretty much nothing alike, right? Except, you know, they’re both political af and they have punk rock and alternative rock in common even if Pearl Jam’s musical influence encompasses much more than that (though I am not suggesting Sleater-Kinney is weakened in any way by employing fewer genres as their main influences). Plus they toured together 2-3 times. I dunno – you could get them confused. (Just kidding.)

But, being a fan of both bands (and I’ve been a Pearl Jam fan for three years now, whereas I’ve been a Sleater-Kinney fan for just half a year), I’ve seen comments that other fans have made on their social media accounts and on their Youtube videos. Long story short, PJ fans are annoying af asking for “the new album” every single time their account posts anything at all, and it seems like there are a lot of ignorant dudebros minimizing Sleater-Kinney’s ingenuity (not to mention the mindless comments toward SK by PJ fans that I’ve read).

A few months ago I started writing a post where I ranted about how I couldn’t care less about a new Pearl Jam album because, based on their last album, it doesn’t seem like they’re about to go anywhere new musically or lyrically. (Side note: I read an interview where Eddie Vedder mentioned that he wrote Lightning Bolt lyrically the way he did because he wanted to stop playing “word games.” But after reading the lyrics to those songs, I was like ‘Shit, man, at this point, BRING BACK THE WORD GAMES. THOSE WERE BETTER.’) And while I doubt all fans are literally salivating for a new album, I wish, for the ones who DO care so much, that I could push them toward Sleater-Kinney and be like “LISTEN TO THIS FUCKING BRILLIANCE IF YOU WANT SOMETHING NEW, RELEVANT, AND AMAZING. *whispers* It will change your life…“

I have to wonder if people aren’t willing to pay attention to Sleater-Kinney because they’re a trio of women (now duo, PLEASE DON’T REMIND ME – I AM SAD) and maybe they think, ‘Oh, there’s no way I’ll relate to this.’ I say: if you’re willing to listen to and enjoy bands like The Police, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Nirvana, and Green Day, then Sleater-Kinney are 100% worthy of a chance. Plus, they’ve released nine studio albums throughout their career – there’s bound to be something worthwhile for everybody. Seriously, not only are they geniuses lyrically, but also musically in the way their arrangements interact with each other and the fact that THEY TOTALLY HAVE THEIR OWN SOUND THAT, APPARENTLY, NOBODY ELSE IS WILLING TO REPLICATE which is why they came back and thank the UNIVERSE they did. Unlike Pearl Jam who had posers in the fucking ’90s when they were still relevant…yikes. You sadly misguided, straight, white dudes in rock. I wish you’d know when to stop trying because there is N-O-W-H-E-R-E LEFT FOR YOU TO GO. Cry about it! Support women, queer people, and people of color. Those are the voices we need to hear. The end. Also, you could argue that I am saying this @ Pearl Jam, too, if you’d like. I mean, I won’t stop you.

Overall, I just want to tell everyone to listen to Sleater-Kinney – including their new album The Center Won’t Hold – and Pearl Jam fans need to calm the fuck down and ALSO listen to Sleater-Kinney (it should sate your appetite for awhile).

P.S. I’m guessing that Pearl Jam themselves probably don’t care about being relevant. But the fans do, obviously, or they wouldn’t be hounding all of the band’s social media accounts for a new album.

Of All the Punk Bands…

At this point, I’ve forgotten how long it’s taken me to officially write about More AM Than FM, but of all the punk bands I would want to recommend and to see live, they’d be it. Yep, really! Of all the punks bands, More AM Than FM is my favorite quintessential punk band.

If you’re wondering how someone all the way out on the west coast of the United States found this D.C.-based band, I learned of them when I was doing research for my old blog, perusing Wikipedia’s [not comprehensive – not even close] list of “all-female bands.” It still surprises me that their band name intrigued me enough to forget my research and immediately start listening to them, especially considering my tendency to ignore contemporary bands (not ignoring due to preconceptions – just for the purpose of my blog which documented women in rock music history), but I did and I have ever since been grateful for that impulse.

The first time I heard “Andre,” I was immediately blown away and excited by their sound and the arrangement references to classic punk rock. And as I kept listening to their first EP, I realized, Holy shit. There is not a SINGLE bad song on here! Which is to say, there was not a single song on the whole EP that I didn’t like. While that may not be super impressive considering I was listening to an EP and not an LP (I’ll admit I can be much harder to please when it comes to full-length albums), it was still significant enough to me to continue listening to their next EP. And again I realized there was not a single bad song on it, either. So basically, they don’t have any bad songs.

When I think about them now, since I’ve been listening to them for over a year, I fervently wonder what their first LP will sound like, because based on their EPs alone, I would bet the money I’d set aside specifically for that future LP that it would be COMPLETELY AMAZING (and then I would have enough money to buy their LP twice! SCORE. I WOULD SO DO IT).

What I’ve wanted to write about the most since discovering and falling in love with their music is the way it’s helped me. Yes, it’s punk rock, and it’s not even necessarily that I could relate to all of the subjects that their songs are based on, but at the time that I discovered them I was thoroughly unable to put into words how strong of an effect their music had on me. Now, thanks to hindsight, I feel I can finally justify why I fucking love this band so much.

Transitional periods – lots of laying in the middle of the floor, weeping, feeling like I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing or who I am or why I am and what the FUCK does the world want from me. Cue my discovery of More AM Than FM. Fucking timely.

That’s it, really – long story short. I discovered them a month before I would graduate from college with my BA in creative writing, and while I remember the way my therapist explained transitional periods to me and that it would feel a lot like grieving, her explanation seemed to go in one ear and out while I was worried about wrapping up school and what I would do afterward (because I had literally no idea). So, in spite of the fact that she told me that in good time, I still felt like I was drowning in a puddle of completely unidentifiable feelings. And then I heard More AM Than FM for the first time, and suddenly my feelings had a SOUND. I still couldn’t explain what or even how I was feeling; I just knew those feelings now had musical accompaniment and it was credited to THIS BAND and THIS BAND ALONE.

By the time I’d finished listening to their first EP all the way through I felt like WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO DISCOVER THIS? THIS HAS BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME AND I DIDN’T KNOW? WHY?! HOW. On the positive side of things, that’s the beauty of discovering new music. On the bittersweet side, once you discover new music that you LIKE that undeniably speaks to you like nothing else has, you feel like you’ve been missing out this whole time.

That’s what More AM Than FM’s music did for me. This superb trio of punks restored my faith in life, if you will. Their music reminded me that if I kept on keepin’ on, I would continue to have experiences with music where I would get to hear my feelings unequivocally put to music. And that experience is priceless! It’s why I enjoy researching music and artists and bands that aren’t often found or included in the mainstream – because you just never fucking know when and where you’ll find the sound that speaks to your heart. And finding that, and searching for it, is worth it.

Exciting Music Lately

I just wanted to mention who I’ve been listening to lately while I sit on at least ten ideas for new posts, most of which I have not started yet (but I’ll get to them – eventually, at least).

  • First and foremost, Sleater-Kinney. Once I realized the day that their new album came out, I eagerly waited until midnight to start streaming it. I heard “Hurry On Home” and “The Future is Here” about a month ago, but besides “Hurry On Home” I wasn’t SUPER excited about the new album…until I heard the “Can I Go On” single that got mixed in to my L7 radio station on Pandora. Since this is a quick post I won’t go too deep into my thoughts on it, but personally I like about half of it, and all of it I respect the band for trying in the first place. I wish I could see the band when they come to Seattle in a couple months but I’m hesitant to buy a ticket because I don’t know that I’d want to see them (for the first time, I should mention – since I became a fan just earlier this year) without Janet Weiss. I LOVE SLEATER-KINNEY, BUT COME ON…fucking great drummers are not easily replaced. Which I will surely say about any band, including my favorite ones.
  • While I’ve been doing research trying to broaden my knowledge and listening experiences of rock bands consisting of Black women (and I don’t just mean bands fronted by Black women), I discovered Big Joanie. I’ve listened to Sistahs (2018) and I loved all of it but a couple tracks, which is to say, for a debut effort, it’s PRETTY AMAZING.
  • Thunderpussy goes without saying. For me, it’s almost like, a day without listening to Thunderpussy isn’t a day lived well. And their new single, “Never Know”? Let’s just say I’M DYING WITHOUT THE NEW EP just kidding I’m fine but I’ll be better than fine once I get to hear the rest of it the band hasn’t disappointed me musically yet. I’m grateful for their existence (and existences) every freakin’ day I wake up on this planet. You could say I appreciate them a lot.
  • Another band I discovered whilst researching, from this SUPER great article I read on them (which I read before I’d heard them), T-Rextasy. They’re coming to Seattle soon and I’m DYING to see them but I don’t know if I have the time or resources to go…which I’m super disappointed about. I love Prehysteria (2019) and most of Jurassic Punk (2016).
  • After knowing about this band for awhile now via my favorite punk artist Alice Bag, I FINALLY started listening to Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries today and OH MY GOD. The bite, humor, and shamelessness woven into the great music is such a fun and positive experience, I’m totally going to listen to them when I’m feeling shitty. I especially love that their songs take on subjects that are not often covered in punk and rock (like “Fat Girl Tears” and “Best Friends”). Their self-titled is a great debut album (and was produced by Alice Bag! Even better!).
  • Finally, L7, since I mentioned that I’ve been listening to the L7 radio station on Pandora. I discovered through the station that I like a few other artists/bands that I hadn’t listened to much before, too, which is cool (like PJ Harvey and 7 Year Bitch). I’ve also probably been listening to L7 every day, like Thunderpussy, because I just don’t get tired of them.

No Means No (Thunderpussy Edition)

I’ve been perusing the interwebs for the past few hours searching for more interviews by my favorite new band, Thunderpussy, and while this could be a post about how amazing the internet is because of all the pearls gems you can find, mostly I just want to scream about how much I love Thunderpussy. But not trivially!

You see, as I was reading interviews with the band members and finding a new (to me) song of theirs and cheering and smiling to myself because I appreciate them so much, I learned a new piece of information about one of their songs that I apparently never picked up on before.

Now, let me clarify/remind those of you who don’t know me: I have seen Thunderpussy live three times now. I am currently working on a lyric analysis for one of their songs (one which they have NOT played live yet, as far as I’ve found in my research *sob*). I listen to them all the time and I’ve had the utter pleasure and privilege of getting to see them live multiple times. In other words, it’s kind of hard to surprise me with new information about their music, and yet I found some that I definitely, 100% reasonably want to share, because I absolutely do not want anyone else to sleep on it (like I screamed, scandalized, when I realized that I had been).

Funnily enough, this song was already one I obsessively loved the couple months before I got to see them live for the first time, so the fact that I found out something new about it is kind of mind-blowing to me.

According to Leah Julius, Thunderpussy’s bassist, “Gentle Frame” is “Just another in-your-face, pop/rock feminist anthem coming out at a really important moment. It’s kind of this song about unwanted advances and feeling empowered to say no, and I think the timing sits well with what’s going on culturally.” (In the article I linked to via Early Bird Music, Julius elaborated on what she meant by ‘culturally,’ like explaining the inspiration behind one of the band’s slogans on social media, #yearofthepussy.)

When I listened to this song for the months prior to the New Year’s Eve show I went to, for some reason I never once picked up on that theme – mostly because, unfortunately, I couldn’t make heads or tails of what the song was about. I loved it, and it’s got an incredible, thriving groove (and to be quite honest, every moment I listen to Thunderpussy I feel empowered), but as for what sort of situation it detailed…I guess I was rather ignorant. But no longer! Or at least, that’s what I do all this research for.

And now I listen to it with an even greater appreciation, knowing that they tackled this kind of politically/culturally/humanly relevant topic…and in such a badass tune, of course. “Empowered” – no shit!

Trouble Human-ing and an Artist that Gets It

Today, even though I woke up with L7’s new song “Stadium West” stuck in my head I got to wish Suzi Gardner a happy birthday on Instagram last night and tell her that she’s one of my favorite guitarists and she replied to me!, the first thing I listened to after I got up was ‘Til Tuesday. I also did a quick search on Aimee Mann and discovered a wholly compelling article by Mann on Salon.

Recently, I also discovered that Mann’s most recent album, released in 2017, was titled Mental Illness. When I heard that title, I immediately went to Spotify and listened to it (despite ‘warnings’ that it was sad, and acoustic. I didn’t care about either description; I just wanted to hear whatever was summed up with a title like “mental illness.” Call it morbid curiosity or the need to feel validated). I realized, after listening to the whole album once, that I liked most of it. My appreciation for Aimee Mann’s songwriting and artistry increased.

While I’ve always liked “Voices Carry,” a few years ago I decided to listen to ‘Til Tuesday’s discography, and I ended up liking them as a band a lot. (I still can’t believe they only ever released three studio albums. THREE! I totally wish they would’ve stayed together and released more, although I also appreciate Mann’s solo career.) At one point while I was in college, I became obsessed with the song “Everything’s Different Now” – the title track of their last studio album. The point is – their music, and Mann’s songwriting, is great, dare I say underrated as hell.

While I have not listened to all, or even most, of Mann’s solo discography, I’m still fascinated by her songwriting and what she’s said about it. With her latest album, and evidenced by the song I shared above via Spotify, the point of this post was just to say…I feel like she gets it. And I appreciate that, and respect it. I endeavor to listen to more of her solo work, which is good because I could use some goals (they’re difficult to keep sight of when you suffer from mental illness, you know what I mean?).

Today is a ‘Til Tuesday/Aimee Mann kind of day. That is all. Okay, and probably some L7, specifically Scatter the Rats.