Tag: music

My Favorite Ladies of Lightning Are BACK!

Thunderpussy (Whitney Petty, guitar & Molly Sides, vocals) performing live at Belltown Bloom 2023; photo by me (which is why the quality is so bad – sorry)

I’m currently writing at least two other posts for this blog, but I guess I’ll have to add a third to that amount because there is NO WAY that I’m going to write this post and then NOT follow up with an album review.

By “my favorite ladies of lightning,” I of course mean THUNDERPUSSY! (All caps not a legit style choice – I’m just excited, because I love them.)

THUNDERPUSSY ARE BAAAAAAACK! With WEST! (All caps – the actual style choice, no exclamation point included.)

I’ve been wondering since 2019 (New Year’s Eve of 2018/2019 was when I first saw Thunderpussy live) when Thunderpussy would release their second album, and while I completely understand a reassessment of the band’s goals after the worldwide shitshow that 2020-current became, I am SO HAPPY and excited that their next album is coming soon – May 10th, to be exact! (I already pre-ordered the album, but I am anxiously awaiting to find out when/if they release a CD of the album. It’s the next-best choice in terms of affordability while still cherishing the physical media aspect; a step up from digital albums in every way, but you’re probably not paying an arm and a leg like you are for the vinyl, even though I am a vinyl collector, myself, but…clearly, mostly of old albums.)

I know WEST is coming out on May 10th, and that’s less than a week away (YAAAAAAY!) from the time I’m posting this, but I’ve been obsessively listening to the three singles available to listen to from the album since I waited to listen to them until my birthday (April 27th), and what a TREAT it was and has been ever since to hear them. So, yes, I’m here to scream about a measly (but oh, are they mighty) three tracks that have reminded me why Thunderpussy are one of my favorite bands, and why I’m proud to have seen them live seven times and why I hope to see them live MANY MORE TIMES!

Since “Firebreather” as a single has been out for over a year now (I had to search my other blog to verify that time frame), I have to admit that the first time I heard it, I wasn’t that impressed. That’s even considering the fact that I’ve seen and heard them play it live. I’ve always liked it live, actually! But the studio version really never grabbed me the way the live version of it could. I’m not sure if it’s the hype I’ve now created (and fueled) in my mind in relation to the new album or what, but I’ve heard it with fresh ears now, seemingly, and the track fucking ROCKS. I even managed to transcribe the lyrics to the first verse (uncertainly, but I tried my best), and when I say it rocks…oh, it doesn’t just rock; it kicks ass and takes names.

“Firebreather, welcome to the west side
Living my life, like I’m born out the dust
Get off my back, you son of a bitch!
Gonna take my time and take some chances
Lead the way, spark a change while we’re dancing
You are mistaken when you fuck with my life!”

My favorite line in the first verse is “Lead the way, spark a change while we’re dancing” because if THAT DOESN’T DEFINE THUNDERPUSSY’S MISSION STATEMENT, THEN I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT DOES. And I, as a fan, will clarify that I absolutely believe that Thunderpussy “lead the way” and “spark a change while we’re dancing,” but that it isn’t just a message about them – it’s also their hope for us, as listeners, fans and lovers of music, and, ultimately, community members.

Musically, “Firebreather” burns hot! The drums, provided by Michelle Nuño, are creative and fun and hard-hitting in the way I’d hope to hear from Thunderpussy, the basslines, provided by Leah Julius, are positively SMOKING, and Whitney Petty’s hard rock guitar underscores the rough edges of the song’s lyrical themes – and that guitar solo is a distorted, psychedelic-dyed mural I am more than happy to gaze upon. Molly Sides’ vocals are rock-appropriate gravelly in all the right places, but there are a couple of instances in the song where I felt her performance did not quite match the conviction of the the line she was singing – such as, in the extraordinarily powerful line “This body ain’t an apology!” Either she went a little flat singing the word “apology,” or I just wasn’t wholly convinced that she was singing it as sincerely as possible…both could be the case, and I hope to hear it sung better/with more certainty live, which I’m sure she will accomplish! Nonetheless, this is one of the three singles in particular that I have been listening to OBSESSIVELY on repeat. So, critiques aside, I’m obsessed with it, and I cannot WAIT to hear it live again – properly, as part of WEST!

“I Can Do Better” is a song that starts out contemplatively slow, but it glows with anticipation promised by the chorus: “I can do better – lord knows I’ve tried/I can do better, just not forever/Only tonight”. That it lends itself to a beautiful strings arrangement only heightens that expectation! And have no fear; the hard rock element that Thunderpussy is famous for remains, as the slow build of the melodic ballad erupts in the chorus and floats into the divinely epic bridge. Musically, it’s atmospheric and gorgeous, with all musicians (Sides, Petty, Julius, and drummer Lindsey Elias) in top form playing with the expertise that I’ve always personally witnessed and recognized from them.

The natural (as in: of nature) lyrical imagery in “I Can Do Better” seems purposeful enough in adding to the chorus’ concept of “I can do better, just not forever”. While I feel it unabashedly leans on apocalyptic themes musically and lyrically, it seems to suggest that languishing in destruction is necessary to spark hope for new growth; after all, in nature, a wildfire does not always mean eternal death – sometimes things must die in order to recover and thrive even better than before. “I can do better” as a phrase, alone, is an acknowledgement that one has failed to do well enough at one time, but that one can improve in the future/next time. I also imagine that the ‘serpent’ in the lines “The wind picked up and the blades of grass/Show us the serpent, reminding us to rest” represents the ouroboros – the snake or dragon eating its own tail symbolizing an eternal cycle of renewal, or the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. (Although “the serpent” may also be a nod to the band’s debut album cover, as well. It was where they started, and they needed rest to come back with WEST!)

Based on those ideas, I would recognize “I Can Do Better” as Thunderpussy’s true ‘return to form’ (and even better than before) track – perfect for the album’s official, first single.

The first time I heard “N.E.D.”, within the first few seconds I thought, ‘Oh, SHIT, THEY ARE SO BACK!‘ THIS is the Thunderpussy that I love! After listening to this song, I think I know why Thunderpussy named this album WEST…besides: the existence of its title track; and “Firebreather”‘s reference in the opening verse, “welcome to the west side”, which also shares this musical influence I’m about to mention; it reminds me musically of themes they explored in their EP Milk It, which I loved, but particularly through the track that sounds like it would perfectly accompany a spaghetti Western, “Trust A Man.” (Side note: I’m a little surprised that “Trust a Man” isn’t on WEST.) While I still have no idea what N.E.D. stands for, musically and lyrically it’s like introducing the wild west to hard rock and lesbians (respectively). Smashing stereotypes everywhere they go – what’s not to love?

My only complaint about this recording (not even necessarily the performance) is that I feel the drums were turned down FAR more in the mix than they should have been. While I hear lots of delicious bass, layered guitars, and KEYBOARDS (FUCK YES, KEYBOARDS IN ROCK MUSIC. ALWAYS! But, then again, my favorite band of all-time is Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, who would not have been a band AT ALL had it not been for their keyboardist, Benmont Tench), I feel that such a hard rocking song (despite the western-themed melodies) SHOULD have plenty of loud drums. And they’re not loud enough in this – at all! Sure, I could turn the volume up on whatever I’m currently blasting this song out of, but the point remains: why should I have to sacrifice my hearing ability just to hear some good, hard-hitting drums in the mix? Great, that I can hear EVERYTHING else – and it sounds amazing – but, really? You’re going to sacrifice the volume of the drums just to make everything else intelligible? I think…some better decisions could have been made regarding the recording/engineering/mixing of this track (I’m grouping those three tasks as one optionally, because I don’t know how any of them are accomplished, and thus I do not know who exactly was responsible for this…but as barely a musician, myself, and mostly a fan, I can at least make that inference).

Regardless, since my first listen-through of the three singles, “N.E.D.” was the song that I immediately put on repeat. Excluding the volume of the drums, it reminds me of their eponymous song “Thunderpussy” – badass, daring, deliciously distorted rock and roll about wlw (women loving women). Need I say more?

If you happen to catch Thunderpussy’s live introduction to WEST at Benaroya Hall on May 10th, I’d LOVE to hear about how the album translated to a live performance accompanied by a full symphony. I unfortunately will not be able to experience this undoubtedly momentous occasion, myself (I’m hoping the next tour that Thunderpussy embark on will include my Greater Seattle area town – easier for me to get to and get home from), but I feel as stoked for the band’s performance as if I were going to witness it personally, anyway! That’s what it feels like to be part of the community that loves, follows, and leads with Thunderpussy – we are with them as much as they are for us, and anyone who doubts the impact that good music can have might as well be a firebreather.

“Wonderland” Song Analysis

I am aware that most people hear “Wonderland”1 by Big Country as a simple love song. And you would be halfway correct in thinking that, by saying that, I have implied that I do not think “Wonderland” is a simple love song.

It has taken me an almost full year (and what an obsessive year it has been, haha!) since I first heard this song to realize that my perception of it is…probably at least a little bit unconventional. You’ve heard of a conventional love song, haven’t you? Well, I do wonder if this one may be, then, an unconventional love song, though probably not in the way you’re thinking. (What way are you thinking of? What does “unconventional”, much less an “unconventional love song,” imply to you?)

While the chorus alone points to it being a conventional-enough love song, so much of the context of this song (almost too much) seems to point to where it could transcend the trappings of a love song. Still, of course, this is my analysis of it, written through my personal lens and my biases (although that is individually true of everything anybody ever writes…). I mean, just because the songwriter, Stuart Adamson, was a heterosexual man and intended this song to exclusively be sung to/written for a woman does not actually mean that everyone can and will possibly hear it that way (plus, the song’s narrator never specifies the gender of his partner – the person he’s singing to/for), not to mention the fact that not everything a person writes is about themself, even if everything they write or say is a reflection of themself (and at least, to me, those are two separate ideas which I believe can apply to this song). Personally, I think the less specific a writer is, the more opportunity there is to embrace many diverse ideas about the subject of their writing. So, this is just one of those ideas among, I would hope, a sea of ideas.

With that said, I intend to analyze how this song remarks upon more than just a type of love restricted by the conventions of a simple love song, and, to a lesser extent (being my analysis), to exhibit why I think it’s one of the greatest songs ever written. (And no, I do not lightly bestow that concept/title on just any song.)

The first 25 seconds of this song makes it more than worth it to hear on repeat 30+ times in a row: the light percussion and the ringing guitar riff (played by Bruce Watson), followed quickly by that HUGE drum sound courtesy of good production choices (thank you, Steve Lillywhite) and Mark Brzezicki on drums that is just so exhilarating (and, from my listening perspective of Big Country’s first five albums, a rather trademark sound for them), and then that hard rock guitar riff (played by Stuart Adamson)…literally what better way is there to bait and hook a listener who loves rock music? Oh, and then of course Adamson comes in with that BEAUTIFUL “Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooooh” semi-screamed/yelled opening that is so full of admirable effort that you can forgive the scream (if, like me, you’re not a fan of hearing men screaming in music) and the brief little crack in his voice which I actually find so endearing…I’m sorry, but how was I not supposed to immediately love this song?

Musically, Watson’s guitar riff and Tony Butler’s bassline work together startlingly well to emulate the sense of wonderland – something vaguely dreamy or dream-like – that underscores everything more aggressive and subjectively overwhelming like Adamson’s guitar riffs and Brzezicki’s drums. It’s an incredible balance of ‘Here’s what the ideal (also known as wonderland) sounds like’ versus ‘Here’s what reality is/sounds like,’ and it’s displayed quite effectively in the arrangement. You can also hear this idea even better in the 12″ mix, as all of the instrumentation is far less restrained and the volume of the vocals is also turned up to better hear the harmonies punctuating the hopefulness of wonderland. (Not to mention that the 12″ mix offers the opportunity to hear Butler’s genius bass playing more isolated, and Brzezicki’s drums sound positively WILD! The outro also incorporates Adamson’s lively guitar lick that often introduced “Wonderland” in Big Country’s live performances.)

When it comes to the verses, I will analyze what role love plays in wonderland, and how the verses present evocative, thoughtful impressions to illustrate wonderland.

So for the first verse we are introduced to:

“If you could feel how I must feel
The winds of quiet change
If you could see what I must see
Still hidden in the rain
But when the thunder rolls
It comes and covers up my soul”

With lines like “If you could feel how I must feel –/The winds of quiet change,” and (my favorite, even though it’s conceptually a bit muddied) “But when the thunder rolls/It comes and covers up my soul,” the narrator clearly has an idea of what wonderland could be like (the former lines), all while voicing the reality of…well, reality (in the latter lines). Because not only is he certain he feels “the winds of quiet change” and that he sees what is “still hidden in the rain,” his idea of wonderland is someone not just believing these things, but knowing (feeling and seeing) them as confidently as he does. To quote the marvelous, beloved writer James Baldwin in proving how that idea relates to love, “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.”2 As for the meaning of the line “But when the thunder rolls/It comes and covers up my soul,” I have immense gratitude to a friend for suggesting that he probably means the sound of thunder drowns out his soul – or, analyzed further, his environment that is represented by weather (thunder is usually conceptualized as scary…considering that it’s sounds that occur beyond human control) drowns out his introspection/his ability to hear and thus understand his soul.

The next two verses continue to reinforce what the narrator’s version of wonderland looks like and works the hardest to subvert the typical love song (and, as I hope to prove, it succeeds!).

“If you could hear what I must hear
Then nothing would replace
The fifty years of sweat and tears
That never left a trace
But when I look at you
I see you feel the same way too”

The first part of the verse is one of my favorite lyrics in the song: “If you could hear what I must hear/Then nothing would replace/The fifty years of sweat and tears/That never left a trace” because it is clear here that what the narrator means is ‘I don’t want this reality of fifty years of sweat and tears not leaving a trace – I wish this had made its mark actually, and I wish everyone acknowledged it!’ If it wasn’t already clear from the first verse what he meant, we come to understand that the narrator’s idea of wonderland is not needing to wonder about the future (because of the way the past was neglected); in his version of wonderland, the past was never neglected – it was properly acknowledged, felt, seen, and heard, and that knowledge and those feelings were built upon to create the future that wonderland represents. If you’re following me here, you may start to understand that, unconventionally, this is not just a love song to a person, let alone a singular person (but I’ll explain more later on). Finally, not only does the narrator evoke empathy through the lyrics “But when I look at you/I see you feel the same way too,” but it continues to reinforce what his idea of wonderland is like and how love fits into that – through empathy.

In the final, heart-achingly beautiful verse, we get:

“You still remember other days
When every head was high
I watched that pride be torn apart
Beneath a darker sky
With innocence within ourselves
We sing the same old song”

Most interestingly, the perspective in the first line of this verse abruptly shifts to narrate “You still remember other days when every head was high” before switching back to first person, “I watched that pride be torn apart beneath a darker sky.” The first line makes me ask: ‘Who remembers other days, when every head was high?’ We’re led to believe via the following line that the perspective in the first line is someone of a previous/older generation, and the narrator asserts that it is people within his generation who has witnessed the fall of said pride. The final lines of the verse beautifully illustrate his generation’s hope (and the hope he has for himself and his partner through wonderland): “With innocence within ourselves/We sing the same old song”. By relating to each other through a child-like optimism (the stage of life everyone goes through, when they’re as innocent as can be, and the ironic use of “we sing the same old song,” which is recognizing that everyone once knew that feeling of innocence and optimism and that it can and should be harnessed again, now), he hopes it will rally their motivation to create their ideal future or wonderland. (ALSO, to get meta for a moment, I used the term “rally” very deliberately, because musically, during the duration of those lines in the song specifically, Brzezicki strategically plays a militaristic-like drum roll there!) I also think it’s important to point out that the beginning of this verse deals with literally such dark, adult realities – “You still remember other days/When every head was high/I watched that pride be torn apart/Beneath a darker sky” – and it’s resolved by this mobilizing offer to return to (or more like: to bring back) childish innocence in order to break the cycle of these dark realities. Technically, that’s also what he’s asking of the person he’s singing to, like in the second verse, and who he’s ultimately asking to escape to wonderland with. Additionally, the childish connotations in the final two lines from the pre-chorus were also necessary, “And you will take my hand/And make believe it’s wonderland”, considering that ‘make believe’ is most often referred to as something that children play at (and, generally speaking, children tend to play make believe unrestrained, with very little inspiration needed – they create their own inspiration). And yet that all reads as very naïve – like ‘Yeah, so, if we all just pretended to have the same innocence we once had as children we could get along better and make more progress creating the future/reality we want instead of refusing to learn from or acknowledge the past so that our current reality is in some cases worse than ever before’ – but it’s also rather meta because it could also, therefore, still not be taken seriously (like, how often are children taken seriously to begin with!?), and I definitely think Adamson intentionally wrote it that way. (And what a great, legitimate example of when and where men should be asked “So how does fatherhood affect your music/writing ability?” the way music writers/interviewers always assume motherhood affects the work of women songwriters! But *coughs* that might be a rant for another post…or many other posts…)

To give you all a break after that very long, meandering commentary of a paragraph, my point, especially proven by that verse, is that the love meant to be found via wonderland is ultimately not meant for just a single person/lover/significant other/beloved/etc. – wonderland is his vision for the future as much as it is a place to escape to amid the everyday horrors of reality (amount of privilege not considered in the level of those horrors at this time…), and it is not meant for just one love but to be a loving place in general, for all.

Reaching what I will refer to as the pre-chorus, I will analyze them here separately from the rest of the chorus.

In short, in the pre-chorus “And you will take my hand/[and be with me in/make believe it’s] wonderland,” ‘wonderland’ acts most overtly as a method of escapism, although, based on all of the verses (and where I mentioned ‘reality/what is‘) prior to the choruses, we understand why that escapism is so necessary. To reiterate what I said two paragraphs ago, ‘wonderland’ is not just a place to escape to, but a place to dream; a place to escape to, in this case, for the narrator and the person (and people, overall!) he’s singing to, where they can imagine (dream) and thus build a loving, thoughtful, and respectful future that supercedes the present (a current time, therefore, which he is also implying is not loving, thoughtful, or respectful).

Finally for the chorus where I absolutely, shamelessly swoon:

“I am an honest man
I need the love of you
I am a working man
I feel the winter too”

To state what this chorus illustrates through a meme: it’s called vulnerability. Look it up. Maybe you’ll discover something wonderful. *coughs* Really, the chorus is simply a display of vulnerability, WHICH – YES, I’M GOING TO SAY IT – IS NOT POPULARLY SHOWN BY MEN, particularly vulnerability that is not demonstrated manipulatively (aka receiving benefits that are not mutually shared by the demonstration of vulnerability, such as men who think that being emotionally vulnerable with women entitles them to sex), and from the pre-chorus alone (at least I would argue that “And you will take my hand/And be with me in wonderland” is not a demand but a gentle, polite suggestion) we can absolutely infer that reciprocity is expected, so YES, it does bear acknowledging. In the rhythm of the chorus, supported by the unmistakably skipped drum beat and the bass that punctuates each line, the chorus sounds a lot like a list of how he describes himself – ‘I: am an honest man, need the love of you, am a working man, feel the winter too.’ It could also be understood as the ways in which he pursues the ideal world of wonderland (being honest and utilizing love in order to actively work toward the future he dreams of in wonderland) while admitting the barriers or cycles of negativity that exist to stall his efforts. The reason why I see the line “I feel the winter, too” as a barrier is because, to put this idea into context with the rest of the song, which I feel is also supported by context present in many other Big Country songs (easy context to find, though, such as in “In a Big Country”), it is a metaphor for depression and anxiety – “the winter” represents a state of being (mentally, emotionally, and physically) that freeze one’s endeavor to create the ideal world/state of reality that is sought after through wonderland. I also see the last line possibly being read ambiguously, as though mutually acknowledging that he and whoever he is singing to (particularly in the line “I need the love of you“) both “feel the winter”. Regardless, the last line works perfectly as the final line in the chorus because it acknowledges that progress is often not linear, as though to say that if one looks back at where one has been (and remembers all of the motives that keep one moving forward), it actually is easier to see where one needs to go; it is as hopeless a line as the rest of the song is hopeful, which is a reminder that the rest of the song is hopeful. (And that, I feel is necessary to add, is a devastatingly beautiful, unique attribute of Adamson’s songwriting, especially with Big Country.) I will say again that, in its entirety, the chorus acts as a display of vulnerability, which, therefore, must mean that vulnerability is also an expectation of wonderland, and if it is to be a loving place, it must also be a place to freely express that vulnerability. (NOW is this song on your list of, I don’t know, “Greatest Love Songs of All Time”?! Me, it’s just on my list of “Greatest Songs of All Time.” Love doesn’t need to have anything to do with it, although it could be a benefit…)

To return to the idea of conventional vs. unconventional love songs, overall, the most unconventional aspect of this love song is that, while the narrator’s love is clearly intended for one person (like a conventional love song), his hope represented through wonderland illustrates a more universal, shared and cultivated love that is not restricted to only himself and his partner. I actually specifically suggested that his hope for love extends to generations, which is broad enough to include everyone, anyway, but most importantly (I hope I’ve argued) for the future and future generations.

To sum up the perceived goal of this song in one sentence, I hear it sounding like this: We will learn from the past, dammit, and we will not stand for a future without love…and it will start with us, but we are not the only ones.

If I’m in the minority of people who appreciate even their favorite love songs to be a little political (hi, that’s the first time in this analysis I’ve specifically called it ‘political’!), that’s fine. I’m grateful to dream within “Wonderland” as much as I intend for it to inspire me to manifest my dreams outward, just as, I believe, Stuart Adamson hoped for through this song. As far as love is concerned, “Wonderland” is simply a song to hope with as much as a song to hope for.

  1. Big Country. Wonderland, jfng, bigcountryinfo.com/originals/wonderland.htm. Accessed 28 Jan. 2024.
    ↩︎
  2. BALDWIN, JAMES. “THE BLACK SCHOLAR INTERVIEWS: JAMES BALDWIN.” The Black Scholar, vol. 5, no. 4, 1973, pp. 33–42. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41065644. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024. ↩︎

“We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee” Song Analysis

A screenshot from my other blog: Anonymous asked: Hi! Just saw your post about Redbone and wanted to say I’d really love to hear your detailed thoughts on “We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee” and Redbone in general 💙
For reference, and so maybe you can listen to it while reading this analysis, here is a video of the studio version of the song that I base my analysis on!

The first time I heard “We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee” by Redbone in May of 2020, I wondered where the song had been all my life. I knew Redbone’s [greatest] hit “Come and Get Your Love”, which is on my anti-depression/happy/upbeat songs playlist, but it took me a long time to finally discover much more of Redbone’s music. But the first time I heard “We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee”, I thought, ‘Oh, what the fuck! A song about the TRUTH, finally!’ Yeah, maybe my finally! thought was nearly 50 years too late, but I thought that even if I’d had the chance to hear that song while I was in public school, learning about the full breadth of colonization’s harms when America was ‘discovered’ (which I didn’t learn until college) would have prepared me so much earlier for learning that later on – and yes, the knowledge of the real, honest history of America is painful, but at the same time it gives me hope that I can do better, with this knowledge of the past – I can make choices that are properly informed so that we do not repeat history, and I can only hope that the choices I make serve as an example of how to encourage a more respectful, less oppressive future for the country (people, land, water, communities) I call home.

That being said,“We Were All Wounded At Wounded Knee”, a song so politically and musically important [that it was blacklisted by the U.S. basically before it was ever even released as a single] deserves historical context before I delve into any sort of analysis of it. So please respect the journey through American history that is necessary to embark on in order to best understand what this song is all about!

Now, we will get to the historical context of the song right after this, but to keep the historical context fresh right before I get into the analysis of the song, I’d like to present some background information on the creation and release of “We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee” first – background information on it as a single, and as the final song on side one of the album Wovoka (1973). I found this Youtube video where Pat Vegas [this song’s primary songwriter from the band] talks about the story behind this song: “I got together with a friend of mine named Sandy Baron, and we set up, and in five days, we wrote the lyrics, we put the music together, got the record pressed, and got it out. … But in [the U.S.], CBS says, ‘Nope, we don’t want it, we will not release it, we won’t touch it.’ I said, ‘Fine.’ So I snuck in to the Santa Ana plant where CBS prints the records, and I had 500 [singles, and paid for them to be] made, and I carried the 500 [singles] under my arm to Europe, ’cause I felt, you know, maybe Europe will feel different. And sure enough, it became the biggest record of the year!” Furthermore, “We Were All Wounded At Wounded Knee” was ONLY EVER on the U.K. version of Wovoka; no other released versions of Wovoka include the song, and I infer that is because the song was already successfully released as a single in Europe, and because the record company (CBS, which was originally Columbia Records, was bought by Sony in 1990, and then CBS was renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 1991; Sony Music Entertainment then split European operations into two separate labels – Epic Records and Columbia Records – so Wovoka and the single were originally released by the label that is currently known as Epic Records) had already refused to release the single in the U.S. (or anywhere, honestly – Pat Vegas singlehandedly did the work of promoting the single by taking the pressings to Europe, meaning that if he or the band hadn’t done that, the record company would have never done ANYTHING to release, let alone promote, the single, so the record company wasn’t about to include the song on an official album release, either). In my research on Discogs.com, it appeared that the ONLY publishing company that enabled the song to be released on Wovoka was April Music Ltd. (which was the same U.K. company that published the single), a company in the U.K. (that was renamed CBS Songs Inc. in 1983, then re-incorporated as a separate entity in 1996, then renamed in 2019 to ‘Universal Music Neighbouring Rights Limited’; which is to say, that all happened well after the release of Wovoka) so it’s almost singularly thanks to April Music Ltd./EMI April Music Inc. for its inclusion on ANY album release of Wovoka at all.

Now for the historical context of the song, the title of “We Were All Wounded At Wounded Knee” evokes two separate incidents in American history, both called Wounded Knee but with each of their own, historically specific titles – the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890), and the Wounded Knee Occupation (1973). Most importantly, the song is about the Wounded Knee Massacre, but with the very recent incident of the Wounded Knee Occupation (which started on February 27, 1973; the single was released in May, 1973, and Wovoka was recorded in June and October of 1973 and released in November, 1973), the band capitalized on the incident’s press being in the public’s consciousness to call back to the original event at Wounded Knee, which I’d suggest was a way to reinforce how history repeats itself. The song is, of course, mostly about the Wounded Knee Massacre, and if you don’t know anything about it, I’ll try to sum it up briefly before you go on to do your own research about it: the Wounded Knee Massacre (also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee) took place on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The Battle is better known as a Massacre because it wasn’t much of fair battle between the combined group of Miniconjou and Hunkpapa Lakota and (as the song names specifically) the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment – when the 7th Cavalry went in to disarm the Lakota during a forced confinement to Wounded Knee Creek (the disarming of which was preceded by the ignorant troops witnessing the Lakota performing the rituals of the “Ghost Dance,” which was started by Wovoka – hence the album title! – and perceived it as a threat [of violence by the Lakota]). When a deaf Miniconjou Lakota man, Black Coyote’s, gun allegedly went off as the troops attempted to take it, the Regiment opened fire on the Lakota (many of whom had already been disarmed – as I mentioned, it was not a fair fight). About 250-300 Lakota were murdered, with 51 injured (some of whom died later), and 25 soldiers were killed with 39 wounded (6 of whom died later – critical thinking moment: why is there a specific number of “later on” deaths of [presumably white] American soldiers, while there isn’t a specific number of later deaths for the Lakota?). The Ghost Dance also deserves some additional context, which might also explain some other lyric references: briefly, the Ghost Dance was started by Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka, who claimed that the ritual of the dance (which blended a messianic form of Christianity with traditional Native beliefs) would end settler colonialism, reunite the living with the spirits of the dead, and that in doing so, the dead would fight on behalf of the living; and apparently the Lakota’s version of the Ghost Dance was more millenariastic than Wovoka’s original version – the Lakota’s Ghost Dance, in addition to including Wovoka’s original teachings, appeared to more specifically promise that the colonizers would vanish and that the bison would return. But overall, the general idea of the Ghost Dance was to bring peace (to all), prosperity, and unity to the Native people throughout the region (x). And I would like to stress that, overall, the Lakotas performed the Ghost Dance as a method of survival.

For my critique and analysis of the song, I will: share my thoughts on the structure of the song, contextualize the lyrics when and where necessary (or refer back to where I already did), analyze the lyrics, and of course talk about the music itself!

To begin, let’s talk about the way the song opens – right away with the chorus! And, in fact, right before the lyrics of the chorus starts, the song is introduced with a light piano and drum combo which tapers off into a steady drumbeat (employing techniques of traditional Native drum music) as the vocals come in with: “We were all wounded at Wounded Knee/You and me/We were all wounded at Wounded Knee/You and me/In the name of Manifest Destiny/You and me/You and me/You and me…” It’s so noteworthy to mention when the instrumentation and vocals come in exactly as they repeat the line “We were all wounded at Wounded Knee,” as though to reinforce the togetherness of the statement (“all”) with the full force of the band (instruments and ALL of the glorious harmonies!). The hot-as-hell funky electric guitar riff coming in during the intro chorus, then pausing during the drum break toward the end of the chorus (the drumbreak was also a very good choice as the classic drumroll musically evokes a march) for “We were all[/not] wiped out by the 7th Cavalry” and coming back in after “Cavalry” to support the statement of the lyric is also a really great choice musically and definitely shows off a major characteristic of the Wovoka album overall! Onward, I wouldn’t want to gloss over “We were all wounded at Wounded Knee/You and me/In the name of Manifest Destiny/You and me”. If you don’t know what Manifest Destiny is, it is simply the whole basis/justification that the U.S. used for western colonization and expansion. I think: honestly, Redbone could have said anything about Manifest Destiny, but you know what they did instead? They highlighted the harm it caused TO “YOU AND ME”! And while I do believe that Redbone are talking to each other and/or other Native people specifically when they sing “We were all wounded at Wounded Knee/You and me,” I don’t think they would have been so general in their word choice of “We were all wounded at Wounded Knee” – because non-Native people (colonizers, in fact) were involved in the Wounded Knee Massacre and the Wounded Knee Occupation, too, weren’t they? (Yes, yes they were.) And when Redbone sings “We were all wounded at Wounded Knee/You and me”, I will point out that they’re singing to an audience – an audience (the “you”) which they were aware of, and probably ideally HOPED (if I may insert my own colonial assumption there) – that was not all Native. This might also be my own colonial judgment and assumption, but considering the very general/broad word-choice for their audience, I get the sense that, in this chorus, Redbone intentionally propose that colonialism (what Manifest Destiny justified) harms EVERYONE, and it works overall as a chorus to suggest that colonialism is the root of how and why [American] history repeats itself – an idea made all the more genius considering the inherently repetitive nature of a chorus in the first place.

Now, if the chorus as the intro didn’t pack enough of a punch, the second verse comes in with plenty of groovy instrumentation but just Pat Vegas singing lead as he continues to present the real history – the truth – of the Wounded Knee Massacre (and beyond that one incident, too; another genius credit to them, and an F, zero credit to the American government): “They made us many promises/But always broke their word/They penned us in like buffalo/Drove us like a herd/And finally on the reservation/We were going for our preservation/We were all wiped out by the 7th Cavalry”. The first two lines do not just discuss past history, but proof of the current and ongoing colonial project that the American government STILL enacts to this day (see: ICWA & Haaland v. Brackeen), so in that way, I’m sorry to estimate, the song aged poorly. The similes in the third and fourth lines are great to showcase two different historical references, one being the U.S. Military’s unofficial but active attempt to force the Native populations (who relied on the buffalo) into assimilation by murdering the buffalo into extinction (assimilation tactics which also included displacing, or “penning in” the tribes to government-specified reservations), and I would theorize that the other reference is to the Ghost Dance that the Lakota performed pre-Wounded Knee Massacre which the Lakota hoped (in performing the dance properly) would bring back the buffalo (among other reasons I mentioned earlier). The rest of the verse, of course, explicitly refers to the Wounded Knee Massacre, including pre-massacre, and the Lakota tribe’s attempt to evade the U.S. Military’s enforcement to confine the tribe to their government-appointed village on the reservation.

The next verse presents a hopefulness that, I feel, deeply permeates the entire song as a whole and transforms it positively from a song that arguably just admonishes the harms of colonialism (not that, I personally feel, that is a bad thing! It is a worthy topic of discussion, probably more so now than it was then and the band even makes a great argument for that!). “Now we make our promises/We won’t break our word/We’ll sing, sing, sing out our story ’til the message is heard/There’s a whole new generation/Braves who dream of veneration/Who were not wiped out by the 7th Cavalry/You and me, you and me”. With this verse, the band [as Native people] promise that they’ll keep singing and telling their story – the message of the song (which is, arguably, that colonialism harms everyone) – and that they have hope, too, because new generations of Native people will ideally experience the respect they greatly deserve, and they will not be actively colonized and slaughtered en mass. The fact that this verse also ends with the repeated “You and me, you and me” lyric seems to imply that “you and me” are also meant to be part of that “whole new generation … who were not wiped out by the 7th Cavalry,” which begs the question again of who is the audience of this song? With the inclusion of the specified title for Native warriors “who dream of veneration,” I would assume that they are specifically talking to and about Native people here, but is that then the case for the rest of the song? Contextually-speaking, I think it’s safe to say that the band’s #1 intended audience are Native people – an example of “by us, for us” – but as a nationally and, at that point (with the release of the song as a single and its particular success in Europe), internationally-known band, their audience needed to expand in order to impart their message to as many people as possible, including people who need to hear it for different reasons (Native people, for representation and to hear their experiences reflected in a widely-heard song, and non-Native people, for awareness of the harm they may directly or indirectly have a hand in). In other words, yes, this song was written specifically with Native people in mind, but to pigeonhole it as a piece of media that only concerned Native people would grossly neglect all who have ever been and are involved in issues which [negatively] impact and exacerbate “Native issues,” and to impart and exemplify what that means, I include myself as a non-Native person who needs to hear this song and understand its thematic scope so I may apply that understanding to my interactions with my community (people, land, animals, and water). Continuing on with the lyric analysis, I also feel it’s important to point out that with the role-reversal of the lyrics “Now we make our promises/We won’t break our word” – which is, as a means of turning the table, aimed at the government – we, as the audience, of non-Native and Native people alike, are not meant to take that as a threat, and if any member of the audience who is not part of the government feels threatened by such a line, those threatened feelings inherently come from a place of privilege; if one (who was not part of the government) were to hear or read it as a threat, it would be because one’s government which has made promises to one and failed to keep those promises has not been a threat to one [ultimately, one’s way of life]. Finally, I want to point out a difference between the studio version that I listened to and based this article on and the live version that can be heard elsewhere, when the distinctions between them lyrically happen most obviously during this verse: on the studio version, the (heard – not usually written) lyrics remain as “We will sing, sing, sing out our story ’til the message is heard,” but on the live version (and apparently in the single’s written lyrics), Pat Vegas specifically sings “We will sing … out our story ’til the truth is heard,” and I feel these distinctions desperately deserve to be addressed! The difference in the lyric “’til the message is heard” on the studio version, to me, sounds softened; the impact of it is literally softened because – stay with me here – a message can be anything, which is to say that a message does not inherently have to contain or include a fact, or the truth. The live version’s lyric revision of “’til the truth is heard” is much more impactful, because the truth must always contain a fact, as a fact must always define the truth. So, my primary criticism for the whole song (the studio version), I must say, is that they did not initially go full-impact on what they recorded versus what they performed live, and I think it’s a bit silly that they didn’t sing “’til the truth is heard” all along considering the fact that the record company refused to release the song as a single or on the album in the first place and the U.S. blacklisted the song regardless – if the band wanted the full breadth of this song’s impact to be heard and felt and recognized in the first place, since Pat Vegas specifically went out of his way to get this song played anyway, it would have been better to name the point of the song in the studio version all along as he did in the live version anyway.

As for the final chorus, this is what allows the song to follow through with its effective structure, and it is also arguably the most ‘controversial’ part of the song because it appeals to the idea of truth as as a belief now instead of what is factual as the rest of the song accomplishes. Again, it goes: “We were all wounded at Wounded Knee/You and me/We were all wounded at Wounded Knee/You and me/We were all wounded… By Wounded Knee”. In case you forgot the shimmering vocal arrangement, and the all-at-once beautiful and funky instrumental of the chorus, they weren’t about to let you down in the outro…nor would they forget the intention of their message TRUTH! or let you forget it, either. The instrumental of the song fades as the harmonized vocals sing the final “We were all wounded” and poignantly ends with a delicately slow guitar strum as Pat Vegas finishes the line with an important revision: “[We were all wounded]…by Wounded Knee,” followed by the characteristic steady drumbeat that basically opened the song as well. This subtle revision does so much for the song, not to mention how it literally ends with this (forcing the listener to remember it most clearly), because it’s as though Pat Vegas asserts his earlier promise to “sing out our story ’til the message is heard” – the message TRUTH here is, finally, that they were not all just factually wounded at Wounded Knee (also known as a historical example of genocidal techniques and persecution justified by colonialism), but that they truthfully suffered because of it – that they still suffer from knowing it happened and, MORE IMPORTANTLY, that conditions (promises! Treaties! Land and water rights and protections! Adhering to the law? How many other ways can I describe it?!) have not really improved since then, seeing as, specifically at the time of the song’s release, history had repeated itself in the name of the Wounded Knee Occupation (or, aptly, Second Wounded Knee).

When considering everything they managed to fit in this song, it’s so admirable to me that they contained so much truth in this fairly short (under 3 minutes and 20 seconds) song. In my estimation, if this song is about anything – history, or Native rights or Native activism, or colonialism, or truth – I think it’s overall best defined as a song about truth. To be purposely subjective here now, that’s what some of the best art is – truth is one of the most qualifying, deserving, worthwhile subjects to explore in art, particularly as an artist, but it can be that way for the audience/consumer, too. Redbone showed us what the art of the truth sounds like.

I also reference “the live version” of the song in my analysis, so I also wanted to share the video of the live version that contains a lyric revision different from the studio version!

Happy Black History Month!

In honor of Black History Month, acknowledging the area of music I most like to listen to and learn about, I collaborated with a friend to curate a playlist made up of music by the Black women (as frontpeople, musicians, and songwriters) of classic rock1. It is very much meant to represent the history of Black women in rock, as it is organized in chronological order by the dates that singles or albums were released. Do understand that this is an inexhaustible list – no artists or bands within the parameters of the playlist were left off intentionally, and if you alert me to any who I forgot or if I learn of more artists/bands on my own, they will be added in time!

Which leads me to one other note I must make: while this playlist was curated in honor of Black History Month, it’s important that these artists/bands AND contemporary Black artists/bands ALL be appreciated and recognized for their talent and contributions to music throughout the entire year! (Which is also why I think it would be appropriate to continue adding to the playlist through the year – but that’s just my thinking.)

If you check out this playlist – which I sincerely hope you will – you may think it’s long, or depending on who you are you might think it’s too short. (I think it’s too short.) If you believe the latter, then don’t fear – the playlist is actually incomplete from how I originally compiled it because a few artists could not be found on Spotify. Luckily, I’ve added the missing artists to a Youtube playlist2, so you can either rediscover some artists/bands you once heard and forgot that you enjoyed, or you’ll get the chance to learn of some new-to-you artists and bands! Either way, I hope you’ll find these playlists enjoyable, because I certainly do.

Continue reading “Happy Black History Month!” →

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.

*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!

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.