DDHDBs has moved

So after four years on Blogger I've decided to move this blog to wordpress.

You can find the new and improved Don't Dance Her Down Boys here: www.dontdanceherdownboys.wordpress.com 

See you there,

Steph x.x.x.

A Response To The New Kate Nash Song That Attempts To Explain Why People Are So Bloody Confused About It

Well, who'd have thought it. Of all the pop stars to get the interweb's knickers in a twist it was Kate Nash with her new written-and-filmed-in-24-hours song 'Underestimate the Girl'. Kate's come back with a bang, a new found love for the bass and an ever so slightly dodgy, culturally appropriated bindi (just throw it away Kate, just throw it away).

Basically, no one can make up their fucking minds about this one little song. After recording her latest album, which is yet to be released, Nash decided to get out all her frustration and write, record and film a video to song in just one day. The song itself is quite honest in revealing its inspirations lie in riot grrrl culture, the punk attitude of The Slits and X-Ray Spex and the experimental nature of The Raincoats. Everett True loves it, apparently Heat magazine want the old Kate back and I... I just don't know how I feel about it like most people. I don't like it, but not for the reasons one may think. I'll try and explain why here but if I waffle, I waffle so here it goes.

When Kate Nash first came onto the music scene I was so relieved. Finally a pop star with talent, that has a knowledge of herstory and can teach young girls and boys to put down that copy of David Guetta (I don't know what the kids listen to) and get some radical punk in their ears. She had balls, she had hips, she was our pop star.

But then came the disappointment, which isn't necessarily a fault that can be laid entirely at Nash's feet. Whenever you put anyone on a pedalstool they're going to disappoint you at some point. Nash's second album, My Best Friend Is You, saw her move further towards more experimental, punk orientated styles. While songs like 'I Just Love You More' and 'I've Got a Secret' were truly amazing the rest of the album floundered for me and not because I wanted to hear 'Foundations' again. It slumped because it simply wasn't good enough and this is the problem with 'UTG'. Nash is talented but sometimes she shoots and simply doesn't score. I can completely see the direction she was going for with 'UTG' and I want to reach that goal, I want her to get there but she didn't.

Nash has taken to her Tumblr site to dismiss the haters and claims that people only want the old Nash that could still be compared to the old Lily Allen. Well that maybe true for some out there but not for me. I want the future Nash that can mix what she loves about punk and riot grrrl with her own brand of cutesy pop and make an epic record with it. I support all females artists but I also think constructive criticism is a necessity and to deny female musicians of this would be to mollycoddle them and we're far, far stronger than that. Nash is far, far stronger than that. I still have high hopes for the new album though.

Corin Tucker Announces New Album

Ex Sleater-Kinney vocalist, Corin Tucker, has announced her second solo album, Kill My Blues will be out on 18 September.

Released via Kill Rock Stars Kill My Blues is said to see Tucker return to her "riot grrrl sonic roots". Now, we can't be entirely sure what that actually means or whether it'd just pr talk but it sounds pretty good.

On recording the album Tucker said: “After the past two years playing together, traveling and making music, I think we’re more comfortable. We collaborated on every song on this record and no one was shy about their ideas. I think you can hear that sense of joy and abandon in the songs.”

Tucker and her band have also announced tour dates for the American east coast. The Corin Tucker band includes Sara Luna (Unwound), Mike Clark (Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks), and Seth Lorinczi (Golden Bears).

Tracklisting:
01 Groundhog Day
0
2 Kill My Blues

03 Neskowin
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4 I Don't Wanna Go

05 Constance
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6 No Bad News Tonight
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7 Summer Jams

08 None Like You
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9 Joey
10 Outgoing Message

11 Blood, Bones and Sand

12 Tiptoe

 

**UNDER COVER** You said you were high class...

**RETROSPECTIVE** Goldie and the Gingerbreads

Goldie and the Gingerbreads were pioneers in the real meaning of the word. The band were the first all female band to be signed to a major label, paving the way for groups like The Runaways, the Go-Gos, Sleater-Kinney and many more, giving them a chance to take the stage and do their thing.

Formed in 1963, the band had hits with the songs 'Can You Hear My Heartbeat' and 'Think About The Good Times'. The Gingerbreads were singer Genya (Goldie) Zelkowitz, drummer Ginger Panabianco, guitarist Carol MacDonald and organist Margo Lewis.

The seeds of the gingerbreads were first sowed when Genya, then the lead singer of The Escorts, saw Ginger perform at a club in New York. She was so bowled over by seeing a female drummer that she was inspired to form an all female rock n roll band and went over to Ginger after the gig. It wasn't easy to find other members, finding a guitarist seemed to be the trickest stumbling block, but eventually they were complete with the addition of Margo and Carol. It is thought the band's name was a play on Genya's nickname, Goldie, and Ginger's name. 





Their big break came when they played the Mods and Rockers ball in 1964. The band mingled with The Rolling Stones, Warhol favourite Baby Jane Holzer and Ahmet Ertegun, chairman of Atlantic Records who promptly signed them to his label.
The band went on to tour Europe extensively with The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Kinks and the Hollies. While their were performing at the Peppermint Lounge in New York the band caught the attention of The Animals and their manager Mike Jeffries who were lured in by the music they heard coming from the club. They were amazed by what they heard. Eric Burdon, lead singer of The Animals, said: "There was so much feeling in Goldie's voice that I was stunned to find such a 'black' sound could be produced by a group of white girls."
Their first hit single in the UK, 'Can You Hear My Heartbeat', was produced by Animals keyboardist Alan Price who said that Lewis' organ playing was so good it made him want to go out and get drunk. The band had hopes of the single being a success in the US but this was thwarted by Herman's Hermits version, which was released just two weeks before the Gingerbread's US release.

When the band returned to the States they tried desperately to garner success, both professional and commercial, to no avail. Over the course of 1967 and 1968 the band slowly broke up.  Carol and Ginger went on to form jazz-fusion band Isis, Genya went on to release several solo albums and form the band Ten Wheel Drive and Margo is now the owner and president of a talent booking agency based in New York. 
Despite their short career the band made a huge crack in that 10in thick glass ceiling the music business prefers not to acknowledge. It took guts to get up on stage as an all female band in the early sixties, in an environment where we can barely imagine the kind of crap they had to deal with on a daily basis to be taken seriously. As I said before without them we'd have no Runaways, no Bangles, no Riot Grrrl and no Don't Dance Her Down Boys, it was the Riot Grrrl movement that inspired me to write this blog. We all need to take a second and remember those who came before us, remember the Gingerbreads.

**ONES TO WATCH** M Women

M Women

The internet's a wonderful thing isn't it. Let's say I like sparkly, multi-coloured roller skates. Well I could search for 'sparkly, multi-coloured roller skates' and find everything related to that subject. The same goes for musical genres.

The other day (or two months ago to be precise) I searched for Seattle grunge and found the delightful Seattle-based grunge three-piece M Women. I've been obsessed with them ever since, I mean, how can you not be? The absurdly lo-fi production, the snappy rhythms and crashing cymbals highlighting every aspect of their songs. M Women sound like the band I formed in my dreams where I suddenly develop a bucket load of talent that I use to entertain the masses.

M Women is made up of Schanen, Carrie and Andrew who together form an impenetrable punk crew who protect themselves with their razor sharp riffs and barrier of noise they create. The band released their debut album Faithful, last October on Couple Skate Records. Previously they had released a few demos on cassette and a 7" titled Aubrey in 2009.

Opener 'Tense Hands Talk' is definitely M Women's definitive track. It's a shattering, explosion of a song that has touches of lo-fi favourites Beat Happening, as well as their contemporaries Grass Widow, nestled within the beat. Other treats include 'Mackrel Gray' and 'Dark Space'.

M Women are a band only at the beginning of their career, yet to peak and show us everything they have to offer. Make no mistake when they do, you'll be amazed at what you see.