Hey Where'd All The Angry Girls Go?

You've probably already read this by now but in case you haven't Jude Rogers has written a great piece in the Guardian that focuses on the demise of the 'angry woman' in rock.

In her quest to find an answer to her question she speaks to some greats including Joan Jett and Kathleen Hanna.

Whether you agree with the idea of the 'angry woman' or not, it's hard not to admit that what was once indie and challenging is now mainstream and big business.

As a result indie starlets are becoming more homogenised. 8 out of 10 girls in band have the same pretty doe-eyed look.

Jude has also set up a blog with excerpts from her interviews for the piece.

Read Jude's piece here.

NEW: Gossip- Pop Goes The World

Sleater-Kinney Reunion in Five Years?

Biggest news, hot off the re-heated press release. Sleater-Kinney, my all time favourite group, may regroup in the near future.

Carrie Brownstein told IFC:

"We spent 11 years committed to [Sleater-Kinney], heart and soul. To get back into it we have to be in that place where we can immerse ourselves fully. I think it will happen. We have to loop around, and we're at the far end of the circle, away from the band, but I think we will come back and revisit it. And hopefully that record will be sometime in the next five years."

This is just a maybe. A HUGE maybe. But nevertheless, in my mind I'm already up front, at the Sleater-Kinney gig, crying at the sheer spectacle of the moment.

For a sooner SK fix, Corin's album is due to drop later in the year on Kill Rock Stars and Carrie revealed that she has formed a new group with, drum roll, Janet Weiss.

There you go. Two big scoops of Sleater-Kinney related gossip all in one go.

Don't you feel full now.

Guardian Music: Sleater-Kinney member form new band

**GOLDEN OLDIES**

Marine Girls were a post punk band from Hertfordshire that made their impact on the music scene during the early 80s.

The girls met at sixth form college in 1980. Tracey Thorn, later of Everything But The Girl, and Gina Hartman decided to form the band. Originally Tracey played guitar and Gina played drums and vocals.

They were later joined by Jane Fox on bass and her sister Alice on vocals and percussion.

Contemporaries of Young Marble Giant and The Raincoats, Marine Girls made minimalist DIY songs mostly about the sea, love and life.




I first heard about them on Beth Ditto's Christmas 6music special radio programme. From what I can remember she didn't even play them but just mentioned that they were a big influence on her.  For some reason the name stuck with me. I love how minimalist and simple the songs really were.




The band had a very short lived career. Gina left to pursue other musical projects and Tracey moved to Hull to attend university. Marine Girls disbanded in 1983 after releasing two albums and a number of singles.




You can still buy the Marine Girls album at Cherry Red Records.

Marine Girls
Cherry Red Records
Marine Girls Last FM

***ONES TO WATCH***

Sleigh Bells blew my tiny little mind away when I first heard them.

Unlike the folk tinged tweeness their name suggest Sleigh Bells are 75% Bass and 25% amazing.

Now that's the perfect balance.

Sleigh Bells are a electro duo from Florida and Brooklyn who make bass heavy, girl tinged, hardcore club music.

Having recently signed to NEET recordings Sleigh Bells are over from Florida to woo us Brits, well mainly the Londoners but they'll be back.

I'm definitely going to check them out cuz if they can make my little room feel like a dirty underground electro club imagine what they sound like live.

UK Tour:
23 March- Madame Jo Jo's, London
24 March- Cargo, London
25 March- Notting Hill Arts Club, London
26 March- KOKO, London






myspace.com/sleighbellsmusic
neetrecordings.com/sleighbells

New Kate Nash

International Girl Gang Underground

GirlGangUnderground.org
email: girlgangunderground@gmail.com

The Peaches Video We've All Been Waiting For

I love this song, I love Peaches and I love Shunda K.

**Random Selection**

Hello readers, Don't Dance Her Down Boys is back.

I have been pretty busy lately and have completly forgot about this site but that will change as of now and will start regularly blogging again.

To celebrate I have a new feature to share with you.

It's a monthly feature called Random Selection. Basically each month I will round up every artist that I have always heard of but never got round to listening to. I'll put all their names in a hat, or stick them on a dartboard whichever works best, and then one artist at random and write down my intial reaction to hearing their music for the first time.

First up is Joan Armatrading.

I'd only heard good things about Joan but for one reason or another I never investigated for myself.

Joan Armatrading is a singer/songwriter who released her first album in the 70s and is still touring now.

Every video and picture of her paints her as an artist that defied the idea of what a singer should look like choosing  baggy shirt and trousers over tight dresses and always performing with her trusty guitar.

My favourite fact about her is that she got fired from her first job in a factory because she took her guitar to work and played during her breaks.

The first song I heard was 'I'm Lucky'. Immediately I was taken in by the synthy/80s sound and awkward  half sung/half spoken vocals.



The second song I heard was 'Love and Affection'.

The song begins "I'm not in love but I'm open to suggestion."

How can you not fall in love with that kind of honesty.



The third song I heard was 'Drop The Pilot'.

This has a very 80s theme tune feel but its catchy. I absolutely know idea what it's about as the lyrics are a mystery but I like it.



Ultimately I'm pretty annoyed I didn't take the time to find out about her earlier.  Do you ever get that feeling when you hear someone for the first time that you've found the missing link. That missing piece that connects all your favourite artists in one huge creative jigsaw.

Let me know what you think. Who made you think twice? Who stopped you in your tracks? Who was your missing link?

www.joanarmatrading.com

Aretha Makes Things Better

GIG REVIEW: Blood Red Shoes @ The Garage 13/3/10

When I headed out last night to see Blood Red Shoes I was not particularly sure what to expect.

I, stupidly, had only listened to their new album once and had not been listening to their first album much for a while. In the end this self imposed ignorance worked to my advantage. I rediscovered BRS that night and remembered exactly why I loved them so much in the first place.

But let's start at the beginning of the night.

I was on the tube up to Highbury & Islington, surrounded completely by what I correctly guessed as fellow gig goers except for one man who was minding his own business with a cat balloon for a head.  The weirdest thing was that I was the only one that seemed to notice. I guess I still haven't got used to the daily oddities of London.

Anyway I reached The Garage and was immensely surprised how beautiful and oddly clean it was. This is not what I'm used to at all. To top things off I got served in about two minutes which is way under the usual 15 minutes I have to waste trying to get the attention of the barman.

I found a good place to stand at the back where I could see the stage and then the lights turned down and on walked the band.  BRS came with all the ferocious, gut wrenching riffs from their first album and brought a few more along with them.

The main reason I love BRS is because, as someone more eloquent than me said, "they make the kind of music you would make with your friends in that band you should have got together."

The way Laura plays takes you back to the fury of Babes in Toyland or the DIY aesthetic of Bikini Kill.

I saw BRS at Bush Hall when they were just getting big and they banter is basically the same. Laura remains very shy and says very little and Steven is his cheeky self and jokes with the crowd.

If anyone is worried that the new album won't match Box of Secrets then  you're sadly mistaken.  there are plenty of highlights from their latest offering including 'Heartsink', 'When We Wake' and 'Don't Ask'.

I left the gig with that lovely feeling that BRS are keeping the DIY aesthetic alive.

The Video Everyone's Talking About

Say what you like about Gaga but there are some of the most imaginative product placements you will ever see. Advertising gurus take note.

p.s. The song doesn't actually start till 3 minutes in so it's really a lot of Gaga out crazying herself up to then.

Let's Write It Down

News that Beth Ditto's rags to punk rock riches story will go down in history in the form of a memoir has got me thinking of the other memoirs that I need or really want to be published.

Courtney Love- Dirty Blonde
Although reviews have stated that Love's 2007 book, featuring letters, notes, lyrics and personal pictures, offers nothing new for fans I still think it will be an amzing read.  Despite the press trying to slander, demean and devalue her work over the years Love has remained; a survivor and a truly inspirational individual.

Patti Smith- Just Kids
Just Kids documents the naive yet loving relationship between Smith and Robert Mapplethorne who, in the early seventies, were both aspiring artist. The story behind the youthful, creative and ambitous crowd in seventies New York is one that everyone can enjoy.

PJ Harvey- You're Not Rid Of Me
Ok this one isn't real but I really want to hear a detailed story of the person behind the artist. I know it'll spoil the myth but I don't care i'm greedy.

Ladyfest Ten Logo Competition Date Extended

The search for a logo for Ladyfest Ten has been extended due to technical problems giving you more time to submit some amazing designs.

If your design gets picked you win your design will be used on flyers, posters and everything Ladyfest related and you'll get a free pass + 1 to the festival.

If you think you have the creative know-how start whipping up a cracking logo with these requirements:
- Two versions of the logo: b/w + color (if needed)
- The logo should read 'LADYFEST TEN'

Submit a .jpg or .tiff file of your design to ladyfestten.logo@googlemail.com before 10th March with your name and contact details.

For more information about the competition and Ladyfest Ten in general click here.

**MIXTAPE ALERT** Consumerism Harms Women

"Are women happy consuming or being happily consumed?"

The issue of consumerism and how it negatively effects women in particular has been around for decades. X-ray Spex and The Slits were singing about it the seventies and The Gossip carried on that trend in the present day with their homage to Poly Styrene, 'Spare Me From The Mold'.

I really think consumerism is a particularly nasty evil in our world. I know I get too addicted to shopping to the point where I begin to think I'm incomplete if I don't buy that new bag or whatever.

So this mixtape is a compilation of what I think are some of the best songs about consumerism.

Tracklisting:
1. Spare Me from The Mold- Gossip
2. Everything- Sleater-Kinney
3. Art-I-Fical- X-ray Spex
4. Shopping Girl Maniac- Voodoo Queens
5. Spend, Spend, Spend- The Slits
6. Shop For America- Bratmobile
7. Teen Tighterns- Huggy Bear
8. Germfree Adolescents- X-ray Spex
9. Fairytale in the Supermarket- The Raincoats
10. Viva La Persistence- Kimya Dawson
11. Ghost of Corporate Future- Regina Spektor
12. Pop- M.I.A.
13. Aerobicide- Julie Ruin

They're Back

I LOVE THIS.

**FROM THE VAULT**

Every month we look threw the archives and find some classic bootlegs to take you back to that day.

The first is Yeah Yeah Yeahs live in Berlin in 2003.

I love this bootleg because it's an amazing show and a great snapshot of a band at the height of their fame.

Karen has some particularly bewildering banter to offer talking about penguins and Eskimos and manages to lead that train of thought to how hot the stage is that night.

Brian and Nick are on particularly top form and the setlist encompasses tracks from 'Fever to Tell' and early never released tracks such as 'Rockers to Swallow'.

Tracklisting:
Rockers to Swallow
Cold Light
10 x 10
Pin
Shake It
Date With The Night
Rich
Art Star
Graveyard
Mystery Girl
Machine
Miles Away
Maps
Bang

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Live in Berlin (2003)

**SONG OF THE MONTH**

Ok I only know this girl's music from one cover, but it's an amazing cover.

AMAZING.

Now I'm looking for more from her.  I should have known being related to Beyonce meant you were genetically exposed to the amazingness gene.

You probably all know I'm talking about Solange Knowles' cover of Dirty Projectors 'Stillness Is The Move'.

The original already had r'n'b vibes around it but with Solange's vocals and a sample of Soul Mann and the Brothers 'Bumpy Lament', sampled by Erykah Badu and Dr Dre, it really sounds like a laid back r'n'b track, which I love and I know you'll love too.

p.s. If you've ever seen Solange with her little boy you'll know their are reasons to love her beyond her music, he's so cute.

Solange- Stillness Is The Move

This is The Most Hilarious/ 80s Song ever

Le Tigre Confirm X-Tina Rumours

To be honest we already knew it was happening but recently through their official website Le Tigre confirmed the rumours that they were working with diiirty pop princess Christina Aguilera.

Johanna Fateman stated:

I just saw the Marie Claire with CHRISTINA AGUILERA on the cover and I realized we are waaaay overdue for an update. Yes, the rumors are true. . . Le Tigre wrote and produced a couple of songs with Christina! Not wanting to break the spell of this magic opportunity as we wait in suspense to hear if our tracks make it on the album, we’ve been quiet on the topic. But now that the buzz is getting crazy I just can’t contain myself. Needless to say, for a feminist band obsessed with pop music, it was pretty much a dream come true.

Apparently everyone's favourite feminist electro band are fans of Aguilera and are not immune to putting their heroes on pedestals like the rest of us.

Meeting Christina and working with her at her home studio was simultaneously super comfortable and normal-seeming while also kind of a mind-blowing window into another world....... Curling up in sweatpants, puzzling over lyrics and checking her blackberry while the beat loops forever. . . Hey Christina is just like us after all! She is totally cool and hilarious and down-to-earth.

I really wanna know what this X-Tina track sounds like now. It's been rumoured that the result is a sparse, Fever Ray sound, see below:


In other Le Tigre related news, Jo mentioned  that they will be releasing a live DVD in the future which I can't wait for.

letigreworld.com