**MIXTAPE ALERT** This is Not a Love Song

Valentine's Day is a tricky occasion for many of us to have live through. Whether you're 'in a relationship', 'happily single' or 'it's really complicated, seriously I couldn't explain to you what's going on between us if I had a million years' everyone wants to know what you're doing for Valentine's Day.

Are you going to waste £10 of you're hard-earned, or not really that hard-earned in my case since I work in media and stare at a screen for the majority of my day, money to see a truly, god-awful chick flick and receive a present that you honestly can find no use for.

It's fine if you like that kind of thing but for the cynical folk like me another second of this mindless lovefest cannot be tolerated. In the spirit of all things cynical I have whipped up a 15 track mixtape that features anti-love songs about heartbreak, cheating, lying and a whole lotta crying. That should stop you feeling lovesick.

Tracklisting:
1. February 14th- Huggy Bear
2. Beat Your Heart Out- The Distillers
3. No- Vivian Girls
4. Only Loved at Night- The Raincoats
5. I Love You Eddie- The Crystals
6. Single Again- The Fiery Furnaces
7. Love und Romance- The Slits
8. This Isn't It- Giant Drag
9. I'm Blue- Shangri-Las
10. Don't Wanna Hold Your Hand- thee headcoatees
11. A Real Man- Sleater-Kinney
12. Legs- PJ Harvey
13. I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You- Shop Assistants
14. Cheated Hearts- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
15 Girlfriends Don't Keep- Bratmobile

This is Not a Love Song from Steph88 on 8tracks.

**MIXTAPE ALERT** Girls Names

50s Musicians

There are exactly 200,153 songs about girls names and that's a fact I mean don't research it, don't look it up, you can't find it on wikipedia but it's true...ish. Whatever the actual statistic is I know it's pretty high.

Call me a feminazi but I find that many songs about women written by men tend to fall into two camps. Women are either portrayed as either the temptress seducing a guy or the angel who can do no wrong. This can be a little tiresome for this blogger who just wants to get through listening to one song without being told she's a wanton woman.

It becomes more interesting when women write songs about other women as it allows a more honest depiction of femininity and womanhood.

The Raincoats cover of Lola brings the song into a whole new territory that The Kinks probably never even thought it could go and Patti Smith's classic Gloria becomes a moving declaration of womanhood every time she repeats those famous letters "G-L-O-R-I-A".

Feminist analysis aside these are all bloody good songs so enjoy and everyone sing in unison "GLORIA....".

Tracklisting:
1. Gloria- Patti Smith
2. Lucille- She Keeps Bees
3. Clara Bow- 50 Foot Wave
4. Valerie- Amy Winehouse
5. Angelene- PJ Harvey
6. Oh Marie- Ladyfuzz
7. Samantha- Hole
8. Lola- The Raincoats
9. Prescilla- Bat For Lashes
10. Anne- Santigold
11. Mary Ann- Regina Spektor
12. Oh Serena- The Distilllers
13. Headache For Michelle- Au Pairs
14. Erica Kane- Aaliyah
15. Hedi's Head- Kleenex
16. Polly- Long Blondes
17. Jenny- Sleater-Kinney

**UNDER COVER** Wild Wild Wild

*MIXTAPE TAPE ALERT* Feminist Anthems Pt. 1

I've been looking forward to this summer for a while for various reasons, it's my birthday in August, but mainly because it looks like there is going to be a big ol' feminist summer of sorts.

Ladyfest Ten is well on its way with the organinsing and will be holding fundraising event throughout summer up to the festival in November. The arts collective Storm in a Tea Cup are organising various club nights, fanzine and even a record label in order to promote women in the arts. Also the UK Feminista Summer Camp weekend takes place in a couple of weeks and it looks like it's going to be good.

Here is the first part of my mixtape dedicated to our summer of feminism featuring a pleathora of great songs that have spoken to women over the years. From Lesley Gore to The Distillers women throughout history have been writing about women's issues.

We have a long way to walk till we get anyway near equality but we'll need some tunes for the journey.

Tracklisting:
1. Seneca Falls- The Distillers
2. I Am Woman- Helen Reddy
3. You Don't Own Me- Lesley Gore
4. Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)- Ravonettes
5. Man-Size- PJ Harvey
6. Sold Out-Sleater-Kinney
7. Why Don't You Love Me- Beyonce
8. Terrorist- Heavens To Betsy
9. Ladies First- Queen Latifah
10. Respect- Aretha Franklin