**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.
 

**SONG OF THE MONTH**

Marianne Faithfull was previously just a name to me. Around in the 60s. Had something to do with Mick Jagger. I knew little after that. That was all until I heard 'Why D'ya Do It', from her 1979 album Broken English, and the name Marianne Faithfull meant a lot more to me.

The lyrics, written by the poet Heathcote Williams, depict a graphic, emotional rant of a jilted woman who discovered her lover's adultery. Lines such as "Cause she had cobwebs up her fanny and I believe in giving to the poor" caused controversy when it was released in 1979 and led to the record being banned in Australia.

It's hard to imagine that anyone else could do this song justice the way that Marianne has. You trying singing about a "barbed wire pussy" with a straight face, it's tough. Saying that listening to it does make you wanna scream along with it, which can be a bit tricky at 8am on a packed bus. Oh how my fellow commuters love me. They should be looking past the filthy outbursts and loving Marianne, she's the way to go.

**ONES TO WATCH** THEESatisfaction

I had more or less given up on hip hop for a good few years. I was taken in by the blissfully raucous noise that is riot grrrl as a teenager and since then I have found a home for my feelings and emotions in growling distortion and the twang of tight guitar strings. I'm like the guys from Flight of the Conchords, I can only express myself through music (except I don't write witty comedy tunes, just a sparsely updated music blog). Try as I may I can't say I've ever found a home  in hip hop like I did with riot grrrl, but that doesn't mean I've given up all hope of finding it. I always have time for someone who wants to shake me by my shoulders and scream "what are you talking about hip hop is the future". Futuristic hip hop duo THEESatisfaction did just that to me.

THEESatisfaction, Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White, are a spaced out, jazz-infused hip hop duo that are a step and half ahead of the rest of their contemporaries. The duo are both musical and real life partners. Listen to any THEESatisfaction song to hear their closeness in every melody and every beat. Irons delivers a silky lyrical rhyme for Harris-White to take and inject a kind of soul Aretha would be jealous of into every nook and cranny of the song.

Their style is minimalist, some songs, such as 'Bitch', are just a few simplistic beats and vocals. The duo takes cues from acts such as De La Soul, Erykah Badu and that type of early 90s hip hop that was influenced by jazz, funk and spoken word poets. 'Do You Have The Time' samples an addictive falsetto vocal, which is apt since the band spend the rest song singing about getting high and "chilling out easily".

Along with a love of capitalisation, something that makes someone like me who edits copy for a living very anxious, THEESatisfaction also love to pay homage to their roots with songs like 'On What It Means To Be Black' and 'I Nigress'. They are a powerful sight to behold as well. They command the stage with just a laptop to keep them company, clad in dashikis and afros Angela Davis would be proud of. I almost want to email them just to ask them hair tips. So Catherine how do you get your hair to stay so strong? Stasia come on girl be honest. You're using a special conditioner in that aren't you? That's not just a wash and go do.

It may seem strange but the idea of a hip hop duo that consisted of two black women who shied away from  weaves, fake nails and butt surgery, and they were also stridently political seemed so amazing to me I had to check again just to see if I hadn't imagined it. I love that I can listen to a band and know that they represent a part of myself that is rarely represented well, if at all. THEESatisfaction have just realised their debut album on Sub Pop that is full of fuzzed out, laid back soul and they know how to rock a dashiki. What's not to love about them.

www.theesatisfaction.bandcamp.com

**MIXTAPE ALERT** Treats and Sweets

This post was meant to go up around Easter, in time for the gluttonous religious event that has everyone gaining an extra 4lb by the time it's over. A few weeks too late shouldn't matter too much because this mixtape is relevant all year round. I've decided to dedicate an entire mixtape to the delicious treats that we like to have on occasion (i.e. every day. Don't judge me).

From 'milkshake' to 'chocolate' there are a lot of tracks that make my mouth water for many reasons. Take my advice, this mixtape is best enjoyed in the company of Ben, and Jerry too, lying in a bathtub full to the brim with dairy milk chocolate. It would mean you'd have to face cleaning the bathroom the next day but it'd be worth it.

Tracklisting:
1. Sweet Like Chocolate- Shanks & Bigfoot
2. Milkshake- Kelis
3. Burger Baby- Gravy Train!!!
4. Mama's Gonna Make Us a Cake- The Casual Dots
5. The Beer- Kimya Dawson
6. Chocolate Eyes- Voodoo Queens
7. The Sweets- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8. (Yr So Sweet) Baby Donut- Cold Cold Hearts
9. Forming / Hot Chocolate Boy- Hole
10. Licorice Whip- The Bangs
11. Cakewalking- Young Marble Giants

 

Treats and Sweets from Steph88 on 8tracks.

**UNDER COVER** There is a House in New Orleans

**GOLDEN OLDIES** Lijadu Sisters

As a connoisseur of this grand old art called music I generally think I've heard pretty much every genre going. So you could guess when I heard about this band that were making, what the writer described as,  'afro-beat soul' I was pretty intrigued.

The band in question are The Lijadu Sisters, identical twin sisters Taiwo and Kehinde Lijadu, who decided to make forward thinking, funk, post-punk music in 1970s Nigeria, which, as you could imagine, was not an easy task. The sisters had to fight for their right to be heard and remembered, they have recently released a collection of their greatest hits, in an industry and decade that didn't want to hear women sounding anything other than 'nice'.

As you'd expect their sound could be described as many things but never 'nice'. They sing the same thing at the same time throughout all their songs, which takes a while to get used to at first. Jagged guitars and nagging synths constantly weave themselves in and out of songs that are based around an steady, afrobeat rhythm. I know. It's a lot to get you're head around. Too many genres, too much to think about but stay with me here.

Not only is their music interesting but their lyrics show that the sisters were more than just two pretty faces. 'Danger' documents a turbulent relationship with, what we are to assume is a violent lover, as the sisters sing that he "came into my life and dispersed danger". 'Cashing In' is a cynical take on the consumerist world, which sees the sisters shout in unison "We're cashing in, prostitution, yeah, we're cashing in, revolution yeah / Poverty is still a common sight." It's that kind of social commentary that you would expect to hear from The Clash or X-Ray Spex, which makes the Lijadu Sisters so intriguing. 

There are a few interviews with the sisters here and there but not enough. I wish there were more out there about them that I could find but short of going on a trip to Nigeria and asking them myself some questions may have to remain unanswered. In the meantime I'll be listening to their recently released best of album and then finding someone who looks slightly like me to sing in unison with. I think it's a good plan.

**SONG OF THE MONTH** Trailer Trash Tracys

I heard about the Trailer Trash Tracys a while ago, back in the day when I was interning at Plan B magazine. My task for the day was to find out more about a of couple of up and coming bands at the time, one of them being Trailer Trash Tracys.

I thought it would be an easy task but after hours and hours of searching all I could find about them on the internet was one extremely sparse Last FM page. Not very useful to me at all. Fast forward three years later and TTTs are everywhere and they're only going to get bigger.

The main reason I love this band also is because when I hear their name I think of an old time country band with banjos and homely looking women screaming their lungs out.

TTTs are obviously nothing like that. Their brand of spaced out, electro fuzz is perfect for those who want to reminise about the good old days when bands like My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain and Mazzy Star ruled the indie world. They're essentially the 80s in smaller, cooler, better dressed nutshell. Now I don't know about you but, I, for one, am excited about that whole idea.

www.trailertrashtracys.com

**UNDER COVER** Why Does The Sun Go On Shining...

**ONES TO WATCH**

With so many free mp3s flying around the internet it's hard to get bowled over by the sound that downloaded itself so quickly onto your hard drive, but sometimes a song catches you when you're least aware and forces you to pay attention to it like a musical spoilt child.

I discovered Lianne La Havas after downloading her single 'Tease Me' through a well known music player. I was immediately drawn in by her husky, low voice. The song is sparse, just quiet vocals and an acoustic guitar that pipes up every now and again when it gets excited.

La Havas is a 22-year-old Londoner with a silky, smooth voice to match her intricate, soulful songs. Although she has only released a couple of EPs, La Havas is whipping up a storm. She supported Bon Iver on his US tour, entertained the nation after appearing on the iconic Jools Holland and is currently getting ready for a UK tour supporting Bombay Bicycle Club.

Normally soft, quiet acoustic music, like La Havas', is like the devil to me. I don't want to be near it and it doesn't want to be near me, but after listening to La Havas I'm starting to change my mind. I love it when music makes you reconsider what you previously considered to be 'interesting' music.

It makes me want to pick up a guitar and whisper softly about lost loves and bad boyfriends, although I'd never be as good as La Havas, no one could be.

Click here to download Lianne La Havas' free Live in LA EP.
www.liannelahavas.com

**SONG OF THE MONTH**

Photo: The Walrus

Some songs can never run out of excitement.

Some songs never grow old.

Some songs can never stop filling you with joy no matter now many times you play it on the repeat (cough cough 20 and counting).

'Only Shallow' is the stand out track from My Bloody Valentine's second album Loveless. It's a masterpiece that really doesn't need much of an introduction so I'll stop talking. Get out of your way and leave you alone with Shields and the rest of the gang.

 

**FROM THE ARCHIVES**

Photo: Spotibot

There's not much out there on The Lookers and Sleater-Kinney supergroup Cadallaca. The group featured Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney fame, and owner of the best punk rock vocals in the world, and Sarah Dougher and sts from The Lookers.

For a long, long time all you could find on the internet about them was a sparse wikipedia page, a few interviews and exactly three poorly shot videos of them live.

Given the lack of Cadallaca we had access to back then it comes as a bit of a shock to find that a whole setlist of the band playing live has been uploaded to YouTube.

The can be seen playing artist Miranda July's party. On one video it says it's her birthday party and another claims it is her record release party. All we can know is that it's a party and an awesome one that got Cadallaca to play. The set is separated into two parts and is available to watch below.

Part one

Part Two

H/T: gummerbearcavity

**ONES TO WATCH**

Some bands love to seen, heard and talked about. They fantasise about becoming the next Lana Del Ray-sized internet hit and as a result they compose every aspect of their band around becoming 'searchable'. Google groupies is what they are. Fortunately some bands are going against the SEO grain, like Household and their entirely un-googleable name.

Try searching for Household in Google (or you preferred search engine) and see what comes up. I got a couple million pages on everything but the band. It seems Household have a sense of humour since they called their debut album 'Items', which does not help their searchability one bit.

Household are a three piece Brooklyn-based band made up of Talya Cooper (guitar and vocals), Jenna Weiss-Berman (drums and vocals) and Isabel Freeman (bass).  Lo-fi to the extreme Household mix rattling snares, rumbling bass lines and droll, matter-of-fact vocals to muster up a sound that can only be described as if Young Marble Giants, Grass Widow and Delta 5 spent the summer renting an apartment in Brooklyn and formed an awesome super band.

Album opener 'Go Away' is definitely the stand out track. It has a soaring, catchy chorus that sees Cooper softly yell "defective, defective"; a comment on old fashioned views of a 'woman's role' or just a statement about a broken household item. You decide (I think it might be the first one to be honest). Songs stop abruptly, change direction and fascinate you in ways you couldn't believe.

Household's minimalist, lo-fi style is certainly a winner and although they have only been quietly discussed on a few blogs here and there, mainly because no one can find them, that is no reflection on the band or their album, which is an impressive debut that everyone should feel excited about.



For more information: household.bandcamp.com

**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.

**GOLDEN OLDIES**

A welcome return for Golden Oldies here on Don't Dance Her Down Boys and the first band to be featured are Pylon, the Athens, Georgia new wave band that were a huge part of the Athens post punk scene.

Pylon formed in 1978 when guitarist, Randell Bewley, bassist, Michael Lachowski, and drummer, Curtis Crowe, came together to form a band after meeting as art students at the University of Georgia. Vocalist Vanessa Briscoe, also an art student at the university, was chosen after the guys held auditions for a singer.



Pylon's brand of post-punk, raucous music won them famous fans like Gang of Four, Mission of Burma, Talking Heads and the B-52s who helped the band promote their music across America.  REM drummer, Bill Berry, described Pylon as "the best rock n roll band in America".

While the thundering bass of Lachowski and jangling guitar of Bewley were certainly catchy, it was, without a doubt, Briscoe's vocals, that veered from sweet and docile to raw and dominant in a heartbeat, that made the band. This can be heard best in the band's most recognisable song 'Stop It'.  In the call "No rock n roll now, no rock n roll now" I hear the yelps of Karen O and the squeals of Allison Wolfe.

After two albums and a lot of touring Pylon had grown tired of playing and resented the fact that the music they had once loved had become more of a business and a chore. The final straw came when the band opened for U2 on the first leg of their US tour. They were disheartened with the music business and decided to break up in 1983. 

Pylon reformed in 1989 and broke up again, releasing the LP Chain on the way. They finally came back together in 2004 to play at Little King's Shuffle Club. The band continued playing until guitarist Bewley sadly passed away after suffering a heart attack in 2009. 

Pylon certainly are not a household name like many of their contemporaries later became but they can most definitely get away with the title of "the best rock n roll band in America".  Anyway they wouldn't wanna  be a throwaway name on everyone's tongue. They knew what they were making was more than that.

wearepylon.com

**FROM THE ARCHIVES**

A little treat for any Deal enthusiasts out there, here we have a very early Breeders demo from 1988.

The demo features a collection of songs that would later be straightened out and cleaned up to appear on Pod, Last Splash and the Pixies second album Doolittle.

It's interesting to listen to the beginnings of songs that you know well and seeing how much or how little they changed.

Breeders fans will be happy to hear a very, very early version of 'Divine Hammer' floating around on this demo. Who knows when Ms Deal will be releasing another Breeders album, so this will have to do for now.

Tracklisting:
1. Rave On
2. Only In 3's
3. Glorious
4. Fortunately Gone
5. Doe
6. Drivin' on 9
7. Silver
8. When I Was a Painter
9. You Always Hang Around
10. Overcome  
11. Limehouse

DOWNLOAD: Pod Demos- Breeders

**SONG OF THE MONTH**

A little girl with pig tails, a mickey mouse jumper and dimples cute enough to warm the coldest heart, which is officially owned by the one named Jeremy Clarkson, walks out in front of a bare brick wall. What happens next you ask. Does she break out into song, revel us in the delights of her day.  No she waxes lyrical about her views on the act of cunnilingus, her enemies and her lovers all in the filthiest ways possible.

The name Azealia Banks is on everyone's lips at the moment, she topped the NME cool list and the BBC Sound of 2012 list, but I'm sure she would much rather like everyone to be on her lips (the filth is contagious I don't know what I'm going to say next).

Everyone that has been on any music blog or anywhere near East London in the past few months will have heard this song and they'll understand why its my song of the month. '212' is a hipster dance floor classic that  people who live outside Hoxton can not only stomach but actually love too.

Since '212' became a huge hit Banks seems to have got lumped in with a few other rappers that started around the same time as her, and a few that didn't, who happen to be black and female. Generalisations can easily happen, especially when you're on a deadline or need to fill two pages in the next issue, but it's still a shame people need to find a reason why a black woman is taking up space.

On a brighter note Banks is making the most of her hit song, she's been touring all over and has put out two new demo in the last few months so it looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of her soon.

**MIXTAPE ALERT** Best of 2011

So it's the end of another year in music and, in my opinion, it's been a goodun'.

A year that featured Peej's astounding second Mercury prize win, Beyonce winning over a cynical Glastonbury crowd with sparkly pants and a whole lotta weave during her headline set and Warpaint's dreamy debut album is a year that should be celebrated and celebrated it will be.

And, yes I know there are slightly bigger music websites like Pitchfork and The Quietus that may be putting together an end of the year review but I believe nothing will top my review because I, dear readers, have Azealia Banks, Sneakpeek and Katy B. Nothing beats that hand.

NB. This mixtape is best enjoyed whilst getting ready for a New Year's Eve party complete with cheap wine and badly applied eye liner.

Tracklisting:
1. 212- Azealia Banks
2. Walk All Over Me- Sneakpeek
3. Bizness- Tune Yards
4. Undertow- Warpaint
5. The Words That Maketh Murder- PJ Harvey
6. My Mistakes- Eleanor Friedberger
7. Gulags For Slags- Suburban Mousewives
8. On a Mission- Katy B
9. Heaven- Emeli Sande
10. White Hot Fantasy- SPF 5000
11. Till The End Of Time- Beyonce
12. I Heard You Say- Vivian Girls
13. Mother Knows Best- Throwing Up
14. I'm Not Stupid- Cat's Eyes

**SONG OF THE MONTH**

I came to this a bit late but good God I love this song. Emeli Sandé, real name Adele Emeli Sandé, is a Glaswegian Aretha in the making and the owner of the powerhouse vocals, and fantastic blonde quiff, that make this song what it is. The Song of the Month this time round has to be 'Heaven' by Ms Sandé.

'Heaven' is a string-drenched club track; the kind that you can dance around to on a Saturday night out and still enjoy when you're lying in bed in your room. It is reminiscent of the essential 90s club track 'Unfinished Symphony' by Massive Attack.

I first heard this song when I was slightly tipsy round a friend's house on Halloween (we were going out after that and other people were drinking. I wasn't a lone drunk). In my drunken haze I knew one thing and one thing only. I needed to remember that song. So I wrote down her name on my phone and when I woke up the next morning looked her up and I've been in awe ever since.

Keep an eye out for Sandé, with her album due out early next year and her latest single 'Daddy' out now she's got her eye on a piece of, 2011 favourite, Adele's very profitable pie.



For more information: www.emelisande.com