Listen To This...

Reviewing the Essential


Recommended by:
Amanda Jones

Babes in Toyland - Fontanelle
www.myspace.com/babesintoyland

Concrete Blonde - Still in Hollywood
www.concreteblonde.com

Patsy Cline - The Gold Album
www.patsycline.com

The Go-Go’s - Beauty and the Beat
www.thegogos.com

This Wednesday night (Feb. 7th), at Kiss or Kill, is The All Girl Fronted Rock Riot. Paying homage to a night of girls fronting rock bands, I wanted to come up with some equally fantastic albums that I consider essential when listening to women who rock!

Narrowing a list to 3 bands/albums was time consuming. How do you pick only 3 albums? So I cheated and added one more and managed to find a way to enjoy myself while thinking of all the amazing women that have contributed to music in the last 100 years. This is my list of delicious albums I have listened to repeatedly on many an evening. Press play and be ready to jump into action and kick some ass, or at the very least cry yourself to sleep after a bad day. I’ve been lucky that I’ve seen all but one of these artists play. Unfortunately at this point, I don’t think you can see any incarnations of these bands any longer – so buy the album. Take the time and listen – it’s well worth the $10.

The first album that immediately sprang to mind was Babes in Toyland’s 1992 release, Fontanelle. The pace of this album is frenetic at the very least. A three piece band that could whip anyone’s ass into shape with biting lyrics, edgy vocals, and a guitar sound so violent I think at times the paint in my bedroom has been chipped away year after year listening to this album. Kat Bjeland, Lori Barbero, and Maureen Herman were a refreshing change from the 90’s boy rock that consumed the air waves. They were adorable and fierce rolled into a sonic package of rock. I’m not sure if this album was deemed punk upon its release but it definitely seemed punk to me. Listen to “Bruise Violet”, “Right Now”, or “Handsome and Gretel” and try not to call this punk. Each song is short, sweet and in your face with Kat Bjeland’s voice serving as a pissed off woman siren. If you haven’t heard it and you want to hear some serious female driven punk rock pick this up.

The next artist is Concrete Blonde who has put out many albums ranging from the late 1980’s till as recently as 2004. I had the pleasure of seeing this band a few times and more importantly witnessing Johnette Napolitano rip apart a stage not only on bass but with a voice that most women musicians would kill for. I’m so happy that I did. While they did have a string of hits that actually made it to the air waves they also had a collection of gems that were never heard on radio. If it’s possible - I say pick up all of their albums, but if it’s a matter of purchasing a collection of theirs (and they do have a few greatest hits) I would say pick up: Still in Hollywood (1994) It has the Leonard Cohen cover of “Everybody Knows”, an acoustic version of “Joey”, a cover of Hendrix’s “Little Wing” that rivals any cover of that song I’ve heard and the title track “Still in Hollywood”. This is probably some of the greatest rock I’ve ever heard and still to this day remains ageless.

My next recommendation is to pick up a Patsy Cline album if you don’t own one. Patsy Cline is to country what Billie Holiday and Nina Simone are to jazz and what Chryssie Hynde has been to punk. The woman was, and continues to be, a pioneer in music so many years after her death. While for a lot of people this may seem incredibly outdated – she died in 1963 – her music still resonates deeply with many. She managed to sing what were considered men’s songs, with more passion than most of her male counterparts at the time. Patsy Cline rivaled Hank Williams in the way of lonesome blues. There are so many of Patsy’s albums you can purchase, all containing something beautiful and sad, but if you can, grab the Gold Album (2005). There are the usual favorites, like “Crazy”, “Walking after Midnight”, and “Sweet Dreams” but it also has a cover of Hank Williams, “Your Cheating Heart” and “She’s Got You”. This is the kind of album you can play from start to finish and not be disappointed – it doesn’t miss a beat. Plus, all the heartbroken of the world unite whenever this album is played – at least that’s what I’ve been told.

Finally pick up The Go-Go’s Beauty and The Beat (1981). Not because I was obsessed with this band as a child and sang in the mirror to The Go-Go’s everyday in my tiny bedroom the minute I got home from school. BUT, pick it up because in 1981 this was the first real cross between punk and pop that managed to infiltrate America and sell a ton of records. Plus they are from Los Angeles and played with all the great punk bands like Black Flag and The Germs - and middle-America were none the wiser!!! This album opened the door for females everywhere that loved punk and pop. The Go-Go’s found a way to blend the two genres effortlessly and came up with “Our Lips Are Sealed”, “We Got the Beat”, “This Town” and “Lust to Love” and this was only the first album. Indeed, God Bless the Go-Go’s and every VH1 behind the music about those girls!!!

Happy Shopping and See you tonight!!!

xox
Amanda Jones