Divas Dishing The Dirt

3 friends. 3 very different people. All with opinions.

Saturday, April 08, 2006
Let's hear it for the Girls

For the past few months I've worn out 3 cd's, The Arcade Fire's Funeral, My Morning Jacket's self-titled album, as well as the self-titled Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. As amazing and worthy as these albums are, I feel something is missing. Oh yeah, it's chick music! Going through my library, I've compiled a list of my top 5 favorite albums by female artists. One disclaimer: If I see ONE COMMENT whining "I never heard of these people!" I will be annoyed! The point of me being put in charge of Music (&more) is that I am apparently a know-it-all. SO. Before commenting, please take a moment to attain my best track pick from each artist. Barring that, Enjoy!



5. Sleater-Kinney - All Hands On The Bad One.
This was the first album I'd ever heard from the northwest trio, and it's my favorite one to date (though there new record, The Woods is more than noteworthy). It's the perfect combination of grinding riot-grrrl punk and beautiful, almost frail vocal harmonies. My pick for best track is #2, "Ironclad", and the witty "You're no Rock & Roll Fun".




4. PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories from the Sea.
A few years ago I would have said that for my money, it didn't get any better than Harvey's album Rid of Me. Every song felt charged with a raw sexual energy that only PJ (and Juliette Lewis) could put out. But as nice as raw sexual energy is, it's not something you can listen to every day. Stories is a bit more grown up, a bit more evolved. While you still get a grinding satisfaction off of tracks like "Big Exit", a good part of the tracks on this album feel like an afterglow compared to Rid of Me. Try to listen to her duet with Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, "This Mess We're In" and not imagine yourself in some sweaty hotel room. Go on, I dare ya.



3.Cat Power - Moon Pix. I can't say enough things about Cat Power (also known as Chan Marshall). Her mournful voice? Her matter-of-fact lyrics? Her soft, full, mouth? Sorry, got carried away. Okay, so I've got a little bit of a lesbian crush working there. That doesn't make Pix any less amazing. This is the album I grab when I'm having an identity crisis. It's thoughtful, honest, and haunting. My favorite track is easily "Colors and the Kids", but If you've never listened to Cat Power before, please also listen to "Cross Bones Style" and "American Flag", if anything to get a better idea of how different and strange each track on this album really is.


2. Hole - Live Through This. I know I'm going to catch hell for this one. Now more than ever, with "Emo" and Indiepop becoming so popular, there seems to be a real decline in angry, pissed-off music. What happened to Rage Against the Machine? Ice-T once did a song called "Cop Killer". He now plays a Cop on TV. Trent freaking Reznor isn't even pissed off anymore! Is EVERYBODY on Paxil?
Courtney Love isn't! That's right, she's back, and she's crazier than ever!!! If I could meet Courtney, I'd hug her and tell her how much Live meant to me. And then she'd punch me in the face (POW! Right in the kisser!). This is, to me, a true punk album. From the gritty, in-your-face "Violet" to the pseudo-sweet teen crush "Doll Parts" this record lays it all out for you. It's like being naked in front of a boy (or girl) for the first time. There's nowhere to hide, this is what it is. My favorite tracks on this album would have to be "Credit in the Straight World" because It's so great to sing along to, and of course "Olympia" because you might as well say I went to school/in Olympia/and everyone's the same. Rock on Courtney! Stay Crazy, girlfriend!!!


1.Tori Amos - Under the Pink.
You had to expect to see Tori in here somewhere! In any case, this was a tough decision. I love every album she's ever put out (maybe with exception to Strange Little Girls) but none more so than this one. I knew I was in love when I first heard the first few notes to "Pretty Good Year". You could say that Tori's sophomore effort was a lot stranger than her first record, Little Earthquakes, with songs that take you from one place to another in a fashion so abrupt it's almost violent. Don't believe me? Watch out for "The Waitress" then. MY favorite song from Pink is "Space Dog", but that's because I have personal ties to it. If you haven't heard anything from this record, I'd recommend you first listen to "Cornflake Girl" which is so powerful and so charged you can't help but move along with it. And since I've already mentioned Trent Reznor once, he duets with Tori on "Past the Mission".

I hope you guys enjoyed that. And see? No Jewel anywhere!

posted by Bee at 4:02 PM

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