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So. Music. Women. Seemingly an illegal topic on most mainstream music forums (which are largely populated by men who think they're Cool and Weird while all having the same exact music taste. We get it you like Radiohead and King Gizzard ...moving on)
I really like music, and especially discovering new music, you know, challenging taste and all that jazz. I follow this project, which gives you an album from the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die book (*technically the project contains a few bit more [~1100], as albums from all versions of the book are included). For those unfamiliar, the book "compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics to be the most important, influential, and best in popular music between the 1950s and the 2010s". So basically a really fucking long best-of (full list here).
It's been pretty fun, and I'd say it has definitely help expand my musical horizon and made me discover things that I'd otherwise never had listened to. So, the project's pretty good, the list itself is... alright.
Expectedly, it has a dire lack of female artists. I am a bit over halfway through the list, and so far female artists account for almost 14 % - and that's being generous and including mixed groups with a minimum of female vocals. Seriously, Neil Young, John Lennon and David Bowie each feature on 9 albums, but they only managed to find an estimated ~150 albums featuring women? Sure. Obviously, pointing this out in mainstream music forums is a no-go so:
Give me your best albums by female artists! Please, I hunger so! Genre/language/year whatever is irrelevant, and obscure and/or non-english albums are very very welcome.
Here are some of my own (Danish) recommendations to start off (note that this is me doing my best to reign myself in haha):
Jomfru Ane Band - Hej Igen (1977-82) Spotify link Youtube link
Yes, it's a compilation, but unfortunately that's all that's made it unto the digital platforms :/ A protest band of the late 70's, Jomfru Ane Band, fronted by the wonderfully talented Rebecca and Sanne Brüel, is very much a product of it's time. Listen to Wargasme for a taste of the energy (and politics haha)
Shit & Chanel - Shit & Chanel (1976) (*name changed to Shit & Chalou in 1981 due to legal trouble with Chanel) Spotify link Youtube link
One of the first, and certainly most prolific, all-female bands here. Most of the members have since have successful careers, both solo and with other groups. A personal favorite of mine is Smuk og Dejlig which, as it happens, was closely connected to the women's movement at the time. Furthermore, it's one of 12 so-called evergreens included in the Danish culture canon. (and as far as i can tell the only one written by a woman)
Natasja - I Danmark er jeg født (2007) Spotify link Youtube link
A reggae/Dancehall -ish album, massively successful - probably her biggest success, at least domestically, despite being released posthumously. Honestly, largely included here for the sentimental value it holds for me. One of the first albums I owned. It's carried through countless MP3-players, and has without had a huge impact on forming my musical tastes. It's honestly difficult to point to one specific song lmao, but Gi' mig Danmark tilbage cannot go unmentioned. I feel like y'all would like Fi er min, which is basically warning girls about men being gross and critiques porn culture. Somehow, this was a massive hit. Also contains an incredible cover of Smuk og dejlig
Situationsfornærmelse Spotify link Youtube link
A more recent one. Very small, very obscure, the best current Danish hardcore band. Definitely not feminist (with a possible exception for Ind Med Hænderne, I guess?), largely graphic and/or problematic lyrics, but so fucking fun. The energy is unparalleled.
On that note, if you're into punk/hardcore
Gorilla Angreb - Gorilla Angreb (2006) Spotify link Youtube link
Oh Land - Wish Bone (2013) Spotify link Youtube link
An english-language release, but I'm unsure how known she is internationally, so here she is. Was a difficult pick between this, Earth Sick and her self-titled, but this won out. Just really good pop, tbh.
For some non-danish, but begging to be mentioned (and probably already known):
Dar Williams - Mortal City (1996) Spotify link Youtube link
If you're a lyrics person, this is your gal. If you're not (like me), listen to her anyway. No matter what, As Cool as I Am is like, required listening. If nothing else, do yourself the favor of listening to that.
Mary Prankster - Blue Skies Forever (2002) Spotify link Youtube link
Mary just brings it. That's it. Though honestly, if you have the time, listen to one of the live albums, because her energy is unparalleled. Blue Skies is f great too, though, so. No wrong answers here.
Alix Olson - Built Like That (2001) Spotify link Youtube link
Feminist/lesbian spoken word. Dear Mr. President lives rent free in my head.
Finally, I'm gonna say listen to Feminist Housewives and then stop myself here.
go listen to Otoboke Beaver
Alright, now I'm done. Yeah.
TL;DR - Throw your favorite female-fronted albums at me, genre/language/whatever irrelevant :)
Pretty much Janis Ian's entire collection.
Tracy Chapman.
Nina Simone.
Billie Holliday's not overrated.
The Cranberries.
(All women with the courage to say something when they sing).
Just recently Emily Scott Robinson- "Built on Bones" (I'm in it for the title song). Not nearly as lyrically 'heavy' and she's unfortunately definitely a libfem, pronouns on Twitter and read her talking about the concept at peril of your own annoyance, but album is written around the witches of Macbeth and she didn't shoehorn anything eyeroll-y into the songs themselves.
And some obscure performers and bands that are a little too close to home to mention here, unfortunately, but a lot of very talented women out there (and I know at least one who is privately mid-peaking) :)
God there are many - would take me hours to list -songs below are all on albums (links in youtube)
Few samples of old school that should be on “best of lists”
PJ Harvey This Is Love
Portishead Glory Box
Blondie unboxing samples
Garbage I Think I'm Paranoid
Divinyls I Touch Myself
Fleetwood Mac Dreams
The Pretenders Brass In Pocket
Currently listening to ;
Amyl and The Sniffers (raw punk) Guided By Angels
Aldous Harding The Barrel
Bonnie Banane Cha-Cha-Cha
Sudan Archives Home Maker
Perfume "Polygon Wave"
Cannons - Hurricane
Yes! So many good ones here. Amyl really feels like a ray of hope for modern punk tbh
God there are many - would take me hours to list
mood
etc.
Haha, I literally listened to the Aimee Mann album like two days ago, how funny! Thanks, I'll look forward to checking those out :)
I really love Emilie Autumn. Opheliac is the best album IMO but anything she does is good. I like the music (Victoriandustrial/dark caberet / goth) but the lyrics also definitely have a feminist slant.
Other musicians/bands to listen to:
Toris Amos, especially Strange Little Girls
Pink
Ani deFranco
Dolly Parton
Lily Allen
Babes in Toyland
Hole
L7
I was going to say Tori too! Little Earthquakes is 100% essential
Thanks! Opheliac just went on the queue!
Again, great taste haha. Love all of them. I somehow don't think I've gotten to Strange Little Girls yet, but I love Amos. Pink and Allen are like, probably the root of like half of my music taste lmao. Re Hole, I think Celebrity Skin was my favorite song for such a long time. I know ms. Love is controversial, but damn if she hasn't made great music.
Do you know Lunachicks? Essential riot grrrl, imo. Oh, and Red Aunts!
Oh yeah I remember them. So many good girl bands in the 90s
Such a golden age, honestly. I miss riot grrrl sm haha. Now it's all queercore
This is a great idea :)
I've found a band called Oceans of Slumber with a female vocalist who has the most wonderful, rich voice! I've only listened to two of their songs so far, but I really love it. Then there's of course Epica and Nightwish, but they're already big, so don't know if there's a point in mentioning them. If you want another Danish band on your list, Sorten Muld is great! (Although no longer active, I believe.) They mix folk songs and a modern, electronic aspect. Perhaps you know them already. Eivør Pálsdottir is also really amazing.
Edit: Sorry, I see you asked for albums, not bands >< I'm really not good at keeping track of albums as I mostly just listen on Spotify.
Haha, no worries, everyone has different listening habits :) I didn't know them, actually! I'm listening to Sorten Muld rn, really digging it so far! Definitely checking out the others too, thanks :)
I'm really glad you like them ☺️ I've listened to them since I was a teenager. I love folk songs, and I think they do a really good job mixing them with the modern sound. And they are songs I can actually sing along to :b I hope you will enjoy the others too ☺️
Dessa - Chime (2018) (my favourite song is Fire Drills, it's so good) Female rappers are so rare and she's my absolute favourite. She's amazing and I'm hoping that I can see her live one day.
Most English-language artists/bands I would have mentioned have already been posted here, so let me throw a German one into the mix:
Basically all albums by “Wir sind Helden” (with female lead singer and guitarist, Judith Holofernes), but especially their debut “Die Reklamation” and their 2005 release “Von hier an blind“.
I sure hope Tori Amos is on there. Her whole catalog, but especially her first four albums, all from the 90s. Boys For Pele and From The Choirgirl Hotel can each still bring me to tears.
Not albums, but some singers I like:
Courtney Barnett, Bad cop/Bad cop, The guts Suizie Quattro
Any album by Bonnie Raitt.
Ellen McIlwaine is an overlooked classic.
Stevie Nicks, Carly Simon, early Heart, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Joan Jett . . . .
I just saw Bonnie live recently — I don’t know how she makes a set list, she has such a back catalog to choose from. She’s also such a great interpreter of songs — her most well-known songs are covers (Angel from Montgomery and Thing Called Love).
Two of my lesser-known favorites are Love Letter and Papa Come Quick.
Also, on the Disney compilation she has a lovely version of Baby Mine.
"As Cool As I Am" is one of the best songs! Thanks for all the recommendations.
I'll add
TLC "Crazy Sexy Cool"
Hole "Nobody's Daughter"
Liz Phair "Exile in Guyville"
Shakira "She Wolf" and "Laundry Service"
Toni Braxton's self titled album
En Vogue "Funky Divas"
Miley Cyrus "Plastic Hearts" (I didn't love the whole album, but her rock voice brings me chills)
Mary J Blige "What's the 411?",
If I think of more I will add them.
Edited to add
Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation"
We used /r/musicbywomen on Reddit for this purpose if you want some more ideas.
Thank you for this!
Oh, awesome! Didn't know that existed haha, thanks :)
I let another woman take it over maybe a year ago, and she revived it. I like to go there and grab ideas; it’s an eclectic mix!
Great post here. Thank you 😊
King of Everything by Jinjer. Jinjer is fronted by Tatiana Shmaylyuk, a Ukrainian woman, and her vocals are just beautiful. she's a huge inspiration for me as an aspiring vocalist and musician.
she can sing like an angel and growl like a demon. I just love it. as a woman, her false chord screaming is really impressive since not many women can do it, as we have thinner vocal chords than men.
the genre is metal, btw.
another notable act is the all-female black metal band from Armenia called Divahar. they are breaking social expectations for women in their country and I just love it.
there is also Atarashii Gakko, they used to he jazz rock fusion but are now experimenting with indie, hip hop etc, they're quite versatile. they're a Japanese girl group and writes their own lyrics, most of their music and choreographs all their dances themselves. they break the typical expectations of Japanese idols too and I love that as well. my fav album by them is "Maenawaranai".
Another "fun" observation - Sys Bjerre, a danish pop singer, was briefly what felt like the most hated person in the country for this song. It's basically just a break-up song, but... shit was wild. Think early Taylor Swift criticism. Sys ily <3
Anyway, I genuinely think the statistics on male/female listening habits are so interesting. I (of course) can't find the study now, but basically, men don't listen to female artists, at all, basically. Women on average have a more balanced distribution, but still with a majority male artists. I feel like this explains the tone on most music forums suddenly lmao. I wonder what it is? If it's purely societal, or there's some other reason or what? Like, I know my music probably skews male (due to genres mainly - I listen to a lot of punk which is ridiculously male-dominated) but I vastly prefer female voices, so. I don't know, it's just interesting.
Was that song hated? I feel like they played it all the time. I actually liked it. And I appreciate the part where she says his cat has been taken good care of ♥️
It dominated the radio, definitely, but I just remember hearing so much about how she was a psychopatic bitch etc etc etc. If you watch popular media from around the time, you'll almost definitely hear her being mentioned disfavorably. Alle mine veninder was also shot at a lot, despite litereally just being like a positive friend song?? I don't know, it was fucking weird. I liked it too! Like I said, I think the Sys hate comes from a similar place as the early TS hate, with mostly men just getting upset about a female pop star doing well.
Edit: re the cat line - I have this vivid memory of a 1.g danish class and my old hippie danish teacher desperately trying to get a group of blushing 16 year olds to point out the eroticism of that line
Ah, maybe the problem is I never watched any popular media really :b but it's sad that people can't just enjoy a good song without having to get nasty when the singer is a woman :( I really hope this will change over time.
I always just took the cat line at face value and assumed she just valued the cat more and would never hurt it because cats. Never considered it could be erotic >< still not entirely sure how. But I can easily imagine 1.g's in that situation x)
I really hope this will change over time
I think it is, more or less. At least at home - newer female artists don't seem to get the same treatment as the likes of Sys and Medina, but maybe that's just because their songs aren't exposed to literally everyone in the same way (seeing how the rise of streaming has individualized listening habits compared to radioplay yadayada...). I don't know, but it does seem better, at least. And it'll only continue to get better, I'm sure.
The cat line - You're proabably absolutely right to haha. As i recall the tl;dr on is basically cat = mis = she's doing well sexually and moving on. Idk man, you know how danish teachers are lmao.
I hope you are right :) I'll admit I don't usually follow the gossip, but I did hear that people were picking on Medina and Swift. At that point I didn't care much, but I think I would pay a bit more attention today. I don't know if there are any big female Danish voices at the moment to compare to?
Cat = mis = she's doing well sexually.... Man må sno sig, sagde ålen. That's taking some extra twists and turns to get that interpretation. But yeah, Danish teachers x) I think I'll stick to my "interpretation" that's she's a true cat friend.
I'm so out of the loop on music, but off the top of my head:
anything by The Donnas. Get Skintight is probably the most widely known.
I love Solex, (aka Elisabeth Esselink), maybe try Low Kick and Hard Bop.
I want to throw in a rec for Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir who both have put out wonderful music, though I wouldn't call it Essential Rock and Roll. Here's a KEXP performance by Gyða
Absolutely on The Donnas! Yes! Solex, too. Good taste ;)
I think I've heard the name, not never actually listened to them, haha. Definitely gonna check them out now, thanks :)
Nina Simone - Pastel Blues (1965)
Aretha Franklin - Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You (1967)
Françoise Hardy - Comment te dire adieu (1968)
Janis Joplin - I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969)
Patti Smith - Horses (1975)
Patti Smith - Easter (1978)
Patti Smith - Wave (1979)
The Go-Gos - Beauty and a Beat (1981)
Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega (1985)
The Cranberries - Everyone Else is Doing it So Why Can't We? (1993)
The Cranberries - No Need to Argue (1994)
Garbage - Garbage (1995)
Garbage - Version 2.0 (1998)
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998)
Le Tigre - Le Tigre (1999)
The Organ - Grab That Gun (2004)
Amy Winehouse - Frank (2004)
Ladytron - The Witching Hour (2005)
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (2006)
The Kills - Midnight Boom (2008)
Santigold - Santigold (2008)
Grouper - Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill Backwards (2008)
Zola Jesus - Conatus (2011)
FKA Twigs - LP1 (2014)
Jain - Zanaka (2016)
FKA Twigs - MAGDALENE (2019)
Fiona Apple (all of her stuff but particularly fetch the bolt cutters if ur looking for a feminist theme)
Regina Spektor - Soviet kitsch
Amyl and the sniffers has already been posted but another vote for her lol
Suzanne Santo - Ruby red
Chelsea Wolfe - Unknown rooms
Aldous Harding - Party
Look blue go purple - lbgp compilation
Bic Runga - Drive
Any florence and the machine
Cocteau Twins - Heavan or las vegas (also garlands)
Bikini kill - the first two records
any siouxsie and the banshees
most of my favorite bands are female fronted (sorry I didn’t list any albums but they’re all good)
The slits
The raincoats
X-Ray Spex
Kleenex/liliput
The coathangers
Bleached
Cherry glazerr
Girls at our best!
ETA: Kate Bush - Hounds of love
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Sheryl is actually on the list with Tuesday Night Music Club, but I definitely agree! This is exactly my gripe with the list, there's a ridiculous overrepresentation of certain artists if you consider the limited space (seriously, is 6 Costello albums really necessary?), meanwhile there's ridiculous oversights - like Celine, seriously, how is she not on? It's weird.
Really looking forward to checking those out!
Aaliyah - Self titled album and One in a Million
Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
Annie Lennox - Diva
Aurora - All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend
Bangles - Different Light and Everything
Bette Midler - Beaches
The Birthday Massacre - Walking with Strangers
Bjork - Post, Homogenic and Vespertine
Chvrches - The Bones of What You Believe (Not every song is mainly the frontwoman though.)
The Cranberries - Everybody Else is Doing it So Why Can't We and No Need to Argue
En Vogue - Funky Divas
Erykah Badu - Baduizm
Fiona Apple - Tidal
Flyleaf - Self titled album
Garbage - Self titled album and Version 2.0
Heart - Dreamboat Annie, Little Queen, Bad Animals and their self titled album.
Hikaru Utada - Colors and Ultra Blue
Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself
Kittie - Spit
Lacuna Coil - Comalies, Karmacode and Dark Adrenaline (there is a secondary male singer but the main singer is a woman.)
Lana Del Ray - Born to Die
Nightwish - Dark Passion Play and Once (Again there is a frontwoman but also the secondary singer is male.)
No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom and Return of Saturn
Olive - Extra Virgin
Rihanna - I like at least one or more songs from all her albums so have a lot on my playlist
Sarah Brightman - La Luna and Timeless
Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing
Toni Braxton - Secrets and her self titled album
Veruca Salt - Eight Arms to Hold You
Misc mentions: Yebba, Sia, Agnes Obel, Tori Amos, Ive, Dreamcatcher, K/DA, Babymetal, Dido, Adele, Jojo, Jewel
Wow, you came through haha! There's quite a few of these that I've had on the listen-at-some-point-probably-maybe list, so thanks for the push :)
edit: listened to the Imogen Heap album and when I tell you that part of Hide and Seek jumpscared me lmao. Did not know that was where that was from