musical women appreciation post

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Happy international women’s day! What better way to celebrate than an appreciation post for my favourite female music artists.
musical women appreciation post

Music has always been a big part of my life, especially around the ages of 12/13 when I really started getting into music. And by getting into music, I mean becoming a fangirl, and generally listening to an artist’s entire album rather than just a few songs. I pretty much made the transition from being a casual fan to a freakin' hardcore fangirl.

But I never really listened to muisc made by women, it was all overwhelmingly created by men. I grew up listening to a lot of rock and alt music and always assumed I just preferred listening to guy’s voices, until it occurred to me that there are very very few female artists and bands in those scenes. Like ridiculously few. But whyyyyy?? Lack of exposure? A male dominated system fuelled by what seems to sell? Where are all the girls at!?!??!!!?

Coinciding with my increased social awareness, I've gradually been branching out and actively seeking female musicians and bands to listen to. Representation is super important, especially considering there are so few girls, especially in genres like pop punk (in which the audience and fans are predominantly female) succeeding in bands and making music their career.

I want to keep finding and supporting glorious girls and wonderful women in bands and music, and I hope everyone will try to do the same! Supporting women in music has become really important to me so I'm sharing my most inspirational and favourite women in music, old and new!

And just some bonus links to click!! -  I really recommend this podcast with Charlotte Church, which highlights the plethora of problems women face in the music industry, and one of my fav intersectional groups dealing with sexual harassment/assult at gigs! Go check them out!

Female Bands // Female Leads


Paramore // Hayley Williams 
Hayley Williams has been my alt inspiration since I was a young teen. Whilst the other members of the band are men, and many people are critical of only focusing on Hayley Williams, I'm okay emphasising her as a successful women in the rock industry! (in which women have historically been excluded) Musically and style wise, Hayley Williams inspires me to be my best possible self and really instilled me with the confidence to just wear whatever the heck I feel like wearing. Anklebiters and Last Hope are my go to songs, and obviously, everyone's favourite, Misery Business.  

X-Ray Spex 
X-Ray Spex are my favourite punk rock/new wave band from the late 70s. With lyrics like 'some people think little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think, OH BONDAGE, UP YOURS!' and 'do you see yourself, on the t.v. screen, do you see yourself in the magazine?' and also my personal favourite, 'I wanna be a frozen pea' They are so underrated but SO SO good oh man. A bunch of their songs are really feminist and anti-consumerist aka about two social issues I'm always talking about. My favs are Identity, Germ Free Adolescent, Warrior In Woolworth's, and Oh Bondage, Up Yours.

Bikini Kill 
The ultimate riot grrrl band from the 90s. Bikini Kill are all about female empowerment. They emphasised the girls to the front mentality at punk gigs and were queer friendly and super awesome and inspiring. Rebel Girl 100% makes me feel like a badass who can do literally anything. Revolution Girl Style Now! was recently reissued and you can bet it's on my wishlist. Also 'revolution girl style now!' is always a relevant phrase. It's my favourite strand of punk rock. My favs are Rebel Girl, White Boy, and Double Dare Ya.

Le Tigre
Their self titled album is hella amazing. It combines feminism and politics with electro beats and it's very very wow and amazing. Hot Topic is pretty much just a shout out to a bunch of feminist icons and What's Yr Take On Cassavetes explores the idea of separating art from artist and it's so good, I never knew music could express these things omg. Eau D'bedroom Dancing is so magical and chill and has a really nostalgic vibe. It makes me all emotional and I can't even express how much I love this album, just listen to it all the way though - it's a masterpiece to me. Eau D'bedroom Dancing (that title though) Deceptacon, The The Empty, and Les and Ray are my ultimate favs!

Female Artists 


Lights
Perhaps the first female music artist I fell in love with as a young teen. Her voice is super amazing. She incorporates a lot of electro beats and keyboards and her music is always magical and great. I can still remember the first time I heard February Air  and my mind was kind of blown. She's a fan of video games as well and has some amazing tattoos! Fav songs include, Face Up, Lions!, Siberia and Portal.

Marina and the Diamonds
I first heard Marina and the Diamonds agessss ago with her single Hollywood but never listened to her other songs until I somehow came across the album Electra Heart and my love for Marina just snowballed. It's hard to chose favs because her albums are so different from each other and always unique. I Am Not A Robot, The Outsider, Teen Idle, and Blue if I'm forced to chose my notable favs.

Melanie Martinez
Combines amazing music, aesthetics, and lyrics. She only has one album at the moment but it's a concept album and she has this cutesy aesthetic which is simultaneously adorable and subversive. Some of her songs deal with some difficult topics as well, which is always great. She once said in an interview that she writes her songs with a visual concept or music video idea in her head and it's definitely reflected in how creative her music videos are! Favs include Pity Party, Mad Hatter and Cake.

Lorde
Oh lord, I love Lorde (sorry not sorry) Her lyrics are amazing and so quotable. Her voice is so unique and amazing. Everything about her is so refreshing. She's so young and inspirational and I love how she's not afraid to call out other artists/celebrities over twitter. My favs include, Ribs, Still Sane, Glory and Gore, The Love Club, Team, and Bravado. I'm too into Lorde to limit myself to three or four, Pure Heroine is addictive, just go listen to it and prepare to be blown away. 

Halsey
When I listen to Halsey I so invincible and inspired, like I can do anything and fight the whole world. Her songs are lyrically amazing and empowering, ('don't belong to no city, don't belong to no man') and I just hella love Halsey. Also she's mixed race (and so am I) so mixed race pride! I love how candid Halsey is about her sexuality and mental health as well, it's super refreshing and they're such important topics to speak up about!! My favs include, Ghost, Color, Hurricane and Control.


Also shout outs to some individual songs by female ppl that are super feminist and/or remind me girls are amazing, girls rock, and girls can do anything; Bad Reputation by Joan Jett, Typical Girls by The Slits, Sugar Water by Cibo Matto, It's My Life by No Doubt, and Bad Girls by M.I.A.

Who are your favourite females in the music industry? Leave some recommendations! I want to support all the girls!! 

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