Um...well...um....maybe (was Re:women artists, etc.)

[katefans@world.std.com (Chris'n'Vickie of Kansas City)]

Reverend Dave writes:

> My question is this, Vickie:
> Have you ever considered playing music that might be considered,
> shall we say, slightly more jarring than your normal fare, just to
> mix things up? There are plenty of great all women bands out there
> making a good deal of noise in varying degrees. Scrawl, Frightwig,
> Lunachicks, and Babes in Toyland leap to mind, and I'm sure there
> are a whole lot more. One of my personal favorite bands, Tragic
> Mulatto is fronted by a woman. Pretty brilliant stuff, I think.

> Of course, the obvious and answer is, you "don't want to", or
> aren't at all interested in that type of music, which is of course
> pefectly valid. Just suggesting that there is a whole lot more out
> there than what you have on your often all too soothing playlist,
> though I certainly like much of what you play that I am familiar
> with. (ack, was that a sentence?)

Maybe. Actually, I've never heard anything from any of those bands.
Babes In Toyland are going to be here in concert but it's while my
show is going on so I won't get to go. I know there's a TON of things
that I don't know about and the discovery process could go on forever.
That's what's been the most fun about doing my show, finding obsure
music and bringing it out to see the light of day.

To be perfectly honest, thrash, industrial, metal and grinding rock are
not my favorite kinds of music. I went through that phase years ago and
just got tired of the noise. It's not because I'm getting older and more
mellow either. I love Diamanda Galas and she would eat the above people
for lunch ('cause she's already had Kate, Jane, Danielle & IM for breakfast)
and be ready for a hearty dinner! She would scare the bejeezus out of the
hardest-core thrash or metal junkie. It's true though, that my playlists
are "often all too soothing". I will admit it, but I still do play things
like Diamanda, Danielle, Caterwaul, Hetch Hetchy, and I even had an entire
show of the weirdest, strangest things I could find. It was Christmas 1988.
My show was on Sundays then and it was Christmas night. It was my "Kill the
Elves" show (my tagline was "If, by Christmas night, you're so sick of
Christmas music that you just want to kill an elf, have I got a show for
you!") and I had the best time in the world. I'm not against playing the
above types of music, I just need to hear the right songs. I do have an
open mind about all genres of music, but noise for noise's sake (by men
or women) does nothing for me. Thanks for the suggestion and I will keep
an ear out for those groups you mentioned.

> anyway...
> Here's another one for you:
> have you ever considered playing a song written and performed
> entirely by men, yet sung from the point of few of a woman?
> I am thinking of the song "suggestion" by fugazi, that deals with
> issues of the objectification, harrassment, and rape of women.
> a very moving and powerful song. I can send you the lyrics from the
> umass lyrics server thing if you are interested, though certainly
> the lyrics alone don't do the song justice.

I don't know Fugazi's music but the lyrics sound like they're pretty amazing.
In the two+ years I've been on the air, I've done 2 "coed" shows. One was
a silly thing dedicated to Camper Van Beethoven because they were coming
in concert (the "Our Beloved..." tour) and the other was a "World Music"
show because of a World Beat Dance Party (to benefit KKFI) that was going
on that night. I never had any problems with doing another one, I just never
got around to it. I've filled in for other people lots of times and it was
fun to be able to play the things I "couldn't" play on my shows. I never
wanted to go coed full-time though because that would turn my show into
just a normal "what-everyone-else-was-doing" kind of alternative show.
Anyway, thanks for the information, I'm glad Fugazi are writing songs with
lyrics that concern such things.

Vickie (one of Vickie'n'Chris)
katefans@world.std.com