This is the first installment of what I’m choosing to call the next chapter of my column, “Stella”. Every other week, I will be highlighting a new incredible woman, genderqueer, or non-binary artist. “Stella” became my goal when I noticed these voices weren’t showing up on my playlists; neither the playlists I’ve created for myself or those made for me by Spotify every day.

As a die hard feminist this was upsetting, but it was even more embarrassing. Men were the default, even for someone who finds a deeply rooted connection with women. The more I put effort into choosing female artists, the more I realized just how much I’d been missing out on. This was empowering. I have to make this stretch further than just me.

“Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It’s transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, years back, to the very moment certain things happened in your life. It’s uplifting, it’s encouraging, it’s strengthening.” – Aretha Franklin

Equality on the airwaves doesn’t come with just choosing cis women. This is why I’m also going to be highlighting transgender women and genderqueer or non-binary people. These groups are far too often ignored, and while cis women aren’t the default, we have the privilege of always being a part of the conversation.

Every other week, “Stella” will be published on krui.fm. Each week there is a “Stella” published, I will be hosting a radio show on KRUI 89.7fm from 7pm-8pm highlighting the artist I have written about. If there wasn’t an article that week, I’ll still be on their air playing only music women, genderqueer, and non-binary folks. Please tune in or listen by streaming on our website!

Today’s article will be about one of the all-time most influential women in the entire music industry: Aretha Franklin. She redefined R&B, jazz and gospel music throughout her life.

Born in 1942, Franklin was born in Memphis, but relocated to Detroit by the time she was five. Though her mother died when she was young, her father was supportive of her singing career, acting as her manager.

Franklin released her first album, “Songs of Faith”, when she was 14 years old. She signed with Columbia Records when she was 18, and released her single “Today I Sing the Blues”. It got her to the top ten of the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Sellers chart.

One year later, in 1961, she peaked at number seven on the Billboard R&B chart with “Won’t Be Long” and was in the Top 40 with “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody”. Through the mid-60s, Franklin was quickly gaining momentum, releasing seven more albums and regularly appearing on Billboard charts before 1967. Then she would skyrocket.

After signing to Atlantic Records, Franklin recorded her first top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”. Shortly afterward, she recorded her signature song, an upbeat cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect”. This song was later deemed a feminist and civil rights anthem.

She recorded one of my favorite songs, covered by many artists, “(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman”, on her debut album with Atlantic, “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You”. This album was her first to go gold and also had another one of my favorite songs of hers, “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man”.

During the early 70s, she released the single “Spanish Harlem” and one of her most famous albums, “Young, Gifted & Black”. “Day Dreaming” and her cover of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” were featured on this album. She also went back to her roots in gospel with the album“Amazing Grace” and recorded the most lovely rendition of the titular track.

Throughout the 70s, Franklin’s albums started to dip in sales and on the charts. Even with this bad luck, she still topped the R&B chart with “Something He Can Feel”.

In the later years of her career there was a clear stylistic shift in Franklin’s music. She released her first platinum album “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?” and recorded “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me” with George Michael. She also released a song produced by the incredible Lauryn Hill titled “A Rose is Still a Rose”.

“Being the Queen is not all about singing, and being a diva is not all about singing. It has much to do with your service to people. And your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well.” – Aretha Franklin

Franklin has performed at the Royal Albert Hall for Queen Elizabeth, at a gala for Elton John’s AIDS Foundation, and at the Super Bowl. She was also the first woman and woman of color to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 by Keith Richards (after 13 men had already been inducted).

She was also a teen mom giving birth to two sons by the time she was 14. She had two more song later in her life. Two of her sisters, Erma and Carolyn, sang backup for Franklin in her recordings. She escaped a violent marriage. She was given an honorary Doctorate of Arts from Harvard. She was Whitney Houston’s honorary aunt after becoming close with her mother, Cissy.

She has received both a Grammy Legend Award and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She also has earned a National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She is first on the Rolling Stone’s list of Greatest Singers of All Time.

When she sings you can feel it. She takes her entire life and puts it into her music. She has mastered R&B, gospel, soul, pop, and jazz genres. She has given them new life over her 62 years of releasing music. There is no one like her.

She was the best. She is the best. She achieved more than any other female musician in the 60s and 70s, though she did have some stellar competition. She has been immortalized through all of her achievements, and she is still performing. She was the perfect person to start off my new “Stella”.

Be sure to catch “Stella” on the air Friday, July 13th from 7pm-8pm to hear Aretha Franklin’s music!

“Stella” is a column dedicated to highlighting women and people who identify as genderqueer or non-binary. It is essential that we begin hearing these voices in our playlists. We will delve into their histories, significance, power, and talents. “Stella” is accompanied by a radio show, airing every Friday from 7pm-8pm on 89.7fm. The shows that fall on weeks a “Stella” article is published will highlight the specific artist I have written about, while each other week will feature a variety of women, genderqueer, or non-binary artists.

The post Stella: Aretha Franklin appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I knew very little about female rapper Psalm One when I arrived at the Englert. I’d never heard a song of hers and I had no clue what to expect, but as the theatre filled up with twenty-somethings, I knew I was in for something great.

As Psalm One’s DJ for the evening, Angel Davenport, got on stage, there was immediate applause. As she introduced Psalm One, the audience automatically seemed happier.

As she strolled on stage, one of the first things she said was “if you’re ever feeling the mood in here and want to dance or move, please do.”

Then she began rapping and I was instantly entranced. As I watched her start her set, I thought to myself “she was really born to rap live”. She is clearly in her element.

Psalm One’s music reminds me of a combination of Princess Nokia, Missy Elliot, and Noname, but it was still all her own. It was rhythmic, it was impactful, it was moving.

Both Angel Davenport and Psalm One made a point to engage the audience as much as they could in a fun way. It wasn’t just a thank you three or four times through a set. There was something personal about how they chose to interact with the audience.

At one point, Psalm One explained that she doesn’t rap or sing, but instead she “saps.” She and Davenport also interacted with the little girls dancing to their music in the front row, which was entirely too cute.

The chemistry between Psalm One and Angel Davenport fueled the performance. It created an empowering, positive environment that filled the theatre.

They were constantly hyping each other up like they were best friends dancing around their room at a sleepover. It felt like as they were getting more comfortable on the stage, the audience was more comfortable expressing themselves.

The notes I took during the performance confirm it: “Something emotional happened here.”

There was an entire audience standing and dancing. There were two women on stage owning their presence, confidence, talent and sex positivity. It was like magic watching people interact with the moment.

If women could live in a world that was just like Psalm One’s concert, I think it would be a much better place.

While I thought that the venue would be a barrier for the artists performing, it never was. The Englert gives each attendee a seat, and all the artists that night make moving music. Still, people still got up to dance and move along with the music, but it was sometimes odd to remember we were in a theatre.

She has also performed at The Mill, Gabe’s, the Blue Moose, and the Yacht Club in the past, so it’s likely we’ll see her again in one of these venues.

This year’s Mission Creek was an incredible success and I already can’t wait until next year’s!

Make sure to listen to some of Psalm One’s albums below and watch for her to come back to Iowa City in the future!

The post Mission Creek Festival: Psalm One @ The Englert 4/8/2018 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Roxane Gay, a cultural critic, and feminist writer has been publishing her novels, short stories, and essays since 2011. Her most recent, “Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body” and “Difficult Women” were published in 2017 and both made their appearance on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Her most popular work, “Bed Feminist” was published in 2014 and has been taught in classrooms across the country. It contains a collection of essays that will most likely be on any feminist reading list you can find on the Internet.

Gay was also one of the first two black women to write for Marvel. She co-wrote a Black Panther comic, “World of Wakanda,” with Yona Harvey, which focused on the romance between female characters Ayo and Aneka.

If you want to know more about Roxane Gay, listen to this interview about her latest work, “Hunger”, on NPR (her voice is very soothing to listen to, though the subject matter is not), or follow her on Twitter (she is hilarious and confronts her trolls head on).

Amber Tamblyn will be joining Gay in conversation at the Englert. Though she is most known for being an actor, she is also a very accomplished poet.

Tamblyn has published three collections of poetry titled “Bang Ditto,” “Free Stallion,” and “Dark Sparkler”. In “Dark Sparkler,” she analyzes 25 female actors who died before their time in a collection of poetry.

She has also written for the New York Times (read her articles “I’m Not Ready for the Redemption of Men” here), and wrote and directed the upcoming film “Paint It Black,” which will be released in June of 2018.

Carrie Brownstein will also be joining Tamblyn and Gay for Mission Creek Festival 2018.

Brownstein is best known for co-directing, co-starring, and co-writing popular television show “Portlandia.” “Portlandia” has won multiple Emmy Awards and is extremely popular for its hilarious commentary on hipster culture.

She also wrote a memoir published in 2015 titled “Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl” about how music became her therapy.

Brownstein initially gained attention as a member of the rock band Sleater-Kinney, a group well known for the feminist revolution of punk rock in the 1990’s. You can listen to their most recent album, “No Cities to Love,” here.

We can’t wait to see you all at the Englert for a conversation between Roxane Gay, Amber Tamblyn, and Carrie Brownstein. Keep your eye out for more information on Mission Creek performances on KRUI’s website!

Check out the Mission Creek Festival website, here.

The post Promo: Carrie Brownstein + Roxane Gay + Amber Tamblyn In Conversation appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Bangles combine classic, female-driven harmonies found in girl groups from the 1930’s to the 1960’s and rock music to create a new genre of music that women hadn’t yet touched. They allowed women to be slightly less tame, even if the media didn’t market them that way. They were the epitome of girl power in pop rock.

A lot of the music I’ve heard from The Bangles has come from Gilmore Girls. (How could anyone Gilmore-obsessed forget when Lorelai gave up her and Sookie’s amazing seats to The Bangles concert so that Rory could make friends with Paris, Madeline, and Louise? Heartwarming, truly.) The band was actually a big part of the show with Lorelai speaking about her love for the group many times throughout the series.

The song we hear The Bangles perform in their Gilmore Girls performance is the first song from All Over the Place. “Hero Takes a Fall” was the first single released for the album and reached to top 100 on the Billboard charts.

The lyrics of this tune describe the downfall of a man who thinks he has it all in terms of women. “Sitting on your throne/drinking and thinking/she’ll return your call/every story’s got an ending/look out, here it comes”. The song does a great job pointing out that society gives womanizers, men whose gigantic egos can only be maintained by playing with women’s emotions, the title of a “hero”. It also points out the fragility that such a livelihood is able to hide.

As “Live” begins, I can’t help but cringe at the stark difference between the previous song’s drum-driven rhythmic ending and this twangy country-ish beginning. Almost for this reason alone, “Live” is my least favorite song on the album.

It stands out from the rest of the album because its style is so different in a way I don’t prefer. The message of living your life instead of letting it pass without a thought is something I could stand behind, however.

“James” is a song much more up to par with the theme of the album from the first few seconds. The tale is focused on James fading out of a relationship and the singer preparing to flee. The lyrics “Letting me down again, James” are often repeated, making this the short and sweet breakup song that belongs on any pop album.

Four songs in when I reach “All About You” I am beginning to appreciate the bursts of cheesy lyrics that have been popping up on All Over the Place. “You were so amused/when I made myself available” as an opening lyric made me giggle a little bit, but any lack of these borderline-funny lyrics would take the album’s charm away. It has embodied itself as a cheery teenage girl that has been wrong and is seeking revenge, someone relatable to many women.

A brief thought of forgiveness occurs in “Dover Beach”, when the singer dreams of picking up and leaving with her lover to live on the beach. I think of this as a lovely break because the same lyrical content song after song can get exhausting to listen to.

But we are back on the warpath with “Tell Me”. “Threw away the things you loved/Now you want me to forgive you/Surprise, surprise, I’m moving on” are my personal favorite lyrics along with “I can walk away so easily”. This song is such an honest confrontation to the love that betrayed her (the return of James?) that I can tell it’ll be one of my absolute favorites on the album.

“Restless” holds the same type of vengeful tone, and this is around the point whilst listening to the album the first time I was getting tired of listening. I’m hoping that there’s some point in the future of the album where the singer can move on from whoever is hurting her (James?) and can become happy within herself. I would love to hear a song from The Bangles about that kind of confidence.

“Going Down to Liverpool”, the second single released for the album, became a hit in the UK. It  doesn’t seem to be about a failing love story at all, but is instead about going down to Liverpool and literally doing nothing. I especially enjoy the music and the vocals in this one, but it could also be considered the easiest listening on the album.

And James(?) returns in “He’s Got a Secret”, “Silent Treatment”, and “More Than Meets the Eye”. He commits more misdeeds throughout these three songs including potentially cheating, not listening to his partner enough to constitute a silent treatment, and being the kind of “hero” The Bangles sing about in their first track.

At this point, I’m tired of hearing about Maybe James and want to know more about how the singer is going to get over him. Either he needs to shape up and make a 180 or The Bangles need to collectively realize that they deserve a lover they can trust and effectively get over James. (I do give kudos to “More Than Meets the Eye” because it involves a string orchestra, the one true way to my heart.)

Lastly, The Bangles included their cover of The Grass Roots’ “Where Were You When I Needed You”. I love that it’s included because it’s about getting over a past love (James)!

They have moved on in the end while still holding James accountable! While I would have appreciated a quicker turnaround, I understand that some people heal slower than others.

All Over the Place brought The Bangles attention from Prince, who gave them their hit “Manic Monday”, and Cyndi Lauper, for whom the band opened on Lauper’s Fun Tour. However, it also brought tension to the group’s free dynamic. The music industry was only releasing singles that featured Hoffs as lead singer, marketing her as the star of the group though all members of the group had equal vocal contribution.

Though this spat along with other tensions within the group, The Bangles went on to release another two albums before breaking up in 1988. The girl group reformed in 1998 to record a single for the Austin Powers soundtrack. They then released two more albums in 2003 and 2011, despite Steele leaving due to artistic differences in 2005.

The Bangles, throughout their hurdles, pushed the standard for girl groups higher. It also gave a higher credibility to girl groups. Though they were marketed as pretty faces, they empowered young women by being a successful pop rock band comprised entirely of women. Before The Bangles, girl groups were completely vocally driven. They opened a door for women in pop to create a harder sound while still remaining light.

This Stella’s Woman Who Didn’t Get a List is Nai Palm, lead singer of the band Hiatus Kaiyote. Hiatus Kaiyote is one of my favorite bands and their album “Choose Your Weapon” is absolutely incredible. While the music is a huge part of my admiration, the vocals trump the jazzy synth by a million.

Nai Palm makes the group what it is. She can sing along to the quick rhythm and time signature changes that the music gives her. Her vocal range is very versatile, and with her the band is able to create a future-soul sound that I haven’t been able to find with another band yet.

Listen to The Bangles’ All Over the Place and Hiatus Kaiyote’s Choose Your Weapon below!

Stella is a column surrounding analysis and appreciation of the 150 albums chosen by NPR as the best created by women thus far. Each week I choose an album from this list I’ve been wanting to listen to, that peaks my interest, or that seems like essential listening to write about. The column’s goal is to provide female identifying readers with the empowerment that can only be obtained through a badass woman and her amazing music.

We want to thank The Indexer for helping us find the right professional to take care of all the website work around here.

The post Stella: All Over the Place by The Bangles appeared first on KRUI Radio.

When Faithfull first stepped her foot in the music industry, she played folk shows in coffee shops. As she began entering London’s social scene, she began meeting important producers and agents. Then she was discovered by Andrew Loog Oldham at a Rolling Stones release party. In 1964 she found herself writing her first big hit with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards titled “As Years Go By”.

After Faithfull ended her first marriage to John Dunbar shortly after giving birth to their child, she moved in with Mick Jagger. The two began a heavily publicized relationship, and Faithfull started using a variety of drugs once the couple became a large part of the London Swinging scene.

She was found wearing only a rug while the London police were conducting a drug raid at Keith Richards home. Faithfull says the incident destroyed her, and pointed out that when men were openly drug addicts it was commendable to act in this kind of way. “A woman in that situation becomes a slut and a bad mother”.

The Rolling Stones had previously written songs concerning Faithfull, specifically “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Sympathy for the Devil”. Their song “Sister Morphine” sparked a legal battle, with Richards and Jagger releasing the song in their own name despite Faithfull being listed as a co-writer. This eliminated her chance of getting royalties or any form of payment for the song.

By 1970, Faithfull was homeless and battling a heroin addiction and anorexia despite having been one of the most famous singers in the UK and previously releasing 5 studio albums. She stopped making public appearances and attempted to take control of her addiction several times throughout these years. After losing custody of her son she attempted suicide but thankfully survived.

She got back on her feet enough to release another country album, “Dreamin’ My Dreams” (also titled “Faithless”), in 1976. Three years later “Broken English” skyrocketed her career once more. Faithfull calls it her masterpiece.

Since Faithfull was previously a country/folk musician, hearing an album so based on hard rock was a sharp stylistic turn.

Her voice also changed very much throughout her time living on the streets due to untreated illness such as bronchitis and laryngitis as well as smoking heavily. Her voice in “North Country Maid”, her fourth folk album released in 1966, is much higher and not raspy in the slightest. It lilts, and uses vibrato in her high notes.

However, in “Broken English”, her voice is very deep and extremely raspy. Since the album delves deeply into Faithfull’s drinking habits, drug addiction, and homelessness, this voice is the most emotional part of the album. It is a tangible way to see how this period in her life changed her. It shows us what Faithfull is really singing about.

The first couple of songs don’t get into Faithfull’s difficult experiences, but are still exemplary of her musical changes. The album starts out with the title track, “Broken English”, which was inspired by the terrorist group called Baader-Meinhof Gang. After Faithfull read and watched a documentary about a co-founder of the group, she was inclined to write this song to question their motives.

“Witches’ Song” has a much more uplifting meaning. The lyrics tell the story of a group of witches that find solace in one another. There is a definite feeling of hopefulness. The song ends with the lyric “remember death is far away and life is sweet”. This is a comforting sentiment from someone who once thought that their life wasn’t worth living anymore.

The next song, “Brain Drain”, begins to touch on Faithful’s drug addiction. Tim Hardin, one of the most popular American folk singers at the time, co-wrote the song. It was one of the last songs he wrote before he died of a heroin overdose in 1980 and is uncredited on the album.

The bridge of the song, “Got so much to offer, but I can’t pay the rent/I can’t buy you flowers ‘cause the money’s all spent”, speaks to me the most. Since an addict is no less of a person than anybody else, of course they have much to offer even if they can’t always act on it. This line seems like a foreshadow to the rest of Faithfull’s life. Even though she was still an addict when “Broken English” came out, it was a catalyst to her eventual sobriety.

“Guilt” is a confusing song for me, and probably my least favorite on the album. Faithfull repeats the kinds of crimes or wrongdoings she hasn’t committed, but would embrace if she had. She still feels like she’s done these things, however, which is causing her to feel guilty. I can see how, given her past, she would have a lot of experience with these mixed emotions. People often tell addicts that they are doing everything wrong, but it’s not always something that can be helped.

“The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” is a song written by Shel Silverstein, a famous poet and children’s book writer from Chicago. The song was originally written for and recorded by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show and deals with the declining mental health of a housewife.

Lucy Jordan is looking back on her life at all the things she could have done but didn’t, since her life was devoted to her husband and children. “At the age of thirty-seven/she realised she’d never ride/through Paris in a sports car/with the warm wind in her hair”. The song ends with Jordan going to the roof of her building and supposedly committing suicide, but Faithfull says she prefers to interpret the ending as an ambulance ride to a mental hospital instead.

“What’s the Hurry” is one of my favorite songs on “Broken English”. I like the driving rhythm that persists throughout the majority of the song though I usually can’t stand repetition. There’s also a classic 80’s rockish vibe that was often in the music I listened to growing up that I love hearing. Guitar is also highlighted much more in this song which hasn’t been done much so far. Faithfull’s vocals are also slightly more impressive here.

Faithfull covers John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero” as her second to last track. The song is recognizable as Lennon’s since both Faithfull and Lennon’s vocals push to the forefront of their respective songs. Lennon’s acoustic delivery is lost on her album however. Her raspy voice and rockier musical accompaniment create an angrier mood from the song. This fits in with the rest of “Broken English” very well as Faithfull sings the story of her downfall.

The lyrical content in the final song, “Why’d Ya Do It?”, is the most different from all other songs on the album. The song vaguely samples Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower”. By my interpretation, the tune tells the obscure tale of a bird asking Faithfull why she let so many different people hurt her enough to put her on the streets. I’m not sure what the exact meaning of this song is, but it sees to be angry for the sake of being angry.

This week’s Woman Who Didn’t Get a List is Lizzo. A pioneer in the indie hip hop genre, Lizzo has founded several groups such as the Chalice, Grrrl, The Clerb, Absynthe and more. She has released one solo album, “Lizzobangers”, followed by an EP “Coconut Oil”. She was also featured on “BOYTROUBLE” from Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL’s album “PLECTRUMELECTRUM”.

Listen to “Broken English” by Marianne Faithfull and “Coconut Oil” by Lizzo below!

Stella is a column surrounding analysis and appreciation of the 150 albums chosen by NPR as the best created by women thus far. Each week I choose an album from this list I’ve been wanting to listen to, that peaks my interest, or that seems like essential listening to write about. The column’s goal is to provide female identifying readers with the empowerment that can only be obtained through a badass woman and her amazing music.

The post Stella: “Broken English” by Marianne Faithfull appeared first on KRUI Radio.

As a result of all the combined predicaments, she created “On How Life Is,” the most original and funky R&B album the music industry had seen to date. It would continue to go triple platinum in the United States and quadruple platinum in both Canada and the United Kingdom.

This is definitely not the type of success that one would expect from someone going through one of the roughest patches of her life

After her music career started, she also pursued a career in acting. She is credited in over 30 TV shows and movies, the most popular of them being “Spider-Man,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” and “Deja Vu.” Her music has also appeared in over 50 soundtracks.

Most of Gray’s allure comes from her voice, which is one of the most unique aspects of her music. Critics have compared her voice to Janis Joplin and James Brown, for lack of a better comparison. It’s completely unlike any other voice I’ve ever heard. It’s perfect for all of the genres she combines on “On How Life Is,” rock, funk, R&B, and hip-hop without fail.

“Do Something” was the first single released for Gray’s album and had a little bit of trouble on the charts. The song focuses on motivation and how to keep it going without giving up. While this song is probably one of the weakest on the album, explaining how it almost compromised her success initially, it’s almost like the song took its own advice. The album did spectacularly anyway, starting with the second single.

Her most successful track to date is “I Try.” Which, won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2001. It’s been heard in a million and one movies and TV shows (Gilmore Girls, Daria, Spin City, The Office, literally even Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel), so there’s almost no chance that any person in the modern day United States hasn’t heard it at least once before.

“I Try” is one of the most beautiful songs on planet Earth and its placement on the album is perfect. Almost in the middle of the track list, the tune gets to Gray’s true emotions about insecurity and fear of inevitable commitment. It is powerful in its raw emotion.

Since “I Try” is normally heard in a heartfelt, introspective, the-love-of-my-life-broke-up-with-me-and-it’s-really-hard-to-become-self-dependent kind of way, it’s really different to hear the song in its placement on “On How Life Is.” It’s placed between “Caligula” and “Sex-o-matic Venus Freak,” two songs that chronicle how a woman became comfortable in her own skin, specifically with sex.

“Caligula” dives in to Gray’s commentary on female sexuality. The song opens with the lyrics, “Hush, the neighbors hear you moanin’ and groanin’/I just can’t help it ‘specially when we be bonin.’” She also seems to make an expansion on the same kind of issues faced earlier in “Why Didn’t You Call Me” which expresses Gray’s disdain when a man she goes on a date with never contacts her again. With the lyrics “He wanna fight and make me feel like nothin’/Never lovin’ but we’re always f**kin’”, it makes me think that perhaps this is after he called her again, or that this is a different man that she has equally as frustrating conflicts with.

“Sex-o-matic Venus Freak” is Gray’s anthem for a woman’s sexual freedom and power. She wants to have sex and have fun not because it is or is not accepted in society to do so. The lyrics, “Superlove is somethin’ that they say is very rare/In the dark, in your world it’s everywhere/And I feel like an X X rated movie star” kick off the song, exclaiming that what happens with a woman and her partner is up to them, not to a societal expectation.

All songs thus far have been very funky musically, but the last half of the album takes a bit contextual turn. The lyrics become more about introspection and about knowing oneself in ways other than merely sexually. “I Can’t Wait To Meetchu” dives into Gray’s relationship with religion, and how she wants to live right in order to make her way “up high.”

The next song, “Still,” follows this trend as well with a calming and nostalgic musical element.  “Still” is clearly about a breakup from an abusive relationship, which is fitting considering the state Gray’s life was in when working on the album.

It’s inspirational and uplifting in that way. Gray was able to make something so evil and painful into something lovely and poetic. “I still/Light up like a candle burnin’ when he calls me up” are the lyrics she uses to reflect on how fresh her emotions are. That line is beautiful.

“A Moment to Myself”, while in the same outgoing musical style as the first half of the album, was contextually very similar. The song preaches taking some time for oneself and spending time alone. A good song praising self-love and self-care is always welcome in my book. Since, taking care of yourself is the most important thing you can do.

The last track of the album, “The Letter,” returns to Gray’s discussion about religion. “On How Life Is” ends with an uplifting song about how Gray anticipates absolutely freedom and happiness in heaven. “I could dance in the raw in the sun underneath the stars” is a lyric that stands out to me, as well as “so long everybody/I have gone beyond the moon.”

My favorite tunes on the album are “Why Didn’t You Call Me,” “Caligula,” “I Try,” “I’ve Committed Murder,” “A Moment to Myself,” and “The Letter,” but I would definitely listen to this entire album again.

In “On How Life Is”, Macy Gray makes a testament to women’s sexuality and how the reasons to embrace it are more important than the reasons to suppress it. Female commentary and openness about sex wasn’t acceptable for women during the 90’s, and unfortunately, carries over into the present day. 

Gray turned this social taboo on its head throughout her album, singing overtly about sex. She also deals with issues women commonly face in fun, groovy music. It’s like an invitation to dance with her, as though all women are connected with each other through Gray’s “On How Life Is”. 

This week’s Women Who Didn’t Get a List is Cibo Matto. The band was formed in New York by two Japanese women named Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori. Cibo Matto means “crazy food” in Italian, which perfectly fits the band’s original goal of writing songs about food.

In the group’s first album released in 1996, “Viva! La Woman,” most of the songs are named after food. “Beef Jerky,” “Apple,” and “Sugar Water” are a few examples. The band has been most successful in Japan, despite their English lyrics.

It’s definitely worth giving this synth-pop band, Cibo Matto, a listen below, along with Macy Gray’s “On How Life Is”!

Do you like the songs that sing to life? then you love yours and your family’s. If so, visit lifecoverquotes.org.uk so that you have more detail about the costs (which are extremely low) and the high return that there is for your family to be financially protected.

Stella is a column surrounding analysis and appreciation of the 150 albums chosen by NPR as the best created by women thus far. Each week I choose an album from this list I’ve been wanting to listen to, that peaks my interest, or that seems like essential listening to write about. The column’s goal is to provide female identifying readers with the empowerment that can only be obtained through a badass woman and her amazing music.

The post Stella: “On How Life Is” by Macy Gray appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Emmylou Harris is a country singer and has released 26 studio albums alongside 11 compilation albums and three live albums from the 60’s up until 2011. “Wrecking Ball” is her 18th studio album and widely considered a point of new direction for her music.

When country radio stations began giving airplay from traditional country music artists to “new country” geared toward youth in the 90’s, Harris began working with Daniel Lanois. Lanois is a producer that has worked with artists like U2 and Peter Gabriel. While this pushed her further away from those country radio stations, it gave her a huge push into the alternative-country, Americana, and alternative country sphere.

It’s easy to hear this shift in style between her previous albums and the music she makes post “Wrecking Ball.” The way she sings has much less twang and isn’t nearly as the acoustic guitar-banjo combo. While some of these traditional country elements still make their way into her atmospheric, airy alt-country music, it’s easier to dig deeper into.

All but two of the songs on the album are renditions of other artists’ songs; similar to Joan Baez’ “Diamonds and Rust,” which I wrote about in the last edition of Stella. These songs include Neil Young’s “Wrecking Ball,” Steve Earle’s “Goodbye,” Julie Miller’s “All My Tears,” Jimi Hendrix’s “May This Be Love,” Anna McGarrigle‘s “Goin’ Back to Harlan,” and Gillian Welch’s “Orphan Girl.”

Some of these songs were previously covered in the banjos and twangy voices that used to cover Emmylou Harris’ music, specifically “Goodbye,” “Goin’ Back to Harlan,” and “Orphan Girl”. However, these songs have an entirely different emotion when given to “Wrecking Ball.”

Harris sounds like she’s singing across miles. It’s like she’s singing back a few years. Like her voice is sailing through wind or through envelopes. The beautiful production also doesn’t hurt this feeling. Windows were opened throughout Country and Americana genres because of this new feeling. There was finally another way for this kind of music to sound and it was doing exceptionally well.

While she only contributed her writing to two songs on the album, “Deeper Well” and “Waltz Across Texas Tonight,” the touch she puts on each of the songs is worthwhile and opened up a few genres to more amazing, expansive possibilities.

My personal favorites from Emmylou Harris’ “Wrecking Ball” are “Where Will I Be,”  “Goodbye,” “Wrecking Ball,” “Goin’ Back to Harlan,” “Every Grain of Sand,” “Sweet Old World.” “May This Be Love,” “Blackhawk,” and “Waltz Across Texas Tonight.” In other words, basically the entire album.

“Where Will I Be” and “Goodbye” display the differences between her previous work and her sound after “Wrecking Ball” really well and better than any other songs on the album.

The lyrics from “Waltz Across Texas Tonight” are lovely: “We folded out cards when the hand wasn’t strong’ and ‘You’ve crossed over bridges and bridges they burn/So many rivers and so much to learn.” Since she wrote some of the lyrics to this song, it makes me wish that we’d been able to see more of that here, in the album she used to transform her sound.

I’m not the largest fan of “Deeper Well,” “May This Be Love” (other than the guitar, I just believe that the drums take away from the rest of the song) and “Orphan Girl” (the original by Gillian Welsh is preferable).

This weeks Woman Who Didn’t Get a List is Quay Dash: a rapper and trans woman of color from the Bronx. She was discovered by the same people who discovered Azealia Banks and was signed to an independent label. After releasing several singles she released her first EP titled “Transphobic” last September on her 24th birthday.

My favorite songs of hers are “Bossed Up,” closely followed by “Decline Him.” Both, which are on her EP. She calls her song “Wilin'” a big “f*ck you to transphobia,” and also shows how rhythmically involved she is. Her music is very body confident and sex-positive alongside the amazing production put into her EP. The world needs more of Quay Dash and her music since she’s speaking out for the rights of trans women of color and also just makes really cool songs.

Listen to Emmylou Harris’ “Wrecking Ball” and Quay Dash’s “Transphobic” below!

Stella is a column surrounding analysis and appreciation of the 150 albums chosen by The National Public Radio (NPR) as the best created by women thus far. Every other week I choose an album from this list I’ve been wanting to listen to that either peaks my interest or seems like an essential piece to listen to and write about. The column’s goal is to provide female identifying readers with the empowerment that can only be obtained through a badass woman and her amazing music.

The post Stella: “Wrecking Ball” by Emmylou Harris appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Her album “Diamonds and Rust” was released in 1975 near the end of her singing career. Majority of her recognition before said album was solely focused toward either her covers or interpretations of other musicians’ songs. Which, were predominantly men. While this album also contains many renditions of different artists’ songs, Baez begins to focus on her own songwriting and what her voice can say that others cannot.

Baez worked closely with Bob Dylan throughout their romantic relationship that spanned throughout the first half of the 1960’s. The only album I have of hers is a compilation of the different songs she covered of Dylan’s. Baez didn’t start to delve into her own sound and singing her own words until she released “Diamonds and Rust,” which became the main reason it was placed on National Public Radio’s (NPR) list of 150 best women-led albums.

I haven’t listened to any music that Baez wrote on her own and I don’t know much about her personality; however, I do know that she changed the 60’s with her voice and her activism. I also know that Jenny from Forrest Gump wanted to be just like her and that she performed at Woodstock along with many other amazing and influential artists.

Joan Baez spent a good portion of her life trying to make the world a better place through her music. She performed the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” at the March on Washington in 1963. She also sang the same song at the Free Speech Movement protests at the University of California, Berkeley, which took place the following year.

She participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches which advocated for the right of African-American’s to vote in 1965; the year after she founded the Institute for the Study of Nonviolence. She participated in numerous anti-Vietnam war protests, such as a free concert at the Washington Monument, which drew 30,000 people. While traveling to Vietnam as part of a peace delegation, she was caught in the “Christmas Bombing,” an eleven-day bombing of Hanoi in Northern Vietnam.

Baez has remained an activist up into the 21st century, speaking out for LGBT+ rights, against the death penalty and false incarceration, and against the United States’ invasion of Iraq. She wasn’t afraid to use her voice to change lives for people across the world or in the United States. She is respectable and strong and I admire the brave things she has dedicated her life to doing.

From the first track of “Diamonds and Rust,” her voice steals the song away. Even though the song is a little overpowered by the instrumentals, her voice permeates other sounds that layered on top of it. Since Baez initially built her career covering other artists’ music, it is only natural that her voice has stood out in a successful manner. There’s something about the lyric, “the Madonna was yours for free,” that gives me chills.

The meaning of “Diamonds and Rust” centers around Joan Baez’s relationship with Bob Dylan. The song narrates her feelings and memories as Dylan calls her about ten years after the events later sung about occurred. The song has a much more bittersweet undertone once I listen to it again with that knowledge. It is beautiful.

The next song Baez wrote for her own album doesn’t appear until about halfway through the album itself. “Children and All The Jazz” is really overwhelming to me. It doesn’t fit my tastes as much as the rest of her own songs, mainly because it doesn’t feature her amazing vocals.

“Winds of the Old Days” comes a few song later and it suits my own pace much more. It gives off the feeling of floating away and letting the past be over. Something very nostalgic comes from this song. There are some lyrics of her’s that really stand out from this track, such as, “Unguarded fantasies flying too far, memories tumbling like sweets from a jar.” Which, comes before “the winds of the old days will blow through my hair.”

The second to last song, “Didi,” is a duet between Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell concerning how the world got so lucky. I love this song despite the lack of actual lyrics and deep emotional reaction since it’s sole purpose is to showcase their beautiful voices.

The other songs on this album are covers by artists such as Bob Dylan (of course), Janis Ian, Stevie Wonder, John Prine and many others. They also sound absolutely amazing and I can definitely understand why the claim to her fame before her own songwriting was interpreting songs that weren’t her own. Her voice is enough to make anything about ten million times more meaningful and emotional.

My favorite tunes of these are her medley of “I Dream of Jeannie/Danny Boy” and “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer.”

Something I want to start doing at the end of each “Stella” article is hyping up another powerful woman (in music or otherwise) that didn’t get a top-150-of list. This will be an amazing way to discuss even more women of different professions and walks of life that otherwise might not get as much recognition.

This week, that woman is Jen Kirkman, a comedian and writer that I’ve admired since I saw her stand up at last year’s Witching Hour Festival in Iowa (read my review of the event here). I anxiously await the newest episode of her podcast called “I Seem Fun” each week because her commentary on the world, politics, and the teeny tiny struggles of daily life makes me feel real again. Her Netflix specials are also hilarious, particularly “I’m Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine).” I highly recommend watching or listening to her to treat your life.

Go ahead and listen to “Diamonds and Rust” on YouTube or Spotify below!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL40NQEtnq_AIwuM1AHn7ToUq769LQUB7t

Stella is a column surrounding analysis and appreciation of the 150 albums chosen by NPR as the best created by women thus far. Each week I choose an album from this list I’ve been wanting to listen to that either peaks my interest or seems like an essential thing to listen to and write about. The column’s goal is to provide female identifying readers with the empowerment that can only be obtained through a badass woman and her amazing music.

The post Stella: “Diamonds and Rust” by Joan Baez appeared first on KRUI Radio.

In June, NPR released a list of the 150 best albums created by women. The list was compiled by around 50 women who either work for NPR or are otherwise involved in public radio. Just scrolling through the list it is easy to tell that there are albums from women of many different backgrounds, ethnicities, races and sexualities. Nearly every genre of music is represented as well. There is such a wide expanse of important music made by women that people have not heard of, that I have not heard of, that have had huge impacts on women’s rights. Even in little ways.

I will be picking one of these albums to review every other week. I don’t necessarily care what the ranking of each album is in terms of what is “better” or “worse” since it is so subjective. What matters more is that the album or artist was influential, that it empowered a woman enough that they decided it belonged on a list like this one. As long as the music is powerful to me or somebody else, I want to be writing about it.

The goal is to delve into each album and artist and answer several questions. Why is this album/artist important, historically or otherwise? What about this album/artist is important? Is the album/artist empowering? And lastly, how did this album make it on a list of the greatest 150 albums made my women?

I’ll be starting off with an artist that has changed a mass of Latinx people both in Latin America and in the United States. Selena’s album Amor Prohibido is placed at number 19 on NPR’s list.

She has been marked as the Queen of Tejano music or “Tejano Madonna” due to her overwhelming musical presence and fashion sense. Tejano music is defined as a style of folk or popular music with elements from Mexican-Spanish vocal traditions and Czech and German dance tunes and rhythms, while the term Tejano itself refers to a Mexican-American person residing in Southern Texas.

Selena released five albums in her lifetime, which ended tragically in 1995 when her agent fatally shot her. Her death shook the world and has been commonly compared to the deaths of John Lennon or Elvis Presley.

Over six hundred people attended her funeral while tens of thousands of people flocked to numerous vigils around the United States. She was only 23 years old when she was murdered.

Amor Prohibido is the second to last of her five completed albums and was released in 1994.

There are so many musical female icons that have taken a spotlight that Selena hasn’t been included in despite her tremendous influence such as Missy Elliott, Amy Winehouse, Madonna, Joni Mitchell, Billie Holliday.

When I quickly Google searched for the most influential female musicians of all time, Selena didn’t show up in any articles on the first page of search results. How is this possible when her confidence, vivaciousness, and spiritedness permeated an entire generation of Latinx people just like all of these other women have?

In fact, all Latinx women were generally absent from these lists, which is a primary example as to why the world needed Selena. (I mean, seriously Rolling Stone? Shakira? Jennifer Lopez? Celia Cruz? Gloria Estefan? None of those pioneers came to mind?)

Before moving forward, a disclaimer: I haven’t taken Spanish since my AP Spanish class three years ago. Since I was better at comprehending the language than speaking it, I expect to understand most of it, but definitely not every single word of it.

As I listen to the album, the first word that comes to mind is happy. The music is joyful, and the brass is a perfect accompaniment. It’s dancing music, it’s living music.

While some of the lyrics are full of longing or feel somber, the music doesn’t always reflect this. I interpret this as an optimism that isn’t always found in sad music. Even though she is feeling less than enthusiastic in what she sings, the music allows for hope.

I haven’t looked up Selena’s lyrics or their English translations before I’ve decided that I would listen to this again one million times. I could get ready to this music on the laziest of days, and by the end of one song I would feel ready to take on the world.

Selena’s voice is not what I would have expected. Her lyrics are deep already, but are made more so by her voice. She feels when she sings, she forces the listener to understand what she’s saying with their emotion. It’s a catalyst to the purest of responses.

Songs that stand out to me from my first listen through the album are “Amor Prohibido”, “No Me Queda Más”, “Fotos Y Recuerdos”, “El Chico Del Apartamento 512”, and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”. So basically, I love all of them. Her band and lyrics put together are so rhythmically spot on that it’s so easy to move to.

She sings in the way an artist asks you to stand up and dance at their concert. This is sappy, but it’s like she truly cares about the happiness of the person that’s listening.

“Techno Cumbia” also really sticks in my mind because it’s so different from the rest of her songs on this album. It’s incredibly catchy so I can’t stop listening to it, but it isn’t as much of a favorite as the others I’ve listed.

“Ya No” is also very different, because Selena isn’t singing to a Tejano band. I would expect to hear this kind of accompaniment in a Shania Twain song, so it was very unexpected to hear similar music here.

I can’t sit here and say a negative thing about any of Selena’s music on “Amor Prohibido”. It’s seriously all amazing. I can normally muster some kind of criticism, but I am at a loss.  I’ve never listened to Tejano music before, much less sat down and wrote an article analyzing it, but it’s something I should really invest more time into listening to in the future. I haven’t felt this way about finding new music in a very long time, and I wholeheartedly agree with her placement on NPR’s list.

Listen to “Amor Prohibido” on Spotify below or on YouTube here.

Stella is a column surrounding analysis and appreciation of the 150 albums chosen by NPR as the best created by women thus far. Each week I choose an album from this list I’ve been wanting to listen to, that peaks my interest, or that seems like essential listening to write about. The column’s goal is to provide female identifying readers with the empowerment that can only be obtained through a badass woman and her amazing music.

The post Stella: “Amor Prohibido” by Selena appeared first on KRUI Radio.

This healthcare provider has a long, politically-charged history. The first clinic, focused on administering birth control, was founded by Margaret Sanger, Ethel Byrne and Fania Mindel in Brooklyn. Sanger was jailed 30 days after opening the clinic for violating the Comstock law. This

federal law was passed to suppress the “trade in, and circulation of, obscene literature and articles of immoral use”, and criminalized sending information related to erotica, contraceptives, abortifacients, sex toys, letters alluding to any sexual content or information. This law made communication about advances in reproductive healthcare essentially illegal.

Although Sanger is infamous for participating in racist eugenicist politics (PP’s fave is definitely problematic), the lasting legacy of Planned Parenthood has been about empowering women to make their own decisions about reproductive healthcare. This makes the organization a perfect target for the Trump administration.

However, what kind of policy maneuvers will the Republicans have to make to actually “defund” Planned Parenthood? It turns out that the majority of the money that the organization gets from the federal government is from Medicaid reimbursements.

According to Planned Parenthood officials, “Just like other kinds of health insurance, Medicaid reimburses Planned Parenthood’s doctors and nurses for the preventive medical services they provide, including life-saving cancer screenings, HIV testing, and Portia contraceptive and birth control options.” They further explain that the federal government doesn’t provide direct, open funding in the form of a blank-check style grant.

In this way, the incoming administration would have to go after Medicaid funding and programs like Title X, a federal program that provides funding to reproductive healthcare programs that include, but are not limited to, Planned Parenthood clinics. There is no legislation that gives money to Planned Parenthood that Republicans can repeal.

This means that the Republicans can’t just vote to shut down the PP clinics. Instead, they will have to play the long game and dismantle the healthcare system itself to really achieve their goal of disabling Planned Parenthood. It’s not that this is impossible — a lot of change (and damage) can happen during a united Republican government. But this change will not happen immediately or easily.

The conversation about Planned Parenthood “losing funding” is fundamentally about healthcare policy. Obamacare brought some necessary changes to the American system by incorporating guaranteed issue of basic, primary care into all insurance plans and creating the individual mandate that all people must be paying into the new system.

However, many experts argue that the biggest problem with American healthcare is the sheer complexity of the system. Most other developed nations have simpler, streamlined systems where every person has access to the same care, while in the United States there are many different systems for different classes of people. Not only does this

highlight the inequalities between social groups in America, it also contributes to the administrative nightmare that is American healthcare.

For more information about comparative healthcare policy, check out T.R. Reid’s The Healing Of America.

Genuine Justice is a column about reproductive justice focusing on current events, historical perspectives and systematic racism in women’s healthcare.

The post Genuine Justice: Defunding Planned Parenthood appeared first on KRUI Radio.