This is a place you can put yourself in. Imagine you and your friends with a glass of wine and a peel-off face mask, basking in the love of each others presence. Or maybe imagine a game night with your best buddies, popcorn on deck and comedy bits being formed. I feel like this type of love is so underappreciated. It is an important bond and a relationship that is a warm form of support and guidance. I wanted to honor it with this Mood Ring.

Anyway, enough of the sap. Here are my featured songs from my Spotify playlist fitting the lyrics, sound, and overall feeling of philia, the friendship love.

Lyrics

“Good As Hell” by Lizzo captures the essence of a night where your friends hype you up!

Come now, come dry your eyes
You know you a star, you can touch the sky

I know that it’s hard but you have to try
If you need advice, let me simplify

This reminds me of the support I get from my girls, especially on our nights in talking about our lives and hardships. It helps having those people who are by your side through thick and thin. Always letting you know how to positively get through the trenches of insecurity and self doubt.

Sound

For sound, I picked “I Feel It All” by Feist. This song’s sound has been in my mind a lot lately. It makes me feel calm and at home, just like my friends do. The lead singer has a voice that flows through the melody in a simplistic and soft sentiment.This is a song that my roommates and I listen to as we talk around our apartment, really connecting to the feeling the sound portrays.

Overall Feeling

A classic, “Dancing Queen” by Abba represents this metaphorical “girls night” perfectly. Yes, this song is basic, but also a very cleverly written piece of music. Unlike most pop songs, “Dancing Queen” starts off with the chorus, immediately getting the listeners hooked into the catchy melody and positive theme. It is undeniably fun and easy to dance to. It always has made me feel like I need to bust out my hottest vocals to sing along with my friends.

In conclusion, I am happy that music is an outlet that can represent anything in our lives, even the specific form of philia love and how we spend our nights in with our best companions.

The post Mood Ring: An Evening for Philia (Appreciating Friends) appeared first on KRUI Radio.

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.

demands recognition. This mood encapsulates women who are unapologetically themselves, whether that be a leather jacket wearing rockstar or not. These songs just make you want to walk around like you are the coolest person in the room. You will want to start a girl band, even if you are not a girl.On Spotify, my playlist is all women singers and musicians giving you a mix of songs that will make you feel like a nasty, kickass woman. I picked one song for lyrics, sound, and overall feeling.

Lyrics

“Blood in the Cut” by K.Flay tells a story of a woman who just wants to feel something more.

Guess I’m contagious it’d be safest if you ran
Fuck that’s what they all just end up doing in the end
Take my car and paint it black
Take my arm, break it in half
Say something, do it soon
It’s too quiet in this room

Sound

“Crown on the Ground” by Sleigh Bells is an overproduced marvel of badassery. The bass is overpowered and the guitar rings with authority. Also, it just can’t help but make you want to dance. The whole song has a constant beat that is so

loudly produced, it sounds like the speaker is blown–but with that being said, it works so perfectly for the song. It is effortlessly cool. The singing is probably the quietest part of the overall sound, but it is a nice opposing feature. The lead singers’ voice, Alexis Krauss is soft and sweet blending in with the mash-up of the hardcore music. Take a listen and I guarantee that you will want to dance, but want to dance like you’re the most important person in the room.

Overall Feeling

“Your Loves Whore” by Wolf Alice is a more subtle sound, but amazing all the same. The front-runner of Wolf Alice, Ellie Rowsell, defines a nasty, talented woman with things to say through her music.

Watch the song being played in a live session for NME.

The overall feeling of this song is a satisfying build-up of emotion and important, rounded-out sound.

And when we grow older
We’ll still be friends
We’ll still be lovers
And won’t fear the end

These lyrics are written to highlight a love, saying that with time, friends or lovers, there won’t be an end to the love.

I let your love tease me
Now I am your love’s whore
Keeps me hardly breathing
But I could only love you more

Rowsell is not afraid to show emotion about this person, it makes her human. Expressing it through music (or art of any kind) is my favorite way to show strength and contribution to the world.

I have a great appreciation for the amount of feeling put into this song. You can feel her emotion through her voice as she sings. The music itself crescendos from just a drum beat to a loud and important sound as the ending closes in. The music is obviously just as important as being shown through great rhythms in each instrument; the highlighted beginning intro does not lead to the lyrics until a minute and a half into the song. But, the music is just as intriguing and makes you feel that something important is coming.

There are so many songs I wanted to include in this Mood Ring and it was hard to narrow it down. There are endless amazing, talented women making great music. I am positive my playlist will keep growing with each day and each time I listen I will start to feel about half as badass as them.

The post Mood Ring: Nasty Women appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Moen is an Iowa native and graduated from the University of Iowa recently. She is a self-taught guitarist and jazz/blues singer alongside growing in popularity with the general public.

She wrote, recorded and released her first album locally and often returns to Iowa City to venues such as The Mill and Big Grove. Moen writes her own music, inspired by artists such as Stevie Nicks, Angel Olsen, Lake Street Dive, Joni Mitchell, and the Alabama Shakes. All of these are also conveniently bands I love listening to, and their influences definitely emerge in her music.

She has released two albums, her self-titled album in 2016 and “That’s All I Wanted” in May of 2017.

Her first album showcases her vocals more than anything else, but I don’t know if it’s possible to keep them hidden. It holds so much power. Stevie Nicks’ influence definitely comes out in “Keep Your Love,” particularly vocally. Lake Street Dive also has a very strong presence throughout the album. Although it is easy to spot Moen’s inspirations here, it’s also very clear that she has something entirely her own going on in songs like “Lost It” and “Songbird.” It’s personable, almost like the listener is one-on-one with her. Moen and her voice have built a home.

Though her self-titled album is astounding, it is clear that Moen has developed her musical talents and songwriting abilities by “That’s All I Wanted.” The album features twelve other Iowan musicians such as William Elliott Whitmore (folk and country singer) and Dana Telsrow (guitarist, also performing at Mission Creek Festival 2018!).

I also personally love Moen’s cover of “I Put a Spell on You,” originally popularized by another jazz and blues singer Nina Simone. Her deep, rolling voice captures the song perfectly and adds a new layer of movement to it.

She also released a cover of Daniel Johnston’s “True Love Will Find You In the End.” This cover really showcases Moen’s voice in a folky Americana tone in a way not overtly noticeable in her other songs. Listen to both below!

Moen has had the honor of performing with a lot of other really talented artists, such as Caroline Smith, Lake Street Dive, and Lucy Dacus. She will be playing alongside The Weepies at Mission Creek Festival 2018. I haven’t even seen her live yet but she’s already made her way onto several of my playlists. I can only imagine how much more powerful she would be on an empty stage.

Check out who else is coming to Mission Creek here or on KRUI’s website!

The post Mission Creek Festival Promo: Elizabeth Moen 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.

Some people wait all year for Christmas, while others count down the days until new content strategy articles drop. Maybe you fall into one camp, both camps, or somewhere in between; regardless, I’m happy you’re here.

We will divide our exploration of GE’s engagement strategy into target audience, messaging, managing SEO in BigCommerce, and user response on Twitter. That being said, this initial social media study will require a brief inquiry into market segmentation.

Just as I can tailor my work by grouping readers into people who mark off the days until Christmas, content strategy articles, and those who eagerly await both—major corporations also categorize potential customers in order to refine new products and optimize marketing campaigns with help from competitive service providers like the providence CEO agency.

Going deeper, in my last article we discovered the positive impact that home buying trends have on appliance sales. This week, we can use that information to identify a crucial segment for GE: new homeowners.

By focusing on the demographic aspects of this group, we will also be able to simplify our social media study.

Research now becomes essential to flesh out the age, race, income, and marital status typical of those who qualify as  a target customers for General Electric.

An April 2017 piece—“Who’s Buying a First Home”—from The New York Times passes along useful data in these areas. Here are some relevant figures:

• Median age: 32 years old
• Median household income: $72,000
• Race (respondents could select >1 ethnicity): 79% White, 9% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 7% Black
• Household type: 58% married couple, 18% single female, 14% unmarried couple, 8% single male

Based on the numbers, women should stand out as an extremely important group for GE.

When unmarried, they buy new homes more than twice as often as their male counterparts. In couples, they comprise at least half of all pairs living in a new home. Their buying power becomes even more profound if we consider that women also tend to be the primary shopper within family-owned households.

As a result, we can anticipate that General Electric directs a significant amount of its social media content toward this group.

Let’s take a look at three of their highest performing Twitter posts from last month:

https://twitter.com/generalelectric/status/906265120560558081

First things first, this is an incredible ad.

While we can easily see how the choice of protagonist relates to the prominent homebuying market of Whites and ‘females’ from above, there’s also so much else going on here.

To be sure, any overt connection to demographics is minimized by the fact that no specific mention of race or gender is ever made in the post. Further, its caption actually works to fight against such categories.

By using a collective “We” and tying in the unifying goal of “making the world…better,” their messaging actually comes off as transcendent.

Another point of interest here stems from how this content works as a means of introducing future posts. Released during the first ten days of September, it looks in hindsight like a preview for the similar messaging that would reappear over the final third of the month.

This transition was brought underway by a rare text-only tweet from GE on September 19th:

Name a woman in science and technology in your life that has inspired you – we’ll place them amongst the stars. #BalanceTheEquation

— GE Vernova (@GEVernova) September 19, 2017

Beneath both these tweets, the engagement is stellar. In terms of likes/retweets, the numbers are very strong. What often goes unnoticed is the conversations that are started beneath each post.

Getting people to click a button is one thing, but inspiring them to add to a discussion is something entirely different.

Both of these messages were able to accomplish that pretty successfully, and GE’s powerful replies to commenters in the #BalanceTheEquation post just reiterated their desire to interact with followers.

Two days later, they reaffirmed their brand position as an advocate for women:

We're using the ceiling of @GrandCentralNYC to show the Unseen Stars of STEM. https://t.co/iX1zbHlghu pic.twitter.com/W85Gd2AHr0

— GE Vernova (@GEVernova) September 21, 2017

In context, their employment of the empowerment theme seems like it was designed to become progressively more overt as the month wore on.Interestingly, most of their click-based endorsements from other accounts rose as their core theme gained clarity in later tweets.

However, the number of commenters peaked on that first advertisement. Perhaps this is where the stength of its universal caption comes into effect. By expressing the focus on women in a subtle yet powerful manner, more people felt inspired to leave their thoughts.

Beyond demographics, the push to empower women also aligns well with GE’s broader philosophy of innovation.

On the one hand, it ties their brand to a topic being talked about all around the world. On the other, championing equality also conveys a commitment to progressive values.

This commitment has resonated with female consumers, and for that reason GE has been listed as a Top 100 company fifteen times by Working Mother Magazine.

A continued effort on social media by GE to engage with this group can only make that bond stronger.

Next time, we’ll explore how GE executes its messaging in tweets geared toward a B2B audience.

The post The Media Court: General Electric & Segment Engagement 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.