MONTH OF THE GIRL BAND: The Final List

1930s-1960s
1. "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down" - The Boswell Sisters
2. "Boogie Woogie Boy" - The Andrews Sisters
3. "He's Gone" - The Chantels
4. "Be My Baby" - The Ronettes
5. "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" - The Shirelles
6. "Leader of the Pack" - The Shangri-La's
7. "Tell Him" - The Exciters
8. "My Boyfriend's Back" - The Angels
9. "One Fine Day" - The Chiffons
10. "Where Did Our Love Go" - The Supremes
11 "Lady Sings the Blues" - Billie Holiday
12. "One Note Samba" - Ella Fitzgerald
13. "The Sassy One" - Sarah Vaughan
14. “Hot Generation” – The Pandoras
15. “Because the Night” – Patti Smith
16. “ California” - Joni Mitchell
17. “Rust and Diamonds” - Joan Baez
18. “It’s Too Late” – Carol King
19. “Piece of My Heart” – Janis Joplin


1970s - present
1. "Identity" - X-Ray Spex
2. "Nice" - Kleenex (LiLiPUT)
3. "Mind Your Own Business" - Delta 5
4. "City of Angels" - The Distillers
5. "Ghetto Love" - Spinnerette
6. "Road to Paradise" - TAT
7. "Brick by Boring Brick" - Paramore
8. "Destroy" - The Eyeliners with Joan Jett
9. "Get Rid of that Girl" - The Donnas
10. "Brackish" - Kittie
11. "Drop Dead" - Lunachicks
12. "Superhero" - The Priscillas
13. "Celestica" - Crystal Castles
14. "Creator" - Santogold
15. “Shut Up and Let Me Go” – Ting Tings
16. I'm Not Your Toy" - La Roux
17. "Delirium" - Ladyhawke
18. “Pop Goes the World” – The Gossip
19. “Destroy Everything You Touch” - Ladytron
20. "Gold Guns Girls" - Metric
21. “Gold Rush” – Dragonette
22. "Drumming Song" - Florence + The Machine
23. "Brestir og brak" - Bjork & Trio (Gling-Gló)
24. "Hit" - The Sugarcubes
25. "Human Behaviour" - Björk
26. "Brain Damage" - Blake Babies (with Evan Dando)
27. "Everybody Loves Me But You" - Julianna Hatfield
28. "Bruise Violet"- Babes in Toyland, post Courtney Love
29. "Beautiful Son" - Hole
30. "Car Song" - Elastica
31. "Just a Girl" - No Doubt
32. "Southside" - Moby ft. Gwen
33. "Kiss Me Deadly"- Lita Ford (previously of The Runaways)
34. "I Want You to Rock Me" - Vixen
35. "Hit & Run" - Girlschool
36. "What's Up" - 4 Non-Blondes
37. "Rebel Girl" -Bikini Kill
38. "When the Night Comes" - Thee Headcoatees
39. " The Scratch" - 7 Year B*tch
40. "Driving Song" - Heavens to Betsy
41. "TKO" - Le Tigre
42. "Not Too Soon" - Throwing Muses
43. "Your Ghost" - Kristin Hersh featuring Micheal Stipe of R.E.M.
44. "Gigantic" - Pixies
45. "Feed the Tree" - Belly
46. "Cannonball" - The Breeders
47. "K Street" - The Fastbacks
48. "Diet Pill" - L7
49. "You Think You're a Man" - The Vaselines
50. "Pretty" - The Raincoats
51. "Cherry Bomb" - The Runaways
52. “Bad Reputation” – Joan Jett
53. "Magic Man" - Heart
54. "Barracuda" - (cover of Heart) - Rasputina
55. "I'm With The Band" - Bratmobile
56. "You're No Rock'n'Roll Fun" - Sleater-Kinney
57. "What Kind of Monster are You" - Slant 6
58. "Standing There" - The Creatures
59. "Kiss Them For Me" - Siouxsie and the Banshees
60. "Number One Enemy" - The Slits
61. "Heaven or Las Vegas" - Cocteau Twins
62. "Hook in Her Head" - Throwing Muses
63. "Blue Marbles" - The Nightblooms
64. "Blue Flower" - Mazzy Star
65. "Wild Horses" - The Sundays
66. "Sweetness and Light" - Lush
67. "Never Say Goodbye" - My Bloody Valentine
68. "Forget that You're Young " - The Raveonettes

69. "Heartbeats" - Thrushes
70. "Wrong Tube" - The Swirlies
71. “You’re so Vain” –Carly Simon
72. “Edge of Seventeen” – Stevie Nicks
73. "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" - Kylie Minogue
74. "Safari Disco Club" - Yelle
75. "Hung Up" - Madonna
76. " Barracuda" - Fergie of Blackeyed Peas(cover of Heart)
77. "Rich Girl" - Gwen Stefani featuring Eve
78. “Hey Jack Kerouac” – 10,000 Maniacs
79. “Verdi Cries” – Natalie Merchant
80. "Why Do You Love Me" - Garbage
81. "Seether" - Veruca Salt
82. "Down by the Water" PJ Harvey
83. "Hand in My Pocket" - Alanis Morissette
84. "Angry Johnny" - Poe
85. "I Know What Boys Like"- The Waitresses
86. "I Want Candy" - Bow Wow Wow
87. "White Mice" - The Mo-dettes
88. "The Good Die Young"" - The Divinyls
89. " Too Many Creeps" - The Bush Tetras
90. "Jolene" - Strawberry Switchblade (cover of Dolly Parton)
91. "Cccan't You See" - Vicious Pink
92. "Kids in America"-Kim Wilde
93. "Volume" - Pylon
94. "Fast Boyfriends" - Girls At Our Best
95. "Dear John" - The Au Pairs
96. "Weekend Without Makeup" - The Long Blondes
97. "China Town" - Romeo Void
98. "Sci-Fi wasabi" - Cibo Matto
99. "iamundernodisguise" - School of Seven Bells
100. “Heart of Glass” – Blondie
101. “I Want That Man” – Debbie Harry
102. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” –Cyndi Lauper
103. “Hummingbird” – Imaginary Cities
104. “Gigantic” – Pixies
105. "Big Blue '82" - Danielle Dax
106. "Criminal" - Fiona Apple
107. "Zombie" - The Cranberries
108. "Don't Upset the Rhythm" - The Noisettes
109. "Heads Will Roll" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
110. "Untouched" - The Veronicas
111. "Because the Night" - Patti Smith
112. "Bet You Think I'm Lonely" - Wild Strawberries
113. "Tom's Diner" - Suzanna Vega
114. "Honey Bee" - Lucinda Williams
115. "This Tornado Loves You" - Neko Case
116. "Eet" - Regina Spektor
117. "Outer Space" - The Muffs
118. "Nice Girls Don't Play Rock'n'Roll" - Snap - Her
119. "Under Your Skin" - Luscious Jackson
120. "Ride a White Horse" - Goldfrapp
121. "Get Some" - Lykke-Li
122. "Something to Die For" - The Sounds
123. "Worthy" - The Suffrajets
124. "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" - KT Tunstall
125. "He Wants Me Back" - Dance Hall Crashers
126. "Marvelous Things" - Eisley

Month of the Girl Band: Day 26

Well, I am running out of time and days. I am going to check out for the next two weeks, as I am headed to see a good friend in Europe for a while so this will be my last post until mid-May.

I was hoping to give some full posts to some of of these remaining ladies, but that will have to wait. Some already have posts so check the sidebar.

So today will be a quick list of all the remaining bands I didn't yet get to highlight, and they are all over the musical spectrum. I will post a full listing of all the girl bands I've posted this month. That should keep you busy for a while.

SONGS OF THE DAY:

1. "Big Blue '82" - Danielle Dax

2. "Criminal" - Fiona Apple

3. "That's Not My Name" - The Ting Tings

4. "Zombie" - The Cranberries

5. "Don't Upset the Rhythm" - The Noisettes

6. "Heads Will Roll" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

7. "Untouched" - The Veronicas

8. "Because the Night" - Patti Smith

9. "Bet You Think I'm Lonely" - Wild Strawberries

10. "Tom's Diner" - Suzanna Vega

11. "Honey Bee" - Lucinda Williams

12. "This Tornado Loves You" - Neko Case

13. "Eet" - Regina Spektor

14. "Outer Space" - The Muffs

15. "Hot Generation" - The Pandoras

16. "Nice Girls Don't Play Rock'n'Roll" - Snap - Her

17. "Under Your Skin" - Luscious Jackson

19. "Ride a White Horse" - Goldfrapp

20. "Get Some" - Lykke-Li

21. "Something to Die For" - The Sounds

22. "Worthy" - The Suffrajets

23. "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" - KT Tunstall

24. "He Wants Me Back" - Dance Hall Crashers

25. "Marvelous Things" - Eisley

Month of the Girl Band: Day 24

Sorry I missed the weekend but I was unexpectedly whisked away by Mr. IMo? to Milwaukee to see the Pixies do their Doolittle Tour.

For many many years the Pixies were the band I always wished, but never imagined, would get back together. Then in late 2004 they started tinkling with the idea, and in 2005 they headlined the rebirth of Lollapalooza. I got to see them play and I was thrilled even though I had to hang way back in the crowd because Macaroni was just a baby (I'm talking we still counted his life in weeks).


And I was happy.

Then this weekend we drove up to Milwaukee. We actually were staying in a different town so we had to drive an hour to get to the show and were worried that we showed up 5 minutes after the doors opened, but to our surprise we were able to get 2 people back on stage left (the Kim Deal side of the stage). The show started, we could see, and we were happy. Here is where things start to sound like the White Stripes song "Take, Take, Take". There was a huge fight that broke out just behind us, between a really stoned dude and our concert neighbor a Chicago firefighter. The enormous bouncers climbed over the barrier to haul the stoned guy away while we held on to the firefighter's kid, and I filled in the three foot space left vacant along the barrier and joined the front row. After the show finished and 2 encores, it took a while for the very crowded auditorium to clear out. While we waited the roadies started to break the set down the center front rowers got the set lists, and then the roadie breaking down Kim's stuff handed the few of us girls in the front row Kim's guitar picks. I was over the moon.

Then my concert neighbor asked if we wanted to hang out after the show to try to get an autograph. Although I was tempted I decided to end the night thrilled I had a guitar pick rather than disappointed I didn't meet anyone, so I gathered my resolve and walked out the door on clouds.

I have always considered the Pixies (like The White Stripes) as much a girl band as a guy band, because Kim Deal is my hero. She does sing a number of songs and does backup vocals on most of them, so in my opinion they count.


I found videos of the Doolittle tour that were all set up like the one I saw so you can get a feel for the show.

The opening band, Imaginary Cities, out of Canada, was pretty good too.

SONGS OF THE DAY:

1. "Hummingbird" - Imaginary Cities

2. "Hey" - Pixies

3. "There Goes My Gun" - Pixies

4. "Wave of Mutilation" - Pixies

5. "Here Comes Your Man" - Pixies

6. "Monkey Gone to Heaven" - Pixies

7. "La La Love You" - Pixies (vocals by David)

8. "Gigantic" - Pixies (vocals by Kim)

Month of the Girl Band: - day 23 girls just want to have fun

Cyndi Lauper was my hero as a little girl. She was the coolest, most alien creature I knew of and I wanted to be just like her. Because she was so funky and peppy, she lacked some of the credibility she deserved. I really think she paved the way for a lot of women to stretch beyond what was commercially acceptable and let their outward appearance reflect their inner self.


















SONG OF THE DAY:
1."Girls Just Want to Have Fun"- Cyndi Lauper

2"She Bop" - Cyndi Lauper

3"True Colors" - Cyndi Lauper

4"I Drove all Night" - Cyndi Lauper

5"Across the Universe" - Cyndi Lauper (cover The Beatles)

Month of the Girl Band: Day 22 Blondie

Debbie Harry. She was so tough and so hot, no one knew what to do with her but get out of her way and let her shine.



SONGS OF THE DAY:

1. "Heart of Glass" - Blondie

2. "Rapture" - Blondie

3. "Call Me"- Blondie

4. "One Way or Another" - Blondie

5. "I Want that Man" - Debbie Harry

6. "Der Einziger Weg (The Only Way) - Debbie Harry feat. Robert Jacks

Month of the Girl Band: Day 21 a mish-mash

I am headed out of town at the end of the month and trying to write up the rest of my posts ahead of time so I don't miss any days or bands that I could devote to the Month of the Girl Band. Today I am doing a bit of a roundup of bands that don't fit into the other grouping I have going on.

When I wrote about Delta 5 and their musical buddies The Mekons and Gangs of Four, I fail to add The Au Pairs. They had all of the politics of the other bands bit with an added feminist edge. The band formed in 1978, and have a sound that's a cross between the Clash and The B-52s.

The Long Blondes is a band I found a few years ago and have become fond of. They remind me of Elastica, which as I mentioned HERE says a lot.

I also discovered Pretty Girls Make Graves around the same time. Although they were formed in 2001 and mostly guys except the vocalist, they have a very Riot Grrrl sound. Sadly the band broke up in 2007, but they gave it a good run, and put down some excellent tracks.

Another late 70s/ early 80s band that needs to be included is Romeo Void. They are best know for their pop-y "Never Say Never", but I quite like some of the grittier tracks like "White Sweater"(cover). I could only find the instrumental track on youtube, but I recommend tracking down the vocals too. One of the best things about Romeo Void is that even though their music is 30 years old now it still sounds incredibly current.

And then there is Cibo Matto. These Japanese ex-pats have some very eclectic influences. Tape loops, hip-hop, funk, rock and bubblegum pop. With a face of Harajuku sweetness and lyrics that can slice like a Samurai sword, the band is full of dichotomy.

I can't believe I almost forgot to add School of Seven Bells. I saw them open for Interpol a few months ago. They should have been included with the shoegaze girls HERE, but I spaced it.



The Au Pairs









Romeo Void










The Long Blondes












Pretty Girls Make Graves












Cibo Matto













School of Seven Bells















SONGS OF THE DAY:
1. "Dear John" - The Au Pairs

2."Weekend Without Makeup" - The Long Blondes

3."China Town" - Romeo Void

4. "Sci-Fi wasabi" - Cibo Matto

5. "iamundernodisguise" - School of Seven Bells

Month of the Girl Band: day 20 New Wave girls

In the immortal words of Great Plains in their song Letter to a Fanzine :
"Why do Punk Rock guys go out with New Wave girls?"
Maybe it's because they look like this and make songs like these...

Bow Wow Wow












The Divinyls











Strawberry Switchblade









Kim Wilde














SONGS OF THE DAY:

1. "I Know What Boys Like"- The Waitresses

2. "I Want Candy" - Bow Wow Wow

3. "White Mice" - The Mo-dettes

4. "The Good Die Young"" - The Divinyls

5. " Too Many Creeps" - The Bush Tetras

6. "Jolene" - Strawberry Switchblade (cover of Dolly Parton)

7. "Cccan't You See" - Vicious Pink

8. "Kids in America"-Kim Wilde

9. "Volume" - Pylon

10. "Fast Boyfriends" - Girls At Our Best

Month of the Girl Band: day 19

There were a lot of great girl bands in the 90s headed by some pretty tough chicks.

Here are a few more.

Garbage











Veruca Salt











PJ Harvey









Alanis Morissette








Poe
















SONGS OF THE DAY:
1. "Why Do You Love Me" - Garbage

2. "Seether" - Veruca Salt

3. "Down by the Water" PJ Harvey

4. "Hand in My Pocket" - Alanis Morissette

5. "Angry Johnny" - Poe

Month of the Girl Band: day 18 more matriarchs

There are a few ladies who I have sort of skipped over up to this point who are important "matriarchs" if you will on the girl band family tree. Most people are at least vaguely familiar with either the names or music of these ladies, so I will just post a few songs and leave the research up to you. Most of these women were making music as singer/songwriters in the 1960's-1970s so they run a bit folksy. Don't hate me for cramming them all together in one day.


Joni Mitchell










Joan Baez













Carol King








Carly Simon









Janis Joplin












Stevie Nicks
















SONGS OF THE DAY:

1."California" - Joni Mitchell

2."Diamonds and Rust" - Joan Baez

3. "It's Too Late" - Carol King

4. "You're So Vain" - Carly Simon featuring Mick Jagger

5. "Piece of My Heart" - Janis Joplin

6. "Edge of Seventeen" - Stevie Nicks

Month of the Girl Band: day 17

Busy week, this one. Mr. IMo? is off hanging out with dignitaries for the week. Katydid and I have birthdays to celebrate, and we are starting to feel the crunch before a move, on top of the already hectic life we lead, and Spring Break is taunting us on the calendar at the week's end if we can just endure. So, I feel the need to slow things down a notch.

I hope you all had a rockin' Record Store Day yesterday.

Today I thought I would talk a bit about an artist who saved my weary soul one winter while I was living in Poland. Natalie Merchant.

I had very little music with me while I was in Poland, but my friend sent me a copy of Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily and I feel asleep to it most nights. Natalie has been soothing souls for many years, beginning with 10, 000 Maniacs and later as a solo artist. She has often done some gorgeous duets and notably an MTV Unplugged album.

Natalie Merchant
















SONGS OF THE DAY:

10, 000 Maniacs

1. "Hey Jack Kerouac" - 10, 000 Maniacs
(I particularly like this song for two reasons: I'm a long time fan of the beats and I once got to meet Allen Ginsberg at a poetry reading. He tried to pick up a guy friend of mine who was not gay.)

2. "Candy Everybody Wants" - 10,000 Maniacs

3. "Because the Night" - 10,000 Maniacs (unplugged)

Duets

4."Let the Mystery Be" - 10,000 Maniacs with David Byrne

5. "Summertime" - Natalie Merchant and Billy Bragg (cover)

6."To Sir With Love" - Natalie Merchant featuring Micheal Stipe (R.E.M.)

Solo

7. "I May Know the Word" - Natalie Merchant (Tigerlily album)

8. "Verdi Cries" - Natalie Merchant

9. "Ophelia" - Natalie Merchant

10. "Kind and Generous" - Natalie Merchant

Month of the Girl Band: day 16 Happy Record Store Day

Happy Record Store day.

Quit sitting in front of your computer.

Support your local independent stores.

Go out and pick up some vinyl.

I'm off to blow my allowance ;)



SONG OF THE DAY:
"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) - Thalia (cover of Dead or Alive)

Month of the Girl Band: day 15 the dancing girls

To lighten things up around here I think I will shift just a bit to the highly commercial Pop singer, veering away from girls who play their own instruments and give a day to those girls who entertain with their voice and their body.

Admittedly I am not a huge fan of the average skinny chick shaking her fanny in spandex, hotpants and stilettos, but some girls can pull it off, and despite my rock-centric, feminist ways, I like them.

I don't see the need to brag about these girls so I'll just put together a set today.

SONGS OF THE DAY:
1. "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" - Kylie Minogue

2. "Safari Disco Club" - Yelle

3. "Hung Up" - Madonna

4. " Barracuda" - Fergie of Blackeyed Peas(cover of Heart)
Fergie would have made a decent rock star. This is pretty much her only song I like.

5. "Rich Girl" - Gwen Stefani featuring Eve

Month of the Girl Band: day 14 shoegazing and dream pop

Recently I highlighted Cocteau Twins HERE, Throwing Muses both HERE and HERE and also the Dutch band The Nightblooms HERE, so I will refrain from repeating myself, and instead add to the assortment a few other girl bands of the shoegaze persuasion.

First off I think Mazzy Star deserves some notice. To clarify, Mazzy Star is the band's name, not that of the lead singer. Her name is Hope Sandoval and she started Mazzy Star with David Roback in the late 80s. Hope was still in high school when a friend passed her demo tape on to Roback, who was then playing with, Opal, touring with Jesus and Mary Chain. When he partner left mid-tour Hope filled in as a replacement. Not at all a bad way to break into the music business. Technically Mazzy Star came out of a movement called the Paisley Underground, as had the Bangles earlier, but I think they fit well enough into today's category.

I think just as much as loving Harriet Wheelers's voice, of The Sundays, I loved her hair. The Sundays are a bit more dreampop than shoesgaze. With a quite lovely and soothing sound, versus the sometimes jarring wall of noise that is more common in the shoegaze genre, I find myself listening to The Sundays when I need some inner peace.

Lush was one of the first shoegaze bands I discovered and one of the longest lasting. From 1989-1996 the band was the essence of shoegaze, then with their album Lovelife the band converted to more of a standard Britpop band with songs like "Ladykiller".

My Bloody Valentine is a band I never really connected with for some reason. I think it has to do with what I find to be overly distorted lyrics, but they are a very talented bunch and a lot of my friends have been long time fans.

A newer band I like is The Raveonettes. They have a little rockabilly in their shoegaze, which makes them unique. I saw them play two years ago at Lollapalooza, and they are currently touring the US in support of their new album Raven in the Grave.

A few other shoegaze bands I don't know much about, but like, are Thrushes, Medicine, The Swirlies, Cranes, Blonde Redhead.

Cocteau Twins











Lush















Mazzy Star














The Raveonettes













SONGS OF THE DAY:

1. "Heaven or Las Vegas" - Cocteau Twins

2. "Hook in Her Head" - Throwing Muses

3. "Blue Marbles" - The Nightblooms

4. "Blue Flower" - Mazzy Star

5. "Wild Horses" - The Sundays

6. "Sweetness and Light" - Lush

7. "Never Say Goodbye" - My Bloody Valentine

8. "Forget that You're Young " - The Raveonettes

9. "Heartbeats" - Thrushes

10. "Wrong Tube" - The Swirlies

Month of the Girl Band: day 13 "You and Me Punk Rock Girl"

Punk music has always been testosterone heavy, but there have been some pretty hardcore girls who have rocked the braces off lesser men.

First among them I would say is X-Ray Spex. Poly Styrene was a warrior on the front lines of the 70s Brit Punk scene. I wrote more about X-Ray Spex HERE.

I already mentioned The Slits & The Raincoats, but next on the list would be Swiss band LiLiPUT (AKA Kleenex). Switzerland isn't really known for its music scene, however these girls make themselves a major exception. Musically I would classify them in the gray area between Punk and No-Wave. They tend to be more free-form yet with the same short bursts of fury that punk has.

Delta 5 came out of Leeds England in 1979, and are mostly associated with their contemporaries Gang of Four and The Mekons. These three bands were social agitators against the Regan (US)/ Thatcher (U.K.) era governments and overtly political in their music, with Delta 5 emerging from the era as a leading force in the upcoming feminist wave.

Moving on past the Riot Grrrl movement that's already been covered lets skip ahead a bit and hit on The Distillers. Hailing from Australia, Brody Dalle and bassist Kim Chi formed The Distillers in 1998 and quickly hooked up with other feminist bands like No Doubt and Garbage. Brody married Tim Armstrong of Operation Ivy & Rancid, but after a nasty divorce she eventually married Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, had a baby and started and equally fabulous, though entirely different band, Spinnerette. I happen to love Spinnerette. I think it suits her less angry, more docile happy mommy station in life, like Gwen Stefani, she has a little less rage and more of her inner (and out) beauty seems to shine.

TAT is a band I first heard of from Mr. IMo? He had a backstage pass to Warped Tour about 2 years ago and met up with Tatianna and her band. Later I saw them open for Lagwagon and MXPX. Tatianna is a pretty talented girl, and sweet behind the snarl and sailor mouth. She is one of those guitarists who can play just as well behind her head as standing still, and really hope she makes it big someday. It looks like album 2 is in the works, so maybe...

At that same Warped Tour, Mr. IMo? also met Hayley Wiliams of Paramore. He was pretty excited. He had been off working in his mysterious ways in a treacherous part of the world but on the one English TV channel he could pick up, Paramore's music video played in constant rotation. He was pretty excited to find out that Hayley made it to the cover of this months Cosmo.

Some other serious punk rock girls to love:
The Eyeliners (one of many hot bands on Blackheart Records), The Donnas, Kitties, Lunachicks, The Priscillas (these girls are a bit surf punk).

X-Ray Spex











Delta 5














The Distillers










TAT












The Eyeliners














Lunachicks










Paramore Mr. IMo? with Hayley














SONGS OF THE DAY:
1. "Identity" - X-Ray Spex

2. "Nice" - Kleenex (LiLiPUT)

3. "Mind Your Own Business" - Delta 5

4. "City of Angels" - The Distillers

5. "Ghetto Love" - Spinnerette

6. "Road to Paradise" - TAT

7. "Brick by Boring Brick" - Paramore

8. "Destroy" - The Eyeliners with Joan Jett

9. "Get Rid of that Girl" - The Donnas

10. "Brackish" - Kittie

11. "Drop Dead" - Lunachicks

12. "Superhero" - The Priscillas

Month of the Girl Band: day 12 mostly current dance music

Today seems like a good day to flip back to the present and just spit out a list of some of my favorite current girl bands (current as in the past 2-3 years). Most of this is dance music. Since these are all girls of the modern age they all have myspace accounts or their own websites so a quick google search can lead you to all the info you need on these ladies. Some have also been featured previously on this site, so you can just search them on the sidebar.

Santogold









La Roux







Ladytron








Metric










Florence + The Machine










SONGS OF THE DAY:

1. "Celestica" - Crystal Castles
(also check out their tune "Not In Love" featuring Robert Smith of The Cure)

2. "Creator" - Santogold

3. "Shut Up and Let Me Go" - The Ting Tings

4. "I'm Not Your Toy" - La Roux

5. "Delirium" - Ladyhawke

6. "Pop Goes the World" - The Gossip

7. "Destroy Everything You Touch" - Ladytron

8. "Gold Guns Girls" - Metric

9. " Gold Rush" - Dragonette

10. "Drumming Song" - Florence + The Machine

Month of the Girl Band: day 11

Björk Guðmundsdóttir is easily one of the most identifiable yet private creatures on the face of this or any planet.

I have written at length about Björk before HERE, so today I would like to just compile some of my favorite songs she has created. A little bit of Icelandic jazz with with the jazz group Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar , some with The Sugarcubes (nothing like the birth of a child to make you want to start a band) and some being her solo work. Because I have long loved Björk, it is difficult to narrow down my favorite tunes so I decided to post 2 songs from each period.

Bjork with Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar















The Sugarcubes

















Björk














SONGS OF THE DAY:

1. "Brestir og brak" - Bjork & Trio (Gling-Gló)

2. "Kata Rokkar" - Bjork & Trio (Gling-Gló)

3. "Hit" - The Sugarcubes

4. "Delicious Demon" - The Sugarcubes

5. "Human Behaviour" - Björk

6. "Army of Me" - Björk

Month of the Girl Band: day 10 1930-1960's

Today I would like to go back in time and feature 10 tunes from some great girl groups of the 1930's-1960's.

I don't know enough about these singing groups to expound upon them at any length, so I recommend doing a bit of your own research if you find you like some of their music. Phil Spector was responsible for a lot of these groups, and Motown, likewise, did its fair share of bringing women (at least women singing and dancing, if not always playing their own instruments) to the tops of the charts.

It isn't hard to see a theme in all of these song...they are all about BOYS, and mostly about boys who aren't around. Hmmm.

The Boswell Sisters








The Chantels







The Shirelles











The Exciters











The Angels










The Supremes














SONGS OF THE DAY:

1. "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down" - The Boswell Sisters

2. "Boogie Woogie Boy:" - The Andrews Sisters

3. "He's Gone" - The Chantels

4. "Be My Baby" - The Ronettes

5. "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" - The Shirelles

6. "Leader of the Pack" - The Shangri-La's

7. "Tell Him" - The Exciters

8. "My Boyfriend's Back" - The Angels

9. "One Fine Day" - The Chiffons

10. "Where Did Our Love Go" - The Supremes