woohoo

After months of computer problems I am mostly back. As soon as I get youtube up and running again I will be set. I am also just about ready to fully launch my business site as a link.

Can't wait to get back in the saddle... I have seen some good bands come through recently that I want to share.

30 Day Music Challenge/ Day 9

Theme: A song about getting into trouble

SONG OF THE DAY: "Mommy's Little Monster" - Social Distortion

I think just about everything Mike Ness writes is about getting into trouble, but this one is about both a guy & a girl getting into trouble, so it seems more inclusive.

30 Day Music Challenge/ Day 8

Theme: A song from a band you wish would get back together

SONG OF THE DAY: "People of the Sun" - Rage Against the Machine

Even though they did play at Lollapalooza 3 summers ago, and are maybe kinda sort of rumored to be possibly working on a new album for this fall, I still say they aren't really back together.

30 Day Music Challenge/ Day 7

Theme: A song you think no one here would know

SONG OF THE DAY: "Quero Ver o Oco" - Raimundos

This is a Brazilian band, a lot like Rage Against the Machine. I also have a CD of them doing Reggae.

Dead Kennedys

Last night Mr. Imo? drove into the valley from the city to see a legendary band perform on a smallish stage at an outdoor city music fest. The Dead Kennedys have been a long time favorite, as classic as the Violent Femmes or Nirvana for us, so the fact that he got to see them so long after their initial popularity was amazing. One of those bands you never expect to see play, but it thrills you to the core when the chance arises, and he got there so early he was on the rail in the front row.

He had to get back into the city after it all so he couldn't stay to meet them after the show, but he did say they would have sounded way better in our club than on that stage. We may be chasing down the agent.

SONG: " California über alles" - Dead Kennedys

30 Day Music Challenge/ Day 6

Theme: A band an "ex-" introduced you to & your love of the band long outlasted "The Ex-"

SONG OF THE DAY: "This Charming Man" - The Smiths

Since said "Ex" is still a friend of mine, this seems like as good a Smiths song as any.

30 Day Music Challenge/ Day 5

Theme: A song off the first record/8 track/tape/ CD/ MP3 (depending on your age) that you ever bought.

SONG OF THE DAY: "New Sensation" - INXS

I bought the cassette single in the mall record store in 1987. I eventually upgraded to CD, and last year picked up a pristine copy on vinyl.

30 Day Music Challenge/ day 4

Theme: A Song about Space

SONG OF THE DAY: "Hallo Spaceboy" - David Bowie & Pet Shop Boys

David Bowie has done some masterful collaborations but next to "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby, I think this is my favorite.

30 Day music Challenge / day 3

Theme: A Song about the Weather:

SONG OF THE DAY:
"Stormy Weather" - Pixies

30 day Music Challenge / day 2

Theme: A song about an animal

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Barracuda" - by Heart, covered by Rasputina

30 day music challenge

For my new venue I am doing a 30 Day Music Challenge on facebook so that we can get to know our audience a bit better. I think it is a good way for me to get back in the blogging groove. I have found a few templates to run this from so it will be a bit random.

To start off is ...

Day 1: A song that makes you happy

"Let's Dance to Joy Division" - The Wombats

Catch Me Killer

We had a local show on Friday and I was really impressed by the band Catch Me Killer. It was only their 3rd show together, thought they have all been playing in various bands over the years. They gave me one of their new EPs and I have been listening to it in my car. I keep being drawn to their song "Skin Deep". It is about being completely shallow and uncommitted, and with an attitude that reminds me of early Green Day.


I have started using a new site called Reverbnation to track bands I want to book. Here is a link via Reverbnation to Catch Me Killer.

SONG OF THE DAY:
"Skin Deep" - Catch Me Killer

dredg

I am almost moved into my house, and in fact I am setting up my office today so I should be back in the groove soon.

Sunday night we had Dredg, Fair to Midland and The Trophy Fire playing. I had never heard of any of them before, but they were mostly all right. Still not exactly my type of music, but better than the hardcore stuff I tune out.

Dredg did give me signed copy of their LP. I am a bit tweaked by their embellishment of girl parts they added when signing ( I would have been pissed if I had actually paid for it). One of the attendees made some HD recordings of the show. One from Fair to Midland and one from Dredg.

I happened to quite like the opening band, The Trophy Fire best. They did a fabulous cover of "Heartbeats" by The Knife. Here is a link to it at a different club.

"Heartbeats" - The Trophy Fire (cover of The Knife)



Here are some live videos from my new club:

"Whiskey and Ritalin" - Fair to Midland



"Not That Simple" - Dredg with Ben Flanagan of The Trophy Fire

almost back

This week I go pick up Mr. IMo? from St. Louis to drive him and a Uhaul of stuff to his new place out in San Francisco where his new job will be. Sadly, we have to be a commuter family for a while but as you may have noticed he is out of town often enough it probably won't be all that much different. Once he gets moved in and all my stuff finally shows up and I get the furniture settled in I will be back to blogging more regularly.

In the meantime I thought I would introduce you to two bands. One is a band (kids really & brothers) out of Salt Lake City that just played a show at our club last night. They sound a lot better in person and on their CD than on the video. I recommend looking them up and get in on the ground floor. I have a feeling they are going places.

Second is a band coming to play in a few weeks from Chicago that I am loving. They sound pretty similar to Foxy Shazam (apparently the bands have played a few shows together, unsurprisingly).

StankBot Tyranny from SLC: "Did You Take Your Medication?"

Victorian Halls from Chicago: "The Persecution of Belissima Morte"

wish you were here

Just to brag a little about how cool my new gig is... here I am with Scary Larry (who happened to be in town this week from Cincinnati), AW and Kris Roe of The Ataris. just wish Mr/ Imo? could have been here.

And just the night before Mr. Imo? got to see one of my all time favorites, Toad the Wet Sprocket. We almost got them to come play at our place but the drive was too far despite the amount of time between shows.
Now I just need to get my booking agent to start booking more bands that I like so we can have more pictures like these, without the "push the button like this" finger.

summer playlist

Running this new business is forcing me to expand my musical tolerance, I mean horizons.

The place has been booking a bunch of hardcore bands, and I am just not really able to hear the difference between them yet. But as the owner versus a show-goer I get to see these guys in a different light. The hardcore guys put on such a tough face, they're meant to be intimidating, and there is a lot of angry screaming. As opposed to the truth of it being they are just nice guys making music and a few bucks on the road. A few days ago one of the boys said "Yeah, I make hardcore scenester music and wear skinny jeans. I am a total poser". Mostly they are the happiest, nicest kids I meet during the week (way better than the losers who locked me out of FedEx the other night 5 minutes before closing when all I needed was a few copies) and I have a hard time believing they have an angry bone in their bodies. My other favorite observation is that even though they are "hardcore" they still stick with the music industry tendency of making sure the best looking among them is either the lead screamer (see photo) or gets the most face time. And as far as the fans go, there seems to be an awful lot of polite golf clapping going on at the end of each song. I am going to have to observe a bit more before I figure out that scene.

With my new found need to understand hardcore and all those new bands in the Alternative Press (a magazine I left behind about 10 years ago) since those are the shows coming through my place, I have been doing some research and trying to incorporate them into what I listen to just so I can get a feel for what we are booking. I put together a summer playlist the other day for a party that didn't pan out, and tired to include a few of these bands. Haste the Day came through a few weeks ago so I added them to the list. Not anything I would normally listen to but tolerable.

That said, I am sharing with you a portion of my summer playlist that I put together based on the likes of others not myself (and a smidge of hardcore included...don't hate me if you hate it, it's educational).

SUMMER PLAYLIST:

* Boys of Summer – Ataris
* My own Summer- Deftones
* Summertime Clothes- Animal Collective
*Summer of All Dead Souls – And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
* My Own Summer- Deftones
* It's Summertime – Flaming Lips
* Summer Skin – Deathcab for Cutie
* Summertime – My Chemical Romance
* Summer of Love – B52s
* Summer Girl – The Rentals
* Summertime – The Zombies
* Summer – Alien Ant Farm
* Summer Angel – Minus the Bear
*Summer Well – Interpol
* Jewel of the Summertime – Audioslave
* Summer – Shy Child
* Summer Moon – The Raevonettes
* Feel Good Hit of the Summer- Queens of the Stone Age
* Dirty Black Summer – Danzig
* Swollen Summer – The Bravery
* Summer- Moby
* Soundtrack of the Summer – Art Brut
*You’re So Last Summer – Taking Back Sunday
* Summer in the city – Regina Spektor
* Guns of Summer – Coheed & Cambria
* Summertime Rolls- Jane’s Addiction
* Island in the Sun – Weezer
* Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden
* Sunny afternoon – The Kinks
* Blister in the Sun – Violent Femmes
* Sun it Rise – Fleet Foxes
* Big Sun- Phoenix
* 100 Suns- 30 Seconds to Mars
* Wake Up the Sun- Haste the Day
* Holidays in the Sun – Sex Pistols
* Sun King – The Cult
* California Sun- The Ramones
* Sun is on my Side- Gogol Bordello
* Yellow Sun- The Reconteurs
* Don’t Look Back in the Sun- The Libertines
* We Used to Vacation- Cold War Kids
* Holiday – Green Day
* Holiday in Cambodia – Dead Kennedys
* The Holiday Song – Pixies

Happy summer!

control

I am starting to get things under control...just barely. Taking over a running business is easier than a start-up until things which were supposed to be a cakewalk turn upside down. Like when that friendly cowboy fire marshal decides to hand his job over to some nasty electrical guys who don't understand theatre lighting or how many electrical outlets are required for a rock show to go on. But I digress.

I got the men's bathroom partially painted today (black and white striped walls anyone?) and heard back from my web-designer so things are looking up. Soon I will be able to post some pictures of the new project and get you all clued in. It isn't going to be elitist snazzy, but we won't be the gnarliest place in town anymore. Things are still ultra-chaotic and my children's desire to be free-range hippie kids plus we are living in the in-laws' basement for another 2 weeks are what I find to be standing in the way of control but I am beginning to see the light. Wish me luck.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Standing in the Way of Control" - The Gossip

why i am such a spaz: the hiatus

I realize I totally dropped off the face of the planet.

Not only did I pick up and move 1/2 way across the country but I am starting a new business. I bought out an all-ages club out in Boise where I used to live. The owners were retiring and as the only all-ages place if it wasn't bought out quickly it would have been shut down and that would leave a lot of kids on the street with no live music. With music getting kicked out of schools, it is really up to the private sector to keep it alive, so I felt a social and personal obligation to keep the place running.

I spent all my free time and money going to all-ages shows from the time I was 15 up until, well, honestly now, and since the stars all aligned I jumped at the chance to upgrade my status to "club owner". Right now it is all the gritty work, from cleaning out the nastiest greenroom you have ever seen to trying (unsuccessfully) to get the fire marshal to give me a new occupancy permit (I should have worn a lower cut blouse), and buying new microphones and patching the hole in the men's restroom. You know, the very un-glamourous part. Once I get our new website up I will post a link on the sidebar.

However, in a cool twist of events, The Ataris (my last post) happen to be one of the bands on my calendar for this month doing an acoustic set. Maybe if I bat my eyes and have good catering they will take my request to play "Boys of Summer".

So, bare with me as my posts will be spotty for the next few weeks while I set up shop and then move into my house at the beginning of next month.

I can't even think of the best song to describe my status right now so I will do something different. Our local record store was doing a freebie give away yesterday: a signed Peter Murphy CD cover with purchase of the CD. I thought people would be all over it, but I was the first one down. But, lucky me, I now have a CD signed by Peter Murphy and the CD was on sale for $10. Nice. Here is a great tune from his new album.

SONG OF THE DAY :

"I Spit Roses" - Peter Murphy

School's out...let summer begin.

The boys got hair cuts for the summer so we are ready to begin. Yaz got a buzz and Macaroni got a shorter version of the Ataris' drummer's 'do. The boys of summer can come out to play.

This is my favorite summer song.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Boys of Summer" - The Ataris (cover of Don Henley)

Going, going, gone

It's 5am and I have been tossing and turning since 2:30 when I finally decided I had packed and sorted as much as I can to go for the final load into the moving POD tomorrow, which is, in fact, in just a couple of hours. Apparently my mind can't quit playing moving Tetris until everything is finished.

Besides mentally shuffling our various belongings into a 16 foot trailer, I have been thinking about the chaos of being married to my International Man of Mystery, aka Mr. IMo?. As already established he's not anything as glamorous a spy, just a guy with dreams of walking through an airport handcuffed to a briefcase, which we all know is totally old school and never going to happen. Despite the occasional weird out-of-country excursion he's just a regular under-appreciated desk-warmer who occasionally, quietly, saves the world one piece of paper at a time.

The way this all ties in of course is how this job, which ranges from the horribly mundane to the occasionally critical and rarely exotic, effects our glob-trotting ways. There are perks like that trip I took to Italy to visit a friend I met while living in Asia, but the real test comes when the call comes that it's time to move. I box almost everything into storage, pack what I can into 1 suitcase and 1 carry-on per person, and as I say goodbye to 99% of my earthly possessions, we live out of that suitcase and carry-on for months at a time (more times than you may believe) until it is finally determined where exactly in the world we are headed. We had been told California's Bay Area, but now that doesn't look like the real destination. All I really know this time is that at least the kids and I are staying in country.

And so my gypsy ways re-emerge, and I sturdy myself for the uncertain life most people will never have a chance live. Never risking living on the streets but sometimes living out of a car for more days than I am willing to go on record admitting. Is it worth it? Who really cares. I have seen more since I hooked up with Mr. IMo? than my young provincial self ever dreamed possible. My still very young kids have already had multiple passports.

This weekend I drive into the sunset, carrying the most basic necessities (and a few things that keep a house running until the last minute & when just starting up) so the kids can spend time with extended family while we await our final landing coordinates. I can no longer remember how many times exactly I have driven across the country, with and without kids or Mr. IMo? but as we stop to see the worlds largest ball of string or dig for dinosaur bones, I have to admit the unknown destination is as fun as the journey getting there. And honestly I no longer really mind that all our stuff gets hauled away and on its way it may crash all over the highway or sink into the ocean and it could all be gone, gone, gone. I don't care because we are going, going, gone and too busy having an adventure to care.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"Gone, Gone, Gone" - Echo and the Bunnymen



"...My instincts are to kiss this train, I hear it coming.... To all this grand old scheme of things, to all the pain it brings, to all those who pull the strings, I bid good riddance...The normal rules do not apply. The mind is not to reason why. Gone, gone, gone".

Tetris is my theme song

Today we packed the POD. My friends I can pack and stack with killer accuracy. There is room to spare.

I like this trance Tetris remix.


SONG OF THE DAY:

"Tetris Theme Song"

the end is near

So we are moving all our junk out this weekend and it is the end of an era. Yaz was born here, Macaroni turned from classically autistic toddler to a practically normal kid, and Katydid has grow into a young lady before our eyes.

We have also been joking about what we should play if the world really ends tomorrow. After much consideration I have decided a perfect song for both events is this:


SONG OF THE DAY:

"It's All Over Now" - The Rolling Stones

Pack it up

A variation on the same theme by the masterful bluesman Freddie King.



SONG OF THE DAY:

"Pack it Up" - Freddie King

pack up

I sent Mr. IMo? dumpster diving for moving boxes last night and I am freshly restocked. I ordered the moving crates for the end of the week, and we settled thing with my in-laws to crash in their basement for a month until our next place opens up. Things are really happening, and I am starting to get in the packing groove. Bring on the newsprint and sharpies!



SONG OF THE DAY:
"Pack Up" - Eliza Doolittle

Post Script

Although the Month if the Girl Band is officially over here, it continues elsewhere. If you are looking for a summer roadtrip, check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH and their exhibit on Women who Rock, featuring many of the ladies highlighted here.

http://rockhall.com/exhibits/women-who-rock/

Moving on

I cannot overstate the amount of chaos swirling around me. It feels like the tornado scene in Wizard of Oz. However, things are theoretically looking up around here as we are getting ready to shed the midwestern funk that has been accumulating. I'm not an All-American Rejects fan, but their tune "Move Along" seems appropriate today as we struggle to keep things balanced while upending our world. For a while we will be just barely holding it together. I'm boldy pushing through while Mr. Imo? battles a severe case of "senior-itis". Yaz busted his eye open on a door, Katydid is suffering late night internal pyrotechnics and Macaroni's general inability to cope with change is manifesting itself in a sound I can only describe as stuck pig.

"When everything is wrong we move along".

Go Team.



SONG OF THE DAY:

"Move Along" - All-American Rejects

Everybody's got the fever

All this chaos has manifest itself physically. Everybody's got the fever. I may be out for another few days, then I promise I will be back to normal.


SONG OF THE DAY:

"Fever" - Peggy Lee

I'm Back

Well , I had a delightful time in Italy with Katydid and my sister. Katydid was over the moon the whole time and was joined at the hip with her best friend from the time they woke up to the time they crawled into that little twin bed together and eventually fell asleep. I am so glad my daughter has such a perfect best friend, we just all wish we didn't live on opposite sides of the world of one another.

SONG OF THE DAY:

"We're Going to be Friends" - The White Stripes

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