Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Logisticality
My apologies for my negligence to this blog! Recently, my friends commented on my lack of updates and I felt compelled to attempt to fix up my lofty endeavor, and rearrange the entire structure of this sonic archive! I have been changing all the links on the blog to mediafire, so that they can be downloaded and they look better. I am almost done, but the uploading process is somewhat annoying.
Anyway, the links for all the past shows will be in mediafire form. They, unfortunately, may be split in half, since some of the three hour shows will not upload in a single mp3 form! I will be adding new shows and fixing the old ones already posted. I am hoping to have this done soon.
In addition, the recent shows have been great, and have led me down such interesting paths. I feel as though the recent research I have been doing has expanded my understanding of the concept of genre and the female voice! For instance, I did a show on the female voice--a particularly interesting, complicated, and problematic musical medium, which calls attention to the historical complications of what it meant to use your voice as a female (and here I am thinking of cases of rape, incest, abuse, etc), when your voice was heard, by whom, and who literally had access to their voices. Another show, perhaps my favorite to date, showcased METAL MAIDENS/MAMAS growling and shredding their way to the heaviest parts of my heart. I was lucky enough to have metal maiden and grrrl queen extraordinaire Lindsay Powell (she plays music, Fielded and Ga'an both utterly amazing and wonderful!) as my co-host. That show will be up soon, along with the others!
In the meantime, here is, Somebody Groovy, the best song by the Mamas and the Papas live at Monterey. They really seem to be the highest people alive.
Anyway, the links for all the past shows will be in mediafire form. They, unfortunately, may be split in half, since some of the three hour shows will not upload in a single mp3 form! I will be adding new shows and fixing the old ones already posted. I am hoping to have this done soon.
In addition, the recent shows have been great, and have led me down such interesting paths. I feel as though the recent research I have been doing has expanded my understanding of the concept of genre and the female voice! For instance, I did a show on the female voice--a particularly interesting, complicated, and problematic musical medium, which calls attention to the historical complications of what it meant to use your voice as a female (and here I am thinking of cases of rape, incest, abuse, etc), when your voice was heard, by whom, and who literally had access to their voices. Another show, perhaps my favorite to date, showcased METAL MAIDENS/MAMAS growling and shredding their way to the heaviest parts of my heart. I was lucky enough to have metal maiden and grrrl queen extraordinaire Lindsay Powell (she plays music, Fielded and Ga'an both utterly amazing and wonderful!) as my co-host. That show will be up soon, along with the others!
In the meantime, here is, Somebody Groovy, the best song by the Mamas and the Papas live at Monterey. They really seem to be the highest people alive.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Am I the Same Girl? : THE DIVA APRIL 20, 2009
I have been thinking a lot about the different identities that women are expected/allowed to have. One that seems extremely omnipresent recently, particularly with reference to women making music, is the identity of THE DIVA. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a diva is: "[It. diva goddess, lady-love, ‘fine lady’:
A distinguished female singer, a prima donna.
Yet, the diva has recently been equated to bitch, a difficult woman, or a demanding lady. And, perhaps as a result, female diva artistry has been taken for granted and relegated to the much scorned status of "Top 40"-- not-serious, adolescent music. I am now thinking of the bit of scholarship I have read on the image of the "teeny bopper" by Angela Robbie and how the subcultural identity has created its own space for GIRLS to maneuver. And as we know, tastes, just as much as anything is completely constructed. So I wonder how this type of music has become emblematic of the inauthentic or understood to be not-serious.
This show was my attempt at highlighting some of the women who have been relegated to the "diva" category in popular culture, and understanding them as musicians and artists making music. Let's try to strip away the social conventions of elitist pop-hating ways, and listen to what it means for these women to claim divadom and fully assume that identity.
Divas - This is New Radio
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