Viva la Feminista

I get a lot of pitches to cover musicians and musical acts. My usual screening is based on my time and a quick web search. That's when I realized that Sarah Potenza is not the usual musical artist. She's making waves with the title track of her album, Monster , including its fun video (posted at the bottom of this post). I had the chance to chat with Sarah as she prepares to return to Chicago for a show at The Hideout on Saturday, November 12th . This is not a transcript, but taken from notes.   VLF: I really enjoyed your album. Right now you are getting a lot of praise for your song, Monster. It has been called an empowerment song. Over the past few years, empowerment has been used to describe a lot of things. So what does empowerment mean to you? Potenza : Empowerment is something that makes you motivated. Something that makes you feel a certain way. I read something about body love and since then, over the past year I have made an evolution about how I feel and see m...

On Friday American Masters premieres Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl . In Chicago it will air at 9:30 PM. Everyone else, check your local listings. I haven't had time to preview this documentary for a review, but I am excited for this! When I was growing up, much of the music in our house was country and western music. My first concert was seeing Kenny Rogers. We watched Hee Haw and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters. Loretta Lynn was everything back then. I did not realize how revolutionary she was until I was older. I do remember not quite understanding how popular culture reduced women in country music to "Stand By Your Man," when I knew them by Loretta, Dolly and Barbara. If you need evidence of Loretta's feminist ways, take a peek at the clip below. Then check out the full documentary Friday night. EDITED TO ADD: It has come to my attention that Loretta is a Trump supporter . My heart is crushed. More evidence that even bad ass women are not pe...

This is how you know that I was not a good riot grrrl. I worshiped the shit out of Alanis Morissette. I've heard all the critiques of Alanis. That she was too pop to be real riot grrrl, but to one 20-year-old young woman trying to find her place in the world, Alanis was the perfect amount of anger at the right time. Every.single. song. on that album spoke to me. And the fact that there was the hidden track? OMG! Mind blown at the audacity. "All I Really Want" is still one of the best openings to an album. "What I wouldn't give to meet a kindred," spoke truth to the fact I was lacking in close friends at the time. I had friends, but somehow I had failed to make really close friends. I missed a lot during college. I also have a concert tee that says "Intellectual Intercourse." "You Outta Know" is my go-to karaoke song because even 20 years later you can get a room full of women to scream out "YOU OUTTA KNOW!!" at the top of...

I will admit that I was not a huge fan of Janelle Monae before I found myself at her free-ish (lawn free, pavilion seats cost money) concert as part of the Illinois Lottery Anything's Possible Music Series at the Taste of Chicago on Thursday. I had heard of her (who really hasn't, right?) and all that jazz, but I never went out of my way to truly discover her. Well I discovered her on Thursday as if I had discovered chocolate by falling into a vat of fudge. It was that delicious. I now see why she has such passionate fans. From where we were sitting, we could see them. My favorite was a boy about 12 who was there with his mom. Clearly this was an event that might be the best night of his year. He was dancing and singing along with her all night. He was also doing that fanboy thing where he has to occasionally shake out his excitement. ADORABLE! There was also a pair of young men in the front center row who were doing the same thing. But the winner was a little girl about 3 o...

I grew up listening to country & western music in the late 70s and early 80s. I still feel like it is a classic period for this genre and Dolly Parton is certainly one big reason. While people only see a walking Barbie doll, I see a lyrical genius. And yes, this is totally a result of me seeing all the other lists posted on people's FB pages and me thinking, "Oh, these should be a list of..." So here you go: 1) Coat of Many Colors:   "My coat of many colors that my momma made for me, made only from rags, but I wore it so proudly." 2) Jolene: "Your beauty is beyond compare, with flaming locks of auburn hair, with ivory skin and eyes of Emerald green. Your smile is like a breath of spring, your voice soft like summer rain, and I cannot compete with you, Jolene." 3) 9 to 5: So many great lines in this one! "Pour myself a cup of ambition" "For service and devotion, you would think that I would deserve a fair promotion"...

I always chuckle when I get a pitch to review music. I think I have a weird taste in music that often goes for the most commercial sounds, as I listen to more music on the radio than hitting clubs to discover something new and indie. Yet I also love rock music that is mostly guitar and screeching boys (see: The Offspring) and folk music (see: Dar Williams). Which is why I rarely do music reviews. Anyone I do review means that they touched me in some way. For Wise Girl , they made me dance! I was identified as a reviewer because in a guest blog post for Infectious Magazine , Abby admitted, "It is tough being a woman running the show, especially on the business side of things," and in an article for The Sound Alarm , she advised women to "love yourself for who you are no matter what shape or size, don’t listen to what the media says is standard." I especially loved her definition of "being one of the boys." So crank up your speakers or plug in your e...

Did you know that Tylan of Girlyman has a solo CD, One True Thing ? Well, you probably do because her Kickstarter was a smashing success! I was lucky to chat with Tylan about this and much more. Viva la Feminista: You were recently in Chicago to play at Space (actually in Evanson). How was the show? Tylan: The show was amazing. It was honestly one of the best shows on the tour. The place was packed with love and support. VLF : Who are your musical influences? Tylan : I like really great songwriters. Paul Simon was the first one I obsessed over. Springsteen, Patty Giffin, Indigo Girls....and a lot of my peers who are not famous, but are playing shows and writing great music. VLF : So...pick one act who most of us don't know about, but should? Tylan : Oh, don't make me choose! (long pause...Jeopardy music....). Coyote Grace is a trio, and yea, my partner is in the act. But really, they are so talented. Their songwriting is so good and performances are so exciti...

Today is not only a day for chocolates & flowers, but a day for radical acts as we work towards a day free of violence against women & girls. Fifteen years ago Eve Ensler declared Valentine's Day, V-DAY . To celebrate 15 years, she's throwing a global dance party! 1 Billion Rising. Chicago is in on the act too. And friend of VLF, Alejandra O'Leary has a special Valentine's Day tune for us to dance to How ever you celebrate today, I hope you are surrounded by love!

Do you remember the TV show, Rags to Riches [ video ]? Well that spurred an obsession with 1950s-60s music that held me in its grasp for a few years. I especially loved the girl groups and their super cute matching outfits. But it was their pop hooks that reeled me in. I never got fully into riot grrrl, as I was more of a hip hop gal. I also steered towards radio friendly grunge pop like The Sundays . Which is why it shouldn't be a surprise that I really enjoyed Broken Mirror Baby by Alejandra O'Leary . When I popped it into the CD player on the way to work, my husband said, "If only Q101 were still around." At least the Q101 from my high school and college days, where they played grunge pop. O'Leary's music is fun, especially @ the club , the opening track. It's not too safe, but it's hella fun. And fun music is exactly is called for during the blah days of fall/winter in Chicago. The music will make you think you found a lost CD from ...

My name is Martha Carolona Preciado and I am an expert in progressive political grassroots movements pertaining to Latina women because of my involvement and political ideals. How are you embracing/could you embrace the role of public intellectual? Before music there was politics. I was completely involved in progressive grassroots movements for Latinas as the chair of La Coalición for a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. addressing the needs of the Chicano/Latino/Hispanic community. Now with my involvement in the music industry I have faced objectification and demeaning attitudes towards women in the industry. A continuous derogatory viewpoint, the concept of "groupie". I constantly encounter negative comments of my presence backstage of a show or my friendships with males in bands thus having to validate my work and is some ridicule manner apologize for being a woman. "She must be a groupie", as a response to my presence and overlooking my ...

I am totally unqualified to review this book as I totally missed the Riot Grrrl moment. On the other hand, I totally dove into the Lilith Fair moment, so I think that I could write the rebuttal or sequel to Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music by Marisa Meltzer , as Meltzer says she never attended Lilith Fair. But I don't hold that against her. Girl Power is a quick read. In fact I dare say that it's a must have on your summer 2010 reading list. It's not fluffy, but at only 145 pages, it delves thru the 1990s women's music scene quickly and in fairly accessible language. In other words, Meltzer doesn't compare Avril to Courtney by using uber-academic jargon. Because of that, I'd also say that this would make an awesome book group selection. I can only imagine the music throw downs at the Women & Children First Feminist book group. As someone who missed the Riot Grrrl moment, I really appreciated reading about how it came about, got popular and ...

My iPod is almost like a mini-Lilith Fair in that it's chock full of Sarah, Indigo Girls, Ani, Dixie Chicks, Catie Curtis and so forth. As I was driving home from work today, I was listening to Sarah McLachlan and her voice so fit the scene of a snowy Chicago. Oh, how I miss Sarah! And no, a greatest hits album isn't enough for me. (BTW - I have no idea how I thought I could get my hair to look like hers in this pic, but I tried!) But it got me thinking...if Sarah or someone else were to resurrect Lilith Fair, who would I want to be included? So my dear readers, let's take a moment out of the hustle & bustle of the holidays and the insanity of politics. Who would you want to see in Lilith Fair - The Revenge? Did you ever scan the list of the kick ass women who did play Lilith Fair ? Damn... edited to add: My choices include all the kick ass women from the actual tour. My choices include: Taylor Swift - Yeah, she's bubble gum country, but I think she could kick it P...

Whoooooo...wee! Is it a Work it, Mom day! I am pooped and see no rest for this wicked mama. First up, my post today at Work it, Mom addresses some of the confusion that people have about the NOW PAC endorsement of Obama/Biden. It's a bit revealing on the inner workings of NOW, one of the most crazy and passionate organizations I could ever be involved with. Last night one of my aunts got married & I spent some overdue time with aunts & uncles who live in the burbs. The problem with my dad's side of the family is that when we all left our suburb, I went east to Chicago and they went west to the hinterland suburbs. So it's rare for any of us to really be in each other's neighborhood without a major event happening. Since my dad's sister got married he came into town and took the kid off our hands. I was able to have dinner with Cinnamon and Lauren. I also coined a new term - Poiserati - for those of us gals with Poise bags. Yet somehow we failed to take a pic...

R@d@r asked this about a post from last week: as a songwriter/musician i am very interested in this question of whether a feminist "should" be into certain booty-shaking jams. (i know you were just being flip but this is actually something i think about.) chris rock did a whole routine about it that was pretty interesting as well as funny. my wife, who is a pretty hardcore feminist, really really loves "the seed 2.0" by the roots & cody chestnutt, in fact it is one of her favorite songs - but if you actually listen to the lyrics they're pretty horrible. i know that a lot of people enjoy songs and ignore the lyrics, but as a singer and writer of lyrics this disturbs me (or, perhaps it's just a blow to my ego). it's a phenomenon i find curious. My friends know that this is one of my side issues...meaning that it's a great question, but one that I try to ignore as it reveals so many hypocrisies about myself as well as the movement. And honestly, I...

I'm a child of the '80s and thus grew up in the hey day of MTV. You know, when they actually showed music videos and the non-music shows were related to music (Remote Control 4EVER). So I logged more than my fair of time watching, acting out music videos and yes one of my favorites is " Love is a Battlefield ."A few years ago I heard of a new summer camp for girls - Girls Rock! How freakin' kewl is that? One week learning the ins and outs of an instrument, writing music, and forming your own band? Hell yes! Can I be 10 again? So when I received an email about a Girls Rock! movie, I was so all over it. Watch it. I'll wait for ya... Yeah, now you want to be 10 again too, eh? I have to admit that I cried like a baby watching the trailer. While I grew up post- Title IX , it was also pre-Girl Power. I hung out with the boys during recess because I liked playing sports, I liked getting dirty and honestly kicking their butt (seriously, no matter how many times I wo...