Tuesday, March 27, 2007

girlie vs. grrl

is it just me, or has the world become completely and depressingly confused between what is "Riot Grrl" music and "shitty whiney cute girl" music?

how blatantly anti-feminism is it so sing in toothpaste/cookie jingle melodies about boys and beaches and being happy? gimme the angst that i call home in music, ladies!

if its going to be softcore music, please at least make it slightly dreary. dont lets bring in the bonnie-tyler's-nodes-sounding guitars and a bubbles-of-the-powerpuff-girls vocalist whimpering a la fivel about carelessly loving a boy. do not give me this, because A) i will stomp you, metaphorically. B) it will get stuck in my head, and i will end up singing "he's a real good laaaater operatorrrr!!!" whilst bobbing my head all day long.

lets talk The Pierces. dreary, nonchalant, clearly they have the sibling twinspeak going for them. unless im mistaken and theyre white stripes siblings... or were they really siblings and lied about the marriage? whatever. the pierces, who are theoretically what ME AND MY SISTER COULD HAVE BEEN! *has a washed up starlett breakdown in the style of blanche dubois*

the only pseudo-whiney technically almost sort-of "riot grrl" esque but moreso very indie band i support consciously is The Arrogants. sure, theyre kinda cute. but they also spit lyrics like:

"that's it, i've heard too much to stay
i think you're crazy anyway
good thing i only like your taste in shoes
it's not like i enjoy your smile
it's not like i look in your eyes
and ever feel more than a thing or two..."

as gollum would say, we likes this song. its to the point, its honest, its fun. the arrogants have the style of being versatile, touching all aspects of emotion (except, maybe, anger or fright). alright lets say happy, depressing, smitten and hopeless. whats not to love? please look at their site now: http://www.arrogants.com

now compare to the All Girls Summer Fun Band: http://www.agsfb.com/
not only sporting an incredibly annoying scrolling linkbar thing (to avoid laymens terms) but BEING an incredibly annoying... thing.

im sorry, or not, but please listen to the music and argue me if youd like. ga'head. i got my gloves up on this one.

point being: how easy is it to make a "riot grrl" band these days? get a girl with a bob, take some 70s looking pictures, sing in a "cool kid" voice, sometimes harmonize in a fun way, play some guitar and a little bit of drums, maybe bite your lip a little... alls im sayin is hey come on ney, we were onto something! we could totally have a cult following if nothing else if we released those gems we conjured up back in the day!

but nowadays everyones got a band, and a myspace page for that band, and no record deal. so i guess stick to being a fan. and for starts, go look at:
thepiercesmusic.com and arrogants.com
then proceed with a bittersweet attitude and retro striped shirt with a circle skirt and flats.

choice songs: "Lights On" The Pierces
"Secret" The Pierces
"Kill, Kill, Kill" The Pierces

"Cool Shoes" The Arrogants
"Butterflies" The Arrogants
"Future Classic" The Arrogants

enjoy, kids.

No comments: