Music News: August 27th, 2016

The New Yorker reminds us that nostalgia is what really drives the music industry these days.

There is an all lady tribute to Devo called We Are Not Men. Thank you universe.

I spy a lot of old friends in this traveling photography exhibit curated by Mark Beener called Still Screaming. It also reminds me that the world of punk and hardcore through the '90s was a lot of dudes but glad to see Toko from The Van Pelt and Arabella from Jejune among the images.

Apple doesn't no jack. Industry talk says the new iPhone won't support the typical headphone jack. Music fans have yet another reason to be frustrated with a brand that feels less cutting edge and more like a dying cult these days. And if you don't believe me, here is reminder that iTunes turned 13 and "it is still awful".

Two bad ass ladies of color in punk from two different generations talk over tacos.This short film with Michelle from Spitboy and Christine of Try the Pie is tremendous.

Pitchfork schools us on the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

We continue to have a sexual assault problem at music festivals but what exactly are we doing about it?

We can always use a reminder that Pylon is one of the best bands to ever come out of Athens, GA. Don't worry, even R.E.M. and the B-52s agree.

Did you know there is a book that compiles every film that includes punks or new wavers? It exists and it is called Destroy All Movies. The celebration of the 40th anniversary of punk also carries on in London. While we are talking the U.K., hero status, Poly Styrene. Lastly the Amy Winehouse foundation opened up Amy's House, a 16- person home for women recovering from drugs and alcohol.

I know they are cute but you really, really should not buy a Crosley turntable if you care about fidelity or your records. Keep them away from your record collection at all cost!

Turn your favorite ticketstub into a swank doormat.

The great news is 29 private sector companies including Apple and Facebook have signed a pledge to commit themselves to helping close the gender pay gap for their employees. The bad news is that this is still an issue at all. Thanks guys?

Backyard report, my friend and favorite local DJ Sara Gossett talks Richmond in giving us the perfect "staycation"  via a wonderful Anna Goldfarb piece on Kitchn.

Our band recently played a benefit in Philly to help end rape culture. In between bands Kevin from Mercury Girls DJ'ed and at no point during the day was I ever disappointed. He has been kind enough to post his entire set (links for every song!) which is seriously a must check out for fans of girl groups spanning the past 60 years from all over the world.  

Inspired by the pages of fashion magazines, self taught artist Helen Rae who now at age 77 is both deaf and non verbal, had her fist solo art show. Not only did all of her detailed colored pencil pieces sell out immediately, she has become an outsider art sensation and with good reason. Up next, a show in Paris.

Hey! You! This is a reminder that you can be a mother and still be a successful artist.

Touring as a musician with a chronic disease is exhausting but it allow you to channel pain and frustration in important ways. Rachel Browne of Field Mouse shares her personal experience.

Folk music's answer to Billie Holiday; get to know Karen Dalton.

Australia's feminist music convention LISTEN returns in October.

UMG doesn't like Apple after another one of their artists (Frank Ocean) has worked out an exclusive deal that limits digital sales and marketing with a larger group of partners, the stuff that big businesses don't appreciate when they have heavily invested in them. UMG has decided to ban the practice of exclusive streaming which seems ironic since they were the ones who love giving major chains like Best Buy or Target exclusives in the physical world of CDs.

Beverly Watkins is a 77 year old Blues guitar player that says slowing down is not an option.

This is a half fast but well meaning collection of NYC venues/clubs that no longer exist in a photo form was a nice trip down memory lane regardless.

Speaking of Frank Ocean, could visual album releases be music's newest format?

Copyright violations are the flesh eating bacteria of the music industry with sites like YouTube (tech companies) acting as the filthy germ spreaders.

Ending with this beautiful Santigold video, a collab with Kara Walker.

Feminist Friday : A Weekly Round Up for July 1, 2016

"I've worked in the music industry for 30 years. In that time, my boobs have gotten me into serious trouble. Stacie Huckeba shares her experiences via Huffington Post.

Oklahoma City is getting a music festival this August that is a celebration of women artists and musicians called AMP.

Francesca Allen photographed a few up and coming ladies in music for Noisy.

The Le Sigh site is my kindred spirit.

Loving this episode on The Future of What about the daunting world of trying to book shows - including the difference between booking agents and talent buyers. Interviews include Josh Brinkman (booking agent), Velena Vego (talent booker at Athen's, GA 40 Watt venue and hopefully we will have our own interview with her here soon), and Eric Gerber (Doug Fir Lounge portland venue). Booking shows is maybe my least favorite aspect of being a musician so I truly appreciate this 101 on booking.

Dozens of sexual assaults were reported at Swedish music festivals.

Music is bringing new life to female prisoners.

Vancouver has a new all-female chamber orchestra because Canada is the coolest.

Global Goals are making people rethink the Spice Girls' message and what we really, really want. Equality, safe spaces. an end to violence, equal pay, and you know, that sort of thing.

There are two documentaries highlighting the musical genius of Delia Derbyshire, pioneer of electronic music.

The Blake Babies' music has been a huge inspiration to me over the year. I am super excited to own this new Earwig demo collection (out today!) and wish I lived closer to Boston or Chicago to catch one of their reunion shows. Member John Strohm has also written a smart piece about making peace with moving making music from a career to a pleasurable hobby.

I can't even handle it. We lost another historical landmark in the world of American records stores. Good-bye Aquarius.

Cult legend Laura Nyro deserves your attention and you probably don't even realize all of the reasons why.

Singer Kelis has turned up in a London kitchen.

On a personal note, I am placing my record label on hold for now. My full explanation can be found here.

The highlight of the week goes to Neil Becton, owner of Som Records in DC bought some photos of Betty Davis live performing back in the day at a flea market of all places. Stunning stuff! Plus Light in the Attic also happened to have recently released The Columbia Years collection (produced by then husband Miles Davis) so thanks Neil for celebrating this awesome score with friends.

Feminist Friday : A Weekly Round Up

Safe show spaces only happen when we make it so. Here are a few highlights from Fuse.TV but a shout out to Beach Slang who are also a part of this movement and not mentioned here.

Dear Gibson Guitars, women are very important part of your history so please don't ignore it. I have always stood on team Gibson as a player but that could easily be changed.

What is the deal with cis male bands who pick mis-gendered names? It's not an ironic choice to me as an actual woman in music who has dealt with so many hurdles over the decades.

Hutch from the Thermals wrote a darn fine personal account about the frustrating aspect of band life when it comes down to trying to hold down a day job because music doesn't really pay. Note: band press which looks like popularity does not equal actual money coming in for human beings who make art. Social media likes do not translate into something creatives can pay the bills with.

However sexual assaults at concerts are still happening and at festivals, in mass.

It turns out that when nobody shows up to an author's reading, it feels just like a band with no audience.

The weirdest thing I read this week related to Kim Gordon, a coyote, and a Whole Foods parking lot.

NYC, I am very sorry your record stores are having a hard time keeping doors open. Our small city of Richmond, VA has kept more than 7 around for years now so perhaps it is time to visit us.

I very much enjoyed this piece by NPR about the forgotten women of Classical music.

Drummer wanna get some? Here are 10 funk beats I wish I knew how to play.

When you say stupid things, we are here to tell you and if it happens to be in front of a large audience, so be it.

Kickstarter as a possible A&R source? Molly thinks so.

Compact Discs and why we can't quit you quite yet.

Since 2011 these Muslim ladies have been blending their culture with hip-hop dance and it is beautiful reminder that music and art connects us all as humans.

Music-tech start ups are getting it all wrong according to Jim McDermott

Manko madness in Japan, art from the other down under.

Does your skin get off on music? Learn about skin-gasms here.

Girl in the Pit

Five teen girls have recently started an awareness campaign to help eliminate sexual assault at concerts. Their twitter account is called GirlsAgainst .

The call to action is quite simple. First make people aware that it happens. Then offer a few different tactics to cope with it as the situation unfolds. Even better, you can help prevent it from taking place at all. The most important thing in any sexual assault situation is to let the victim know they are not alone so the GirlsAgainst site also serves as a place for music fans to share their experiences. These tweets let a band know that a fan has experienced a horrific trauma during their performance. It make venues aware that their bouncers should not only be on the look out for these situations but remove those committing the offense from a show immediately. For me the most important piece of this puzzle is educating fellow audience members and alerting them to the fact that they have the power to help in this situation. If you see something that looks like sexual assault or abuse, say something. Ask the victim if they need help. Get them away from the person (or sometimes persons) assaulting them. Get security involved. Just whatever you do, don't ignore the crime. THIS IS A CRIME. Sexual assault at a show happens all the time and I am not sure which is more maddening, the fact that it happens at all or that people stand by and let it happen. If you are someone who is being attacked, let everyone know around you what is taking place and ask for help. People's attention are often at the band and not around them so it may take screaming to make those around you aware of what is happening. Do not be embarrassed or ashamed. You have not done anything wrong.

I am speaking from personal experience here. I have been going to shows nearly weekly since 1990. I am very well aware of crowd behavior, how quickly a group of people can ignite into a frenzy as soon as their favorite band plays their first note, and when the adrenaline kicks in, frightening things can happen.

There are multiple situations that can make a very large standing audience threatening in a flash. A very packed venue means a lot of strangers pressing up against each other and shifting positions regularly in order to move closer or farther away from the stage, gets drinks, or go to the bathroom. Some people take advantage of this situation as they pass through the crowd. They grope at breasts, asses, and before you can say something or hit them off of you, they are gone. Unfortunately some people also get off on these close encounters with strangers and they will begin rubbing themselves on you in a disgusting dry hump. It seems impossible that this could be happening in front of so many people but when all eyes are on a band and the venue floor is dark, it goes unnoticed but DOES happen.

I was actually once pinned against the stage of Wetlands in NYC at a metal show by a man I vaguely knew from a local band. He started dry humping me and placing his hands all over me. When I told him to stop touching me a number of times, the situation ended with me throwing numerous punches at him and me leaving the show. There wasn't a security person to tell so rather than enjoy the show somewhere else, I removed myself from a space I no longer felt safe in. When I began telling people about the crime this man committed against me, nobody wanted to get involved. It wasn't their business. Every single man in the metal / hardcore scene that also knew him, didn't have the courage to help me or let him know what he did was not only wrong but that it was a crime. It was a genuine sex offense. I was a victim twice.  Not only was I attacked at a show by this monster but then my peers made me feel like I was making a big deal out of nothing. I was devastated. It still enrages me to this day. Who knows how many other women this man has done this to or is still doing it to.

There are more experiences like this, especially during my years of going to shows around the tri-state area through the '90s. It wasn't just hardcore or metal shows either; it was all shows. Especially after Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video came out, people (mostly men), decided moshing must happen at every show. I am not kidding when I say every show. The Sundays who are about as calming as a rainy cold day in winter, had to stop their show NYC because the crowd had whipped them into a violent frenzy. As a crowd builds energy and the adrenaline kicks in, almost anything is possible. The strength of this kind of group can move mountains and it can be very easy for a person to fall victim to numerous attacks - not all just sexual.

Again, speaking from personal experience I have had every possible combination of things happen to me at a show and only once was I ever helped.  I kept going to shows, standing close to the stage because I felt it was my right as a fan of the band. I refused to be bullied but pushed, punched, picked up and moved, and groped I was. At a Mudhoney show a group of men made fun of me for being in what they considered a girl free zone at a show (IE the pit) and they picked me up like a bowling ball reaching under my dress, and lifting me from my crotch to then throw me into a crowd surfing situation. By the time I came back down I was far away from those creeps buy it had all happened so quickly that I am not sure I could easily pick them out of a line up or be able to find them among 500 plus people on the floor of the venue with security.

At many of the hardcore shows the attitude by some men was that women shouldn't be in the front area near the stage at all. As a pit began to build, no matter how careful you were to remain on the outer edges of it, there were some people who took great joy in targeting women by pushing them into the pit. Yes, ritual and accepted violence is already taking place in this area but then some people use this opportunity to cop a feel before shoving you as hard as they could in another direction. Again, things happen so quickly, the crowds shift and churn endlessly, so it can be very difficult to deal with an attacker or find security to try your best to try to pick out a person or persons who blend into a uniform look of that music scene. It feels hopeless so you either get used it or you end up standing in the back and avoiding these confrontations all together.

The sad reality is this happened to me so many times that I have lost count. There are thousands of victims just like me who have felt or still feel powerless about it. I believe it is possible to have bands, fellow music fans, and music venue's security working together to stop sexual assault from happening at concerts. We know this crime isn't acceptable under any circumstance so why would the music community want to turn a blind eye to this? Women buy music. Women attend concerts. Women buy merch. Women share and like your music related content. If you won't listen to our voices asking for help, perhaps losing us as a fan, an unpaid marketing tool, and paying customer will be what the music industry finally reacts to.

Read more about women fighting against sexual assault at shows here.