SXSBEST 2016

Atta-Girl secret agent Hilary Langford is in Austin, TX for SXSW and is kind enough to send us some photos to share.

RVA local lady and huge talent, Lucy Dacus at the Longbranch Inn.

Sunflower Bean at Sidewinder.

The Other Girl Group: DJs

For all the times I curse social media, I have so many reason to celebrate it. Recently a friend added me to a closed Facebook group for female record collectors and DJs only. I have been working in record stores since the late '80s and there has always felt like a shortage of women who collect records because we are so greatly outnumbered by men. This FB group has connected a number of us from all over the world and in turn not only am I discovering great records but I am learning about all female DJ collectives I didn't know existed. As you can guess, the number of female DJs is much smaller than the number of men so again, it is thrilling to see so many ladies all over the planet banding together not to play instruments but to play records. 

Here is just a tiny number of them I know about:

Meet Fortyfive Degrees, a six lady collective from Germany.

And hooray for The Beat Mermaids from Copenhagen.

Frau DJs from the UK

I have written about Discwoman in NYC before.

There is another private FB group that has Mixcloud site called Sister that celebrates women in underground club music.

Chulita Vinyl Club in Austin

TGAF are from Paris, France

Honey Power in SoCal

In Japan there is the Twee Grrrls Club.

Siren in the UK

Tell me about more of them and I will add to the list!

And while we don't exist anymore, shout out to my ladies who for a few years there did Cherry Bomb with me in Richmond, VA.

Backyard Report: Christi

Check out Richmond, VA trio Christi who are a modern day version of those criminally unrecognized '60s girl groups that are celebrated on the quintessential Girls in the Garage series.

Sauna Youth, the Other SY

Screw you dark morning sky, daylight savings, and Mondays in general. At least I have some good news to cheer me up. Sauna Youth's 2012 release Dreamlands has been reissued on vinyl via Gringo Records and is out now.

SY (not to be confused with Sonic Youth) are an outstanding artful post-punk 4 piece from London who put out one of my favorite records last year, Distractions.

RIYL Looper and Wire.

Feminist Friday Reading Round Up

Here are some recent news stories that may appeal to the readers of this site.

From Dazed: Feminist groups disrupting bro-tech culture in 2016.

She Shreds will have a showcase at SXSW, read more about it here!

I believe Anita Hill...Sonic Youth knew what was up.

Tired of sexual harassment at music festivals? There may be a cure for that.

Female journalists often interview men in music who cross the line and FYI this is called sexual harrasment.

I have written about this here before. Sexual harrasment at shows is real and it is a crime. Read one women's story here.  Want to make your city feel safer for shows? Create a private FB group where women can post that they would like to go to a show and in turn they find a fellow fan to go with. There is safety in numbers! These private groups are starting to pop up and I think they are a tremendous idea.

25 women under 25 who are killing it according to Noisey. Looking forward to the women over 40 who are keeping shit awesome story next ;)

On point message here and I embrace that some people will mistake strength for being a bitch.

Late night gets real with the Guerrilla Girls.

F*ck Yeah FRIDAY : Helen Love

Formed in the early '90s, Helen Love are best described as a bubblegum power-pop band from Wales.

I love the Ramones. I love adorable disco punk like Bis. I love the chic fun of Stereo Total. Helen Love delivers all of that greatness in one neat package.

Once upon a time they recorded a single with Joey Ramone. Welcome to 1994!

Throwback Thursday w/ a Purpose : X

It is MS Awareness Week and in tribute to the disease that took my mother's life, I have chosen the band X as member Exene Cervenka announced in 2009 her diagnosis of this often debilitating disease of the brain and central nervous system. In MS the immune system attacks the protective cover of nerve fibers that causes the communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Over time, these nerves begin to deteriorate and can become permanently damaged causing a variety of symptoms including the inability to walk, use of arms, and major cognitive issues.

X is an American band that has been making music on and off since 1977. They feature a distinctive male/ female dueling vocals straddling the line between punk and roots Rock. Many thought at the time that a punk band could never cross over into the mainstream but X were among the first groundbreaking bands to do just that.