You have no idea how hard it was to restrain myself from putting a Culture Club song in this post. But I was good.
Chicks can rock. We know this. I mean, we've all heard Avril Lavigne, right? But, believe it or not, she wasn't the first. Since the dawn of rock music itself, there have been multitudes of females headbangin' right along with their male counterparts. Believe or not, Sarah Palin even tried to form a rock band a few years ago. Much to her dismay, however, The Killers was already taken.
This week I'm going to highlight three songs that I think particularly exemplify the age-old condition of feminine rocktuitiveness. There are many others, of course, but I signed a contract with Lea that binds me to one post a week through 2023. In time, we'll get around to them all. Courtney Love will get her chance to shine.
Pat Benatar - "Outlaw Blues" (mp3|4.05MB)
She's kind of the quintessential Chick Who Rocks, isn't she? And although she had a very steady stream of hits in the early 80s that still get played on the radio today, this -- a fairly obscure track that nonetheless still ended up on her Best Shots compilation (a great overview, by the way, if you must get one) -- has for whatever reason always been my favorite of hers. I think it might have something to do with the fact that, though she does still save room to crank up the amps a bit at the end, there's something atypically restrained about it. Whereas songs like "Heartbreaker" and "Promises in the Dark" go straight for the jugular, this takes time to quietly brood and kick up an uneasy, foreboding atmosphere. And, while both of the aforementioned are great songs in their own right, there's something very effective about "Outlaw Blues"' change-up. Though I wouldn't go so far as to call it chilling (Mrs. Benatar was never exactly a master of emotional manipulation), it's certainly ominous. And, though I'm glad her career went the way it did, I kind of wish she had tried "ominous" on for size a bit more often. It looks good on her.
(from the 1984 album Tropico)
Bjork - "Bachelorette" (mp3|4.81MB)
Bjork scares me. She really does. By all accounts, she should be someone I'm deeply in awe of: she has created a very distinctive image for herself and, in spite of her fame, still seems to maintain complete creative control over her music. So I should be enamored, but I'm not, really. See, she's very inconsistent -- her output ranges from the very good (Post and Homogenic) to wtf (Medulla), her eclectic taste in costuming is a bit on the intimidating side, and in general she just seems like a terrifying person. It's hit-or-miss with her. The good news is, when she hits, she hits. "Bachelorette," the centerpiece of her career-defining 1997 album, is beyond a shadow of a doubt the finest song she's ever recorded. When people cite incredible vocal performances, a reference to this song almost has to be included. She goes in a matter of seconds from sounding frail and gentle to sounding like she's cataclysmically going to destroy the world. The instrumentation mirrors the sentiment: soft, skittering beats are overtaken by swelling string sections that seem to summon giant tidal waves. Her lyrics have never been more compelling, her atmosphere never so singularly striking. So it disappoints me that she's spent so much time honing the demented nattering goofball aspect of her persona when she can just as capably be a storming Olympian goddess. This is one hell of a powerful song.
(from the 1997 album Homogenic)
Scandal - "The Warrior" (mp3|3.62MB)
I'll be the first to admit I don't really know too much about Scandal; I just think this is an incredibly kickass song. This and "Goodbye to You" are really the only two Scandal songs I've ever heard, and that's only because I do listen to the radio from time to time. Still, it's hard to deny that -- for this song at least -- Patty Smyth (definitely not to be confused with Patti Smith) was one tough gal. Like a bit of a warrior herself, she really belts it out here, and the result is one of the catchiest and most memorable power-pop songs of its era. I don't think there's much else to say about it, honestly. It's a simple, straightforward, can-of-whoopass-openin' pop song. And it's great.
(from the 1984 album The Warrior)
And that's it for me this week. I'll see you all next Sunday. Until then, stay tuned -- Lea's got you taken care of for your Midweek Madness and, of course, your Friday Five. Hasta la vista. Baby.
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