Have you ever looked at your iPod and realized that well over half of your music has been sung, written, and produced by men? Similarly, have you read music reviews and blogs and find that most of the music recommended to you is made by men? That characteristic in itself is not a bad thing, but it’s a shame that there don’t seem to be as many women making catchy and innovative music in most genres, and that the women who are don’t have as high a profile as men do.
So the goal of this entry, rather than to call on Gender Blender readers to boycott music made by men, is to check out some of these female or female/men offerings, which range from obscure to relatively well known. In the interest of full disclosure, I don’t have a ton of confidence in my music-reviewing ability other than identifying what is good and what is not, so my comments are sparse, and might only relate tangentially to the songs themselves. 🙂
1. School of Seven Bells – Half Asleep
The two female vocalists harmonizing on this track, as well as the soaring, ethereal production, reminds me of The Cranberries and even Coldplay’s “Clocks”, only much, much better.
2. Lykke Li – Dance Dance Dance
Easy, breezy, summer, beach listening. All cliches, but the song is good because of them.
3. Thao Nguyen – Tallymarks
Thao Nguyen provides clever and poignant similes about telling a boy that she likes him.
4. Estelle – 1980
Before gracing us with the BEST SONG EVER (“American Boy”), Estelle rapped about her hard knock childhood and made me stop wishing that Lauryn Hill would record another album.
5. Duffy – Mercy
This song is a different take on the 60s girl group sound that Amy Winehouse revived. Duffy is also British, and between her, Estelle, Amy, and Lily Allen, they’ve mounted a female British invasion that deserves to have as much of an impact as the Beatles and the Stones did.
If you have other recommendations, please let us know in the comments!
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