Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa 1975-1980s)

[Lizzie Ehrenhalt <dancingvioletsnail AT yahoo.com>]

what an amazingly great response.  her "Is that all we are, stilleto wearing people ?" question was particularly spot-on.  and  it's interesting that beth, lily and karen o are not exactly the world's biggest champions of the stilleto heel.  i doubt any of them has ever performed in them.  beth is often barefoot onstage and karen o loves her converse, as lily does her sneakers.  where'd the stilleto thing even come from?  it's just factually wrong.

lizzie

josh cheon <jcheon AT gmail.com> wrote:

lily allen wrote this on her blog..
 
http://www.lilyallenmusic.com/

"I probably shouldn't be writing this , but I have to get it off my chest . I am not a big fan of the NME , as they sold me down the river when I last talked to them , I did and interview and made a sarcastic joke using the word "gak" which is slang for cocaine . They glorified my joke and used it out of context , then their public relations dept , contacted the tabloids in a shameful attempt to sell more copies . And , I have ever since been known as " Lily Allen , Pint sized potty mouth popstar who once admitted she would celebrate her no 1 single by taking cocaine ! " .

Thanks NME . Now , I have read many articles in the NME , where male band members freely admit to, or associate themselves with the taking of drugs , and I havent seen many of them ending up in the tabloids . Take Klaxons for example, and the ongoing MDMA references. " MDMAZING " I believe was the title of a recent article ( how responsible! ) .

The only reason I can think of , for recieving such a different form of treatment , is because I am a woman . I did recieve a written apology from Conor Mcnicholas ( the editor) . But i vowed never to work with the NME agian . As I thought, if there was one publication I could trust and be frank with , it would be the theirs .

Anyway , I was aproached by them again , with regards to the "Cool List Issue 2006" , five women had made it into the top 10 and , subsequently we (the women) were asked to pose for photos to be the main feature for the cover . As I said before , I vowed not to work with them again , but as the context was so important ie; a a strong female presence in music . I thought i might aswell put aside my differences and do it . Now i don't care for " the cool list " , and I said this to them in the interview , which is probably why they didn't print it . I don't really think the NME are in any position to tell us who is cool and who isn't , personally I don't think a bunch of people sitting in an office drinking tea , inventing musical genres , and watching Nathan Barley DVD's are leading any kind of cool brigade , do you ? But i did find it interesting that they wanted to put five women on the cover , and wanted to name 2006 , our year .

I went to get a copy yesterday , and this is what we ( the women ) got . Another fuckin MUSE cover . I like Muse , infact , Black Holes and Revelations , is one of my favourite albums of this year . But the NME have covered them so much this year already .

Now usually you might expect a call , just out of courtousy telling us we had been pulled off the cover , but we recieved nothing .

This is Conors ( the editors) comments on this issue , He has obviusly put out some press release , stating how supportive the NME is to women in music

Conor McNicholas, the editor of NME, said he was pleased that the Cool List was full of women who had brought "new energy" to the music world.

"This year's Cool List is a testament to the raft of hugely talented women who have taken hold of the music scene in 2006," he said. "From Beth to Lily to Karen, they've brought new energy to a scene dominated by men. They're also living proof that you can still rock a crowd when you're wearing stilettos."

I mean how fucking patronising " you can still rock a crowd wearing stilletos "

Is that all we are , stilleto wearing people , is that all he could say ,that we brought a " new energy" to the music scene . Don't make me sick , wev'e always been here you arrogant prick , this was your chance to actually show you meant it . And instead you put Muse on the cover . Cause you thought that your readers might not buy a magazine with an overweight lesbian and a not particularly attractive looking me , on the front . Wankers .

You should take your heads out of you New Rave arses , and actually think about your responsibilities to youth culture , and to women in general .

Oh and by the way , theres not enough RAVE in New Rave ."

On 11/25/06, Alex Milopoulos <amilopoulos AT yahoo.co.uk > wrote:

What a stupid comment about female musicians this guy made!  Pathetic.

 

Alex

 

>Conor McNicholas, NME editor, said: "This year's Cool List is a
>testament to the raft of hugely talented women who have taken hold of
>the music scene in 2006.

>"From Beth to Lily to Karen, they've brought new energy to a scene
>dominated by men. They're also living proof that you can still rock a
>crowd when you're wearing stilettos."

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Lizzie Ehrenhalt
MSI candidate, School of Information
University of Michigan
616 Wesley Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
BLOG: http://www.pogoprincess.blogspot.com
CELL: 703-945-2112

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