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

["Dina Hornreich" <dina.hornreich AT gmail.com>]

Dear Friends,

 

First, an apology for being so absent from the list for so long. My personal and professional lives have been consuming my energies: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical. From moving to Denver and starting my first "real" full-time teaching job, to my father's nearly two-year long battle with pancreatic cancer (finally ending with his passing in November '06), I have had a lot on my plate. I am pleased to share with you the news that I will be getting married this summer and the wedding will be back in my hometown near New Haven, Connecticut.

 

OK, I do have a few things that I want to mention to you nice folks. First of all, I have to say that the Girl Monster 3cd compilation is simply amazing. I am honored that this listserv helped inspire such a tremendous collection of (mostly) women artists. Seeing the Typical Girls list actually mentioned in the newspaper/booklet/insert thingy really brought me up. My fiance gave it to me as an early Hanukah present upon my return home from my father's funeral in CT. The GM music has been on my mp3 for several months now. Often, I listen to it while hiking through the Colorado mountains. Truly invigorating!

 

Another thing I wanted to mention is that I finally saw the "Don't Need You: The Herstory of Riot Grrrl" DVD and enjoyed it immensely. Sharon Cheslow is among the many wonderful people interviewed in this film, and I have to say that she is tremendous! Not only does the give props to the women of the TG era who inspired her, but she articulates the importance of the RG movement itself. If you don't know already, Sharon is the reason Typical Girls exists. So befriend her on myspace, buy her music, see her shows, read her zine, watch her videos, look at her photos, interview her for your zine. She is one helluva rockin' babe -- http://sharoncheslow.com !

 

Also, I am excited that Vickie from Dogma Probe has joined us; and that Helen McCookerybook is finally publishing her book on Lost Women of Rock. Both Helen and Vickie are also on myspace and have websites, so befriend them and hear their stuff as well!! (Here is the cover for Helen's book -- http://www.mccookerybook.com/blog/uploaded_images/Redddingtoncover-788788.jpg )

 

Finally, I am just getting into this neat book called The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGBs: A Secret History of Jewish Punk. So far, I am really enjoying Beeber's analysis. I haven't yet read the chapter called, "The New JAPS (Jewish American Punks): Jewish American Women and the Birth of Female Punk," however I can already tell it overlooks some women celebrated on this listserv. I seem to have a vague recollection of hearing that Ari-Up and Lora Logic are Jewish and I don't see their names in the index. Anyone familiar with this book who wants to chime in? Maybe we should write an addendum for him!!!

 

Any word on those Prag Vec reissues????

 

Thanks for reading.

 

-Dina