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typicalgirls - [TypicalGirls] Two Large Cents Worth

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

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  • From: TnA <sasscer1 AT bellsouth.net>
  • To: typicalgirls AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [TypicalGirls] Two Large Cents Worth
  • Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 13:32:16 -0400

Two women primarily known heretofore as 'girlfriends who sing' enter a new decade on their own terms

Yoko Ono Walking on Thin Ice (originally a 1981 single, available on cd reissue of Double Fantasy) Although known in some circles as a daring conceptual artist since the early 60's, Ono was catapulted into the mainstream media through her association with John Lennon. Mostly reviled or ignored by the media throughout the 70's, she in fact followed her muse to places even artists are wary of, and in the process inspired men and women with ears and hearts to go boldly forth. On this song, however, the harrowing emotional exorcisms that she had previously explored in avant-garde territory was enveloped in the commercial form of a rock song, and coupled with the worldwide shock of her husbands' death meant that many people were exposed to the music, and finally 'got it'. As far as the mainstream media was concerned, Yoko Ono was henceforth a 'legitimate' artist. As for the song, it is fucking great. I still remember the resonance of this song at Live Aid, several years after its release, as a glimmer of 'truth' on that long day of earnestness.

Marianne Faithfull Broken English (1979 ISLAND) I was just as surprised as most people when this record came out, but I loved it immediately. Like ONO, there is a tinge of avant-reggae in some of the songs here, and of course there is the superb Lennon cover of Working Class Hero, but ultimately this is the sound of a woman expressing what she feels and how she sees things as a self-realized human, not as a 'pop star' or 'ex-girlfiend of'. The Ballad of Lucy Jordan (Shel Silverstein, f'crissakes!) and Guilt sound like issues real women have and can relate to, and Broken English and Why D'ya Do It are great modern love songs...or at least cool songs about love.

Both of these women made absolutely up-to-the-minute contributions to the modern rock canon. At the time, however, it didn't occur to me that they are both women, or that they were both previously known as accoutremonts of male rock stars...just that these were great pieces of music. And that is one of the many things about TYPICAL music that I have always loved...how women were integrated into bands on their own terms, for their own reasons...and then letting the music speak for itself.

Tim SASSCER





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