July 15 - Oh Land, "Renaissance Girls"

the first in the next theme which is "shit someone showed me/I found on the internet". this one wins many points for the amazing film clip, which is quite a bit about the dancing, a little about the hair and a bit about the clothing.

Oh Land is Nanna Øland Fabricius, a girl from Denmark with an amazing name. There's something catchy about this tune that I'm not quite ready to be bored with yet.

July 14: Something sexy - Abbe May covers Ginuine's "Pony" & Toni Braxton, "You're Makin' Me High"

Pretty sure everyone remembers this song from such times as 1996, when it was all kinds of hit. In 1996 I was 11 so I did think it was an actual song about riding ponies.

But that's ok. Abbe May covered it for triple j's Like A Version last year and put it back on the radar. I like this version more, because it's maybe taking itself a little less seriously than Ginuine (seriously, what kind of name...?) while still being a little bit sexy.

"I'm just a bachelor
I'm looking for a partner
Someone who knows how to ride
Without even falling off"

Speaking of sexy, did anyone else have this on their radar?



Again, 1996 - but unlike "Pony", I figured out what this one was about. Probably because of the use of the phrase "private parts". Hot.

Seriously though, go Toni Braxton - slipping multiple sexual references including masturbation into a popular r&b song is no small feat. Although perhaps things were different for women back in '96. I just think if we're going to get all up in arms about Miley, let's remember this has been going on for a while, women making it clear they're sexual beings. I know it's offensive, but women have been having the sex for as long as men have. Hate to break it to you.

"Can't get my mind off you
I think I might be obsessed
The very thought of you
Makes me want to get undressed
I wanna be with you
In spite of that my heart says
I guess I want you too bad

All I want is
Moonlight, with you there inside me
All night, doin' it again and again
You know I want you so bad
Baby, baby, baby, baby"

July 13 - Willow Smith, "Whip My Hair"

I played this song so. many. times. in 2010. It was my jam. It was good to blast while getting ready to go riding during the 09/10 season in Whistler (even though my housemates weren't quite as stoked on hearing it 3 times in a row as me). It was fucking awesome to ride to - it made me brave for the moments when you know you're going to need extra speed even though a slight miscalculation will result in a fall that makes all the things hurt almost immediately. The film clip is also awesome, energy packed and defiant, sexless (apt for a girl of 10) but tough.

Now my snow days are over, I tend to blast it in my van on the way to work and feel badass for those 3mins 54 seconds. Sometimes that's all the badass you need.

I feel like this song captures a moment in time for me, a moment when I was a strong and fearless boarder, when I didn't care about anything more than when the next snow was coming, whether my board was waxed and my iPod charged, who was riding with me and where the freshest lines would be.

I wax lyrical about this because it was pure happiness. But it did teach me something: that there can be pure happiness just about anywhere.

So some mornings, on my way to work, with this song playing and a cup of coffee precariously balanced by my side, with things to look forward to both in the work day and outside of it, with awesome friends and warm toes, I am pretty damn pleased with myself.

And Willow Smith is right there with me, putting fire in my belly.

"Hop up out the bed, turn my swag on
Pay no attention to them haters
Because we whip 'em off
And we ain’t doin' nothin' wrong
So don’t tell me nothin'
I’m just trying to have fun
So keep the party jumping
So what's up?
And now they don't know what to do
We turn our back and whip our hair and just
Shake em off, shake em off
Shake em off, shake em off

Don’t let haters get me off my grind
Keep my head up, I know I’ll be fine
Keep fighting until I get there
When I’m down and I feel like giving up"

July 12 - TLC, "No Scrubs" & Destiny's Child, "Say My Name"

 These two go together like peas and carrots in my musical memory, so they get to share a post.



I don't know anyone who wants no scrubs. While I'm certain that TLC's double negative has caused confusion for some, for most others, this song's statement causes vehement agreement. A scrub is basically the type of guy I've dated til now, despite listening to this song almost daily for that period of time back in 99, probably a month's worth. I imagine 99's TLC shaking their collective heads in disappointment at my inevitable choice of the very scrub types they were warning me off.

For your future reference:

"If you don't have a car and you're walking
Oh yes son I'm talking to you
If you live at home wit' your momma
Oh yes son I'm talking to you
If you have a shorty but you don't show love
Oh yes son I'm talking to you
Wanna get with me with no money
Oh no I don't want no scrubs"

Recently I decided that the next guy I date must be able to buy his own breakfast. I am sick of buying boys breakfast just so I have someone to come out to breakfast with me. No more, and no scrubs neither.



I know Queen Bey has already had a song in this week's posts, but you know, Destiny's Child in the year 2000 were a force to be reckoned with.

I'm particularly partial to both these songs because of Lydia, who was one of my best friends in the middle highschool years... she loved both these songs and I'm pretty sure owned the singles, when singles were a thing. We listened to them countless times, talked about boys we liked, but also always did our homework. I'm pretty proud of 14 to 16 year old us.

This one is about boys cheatin'. It's bad news. This much my teen self did work out.

It's also about when boys are all talk. Still learning that lesson.

"Say my name, say my name
When no one is around you,
Say baby I love you
If you ain't runnin' game
Say my name, say my name
You actin' kinda shady,
Ain't callin' me baby
Why the sudden change?"

So much wisdom in the late 90s and early 00s.

July 11 - Miley Cyrus, "We Can't Stop"

Seen here with Jimmy Fallon and the Roots, Miley Cyrus's "We Can't Stop" is now a guilty pleasure for me to cover with varying degrees of competency on my guitar. I cannot twerk, but you know, I can play the 4 chords of which this pop classic consists.

While I acknowledge that Miley is doing some things that make some of you angry and uncomfortable, or maybe just hate her outright, or maybe wonder whatever happened to Hannah Montana, I still pick this song. You should hear me sing it in my van on the way to work.

The thing with pop music is, I just can't not. I'm quite ok with being slightly susceptible to catchy tunes carefully formulated with hooks to sell records or generate views or however success is measured for musicians anymore. I'm ok with allowing the part of my brain that identifies with the lowest common denominator to have some candy now and then, even if said 'candy' is full of the musical equivalent of red food dye and chemicals I can't pronounce.

Not even sorry.

"And we can’t stop
And we won’t stop
We run things, things don’t run we
Don't take nothing from nobody

It’s our party we can do what we want
It’s our party we can say what we want
It’s our party we can love who we want
We can kiss who we want
We can see who we want"

I think Miley has actually got a little talent, as seen here in her cover of 'Jolene' by Dolly Parton.  

Also, I don't hate this cover of Lana Del Ray, either.

July 9 - Sheryl Crow, "Strong Enough"

I'm learning this one on guitar after realising how straight-up awesome it is care of Haim's Like A Version cover.

I think I sort of ignored/soaked up Sheryl Crow through osmosis in the early to mid 90s when she was really kicking ass with songs like this, and "Run Baby Run", "All I Wanna Do" and "If It Makes You Happy". So I was learning all the words and I didn't even realise.

I put this in the guilty musical pleasure category of the July Challenge because there's something about the 90s that feels like comfort food for me. Musical comfort food.

She's a really tough and awesome woman, who I believe when she sings things. She has credibility and authenticity. And I like that, a lot. Also, she is a total babe, in the most kick ass way.

This song really resonates lately as I start to wonder what the guy I fall in love with is actually going to be like. He's going to have to be strong enough, that is for damn sure. While I don't agree that it's the man's role to be the strong one, I also don't see the harm in two strong people being together. Otherwise one of them always has to do the carrying, and I ain't talkin' 'bout groceries.

"God, I feel like hell tonight
Tears of rage I cannot fight
I'd be the last to help you understand
Are you strong enough to be my man, my man?

Nothing's true and nothing's right
So let me be alone tonight
Cause you can't change the way I am
Are you strong enough to be my man?"

Also: holy shit, this version with Stevie Nicks. Fucking A.

July 8 - Beyoncé, "Flawless" [feat Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]

I don't even feel I need to say a lot here, do I? Don't we all love the shit out of this amazing lady?

I think the thing about Beyoncé is that she is just badass. I listen to her in the car when I'm on the way to work and the other stuff just won't cut it. Actually, probably fair to say that of all the ladies I'm going to write about this week.

She is all power and lack of apology. She gets what she wants because she believes she deserves it. She may be a complete asshole in real life, although I like to think that she just sasses about the place telling people things and being 100% right. I basically do not want this imagining to be proven wrong, ever.

"Flawless" is a particularly awesome track for its "I woke up like this" factor. I am buying a tshirt with this on it to sleep in. You cannot stop me. It is already in the mail.

I feel like saying "I woke up like this" is one of the most feminist artful ways of saying 'fuck you, beauty things'. Admittedly I am sure Beyoncé looks amazing a lot of the time, but maybe sometimes she forgot to take off her makeup and mixed $5 house red with Campari shots the night before.

Oh wait, that's not Beyoncé.

Here's the kick ass feminist bit for you, also:

And just because I'm feeling all Beyoncé tonight, here's the other one that rocks:



Now go home, learn the dance, meet me out at the club in 3 weeks (that's for you, Chris).

July 7 - Bec Laughton, "Number One (Heartbreak)"

So many feels.

I was lucky enough to see Bec Laughton play a few weeks ago now at the Armidale Club. That night goes down in the books as A Night When Things Happened, but it was also just an amazing night for the music. She played this song towards the end of the set - shortly afterwards she had us dancing to a fuck-off amazing medley of 90s hits, but not before blowing me away with this soulful piece of heartbreak.

I know how it feels, exactly, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I don't mind feeling all the feelings, but sometimes it's a tiring process where it's not so much glamorous melancholia as it is having your tiny heart stomped upon, over and over.

Her voice is ridiculous live - she has perfect control over it; she puts her heart into it in a way that the record kind of captures - but listen, anything this soulful really needs to be felt all around you and ingested in a way that only a live situation can make happen.

It's definitely worth checking her our on Soundcloud. And probably buying her EP.

"They say that heartbreak makes the best songs
I'd know I'd rather not have written this one
And I don't care even if it were to be a number one
Because I can't escape loving you".

July 6 - Julia Stone, "Bloodbuzz Ohio"

This piece of gorgeous and delicious brilliance is a cover of a song by one of my favourite bands, The National. This version is beautiful too, but the clip above one is the one that I found via another favourite YouTube channel, 3eme Gauche.  It reminded me of both my love of The National and my love of Julia Stone.

Not everyone likes her voice; it's a sort of ethereal fairychild's voice. I find it really honest. I find her songs to be pretty lovely too, and I really enjoy her cover choices a lot. Like when she covered "You're the one that I want" from Grease. Amazing. 

The song itself creates this amazing space around it, like a lot of The National's songs. I feel as though Julia's take on it offers a little something different, perhaps makes more of a story of it. It's special when an artist you know can make you fall in love with a song you already loved by another favourite band.

"I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
I never thought about love when I thought about home
I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
The floors are falling out from everybody I know"

July 4 - Bic Runga, "Sway"

A lot of things happening in 1997. I turned 12. I lived in France for 6 months with my family. I had started to get into music as my own person beyond what my mum (with, admittedly, impeccable taste) put on the mix tapes that accompanied us on the long car trips we were often taking (more on my mix tape reminiscence here).

In 1997, New Zealand artist Bic Runga released "Sway". It got used in 99's American Pie, but we won't hold that against it.

"Sway" is a very very simple tale of being out of control in love with someone. At 12, I was so close to thinking I knew what love was. The kind of love where you hold hands sometimes, and share your lunches. The kind of love where you have private jokes, save seats for each other, write their name over and over and over in your school books.

I still want that kind of love.

"And here I go
Losing my control
I'm practicing your name
So I can say it
To your face it doesn't
Seem right
To look you in the eye
Let all the things
You mean to me
Come tumbling out my mouth"

July 3 - Sia, "Elastic Heart" [feat The Weeknd and Diplo]

I have so many reasons to love this one in particular, but it's really about Sia - as I recently observed on Facebook, she is my spirit animal. Of course I currently can't stop with "Chandelier" either, and have pre-ordered the shit out of her upcoming album '1000 Forms of Fear'. She's written ALL the songs, too - not only her own albums, but money-makers for Rihanna, Beyonce, David Guetta ... she's lent hooks to Eminem and Hilltop Hoods, plus more, I'm sure of it.

I also just recently found out she's actually an Aussie - you may well scoff at my lack of knowing of things, my housemates did - but I think it's because Sia started to get better known while I was overseas and stuck in the "hiphop/dubstep/stuff I could steal from my friends" musical loop. That's my story. Anyway, all her being Australian means is that I can include her in my 'Local'-themed Week 1 of this challenge.

"Elastic Heart" is part of the 'Catching Fire' soundtrack. I am part of the Hunger Games fanbase. It's entirely possible I saw it twice at the cinema in the space of a week, I can neither confirm nor deny. The soundtrack definitely didn't suck, and I probably own it.

I really truly got into this tune early this year (I believe it was around the 10th of January, actually) as I collected my van from the mechanic in Gloucester (I don't want to talk about it) and started my way up the hill in the summer heat. It was just me, which I see as a green light to turn up the volume and bellow away to my heart's content. So I completely owned this song by the time I got to the top of the hill, sweaty with a lack of air conditioning and a slightly uneasy feeling about whether I'd make it home.

I like how epic it is - it takes up a lot of space, vocally and emotionally. And the lyrics... so many feels.

"And another one bites the dust
Oh why can I not conquer love
And I might have thought that we were one
Wanted to fight this war without weapons

And I wanted it, I wanted it bad
But there were so many red flags
Now another one bites the dust
Yeah let's be clear, I'll trust no one"

Love stinks. But the chorus is basically like, I've got an elastic heart, so I'll be fine. Which is how I also feel. It's a partly sad inspirational tune. I feel I believe it more when there's a touch of melancholy. Gives it grit and credibility.

Listen to more Sia. Listen to this version of "Breathe Me" and this awkward shower-scene acapella version of "Titanium" ... because every post needs a touch of Pitch Perfect.

You're welcome.



Wondering what I'm up to? Here's the 'why'.

July 2 - Courtney Barnett, "Avant Gardener"

It's an interesting experience to listen to the epic Australian accent on this lady. Perhaps you'll even be little uncomfortable for the first listen, like I was: part of me thinking "holy shit, is she even allowed to do that?" and part of me being like "fuck yeah this chick is just totally and unapologetically being herself".

I wasn't sure I liked her at all until suddenly she was all I wanted to listen to. I actually came across her through her amazing NPR Tiny Desk performance (this is where I get all my new musical loves lately). Courtney Barnett appears to be taking America on and winning in all the ways that it counts, and I fully support that.

Her songwriting is on another level all together. There are so many gems worthy of quotation I almost hesitate to choose one:

"Halfway down High Street, Andy looks ambivalent
He’s probably wondering what I’m doing getting in an ambulance
The paramedic thinks I’m clever cos I play guitar
I think she’s clever cos she stops people dying"

Each song is a story (I completely and absolutely advocate buying her album, The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas - get it here), carefully crafted in a way that sounds slightly familiar, like a friend telling you a story about something that happened to them on the way to the party.

She's a poet and a master, and I bow down.


Wondering what I'm up to? Here's the 'why'.

July 1 - Jen Cloher and Mia Dyson, "Save Me"

Besides the super cute haloumi joke at the beginning of this clip, the song itself is beautiful.

"Save me from what I want" is a refrain that could possibly be my life, and I don't doubt many of you might feel the same way. It's tough to want things that you know you shouldn't want, whether it's haloumi or bad news lovers. Those men that never text you back, you know the ones?

I love women vocalists with deeper voices - they seem to ground a song in something a bit more earthy and solid, making their words instantly grittier and more likely to resonate somewhere in my soul.

I came across Jen Cloher a lifetime ago, when it was summer and I was breaking free of an abusive relationship. I drank beer and sat on my tiny balcony while she sang me love songs and other songs, smelling the city in big gulps to try and drown out my apprehension. Her songs are simple; the chords are ones that even I could play. Her voice is strong, yes, but it's also a bit about the way she strums a guitar with such certainty.

"We were made for ecstasy, we were made for pain. We were made to risk our love and find our way again."



Wondering what I'm up to? Here's the 'why'.

My July Challenge 2014: Women in Music

Last year after being rather put out about triple j's hottest 100 of the last 20 years being men-heavy to the point of a mere 8 songs in 100 being fronted or written by women, I spent a month focusing on women-made musics. You can read all about it over here.

I have been rather busy with my life and feel as though I've been missing out on both music listening time and blogging time, so I've set myself a challenge of writing every day of July about a song or a female artist of the musical persuasion. It means I can catch up on all the recommendations made by both friends and the taste-makers on the Internets, spend time in my room listening to fine things (and sipping whisky, if you must make yourself a mental picture) and generally enjoying myself.

July is a cold month in Armidale and so I think the company of talented ladies singing me all manner of things will warm me up no end.

A post a day. You may have noticed it's the 2nd that I'm starting this challenge, or at least posting about it. My defense is this: Canada Day is July 1st, and I had to drink delicious cocktails and watch a lovely Canadian movie with other appreciators of all things Canadia. But I do have a belated July 1st post for you.

I'm not being particularly political about this, although I guess in the face of many men, listening to and actively seeking female musical companionship may be an act of rebellion, or radicalism, or whateveryoumay. I just think small and amazing things can happen if you put your energy into them.

So this month it is all about the ladies.

Let's go.


Oh, also, by the end of the month I will have made a spotify playlist to share with you. In case you're into it. Alternatively, write me a letter and I might just post you a mix CD.

treasure: we live in cities you'll never see on screen

we live in cities you'll never see on screen
not very pretty but we sure know how to run things



i've had this little buddy in my head non-stop lately. lorde; the best and favouritest of september 2013 (and october, at this rate). get into it.

album review to follow: have just started giving her first LP a bit of airtime, and i might tell you all about it if you're lucky... later.

July music challenge: week 4, or, In Conclusion

I'd like to say that it's taken me this long to get to wrapping up last month's music challenge because I wanted to take some time to reflect, but the truth of the matter is, I just didn't get to it til now.

While I have found myself more likely to put on a female-based playlist this month as an echo of the habit of July, I have enjoyed a whole lot of new music that I was waiting until August to enjoy. And interestingly, what I've found is there's a lot of hiphop in that list. See, besides supporting women artists I'd like to support local artists, so there's a bunch of Aussie MCs I have grown quite fond of over the years; I suspect the love affair started when I was snowboarding, and it's never really gone away.

My ultimate dream-scenario would of course be an Australian female MC. Anyone know anybody? Please do let me know and make me the happiest girl in the world.

Statistically if we look at triple j (see way back to the first post for a link to such things), women are just not getting as much airtime. See also: this article. If women aren't getting as much airtime (let's for fairness sake assume these artists are just as talented as male-fronted bands... because they are) then we're just plain old less likely to get their songs stuck in our heads. Our favourites are partly our favourites from repeat listening, don't you think? If women musicians are statistically less like to be our favourites, we're less likely to buy their records, which means there's less of a market, which means less women are successful musicians, which means there's less of a pool of female-made music to put on the airwaves... and it all goes south at about this point. Understand me here though; I'm not saying you're not allowed to like male musicians anymore, or that you've been tricked into your favourites and you only think you like them. We definitely like what we like, but it's not such a stretch to think about why we like them, in terms of such a simple thing as what we've been exposed to. And I am not giving up Matt Corby for all the First Aid Kits in the sea.

This is the point where I admit it: fucked if I know how to sort this one out. Sometimes it's just awareness, but there is also the fact of your dollar: after a month of listening and admittedly barely scratching the surface of the female talent out in the world, I have to say, the thought of giving preferential spending treatment to female acts appeals. It's investing and being just slightly political with my pennies. For now, that's the best I can do, besides making you all mix cds that I'll be insisting you listen to (this probably won't happen, unless you ask me nicely and tell all your friends about my blog). Let's start a revolution: it would make an impact if we all started giving preference to purchasing music by female artists, or even making a point to request a song by a female artist once a week on triple j. ripple effect, and all that. no action is too small to make a ripple.

In a broader scheme, I have liked putting myself through a 'feminist challenge' - hopefully those of you reading for whom feminism is a squirmy word will realise that small and simple acts can hold a personal political significance. This is where these things start, and I have found it to be quite an easy task. So on top of various other writing-related challenges I'm committing to with my writing, I'm going to start a segment as regularly as I can manage to talk about how I've actively practised my feminist identity. Watch this space, and if it so pleases you, play along.

I'd like to leave you with a few favourites, old and new:

this one, because she's amazing and lovely, and I remember seeing her live at Woodford years and years ago, before she was even a solo act. 



this one, because Flume = awesome, and Asta is a newbie from my July Challenge. I like it; apparently not everyone on youtube does, but meh.



and this one because of 500 days of summer, and because I have a wicked girl crush on Regina Spektor; she is just bloody spectacular.

#30daychallenge day 16: my views on mainstream music

I have a general view on music: I say, music is good.

Music makes you happy, music makes you dance, music speaks to you on some level you hadn't quite articulated yet. Music gets you out of bed in the morning, music grants you joyous collective experience in the form of concerts, fangirling, social occasions where sing-alongs are appropriate.

Music is key.

I've talked a bit about music already, and last month I did a music challenge, where I only listened to female artists. But I probably haven't talked very much about mainstream music (and for all intents and purposes here, I'm interpreting 'mainstream' as 'popular', as in, top 40 artists). These few are not by any means representative of the scope of things, they're just on my radar currently, and that's that.

Taylor Swift:
Let's start here because she's kind of a big deal. Having recently been validated in my secret enjoyment of TaySwift by Tavi Gevinson, I have now gone public with my like of her. Well, by public I mean, I listen to her in my car while I drive to work some mornings. It helps to get me into the mindset of things! and stuff!, both of which are significant to my day. She's very poppy, but still harks to her country roots by mainly singing about relationships, which is how she speaks to a generation of girls and women for whom such things figure high-up on the priorities list. My current favourite song is '22', and I just think she deserves a bit of respect for her achievements at such an early age. Plus she's a bit of a dork, really:




(I also love Zac Ephron, but that's another story)

The only thing I really find to hold against her is her general snottiness about Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's joke at her expense at the Golden Globes this year, because it is important to be able to laugh at yourself, and I mean, everyone knows just how awesome these 2 are, go with it TaySwift! I suspect that sort of down-to-earthiness might develop with time, she is only 23 after all.

Miley Cyrus:
Bah, I don't have much to say personally but she is currently inviting a lot of criticism for her behaviour at the MTV VMA Awards last night; read this article here for a bit of a breakdown of her implicit racsim which I do agree is just not cool. Besides that, I'm not sure she's going off the rails like everyone seems to think, I suspect she's just a tiny bit of a douchebag at this stage in life, and I hope that maybe some of this criticism hits home in some way or how.

I choose not to touch how sexualised her performance is, because I think it's a hyper representation of the fact that sex sells, which we all know is the state of things currently. May it not always be the case that women have to simulate sex on stage for millions of fans to be provocative and popular (although, apparently she's pushed the limits too far; not sure where the line is, but it appears to be pretty blurry, which brings me to my next act...)

Robin Thicke:
I get into trouble here, because I found this single incredibly catchy when I first heard it. Like, put-it-on-a-birthday-mix-cd-for-my-dad catchy. Then, I saw the film clip, which made me think about the lyrics. Then I was put off. But it was still catchy. Which is why I heartily endorse this cover/parody:



A few things I might observe within hearing distance of Robin Thicke, or T.I., or Pharrell Williams (passive-aggressive styles): you're not subverting anything (Thicke holds it's a subversive track, pfft), you're silly, and I make hashtags look way better than you kids ever could.

Lady Gaga:
Nope, just kidding - don't want to touch this one. She sounds pretty cool when Caitlin Moran writes about her, but this burkha crap lately is just nonsense, and embarrassing, and no thank you.

I made an 8tracks playlist which you can check out here of some of my favourite "mainstream" hits that have immediately come to mind... (what is "mainstream", anyway?) - there are some remixes that I like. When the mood is right. You know the one.

Music does connect us... and sometimes it's pop music that means the most to someone- that doesn't make it any less meaningful.

a musical treasure: meghan tonjes covers bon iver's skinny love

i'm a bit sensitive about folks who cover bon iver (funny that, seeing as i've learned skinny love and flume on guitar) but meghan nails it. and is awesome in general, if you have time to watch her on youtube.

secret: I need feminism because I like telling people what I think about stuff

It's hard to believe, but there are a lot of places in the world where a woman does not have a voice. I grew up with my voice splattered all over the place, and yet even here in this privledged point in time that I call my own, having a voice gets tricky sometimes.

I'm trying to figure out exactly how to speak up about things I believe without alienating anyone, and am sort of realising that it's not possible to keep everyone happy and unoffended, and that perhaps you have to break a few eggs to make a cake.

It's been an interesting month of thinking, reading and learning for me. After I wrote "We need feminism because ... " a while ago, I gradually found a whole online community of feminists who hold wildly varying opinions on a wide variety of current issues. So really the feminist world is just like any other. I keep up with all of them on Facebook and so I have an idea what the Radical feminists are concerned with, what the feminists in Australia are thinkin', what's happening in the UK (Gay marriage is legalised! Go the Queen!), and much more besides.

The beautiful thing I'm seeing (amongst the folk I follow) is the inclusiveness. I listened to the wonderful Courtney Martin's TED Talk on Feminism and had a good think about intersectionality, which may just be a way forward, if we must take a step away from calling it feminism to get those caught up in the semantics of the F word involved (must we?). I've read, giggled at and nearly finished "How to be a Woman" by Caitlin Moran (book review to follow), enjoying the conversational tone of writing by a woman who just wants a point out some truths of life, without too much drama and even that much controversy, simply from the matter of fact narration. I highly recommend buying a copy: we can have coffee after you've read it and share our enjoyment!

I also have fallen head over heels for Tina Fey after reading Bossypants (even though Kate J had told me a long time ago that it was funny, and in fact had read me some funny parts to illustrate her point). I love her so much I'll probably write about her soon, once I have watched a whole lot more SNL and also seen every clip of her ever on youtube.

I feel like maybe it's a great point in time for having these conversations, but after an assortment of experiences in the last month I'd probably observe that you may end up in discussion with a person of the male persuasion who may not like what you are saying, not exactly. Or you may find, very rewardingly, that your father and brother actually talked about feminist issues over dinner and you weren't even there to bring it up (proud sister & daughter right here).

The world expands. For me, it's reading articles like this one of Phaedra Starling's, which says more eloqently that I can exactly what I was getting at in my piece. Don't be put off by the title: it's a nice little piece which explains how to approach a pretty girl who doesn't know you, in public. We women don't hate you for trying, we just don't know you yet, and you could be anybody.

Or it's going the other way, into the world of Tavi Gevinson's Rookie. Such a beautiful, exciting and creative idea, and she's making people take notice. I myself am out of my mind thrilled to be seeing her speak on the weekend at Sydney Opera House. Heroine, that's for darned sure.

I haven't been terribly focused on specifically feminist issues this last month; I've been focused on myself, and I am a feminist, so it sort of works. I have done a few things, like my women-only July of musical discovery, and I've been reading a lot of stuff. I'm going to start putting a few bits and pieces out in bite size chunks, much akin to leaving cookies out for Santa. I hope you guys just leave crumbs, and not spat out bits of cookie.

July Challenge week 3, in which I discover several new artists

I'm wondering: is it a symptom of my generation (yep, still thinking within the framework of Gen Y) that the way I discover new music is through my various technological devices?

Last night, I sat up from 8:30 til 12am on YouTube, glued to the screen as I uncovered one song after the other, one artist after another. My little mind was somewhat blown last night, I don't mind admitting to you all. Between YouTube and Shazaam, I barely need to ask anyone which band it is or even leave the house to hear them play live.

Don't get me wrong for even a second: real life live music is always better, and a musical experience is so much more magical when you're seeing the real life live people, listening to them, feeling collective awe that hundreds or thousands of others are also feeling. Can't beat that. However, for everything else, there's YouTube.

New favourite lady act 1:



Nneka is a little bit amazing - Nigerian-German, with such a great hip-hip/reggae/soul mix going on. I like her a lot and hope to find some more of her music to enjoy.

New favourite lady act 2:
I've posted Anais Mitchell's NPR Tiny Desk Concert before, but have since gotten into her album material (so wonderful to discover a new favourite has multiple albums, for multiple listening pleasures). Her song "Coming Down" is quite lovely, and I realised I knew it already, as Justin Vernon of Bon Iver fame covered it for triple j's Like A Version one time. That right there is reason enough to make her your new hero.

New favourite lady act 3:
Daughter. Holy crap. Daughter first came on my radar for a cover of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky", but I must admit I didn't give it too much attention as I was completely into San Cisco's more upbeat cover. 



But this song is probably my complete and total favourite at the moment. And Elena Tonra, vocalist and leading lady, just seems so lovely and like someone I'd be friends with. The kind of person who I'd take a while to get to know, and eventually we'd be thick as thieves, and she'd buy me things at the opshop that she knew I'd like. This is my fantasy, which makes me suspect I could love female frontwomen as much as lust after male frontmen.

We'd probably have crafternoons and bake together and lay in the park on the grass looking up at the sun through the leaves of trees, too.

I hope I don't accidentally find out she is an asshole.

New favourite lady act 4:
Technically, not 'new', as I have been enjoying Of Monsters and Men for a while now - but I hadn't watched any of their videos or live stuff until last night, for some reason. And now I have a girl crush on Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, their lead female vocalist. 

I think she'd be more of the type of friend who I'd go out to do crazy stuff with, like parties and bonfires at the beach, and inpromptu dancing. So our friendship wouldn't have to encroach on my friendship with Elena (see above).

This is the clip that made me love Nanna (her name is Nanna! She's Icelandic!)



Their band looks like they have a lot of fun, and makes me want to live in Iceland. I might do that.

Besides these ladyfriends I've been having imaginary quality time with, I've also discovered this awesome thing that's happening in Melbourne which I'm sure the Melbournians already know about, but get this: tram sessions. Artists jump on a tram and play some tunes and it just seems wonderful. This session by Thelma Plum is particularly nice, and makes me wish I was on that tram that time.

That's it for right now. Next week I will be writing up local ladies and ladies I know, who are making music. And maybe just dipping into triple j's Unearthed pool and seeing what wonder I can discover there, and how many potential new imaginary best friends I can meet.

As always - share any lady music discoveries or suggestions with me, to your heart's content.