to-do tonight: girl germs tribute to women in rock

Posted on May 30, 2014 by highplainsthrifter

This whole week, I’ve been equally depressed/enraged by the #YesAllWomen posts. (If you’re unfamiliar, @mostlypregnant’s tweets have been summing it up nicely.) If you, too, could use a night to focus on something positive, let me tell you about this incredible show my friend Dana and her pal Sally have put together, happening TONIGHT at First Avenue. It’s a tribute to women in rock ‘n roll, with seven local bands playing music by a female artist of their choosing.

Here’s the lineup! (Pssst, you can read more about the bands and their selections here.)

Night Moves–performing the Cranberries
Pink Mink–performing Bikini Kill (!!!)
Strange Names–performing the B-52′s
L’Assassins–performing Thee Headcoatees (!!!)
Fury Things–performing Hole
CRYSTAL (feat. members of Brute Heart)–performing Sade
Lydia Liza (of Bomba De Luz)–performing Dusty Springfield (!!!)

The event will be hosted by the legendary Lori Barbero and my incredibly talented friend Jen Hughes will be DJ’ing. (P.S. Watch clips from Jen’s 25 essentials albums by female artists here! It’s a must-read, fabulous post.)

Sweetening the pot (literally), is Girl Germs’ partnership with Glam Doll Donuts. The bakery created a masterpiece of a treat for the event—a blueberry-packed cake donut topped with MORE blueberries and a homemade lavender marshmallow. I had the chance to taste-test one a couple days ago and holy cannoli, it’s literally the best thing I’ve eaten in ages. These pretty babies will be available at Glam Doll all weekend AND at the show tonight. DO NOT MISS OUT.

So, just to recap, we have a feminist rock icon hosting, an amazing DJ filling your ears with music between sets, SEVEN bands and yummy fruit-filled donuts. Clearly this concert belongs on your calendar, am I right? Tickets are a measly $10, and if you’re in the area, you should definitely come. It’s going to be a glorious evening.

See you there?

xoxo,

Meghan

Photos c/o: Girl Germs' Instagram.

friday mix c/o girl germs radio!

Posted on June 10, 2011 by highplainsthrifter

Clockwise from top left: Wanda Jackson / The Slits / Marianne Faithfull / X-Rey Spex

Welcome to another Girl Germs-crafted mix! This time we’ve put together a collection highlighting awesome female artists who started their careers as teenagers—both because that’s awesome and because it ties in with our next monthly TV Party event.

Monday, June 13 we’ll play episodes of Veronica Mars, a cult classic centered around the adventures of a headstrong teenage private detective and the dramatic webs in which she becomes entangled. Come on down to the Red Stag Supperclub at 9 p.m. on the 13^th to hear us spin some lovely lady tunes; the V-Mars episodes start at 9:30 (if you’re unfamiliar with the show, read more about it here.

To get you in the mood for teen adventures, we’ve put together some sassy sounds of women who got an early start on their careers. Some (Janis Ian, Marianne Faithfull and Wanda Jackson) are still performing well into their 60s and 70s. Tracey Thorn of Marine Girls and Bjork of Sugarcubes fame went on to become influential artists as adults. On a sad note, two of the ladies on this list (Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex and Ari-Up of The Slits, who started their careers at age 16 and 14, respectively) passed away this year—but the legacies of these groundbreaking artists lives on and continues to inspire women of all ages.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!

{Track List}

1. Janis Ian – “Younger Generation Blues”
2. X-Ray Spex – “Oh Bondage, Up Yours!”
3. The Runaways – “American Nights”
4. Marianne Faithfull – “Broken English”
5. Bow Wow Wow – “Aphrodisiac”
6. The Sugarcubes – “Hetero Scum”
7. The Slits – “Walk About”
8. Wanda Jackson – “Let’s Have a Party”
9. Smoosh – “Find a Way”
10. Marine Girls – “A Place in the Sun”
11. The Donnas – “40 Boys in 40 Nights”

Psst! Girl Germs Radio has made a bunch of mixes for me! If you haven’t heard, take a listen to: Bubblegum Pop; Lady Rappers, Music for a Snowy Sunday!

hump day soundtrack: lady rappers c/o girl germs radio

Posted on April 27, 2011 by highplainsthrifter

Jazzy Joyce, Peaches, MC Lyte, Michie Mee, Queen Latifah, and Monie Love at the New Music Seminar in 1989.

Welcome to another Girl Germs-crafted mix! This time we’re highlighting female rappers—a species of performer that is fascinating, yet rarely studied.

Men get most of the credit for laying the groundwork of hip hop, but women like Queen Latifah, Monie Love and Roxanne Shante were right there alongside them (and in some cases, steps ahead of them). In this mix you’ll hear classic American female MC pioneers, as well as some who helped bring hip hop into the mainstream (like Debbie Harry’s rapping in Blondie’s “Rapture”—which gives a shout-out to Fab 5 Freddy) and into genres like dance (Uffie), pop (Neneh Cherry) and indie/experimental rock (Cibo Matto, The Go! Team).

Click below to play the mix!

Lady Rappers

Track List

Blondie – “Rapture”
The Go! Team – “Grip Like a Vice”
Mala Rodriguez – “La Nina”
Missy Elliott and Da Brat – “Sock it 2 Me”
Justice featuring Uffie – “The Party”
Cibo Matto – “Know Your Chicken”
Lil’ Kim – “The Jump Off”
Queen Latifah and Monie Love – “Ladies First”
Lauryn Hill – “Lost Ones”
Neneh Cherry – “Buffalo Stance”
Roxanne Shante – “Wack It”

If you like lady-centric hip hop you’ll love our next TV Party event at the Red Stag Supperclub in Minneapolis. Join us Monday, May 9 at 9 p.m. for a DJ set featuring the best female jazz, soul, funk, R&B and hip-hop artists from two of our favorite gentleman friends, DJs Phizzy and Marinos Vidiakitis. At 10 p.m. we’ll screen episodes of Living Single, starring Queen Latifah herself. See you there!

{Listen to Girl Germs’ other playlists here, here and here.}

hump day soundtrack: bubblegum pop c/o girl germs radio

Posted on March 9, 2011 by highplainsthrifter

{Clockwise from left: The Shangri-Las, Vivian Girls, Little Eva, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino}

Pop music gets a bad rap. I’m not just talking about the Britneys and Biebers of the world, either. Whether it’s silly or heartfelt, pop is often overlooked or shrugged off as novelty by people who consider themselves serious music lovers. But the influence of bubblegum, power pop and girl groups can be heard in the heavenly harmonies and jangly guitars of modern genres like shoegaze, psych rock and garage. This mix is a brief tour of some of the classic artists who originally brought us dreamy pop (including The Shangri-Las and founding Os Mutantes member Rita Lee), as well as some of the bands who have been influenced by these sweet sounds (Peach Kelli Pop and Best Coast among them).

If you want to hear even more of these musical gems, come on down to the Red Stag Supperclub Monday, March 14 for TV Party with Girl Germs. We’ll be screening episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore” show and DJ Travis Ramin, an expert on bubblegum and power pop, will be on hand to spin tunes starting at 9 p.m. And watch our blog for a new podcast to be posted soon!

TRACK LIST

1. Peach Kelli Pop – “Doo Wah Diddy”
2. The Breeders – “Divine Hammer”
3. The Shangri-Las – “Sophisticated Boom-Boom”
4. Dum Dum Girls – “Heart of Stone” (Raveonettes cover)

5. Vivian Girls – “Can’t Get Over You”

6. Best Coast – “Bratty B”

7. Rita Lee – “Corista de Rock”

8. Little Eva – “The Loco-Motion”

9. The 5678’s – “Dream Boy”

{Check out Girl Germ Radio’s other mixes, made especially for y’all, here and here!}

sunday soundtrack: ladies to watch in 2011 c/o girl germs radio

Posted on January 9, 2011 by highplainsthrifter

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Hello, girl (and boy) germs!

I’m back with a new mix for you; this one is a combination of up-and-coming female artists and female-fronted bands (as well as some pretty well-known artists) that will no doubt do amazing things in 2011.

If you’re a hip-hop fan and you don’t know about Psalm One, stop what you’re doing and go to her Bandcamp page. She’s a multifaceted (chemist by day, rapper by night) and prolific lady who self-released three free EPs in 2010. She also holds her own as the sole female artist on the local Rhymesayers label, and will put out a new album this year. We featured her recently as a “Lady You Should Know About” on the Girl Germs blog.

We’re also looking forward to long-awaited releases from Minnesota native Anni Rossi, Eternal Summers, La Sera (a Vivian Girls side project) and Midnight Masses in 2011, and can’t wait for artists with new material to tour.

You’ve probably noticed that ‘90s fashion is back, and a similar phenomenon is happening in music. Laetitia Sadier, the frontwoman of Stereolab has a new solo album, and her band just released one, too. Finally, we almost peed ourselves a couple months ago when we heard Wild Flag existed. Members of Sleater-Kinney and Mary Timony of Helium? Yes, please. No word on an album yet, but in the meantime enjoy this live version of them covering a Standells favorite.

Happy 2011, and don’t forget to stop by the Red Stag Supperclub tomorrow night for TV Party with Girl Germs: Golden Girls. We’ll be showing classic episodes, playing some music for y’all and enjoying some sweet happy hour specials. Hope to see you there!

P.S. Like this soundtrack? Check out last month’s mix by Girl Germs here.

guest post: snowy sunday soundtrack by dana from radio k’s girl germs

Posted on December 12, 2010 by highplainsthrifter

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If I had to choose one group of sexist stereotypes that I hate more than others (take your pick, right?), it would have to be the ones surrounding women in music. Even the independent music business—which you’d think would be more evolved—doesn’t always know what to do with a lady artist who doesn’t fit neatly into the “girl with acoustic guitar,” “angry feminist” or “sultry singer” boxes (apparently you just file under “sounds like Sleater-Kinney” and move on).

As women working in the music industry, my friends Anna, Jenny and I became disillusioned with this attitude and created Girl Germs, a radio show that airs on the University of Minnesota’s Radio K. We wanted to create a space for talented female artists who have been overlooked or written off—maybe because they’ve broken new ground, created art on their own terms, produced or distributed their music D.I.Y. style or simply challenged the connections we often take for granted between femininity, sexuality and style.

This playlist is a sampling of what you’ll hear on Girl Germs: groundbreaking women playing and singing everything from ‘60s yéyé to modern Italo Disco to 1930s-era Appalachian folk music to L.A. synth-pop, all selected on the premise that supporting women’s creativity is itself an act of solidarity. Plus, you know, there’s the simple fact that these beats are the JAM and these women all have serious style. I hope you’ll make this playlist your new soundtrack to getting pumped about your own creative pursuits. Enjoy!

Girl Germs airs Tuesday nights from 9-11 p.m. on 100.7, 106.5 and 104.5 FM in the Twin Cities and online at radiok.org. To check out playlists, listen to past shows and read more about female artists, visit our blog, and find us on Facebook and follow us Twitter. And, if you’re free tomorrow, cruise on down to the Red Stag Supperclub for a screening of “My So-Called Life” that we’re hosting, too. Details here.