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So I heard "Fuck and Run" by Liz Phair for the first time yesterday.

I know. I know! I can't believe I've never listened to her before. Well, outside of "Why Can't I?" but the controversy surrounding that release made me shy away from that album.

So people who know Phair, where should I start? Exile in Guyville? Something more obscure?

allchildren, I know you posted a bunch of B-Sides of hers, am I ready for those? What are your thoughts on that sellout album? I dl H.W.C, and I gotta say I REALLY like that song, very tongue in cheek (the poppy melody helps emphasize that). But outside of that, is that album worth the time? Was it tragically misunderstood? Or is it a sell-out flop?

So many questions! I feel bad for not getting into Liz Phair sooner.

Current Mood: curious

I bought my first record player in college.

The reason I bought it was so I could listen to Brimstone Howl, my band crush of my college years. After releasing one EP and one full length (both available on CD only) they decided to join the legion of many other hip bands and release a series of 7" Singles. And since I was seriously dedicated to the band, I bought a record player and bought almost every single 7" inch they put out (to date, I think I'm only missing one: their Euro Tour Single. I didn't buy it because the lead singer isn't on it; he rarely tours with them overseas).

It's been a long time since I've bought my first record player, and bought my first Brimstone Howl Single. Since then, I've not only collected BH's singles collection, but also a bunch of old obscurities, new favorites, and represses (I went on this binge once and bought all the represses of Wire's LPs. What, I like "The 15th".)

And over time, I've slowly started to realize one fact: I don't like records!

Let's face it, records are not a dying medium, they're dead. The only thing current bands get from releasing 7" Singles is the chance to have exclusive tracks, songs that only real music "aficionados" can collect and listen to.

Which, of course, is a bunch of fucking bullshit. Why would you want to deny your fans from LISTENING TO YOUR MUSIC? I mean, really.

I realize that I buy into this exclusive-ness when I buy those Singles too. But I love the band, and I want those songs. So I get the records. However, I never really listen to them the way it's intended, because once I buy a record, I immediately transfer it to mp3. It's not a perfect mp3 because my recording device picks up the scratches and clicks and general SUCK of the sound quality of records, but hey. I got the song. In a medium that's more accessible to me, girl of the 21st Century.

Now I don't mind transferring old, out of print records to mp3. But that's because they're old and out of print. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY FOR ME TO GET THOSE SONGS. Current bands, you have a TON of other ways to release your songs! So GET ON IT.

I don't think the trend of vinyl is going away too soon, though. However it is changing; I noticed that a lot of current vinyl releases also feature download codes or CD-R's of the tracks so that you can upload the music easily to your computer and other futuristic devices.

So of course now that vinyl is moving into the future, those hip musicians have to come up with something even more exclusive. And that something is cassette tapes.

Cassette. Tapes. Why. WHY.

Hip musicians, it's time to get a grip. Releasing your music on a cassette tape (WHAT THE FUCK) isn't cool. It's just hard to access.

What's that? That's the point? Exclusive shit is the point?

No. The point is my money in my wallet. My money that I want to give to you for your tunes. My money that I will not give to you for a fucking CHEAP ASS CASSETTE TAPE. The only reason I'll come for your cassette tape is if I'm HOLDING A MAGNET.

You know what? If I ever get around to selling some of my own music, I'm going to make a super exclusive!! DAT Tape. What's that? You don't know what a DAT Tape is? Well, well. The only person who can listen to it is ME! And really, you can't get any more ~*~EXCLUSIVE~*~ than that!

Current Mood: annoyed

I bought this album before The Donnas hit the mainstream with "Take it Off." I'm pretty sure I read about them in RockerGrrl (RIP), which is where I actually discovered a lot of new bands.

One of my most vivid memories about this album is when I first played it for my BFF at the time. I thought she would think they were awesome (girls rocking out, WHO WOULDN'T LOVE THAT?). Instead, she complained that the lead singer sounded like a chipmunk.

I was offended at the time...but looking back, I guess I can kinda see where she was coming from. There is a nasally, kind of cool/kind of annoying quality to Brett Anderson's voice. (Although I still think the chipmunk thing is kind of harsh.)

I attribute that nasal kind of cool/kind of annoying voice to youth. The Donnas got started when they were still teenagers. Turn 21 was their FOURTH album--the album title was pointing to the fact that they had all just turned 21. By the time Spend the Night came out, Anderson lost all traces of that nasal teen snit voice and adopted this gritty California girl snarl that just kills me with its awesomeness.

The Donnas have always aspired for that hard rock, AC/DC sound, even if they didn't quite hit that mark with their first three albums. Their self-titled debut is a pop punk masterpiece, and you can definitely hear The Ramones influence on that record. The two albums following their debut seem to cement their hard rock ideal; goodbye power pop chords, hello hard rock chord progressions.

That hard rock sound really comes together on Turn 21, from the first chord on the first song. That said, Turn 21 still feels like a band feeling out their style, in other ways. Lyrically, the album is a super party album, with almost all the songs focusing on one night stands and drinking till you pass out. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you. But the lyrical cleverness in their party songs definitely evolved over the course of their albums (their latest album, Bitchin' had quite a few gems).

One thing's for sure, though: Allison Robertson, the lead guitarist, ALWAYS ROCKED. She is such an excellent guitarist, and she is the biggest reasons I still follow this band. She can do Ramones-esque punk pop well AND she can do hard rock. She can do it all.

If you didn't guess already, I still listen to The Donnas quite frequently (mostly just Gold Metal, though, which is their best album). Revisiting this album reminded me of why I stuck with the Donnas for so long: they can really rock.

Current Mood: thoughtful

I love revisiting albums and artists I used to listen to when I was younger. There's this lovely nostalgic feeling I get whenever I hear "Creep" or "Waterfalls" by TLC or "Secret" by Madonna. I don't really think of those bands/songs as a guilty pleasure either because I still genuinely like those songs. (Maybe I feel a bit guilty about Madonna, since I still follow her new releases pretty closely.)

But there's a period of my life, from when I was about 17 to about 19, that I don't revisit. Ever. On one hand, my musical persona was developing into what it is today. There are a lot of bands/genres I discovered during that time period (Le Tigre, shoegaze, garage rock) that I still love today.

On the other hand...I own the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack. What the fuck.

Seventeen to nineteen was a weird time, because even though I was growing into this "musically enlightened" person, I was still caught up in a lot of teenagerish music likes. Hence the Hilary Duff. And the Freaky Friday soundtrack. (Did I have some hard on for Disney?)

But I decided to be ashamed no more. Which is why I decided to dig out certain albums of that period (highs and lows) and reevaluate them. Some I've grown out of, and some I still like. And there are even some that I didn't appreciate fully back then.

Either way it should be an interesting auditory experience, full of self-discovery and self-loathing. Lizzie McGuire. Why.

Current Mood: thoughtful

Over on lj, I talked a little bit about this blog post, and my own personal experiences with playing guitar and such. But there's a lot I didn't include in my own post, and I really, really wanted to participate in this 3 Weeks for Dreamwidth thing so I thought I would continue them here. Girls and rock n' roll: GO!

So in the lj post I talk a lot about how I started playing guitar, and about the whole "girls are kind of socialized to play acoustic guitar only" and so on. But the original Tiger Beat post talks about her crappy experience in an all dude band, and how those douchebags prayed to the altar of "dude music" as she calls it (cock rock, as I call it). In her blog, she talks less about being in a band, and sticking with music, and more about the dude music/cock rock culture and how it fucking sucks. I don't even think she mentioned what kind of instrument she played.

Don't get me wrong, I loved her total annihilation of cock rock. But personally, I wanted to know more about her playing and if she still played. I've known many girls that just stop playing when they've hit a wall like that and I wanted to know if she stopped playing, or if she wanted to start another band, if she is in another band, or if she just plays alone in her room, for fun. Did she ever meet any guys that actually respected her as a musician? Or was she always surrounded by dudes who only digested dude music?

( Compared to her story, I consider my band story very lucky. )

Current Mood: contemplative

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seventeen pink sugar elephants

i am so late on this train.

your exclusive is a little too exclusive

teenage tunes: the donnas turn 21

teenage tunes: intro

on being a girl rocker: problems with douchebags

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June 2010

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