Let’s be real for a sec.
I was born in 1980. Growing up, my parents listened to hard rock and hair metal. Needless to say, there weren’t a lot of women musicians period, let alone any to look up to. By the time the mid to late 80s rolled around, Heart was no longer the harder edged Barracuda spitting band. They were toned down. Lita Ford. Do we need to revisit her outfits? She had talent but she wasn’t taken seriously and Joan Jett wasn’t really on my radar.
I didn’t have any cool older siblings, I didn’t know about our college station and the two hours of indieish stuff they played and our local alternative radio station played the most mainstream alternative so I didn’t get turned on to even cooler music. I did most of my music research (pre-internet) by looking at every music magazine at the grocery store and watching Alternative Nation and 120 Minutes faithfully. 120 Minutes did lead me to some bands that I still love today: Sonic Youth, Placebo, Bjork, PJ Harvey and Tori Amos. Riotgrrrl didn’t come onto my radar until years later thanks to some feminist friends and the internets. I wish it did a lot sooner but that is for a different post.
The first woman musician that really made it all click for me was Courtney Love. It was about time too. I never realized that women could play the guitar with as much aggression and scream and yell and be better than most of the boys. I loved the singles from Live Through This but what cemented it for me was Hole Unplugged. I didn’t know most of the songs but by the end of the summer I knew them like the back of my hand. I watched my vhs tape with it recorded on there several times a week. I convinced my mom to let me take guitar lessons because of Courtney. I wanted to feel that power. Something of my own to wield around like that.
Finally my mom gave me money to buy a tape and I got “Live Through This.” I remember driving home from our annual family trip back to the motherland (South Dakota) and listening to that tape over and over. I loved that Courtney screamed “FUCK YOU” and thinking ”if only my mom knew what I was listening to, she would not care for it at all.” Nice girls didn’t swear or be aggressive like that.
Love her or hate her but from the mid to late 90s, she was fantastic. She may have been a bit of a mess but fuck she was out there and she wasn’t dicking around. Her voice was heard. She has lost a lot of that power to me and I am saddened over it but that is also for a different post. The 14 year old girl inside of me still loves her to death and wishes she would make a comeback and take back her crown. So I am going to leave you with a few videos from Unplugged. I know it will inspire unhappiness starting with my bestie and blogmate and probably to most people that read this but here we go…
Drown Soda
Sugar Coma (possibly my favorite)
…the formally ‘lost’ Nirvana song “You Know You’re Right”
