A special music post - 200 songs by women+

[drwex]

Just the one URL for this - https://www.npr.org/2018/07/30/627395449/turning-the-tables-the-200-greatest-songs-by-21st-century-women-part-1

You'll need to scan the list, because I listened to 200 songs and you can, too. NPR published its list of the 200 'greatest' songs by women in this century. Their criteria aren't quite clear, nor is how they ordered it. Each song has a video link (even if it's just a static picture over the music) and a couple paragraphs of description of the artist and the music. The list is apparently compiled from over 70 sources. It includes people who identify as women as well as other non-male genders (non-binary is called out).

The list includes a wide variety of musical styles and variations, from straight-up US pop to non-US pop to non-pop styles native to other countries. I can't even begin to figure out how you'd compare and order these things. That said, it's a lot of new exposure for me along with many familiar names.

Stand-outs for me:

• Emel Mathlouthi, "Kelmti Horra" - I've long enjoyed North African musical styles and this is nicely new and familiar at the same time.


• The McCrary Sisters, "Train" - I can't tell you who's a worthy successor to Aretha Franklin, but there are people carrying on that tradition.


• Jorja Smith, "Blue Lights" - an amazing melange of R&B notes, hip-hop styles, social commentary, and scratch/sampling. The video is absolutely worth watching.


• Sara Bareilles, "Love Song" - I hesitate putting this in because the track is very heavily produced and it's hard to get a real sense of her voice, but it's interesting pop anyway.


• A-WA, "Habib Galbi" - oh, yeah, let's do this! Take some traditional Yemeni Jewish lyrics, pull them through tight three-way harmonies, and give the whole thing an EDM sensibility without overdoing the BPM. I am so there.


• I'm With Her, "I-89" - this is a novel-to-me sound, some very tight harmonies of a female trio on a country/folk-style (they call it "roots") track but done over strong electric instrumentation. Usually this is done acoustic, but this one stands out. I'm not likely to travel to North Adams in a few weeks to see them, but maybe one of you will.


• Rilo Kiley, "Portions For Foxes" - Not my typical style, but I love the lyrics and I suspect you will, too.


• Mala Rodríguez, "Yo Marco El Minuto" - On the other hand, this is definitely my kind of rap. Very jazz-influenced and smooth, despite being "jarcor" (hardcore).


• Maren Morris, "My Church" - I'm not a country music fan, nor a religious person, but I really resonate with the song's notion that "my church" is a particular place, activity, kind of thing. For me, it's music, and I really like how Morris captures the idea in this tune.


• Gossip, "Standing In The Way Of Control" - It's been quite a few years since I blogged about Gossip and I wasn't going to let this go past without noting. I think Beth Ditto is an underrated talent and this, written as a fight song for marriage equality, is still a good anthem.


• Andra Day, "Rise Up" - if you're like me, you've heard this anthem a hundred or more times in the past few years. But I'd never really heard the original all the way through, nor understood the strength of Day's voice. Even though this official cut is very tightly produced you can tell she's really got it.


• EMA, "California" - I had to listen to this three times before deciding to include it which is kind of stupid-funny because if I listened to it three times it's likely worth mentioning. It's beautiful and painful and expressive and who knew noise-folk was actually a thing?


• Evanescence, "Bring Me to Life" - if you're me, or part of my social circles, you've heard this a lot and it was very much a song of its period. I love the commentary from Suzy Exposito on how the extra male vocals found their way onto the track. For me, the contrast between Amy Lee's operatic vocals and the metal-rap inserts has always been one of the best parts of this track.


• Icona Pop (ft. Charli XCX), "I Love It" - the number of dance hits that chart pop varies year-by-year and most of them aren't worth the airtime they get, I think. This is maybe the exception that proves the rule. Icona Pop have a hard dance edge on an essentially pop tune that is very danceable but hey check out those lyrics. Break-up songs are always iffy things and I have a hard time thinking of one that's made a better pop dance anthem than this.


• Shakira (ft. Wyclef Jean), "Hips Don't Lie" - I never paid a lot of attention to this because reggaeton was of course a thing I knew and loved and pop songs come and go. I really like Maria Sherman's commentary on this one, though. I had not realized how ground-breaking and influential this song was for pop music. Worth a re-listen, and the video is hot, too.


• Little Big Town, "Girl Crush" - This song is smoking hot. Nice vocals, though I think the production hand is a little too noticeable. But the important question: gay, bi, or am I just completely projecting? I mean, you have a female singer talking about a "girl crush" but she's not singing _to_ her crush, she's singing _about_ her crush, to a third person. And when you listen to the description... well, judge for yourself.


• Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps" - I'm ashamed not to have blogged more of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs music in the past 15 years. Maybe it's of a time and place, but I've recently been feeling more connected to the punk and punk-rooted music I've listened to. I've never identified as a "punk" and yet I owe the genre and its champions a great deal.

The list also, for me, has some notable lacks. Laurie Anderson hasn't released many albums this century compared to last, but both "Life on a String" (2001) and "Homeland" (2010) would qualify. And of course, London Grammar because I think Hannah Reid is amazeballs. But you knew that.

Comments

[ckd]

The studio version of "Love Song" is good Sara Bareilles but not, IMO, great Sara Bareilles. The "stripped" version from the 2-disc release of Little Voices might be more to your taste, or any of the several live versions in my library. My favorite is probably the one from Brave Enough (Live at the Variety Playhouse); it has an "explicit lyrics" marker because of her reaction to the audience knowing the verse that wasn't in the radio edit. :-)

Great Sara Bareilles? Besides her live albums and the "stripped" tracks (pretty much all of which are wins IMO) I'm a sucker for "Brave" because it's been a touchstone I can go to when I need the encouragement, but I'd make a case for "Many the Miles" being the real MVP. (I'm also a fan of "King of Anything" but it's more on the pop end of the range.) The live albums feature a lot of covers of things; "In Your Eyes" is one I particularly like.

[dcltdw]

Interesting. Never knew that about Bring Me To Life. Thanks for highlighting that!

The random male voice never made sense to me. I do agree that having something interleaving in makes sense, but I would've just used instrumental chords. I think it depends greatly if one wants a more symphonic rock sound (the Synthesis version) or a metal power chords sound - I usually am more into the latter than the former, but coolcool, still like Synthesis version. :)

[dianec42]

Thank you so much for sharing this! (This is going to take a really long time.)

[flexagon]

Wow, the "Cool for the Summer" video is hot hot hot. Guess I'll have this open in a tab for a long timer... thanks.

[dianec42]

I don't think I am ever going to finish this. I am currently on page 2 and have wandered off to list to all of the Saint Vincent ever.