Tag: Picks From Planet Venus

  • In the Blog

    feeling a little Wobbly?

    May 1st, 2008     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    Then it must be May Day! Hazel Dickens is a longtime union supporter and feminist folksinger. She comes from a family of miners in West Virginia, and has lent her voice to the cause of workers’ rights - especially women workers - countless times. She appears in Barbara Kopple’s incredible documentary Harlan Country USA, about a miners’ strike that ended in tragedy, and some of her most powerful songs are collected on the amazing … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    bearded ladies

    April 24th, 2008     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    In my years as a community-radio DJ, I’ve received many a promotional CD for a female artist with that most backhanded of compliments in its promo material: “Not your usual female singer-songwriter”. Okay, I take most music journalism about as seriously as I take Stephen Colbert’s presidential campaign, but this is annoying for so many reasons. What is “your usual female singer-songwriter”, and what’s so bad about that? Did Joni Mitchell really traumatize … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    summer is ready when you are

    April 17th, 2008     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    To me, nothing says First Day Of Summer (okay, not officially, but have you been outside today?) like Cannonball by The Breeders. Oh, the Deal sisters and their greasy hair. Oh, 1993. Fifteen years and this song still makes me grin like a maniac. This video, incidentally, was directed by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, along with Spike Jonze. … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    princess(es) of power*

    April 10th, 2008     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    Very excited about Toronto’s Crystal Castles’ debut self-titled album - I was surprised to hear it was their first full-length release, since I’ve been hearing about this band for a while and nodding furiously along with various songs on their Myspace page. One reviewer described it (somewhat derisively) as “like being high on LSD and playing an old school video game”, a description with which I concur (but without the derision. Acid and … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    sisters in the struggle

    April 3rd, 2008     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    The Lesbians on Ecstasy want you to dance. Not only that, they want you to dance to classic lezzie tunes revamped into club hits - discerning ears can pick out references to Melissa Etheridge, Tracy Chapman, the Indigo Girls, and other members of the queer canon in their songs. Nevertheless, they are 100% original, and one of my favorite bands to shake it to (and also interview). This video is very much … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    those are burkas, but these ain’t the blues

    March 27th, 2008     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    If it’s true that punk is an explosive reaction against an oppressive regime, then it’s no surprise that the punkest thing I’ve seen in ages is coming out of Afghanistan. The Burka Band is a group of three women who, with the help of some German music producers, created this video, and a three-song EP, and a bit of an international reputation - one which, sadly, they can’t really enjoy, as they have to remain anonymous … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    a self-love classic

    February 16th, 2008     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    … and I’m not talking about I’m OK, You’re OK. In honour of Valentine’s Week (yes, I know I’m late, it’s been a busy week, okay), I’m posting for your enjoyment this video for one of my favorite songs about, yes indeed, female masturbation. While debates rage on, Cyndi Lauper is busy, well, getting busy. I also appreciate the grammer lesson in this song: “She bop, he bop-a we bop, I bop, you bop-a they … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    halloween mixtape

    October 30th, 2007     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    Okay, so it’s the time of year when everyone lets their hidden fantasy loose, their inner demon out, their freak flag fly, however you want to put it. And the next day we wipe off the eyeliner and fake blood and shaving cream and go back to our lives as usual. But for some people, every day is Halloween, and being what other people might call “freaks” is just a part of who … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    democracy now!  dancing later.

    October 18th, 2007     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    It’s a frenzy of media democracy this weekend here in Montreal. CKUT 90.3 FM (campus community radio) is hosting a conference on media democracy and community radio. Unlike many academic conferences, where you have to pay to attend and the tone is, shall we say, occasionally a little bit exclusive, this event is free and geared toward members of the community. Plus, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! is giving the keynote address. … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    yards of tune

    September 29th, 2007     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    It’s that time of year again - the looking-around time. The time when everyone is looking around for a new person to cuddle with in the winter, a new passion to fill the coming frozen hours, that one new song that perfectly captures the new chill in the air and the strange and familiar smell of leaves on the ground. This is where Merrill Garbus comes in. Known on the stage as tUnE-YaRdS, she … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    paper planes and hoodie pride

    September 23rd, 2007     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    I apologize for my lack of music posts lately - it’s not that there’s not enough good music out there right now but rather that there’s too much! How’s a girl to make up her mind? I also realize that I made it my mandate - ahem, ladydate - to introduce music that you may not have heard before, and I’ve noted that many folks here are no stranger to the wonder that is MIA. … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    watch, and never shut up

    August 31st, 2007     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    Oh my goodness, two features in one? What’s next, salt and vinegar potato chips? Jay-Z and Rihanna doing a song together? The mind boggles. Call it laziness or ingenuity, but I’ve decided to combine two weekly features into one consideration of a movie about music… kind of. I finally got around to watching Shut Up and Sing, Barbara Kopple’s documentary about the Dixie Chicks and the uproar surrounding an offhand comment singer … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    rolling thundrah

    August 25th, 2007     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    Tired of going to hardcore shows only to catch a mohawk in the eye on the dancefloor, get other people’s crusty macho sweat on your fishnets, and feel alienated because you’re not male and/or straight? Never fear, Thundrah is here for you, like a big cozy noisy blanket. It’s loud, hard, jangly, queer, and heartfelt, with some tweaky electronic twiddling from Lisa Gambletron and sticks-a-flying drumming from ZZ Topless, as well as good-old-fashioned … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    the white magic of giselle numba one

    August 17th, 2007     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    I was already planning to post about Giselle Numba One for this week’s pick, so imagine my delight yesterday when I opened a copy of the Montreal Mirror to find an interview with her where she says “I’m a bitchy person, I’m politicized, I’m a feminist. I don’t want to ever be described as sexy in Giselle Numba One, I don’t wanna be that girl. I wanna be the angry feminist rapper that everyone’s afraid … READ MORE

  • In the Blog

    picks from planet venus - the inception

    August 9th, 2007     by Anna Leventhal     Comments

    In addition to my regular blog duties, I’ve decided to start having a weekly feature called Picks From Planet Venus. As some of you may know, I work on a radio show called Venus on CKUT 90.3 FM here in Montreal, which gives me exposure to a lot of killer music by women that, due to the bloated mass that is the music industry, gets far less attention than it should. So every … READ MORE

Newer →