Griff says; Get in touch with your feminist side

Some of you may recall that during the Summer, at the height of the fatuous absurdity that was the Royal Wedding (spit), Gordon lamented at the lack of positive role models for young women within music, or indeed culture itself, these days (see 'here'). He then went on to pose the question;
'Where have all the strong feminist Pop/Rock icons gone?"

After running through the best of feminist-inspired music from the past, his article finished with this plea;
"We really hope that readers will get in touch and tell us of some Radical Feminist bands that we are unaware of. Hell, we even hope some of the said bands will get in touch so we can write about them and enjoy their music".

Well, he's been eagerly awaiting the deluge ever since. But, sorry to say, it hasn't come. So that's why I'm so pleased to announce that I'm about to blow his socks off with, not just one but two, excellent all-girl, punk-pop trios with outstanding feminist credentials.



First up is Gaffa (pictured) from Tábor in the Czech Republic. Yes, that's right, they're real-life Bohemians. Anyway, the band line-up is;
Petra Podlahova - voice, keyboard,
Marie Adamkova - guitar, voice,
Silvie Zelenkova - drums, voice
and they play a brand of guitar-driven, pop-punk much reminiscent of uber-influential, Swiss, post-punk legends Kleenex/LiLiPUT. Have a listen to the brash and bouncy 'george'n'tracy'.



That song is track number 8 on their newly-released album Na Značky (this appears to translate as 'The Brand'), which is available as a free download on their bandcamp page. Unfortunately, there seems to be a slight problem with the download from there at the moment unless you download each of the tracks individually, so the Streetlamp is also providing an alternative free download 'here'. We strongly suggest you do so, as this band, as well as abounding with fine poppy hooks, also furnish their songs with smart, sassy lyrics, many containing a strong feminist message. Have a listen to track 9 'Dilettante's Delight' with its subtly acerbic list of modern roles for women:




Fine stuff indeed. In 2009 Gaffa also released a 7" single which they split with tonight's other band, First fatal Kiss. For this venture, Gaffa provided the songs Otevřeno and Prstík. These can be downloaded from bandcamp or, alternatively, the whole EP is available as a free download 'here' courtesy of The Streetlamp.


First Fatal Kiss (pictured) from Vienna, Austria, are also a three-piece and describe themselves as 'queer! kitsch! punk!'. The current line-up is;

Birgit Michlmayr (drums, violin, keyboard, vocals)
Maria Reisinger (bass, drums, vocals)
Renée Winter (keyboard, bass, drums, vocals)
They also have been known to throw in a bit of kazoo and recorder into the mix when the spirit takes them. Their sound is not as guitar driven as Gaffa's and the tunes are mainly built on the framework provided by a 1980's keyboard, giving them a less rocky and more retro post-punk vibe, which is rather pleasing to these ears.
They provided the catchy sloganeering tracks;'No Boys! No Girls!' and 'No Government!' to the 7" split with Gaffa. Have a listen:

7" split with Gaffa (2009) by first fatal kiss

Since then, First fatal Kiss have released an album 'Danke Gut'(2010), which you can purchase on the Zach Records site.

They also released this amusing video 'How To Play A Very Good Punk Song', which should be required viewing for all 16 year olds in our opinion. Ray and I were also pleased to see in the video that they turn up for rehearsals on their bikes. Just as it should be!



I hope you enjoyed both these fine feminist bands, and remember if you know of any others who you think we should be covering get in touch.

Griff
xx

Winter, Come She Will: Laura Watling

Yesterday, Saturday the 5th of November, saw yet another ~Streetlamp~ expedition to Scotland's REAL capital, Glasgow. We found ourselves skittering about in the East End this time, walking around the People's Palace, an extraordinary building on Glasgow Green, right in the shadow of The Gorbals (where my Grandfather was born and raised!). After that it was visit to Trongate 103 for another viewing of Griff's favourite, the Sharmanka Theatre (see previous blog). Then it was the customary Guinness and spicy chips in the 13th Note, and it was as we left there and made our way back along London Road, against the flow of people heading towards the Green for the fireworks display, that we really noticed that Winter is "Icumen In".
The thin hazy sunlight of earlier was now replaced with that icy crystal clear blackness, plumes of breath filling the air like a freezing fog....
And it was as we felt Winter take its first grip that I pondered on the music of Winter, and how there weren't that many artists whose music seems to capture the very essence of that season. Of course Summer has it's minstrels in abundance from the Beach Boys to virtually any happy-clappy rave tune that holidaymakers adopt when visiting sunnier climes. And it could be argued that artists such as Simon & Garfunkel or The Mamas & Papas had an Autumnal quality, but no one really seems to capture that pure embodiment of the Winter months...

Except maybe Laura Watling!
It may seem odd that someone who hails from the sunbaked swelter of South California could ever encapsulate the coldest season, but take a listen, for starters, to 'Barney & Me' below....


Well? Did you hear it? Doesn't it have a Winter vibe? Couldn't you hear the snow falling, or the trudge of boots on compacted ice? Not only does the music have a chilly vibe to it, but Laura's voice just has such an icy resonance to it. Whether it's intentional or not, I really don't know, but I can think of no other artist whose music captures such a frosty feel without sounding Christmassy.

Laura's musical career started back in 1996 when she was part of So Cal's Indiepop cult legends The Autocollants who specialised in an American take on Sarah Records blueprint with some considerable artistic success. The band only lasted a little over a year, releasing a handful of fine EPs, some tracks of which can be downloaded for free at their Last.fm page.

The Autocollants music may have a slightly warmer vibe to their sound, but you can already hear a 'sweet but distant' tone in Laura's vocals.
It was around the year 2000 that Laura first began releasing her own solo recordings through the wonderful Shelflife Records, home of such ~Streetlamp~ favourites as Evening Lights, Days, The Proctors and A Smile And A Ribbon.
I find her songs so uplifting, yet in a strange way so detached. Her songs sound like what I hoped to hear every time I bought a new Sarah release, or whenever I purchased a 7" single in a wrap-around sleeve from the records shops on the Byres Road in Glasgow.

Perhaps the best example of Laura's 'Wintry' music is her mini album '25', which unfortunately I cannot bring you any examples of tonight as none appear to be available in either video or Soundcloud form, but which you can download here.
I find this album to be the pinnacle of her solo songwriting; the glacial sound of 'Under The Ice' capturing a frozen white vista in it purest form; the almost too aching melancholy of 'Cleaning', tambourine tinkling like snowdrops; the spectral ambiance of 'This River Will Never Run Dry' wrapping you up like a warm jumper and a mug of hot soup. Of course all of this is meaningless if you haven't heard the songs, so I urge you to download the album and give it a listen.

Here's a couple of others just to give you a taster.


Laura Watling - One More Way To Amuse Myself by Sebastian Johann



You can also download her 'When You Didn't Come' EP here

And if you visit her Last.fm page there are some full tracks to listen to, and a couple of Free Downloads as well.
So, with meteorologists predicting a 'Siberian Winter' hitting Scotland in a couple of weeks, I guess the best thing we can do is snuggle up with Laura Watling!

Well, we can but dream!

~Gordon~

Who's Afraid Of The Big Black Dog? Me!!!

This month, November, finds me celebrating a rather unhappy anniversary. For it was 20 years ago this month that I first came face to face with the Black Dog. It happened completely out of the blue and totally turned my world upside down. No...more than that, it changed me and my life forever....

It may seem like stating the bleeding obvious, but depression is a truly horrible thing to go through, and in turn to have to live with. It changes everything, including your life, your personality, and your view of the world. A lot of people who suffer from depression actually attempt or even commit suicide during the first attack, because they cannot comprehend what is happening to them , nor do they know if it will ever end. I guess, therefore, that I was 'lucky'....I got through that first bout and sought help. But it would recur several times over the years, sometimes in minor attacks, sometimes a full blown savaging in the jaws of the Dog.
And on many of those occasions I did nothing about it....just suffered in silence while all around me nobody knew a thing about it. I became very adept at hiding and masking the depression, something which most specialists will tell you is both foolish and dangerous.

When the Dog came sniffing around the last time, September 2009, it came ravenous and with its teeth and claws sharpened. It was one of the worst I had ever experienced. It became too difficult to hide. It became too dark to avoid. In a fit of desperation I joined up with an online OCD forum, which did genuinely help. I should point out that I am not talking about the 'comedy' OCD that characters like Monica from Friends suffers from, but a more debilitating and harmful strain that dominates your every waking moment.

So....this online Help Forum really worked for me, but I promised myself that if (and indeed WHEN) the Black Dog comes a calling once more, next time I will not only use the Online forums, but also seek full medical and psychiatric help, no matter who knows about it. It really isn't worth disguising all that turmoil.
And so it was that I was gladdened to hear about the Mental Health charity SANE's 'Black Dog Campaign'. Backed by celebrities such as Rory Bremner and Stephen Fry, the campaign aims to give a physical embodiment to the 'Black Dog' and therefore to try and help reduce the stigma that has become attached to depression, and indeed all mental health issues. The campaign also hopes to raise awareness, especially to the families of those afflicted and create a greater understanding of the illness.
To read more about the campaign, or indeed to get involved in any way, please visit their website here and, as you would expect, The Guardian have a splendid article about the capaign here
On a similar note, can I please direct you to The Black Dog Project; this is an Australian based website that encourages those who suffer from depression, or even just those currently experiencing a bad time, to express their thoughts and feelings through art, stories and poetry. Again, I cannot recommend this site highly enough, even if you are luck enough to never have been afflicted, as some of the poems, writing and artwork are just extraordinary.
And remember, a Black Dog is for life.....unfortunately!!

~Gordon~

Griff says: 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'

I've a nice little Scottish hip-hop track for you tonight that combines fine beats with social commentary - and it's not from Stanley Odd! The track in question is Madness("Escape The Network") by the Edinburgh-based duo of Vizual Pupil, of whom I know almost nothing, and Th!nk - who is a producer/MC also from Auld Reekie. The track is available now as a free download on bandcamp and serves as a preview of what's to be expected from their debut EP 'Escape The Network', which comes out on the 11th of November. The EP will also be the first release on the Unconscious Collective imprint, and is available 'here' from 11/11/11.





I hope you enjoyed that. Stay tuned to the Streetlamp for more information on the duo as it becomes available to us. I must admit, one of the reasons the song appeals to me is the sample of Peter Finch as newscaster 'Howard Beale' from the 1976 film Network; a darkly comic satire of dumb infotainment TV, which has become more and more relevant with each passing year. If you've never seen the film, and the youngsters among you probably haven't, you can find the most famous scene embedded below. In a 5 minute frenzy of scenery-chewing madness, the Howard Beale character starts a rant on the general awfulness of modern life before finally concluding his tirade by admonishing his viewers to;

"Stand up wherever you are, go to the nearest window and yell as loud as you can, 'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore".





As the discredited neoliberal project collapses in ruins around our ears and the intellectual midgets who form our government solemnly prescribe 'more austerity', we have one essential piece of advice for our readers who are sick of being taken for fools by a lying, self-serving, hypocritical, millionaire elite:

"Stand up wherever you are, go to the nearest window and yell as loud as you can, 'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore".


Griff
xx