Music is a Better Noise

Founders of Rock n Roll

2008-08-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

Trixie Smith was born in 1895 in Atlanta, Georgia. A blues singer, a vaudeville entertainer, and an actress, Trixie Smith is credited as having titled the genre of Rock and Roll with her 1922 track entitled "My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll). Take a listen to Volume 1 and 2 of her recorded works, 1922 through 1939 (2 discs, 1 download).

Trixie Smith

Wanda Jackson, born in Oklahoma in 1937, is often credited as the first female Rock and Roll singer. First recording in 1954, Wanda toured with the likes of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly, but never achieved the same level of success as her male counterparts here in the states. Today, she is still affectionately known as the "Queen of Rockabilly." Here are her recorded works 1954 through 1962 (4 discs, 1 download).

Right or Wrong

Great Garagers

2008-07-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

I have been gone for quite some time - a few varied reasons, including a consuming interest in AfroBeat and Dub taking me in meandering directions, not always leading to female musicians, a full clean of my hard drive, which took some time to recover from, and laziness. I hope you enjoy this post on two female garage acts you might already know. Take a moment to fill out my survey - I'm closer to 100 responses than before, so just 38 more folks!! Much appreciated.

If you've had a chance to check our my good friend's blog over at the PsychoMafia (link to the right), then you may have had a chance to listen to April March with the Makers, a great example of garage rock. You may also be familiar with April March from "The Shitbirds" posted here on musicisabetternoise (see below). This bilingual album may not be her best example as a garage rocker, but definitely of the 60s Rock and Roll sort, and a bit of France Gall from "Gay Paris" (note French pronunciation on Paris). Hope you enjoy this one.

Paris in April

Holly Golightly will rock your socks off. This British singer/songwriter once fronted the all female garage group "Thee Headcoatees," a variation on the Billy Childish act. You might also recognizing her as a collaborating artist with the White Stripes, but personally, I think she's much more rockin. Check this one out.

Painted On

A Little Class

2008-03-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hey all. Sorry, it's been some time since my last post. I'll try to stay on top of this more regularly, but keep those comments coming, and importantly, those responses to my survey! Thanks for your support.

For some reason, this Nina Simone album seems particularly hard to find in its entirety, maybe because it is so highly coveted as her best. Recorded in 1974, this album contains some of her more funky tracks, most obviously "Funkier than a Mosquitoes Tweeter." Nina is just the best. Love this album.

It is Finished

Donna Hightower was a jazz vocalist from the 1950s, but you probably won't recognize any "hits" from her, surprisingly. Hightower was born in Missouri was discovered while she was working at a diner in Chicago - singing as she worked. After making a series of singles for Decca and RPM, Capitol records singed her on around 1958. This is the resulting record from that first session with sax giant Ben Webster.

Take One!

1979 + 1

2008-02-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, forgive the recording, but I actually used an ipod microphone to get this in digital format in my living room. The acoustics aren't great to say the least, but I can't find this anywhere but the actual 7 inch, so here it is. Model Citizens was another no wave group from New York, and recorded this solitary 7 inch with producer/legend John Cale in 1979. Model Citizens split into two bands - The Dance (see earlier post), and Polyrock. Hope you enjoy the recording, maybe one day I'll update my recording technology.

1979 EP

From Athens, Georgia, Pylon released their first 7 inch in 1979. I don't have that EP, I have this, their 1980 full-length debut album. When Pylon first emerged, they were able to make inroads in the New York City scene due to support from the B-52s, and soon were opening for The Talking Heads, Gang of Four, and REM to name a few. The group disbanded around 1983, but since 2004 have been playing impromptu shows. Singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay is currently part of a music project called Supercluster, which thus far, has no recorded albums.

Gyrate

60s Pop

2008-02-06T17:11:00.000-08:00

The Ronettes were from New York City, and gained fame in the early part of the 1960s with songs like "Be My Baby." The group did not record a significant body of work before going on hiatus, and when they reemerged, the "girl-group" format was no longer interesting in American pop culture. By 1966, the band had permanently split. Here is their best of.

The Best of The Ronettes

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas gained fame around the same time as The Ronettes, surfacing first in 1963. Their motown style, as well as social relevance with anthems such as "Dancing in the Streets," allowed them to maintain fame into the early 70s. Martha Reeves today is still considered one of the most important vocalists in Rock n' Roll history, influencing Lou Reed and Mick Jagger to name a few. Here is another best of.

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Before They Were Stars

2008-01-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

Elinor Blake was the front-woman of The Shitbirds before becoming the April March we all know and love today. The Shitbirds started in 1991 when Blake moved to LA to animate for the Ren and Stimpy show. This album was released in 1995, after the bands breakup, and is a collection of all 15 Shitbirds recordings.

Famous Recording Artists

This is Cat Power's first full-length album, also released in 1995. While Chan Marshall's style has been characterized as unpolished, listening to this, you begin to see where that all started, and appreciate her roots in punk, blues, and folk.

Dear Sir

Creepy, Yet Fun

2008-01-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

Rasputina, contrary to popular thought, began in Brooklyn circa 1992, and signed to Columbia records in 1996 with this album. As you will hear, the band is centered around the cello, as Melora Creager, founding member of the band, has been playing since she was 9, appearing with the likes of Nirvana and the Pixies. Read the wikipedia entry to see just how many members this act has been through.

Thanks for the Ether

This album is a bit reminiscent of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, although was out in the world way before - 1982 to be exact. Nina is from Berlin, Germany, which you probably won't find surprising when you take a listen. Nina is still around making music and being politically active, but is now in the states. Take a listen to the Nina Hagen band, her first solo gig.

Nunsexmonkrock

Punk vs. Post-Punk

2008-01-20T09:32:00.000-08:00

As with so many musical genres, boundaries are blurry, definitions unclear. The Dance is a group that was formed in 1979, and the album featured here was released in 1982, and is considered part of the post-punk genre and part of the electropunkfunk/No Wave scene of New York City. As described on their MySpace page, you will find influences from Hip Hop, funk, punk, reggae and so on, culminating in what is truly a great album start to finish, and is truly danceable. But how can you listen to this album without, by track 2, thinking...

Soul Force

How is this so different than Blondie who is part of the "punk" genre? In my humble opinion, Blondie is the more radio-friendly of the two, and therefore more easily classified in a genre whose boundaries seem limitless, and has become more about attitude and an in-your-face aesthetic rather than a particular sound. Here is Blondie's 1976 debut, nearly as danceable as the above.

Blondie

Music to Build Buildings By

2008-01-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

Fear of modernization characterized the late 70s and early 80s. It is written all over ever sort of western-based cultural output from the time period. 28 years later, these albums are a still musically-relevant window into how we arrived where we did, and therefore a great opportunity for some cultural introspection. Therefore....

Stop with the bullshit about this album being for the post-9/11 world. Laurie Anderson is not Nostradamus (although she is the first musician in residence at NASA). This album was released in 1982, and epitomizes exactly what is described above, and it is damn good. Perhaps folks wanted to revive the album circa 2001 exactly because we were questioning the true benefit of modernization. Listen to the album, and be real.

Big Science

Flex represents much of the same fears - buildings shielding us from the sun, the destruction of the human race via atomic energy, but in a fun way! Lene Lovich was born in Detroit, but grew up in England, and therefore got the best of both modern worlds. Lovich is much more influenced by funk, and in some ways, you may hear a resemblance to Lora Logic's vocal style. Check out the album, and note the rising tensions of 1979.

Flex

What It Is!

2008-01-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

The album title, and featured song, is indeed a Nina Simone original. When the album was released in 1972, Aretha was criticized as not having anything "left of her old Memphis-Muscle Shoals soul sound." Of course now, this album is praised as one of her greatest, and probably for the very reason which was cited upon it's release. Aretha's contributions to other genres, including funk (Rock Steady), are obvious.

Young, Gifted and Black

For those of you who don't know, Erma is indeed the sister of Aretha. The two have distinct soulful styles, Erma being the bit more rocking of the two (Listen to Hold on I'm Coming, probably the most powerful track on here that makes you want to sing at the top of your lungs). Erma's recording career was brief, an d so in terms of available material, there is certainly not enough. Here is one of a few recordings.

Super Soul Sister

New York Electropunkfunk - No Wave

2008-01-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

The Bush Tetras were popular in the New York club scene in the early 1980s. As you will gather, their music is part of a very small niche which was almost entirely based in New York City during this time period, and which included bands like ESG (below), Konk, Liquid Liquid, and perhaps a few others. With increased interest in the band, they reformed in 2005 and began doing tours once again. Check out their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/bushtetras.

Boom In The Night (Original studio recordings 1980 - 1983)

ESG, another band from this small scene, actually is an acronym for Emerald, Sapphire, and Gold. The group was initially made up of sisters Maria Scroggins (congas, vocals), Renee Scroggins (guitar, vocals), and Valerie Scroggins (drums), and friend Leroy Glover (bass). A resurgence in the interest of this band has been aided by hip-hop artists who have sampled their works, including Wu-Tang, Beastie Boys, and J Dilla. If you like the album, buy it! Valerie Scroggins is in some hot water with her employer, the MTA, and could probably use the kickbacks, however small they may be.

A South Bronx Story

Best of Unplugged

2008-01-04T14:21:00.001-08:00

I've been searching and searching for the reason or reasons why this was never a wide release, but have yet to find out - if you know, fill me in. Most true Hole fans out there feel their collection is incomplete without this recording from Valentine's Day 1995, but could do without Celebrity Skin or anything thereafter. Truthfully, it is not "unplugged" in the traditional sense at all, but Courtney is best when she is able to make full use of discord. Despite all of Courtney's contrived bad press, she is still a quintessential figure in the rock and roll, and her music from this time period is now defined as classic.

Hole - MTV Unplugged

We all knew Lauryn Hill was a great artist, but did we really know the depth of her artistry until we heard this double disc unplugged? For myself, that answer is no. I knew of her convictions, but only vaguely understood through the press , which seemed to want to demonize her as anti-white. Eventually, Hill retreated from the public gaze and reemerged with this 2002 release. I wait for more of Lauryn's dose of reality.

Lauryn Hill - Unplugged

Happy New Year!

2007-12-29T18:46:00.001-08:00

To get ready for your New Year bash, I thought I would share with you some of my most successful Party Mixes. Feel free to play all three to keep the energy going. I must admit that two of the three mixes are solidly female, the third crosses some self-established gender boundaries, but nonetheless is a great party vibe.

CTB's Awesome Party Mix 1: Delta 5, Free Kitten, Nina Simone, Bush Tetras, The Grownups, Salt n Pepa, Erma Franklin, Konk, Mary J Blige, Essential Logic, LiliPUT, Mr. Airplane Man, April March

CTB's Awesome Party Mix 2: The Neptunas, X, Lauryn Hill, Janis Joplin, Ike & Tina, Bjork, Holly Golightly, Missy Elliott, LeTigre, The Pretenders + more

CTB's Awesome Party Mix 3: Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, The Rock A Teens, Perez Prado. Gal Costa, ESG, Flaming Lips, LCD Soundsystem, Michael Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Naughty by Nature + more

Germanic Sampler

2007-12-27T12:48:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I have had my mind blown by an album. Needless to say, when I read the critic's reveiws of planningtorock's one woman act, I had to get my hands on the album as I refused to believe that anything new had the ability to do so. Alas, I concede to the critics, Vice Magazine said it best as quoted on the planningtorock website, "super fucking weird but also satisfyingly mind-blowing." Check out Janine Rostron's videos on YouTube as well, which are an integral part of her live performances. I look forward to her next album, and I truly hope that she remains an independent artist.
Have It All

Okay, so Liliput/Kleenex is actually from Switzerland, but with Germany bordering their nation to the north, and with nearly 63% of the population speaking German (including the band), I am classifying it as "Germanic." The group formed in 1978, calling themselves Kleenex, but had to rethink that when Kimberly-Clark threatened legal action. The group changed their name to LiLiPUT in 1979, but they are still widely known by both names. In this two disc set which covers the period of 1978-1983, you will notice the group went through quite a few changes, including a few different vocalists. The mainstays of the band were Marlene Marder on guitar, and Klaudia Schiff on bass. Take note of the many different sounds you hear throughout the album, some of which you may recognize in Have It All. Is it geography's influence? Or musical history?

LiLiPUT

The Deals

2007-12-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

I am completely excited to find out that The Breeders are releasing a new album in April 2008, which will be titled, Mountain Battles. Due to my excitement, here is a mega-Deals post.

Kelley Deal
Is the lead guitarist of The Breeders, but also had a number of side projects along the way. One of them being The Kelley Deal 6000, a project which began in about 1995 when she was admitted to drug rehab for possession of heroin. Listen to one of the first of two albums put out by Kelley during this time.

Go to the Sugar Altar

Kelley is also responsible for the formation of Last Hard Men around 1997. The story goes that Kelley, wanting to explore the genre of "hair bands," called Sebastian Bach of Skid Row to do a project together, but he seemed to have no idea who she was. After hitting it off, the band became Kelley Deal, Sebastian Bach, Jimmy Chamberlain of The Smashing Pumpkins, and Jimmy Flemion of The Frogs. The project finished a self-titled album in 1997, which wasn't released until 2001 when a label finally decided to pick it up.

The Last Hard Men

Kim Deal
While Kelley was in rehab, it was around this time that Kim Deal formed The Amps, the name derived from the stage name of Tammy Ampersand, which she used during The Breeders 8-year hiatus.

Pacer

And, of course, we all know The Pixies. Here is a limited release Live in Winnipeg April of 2004. Who said they weren't still awesome years later?

Live in Winnipeg

1988

2007-12-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

Hip Hop was just under a decade old when Brooklyn native, Lana Michele Moorer, better known as MC Lyte released her debut album Lyte as a Rock, which today remains a hip hop classic. When listening, be sure to note some of what would turn into samples for future hip hoppers, and the road she helped pave for the females of the genre.
Lyte As A Rock

On the other end of the spectrum, the layered guitar sounds of My Bloody Valentine were just getting started in London. While Isn't Anything is not cited as being indicative of their sound, this debut album importantly illustrates their link with the punk sound, and with what they would become by their next album, Loveless.

Isn't Anything

Instrumentals

2007-12-15T18:50:00.000-08:00

Formed in 1998 in Seattle, Kinski consists of Lucy Atkinson on bass, Chris Martin on guitar, Matthew Reid-Schwartz as keyboardist/guitarist, and Barrett Wilke on drums. Released in 2003, Airs Above Your Station is the band's third CD release, and is the best of the aptly or horribly named genre of "space rock," undeniably influenced by 70s rock. Airs is rare in that it is good start to end. Check out key track "Rhode Island Freak Out," as well as their new album released this past summer, "Down Below It's Chaos." Also note that Kinski has an improvisational outfit cleverly known as Herzog, check out that album Don't Climb on and Take the Holy Water, or wait for a future post of that.

Airs Above Your Station

Amiina is the all-female four piece from Iceland, which you may not be surprised by when you listen to Kurr (the Icelandic word for birdsong), their debut album. You may actually already know them as the women who added strings to the last few of Sigur Rós' albums, however, the sound of Kurr is entirely independent of this sound, partially made possible by their utilization of nearly any and all objects of instrumentation, including, but not limited to; wine glasses, water glasses, Celtic harps, saws, glockenspiels, and kalimbas, as well as more traditional instruments. Check out the delicate sounds of Huld Markan (violin), Hildur Ársælsdóttir (violin), Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir (viola) and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir (cello).

Kurr

Origins

2007-12-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

Alberta Hunter was a successful jazz vocalist when jazz was just getting started back in the 1920s, and continued to be one of the jazz greats until the 1950s when she left music for a new career. With most artists, when they are out of the loop for that long, and attempt a come back, we expect that they sacrifice their dignity in an attempt to regain their lost youth. This album, recorded in 1978 when Hunter was 83 years old, is the testament of a true artist who is able to portray her medium just as effortlessly, if not more effortlessly, than when she was in her 20s. Check out the lyrics on the title track.

Amtrak Blues

Jessie Mae Hemphill was a Mississippi native, and therefore, plays some real country blues. Defying tradition, Hemphill sang original material, accompanying herself on the electric guitar, and playing tambourine with her foot. This collection gathers material from her two HighWater albums, plus four previously unreleased tracks. Check out my personal favorite track, "Streamline Train" and "Lord, Help the Poor and Needy" - then be sure to tell folks what country is all about.

Shake It Baby

Descendants

2007-12-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

One of the anthems of women in music has been "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" written by a just-turned 20 Poly Styrene, frontwoman of X-Ray-Spex. Formed in London 1976, the group featured Lora Logic on sax, an instrument not typically heard in the punk scene. Aside from their atypical style, X-Ray-Spex embodied the punk ethic because of Poly Styrene's refusal to be yet another objectified sex symbol, shaving her head in defiance, something that would get Sinead universal attention about a decade and a half later. Check out key track mentioned above, along with yet another feminist anthem, "Identity."

Germfree Adolescents

So what happened when X-Ray-Spex split in 1979 when Poly Styrene went to join the Hare Krishna movement? Lora Logic, sax player, went on to form "Essential Logic," which lasted for about a year (when she herself joined the Krishnas), and reformed again for about a year in the early 80's. This double disc compiles most of Essential Logic's recorded moments, nearly all of Lora's solo stuff, plus many recent tunes. Enjoy the sax-heavy rhythms and operatic sensibility that can only be a female influence on the punk movement. Deciphering what tracks are new is pretty simple with track titles such as "On the Internet." Be sure to check out the earlier, and surely some of the better tracks, and key tracks such as "Hiss and Shake," and of course, "Music is a Better Noise."

Fanfare in the Garden