Boards
women in music
there is an article today in the guardian in which jude rodgers considers the role of women in the music industry after the wave of artisits (winehouse, allen, duffy), that the media have said are a 'new phenomenom.
i agree with her in that it is stupid to hail these new artists as the saviors of female music as if they are indeed a new phenomenon..citing george pringle as someone who is pissed off that anyone with breasts gets compared to winehouse or allen....
(although i disagree when rodgers goes on to name madonna and dolly parton as the strong artists that should be the guiding light for women...are these really the artists that women want to put on a pedastal?)
how do women feel about this constant new wave of female artists being hailed as revolutionary, as if women in music is a concept never conceived before?
i had to do an essay on the representation of women in the music magazines just as the beth ditto being number one in the cool list was kicking off...and i came to the conclusion that the nme especially jumped on the female artist thing to fill another niche, to be seen at the forefront of the latest thing....which in a way can be seen as patronising despite the greater awarness of female artists it created...
it was interesting to note that lilly allens album had a small section for its review on release which was quite derogetory..calling her a motermouth chav or something......and was dwarfed by the new razorlight which had its arse licked...and a nice section of borrels quotes entitled 'how to talk like a rock star'..but then a few months later her album is hailed in the end of year list but borrel is out of the picture.
i might be way of the mark...but do women find it frustrating and patronising with this constant re-assesment of their role in the music industry...is it good that there is a greater awareness of more female artists or is it frustrating that each female artist should be assessed in terms of her sex?
is the female artist thing just another new rave...wanting to create a movement out of something that doesnt really exist?
im not sure if that all sounds confusing and im not really sure if im making any specific point, but it would be interesting to see how people feel about this issue