The International Women's Day Playlist

This was a playlist made for my teenager in celebration of International Women's Day. It went slightly wrong when I caused a small altercation with my laptop and a cup of tea. The less said about that the better. This was the final playlist finished at the beginning of June:

Just a Girl - No Doubt

Chasing Pavements - Adele

Valerie ['68 Version] - Amy Winehouse

Sing (Full Length) - Annie Lennox

Sisters Of Mercy - Beth Orton

I Love Myself Today - Bif Naked

Buttercup - Lucinda Williams

Atlas - Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny

Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton

True Colors - Cyndi Lauper

Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill

Get Outta My Room - The Donnas

I Want Candy - Bow Wow Wow

It's the Love - The Breeders

Fighter - Christina Aguilera

Hey Baby - No Doubt

Doll Parts - Hole

Zombie (Album Version) - The Cranberries

Respect - Aretha Franklin

Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

A Stitch In Time - Lucy Ward

She Bop - Cyndi Lauper

Goodbye Earl - Dixie Chicks

Tom's Diner - Suzanne Vega

I Didn't Like You Anyway - The Donnas

Big Branch (feat. Tomasia) - Gangstagrass

#1 Crush - Garbage

Beautiful - Christina Aguilera

I Am Woman - Helen Reddy

Miss World - Hole

Buffalo Stance (7'' Mix) - Neneh Cherry

Johnny Got A Boom Boom - Imelda May

Juliet (Keep That In Mind) - Thea Gilmore

Video (Main) - India.Arie

Love and Romance (Rough Mix) - The Slits

Strength, Courage & Wisdom - India.Arie

Song For Baby - Isobel Campbell

The Woman in Your Life is You - Alix Dobkin

This Woman's Work - Kate Bush

Shirley - L7

Deceptacon - Le Tigre

Romance - Wild Flag

Vindictive - The Slits

Maids When You're Young - Lucy Ward

Sweet Tooth Bird - Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny

I Try - Macy Gray

Crazy Love - Marianne Faithfull

Change Of Heart - Cyndi Lauper

Children Of Stone - Marianne Faithfull

Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos

Bad Idea - Thea Gilmore

Woman - Neneh Cherry

Hella Good - No Doubt

Don't Speak - No Doubt

Franklin Benedict - Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny

Let England Shake - PJ Harvey

Can't Hold Us Down - Christina Aguilera Feat. Lil'Kim

Nightswimmer - Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny

Seeing Black - Lucinda Williams

Creep - TLC

The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore - PJ Harvey

My My Metrocard - Le Tigre

Beautiful Pain - Rosanne Cash

Intellectualise My Blackness - Skunk Anansie

You're No Rock N' Roll Fun - Sleater-Kinney

I Heard It Through the Grapevine - The Slits

Making Out - No Doubt

Militia Sister - Thea Gilmore

Waterfalls - TLC

Girl - Tori Amos

I Don't Believe in Love - Viv Albertine

Glass Tambourine - Wild Flag

Carousel - Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny

Born To Be Loved - Lucinda Williams

Typical Girls - The Slits

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Beth Jeans Houghton: Brilliant Musician, Shame About the Album Cover

I discovered Beth Jeans Houghton a couple of months ago when trying to find music by women that wasn't misogynistic twaddle for an International Women's Day playlist for my teenager. I love Houghton's music but every time her CD cover shows up on the front of my iPod I cringe. It's a naked woman, which I assume is Houghton but I don't actually know for sure, with a lion's head. Now, it's a pretty powerful image but mostly because she seems to be missing a vulva. So, on top of the normal issues of objectification and the pornographication of the female body, they now don't have vulvas. Because, obviously, naked breasts aren't a problem, nor is a woman's body with no hair but a vulva is just wrong. Or, something. 

I find the increasing sexualisation and pornographication of young female artists depressing. We are all familiar with the Rolling Stones cover of Britney Spears making her change from "teen star" to music/porn star but this isn't just confined to women performing within the "pop" industry. Gwen Stefani and Beyonce both wrote brilliant songs about being women, sexism and power relations whilst performing in groups but the music they have released as solo artists has just reinforced the same old misogynistic twaddle. It is at the point where a female artist can only be taken seriously if they are half-naked and gyrating on a pole. Just look at Shakira's early music in Spanish and her transition to an English-language artist. It's soul-destroying. Or, Katy Perry whose music is marketed at young teenagers but is only about servicing male sexual desires.

Houghton writes great music and her lyrics are brilliant and sublime. The use of her body as a sale tactic is just another facet of the misogyny inherent in the music industry. Now, I'm fairly sure Houghton was involved in developing the image used. I doubt very much the image was something required by her record company since Houghton doesn't strike me as the kind of artist who would do as she was told in order to play her music. It's just a shame that her body is the object discussed rather than her music which is brilliant [and everyone should buy it].

Plus, she should go on a proper tour so I can see her play live.

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#BuyingOnlyMusicByWomen

I know very little about music. We don't watch reality TV in this house and the teenager is far more likely to be caught listening to Debussy as she is anything on MTV. The music we do own is very male-centric. After all, I like the Red Hot Chili Peppers; hardly a beacon of Feminist-friendly music. I've been making a conscious effort to combat cultural femicide in the music industry by only buying music written by women. I did start several threads on Mumsnet asking for suggestions but, after the annoying stalkery-horseshit by a certain nameless organisation, I had most of my old posts on Mumsnet deleted. I forgot to copy some of the incredible threads about women's music. Every year I make my daughter a women-only playlist for International Women's Day and the last two years this has been with the help of the women of Mumsnet This year the list never got finalised as my laptop had an unfortunate encounter with some tea the week before. Technically, I've finished the list but I keep adding to it and haven't actually made a copy for my daughter yet. 

I'm expanding my feminist activism of #readingonlybookswrittenbywomen into #BuyingOnlyMusicByWomen. So, I'm looking for more suggestion of music written, produced or performed by women who aren't part of the hyper-masculinised music industry and who are controlled and manipulated by men for the sexual pleasure of men.

Some of my Personal Favourites are [in no particular order or strength of love]:

Beth Jeans Houghton
Polly Harvey
Hole
Lucy Ward
Thea Gilmore

Amy Winehouse
Big Mama Thorton
The Slits
Viv Albertine
No Doubt [but not Gwen Stefani's solo stuff]
Marianne Faithfull
Lucinda Williams
Isobel Campbell [with and without Mark Lanegan]
Heather Nova
Imelda May
Diana Ross
Dusty Springfield
Ella Fitzgerald
Alanis Morissette
Aretha Franklin
Gladys Knight
Whitney Houston
Tina Turner
Janis Joplin

This is the suggestions via Mumsnet:

Patti Smith
Emmylou Harris
Pearl Bailey
Karine Polwart
Nanci Griffith
Corrine Bailey Rae
Dinah Washington
Michelle Shocked
Suzanne Vega
Lucie Silvas
Roberta Flack
Le Tigre
Bikini Kill
The Donnas
Wild Flag
Sleater-Kinney
Skunk Anansie
L7
India.Arie
Kristen Hersh
Tanya Donnelly
Throwing Muses
Aimee Mann
Beth Orton
Cowboy Junkies
The Cranberries
Edie Brickell
Elastica
Kathryn Williams
Leftfield
Leslie Feist
Portishead
Tracey Thorn
Liz Frazer
Sandy Denny
Chrissie Hynde
Bjork
Alison Moyet
Lykke Li
School of Seven Bells
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Warpaint
Veruca Salt
Lana del Rey
Nancy Sinatra
Oh Land
Curve
Miranda Sex Garden
Daisy Chainsaw
Mediaeval Baebes
Diamanda Galas
Ute Lemper Alisha's Attic

Some Suggestions from Twitter last week:

Melody Gardot @ClareTwirler
Luscious Jackson @Charitydelux
Cornshead Sisters @Charitydelux

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