For reasons that I can neither justify nor articulate, I am embarrassingly fond of late 1970s to mid-1980s-era Bruce Springsteen.* Despite this I really hate Bruce’s original version of “I’m On Fire.” It’s gross. It’s icky and skeevy and the way he mutters about Little Girls and Daddies is upsetting and weird. It’s the muttering […]
Playlist: Creepsteen Read More »
I’ve been powerlifting. It’s the first and only sport where I have ever, in my whole life, felt like I have any kind of skill and like my body is an asset rather than a hindrance. Mass moves mass; often, a body that is larger is a body that is stronger; and as I’ve been
Playlist: Barbell Bangers Read More »
My favorite musical genre is not really a genre, in the strict sense. It’s an attitude and a point of view that I can hear across songs by punks and soul divas and songwriters and pop stars alike; it’s the sound of women who are just completely over it. Not in an angry way, more
Playlist: Are you kidding me Read More »
This song is about heartbreak: it’s the song of someone pleading with you to stay, to never leave, to come back. Please don’t break my heart just yet or ever: first tell me you love me for a million years. This song is sly and funny: it’s the joking ultimatum of someone who doesn’t think
Bettye Swann, Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye Read More »
Another one for the Creepsteen playlist. This one flips the gender, pulls back on the tempo, adds a dose of glittering atmosphere, and sounds like a witchy incantation. It upends the power dynamics of the original: if Bruce is issuing a macho proposition, Bat for Lashes is a siren’s lure. Both play with a stereotype,
Bat for Lashes, I’m on Fire Read More »
First let me confess that I am weirdly fond of Springsteen; before he became rock and roll’s dad, young Bruce was weirdly hot as hell. And anyone whose songwriting shows that they know their girl groups gets a thumbs up from me. Lately I’ve been really into women covering Springsteen, and Electrelane’s aggressive and almost
Electrelane, I’m on Fire Read More »
I would follow Amy Taylor’s voice off a cliff. I think what I love the most about this song is the way she sings like she’s summoning us, like she’s our fearless leader or maybe our cult leader, calling on us to rise up and follow her into the thick of a fire. She shouts
Amyl and the Sniffers, Guided by Angels Read More »
When you sing along with I Wanna Be Sedated, it becomes so instantly clear that it’s a girl group song, and that girl groups were punker than punk!
Ramones, I Wanna Be Sedated Read More »
I’m sorry I’m sorry but every August as soon as the season starts to show the slightest whiff of wanting to change my brain gets totally colonized by nostalgia and all I want are moody tunes about missing people. Somewhere I still have an old calling card that I could use to make long distance
Neko Case, Calling Cards Read More »
Jackie DeShannon is so underrated. Just about she wrote is a total banger (see: When You Walk in the Room, Breakaway, even Put a Little Love in Your Heart, which has deeply corny hippie-pop vibes, yes, but it’s great anyway and the horn section is killer). She may have co-written Needles and Pins but didn’t
Jackie DeShannon, Needles and Pins Read More »