Smithology

I’ve noticed on twitter a bit of voting going on against the #hottest100women hashtag and to a @hottest100women user who is apparently going to compile a list of the most highly voted female artists as a counterpoint to Triple J’s recent hottest 100 of all time list that had next to no female artists. Actually there were women hidden in some of the bands and some guest artists on the Massive Attack songs but compared to the amount of cock-rock on that list it was pretty saddening.

I really enjoy the feminine voice (both literal and literary) and would like to see just a little more encouragement for women to get out there and sling their guitars (or their keyboards or microphone stands or whatever else makes a noise).

I also realise that in other genres there are plenty of women: my Dad is a fan of country music and at one stage his MySpace page was embarrassingly overloaded with women singers (which he assured me was a coincidence). I think that’s just how country (and folk) music is: women have more of a voice.

And don’t get me started on the soul-delling (a combination of soul and yodelling according to Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock) pop idols that dominate mainstream radio.

So without further ado and to help “restore the balance” here’s my top ten list gals that sing and play in the order that they came into my head which would change if I wrote the list tomorrow or yesterday.

1. Delerium: Silence. I first heard this in Broke Down Palace and then obtained it on a mix disc that some record shop gave me (called Beat Me ‘Till It Feels Good). The guest vocal is by Sarah McLachlan who actually does kind of yodel in the chorus but in this case it works.
2. Wicked Beat Sound System: I Don’t Wanna Know. Inna Styles was my favourite album for a couple of years after I bought it. I love the way it blends the flute with the drum and bass and Linda Janssen’s wonderful voice. In this song I love the way she pours the emotion into the line “The world and all that’s beyond, I can’t conceive how it goes on forever / this earth, this life, how can it be taken away so easily?”
3. Jill Sobule: Supermodel. I have this from the Clueless soundtrack. Apart from her lyrics “I didn’t eat yesterday and I didn’t eat today and I’m not going to eat tomorrow!” I also like the ferocious out of control guitars. I might have also included “I Kissed a Girl” for the line “dumb as a box of hammers but he’s such a handsome guy”. I suppose I should listen to one of her albums some day.
4. Goldfrapp: Human. I loved felt mountain from the day Richard Kingsmill featured it on his Sunday afternoon show where he plays new stuff. The mix of operatic vocals and epic sounding strings with samples and beats really grabbed me. I also bought Black Cherry and Seventh Tree which are great but I’ll always go back to Felt Mountain because the music just transports you.
5. Pretenders: Brass In Pocket. This is the Pretender’s big hit but they have written tonnes of other rocking songs and Chrissie Hynde’s sardonic delivery is perfect. I would also put in a vote for “Precious”, “Up the Neck” (for the line “I rubbed my face in the sweat that ran down his chest / it was all very … run of the mill”) and “Pack it Up” (“I may be a skunk, but you’re a piece of junk / and furthermore, I don’t like your trousers…”)
6. Regina Spektor: Fidelity. (“and it breaks my har har har har har har har har har heart…”) This is pretty new to me, but I’m digging Regina’s music more and more and will probably buy her new album
7. Garbage: Vow. I can give or take Garbage but their music’s fun (in a dark way) and it rocks. And yes I know there’s that Curve band that is apparently way better but you must remember that prior to 1995 I only listened to Dire Straits and Eric Clapton.
8. Massive Attack: Teardrop. This is just a wonderful artful song. The guest vocal is Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins. Actually I own a Cocteau Twins song: Alice from the Stealing Beauty soundtrack which is also a wonderful haunting song.
9. Portishead: Glory Box. Also on the Stealing Beauty soundtrack and I realise this list is a little heavy on the acid jazz side of things. But I had to pick a Portishead song and this is the most popular.
10. Nina Simone: Love me or Leave Me. Maybe Nina doesn’t count as rock/pop but I think she rocks.

And there are heaps more now I look through my record collection like there are heaps of little eighties pop songs that I’m a fan of: Blondie, Divinyls, Eurythmics, even Cyndi Lauper (The eighties was a great time for girl-pop before the age of soul-delling). Also one-off stuff that I only have because it’s on a soundtrack like The Muffs version of Kids in America on the Clueless soundtrack. And then I enjoy the occasional listen to Sinead O’Conner and PJ Harvey that might have made the list on another day.

Note I have kind of broken the hottest100women rules by including bands/songs where only the guest vocal is a woman.

I have a lot of trouble choosing real musical favourites because so much of what I enjoy listening to at a given time is due to the mood I’m in and changes over time and repeated listening. Most of the time I just like a whole album so I’ve just chosen singles when in doubt to make it easier for myself.

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