Category Archives: musAK

musAK

Amy Winehouse and rehabbing the stigma of substance abuse

, 237 Comments

I’d wager that Amy Winehouse fans – casual or otherwise – had a similar reaction to the 27-year-old singer and fashion muse’s death: tragic but not entirely unexpected. You’d only need to listen to a few tracks off her brilliant 2006 album Back to Black to know that Winehouse’s demons were the crux of her too-short existence.

Winehouse’s struggles with drugs, alcohol and mental illness became as much of a part of her identity as her black eyeliner and beehive hair. Her personal battles were relentlessly demonized in all-caps headlines splashed across the front page of tabloids and celebrity gossip websites.

We rolled our eyes when she was arrested – yet again – for drugs, assault or whatever trouble she found that day. We chuckled at yet another disastrous live performance caught on YouTube while quietly willing Back to Black producer Mark Ronson to dust her off and drag her into the studio for another round of that soulful, hip-hop-infused blues-rock we all craved – like in “Love is a losing game.”

Perhaps we owe it to Winehouse to take a step back and consider the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on our friends, families, neighbors, co-workers – and how these struggles are stigmatized by media and society. We run marathons for lymphoma, wear red for heart health and convince pro athletes to don pink cleats for breast-cancer awareness. What about depression? Eating disorders? Alcohol abuse?

We loved Winehouse for her unapologetic honesty and her take-no-prisoners attitude. But addiction and mental illness are far from easily conquered for even the strongest among us with a hearty support network. Now as we’re left to shudder when Rehab pops up on our playlists, let’s start reconsidering how we view substance abuse and mental illness before we lose another star, famous or otherwise.

–By Meg Wiegand

musAK

Review: Gaga’s Born This Way

, Leave a comment

“In the most biblical sense, I am beyond repentance…But in the cultural sense I just speak in future tense.”

My fascination with Lady Gaga goes beyond her crazy costumes and intense dedication to her performance art. In fact, it’s in spite of all that. I see her antics as she intends: part of the character she plays called Lady Gaga, not Stefani Germanata. I mean, have you ever seen an interview? She seems so personable and friendly and humble, and I’d like to drink some Jameson (her favorite whiskey) with her. She simply knows how to market herself (and her music). Case in point: the hype leading up to this album.

I feel like the video for “Alejandro” was the harbinger of all that is leather and awkwardly sexualized religion and, thus, this entire album. Still, I don’t think what came before prepared any of us–including her fans–for where she went with her “Born this way” video. At all. I mean, Mama Monster shows us her interstellar birth, how do you top that?

It left many of us wondering just where she would go with the new album. Those lucky enough to see her in concert (yay, I did!) or on her HBO special may have heard her play “You and I,” which makes you feel like you’re sitting in a local pub and a talented regular is rockin’ the keys and some one just bought you a shot. But then there’s “Heavy Metal Lover,” “Bloody Mary,” and “Judas” which reference religion in a seemingly irreverent way.

Personally, I’m impressed. I really thought I’d be listening to a revamped version of the Fame Monster, but no, Gaga (in true Gaga fashion) dashed all my expectations into the ground with her McQueen heels. Overall, the album could be described as “Uplifting Dance Party.” While “Born This Way” made me expect a lot more techno than I’ve been used to with Gaga’s music (a music genre I have a ‘meh’ relationship with) she offers a lot of different styles to break up the overtly upbeat dance tunes. People give her a lot of crap saying she “ripped off” Madonna, but I think the Black Eyed Peas tend to commit bigger sins of copy-cat-ism. At least Gaga admits to taking inspiration from Madonna’s music but doesn’t openly sample it. Instead she builds something new from it.

Sure, it’s similar, but it’s a modified homage.

“Judas” is catchy and amazing–I LOVE the music video for it too: more dancing, less awkward intergalactic birth scenes and prosthetics. In this song in particular you can hear Gaga’s versatility as her voice sounds different from verse to chorus to bridge.

Overt religious references mean added controversy for BTW

“Americano” is also greatness. Have you seen the movie Nine? The one about the Italian filmmaker, not the animated one. If so, then hopefully you already know where I’m going, but basically it makes you feel like you should be either doing an awesome DWTS-worthy ballroom dance or stomping around a fountain in the middle of a square. I also feel like this is definitely one that, if you didn’t know it was Lady Gaga before listening, you’d never guess it was her singing.

Simple is better, Gaga!

Overall, the songs are great to dance to. In fact, I need to cut this short for a Gaga Dance Party with the bestie. I’ll leave you with a couple awesome lyrics:

“Jesus is the new Black,” -#9 “Black Jesus/Amen Fashion”

“I’m on the edge of glory/ And I’m hangin’ on a moment of truth,” -#11 “Edge of Glory”

“Mi corazón me duele por mi generación,” -#5 “Americano” (trans: My heart hurts for my generation.)

–By Ashley Espinosa

musAK

Lupe Fiasco deserves some lady love

Leave a comment

We ladies put up with certain things for certain benefits. We put up with painful high heels because they make us look leaner. We put up with grandparents who ask why we aren’t married with babies yet because we love them. And we put up with misogynistic music because hey, the beat is bangin’ and we like to dance.

But we don’t have to put up with that with Lupe Fiasco. On his latest album, “Lasers,” he gives us clever, eclectic, irresistible beats set to lyrics that we don’t have to ignore.

Now I don’t mean to say that Lupe is a figure for women’s rights. But even Jay-Z conceded that Lupe is the most creative rapper out there right now, and it’s probably because Lupe doesn’t rap about hookers or beer, about sex positions or beating up women, and because his album isn’t filler surrounding a single.

Instead, each song is delightfully catchy, laid-back and completely unapologetic about having a backbone. Often giving the feel that you’re at a huge, throbbing concert, “Lasers” offers a satisfying mix of heart and hits.

First, the heart: Lupe dreams about a bizarrely non-bigoted world in “All Black Everything,” a song which sounds blissfully fantastical – literally, because I swear it samples music from some classic Disney fairy tale. “Never Forget You” takes Lupe on a walk through his stomping grounds to a beat that smacks both industrial and epic while John Legend’s always-sincere vocals soar sky-high. “Shining Down” is so hauntingly gorgeous it hurts: “You thought I was gone, you thought I wasn’t around, that I left you alone,” heaves guest vocalist Matthew Santos (who helped make one of Lupe’s previous hits, “Superstar,” so unforgettable). “Look up in the sky…see that I’m everywhere, shining down on you.” And “Letting Go” manages to be deliriously melodic… and soul-crushing.

If all this sounds a little emotional, no worries: Lupe’s deliciously danceable tracks rock all things good about the present and the past.  “Coming Up” feels like the party anthem of 1994, synthesizers, piano and all. But “I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now” is so right now, I dare you to not to shake your booty the second it starts. If it’s not the next club staple, I will hurt somebody.

Lupe keeps the club pulse going in “Out Of My Head,” which features a glamorous beat á la Kanye’s “Flashing Lights” and a syrupy Trey Songz howling oh so sweet (good luck getting this song out of your head). But save your energy for the hurricane-rush of “Breaking The Chain,” which has the heavy grip of Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” and sounds like being hurricane drunk at 3 a.m. on some futuristic Saturday night.

The rumor is that Lupe hated making this album – that it was a compromise between his vision and the record label’s demand for marketability. The only time the label seems to have won is “The Show Goes On,” which reminds you that you’re not at a concert and that somebody recorded this calculated, forgettable hit in a studio. I suppose it’d make for a good Nike commercial. (After I wrote this, I heard it during a college basketball break on TV. Fitting.) I can’t help but wonder: Might the title of the song be a little snippy?

If “Show” is slightly bitter, Lupe gets over it in “Till I Get There,” an anthem for all the shoulder-shrugging one has to do when working for fame. It’s such a catchy, happy tune that it makes you wonder if Lupe doesn’t really care that he hasn’t “gotten there,” and that he may not ever get there, either. This isn’t the first time Lupe sings about searching for fame – the longing “Superstar,” anyone? – and it does seem like this uber-talented young man rightfully dreams of finally being recognized:  Lupe, whose work is anything but cheap, probably doesn’t have the biggest appeal to record labels. But “Lasers” just reinforces how very little label appeal matters anymore. And I think Lupe finally gets that: Just see how big his smile beams in the video for “Beamin’,” in which he parties with fifth graders, cardboard cutouts and lots of pretty flashing lasers. “Today, nobody cares, but tomorrow, they will.” And they should.

–By Tara Cavanaugh

musAK

Gagapalooza!

Leave a comment

So it’s probably the only place on earth where you would see more yellow caution tape than a CSI episode. That’s right: a Gaga concert. Now I might sometimes criticize Gaga’s fashion and sometimes question her choices (human hair cape, anyone?), but truth is, I love her. The woman practically oozes individuality, and who doesn’t love that?

I was lucky enough (and because my bestie loved me enough) to see the Lady in concert. Let me just say, some may call her a freak, but girl has serious talent. My respect for her as a performer has increased a hundred-fold having seen her live. A Gaga concert is like a giant dance party. She knows how to work a crowd, utilize an arena stage, respect her fans and give a pretty B.A. speech on empowerment. Plus, girlfriend ain’t lip syncing, and she plays her own instruments.

Gaga also ditched her most recent Madonna-esque look to return to more standard fare—for her anyway. Everything was sans pants as per usual. She opened with standard leotard and poofy sleeves and sunnies. And her sunshine yellow hair also made a re-appearance. (And played a piano in a car!)

She then switched it up with a red caftan and sexy nun (if nuns can be sexy). She also went heavy metal and donned what looked like a long garbage bag while rockin’ a keyboard. But then stripped down to leather undies.

Her general lack of clothing was only broken up by a hairy black cape. And she switched it up with a monster ball-gown. And a space age galactic gown. She further switched it up by donning the nude skirt she wore to the Grammys to close the concert with her anthem “Born This Way.”

Gaga changed her set almost as many times as she changed her outfits. The set would change from grunge street scene to fantastical forest. It was like a magnificent nightmare straight out of her mind. Gaga delights in the horrific. But most of all, Gaga celebrates individuality and self-empowerment.

–By Lindsay Ray

musAK

The best girlhood girl bands

, , , , , 2 Comments

If you’re a girl, or a grown-up girl, you know there are girl bands in your past that still hold a special place in your heart (and your head, which still knows all the lyrics to your favorite songs). Here, we share some of our favorite girl bands from our girlhoods. Who are yours?

Spice Girls –by Ivy Ashe

YO, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want.

I want to strap on my Rollerblades and blast “Wannabe” on the stereo and race around my neighbor Kenzie’s driveway, choreographing moves so sick Sporty Spice would have been jealous (and she does backflips!).

I want to pore over the lyrics to “Spice Up Your Life” in the car, trying to figure out what the heck a lambada is—because I’m still trying to figure out what “zig-a-zig-aaaa” means.

I want to giggle to my eleven-year-old self when I think of the HIDDEN MEANING in “2 Become 1.”

I want to laugh at all the poor saps who didn’t know who David Beckham until “Bend It Like Beckham” was in theaters. Pfff. So unposh of them.

But mostly I just want to turn up the volume and DANCE.

So tell me what you want, what you really really want.

Sleater Kinney –by Sam Howard

When I was in middle school, my brother Brian made my sister Beth and me mixed cds entitled “Songs for Sisters, Volume 1.” I put it in my cd player, pressed play and thought, “what the hell is this?”

It had lots of loud music on it, and it wasn’t the Dave Matthews Band or Michelle Branch (embarrassing, I know) that I had been really enjoying. The cd fell to the wayside. However, my brother, bless his heart, never gave up on making me like cool music. Still determined a year later, Brian encouraged me to revisit Songs for Sisters. I did, and found myself feeling differently about the mix, especially about two songs in particular. Those two songs, called “Oh!” and “Far Away,” were by Sleater Kinney, three of the most amazingly badass sounding women I have ever heard.

Sleater Kinney was a band labeled indie rock, punk, and/or riot grrrl, and they are very much worth your time. Like many other indie bands of the late 90s and early 00s, they came from the Portland area punk scene, but quickly escalated up the indie rock/riot grrrl food chain, going on to release records on Kill Rock Stars and eventually Sub Pop.

When I first started listening to them, it wasn’t what they were saying that I loved. I just loved how they sounded. They were playing their own instruments with precise passion and power, screaming out the words to their songs like they really meant it. This left me with many evenings listening to those two songs, over and over, playing air guitar and jumping up and down in my basement.

The themes they explored weren’t necessarily what I was interested in, or even noticed at the age of 13; but years later, when I really started listening to the words of their songs, I liked them even more. Sleater Kinney’s songs speak out against traditional gender roles, advocate for LGBT rights, oppose war, and explore everything in between.

Even though they broke up officially in 2006, they are still hard at work on individual projects, or showing up in music videos. Corin Tucker headlines The Corin Tucker Band, Carrie Brownstein blogs for NPR and writes for The Believer, and Janet Weiss has played with popular acts such as Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes, as well as being a permanent member of indie band Quasi. In 2010, Brownstein stated in an interview she’d like to get the band back together and make an album within the next five years.

Eventually, my Dave Matthews Band and Michelle Branch cds left my stereo for good in order to make room for heavy rotation of Song for Sisters Volumes 1 and 2, and Sleater Kinney, of course. And even though I have an apartment now, instead of a house with a basement, I still make time to jump around and play air guitar, just don’t tell anyone.

If you want to learn more about these ladies or give them a listen for yourself check out their official website: http://www.sleater-kinney.com/ or listen for free on grooveshark.

The Go-Gos –by Ivy Ashe

True confession: I usually switch stations when I hear a Go-Gos song on the radio. I’m a sucker for catchy material (see above…), and not all of their songs meets my standards of earworm. Not to say the band’s isn’t awesome– they’re the first all-female group (nay, band) to top Billboard album charts (so says the Billboard site), which is both wonderful and weird (it wasn’t till the eighties that album-topping happened? What took so long?). I just need that extra stuck-in-head factor.

I make an exception for this song, though.

The key is to learn all of the words and then sing it everywhere. It’s always appropriate. In the shower, in the car, to yourself while jogging, while you’re making breakfast…
Besides, after watching that video, don’t you just want to go pick up a set of drum sticks yourself?

No Doubt –by Tara Cavanaugh

Pretty sure the male members of No Doubt wouldn’t be happy to hear me call them a girl band, but come on: when you think of No Doubt, you think of Gwen Stefani. You think of “Spiderwebs” and that mid-90s anthem, “I’m Just A Girl.”

“I’m Just a Girl” was probably my introduction to feminism. I was only nine, and it put lyrics in my head that would make the Barbie collection in my basement give a collective shudder. Everything about me then was girly. My room was pink, I had a favorite Disney princess (Ariel), and I couldn’t wait to grow up so I could wear bras and high heels. “I’m Just A Girl” was deliciously subversive, totally singable, and appealing for reasons I didn’t quite understand. I get it now.

I grew into feminism, and part of that was refusing to believe that I was just a girl. I admit a lot about me is still pretty girly, but without the helplessness and clueless-ness that makes Gwen scream.

While I’m not exactly a fan of how Gwen has manufactured herself into a wannabe pop star, I’ll always remember her early days with No Doubt. I mean, have you listened to Tragic Kingdom lately? It’s still pretty damn good.

making statements, musAK, screaming statements

The Ever-Elusive Lady: Gaga’s “Alejandro”

Leave a comment

To me, Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” video is like a good surrealist painting; I like it, but I just don’t quite get it. And I know everybody and their mama has written about Gaga and her video and what it could all mean. But here are my takeaway questions:

1)    What is with the dancing Moes? Is Gaga a Stooges fan? If so, more power to her; those guys are hilarious.

2)    Is Gaga making a fashion statement with her platinum blond chili bowl? (I hope not. I wouldn’t ever want a resurgence of that cut; it looked bad enough on me as a child.)

3)    Should the original platinum pop princess of overt sexuality and controversial images, aka Madonna, be pissed at the blatant rip-off or pleased at the homage?

But in all seriousness, the viewer is assaulted with several images throughout the course of the video. A totaltarian state with a dictator/queen. A casket and a skewered heart. Some snow and religious symbolism. People rolling around in beds. Crucifixes everywhere (even one over Gaga’s crotch). A dance sequence in a black pantsuit. A group dance sequence that debuts a stellar machine gun bra that puts Katy Perry’s whip cream can bra to shame.

Just what are you trying to say with all of your metaphors, Gaga? What are you commenting on? War? Religion? Sex? Love? Gender? I can’t quite make it out. Mostly, I think the assault of images, some of them for shock value, leaves the viewer only muddled and with a vague sense of what “Alejandro” is all about. As for the Madge comparisons? There are similarities to be sure (just check out Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” video for controversial Christian imagery), but whether it is an homage or an inferior attempt at Madonna, well, that’s all in the eye of the beholder (and probably depends on how big a fan of each one is). For my part, I could probably watch this 100 times and never fully get it, but I’ll enjoy it for what it is: another freaky fun stop on the Gaga rollercoaster.

–by Lindsay Ray