Sia (full name Sia Furler) hails from the famously laid-back Australian city of Adelaide. Boasting a powerful, soulful voice, she worked the Adelaide jazz circuit during the ’90s as a vocalist for the band Crisp. However, the blonde, blue-eyed antipodean’s big break came only after she followed in the footsteps of many other Aussie artists and hopped on a plane to the U.K.
While in London, Sia landed a gig as a backup singer for the very popular and extremely hip English outfit Jamiroquai. In early 2000, she released her first solo single, the alternative pop tune “Taken for Granted,” which debuted at number ten on the busy U.K. singles chart. Soon after, a string of big names in the British music scene asked for Sia’s services; projects with Massive…
It’s true- when people ask if we still need feminism I get really indignant and start yelling at them that of course we do, why a perfect example is last week when you told me to go make you a sandwich. But it’s sort of a victory as well, that people see the world, or at least America, as having come a long way.
And we have come a long way. But a lot of that was only in the past 100 years, which, in the scheme of things, is a ridiculously short time.
Consider education. It’s second semester of my junior year, so I’m feeling the college pressure right now. As I type, my College Board approved SAT Practice Book is sitting next to me. And yet, for all the…
the eating disorder awareness week poster from 2004
No, the title of this post is not the most uplifting thought in the world. But it’s an issue that’s plaguing my peers and isn’t going away any time soon. Scratch that, it’s not just an issue, or something that haunts insecure teenagers with nothing better to think about than themselves. Eating disorders are life threatening illnesses caused by dangerous pressures and behaviors that need to be addressed.
I see this every day at my school in a vast spectrum of ways. I saw it just the other day in the bathroom at school (such a cliche but shit seriously does go down in the bathroom…). This girl that I don’t know very well came up beside me at the mirror. She’s a…
Even if you’re only a little bit of a feminist, getting married can be tough. I knew that some of the more archaic traditions could be nauseating but I found myself affronted with some good ole’ fashioned deep seated sexism when the topic of weddings roles around to last names. Are you taking his? Keeping yours? Hyphenating the two? Or GASP the worst…is he taking yours?
I chose to keep my last name. I’ve identified myself quite a bit with it and it just seemed like another silly tradition to ignore; how wrong I was. I constantly face problems with this, any time we both sign our name and then choose the married box inquisitive looks are to follow. But more than just the annoyance of people’s disbelief that we were…
Now, let me begin by saying I don’t hate Taylor. She plays her own instruments, writes her own song (a fact that at times is painfully obvious) and if she learned how to sing live, she would be a perfectly mediocre musician. She’s perfectly lovely, never rude to anyone (ever) and I also support any woman who follows her heart and manages the difficult task of succeeding in the music business.
However; the fact that she won album of the year at the Grammy’s this year, an honour that had previously been bestowed upon the likes of Ray Charles, U2, Norah Jones, Bob Dylan, JOHN FREAKING LENNON, Michael Jackson, Alanis Morissette, the list goes on, and the fact that the legend, Stevie Nicks, was reduced to singing back…
I love Kathleen Hanna and Bikini Kill. A lot. So when I saw this very recent interview with her, considering she doesn’t do that many, I knew I had to share! She talks about zines v. blogging, the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, feminist leadership and…*sigh* she’s just awesome.
GRITtv writes:
Kathleen Hanna came into a music scene in the 90s that was angry, violent, and full of men. She and her bandmates in Bikini Kill, along with the rest of the riot grrrl movement, pushed back against that culture and helped usher in a new “wave” of feminism. After Bikini Kill, Hanna went on to make feminist dance music with Le Tigre and has kept pushing boundaries ever since. Recently, she donated her zine archive to NYU’s Fales Library as part of…
Kimya Dawson was born and raised in Bedford Hills, NY. After meeting Adam Green in a record store in upstate New York, the duo formed a band called the Moldy Peaches. They began playing the anti-folk scene in New York City, and slowly built a very loyal following. Since the Moldy Peaches went on hiatus a few years ago, though, she’s opened for artists like They Might Be Giants, Regina Spektor, Third Eye Blind, and the Butchies.
She’s leant her voice to recordings by Ben Kweller, The Mountain Goats, and others. Dawson released her first solo album in 2002. Both as a member of Moldy Peaches, and as a solo artist, Dawson has toured extensively throughout the US and Europe. She’s released four solo albums. Some work the Moldy Peaches did…
My school advisor recently sent me a link to this video of a talk Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Pilgrims and Eat, Pray, Love, gave to the TED conference last year. Her views on the pressures of being a “genius” and the way we view creativity are really fascinating.
Now, I don’t want to make connections where there aren’t any, because Gilbert’s argument is so completely valid on its own, but I really do think the idea of allowing yourself psychological distance from your work, whether it is creative in nature or not, is something that my generation of feminists really needs to examine a little further.
Loading ...
