Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 04/7/2013
Support Women Artists Sunday: Chloe Charles
Melancholic, charismatic, inspiring, and sincere – Toronto-based Chloe Charles breaks black female vocalist stereotypes right away as she arrives on stage with her classical guitar, accompanied by violin, double bass, or other unexpected twists and turns of her musical imagination. A singer-songwriter, drawing from many genres with hints of various ethnic inspirations, Charles’ uncategorizable canon postures an experimental pop sensibility, coupled with chamber folk and subtle flourishes of somber soul music. Chloe likes to express her genre as “Indie Art Folk,” and draws comparisons to Cat Power, Erykah Badu, Joanna Newsom, Etta James, and Bjork.
The 25 year old has been recording and performing music since 2005 while attending York University , influenced strongly by her childhood as a mixed-race person in a unique rural environment where she learned to …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 03/31/2013
Support Women Artists Sunday: Laura Mvula
Laura Mvula (née Douglas) is a British soul singer-songwriter from Birmingham. Her debut album Sing to the Moon, was released on March 4, 2013. Mvula grew up in the Birmingham suburbs of Selly Park and Kings Heath with two younger siblings, and was influenced by the girl band Eternal. She sang with Black Voices, an a capella group set up by her aunt. She graduated from the Birmingham Conservatoire with a degree in composition. While she was working as a supply teacher in a Birmingham secondary school, she started writing songs on her laptop. She was working as a receptionist when she sent out two demos to several people in the music industry. She is married to singer Themba Mvula. One person has described her music using a new term, …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 03/17/2013
Support Women Artists Sunday: Chloe Howl
Chloe Howl is a 17-year-old musician from the UK. Learn more about her here.
Rumour
No Strings
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 03/10/2013
Support Women Artists Sunday: Angel Haze
Raykeea Wilson (born 1991), better known by her stage name Angel Haze, is an African American , Native American rapper and lyricist signed to Universal Republic and Island. She was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in the Greater Apostolic Faith.
She released her EP Reservation online in July 2012. She is planning a collaboration with Azealia Banks. She lives in Springfield, Virginia. In 2012, she took part in the BET Hip-Hop Award’s Cypher. She was also featured on Funk Volume’s artist Dizzy Wright’s mixtape “SmokeOut Conversations” on the remix track for “Can’t Trust Em’.” The song also featured on the track now Funk Volume artist Jarren Benton. On Angel Haze’s 2012 mixtape Classick, she recorded a version of Eminem’s song, “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”. Earbuddy’s John Downey wrote …
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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Anya J on 03/4/2013
Sexism Is Not Actually “Edgy”
Seth McFarlane has been repeatedly called an ”edgy” choice for an Oscars host. The Onion brands itself as a daring, controversial form of satire, steadfastly refusing ‘to knuckle under to pressure from the community.’ Unfortunately, there is nothing edgy, nothing daring, and nothing unique about an hours-long fest of sexist, racist, and objectifying “jokes,” comments, songs, and tweets.
As charming and incredibly talented 9-year-old actress Quvenzhané Wallis was at the Oscars celebrating being the youngest person ever nominated for Best Actress (and only the tenth black actress ever nominated), the Onion, a satirical newspaper, put out the following tweet:
Reducing the incredible achievements of a young girl of color down to a highly gendered insult isn’t edgy or daring. It’s reinforcing sexism, and that’s the opposite of risky humor. …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 03/3/2013
Support Women Artists Sunday: Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American country music artist. She self-released three albums before appearing on the fifth season of the USA Networks singing competition Nashville Star in 2007, where she placed seventh.
Musgraves joined Lady Antebellum on their Own the Night 2012 tour in the United Kingdom. She also signed with Mercury Records in 2012 and released her solo debut single “Merry Go ‘Round”. This will be included on her new album, Same Trailer Different Park,which will be produced by Shane McAnally and Luke Laird.
“Undermine”, a song co-written by Musgraves and Trent Dabbs, was featured in the ABC television series Nashville on October 17, 2012. Musgraves was nominated for four awards at the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, including Female Vocalist of …
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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by mbond on 03/1/2013
Sexism On Late Night TV: Even Jimmy Fallon Isn’t Immune
Jimmy Fallon is charming, enthusiastic, and totally non-controversial. Ask any fan or casual “Late Night” viewer, and you’ll hear things like, “Yeah, he seems like a really nice guy.” Recently, however, Fallon was also the conduit for Artie Lange (a washed-up comedian and self-identified “G-List” celebrity) to spew sexism and to promote ogling and objectifying women as a vehicle for male bonding.
A quick summary: On Fallon’s February 18th show, Lange shared a story of meeting NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown at a celebrity football game. Rather than playing in the game, Lange and Brown both sat on the bench and occupied themselves by “staring Kate Upton’s ass.” Upton is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, and she was wearing “real tight pants” that day, by Lange’s account. During the …
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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Becka W on 02/25/2013
Top Five Fictional Female Athletes
Anybody who has ever met me can agree on one important point: I am a pop culture addict, with a list of favorite TV shows and movies a mile long. Some of my all-time heroes are fictional ones and it’s undeniable that even fictional depictions of women deeply impact the way girls and women view themselves and model their lives. Unfortunately, these representations are often based on stereotypical gender roles — including a serious lack of representation of female athletes. This may not seem like the most pressing issue, but studies have shown that girls who participate in sports have greater self esteem and participating in sports imparts valuable lessons. Modeling the benefits of sports in the media has the potential to impact countless girls, which is why I want …
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