Pop-Culture | Posted by Brian C on 03/4/2012
Support Women Artists Sunday: MNDR
I’m giving you a rare opportunity. This is the chance to gain some mad hipster points without having to wear plaid OR name drop some crappy, pretentious band name like Yuck. I present to you MNDR. MNDR is a one person band who is based in New York and is just now going on tour with The Ting Tings.
MNDR has a wonderful sound. It’s very dance-y and has an extremely traceable hint of Robyn in it. I recently caught Robyn live at The Studio at Webster Hall, she put on one hell of a show. The bass was turned all the way up and we were dancing our hearts out. She is alone on stage and gets super into her music. She is on the cusp of the new …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 02/19/2012
Support Women Artists Sunday: Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was also one of the world’s best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston’s crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for “How Will I Know”,influenced several African-American female artists to follow in her footsteps.
Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Brian C on 02/12/2012
Support Women Artists Sunday: Katie Costello
As musicians and music-listeners alike venture into a creative climate in which technological elements often define an artist’s sonic and visual identity, Katie Costello emerges as a unique and timeless example of an authentic artisan shinning amidst the frequently clouded backdrop of modernity. Almost as if her spirit has been frozen in another day and age, her perspective is one that far exceeds her surprisingly young age. She writes about the human condition – Our ever present desire to find peace, identity, home, and understanding.
Katie Costello’s most recent release “Lamplight” (2011), produced by Los Angeles-based music guru Tony Berg (Jesca Hoop, Aimee Mann, Michael Penn), reflects her distinctively conversational, yet poetic lyrical approach. Deeply personal, her songs are impressionistic and beckon to the lonely, disconnected nature of our times. …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Brian C on 01/29/2012
Support Women Artists Sunday: Seeker Lover Keeper
There an awful lot of acoustic bands that come around these days. Oftentimes it’s hard to differentiate between them (largely because there’s a factory somewhere that makes most of them). But don’t lose faith! Sometimes good ones come along. They have brilliant lyrics and are incredibly heartfelt. Speaking of good acoustic bands, how bout that Seeker Lover Keeper!
There’s a very bizarre phenomena that happens in the American music scene where a lot of times, bands that have enormous success in other countries fail to even get mentioned in any conversations. That’s why you haven’t heard of Seeker Lover Keeper despite their debut album going gold over in Australia (and Australia’s developed a great music scene! Angus & Julia Stone, The Temper Trap, Cut Copy just to name a few).…
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 01/22/2012
Support Women Artists Sunday: Ani DiFranco
After 20 years in the music biz, self-described “Little Folksinger” Ani DiFranco is still technically little, although her influence on fellow musicians, activists, and indie-minded people the world over has been huge. She still proudly identifies as a folksinger, too, but her understanding of that term has always been far more expansive than a bin at the record store or a category on iTunes, with ample room for soul, funk, jazz, electronic music, spoken word, and a marching band or two. Over the course of more than 20 albums, including the live double CD Living in Clip (1997) and the two-disc career retrospective Canon (2007), as well as the latest one, ¿Which Side are You On? (2012), Ani has never stopped evolving, experimenting, testing the limits of what can be …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 01/8/2012
Support Women Artists Sunday: Joy Askew
“When writing about myself I would always start by saying that I was ‘originally from the North of England’… in fact that’s not true but I grew up there from age 5 in Newcastle, famous for its coals and shipbuilding. The place was grimy, cold and hard but full of character and culture, with many theaters and concert venues and legendary clubs. Newcastle was frequented by the likes of Bob Dylan (Don’t Look Back) and Jimi Hendrix (his manager Chas Chandler, bassist for the famed Newcastle Band The Animals was a true Geordie and my father was his headmaster!) I love the English movie Get Carter set in Newcastle and starring a young Michael Caine, it really reflects well a lot of what this once Roman Northern garrison town was …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 01/1/2012
Support Women Artists Sunday: Vera Chytilová
Vera Chytilová was born on February 2, 1929, in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). She studied philosophy and architecture in Brno for two years, then worked as a technical draftsman, a designer, a fashion model, a photo re-toucher, then worked as a clapper girl for Barrandov Film Studios in Prague. There she continued as a writer, actress, and assistant director.
She was denied a scholarship, or even a recommendation from Barrandov, but she took the admissions tests at FAMU and was accepted. From 1957-1962 she studied film directing under Otakar Vávra, who also taught Jirí Menzel, Milos Forman, Jan Nemec, and Ivan Passer. In 1962 she graduated as director from Film Academy (FAMU) in Prague. Her graduation film ‘Strop’ (Ceiling 1962) and the following film ‘Pytel blech’ (A Bagful of …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 12/25/2011
Support Women Artists Sunday: Christmas Edition
Merry Christmas, FBombers! While I’ll personally be celebrating Christmas by sleeping in, eating Chinese food and seeing a movie later, I recognize that this actually is a holiday for many people! So, in order to celebrate, please enjoy this selection of Christmas-themed songs. And, of course, they’re all sung by women. Like, duh.
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