Swedes Do It Better

I just discovered this new band Liechtenstein from Göteborg, Sweden. The girls are signed to Slumberland Records, the label responsible for many of the most important girl-fronted indie pop bands of the 90's such as Black Tambourine, Stereolab and Aislers Set.

These ladies cite their major influences as post-punk girl bands (guess who?) Girls At Our Best!, Dolly Mixture, Talulah Gosh, Mo-Dettes, The Slits and the Shop Assistants. You can definitely hear the inspiration. I like these girls for keeping the tradition alive.

Also, check out the awesome stop-motion animation in this video:

The namesake

I named this blog after largely forgotten, nonetheless seminal, British post-punk band Girls At Our Best!, who formed in Leeds, England in 1979.














In actuality, there was only one girl in the band, lead vocalist Judy "Jo" Evans. While her distinct, soaring, bittersweet vocals may make the music sound light, it is not without a message. Evans' tongue-in-cheek lyrics tended to examine issues of politics, excess and the status quo. The song "Politics" is a cheery satirical look at American-style campaigning, "Go For Gold" criticizes middle-class lavish consumption and "Warm Girls" is a critique of the institution of marriage.

Funny side note, my friend recently informed me he attends Cambridge University with Judy Evans' daughter. Maybe he can hook me up for an interview some day!

Emerald, Sapphire and Gold

Saturday night I went to see ESG. Let me just say, the Scroggin girls still know how to get down.

The minimalist post-punky funk band was formed by sisters Renee, Maria and Valerie in the late 70's. The lineup has since evolved, now including two of the original women's daughters. The sisters grew up in the projects in the South Bronx; their mother gave them instruments and encouraged them to start a band in order to keep them out of trouble and off the streets. They were discovered by historic Factory Records producer Martin Hannett, and went on to tour with Public Image Ltd., A Certain Ratio and The Clash.

The 3 women of color were a rarity in the predominately white, male-dominated punk scene. Even on Saturday, 30 years into their career, it made me wonder, what is it like for them to perform for an almost completely white audience, full of pushy aggressive dudes?

"As long as the music is loud enough, they won't hear the world falling apart."

My favorite film of all time, Derek Jarman's 1977 cult classic Jubilee. The film centers around a punk girl gang living in post-apocalyptic London. Jarman, an experimental filmmaker who was openly gay, was arguably one of the first British filmmakers to feature positive images of gay sexuality in his films (most notably in Sebastiane), and was called the godfather of queer cinema. His films have often been praised for being allegories of political resistance. While this film does portray some queer characters, it is most significant for it's portrayal of strong female characters, which I would argue makes the film quite feminist.











While the cast and amazing soundtrack give the film a lot of punk cred, it was was controversial in the UK punk scene when it was released because Jarman was considered an outsider looking in. Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood went so far as to create a t-shirt on which she printed an open letter to Jarman, denouncing the film for its misrepresentations of punk.

Either way, Jubilee is iconic for many reasons, particularly for its cast, which includes:

1. A young Adam Ant as an aspiring punk singer, The Kid, when he himself was still an aspiring punk singer.

2. Malcom McLaren/Vivienne Westwood's SEX Boutique model, Jordan, as an "anti-historian" named Amyl Nitrate.

3. New Wave singer Toyah Wilcox (who also appeared in The Who's Quadrophenia) as a pyromaniac named Mad.

4. New Wave French Singer Hermine Demoriane, (who was also a tightrope walker!) as a a French Au Pair.

5. "Little Nell" Campbell, most famous for her role as Columbia in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, as a nymphomaniac named Crabs.

6. Richard O'Brien, writer of Rocky Horror.

7. Legendary transgendered punk singer Wayne County, now known as Jayne County.

8. Score by Brian Eno.

9. A brilliant set of cameos, including one by Siouxsie and the Banshees, and a great one by The Slits: