RawkGrrl #2-Good Disaster (June '98)

in the 'zine:
*Blow It Out Your Ass...It's D*Arcy the RawkGrrl editor*
*Burst My Tiny Bubble*VS song interps
*Venus Yap Trap*Veruca Salt & miscellaneous quotes
*Rawk on With Your Frock On*music reviews American Thighs
Blow It Out Your Ass...It's Veruca Salt
Eight Arms To Hold You
A Thousand Leaves
Version 2.0
Sonic Youth @ the Roseland Theatre in Portland, Oregon-5/21/98
*Snarl-Toothed &Seething*...articles...poetry...essays...opinions...
*Rock Isn't Dead-It Just Needs A Kick In The Ass (pt. 1)* by D*Arcy
*untitled poem* by Bridget (aka Rents)
*Don't You Fuckin Look At Me* by D*Arcy
*Invisible Girl* by Annik (aka Starla)

BLOW IT OUT YOUR ASS IT'S D*ARCY THE RAWKGRRL EDITOR*
hey, first off I thought I'd let you all know this is about version 3 or so of my little column...I did the same thing with the 1st issue, and here I am doing it again. in fact, if you're reading this I'd be surprised cause its the 23rd now, so I have another week to rewrite. almost everything I've written for this issue has been edited and redone at least one, and thats not because I have too much time...I'm just a picky little perfectionist. not that I do this about everything...the sooner my stupid homework is finished with, the better. to hell with perfection there *s* well anyways the previous version of this was a bitchy rant about how fucked society is/how lame my school is/my new Sonic Youth cd got scratched. well society still is fucked, my school still sucks, and I'm listening to the SY cd right now and its skipping in spots. shit, I don't wanna spend $ on something I already have, since I also just got it on LP, and theres so much other stuff I want. but I'm ina quite good mood now...I saw SY 2 nites ago...why was it so awesome? well read the review.
-D*Arcy (aka Christie aka the Pumpkin obsessed freak girl who never shuts up : )

*BURST MY TINY BUBBLE* VS Song interps Get Back-loss of control/not getting what you want
All Hail Me-disgust at the glorification of murder and violence
Seether-anger
Spiderman '79-loss of identity in an overpowering relationship
Forsythia-lying as a young child in order to feel accepted
Wolf-death of a pet cat
Celebrate You-deferring to an overpowering father
Fly-depression
Number One Blind-a goofy ode to Levelor brand window blinds
Victrola-listening to music on the record player (aka the "victrola")
Twinstar-being stuck in a rut/depression
25-declaring personal independance
Sleeping Where I Want-afternoon laziness/doing what you want
Shimmer Like A Girl-sexism
I"m Taking Europe With Me-betrayal by friend/depressin/revenge
New York Mining Disaster 1996-end of relationship/depression
Disinherit-being abused, victimized, & overpowered
Straight-boyfriend who ignores girl and smokes pot instead
Volcano Girls-knowing when to fight and when to accept defeat
Don't Make Me Prove It-insincere boyfriend who isn't there for you
Awesome-refusing to allow criticism to affect you/celebrating success
One Last Time-wanting to get back together with an ex-boyfriend
With David Bowie-idolizing and being inspired by a musician
Benjamin-loss (I'm not sure of what)
Shutterbug-lusting after musician/ex-boyfriend/getting what you want??? I'm not sure what this one is about
The Morning Sad-having a fight, then waking up the next morning and feeling lousy
Sound of the Bell-relationship
Stoneface-pretty much the same as Straight
Venus Man Trap-chasing after a guy-wanting attention??
Earthcrosser-touring in a band

*VENUS YAP TRAP* quotes
"This time, its just about kicking some royal ass."
-Louise Post (guitarist/singer), on Eight Arms To Hold You
"Well, the funny thing about being a songwriter is that you write a song, think its about one thing for five minutes, or as you're writing it you think you're writing about one thing, then maybe write down the lyrics. I don't usually write down my lyrics, but if I do, then maybe I think, wow, thats interesting. I feel like songs are kind of like dreams in that respect. You can have a dream one night and think about it over the course of the next couple of days and discover that its about many different things and working on many different levels, it it was a good dream and if its a good song. So I was just writing a song the other day that I thought-as I was writing it, I thought it was about sort of the press and and press that we've dealt with over the past year and my relationship to being judged by people I don't know. And then I write down the words and I looked at them, and I'm like, oh my God, this song's about a penis."
-Nina Gordon (guitarist/singer)
"I love beautiful songs. I treasure them. I cherish them. They become part of my being. But when the guitar comes crashing down, it just sends me."
-Louise
"Go fuck humility, we're awesome."
-Nina in "Awesome"
Louise:"I keep hearing that we're a marketing dream. Maybe that's true, maybe we are a marketing dream. But that wasn't our plan. There wasn't a board meeting where someone said, okay, these two girls are going to front this band."
Nina:"It was our parents. My mom and your mom got together and said..."
L:"We're going to have girls now, and our girls are gonna have tits and asses and..."
N:"Cause in the '90's this grunge thing is going to be really big..."
L:"And its going to be really trendy to have girls fronting bands..."
"Water me/I am not a desert plant/and there was life before you" -Louise in "Venus Man Trap"
"I go out with a guy who's in a band, and maybe if we got married we could get registered at a guitar store, and get equipment instead of china and stuff." -Nina
"He (Bob Rock) wanted it to sound more spare. I would say, 'No. I want this guitar to sound like a bulldozer. I want it to sound like the second coming. I want it to sound like Armageddon. Make this guitar sound fucking massive!'" -Louise, on recording Eight Arms
"Way to go, way to flip off everyone/I steal your thunder then I try to bolt"
-Nina in "Volcano Girls"
"It was profoundly insulting to be accused of having been the product of some kind of marketing meeting, some conspiratorial output, some fabrication of a bunch of calculating minds-presumably male minds-when this was the truest thing I had done, ever, in my life. It was bewildering to me. That has made me want to write 20 records. That's made me want to write a song a day. It's made me want to continue to be a creative person so no one can ever accuse me of that again."
-Louise
"At a certain point, I think we've made the decision in life to write music and make records, and we have this incredible chance to make a series of records and have people hear them. That's a blessing. Apologizing for having any degree of success suddenly struck me as incredibly pretentious and arrogant. Why should this be a source of shame for me when music is a source of comfort and support to people? I'd grown up clinging to my favorite songs on the radio. There suddenly seemed no room for disdain towards the whole process. As cliche as it sounds, 'carpe diem.' I'm in this great band. I'm living a dream."
-Louise
"Indie cred, indie crud. The whole thing is so amusing. It's funny to read that we sold out and lost our indie credibility. It doesn't mean anything to us."
-Nina
"At the end of our show in Livid, we got a note from this girl waiting in our dressing room, ostensibly from a woman who cares about these things. She scolded us for taking our clothes off, although we didn't actually strip. We sometimes show up in lingerie and such and I would like to say to that woman and any women who are "concerned" that women need to take their own image into their own hands. If these women aren't comfortable wearing scant clothing, then they shouldn't, and they should start their own bands and make a point of it...and I spent my whole life being ashamed of my body and I'm not going to stop celebrating it and other women need to take it into consideration that their body is their own choice and that's the way that all women should feel about their own bodies."
-Louise

"Anyone who's going to have the ambition of being the president of the United States or be up that high in politics is a complete macaroon anyway."

-Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth guitarist/singer)

and now, QUOTES FROM LOVELINE. my fave radio show (not that I said radio, not the crappy eMpTy-Vee version) anyways, my mother thinks Adam and Dr. Drew are menaces to society. I think they're hilarious and awesome. now who do you believe? well judge for yourself:

you thought Adam was the only one with the bad attitude? wrong:
"You are such a power-talking like you know anything about music...you are such a poser."
-Drew, talking to Adam
Adam:"I'm losing it."
Drew:"Yeah, you are."
"Yes, YES, your Royal Highness." -Drew's sarcastic comment to Adam
"It's not like he's got a four leaf clover in his ass"
-Adam's way of saying someone has bad luck
Adam also has this theory that if two people go camping, they'll end up having sex. In fact, he's so sure of this, he thinks that...
"If the pope went camping with Janet Reno, he'd nail her."
-Adam
"Hey, how many of you pro-life fanatics are vegetarians?"
-Adam
they say two heads are better than one...
Adam:"Life begins when you learn how to program the VCR. Right, Drew?"
Drew:"We're dead meat...do you know how to program yours?"
...whether they're discussing the meaning of life *s*...
Drew:"He (Adam) got off with an electric toothbrush."
Adam:"Please, you're embarrassing me."
...or discussing Adam's favorite hobby

*ROCK ON WITH YOUR FROCK ON* music reviews
(D*Arcy's note:for the VS reviews, since Nina and Louise wrote separately, I put an 'N' or 'L' after each song to show who wrote it)
AMERICAN THIGHS
American Thighs is VS's first album. It starts out with Get Back (N), a slow, heavy song with a great guitar solo. The next song is All Hail Me (L), written by Louise after she was disgusted by the movie "Silence of the Lambs" Seether (N) is the song that made VS huge. It was getting a lot of national airplay before they even recorded the album. Spiderman '79 (L) is a great song, with amazing lyrics. Forsythia (N) is a light, poppy song with a lot of cool lead fills and an awesome guitar solo. Wolf (L) is similar in style to Spiderman 79', but its a really good song too. Celebrate You (L) is one of my favorites on this album. It took a while for me to like this one, but I love it now. Fly (L), the quietest song on the album, is mainly played on bass. There are guiars on the song from the end of the 1st verse on, but they're mostly in the background. Number One Blind (N/Jim Shapiro) is probably the only song written in honor of window blinds. Victrola (L) is and ode to a record player, and a rocking on e at that. Twinstar (N) is a slower, quieter song. Its a good song, but its never been a favorite of mine. 25 (N) is one of the best songs on the album, and also the longest. It starts out hard then gets very soft for the most part of the song, and then at the end comes in hard again. Sleeping Where I Want (N) is a nice little song to space out and relax to. Its really melodic and magical sounding, and Nina uses some unusual chords in it.
fave songs:Get Back, All Hail Me, Spiderman '79, Wolf, Celebrate You, 25

BLOW IT OUT YOUR ASS...IT'S VERUCA SALT
This is a four song EP that VS did between their two albums. Shimmer Like a Girl (N) was written about the negative response VS got because Nina and Louise were women in a coed band, and they were calling the shots, and were in the spotlight, while Steve and Jim were more in the background. I really like this song a whole lot, it rocks really hard. Its pretty loud and cacophonous, and harder than Nina's songs on American Thighs. I'm Taking Europe With Me (L) is another song that is a lot harder than the stuff on American Thighs. It has an awesome riff repeated through the whole song that really kicks ass. Its my fave song on the EP. New York Mining Disaster 1996 (N) isn't a hard or loud song, but its not poppy at all, it more moody and creepy sounding. The whole EP is like that, in that it doesn't have a melodic, pop kinda sound the way American Thighs did. Disinherit (L) took a while to grow on me, but now I really like it. Like NY Mining Disaster, its not hard and rocking, but more creepy sounding. Great song though.
my faves:Shimmer Like A Girl, I'm Taking Europe With Me, Disinherit

EIGHT ARMS TO HOLD YOU
Eight Arms starts off with Straight (L), a hard, rawkin remake of an American Thighs-era b-side. The next song, Volcano Girls (N), is excellent. The guitars sound huge, and the riffs rip and tear...great song. Don't Make Me Prove It (L) and Awesome (N) aren't very big faves of mine. Don't Make Me Prove It is a fun song to blast loud, but its not one of their best. Awesome is alright. Its got a cool solo and I liked it at first, but I got tired of it after a bit. One Last Time (L) just rocks, its an amazing song...yet another one of Louise's hard rocking things, which I love, and this is among her best. The guitars are really loud and thundering, and Louise's many lead guitar parts are amazing, and her guitar sound, which she got by playing through 3 amps at once, is great. With David Bowie (N) has an opening guitar hook guaranteed to drive you insane when it invariably gets stuck in your head but the lyrics hit it right on about describing an obsession with a band or musician. Benjamin (N) is a song I didn't like a whole lot at first but its really grown on me, its an excellent song, and one of VS's few mostly acoustic songs. Shutterbug (L) is hard, kick your ass, rock music at its best. Its my fave VS song ever, some of the best lead guitar stuff you'll hear. It just rules, the guitars are hard, its a fantastic song, and the guitar sound is, to quote Louise, "fucking massive." The Morning Sad (N) is more of a pop song, but its a rocking kind of pop, not bouncy new wave pop like With David Bowie. Sound of the Bell (L) is another one of the best songs on the album...I love the guitar riffs on this. They use some effects (Nina's part of the outro riff is done with a phaser effect) and tunings (the low E string of the one of the guitars playing the intro riff is dropped to A) which gives it a really cool sound. Loneliness Is Worse (N) is a cool song, it starts out soft and acoustic then builds on itself...think a power ballad, plus excellent songwriting and minus the cheesiness. Stoneface (N), while not a remade b-side, is an older VS song. This and Sound of the Bell were written and played when they were touring for American Thighs. Venus Man Trap (L) is great...the guitars sound like chainsaws (which I consider a good thing) and the lyrics are great too. Earthcrosser (N) is a loud, crashing rocker that starts out quiet, slams you on the back of the head, gets quiet, rocks, etc. If I didn't know better, I'd guess that even though Nina sings it that Louise wrote it, because the style is much more like Louise's than Nina's. Its a great song, a good choice for a closing song for an awesome record. To hell with the fact that Eight Arms got slammed by loads of rock critics...what the hell do they know...after all, these are people who think Celine Dion is Grammy-winning material. Gag me...and ignore them...this is one helluva cd.
fave songs:Straight, Volcano Girls, One Last Time, Benjamin, Shutterbug, Sound of the Bell, Earthcrosser

some of the names considered for Eight Arms:
The Bitch is Back and She's Ready to Party
The Speed of Candy (Louise's fave)
All Knocked Up
Dark Meat For Dirty Blonds (I've also heard it was just "Dirty Blonds")

Sonic Youth-A THOUSAND LEAVES
Yet another great album from SY. It starts off with Contre Le Sexisme, which is among the weirder of Kim's songs. It has this weird fuzzy effect going through it that barely sounds like a guitar, but my guess is that its actually guitar feedback, since instead of a bunch of notes being picked, its a continuous sound. Over the fuzz effect, Kim sings/tells a weird spin on "Alice in Wonderland." I really love Sunday, its an awesome song. Its actually fairly simple (that is, in relation to SY's other songs, not other bands) Its basically Thurston and Kim playing a repeating rhythm riff and Lee doing some weird stuff on top of it, with the song sometimes shifting into massive fuzz, and then going back to the main riff. A lot of SY songs can be played in standard tuning but weren't written that way, but Female Mechanic Now On Duty actually is in standard, or standard drop-D (D*Arcy's note:actually its not, it was listed as standard tuning in a guitar tab, which sounded kinda strange but that was the only info I had on the tuning and it was very close, but turns out its actually DADGGB.) A little bit of trivia: Kim came up with the title when she was discussing Meredith Brooks' song "Bitch" with Thurston. Apparently, even though Ms. Brooks is a bitch, a lover, a child, a mother, and the kitchen sink, she forgot to mention the female mechanic part : ) But Kim's song is definitely not commercial, so-called 'alt-rock' (otherwise known as 'crap'). Its a really good song. Wildflower Soul is a really nice, melodic song that is just amazing...I don't know how to describe it except to say its a great song, so get the album and listen to it. Hoarfrost is alright, but its not really a fave of mine. I love French Tickler, its Kim singing about free time and doing her own thing, backed by great guitar work. Hits of Sunshine, which is dedicated to Allen Ginsberg, and was the first song written for the record, is great. Its more of a mellow experimentation on a repeating riff and is 11 minutes long but it doens't get tiring. Karen Koltrane does get tiring. Its got great lyrics, but I really don't like it a whole lot. The Ineffable Me is pissed off Kim rocking like hell, I love this song. I just got the album on vinyl, and it came with the lyrics printed out, which was great cause I couldn't tell what she was saying sometimes on this, but now I know, and the lyrics are great. I also found out what "ineffable" means: undescribable, beyond words. Kinda like the line in Geek U.S.A. that goes "words can't define what I feel inside". cool, huh? I think it describes the song well. Snare, Girl is a really nice, soft melodic song, its like a lullaby. Heather Angel is a really weird song, and I love it.
fave songs:Sunday, Female Mechanic Now On Duty, Wildflower Soul, French Tickler, Hits of Sunshine, The Ineffable Me, Snare, Girl, Heather Angel

Garbage-VERSION 2.0
Garbage's awesome second album starts out with Temptation Waits, which is a mostly electronic song that has a neat little guitar riff running through it. I Think I'm Paranoid is a great song with some electronic stuff but its really a loud guitar rock song (just listen to the guitars on the chorus and you'll see what I mean) When I Grow Up is a kind of a dance pop song. The difference between this and most other dance pop songs is that this one is pretty damn good...and of course Shirley's seemingly innocent but twisted lyrics. Medication is a slower, calmer song than most of the ones on this album. The next song, Special, isn't really good. Hammering In My Head is a pretty good song, but the part where Shirley starts muttering about "man for the taking" or "mine for the taking" or something like that just cracks me up. Push It just plain kicks ass, I won't bother say more cause you've probably heard it on the radio. The Trick Is To Keep Breathing is also pretty good. Dumb is a really cool, techno song. Sleep Together is a pretty boring song, I don't really like it. Wicked Ways is alright, but its not really a fave of mine either. You Look So Fine is a long, slow song that I don't really like much.
fave songs:I Think I'm Paranoid, When I Grow Up, Medication, Push It, Dumb

SONIC YOUTH @ the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon-5/21/98
First off, I hafta say this is the 2nd best concert I've been to (the best being the Smashing Pumpkins). I went to the concert almost 2 hours before it began cause I wanted to get a spot right in front, so I waited over an hour for the doors to open, then as soon as they did, I went right to the stage and got a spot front and center, and waited. There were 2 opening bands before Sonic Youth, so it was a long wait. Before the first band (whose name was Fuck) started, some more people arrived, so there was more people to talk to, and I ended up getting into a discussion with this self-righteous, more-indie-than-thou jackass, who among many pathetic things he said, claimed that a person could write better songs when they were stoned outta their mind and that the Pumpkins were full of shit, had no indie cred, and were in it for the money. Naturally, I got on my soapbox *lol*, and told him that he didn't know what he was talking about, and moreover, a lot of the indie bands he was raving about were full of shit. He kinda shut up after that. Then I was talking to this other guy who was nice, but dumb. Among many of the dumb things this one said, he insisted that Sonic Youth formed in 1978 (they actually formed in 1981). Anyways, on with the review. Fuck was alright. They weren't a great band, but they had some pretty good songs, certainly a lot better than a lot of the crap you hear on the radio. During the break after they played, I started talking to a couple of other guys who weren't full of shit, which was good cause the breaks between bands can be kind of boring. Helium kicked ass. I've heard their frontwoman, Mary Timony, described as a guitar wizard and she most definitely is. I bought their album last nite, and its great. Then, finally, Sonic Youth came on. They started the show with Anagrama, during which I was kind of in a daze as I was still in awe of seeing Kim, Thurston, Lee, and Steve less than 10 feet away. I was almost directly in front of Kim, but I had gotten pushed a bit over to right, which was the side Thurston was on. After that, they played Sunday, which I sang along to. Kim had stepped back to the middle of the stage during the song, so I was staring at Thurston thru most of the song thinking "wow. there's Thurston. Thurston Moore is standing there playing guitar right in front of me. wow." Yes, I know how silly I must sound but I was still in awe of seeing one of the awesomest guys around, right there. Then they played Female Mechanic Now On Duty. The guitar Kim was playing had a really awesome sound. But I didn't notice that until the next song cause now I was in total awe of Kim. She is such an awesome musician. Karen Koltrane was the next song. I don't really like the song on the cd, but I really enjoyed it live. French Tickler was after that and it rocked. I was singing along thru the whole thing. I just love that song. Actually, I love all of Kim's songs from this record, they're some of her best ever. After that was Wildflower Soul, which is an amazing song on record and even more amazing live. Then they did Hoarfrost, and after that was another fave of mine, The Ineffable Me. I love everything about that song, the music, the words. Kim also hit it right on with the title. She most definitely is undescribable, she just rocks. Hits of Sunshine was played after that, and it was absolutely great. Heather Angel was the last song, and when they left the stage I was sorry it was over. Everyone was screaming for more, and clapping, so they came back out for an encore. They played Stil, and then they did Death Valley '69. DEATH VALLEY '69-one of my faves. If I could have picked one of their older songs to hear that nite, that would have been it. It was kickass, and Thurston, Kim, and Lee were all singing on it. It was an amazing concert. I also surprisingly didn't get any bruises from being shoved up against the barrier, like I have before when I was right in front. I did get push around a bit, but I kept my place in the front, I just got pushed off to the side so I ended up between Kim and Thurston, but that was just fine. The crowd was pretty good too, except for the jackass who threw something onstage that Kim almost tripped over-I hate it when people do stuff like that, its so damn rude. Anyways, I also got the setlist. I had asked one of the guards during the break before Helium to grab it for me, but when I asked him for it when SY was done, he was like "I don't know if they're giving it away" and some guy behind me was yelling "I want the setlist", but I was like "I don't think so I, asked for it way before you did" and I decided to heck with the security guard, and I yelled up to one of the roadies who had come out to pack up SY's stuff, and he was nice and gave it to me : ) awesome, huh? It was such a great concert. The band also talked to us, which was cool cause a lot of bands will just stand there and play like theres nobody out there. Kim said a few things, but Thurston talked quite a bit. If someone yelled something to him, that he didn't hear, he actually asked them to repeat it, which I thought was pretty cool cause none of the bands I'd seen before actually cared that much to hear what we were saying. One of the times that happened was kinda funny, cause either Thurston misunderstood the person, or he was kidding around, cause he said, "yeah I like fish & chips", then mentioned some restaurant in Oregon where he'd eaten that. I thought it was kinda cool he remembered that. Besides joking around, he also said some stuff thats important, like after he asked how many people were from Portland and what Salem was like, he said he thought it was important for people to love their community, which I thought was a good thing for him to say, cause our society is so fucked up (or to quote an SY song title, "Society Is a Hole") that if where we live isn't screwed up, we should appreciate it, and keep it that way, and if it is messed up, we need to do something about it, and you can't do that without loving and supporting your own community. Anyways, you're all probably think "what??? ms. cynical 'why-are-people-so-stupid-and-our-society-is-a-mess wrote that???" well yeah, I am cynical, and I do think all that stuff. But I also think that we need to do something about it, nobody ever accomplished anything just by sitting around complaining, you also have to do something. Well I got really off course there, and this is getting too long, but I wanted to say what I did, so I'll just wrap up the review by saying it was a very kickass concert : )

*SNARL-TOOTHED & SEETHING*articles...poetry...essays...opinions
Rock isn't dead-it just needs a kick in the ass (part 1)
by Christie aka D*Arcy (darcyzero@hotmail.com)
Oh yes...one of my favorite topics...the miserable state of the majority of music. This is going to be done in several parts, because anyone who's talked to me about this knows it takes a while before I'll shut up and get off my soapbox : ) Wonderful...where do I start...theres so much crap its hard to pick out which one to rant about first. How about commercialized pop acts, or the "women in rock" thing, or normally intelligent bands making asses of themselves...I'll start with the "women in rock" thing...although you can be damn sure I'll get to the others *lol* First of all, why the hell is the fact that women make music such a novelty? That isn't an unanswerable question. The answer is sexism. Let me make it very clear that I don't have anything against women playing music, my promblem is wiht the way the media sees a large number of female musicians and brands it as a "women in rock" movement. Women making music isn't anything new, it's been happening for a few decades now. I don't mean the "girl groups" of the 60's, most of which were completely engineered and put together by record companies and producers. (sound a bit familiar: heres a hint: "tell me what you want, what you really really want") But there were those who were original and creative. The band Jefferson Airplane, whcih was formed in the 60's was fronted by Grace Slick. I'd also like to mention that Jefferson Airplane rocked pretty damn hard...this was no manufactured pop group, they were a great psychedelic rock band who wrote their own songs. Other examples, among so many, are Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Debbie Harry of Blondie, and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth (who is still making awesome music). So this isn't anything new. But its not only the media. Its also some of the musicians themselves. Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair tour. Yes I see her point to it, but on the other hand, what kind of message does that send? That in order to get noticed and be heard, that women need to be separated from men? Sorry girls, but in case you haven't noticed, this is a coed world we're living in, so learn to live with it. Then of course there's Gwen Stefani's "fuck you! I'm a fucking girl!" shtick. Yes, Gwen, we know you're a girl. But why make it an issue? But back to the Lilith Fair. For a tour that was supposedly to celebrate female musicians, it showed quite a small segment of the many types of music women make. The vast majority of it was Sarah/Jewel/Fiona type things. If we're going to celebrate women in music, then besides the obvious examples of L7, Veruca Salt, Hole, and Garbage, what about strange and inventive music, like Sonic Youth (bassist/guitarist/singer Kim Gordon), the awesomest rock band to hit the planet, Smashing Pumpkins (bassist D'Arcy), or Salt (guitarist/singer Nina Ramsby). And what about Sleater-Kinney (guitarist/singers Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss)? Obviously, the list could go on forever, but the point is, the Lilith Fair showed a very narrow selection of artists. And besides all of the things I've mentioned in this article, many of these "women in rock" suck. I'm not saying that because I don't like some of their music styles. I'm not a Sarah McLachlan fan, I'm not into her music, but I've heard it and I can appreciate it because she is a talented songwriter/singer/musician, and I can respect the success she has because she got where she is through making good music, instead fo being a hyped and fabricated one hit wonder. But Jewel and Paula Cole? Gag me with a damn spoon. Someone please tell me what is so fabulous about Paula Cole's music. Its uninteresting, vapid, and unoriginal. I find Jewel less annoying than Ms. Cole, but thats because unlike Paula and some others of her ilk, she actually seems to be fairly intelligent, and she's made success for herself despite the fact that she had an often difficult childhood. But I find her music just plain lame...some of her lyrics are alright, but many are just dumb. And the music isn't anything special. She's not much of a guitarist, and she sure isn't that good a songwriter. But none of that is what annoys me most. Its all the damn media hype. This same media likes to yap about how women are being empowered and more successful, but how is this whole "women in rock" crap empowering? Since when is it 'empowering' to act like its something unusual and worthy of headlines that women make music? And why the hell do they think we even need this so called empowering? Female musicians, ARE NOT, and SHOULD NOT, be media-hyped novelties. They are musicians. And however crappy they are, they should not be treated in a sexist manner. Like I said, female musicians are not novelties, they are MUSICIANS.

an untitled poem about the Holocaust
by Bridget aka Rents (darcysky@hotmail.com)

Pessimism decreases
But the inner dimness shines through
Inside it's warm and cozy
The temperature of the heart
Outside it's gray and dreary
Warm rains wash away
The smiles of the passers-by
The wind seems to howl
In here, that's what I hear
But outside it's stiff and stale
The gathered drone of a million sighs
Sound in unity
I lower my eyes in shame
Underneath me the floor disappears
Without a thought of worry
I fall
The volume of the sighs increases
And I understand
This is all I will ever hear again

don't you fuckin look at me
by D*Arcy

There are few things that piss me off more than sexist, testosterone dummy men. While there are plenty men who are great people, theres too many of the assholes who think women are mere sex objects, mere pieces of meat, for them to stare at and make offensive comments to. My school is downtown, so almost every afternoon I walk down to the record stores, thrift stores, or to just hang out. And almost every afternoon some jackass makes a sick comment at me. It makes me so goddamn furious when that happens. I want to slap them, shove them on the sidewalk and then scream at them until their ears bleed about what sickening assholes they are. I hate it. It pisses me off no end. It makes me want to kick them right in nuts so hard they'll be scared shitless of me. And I hate the way it influences me and makes me feel. I don't like to walk downtown in a tank top because I know that will just get more comments. Another thing that sickens me about it is how some women just accept it, or worse yet, encourage it. Once I was hanging out, and I saw this girl I knew from school. Some guy yelled "nice tits" at her, and her response was "thanks". What the hell kind of response is that, thanking a sexist pig for being offensive? I could never respond like that. It always gets me so mad, and the least bitchy thing I'll do is flip them off. I usually yell at them to fuck off, and if I'm really pissed, I'll give them a piece of my mind. Somehow this article/rant doesn't seem complete, but I don't know what else to say about except that it really pisses me off a whole lot. So if you happen to be one of assholes, then STOP IT and FUCK YOU. I should probably mention that as there are tons of really awesome guys out there, this isn't meant to bash all guys, just the assholes. And I'm sure that there are women who do this kinda thing too, but its is mostly guys. Us women (and men too) aren't sex objects meant only for fuckers to stare at and say degrading things to, and to use. We are people, with feeling, and we're not here to be fucked around with, so treat us with respect. If you don't, and you happen to piss off the wrong woman, you'll get your ass kicked. But it goes beyond just whether someone gets pissed off and someone gets their ass kicked. This is an issue about the lack of simple fucking DECENCY and RESPECT for people.

Invisible Girl-how to sneak into concerts
by Annik aka Starla (annikdedios@hotmail.com)

Here are some things, which I have learned from experience, that may help you sneak into concerts when you don't have a ticket but would really like to see the band.
***Remember that this is what I have learned and you may need to devise your own strategies to combat different venues.***

STEP 1. The first thing to remember is to not have high expectations of getting in, as this will only decrease your chances. Make other plans in case you can't get in (but don't make them too definite in case you do get in.)

STEP 2. Having friends who have tickets is an added bonus, but not a necessity. If you do have friends who have tickets, ask them nicely to open up side doors, or to give you their ticket stub (if they can.) If you go not knowing anyone with a ticket, try to make friends along the way who may be able to assist you.

STEP 3. Try not to look too suspicious, carrying a crowbar will definitely ruin your chances if you get seen (plus you may be liable for certain offences, i.e. attempted breaking and entering, or something to that effect.)

STEP 4. Try not to have too many people sneaking in with you, this will only make you more noticeable.

STEP 5. Try to have an open mind and be creative. Once I cried to a security guard that I had lost my ticket to get into general admission (I was already in the building, so it was easier for them to believe me.)

STEP 6. Be prepared for anything. I advise for you to have a made up name in case you get caught-my favorite is to use an old high school associate that you know enough about (especially their address and phone number.)

STEP 7. Once in-enjoy yourself!

(D*Arcy's note: on a similar note, anyone have any tips on getting backstage to meet the band, or how to meet the band when they leave at large arena shows? (where its not as simple as going to the parking lot and waiting by the tour bus or back exit.)

darcyzero@hotmail.com