Current Jamz: A Playlist

I listen to a lot of music. And there are a lot of songs written by men about women. And there are a lot of songs written by women who want a man. This playlist is about none of those.

This playlist is a Power Jamz playlist with a particular emphasis on songs by women. Expect some commentary not related to the music underneath each song.

Power Jamz: 

1. "Run the World (Girls)" by Beyoncé
Beyoncé has publicly commented that although this song is about women running the world, the reality of it is that women do not run the world. In fact they are far from it. From GQ:
"You know, equality is a myth, and for some reason, everyone accepts the fact that women don't make as much money as men do. I don't understand that. Why do we have to take a backseat?" she says in her film, which begins with her 2011 decision to sever her business relationship with her father. "I truly believe that women should be financially independent from their men. And let's face it, money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define value. They define what's sexy. And men define what's feminine. It's ridiculous."

There is no doubt that Beyonce is a powerful figure. But a great factor in her power is that she doesn't shy away from it. Her new tour may be called "The Mrs. Carter Show" but there is no doubt that she is 100% Beyonce.



5. "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" by X-Ray Spex
This video isn't the greatest quality, but if you choose a different video, you miss the beginning when frontwoman Poly Styrene "Some people say little girls should be seen and not heard," which leads pretty gloriously to "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" There isn't much more to the song lyrically, but there doesn't need to be. This song is pretty incredible for a couple reasons beyond the message, the biggest being that in 1977 Poly Styrene, a 20 year old female, fronted a punk rock band. It's pretty progressive stuff.

3. "Rebel Girl" by Bikini Kill

The next two songs come from the Riot grrrl movement. Riot grrrl is one of the only musical movements to specifically address women's issues. This song is perhaps Bikini Kill's best known song. It's pretty cool in that it is a rockin' song about a sexual relationship between two women. One of whom is implied to be like the shit.

4. "Ballad of a Ladyman" by Sleater-Kinney
This is not my favorite Sleater-Kinney song. But it works the best probably for the purposes of this playlist. This is a song worth looking at the lyrics. Particulary this half of the last stanza:
"I'd rather be a ladyman
how many times will you decide
how many lives will you define
how much control should we give up of our lives"
This is a particularly great song about how not only are standards of femininity, but if a woman dares to break these standards they are labeled as "manly" by men.

5. "You Don't Own Me" by Leslie Gore
Going from a song about not letting men define women, we move onto a song about not letting men dominate women. You don't own me is a staple feminist song (and one used extensively during the second wave of feminism in the 60s).

6. "Werkin' Girls" by Angel Haze
Sorry for the tonal shifts, but I start to call this section of the playlist "Fuck you, Macklemore." And by that, I mean we are about to feature three songs by QPOC rap artists. All female to go with the playlist. I don't really mean "Fucky you, Macklemore" but there is a lot he could be doing with his privilege. If you have stumbled upon here, I am sure that you have stumbled upon this article. It's pretty great and acknowledges that although Macklemore acknowledges a problem that is pretty rampant in the hip-hop community, he does nothing to address the fact that there are plenty QPOC artists in the hip-hop world. Particularly two rising female stars, Angel Haze and Azealia Banks, both identify as bisexual. And Angel Haze just slays in this track. Her flow, rhythm, and rhymes are top notch and it is no wonder she is carving out an impressive fanbase.

7. "212" by Azealia Banks ft. Lazy Jay
Where Angel Haze represents a very current take on rap, a lot of Azealia Banks's stuff could very much fit in the 90s (though this song doesn't). There is no doubt that this is her "I have arrived" song. And she arrives in a big way. She isn't playing with this song and proclaims multiple times "I'mma ruin you cunt." And continues on to describe how she is going to dominate.

8. "QueenS" by THEESatisfaction
I am pretty sure that THEESatisfaction is revolutionary for the sole fact that there are two out lesbians making hip-hop music. I like "QueenS" because it really has a funky beat to it. And even more I like the "Don't funk with my groove" message.

9. "Cherry Bomb" by the Runaways and "Damn Reputation" by Joan Jett
Joan Jett gets a combined entry. Because you can't forget these two staples. I use these as the penultimate songs in order to tie the playlist back to the beginning. There is pretty much nothing to say about why these songs make the playlist.

10. "Drive" by Melissa Ferrick
The playlist ends with a song a little from left field.  But the reason that this song is on here because the sexiest song about having sex with a woman was made by a woman. All those songs men make about loving women all night long cannot compare to Melissa Ferrick's "Drive." Because damn.

The BeyonceBowl...or Women and Power

All right guys, I am sure we all watched the Beyonce Bowl this past Sunday. Football game? Psshaw, who cares about the Ravens or the 49ers? I think that we can all agree, Beyonce was the true winner of the Super Bowl. In this day and age, having a post about Beyonce less than a week after the Super Bowl is still too late to really be a part of the cultural zeitgeist, but whatever. Let's be real, Beyonce is never culturally irrelevant. 

To start with, I am an RA in an all women's residence hall. So after the Super Bowl I asked like all of my residents about how they felt about Beyonce's performance (I was still on a super Beyonce high at that point), and obviously they all loved it (which is a good thing because I love all my residents dearly and it would be heartbreaking to have to disown one for not loving Beyonce). But what was interesting was that during our conversation they were struggling to find the word "power" and instead repeatedly came  up with "masculine." They knew that "masculine" wasn't the word they were looking for, but at the same time power wasn't something that immediately came to mind.

Both Prudence Carter and C. J. Pascoe discuss masculinity in their writings. About how masculinity is associated with dominance and power. And how for males, the idea of not being masculine is almost a sign of weakness. For females it is a different case. Showing typical traits associated with masculinity don't make a female weak, and Carter even mentions that females aren't supposed to seem to "soft" (that is, feminine) either.

So why is femininity such a sign of weakness? Why is power and dominance attached to masculinity while weakness and submissiveness attached to femininity? And why is it that those sometimes less desirable traits are the traits that are traditionally forced upon the women of society?

That's what I like about Beyonce though. She is somebody who is very classically beautiful, hot, and feminine  but at the same time she exudes power and dominance. She has obvious sex appeal but at the same time, it seems that her appeal is less for pleasing men and provocation, than it is a conscious display of power over her own image.

I feel like I got a little lost with some of my last statements, but I think it mostly makes sense. Whatever, chalk it up to writing at 2:00AM. Not sure what I am going to write about next, but I am guessing it is going to be some women in pop culture. But there is a possibility that something in Pascoe's book will inspire me to do something this week. I will leave you with this:

Articles Referenced:

Carter, P. "Between a 'Soft' and a 'Hard' Place: Gender, Ethnicity, and Culture in the School and at Home"
Pascoe, C.J. Dude, You're a Fag