Who are the love children of Helen Reddy and Linda Ronstadt?

October 26, 2011 6:09 AM

My partner and I were chatting last night about who might be singing the third-wave feminism anthems these days and were coming up kind of short... so who would you crank up to 11 for rocking out and sending a message?
posted by seanmpuckett to media & arts (37 answers total)

Kathleen Hanna. Maybe Peaches, depending on who you ask.
posted by Jairus at 6:16 AM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

My girlfriend suggests M.I.A. and The Blow.
posted by Jairus at 6:17 AM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Le Tigre!
posted by shortyJBot at 6:19 AM on October 26, 2011 [4 favorites]

Lady Gaga
posted by JonB at 6:28 AM on October 26, 2011

Tank Girl, Hot Mess, War on Women and Partyline - and The Raincoats are still at it.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:32 AM on October 26, 2011

Depends how close you're talking about with "these days." Le Tigre is a good bet, but they haven't released an album in almost seven years. Kathleen Hanna has a new band, but I don't know anything about them. However, I sincerely doubt she's any different than she ever was.

M.I.A. is rumored to be recording with Chris Brown, so any of her feminist cred is probably going to go straight down the toilet if the rumors come to pass.
posted by griphus at 6:33 AM on October 26, 2011

Nicole Reynolds does a pretty good job of this.
posted by OmieWise at 6:41 AM on October 26, 2011

Wait, I just saw your post title. If those acts are your cutoff for stuff-you're-aware-of, there was the whole Riot Grrl thing that reached fever pitch in the 90s and basically goes hand-in-hand with third wave feminism.
posted by griphus at 6:43 AM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

If you are just looking for stuff after Linda Ronstadt, then Ani DiFranco is a must.
posted by bearette at 7:07 AM on October 26, 2011 [3 favorites]

Can't speak to the lyrical suitability, but for kick-ass songs sung by ladies, it's hard to beat Art Star by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
posted by saladin at 7:18 AM on October 26, 2011

If "these days" means 2011, check out Wild Flag. Carrie Brownstein! Janet Weiss! Mary Timony! Rebecca Cole!
posted by Lieber Frau at 7:26 AM on October 26, 2011 [7 favorites]

I listen to a lot of Gaga (not that there's much there quantity wise), and P!nk was on fairly heavy rotation many years ago, and then there was Sonique and Amber but they're kind of not really feminist by definition but rather by-the-way (and not always, either so...). But that's pretty much the size of it. There was also Bikini Kill mentioned.

For date ranges, I guess mid 90s to today; if the act is older maybe if they are notorious or have a big discography, but most of all I'd like to see who's doing it loud and proud lately and find some careers to follow.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:31 AM on October 26, 2011

If those acts are your cutoff for stuff-you're-aware-of, there was the whole Riot Grrl thing that reached fever pitch in the 90s and basically goes hand-in-hand with third wave feminism.

Yep - if we're going back to the 90s, there's Huggy Bear, Heavens to Betsy, Bratmobile, The Frumpies, Excuse Seventeen, Spitboy, and Fire Party.

Lots in the punk/post-punk era, too - e.g. Au Pairs, Kleenex, Mo-Dettes, The Slits, and Y Pants.

Wild Flag is all women, but I haven't heard anything of theirs that has an explicitly political message.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:31 AM on October 26, 2011 [5 favorites]

Here is a great example of "message": Sleater-Kinney, #1 Must Have (lyrics).
posted by so_gracefully at 7:48 AM on October 26, 2011

Beyonce!!

All my independent women throw them hands up at me
posted by yarly at 7:53 AM on October 26, 2011

Much as I love Fire Party, they were a decidedly earlier band. They broke up in 1990.
posted by OmieWise at 7:59 AM on October 26, 2011

Peaches, she is rampantly vulgar. Back It Up is an anthem to equal-opportunity sex. I don't know if that's what you're looking for but it's what comes to mind. She's genuinely feminist, and not LOL I KISSED A GIRL MY BOYFRIEND LOL fake feminist.
posted by the young rope-rider at 8:04 AM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

I Co-produce & Co-present a feminist community radio show, which means we play predominantly what you're after. I've asked my group for recs, but in the meantime check out our playlists!
posted by divabat at 8:06 AM on October 26, 2011 [6 favorites]

Les Bucherettes. A lot of their lyrics deal with interpersonal relations, but for anthems, there's this.
posted by hydrophonic at 8:26 AM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Much as I love Fire Party, they were a decidedly earlier band. They broke up in 1990.

It might just be nostalgia talking, but I definitely consider 1990 part of the 90s ;)

But yeah, mainly active in the late 80s.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:29 AM on October 26, 2011

Pink.

Writes lots of songs about strong women standing up for themselves (and partying). "Stupid Girls" would probably be the most obvious example, though I like "Fuckin' Perfect" as well. Even though she swears like a long shoreman she is one of the few top 10 artists my SIL will let my 10yo niece play as she thinks her strength is a great role model for a young girl, compared to some of what is out there for tween girls to listen to.
posted by wwax at 8:38 AM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

I would argue that the very fact Wild Flag is made up of rockin' "older" women makes it political. But JD Sampson of Le Tigre's new band MEN is apparently more explicitly feminist. I've only heard a little but I like what I've heard.
posted by Lieber Frau at 8:57 AM on October 26, 2011

Jenny Lewis - strong, self-critical, non-militant.

If we're going back a bit, Johnette Napolitano - simply great.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:18 AM on October 26, 2011

Not the same sound as Kathleen Hanna et al, but I really like Thao with the Get Down Stay Down.
posted by librarina at 9:27 AM on October 26, 2011

Little Jackie is my go-to. Cheatin' men, media pressure and body image, family dynamics, negative effects of fame, you name it--all backed by good beats and catchy lyrics. She's awesome.
posted by stellaluna at 10:23 AM on October 26, 2011

Nthing Ani DiFranco. Ani DiFranco, Ani DiFranco, Ani DiFranco, Ani DiFranco.
posted by kristi at 10:51 AM on October 26, 2011 [3 favorites]

I too am unclear about "these days" but if people are going to recommend Sleater-Kinney I feel comfortable saying early-era Helium, for sure, when Mary was reading Mary Daly and recovering from patriarchal Catholicism. The Pirate Prude EP is so brilliant when it comes to smart, cheeky, layered feminist art, and the singles of that era--"Lucy", "Hole in the Ground" and The Dirt of Luck keep it real too ("I can do anything you can do/don't tell me you think that I'm rude" and "I'm small like a superball/throw me at the wall/fragile like an eggshell/and mad as hell"). There's also Team Dresch ("DA Don't Care", "Growing Up In Springfield") and the Butchies and Heavens to Betsy ("My Red Self"), all that. And early PJ Harvey for sure.
posted by ifjuly at 12:19 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Scout Niblett too, kind of, in that she's very tomboy-matter-of-fact about sex and desire like it ain't no thang, similar to what Peaches is doing though way less in your face/focused only on that aspect.
posted by ifjuly at 12:21 PM on October 26, 2011

Please let us not forget about the fabulous Ms. Beth Ditto (of Gossip fame).
posted by erstwhile at 3:34 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh my god, yes. The Pirate Prude EP is one of my favorite pieces of music from anyone ever! I still have trouble understanding why everyone isn't talking about it all the time.
posted by OmieWise at 4:00 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Less Ani DiFranco, more Riot Grrls, definitely not Beyonce. Gaga is insufficiently direct in message. The critical thing is third wave feminism anthems, not musical style.
posted by thatdawnperson at 5:12 PM on October 26, 2011

Less Ani DiFranco, more Riot Grrls, definitely not Beyonce. Gaga is insufficiently direct in message. The critical thing is third wave feminism anthems, not musical style.

Gah....explain? The majority of Ani DiFranco's songs are rockin' feminist anthems.

As for Beyonce....have you heard "If I Were a Boy?"

I would also like to add Dar Williams, specifically "When I was a Boy"
posted by bearette at 7:28 PM on October 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

I know this is out of your timeframe, but if you missed X-Ray Spex you should really give them a try. I don't think Bikini Kill, for instance, would be quite the same without them.
posted by OmieWise at 4:53 AM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Beyonce: NOT feminist.

DiFranco: with a discography spanning two decades and a great deal of breadth, where does one start? Specifics, not blanket "me too"s of "artist with large catalogue and no specific iconic singles".
posted by thatdawnperson at 4:30 PM on October 27, 2011

"DiFranco: with a discography spanning two decades and a great deal of breadth, where does one start?"

Okay, specific Ani DiFranco songs (links are to lyrics):

from Imperfectly, 1992:
I'm No Heroine
Make Them Apologize

from Puddle Dive, 1993:
Willing to Fight
Blood in the Boardroom

from Out of Range, 1994:
Out of Range
Letter to a John
Face Up and Sing

from Not a Pretty Girl, 1995:
Not a Pretty Girl

from Dilate, 1996:
Outta Me, Onto You

from Up Up Up Up Up Up, 1999:
Tis of Thee

from To the Teeth, 2000:
Hello Birmingham

from Reckoning, 2001:
Your Next Bold Move
Subdivision

from Knuckle Down, 2005:
Paradigm


To pick just two from the above: "Not a Pretty Girl" and "Face Up and Sing".
posted by kristi at 6:17 PM on October 27, 2011

Yeah, with DiFranco, it's more like where do you NOT start--almost every song on the early few albums is explicitly feminist ("Blood in the Boardroom", "32 Flavors", "If He Tries Anything", "Out of Range"...). Her self-made label was called "Righteous Babe Records" for god's sake.
posted by ifjuly at 7:51 PM on October 27, 2011

Robyn.
posted by softlord at 7:46 PM on October 30, 2011