Slow Songs For Fast Hearts

Long overdue review....

So obviously the plan was to review the bands that played at the Cherry Bomb Comics fourth birthday party last month…but unfortunately my memory of what went on is slightly hazy, not cos I was particularly drunk (thank god, that’s one way to really piss myself off, get too drunk to appreciate my favourite bands or even remember the show – one day I’ll tell the Lynee Breedlove in Rome story), but mainly it’s cos I then moved to the UK a few days later so a lot has happened in between to make me forget all but the most salient of details, so please forgive the very vague review!

I had never seen the Wind Ups before, but had heard heaps about this Wellington band from ardent fans, they’re the kind of band you hear about long before you see them I guess (unless you live in Welly) – their reputation precedes them. Apparently this was the first time they’d played in Auckland, and Cherry Bomb was lucky enough to be able to combine our party with their gig at the Wine Cellar. Rumours of their awesomeness were not wrong, and I guess this is why music reviewers write stuff down at the actual show so that they remember what to write beyond “they were cool” when it comes time for the review. Er, I didn’t do that, so here’s a link to their myspace page anyway, so you can have a listen . I never really trust my first impressions of a band enough to describe their sound anyway as I tend to initially get distracted by other aspects before I can really get a handle on what the music “is”, but I remember thinking the lead singer Beth was refreshingly strange in her vocal delivery, lending the garage-y sound a psycho edge, and plus that there’s nothing better than having a group of boys-with-good-taste dance adoringly to music made by a girls in an amazing band that you’ve never seen before. I missed Tank Black after that, but heard good things…Following them was Newtown, a Cherry Bomb favourite who have just made an album. Featuring two women who swap jobs on guitar and drums and vocals throughout, Newtown are the kind of band that inspires you, makes you remember you can DIY, and that love and punk combined is a beautiful thing (particularly in the song “Fetus Infetu”, which is the term given to when a fetus grows inside another one – that’s how close they wanna be to each other). Both members of Newtown have been in multiple bands (which is how it seems to be for most Wellingtonian musicians), but this band strikes a special chord in Cherry Bomb’s heart, harking back to bygone riot grrrl days we were too young to actually experience, mixed with the shambolic, anarchic excitement of sadly missed Auckland bands such as the Sound Laydee and the other Misfit Theatre-related projects. The gig ended with the Curfew Girls, another much talked about band who I hadn’t seen before (this was the 3rd time they’d played). The rumours surrounding Curfew Girls mainly related to people’s apprehension at the possible chaos that could ensue given certain members of the band (haha, I’m sure they know who they are), followed by 100% positive reviews of the previous two shows. I caught the last two songs (which I was told by some of the band were their best), and there was no chaos (wasn’t sure if I should be disappointed) but the music was great, and the make up of the band so – I want to use the word refreshing again, but I’m against using a word like that twice – but you get the idea. They weren’t 4 boys in tight pants or whatever, thank you god, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of them. Pity I probably won’t see any of these bands play again, now that I’m over in the dirty old UK, but if you get the chance, you should because afterwards I’m sure you’ll agree that you’ve actually seen something, for a change, and heard music that was new and not some fascimilied crap designed to reassure the audience they’re listening to something “good”.

So I guess the next instalment from me is probably gonna be something that happens in London, where I live now…X Ray Spex in September!!!

Posted 13 days ago | By Melissa | Comment [1]
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So it turns out I like Indie Pop

Melissa came over for dinner the other night and pointed out that I like Indie Pop music…

(You Tube wouldn’t let me embed the first version which is here)

Posted 48 days ago | By Katie | Comment [2]
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"Big is IN" Heavy Vee

Teenager Vanessa “Heavy Vee” Asbury, set to be the next Lil Mama or Missy Elliot…move over Soulja Boy, you’re done.

www.myspace.com/heavyvee

I don’t need a hook – Heavy Vee

Posted 63 days ago | By Melissa | Comment
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Princess of the Voodoo Beat

Most people seem to talk about the Voodoo Queens by beginning with Mambo Taxi, an all-female garage pop group from Brighton who arrived on the scene circa 1992, when riot grrrl was having its hey day across the sea in the US and the scene was a burgeoning one in Britain. Mambo Taxi’s most famous single was “Prom Queen”, which was put out with an album sleeve designed by their drummer Anjali Bhatia…

Dubbed the “Princess of the Voodoo Beat” by a member of England’s best know riot grrrl band, Huggy Bear, who she drummed for now and then, Anjali had actually grown tired of drumming, picking up the guitar and breaking away from Mambo Taxi to form the band whose name was nevertheless inspired by her skill on the drums: the Voodoo Queens. The Voodoo Queens consisted variously of Anjali’s sister Rajni on keyboards, Anjula and then Mary Deagin on bass, Mambo Taxi bandmate Ella Drouglis on guitar, and Stefania and then Sunny on drums.

The Voodoo Queens were highly influenced by garage rock and the girl groups of the late 50s/early 60s such as the Shangri Las. Early 90s band The Headcoatees, featuring one Holly Golightly, were also inspirations. I recommend checking out the book “Riot Grrrl: Revolution Girl Style Now!” put out by Black Dog which covers quite thoroughly the British riot grrrl scene, and also delves into discussion about garage rock, girl group and twee influences on riot grrrl, which I think is quite different from the more common focus on post punk bands of the late 70s early 80s such as the Slits and Delta 5.

In terms of being part of what was thought of as the riot grrrl scene in the UK, the Voodoo Queens were not exactly putting out photocopied manifestos of boy/girl revolutions like Huggy Bear, but politically, Voodoo Queens did have a thing or two to say on matters affecting women, the song “Supermodel, Superficial” being one obvious example. In the video for “Indian Filmstar” (below), Anjali is also loud and proud about loving her non-skinny body and encourages the audience of (presumably) mostly girls to eat the chocolate she’s handing out.

As legend has it, the Voodoo Queens first official gig was opening for the band Cornershop when they only had 3 songs to perform, and being discovered by John Peel who said that their performance reminded him of the first time he saw the Slits (Peel was a big fan of the Slits). Following this, they signed to Too Pure records, and released an album “Chocolate Revenge”. After an attempt at forming their own label, Voodoo Records, and putting out a release on it which didn’t do so well, the band broke up in 1994/95. Anjali, following her own lead again, now makes computer based music often used for commercial purposes.

The thing that attracted me to the Voodoo Queens, apart from curiousity to read more about the British riot grrrl scene, was the fact that many members, including the lead singer, were Indian. For someone of Indian descent like myself who is passionately interested in riot grrrl, punk & DIY music, this was an irresistable reason to find out more. How many women of colour, women of South-East Asian descent at that, participated in bands like these during this time? Perhaps many, bands pop up and disappear all the time in DIY scenes, however, not too many that are recognised as “influential”, or at the very least documented, feature women of colour. The problem with focussing on this, of course is that many of the said “women of colour” do not wish to be marked out as such, and indeed, on further investigation I found a book online called “Brimful of Asia: Negotiating ethnicity on the UK music scene” by Rehan Hyder (Ashgate Publishing Ltd: 2004), which stated:

“Anjali felt tension due to the fact that she was often asked to explain herself due to be “asian”: “in a way it would be easier if you didn’t have to ask these questions, if I didn’t have to sit here and answer these questions, it would be easier if I didn’t have to sit here and explain about who I am”.

Easy to see where her irritation arises from, however, not so easy to know what to do as a fan who not only loves the music, but also feels more of a connection due to seeing someone perform who looks a lot more like you than any other woman whose music you love ever has done.

In “Brimful of Asia” she goes on to say:

“I think it shouldn’t take away from the fact that I’m a muscian and a producer and songwriter; but it is part of me and a part of me that goes into the music, its fairly integral, but what is more integral is the music and the sounds that I’m producing and I think that subjects like this have a danger of becoming quite staid and just polemics for the sake of polemics really.”

So perhaps the issue then becomes, who is it that gets to discuss the fact that Anjali Bhatia is Indian? If music journalists used it as a quirky fact to add to their “top 10 things you should know about the Voodoo Queens” or whatever, or if it became the focus for articles written for white people by white people who see it as a topic they probably should discuss because it seems controversial and a bit weird, (polemics for the sake of polemics), the flippancy and borderline racism, not to mention distraction from the artistic efforts of the band seem obvious.

However, I’m writing about this band specifically because I discovered who the band members were. But the thing is, my intention is to pay a small tribute to a band that re-fuelled my passion for riot grrrl & DIY music, a passion that was waning given the fact I was slowly but surely giving in to the hindsight criticisms of riot grrrl, that it was privileged and white and therefore not as revolutionary as it maintained. It made me determined to argue that this kind of statement is in itself racist, because it ignores non-white women’s contribution to this scene.

Voodoo Queens – Supermodel, Superficial

Voodoo Queens – Indian Filmstar

Posted 69 days ago | By Melissa | Comment [1]
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Um, yeah.

It’s been a while since either of us have posted anything on here. I’ve been super busy with work (two part time jobs and doing a heap of freelance design means pretty much all I do is work and sleep!) so haven’t had a chance to even think about what I’d like to write about. But I want to say that Macromantics is a genius. I mean, she rhymes Susan Faludi with booty!

So yes, I’m still listening to Macromantics heaps! My iTunes says I’ve played the album 84 times, and I’m always playing the CD and listening to it on my iPod so I’m surprised I’m not totally sick of it yet!

I haven’t had a chance to check out anything new for a while, but lately I’ve also been listening to Public Warning by Lady Sovereign, Standing in the Way of Control by The Gossip and Version by Mark Ronson.

If you’ve been reading Slow Songs For Fast Hearts regularly, you’ll know that I am a fan of (good!) cover versions of songs. And Versions is just that — an entire album of cover versions! If you too are a fan, you should check it out. Ronson produces the songs, and has a different artist sing each one. It has a focus on British music, with the original songs primarily being by British bands and artists and I think all of the singers on the album are British. It’s definitely not something I’d have listened to if it wasn’t for the cover versions, and now that I think about it I wouldn’t really listen to the original versions either! Apart from this I don’t think I listen to anything by the singers on Version as they’re not really what I’m into (and I have to admit I don’t think I’ve heard of half of them) but where else can you hear a band (or guy?) called Triggers doing a cover of Toxic by Britney Spears that samples Ol Dirty Bastard from the Wu-Tang Clan?!

Posted 97 days ago | By Katie | Comment [1]
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