Chick Bands, The End Of The Spice Girl Reign

Everybody remembers the 90's retort to boy bands : chick groups. I.e. Spice Girls. It was all about Girl Power. A statement, by the way, that I abhor. It doesn't make me feel empowered, it makes me feel like a massive hippie. Well, thankfully, this reign is over. Everybody remembers them, sort of with a nostalgic feeling such as with slap bracelets and sticky hands (huzzah!), stirrup pants (dislike) and mohawks (still the shit!). That being said, there's kind of been this interesting underground awesomeness that still hasn't fully come to light in the world o' rock: Girl fronted bands. This does not mean the whole group if female, this means their lead person (bring me to your leader!) is female. And this is awesomeness. These aren't your grandma's proper ladies either . . .

Case In Point: Evanescence  I choose this as my first example as they are the most well known chick fronted rocker band. I provide two video evidence here because I think the hard side and the soft side are equally amazing.

Case In Point: Lacuna Coil  I had heard this band awhile ago and then they sort of fell off my priority radar. However, while vid searching . . . Bingo.

Case In Point: Halestorm   This is a kick ass rocker chick! The song is secretly sexy and I saw them live last fall and her voice is still amazing and all the band members did a great drumming break that just wowed me.

Case In Point: Within Temptation  I conclude with this band because they are my most recent new music discovery. I love her voice, but then the music has this gorgeous infusion of rock and classical a la Apocolyptica feel.  Forgive the live version, but while you're at it notice the awesome feminine dress she is wearing. Gorgeous!

 
  And speaking of Apocolyptica . . . I know they aren't chick fronted, but here's their new song and even though I have reservations at times regarding Gavin Rossdale (new stuff . . . ), I like how his voice sounds in this. You should partake.

Nirvana Makes You Think

The other week I ended up watching Behind The Music: Courtney Love on VH1. This is one of those secret guilty pleasure shows to me because I find other people in general fascinating. However, I find the premise of this episode to be somewhat misleading as it wasn't completely Courtney Love focused due to her entanglement with Kurt Cobain. And less face it, can't get a live interview with that guy. That being said, it got me thinking . . .

On one hand, Nirvana is a pretty rockin' band that I gently partake in when in the mood and alternatively, whether I like it or not, know essentially all the words to the songs. While they weren't around for a ton of time, their impact is pretty obvious. I know their songs and still to this day, people rock out. So this may get one thinking about what they could of done had he still been alive and they stayed together . . .

On the other hand, I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason and without this turn of events we would never have had Foo. The Foo Fighters that is. Dave Grohl was the drummer of Nirvanna and people may not have ever know the amazingness of Foo had Kurt lived. Never known the songs, never laughed at the mentos-inspired music video, never heard the raw sound of his voice or seen him go from grungy long-haired dude to sexy lead singer guy. And that, would be sad . . .

This then, of course, got me thinking of other bands cut short and their impact: Led Zepplin - Stairway to Heaven. Though a little nutty, that guy's voice was amazing. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama. Who doesn't know (and dance) to this song? The Beattles. Though often hard to understand and being the first official "boy band" (in my mind), you can't deny that John Lennon had a voice and at the idea was sort of revolutionary for the time. Can you Imagine? And my personal favorite . . . Queen. Freddy Mercury. The. End.

MMT

The Sexcapades: Episode 1

For my first installment of The Sexcapades, I think this video says it all. And I'm not afraid of how awesome it is (or true!). Take notes.