Like a slow tide moving in, we’ve watched as the world of Rock n’ Roll has made an immense shift from the beginning of this decade. By the time 2017 came around, it was clear that a majority of the innovative Rock being made was penned and sung by women. It’s a curious happening, in some ways inexplicable, and in other ways completely obvious. We wonder how it could be that Rock was once dominated by a bunch of four and five piece white guy groups and can now be so varied and curiously different. Prince probably said it best, it’s a “sign o’ the times” and the marker of the cultural zeitgeist in a country that embraces people of different backgrounds and ethnicities, at least, within the realm of popular culture. Now the traditional format of dudes with long hair flexing their musical muscle is less the norm and in many ways, seemingly stale.
We want to hear from new and different artists. We want something unfamiliar, pioneering, novel in attitude and persuasion. No other group has more to prove and more to say than the women of this eclectic country, and the platform is there for these women from all sorts of walks of life to unfurl their creative spirits. Artists like Feist, Sharon van Etten, Jenny Lewis, and St. Vincent were the harbingers of this decade of female rule, and then artists like Angel Olsen, Frankie Cosmos, and Courtney Barnett kicked the door open. Now we have artists like Jay Som, Shear Mag, The Courtneys, and Diet Cig giving us a taste of what the future may hold.
As mentioned in my previous post, a reflection on 2017, it was really hard to make a Best Albums of 2017 list that wasn’t just 20 albums made by the most trailblazing women in music today. To reiterate, the list of great women in music from 2017 includes Alvvays, The Courtneys, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Big Thief, St. Vincent, Girlpool, Sylvan Esso, Kehlani, Kelela, Waxahatchee, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Syd, SZA, Jay Som, Laura Marling, Fever Ray, Jlin, Paramore, Courtney Barnett, Priests, Julie Byrne, Japanese Breakfast, Kesha, Bjork, Sandy (Alex G), Laurel Halo, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Vagabon, Zola Jesus, Kelly Lee Owens, Ibeyi, Julien Baker, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Jessie Ware. That’s probably 65% of the Best Albums of the Year contenders, and the sad part is I’m leaving some off that probably should be mentioned.
The first edition of the Mix Master Bestor periodical is a mix that hopefully proves the breadth and talent of female rockers in the game right now. I call it “Sisters of Sound” after the record store I often went into during my college days in Manhattan, Kansas. I hope you enjoy.
