Favorite All-Female Bands
 

Which All-Female Bands and Songs are your favorites?

I was thinking of a way to honor the Saudi Arabian women (and their female and male supporters) struggling for equality by daring to drive cars last Friday, a simple action that puts them at risk of incarceration and loss of employment because they are defying a sexist fatwa forbidding women from driving: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/wo...t/18saudi.html

I realized recently that around 9 out of 10 songs on the radio are performed exclusively by men. It is as if the musical roads are jam-packed with men! I decided to start this thread because I'd like to learn more about the women who are drivers and mechanics of their own music, much like women who are drivers and mechanics of their own cars.

Although other threads exist for Riot Grrrl bands and for bands with female singers, I don't see a thread dedicated exclusively to all-female bands of any genre. Now we have one.

Last night while enjoying a slice of Americana at a dingy, drab, and delightfully dated roller skating rink, I looked over music selections available for request and was happy to see The Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" as one of the options. (Justin Bieber of "Baby Baby" fame was playing at the time, so I decided to give the roller skating tweens a blast from my past.)

The Go-Go's "made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Go-Go's). Here are three Go-Go's songs I liked in the 80's and still do:

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The Go-Go's - "Our Lips Are Sealed"
[I looked up the lyrics for the first time today because I've been wondering all these years what some of them were. I found out, to my disappointment, that what I thought were the coolest lyrics ever, "Hush my darling, don't you cry; fallen angel, mortalized" are actually "Hush my darling, don't you cry; quiet angel, forget their lies." I think I'll just pretend they are singing my version, which is much better! :D]



The Go-Go's - "Head Over Heels"
[This is my favorite song by The Go-Go's]



The Go-Go's - "Vacation"

When it comes to All Female Bands, I feel like most people just mention The Runaways and Fanny doesn't get any recognition.

Courtesy of Wiki.

Fanny - Charity Ball

Fanny - Butter Boy

Fanny - I've had it

Babes In Toyland and L7.

The Raincoats:


Shonen Knife:


Slant 6:


L7:


Harry Crews:


Cub:

This thread needs some metal. KITTIE!







They kick so much ass.

and some more:

Drain (aka Drain STH):

Drain STH is all female? I didn't know and I love me some Kittie!

pretty sure you guys remember The Donnas
I honestly didn't know they were around since the early 90s I just remember their hits from 2000s

Astarte - an all-girl black metal band from Greece.

The Organ

and


Sleater-Kinney

and



All on the definite top list.

cibbo matto

Dum Dum Girls

I had no idea how oppressed women were in Saudi until I read the biography, Princess by Jean P. Sasson. Saudi women have so few rights it`s hard for us Westerners to imagine how restricted their lives are, both in public and, more insidiously, at home.
Those driving protesters are showing real courage !

Afro-pop group, Zap Mama are in a much happier situation, even if their vehicle is in need of some attention :-

I can't really think of any standouts to be honest, at least not for ALL-girl bands.

Bikini Kill wasn't technically all-girl, but they were a big-time feminist group. And even they were kind of meh, but this is still one of my favourite 90's songs:

poison

The Runaways

I personally really enjoy both Joan Jett and Cherie Curry's hoarse voices which proceed to celebrate being young and wild in America. Starting with their self-titled album from 1976 I really get a feel for their ability to bring a rock and roll element but in a light almost pop-like sound. Being an all group was great for a starters as there was a dominant scene of male rockers during these days such as Zeppelin and Uriah Heap. They produced 4 albums which did incredibly well overseas (Asia) and they gave a voice to rebellious girls all over.

I'm a sucker for Cherry Bomb but I can't get past Is It Day Or Night. Their lyrics again tend to follow the delinquent type rantings of life but with an upbeat sense of being free to rock out at the same time.

Out of this album my ultimate song is You Drive Me Wild. Sadly, in the end things got too much for Cherie who lost the plot from years of drug abuse (part of the scene) and the band continued on without her. After the 4th album was released in 1978 there was disagreement on the musical style they all wanted to take so they broke up April 1979.

I read on Wiki that there was a girl Gayle Welch from New Zealand (my house land), and formed a Runaways type album with the Runaway right holders encouragement. Very interesting indeed.

Now it's your turn, what band do you wish could be still around now? Hook us up with a review this thread will not be full of rubbish please or I will delete it. I am aiming to improve my reviewing and want to encourage you all to do so to. Feel free to however to discuss the bands/artists brought up during this thread.

x 2

There's just too many (though most are underrated, and hard to find)
Some of my favourites:

Malaria!



X-Ray Spex



The Slits (most of their line-ups)



Team Dresch



ESG



Chicks On Speed

The Breeders

http://www.google.com/url?url=http:/...x2lq-w&cad=rja

http://www.google.com/url?url=http:/...ri6yug&cad=rja

Yes i know the drummer is a MAN. I cheated.

Elastica

x2

There are some obvious bands like CocoRosie or Tegan and Sara.

Another favourite:
Le Tigre

Warpaint, definitely. The forum won't let me post links yet, but Billie Holiday and Lissie's Heart Murmur are amazing. Bass driven 4AD dream sound, check them out if you get a chance.

Elastica is alright, just a shame their most well known song is also a well known rip off.

That whole album was a rip off.

But sometimes you just don't care.

yeah, it is fun. I like their self-titled album. Nothing even slightly original, but stilla fun kinda punk influenced album.

"Stutter" is a great song.

I love bands with female vocalists, but surprisingly I don't know that many all female bands.

The Shirelles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!:-

The eX-Girls is a favorite, they are so amazingly talented as musicians, I guess if you mix Yoko Ono, surf, prog, and space rock that would describe their sound. I thought since you're a vegetarian, you would like songs about tofu and cucumbers. (I hope you don't mind)






Well for a while when they started out, the drummer did dress in drag and had a female stage name... so like you're only half 1/2 cheated with them.

Love The Coathangers. Still don't know how I got into the vocals. On one end of the spectrum you've got lots of screechy shouting but on the other you've got something's almost classified as a high pitched squeal, yet it works. Somehow. And despite the fact that they were four friends that became a band as soon as they started learning their instruments 3 years ago, they've really become something.

My favorites would have to be The Spazzys, such songs as 'Hey Baby'; also, any songs by Stonefield.

luscious jackson

well, i'd go for vocal groups, and not girls that play instruments as such:-

The Crystals
The Ronnettes
The Shangri-Las
The original Supremes, and the 70s Supremes without Diana Ross (can't stand her, tbh)
The Marvellettes

The Go-Go's or The Bangles. Slim pickings, as far as I'm concerned.

the like

L7

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZldGDDTgm4...600/L7-016.jpg

Shitlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diet Pill

..

Mika Miko:



Though I think they had a dude drummer at a couple points.

Sleater-Kinney
Tegan and Sara
Coco Rosie

Warpaint.....their whole debut album is AMAZING!