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One of the things you notice as a female rock fan is the absence of kick ass female fronted or all female rock bands but women can kick just as much musical ass as men, if not more, so in an homage to those women and the amazingly badass pioneer women of rock, Erin and I decided to assemble this playlist for you guys.
Badass songs by badass women
First, the originals:
Edge of Seventeen–Stevie Nicks. It’s Stevie Nicks. *Mic drop*
Bad Reputation–Joan Jett. The original rock badass chick. Please feast your eyes on this epic 80s video because Spotify does not have it available. Fun fact–this song is the theme song to Freaks and Geeks, one of Jana’s all-time favorite shows.
Crazy on You–Heart. Ann and Nancy Wilson. Rock music queens.
White Rabbit–Jefferson Airplane. Grace Slick slays on this song.
Left off but not forgotten: Janis, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Debbie Harry
Now the next generation:
Celebrity Skin–Hole. Probably Courtney Love’s finest hour save for her stint on SOA.
Take it Off–The Donnas. I don’t know what to say about this song except it’s fun and edgy and you should know it. Fun fact: this is the band featured in Drive Me Crazy. The 90s movie. Not that Britney shit.
I Think I’m Paranoid–Garbage. This was Erin’s pick and since I, Jana, am writing the post, I have nothing witty to say except I really liked Garbage when I wasn’t confusing them with The Cranberries.
Kiss Me Deadly–Lita Ford. She hung in there as essentially THE ONLY female rep for the hair band era (except for Vixen, who went platinum during the same time. Edge of a Broken Heart is a great song, by the way).
Left off but not forgotten: The Cranberries, Tori Amos, Alanis, Ani DiFranco
The current ladies:
I Like it Heavy–Halestorm. Lzzy Hale is one of my favorite female singers probably of all time and to pick one song by Halestorm is HARD, y’all. But this one seemed the most apropros for this particular playlist.
Rush You–Baby Animals. Aussie band led by the beautiful Suze DeMarchi. Fun fact: her ex-husband and babies’ daddy is Nuno Bettencourt from Extreme fame.
America’s Sweetheart–Elle King. This song is in heavy rotation in Jana’s playlists because THIS is how you do a female empowerment song.
Make Me Wanna Die–The Pretty Reckless. Erin says she was initially judgemental knowing that a young actress from Gossip Girl was just being a poser and playing dress-up, but she’s actually fucking good. Jana concurs with this assessment.
Left off but not forgotten: Amy Lee, Paramore, Flyleaf
Ladies who cross generations and don’t fit neatly anywhere, even though they all transcend decades:
Just A Girl–No Doubt. The scathing indictment of the way women are treated dressed up as a fun pop song. Wolf in sheep’s clothing, indeed.
U & UR Hand–P!nk. Both of us, Jana and Erin, had this incredible woman on our lists and this song is such a fuck you to the douchebag men in bars and clubs and society in general that it’s impossible not to include it on this type of playlist.
Other women we could have included: Dolly, Reba, Beth Hart, Pat Benatar, Cyndi Lauper. I’m sure there’s more so let us know. Who did we leave off?
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[…] is covering “White Rabbit”?! Badass woman covering badass woman? Erin and I were on point with those selections!!! WE SHOULD BE VOTING ON THE AWARDS. (note: this was in a commercial. It’s okay if you […]
i can’t think of anyone else, but out of all your lists, i know more bands / singers on the list than the others! lol. i must be drawn to badass women. Pink is probably my fave on your list, though I also used to love Garbage!
kristen recently posted…Monthly Link Up Announcement with GretchRuns
I love Pink, her style is definitely unique and hard to define.
Stevie Nicks is like the original badass, I tried to get Tyson to let me name our new dog Nyx. For the goddess but also because Stevie Nicks. Cleary I was overruled.
Kelli recently posted…My Shelter Adoption Experience
Girl Power!!!! No Doubt, Pink and Garbage are some of my favorites!!!! Heart and Joan Jett are such classics too!!!
Nadine recently posted…Take the Leap
I think Lucinda Williams, although not a rocker, as well as Dolly, both kill it. Alanis, too.
SMD @ Life According to Steph recently posted…Thursday Thoughts: readjusting after vacation
In my original list, I had You Oughta Know … admitting it was an obvious choice, but a deserving one. Then, Jana and I had to start making difficult cuts………………..
Erin @ TexErin-in-SydneyLand recently posted…Badass Songs by Badass Women: A Jana and Erin Playlist
Love Joan Jett so much, and I recently found that Elle King song, and I’m loving it too! I know that Erin totally picked the No Doubt song, and it really is the perfect badass woman song from Gwen Stefani!
Ashley @ The Wandering Weekenders recently posted…6 Things I Learned While Visiting Universal Studios
Nice songs. I really like Heart. I have several of their songs on my playlist.
Amber recently posted…Things That Annoy Me Thursday: Do People Not Get What Single File Means Anymore?
I LOVE “Celebrity Skin.” I’m more of an R&B girl, so I’d add Mary J. Blige to this list.
Heather @ I do what I want. recently posted…Alamo Classic
Mary J. is a good addition!
Stevie Nicks and Heart! Yes!! I love Chrissie Hynde (spelling? ), too. Pink is very badass. Not one of my favorites, but very badass.
Love. Steph’s. Momma
I forgot about Chrissie Hynde! She’s one of the original badasses, for sure.
Joan Jett and Lita Ford – I remember rocking out to them as a kid. I don’t think I always knew what they were singing about, but I just knew they were badass. I love U and UR Hand by Pink. And Just a Girl – huge favorite. I was also a huge Alanis fan and loved Stupid Girl by Garbage. Thanks for introducing me to Elle King, really like the song, adding it my playlist!
I adore Elle King!! I’m glad you’re liking her, too!
I remember listening to Joan Jett and Lita Ford as a kid, too. I’m pretty sure I had the same reaction as you.
I still love Garbage (I actually saw them way back in high school, and I remember Shirley Manson being surprisingly funny when she talked to the audience). I also still love Alanis. And, as you already know, Tori Amos is one of my absolute favorites. She will always make it onto my list of badass women!
Some of my other favorites that weren’t mentioned here: Fiona Apple, Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Emily Haines (of Metric), Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, and Jenny Lewis (though I prefer Rilo Kiley to any of her other stuff). There are probably a lot more, but those are the ones that immediately came to mind.
Karen O – good one – I saw them live, opening for the Foo Fighters (I think; it was years ago). I was soooo impressed with her presence.
Erin @ TexErin-in-SydneyLand recently posted…Badass Songs by Badass Women: A Jana and Erin Playlist
I wanted to put Me and a Gun on the list because singing about your rape in such a brutally honest, heartbreaking way is basically the most badass thing you can do. But we had to make hard cuts.
Fiona Apple! I think she’s pretty awesome, too.
I completely agree about “Me and a Gun” … It still gives me chills every time I listen to it. I love that Tori Amos often writes kind of abstract lyrics and can still sing about her own experiences, feelings, and opinions in a raw and honest way.
Obviously I just think she’s really cool. 🙂
We make good playlists.
Won’t stop.
Don’t stop.
Can’t stop.
Because they are just that good.
Erin @ TexErin-in-SydneyLand recently posted…Badass Songs by Badass Women: A Jana and Erin Playlist
I feel that you slandered this post with the Miley reference but also at the same time, I knew it was Miley so what the hell does that say about me. But I like where you’re going with it.
I was afraid for a moment you wouldn’t have Lita Ford. Honestly, as soon as I saw the title of the post, two songs went through my head – Joan Jett: I love Rock and Roll, and Lita Ford (Went to a party last Saturday night, didn’t get laid, got in a fight, aha, it ain’t no big thing…)
For people you left off: Patty Smyth/Scandal – while The Warrior might be her most famous song, I would have put Heartache Heard Round the World on my list.
Also, for more recent music For the Love of Sloane. I think Bitter might have been a radio release, but I’ve really liked everything I have heard from them.
erin shanendoah recently posted…Book Review: The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan
YES!!! I love all of these songs and singers so, so much. I might have to add Bjork, The Breeders, MIA, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Christina recently posted…Sundance Film Festival
Pink is totally badass! She’s my favorite artist in your list. Thank you for this awesome post. It’s nice to see that you included all women from different generations. I had fun listening to their songs, even though I wasn’t born yet when they did those songs. Who do you think among your artist right now should be included in your list?