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Badass songs from badass women: An Erin and Jana playlist

January 28, 2016 by Jana 23 Comments

This entry is part 6 of 8 in the series Playlists

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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Through the Years, 1950s style: A Jana and Erin playlist

September 29, 2016 by Jana 8 Comments

This entry is part 7 of 8 in the series Playlists

Last Thursday of the month means it’s time for another playlist with Jana and Erin – a playlist with a twist. Not “The” Twist because that song was released in the ’60s, so that doesn’t make the cut. Yet.

The 1950s. A time for poodle skirts, sock hops, and soda fountains. Also McCarthyism, the Cold War, and Jim Crow but that’s the part that sucked so we’re not going to talk about that today. Nope. Instead, we’re going to talk about one of the fun parts of the 1950s–the music!

I (Jana) love 50s music. It melts my dark, hard rock loving heart. It’s fun and catchy and not at all like anything we have now. When I need a pick-me-up, I’ll put on one of my 50s Spotify playlists. It makes me happy. Probably has to do with childhood memories of listening to the music at bar mitzvahs or with my grandparents. But who knows? I just like it. #noshame Hope you guys like some of the songs, too!

This is also the beginning of our through the decades playlist series (think of this as the Time Life version of our playlist series. Anyone else remember the Time Life CD collections? No? Just me?) and thanks to Erin for indulging me in this decade first.

Songs from “The Day the Music Died” artists: Sadly, all three of the following artists died in a plane crash in Iowa in February 1959.

Come On, Let’s Go by Ritchie Valens (1958): This video clip is fun, even if the person who uploaded it misspelled the artist’s name.

Chantilly Lace by The Big Bopper (1958): “Hellllooooo baaaaaby!”

Not Fade Away by Buddy Holly (1957): Jana is a big fan of this bespectacled musician’s songs. He appears in our playlists from time to time. (Jana’s note: I’m pretty sure this is at least his 3rd mention)

Songs from piano men:

Tutti Frutti by Little Richard (1955):

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On by Jerry Lee Lewis (1957): Let’s forget about that whole marrying his teenage cousin part of the story. (Jana’s note: Did anyone else see Great Balls of Fire? Wasn’t Dennis Quaid pretty great in that?)

Songs by brothers:

Shout by The Isley Brothers (1959): The dance scene in Animal House with John Belushi in a toga is one of those iconic cinematic scenes where the perfect song was picked for a movie. But, that’s not this video clip because that was Otis Day and the Knights covering The Isley Brothers.

Bye Bye Love by The Everly Brothers (1957): fun fact~the daughter of one of these guys is named Erin Everly and that’s who inspired Axl Rose to write the lyrics for Sweet Child of Mine. (Jana’s note: I did not know that)

Songs that make you want to dance (besides the ones already mentioned):

Shake, Rattle, and Roll by Bill Haley and the Comets (1954):

At the Hop by Danny & the Juniors (1957)

Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry: Since we forgot about Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his cousin, let’s forget that Chuck Berry allegedly had cameras installed in the women’s toilets filming them while using the restroom at a restaurant he owned… (Jana’s note: I did not know this either. But seriously, what the actual fuck?)

Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley (1956): For that slow dance…

Songs that were introduced to me (Erin) by my grandfather:

Your Cheatin’ Heart by Hank Williams (1953):

It’s Only Make Believe by Conway Twitty (1958): Sometime, in the ’70s, my (Erin’s) grandparents and extended family went to a Conway Twitty show, and Dolly Parton was the opening act. My uncle bought me nachos, and I was sitting on his lap eating them. Then, I puked all over his boots while Conway Twitty was playing. Awww sweet memories.

Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash (1955): Johnny sings “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.” Johnny was gansta before gangsta rappers.

But, what’s great, is songs like these have lasted SIXTY years. Think about that. What songs recorded this decade do you think will last as long as these? What artists will the bloggers of 2076 be sharing?

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Concert favorites: A Jana and Erin playlist

August 25, 2016 by Jana 8 Comments

This entry is part 8 of 8 in the series Playlists

Last Thursday of the month means it’s time for another playlist with Jana and Erin – a playlist with a twist. Often, we try not to choose themes that you’ve seen time and time again. This month we’ve decided to highlight significant songs from concerts we’ve attended AND that concert was monumental to us for one reason or another.

JANA: 1. “The Right Stuff” by NKOTB. New Kids and Tiffany was the first concert I ever went to. With my parents, sister, best friend at the time and we saw them at Westbury Music Fair. I was in 4th or 5th grade (roughly the same age as my daughter, incidentally, who just went to her first concert this past summer. We took her to see Weezer. So there’s that). And my love of live music begins.

ERIN: 2. “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi. I know. It comes as no surprise that Bon Jovi makes an appearance on this list. It was my first concert that I attended. My mother took three 8th grade girls and one 7th grader to the Bon Jovi “Slippery When Wet” tour with Cinderella opening (who became another live favorite). My love of Bon Jovi was cemented.

JANA: 3. “Big Talk” by Warrant. NKOTB was the first concert I ever attended; Warrant and Poison at Nassau Coliseum was the first concert I attended sans parents. Three of my friends and I went during the Cherry Pie tour and looking back, there were quite a lot of things that happened at that concert I didn’t quite understand. Now I do. Warrant was DIRTY.

ERIN: 4. “King of Rock” by Run DMC – The summer after 8th grade, I went to visit my grandparents in rural East Texas. A concert was coming to the Oil Palace in Tyler, Texas … a concert like this smaller Texas town had never seen – Run DMC with others (DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Public Enemy, and more). My aunt and uncle took me, they sat in the back while I bounced and danced in the crowd. My uncle claimed that my blond ponytail was easy to spot. I loved the blend of sounds (and still do) that Run DMC brings, and King of Rock is especially foreshadowing since they are now members of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.

JANA: 5. “Subdivisions” by Rush. This is my absolute favorite Rush song of all time. We might have used it in a post before but #idontcare. I saw Rush for the first time in 1991ish (mostly because Mr. Big was the opening act. Yes, I was that person but in my defense, I was 14) and despite being there for the opening act, I walked away a Rush fan. This was also the gateway concert for my love affair with outdoor concerts. Thank you, Jones Beach.

ERIN: 6. “Crackerman” by Stone Temple Pilots. My college roommate, Katy, dated a beautiful boy named Gregorio. We piled into my white Honda Civic and drove from our university town to Houston for my first “live” experience with Stone Temple Pilots (1995ish). It was an incredible show, even with Scott Weiland completely off his face. Since his death from a deadly cocktail of drugs, this first STP is particularly poignant to me in my memories.

JANA: 7. “Tainted Angel” by Southgang. I saw these guys on New Year’s Eve. In a bar. In Atlanta. When I was 14 (14 was a big year, evidently). It was pretty fucking cool. (Also, I might or might not have thrown this in because of Erin’s love for Butch Walker. I’ll let you decide).

ERIN: 8. “Best Thing You Never Had” by Butch Walker. No, this ain’t no Beyoncé song. Jana mentioned my love for Butch, and my entry above talks about my friend, Katy…so, let me tell you about the time that Katy and I went to Vegas to “celebrate” her divorce. The Wynn just opened, and we scored an amazing deal on a room. We went to see the male dance revue, American Storm, and we had cocktails by the pool. I told Katy that she needed to trust me – we were going to see Avril Lavigne at The Joint at the Hard Rock because there was this musician that was opening that I had to see…Mr. Butch Walker. Seeing this song live is damn near close to a religious experience for me. He’s touring right now. Seriously. If you like live music, do yourself a favor and go see him if he’s coming to a town near you.

JANA: 9. “Ain’t Going Down Till the Sun Comes Up” by Garth Brooks. I bought my husband, then-boyfriend, tickets to see Garth Brooks in Philly for his 20th birthday. Decidedly not a country music fan, I had a lot of trepidation going to the show. Turns out, I can be wrong. This still reigns as one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended. The man played for 3 hours WITH NO BREAK. It was incredible. Also at that concert, the guy selling “popcorn, peanuts, crack cocaine”. (Note from Erin: While watching this video as I was putting together this post, I got goosebumps. His energy is infectious. Garth is the bomb. No shame.)

ERIN: 10. “Between Angels and Insects” by Papa Roach. Another time that I told a friend to “just trust me” and go to a show with me was to see Papa Roach. Their first full album was out, and “Last Resort” was a single getting play. I had the album (well, cd, but I still call them albums), and I wanted to see them live. I convinced my friend, Shawn, to go with me because he likes rock shows. When we left the show, we looked like someone had hosed us down with a garden hose. We were soaked with sweat. I am not sure I’ve ever lost that many calories in one show. I picked this song because it was the one that I remember most for the crowd losing.their.shit when it played.

JANA: 11. “Captain Jack” by Billy Joel. Returning the favor, the husband bought me tickets to see Billy Joel and Elton John. I had previously seen Billy during college but attending this concert was the fulfillment of a decade long dream. Dueling pianos at their finest.

ERIN: 12. “Here Is Gone” by the Goo Goo Dolls. My two frontmen loves are Jon Bon Jovi and Johnny Rzeznik. In 2003, they made this girl’s dream come true by touring together. And, the Goo Goo Dolls were touring to support my favorite album of theirs, Gutterflower.

JANA: 13. “Jesus of Suburbia” by Green Day. Perhaps the greatest song from American Idiot, and perhaps one of the most stellar shows I’ve attended. By the time we got to their concert at the Liacouras Center, we’d seen Green Day 3 times and this concert was about as close to perfection as you can get.

ERIN: 14. I couldn’t decide what song/band I wanted to list next, and “Gone Away” by The Offspring came on, which instantly took me to a memory that I love, so there you have it. One of my best gal pals moved to Italy. I went to visit. We went to see The Offspring in Milan. It was an unforgettable experience to go to a concert surrounded by Italians all singing along in English with this SoCal pop punk band.

JANA: 15. “Absolutely Still” by Better Than Ezra. Laugh if you will, but I love these guys. And I loved, LOVED seeing them at Power Plant Live in Baltimore. FOR FREE, Y’ALL. Of course it was on the hottest day Baltimore has ever had and my sweet tea crush melted but still. Awesome. There’s something about going to see a once popular band but who wasn’t really that popular and who’s a little past their prime because you know all the fans are FANS. And they covered a Rush song.

ERIN: 16. “Angel Eyes (I’ll Never Let You Go)” by Steelheart. Talk about seeing bands a little past their prime……..I went to the inaugural Rocklahoma in 2007. Glam bands, hair bands, hair metal, call them what you want. My love for them will never die. I was joined in a field smack in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma by others who still loved this music too. We met people from different countries, different states, and different ages. Many “big” names from this era were there (Poison, RATT, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Vince Neil, Dokken, more) – but, when the lead singer of Steelheart belted out this song and still hit those notes, it is safe to say that the crowd was blown away. (Note from Jana: I am jealous as hell that Erin went to Rocklahoma)

JANA: 17. “Enemies” by Shinedown. Going all the way back to two weeks ago when I attended Carnival of Madness. I can’t even properly convey how I felt this concert in my bones. In my soul. Shinedown’s music speaks to me like no other band’s and to see them live…well, I can’t quite process it all yet, never mind write about it. AND. As if the concert wasn’t amazing enough, they opened up their set with Let’s Go Crazy. The real Prince version. Not a cover.

ERIN: 18. “All out of Love” by Air Supply. They started their career over 40 years ago playing in Sydney restaurants. I saw them play at the Sydney Opera House. Let me tell you, there is something to be said for any band that can stay together for 40 years (the duo claim they’ve never even had a fight) and can fill a room full of people who will sing all of their songs word for word back to them.

We left out plenty that we wanted to add, but this is no longer about us…tell us about your live music experience and a significant song from a monumental concert in your musical journey.

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Badass songs from badass women: An Erin and Jana playlist

Through the Years, 1950s style: A Jana and Erin playlist

Concert favorites: A Jana and Erin playlist

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