Wow! I admit that I came across this offering a
bit out of order. After purchasing both Call the Doctor and Dig Me
Out (Sleater-Kinney), I naturally discovered this wonderful disc.
As other reviewers have noted, the emotions are more raw on this
album (check out Stay Away and Nothing Can Stop Me). My favorite,
though, is Complicated, a six minute tour de force that, upon
first listen, instantly made my top ten list of greatest punk
songs of all time. This song is a powerful
breakup/misunderstanding song that alternates between steady beats
and thunderous waves. Sure, Sleater-Kinney has gone on to show
that more complex, woven tunes are possible. But Heavens To
Betsy's Calculated is essential listening, not just for fans of
the Riot Grrrl scene, but for anyone who's grown tired of the
stagnant (and false) alternative music scene. -- Anonymous Review
For the past three years, Lilith
Fair has been a powerful musical force and an important showcase
for women musicians. Although the Lilith Fair may be coming to an
end, we have created a way for its spirit to live on - a
songwriting contest for women only!
We have partnered with The ASCAP
Foundation to establish this contest which will have a grand prize
of 10,000 (not too shabby if we do say so ourselves). Many highly
regarded women songwriters have banded together to underwrite this
prize money (a nice endorsement for which we consider ourselves
lucky). In addition, the final panel of judges will include some
of today's greatest women songwriters and performers.
The word Michigan carries both myth and mystery for
those who have never made their way to the northern woods in
August for this perennial gathering of womyn. You've heard about
it, desired it, avoided it and still always wanted to experience
it for yourself. Each year, new generations of womyn eagerly join
those for whom the Festival is a continuous steady thread in their
lives, womyn for whom August just doesn't come and go without body
or heart in the Michigan woods.
With the smorgasbord of athletic, cultural and
educational activities and the wealth of different ages,
ethnicities and aesthetics - diversity at Michigan is a
cornerstone of the rare and precious community we share for this
week. Michigan by its very nature is an exploration and
celebration of the full range of who we are and all we can be as
womyn...
Queerstock...provides
a space for artist-activists to be themselves, to let their art be
heard, seen and appreciated the way it was intended. It doesn’t
matter if it is a raw punk elegy or a sweet little love song.
I’ve gotten a lot of advice about staying in the closet until I
‘made it’, but that just wasn’t an option after the first
Queerstock in 1995 and I haven’t given it a second thought
since.
If
you are a band, spoken word artists or visual artist that would
like to be a part of Queerstock, you can send a press kit to
Queerstock Festival, P.O.. Box 5313, Atlanta, GA 31107. If you
want to help organize Queerstock in your city or other cities,
please send a letter of interest to the same address or e-mail doria@doriaroberts.com.
Calculated
