JD Samson Has Written Her First Love Song: The Interview
JD Samson is no stranger to controversy. Since she first appeared on our radar screaming gloriously into a megaphone in Le Tigre, she’s been pushing the envelope and helping build visibility for queer women, while still creating enormously clever and irresistibly catchy dance music. After Le Tigre went on indefinite hiatus, she formed MEN with Johanna Fateman, initially as a DJ and remix team but eventually evolving into a high-energy live band. On their fantastic sophomore record Labour, JD’s lyrics tackle a number of political issues close to her heart (Occupy Wall Street, Caster Semenya’s gender presentation and the Pussy Riot Trial, to name a few) but also get a lot more personal. The record is a triumph – packed to the brim with intelligent, thought-provoking but still dancefloor-ready anthems.
JD was kind enough to take some time out to speak with us about some of the causes she felt strongly about while writing Labour, and also graciously agreed to discuss the fallout from MEN’s decision to play the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival earlier this year. She made it clear, however, that her focus was on the future of MEN, their new record and their upcoming tour.
Making Art
We’re really excited to do this interview! I feel like this is something Autostraddle has wanted to do since we started. I’m not sure why we haven’t.
Well, we have a lot to talk about then!
Yeah, I think so! So the new record! I was listening to it a lot this weekend. It seems a lot darker lyrically, and a lot more personal –
– Good.
But when it’s political it seems really specific. so I kind of wanted to get into some individual things, but I wondered if first you’d want to talk about the record as a whole?
Sure. I mean, the record was a pregnancy and a labor and a birth, so it was a really hard record to conceptualize for us. It being our sophomore record was kind of difficult for sure. We had some changes in lineup and some different ideas about where we wanted to go in terms of the release, and what kind of genre we wanted to move towards, who we were writing for – all of that. I think in a lot of ways that came through in the writing, this frustration of trying to do the right thing and at the same time focus on where your passion is, so somehow that really turned into a more personal approach for me. I guess it turned into more of an emotional thing as well. Lyrically we wanted to be a little less exclusively writing for our particular community, so I think that’s why politically I feel like there’s a little bit of a shift. When I listen to Talk About Body, our first record, it feels really depressing to me actually (laughs). I think they’re both really depressing! I think I’m really good at making people think they’re listening to happy music, but if you actually listen to the words you realize it’s really not.
I want to talk a little bit about the song “Let Them Out Or Let Me In.” You’ve been super vocal about the whole Pussy Riot situation, which is awesome, but I was wondering why this song isn’t on the record itself, and also if you could talk a little bit about that situation and how it’s affected you.
We had written two protest songs while were working on this album, “Make Him Pay” and “Let Them Out Or Let Me In,” and they were both pretty specific to certain situations – one was written about Occupy Wall Street and one was written about Pussy Riot. We made videos for both of those songs, so they’ve been “out” on the internet for a while now, and we’ve been pushing them as parts of those activist moments that we’ve been involved in. For that reason, they felt like they were part of a different moment in time and they didn’t feel as cohesive with the rest of the work that we were putting out on Labor. I actually wanted to give them out for free, because they’re protest songs – in the spirit of activism, I wanted to let people have them. We did that through our presale – if you order the record from us on our bandcamp, you get those songs for free. We released this album ourselves, so it was an interesting way to bring everything full circle in the spirit of working from this grassroots/DIY kind of place.
In terms of Pussy Riot and my relationship to them, I was in Europe DJing and I was reading the Guardian on the plane one day. I read this article about Pussy Riot and it was something that was so hush-hush in the states, and I realized how major media in Europe was dealing with it but the US wasn’t. As soon as I got back, I made it a goal of mine to help broaden the PR scope of the US to include the Pussy Riot news. That was kind of how it all started. I worked with some PR people and put together a reading of the statements from prison as well as a lot of the lyrics and other writings from Pussy Riot. It was over at the Ace Hotel and we had a lot of really incredible people reading – Justin Vivian Bond, Johanna Fateman from Le Tigre, Karen Finley, K8 Hardy, Chloe Sevigny and a bunch of people… That event brought so much press the day before the sentence was read, and it was really incredible to be a part of that.
I also wanted to talk about the song “Semenya,” and how it came to be.
It was similar to the Pussy Riot thing where as soon as I heard about it in the news I felt like I could completely relate to the situation – first of all, with Pussy Riot, as someone who creates feminist performance art every day, like, that’s my job! To see someone be put in jail for that was really shocking to me. And I felt the same way about Semenya, and I think for me, making political work is about how I can put myself in that position. Caster Semenya and I are very different, but I think we both struggle to be viewed in a way that feels good to us, you know? For me, I pass as male much of the time, and even in interviews and in the press, sometimes people get my gender wrong, or my gender expression wrong, or they put things on me, and I related so much to this idea of being called out publicly but being the kind of person who’s actually really shy and doesn’t want to talk about it publicly. I wrote this song from the perspective of Caster Semenya, in first person. After I wrote the song, I really could realize how much we had in common, so it was an interesting way for me to become a part of the situation in a way. That was really hard to explain!
Pulling from that, I kind of want to go into something I’m not 100% sure you’re going to want to talk about, but I did want to ask about the Michigan Womyn’s Festival. I read quite a bit about how there was this sort of outcry, and how you were pulled from a bunch of queer events as a result of the band’s decision to play this festival. I was just curious about what it’s like, being someone who deals with gender presentation every day the way that you do, to play a festival where they’re making it very clear that certain kinds of women are not accepted there? As someone who’s familiar with your work, I’m wondering how a band like yours would end up in a space like that.
Yeah. It’s really complicated to talk about this stuff, especially in a journalistic way, mostly because I know that you have the opportunity to take words… not that I don’t trust you, but I know that things can get complicated, even if the question is “What’s your favorite color?” and I take a few seconds to answer it, I know that they might just say what they think my answer was.
I know this is a touchy topic, but we’re all really curious about it, honestly. Autostraddle has repeatedly refused to go to MichFest because of this policy.
All I can say is that I promote inclusion of all women who identify as women to the Michigan Womyn’s Festival; I’ve released statements saying that, and that’s how I feel. I also have a very personal history/herstory with Michigan; I’ve been going there more than half of my life. It fit my life when I was 17 years old. I’m choosing to have the conversation about Michigan in a more personal way, talking to people about it, but I’m doing everything I can to help change the policy. I think there has already been a lot of change and a lot of emotions and I’m working with a lot of people right now towards that change. Hopefully my activism will bring that change.
Do you think that change is actually starting to happen there?
I think that hearts and souls and minds are changing, and I think that that’s the first step. That’s where my activism is important, because I feel like I come from a loving place, trying to bridge a gap and understanding that everyone has different feelings. I think it’s going to be a hard road, but all I can say is what I hope for.
[Editor’s note: In June, JD released a statement on her blog, saying in part: ” believe that the MWMF should be open to all self-identified Womyn, and over the years, I have maintained the hope that we can find a way through all of the fighting and come to an amicable solution together. I am still confident that the MWMF will one day become a place of safety, solidarity, and unconditional love for ALL Womyn, and it is with that hope, that I am announcing that this will be my last year attending the festival until that day comes.”]
Back to the new record, is there any particular track on the album that you’re really excited for people to hear?
It’s funny, things have really shifted a lot once I’ve seen what’s popular with people. To some extent I was a little afraid of certain songs, like I wasn’t sure if people were gonna like them or not. I felt really excited about certain ones and then it just keeps shifting. Like, I wrote “All The Way Thru,” which is a love song – I had never written a love song before! I was really afraid of putting that one out. We put it out as the first single and now it’s the most popular song! So now I feel really excited about it. In terms of songs I was really excited for people to hear, I dunno, I think “Club Thang” is a song I would listen to if it wasn’t my song. I love the monotony of it; I love the disco/club feel of it. I think maybe it’s the new direction of MEN.
I was reading some other interviews you’ve been doing lately and I feel like a lot of people are focusing on the lyrics in that one – like, ‘I wanna hear my music on tv.’ It reminded me of that Huffington Post article a couple of years ago,”I Love My Job But It Made Me Poorer,” and I remember reading that article and just – as a musician, as a writer, as an artist, as all of these things, it’s so true and so depressing. I felt like there were a lot of elements of that on “Club Thang,” and on “Next” too.
Yeah, that article was really interesting. I was asked to write an editorial and I decided to write about what was happening for me, as most editorials are written from that place, you know, and I totally didn’t expect it to go viral. Obviously it was a shock to me.. Although there were as many negative comments as positive comments, I think we started a really important conversation and I do know that my personal community of artists and queers were really happy that it happened. For that, I feel proud of it.
Building from that, do you have any advice for young musicians just starting out?
The biggest piece of advice I have about making art your career in general is to continue to study the things that feel passionate for you outside of your art. Not only will it help your work, both conceptually, and creatively, but it will help you find a community of artists that have the same passions. It can also help you to diversify your art career and potentially have another career to fall back on. For some this might be politics, or fashion, or even medicine, who knows? But I think making sure you round out all of your interests while making work is really important.
Can you tell me a little bit about the video for “Making Art?”
The “Making Art” video was made by an amazing sound/video artist named Laura Vitale. She was recommended to us by someone that attended a residency with her this summer. We wanted to focus on the practice of making art, and really find a way to capture that process. I reached out a bunch of artist friends in Los Angeles, she went around to their spaces and shot them, and edited a beautiful video that focuses on all of their movements.
Will there be a video for “Club Thang” (the next single)?
We will have a video soon for “Club Thang,” made by a video artist from London named Rachel John Barrawood. We can’t wait to see it.
[ Ed: The video is out, look at this! ]
Lastly, what are you looking forwards to this upcoming tour?
I’m really excited to come up with a new stage situation for our upcoming shows. It’s my favorite part of touring, creating visuals to go along with the feelings. So I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty again.
MEN’s new album Labour is available now, and they may very well be coming to a city near you in the immediate future:
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Playlist: HELLection Season
After a year’s worth of campaigning, mudslinging, and celebrity keynotes directed at party members and actual chairs alike, it’s finally here: Election season 2012.
As someone working for a campaign and two nonprofits, I’ve accrued a lot of papercuts from voter registration forms in the past eight months. That number is second only to the number of migraines I’ve experienced after yelling about reproductive rights, voter IDs and immigration reform. Whether you’re a voter, an organizer or a staffer, you’re probably feeling the burnout, too. Just taking a peek at the hundreds of millions spent on this year’s presidential campaigns is exhausting.
At the same time, there have been fulfilling moments this election year. Remember when Obama came out in support of gay marriage in May? Of course you do. What about when he schooled Todd Akin on rape last month? Yep. And when he developed a penchant for holding mohawked babies? Mhm.
Presidential fangirling aside, it’s the little things we do in the days leading up to an election that are often the most worthwhile. Volunteering, registering someone to vote or just explaining the issues to a curious bystander; that’s the powerful stuff. And in a re-election year, they could not be more important.
If you also find yourself shifting between states of “Fuck this, I’m moving to Canada and I’m taking all of the undocumented folks with me! ” and “I fucking love ‘Merica and apple pie,” this playlist is for you.
Gird your loins. It’s Hellection season.
HELLection Season
[STREAM THE PLAYLIST HERE]
Talkin ‘Bout A Revolution – Tracy Chapman
Hollywood – Marina and The Diamonds
Washington Bullets – The Clash
Zombie – The Cranberries
America – K’Naan (Featuring Mos Def and Chali 2NA)
Keep On Livin’ – Le Tigre
Words I Never Said – Lupe Fiasco (Featuring Skylar Grey)
Dear Mr. President – P!nk (Featuring the Indigo Girls)
Eve of Destruction – Barry McGuire
They Don’t Care About Us – Michael Jackson
Truth No. 2 – The Dixie Chicks
Why – Jadakiss
All These Things I’ve Done – The Killers
Fortunate Son – Pearl Jam (Creedance Clearwater Revival)
People Have The Power – Patti Smith
Beautiful Struggle – Talib Kweli
Succexy – Metric
Forgive Them Father – Lauryn Hill
Respect – Aretha Franklin
My Generation– The Who
Tell me your favorite election related tracks below.
Want to suggest a playlist theme? Hit Crystal up on Formspring and someone on the team will make it for you.
Playlist: Discovering Your Ex Is A Shitty Person
You’ve already done the breaking up part, but now you’re realizing your ex is a shitty person. It’s okay, we all have (at least) one. I prescribe this playlist as an antidote to most shitty ex situations. Whether you’re just coming to terms with your wasted time, celebrating your single status, or just really fucking pissed, no worries. I’ve got you covered.
Gives You Hell – The All-American Rejects
Shut Up And Let Me Go – The Ting Tings
God Must Have Spent A Little Less Time – Toxic Audio
Take Me Or Leave Me – Rent, Original Broadway Cast
Don’t Drink Poison – Le Tigre
Gold Guns Girls – Metric
Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) – Beyoncé
Letter Read – Rachael Yamagata
Burning Bridges – Chris Pureka
Hate (I Really Don’t Like You) – Plain White T’s
Fuck You – Vitamin String Quartet
Dickhead – Kate Nash
Funhouse – P!nk
So Long – Ingrid Michaelson
Tired Of It – The Waffle Stompers
Shake It Out – Florence + The Machine
I Don’t Know – Lisa Hannigan
Add your favorite shitty ex related tracks in the comments below!
Want to suggest a playlist theme? Hit Crystal up on Formspring and someone of the team will make it for you.
Playlist: A-Camp Dance Party, Revisited
click for more a-camp
Exactly one week ago, A-Camp wrapped its final night on the mountain with a shadowy, super queer, pulsating little dance party dj’d by yours truly. Because we can’t stop thinking of that magical weekend — and planning the next one — let’s relive the magic! Here are the songs we danced / lived / loved to. And of course you can follow me on Facebook to keep up with all my party-starting exploits!
Wish you were here / we were there / infinity, etc.
A-Camp Spring 2012 T-Dance playlist
DJ Carlytron
Work – The 2 Bears
The Bay (2 Bears Remix) – Metronomy
I Feel Better – Hot Chip
Till the World Ends (Remix feat. Nicki Minaj & Ke$ha) – Britney Spears
In The Dark – Dev
212 – Azealia Banks
Starships – Nicki Minaj
Sexy and You Know It – LMFAO
Audacity of Huge – Simian Mobile Disco
We Found Love – Rihanna
Dancing On My Own – Robyn
Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
Headlines – Drake
Upgrade U – Beyonce
Heavy Metal Lover – Lady Gaga
Boyfriend – Justin Bieber
Otis – Jay-Z & Kanye West
Gimme More – Britney Spears
Poison – Bell Biv Devoe
Pon de Floor – Major Lazer
I Took the Night – Chelley
Blow – Ke$ha
Super Bass – Nicki Minaj
End of Time – Beyonce
Teenage Dream – Kety Perry
Telephone – Lady Gaga & Beyonce
Don’t Stop the Music – Rihanna
Rumors – Lindsay Lohan
Bamboo Banga – M.I.A.
Cockiness (Love It) – Rihanna
6’7′ – Lil’ Wayne
All of the Lights – Kanye West
Deceptacon – Le Tigre
Romance – Wild Flag
Cherry Bomb – The Runaways
We Are Young – Fun.
Want to suggest a playlist theme? Hit Crystal up on Formspring and someone on the team will make it for you. And obvs be on the lookout for future camp announcements!
Playlist: Girl Power
Last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing all-female metal act Kittie perform at Sydney’s Soundwave festival. It was everything I’d imagined it would be as a teenager, except that their set was cut short and they didn’t play “Brackish” and it wasn’t the original lineup. Even then, it was perfect. It was a show I’d been waiting over a decade to see.
To say that I was once infatuated with all-female musical acts would be an understatement. In my teens I compulsively trawled record stores and libraries for music by and information on every all-female act that had ever existed. I didn’t really care what genre of music they played or if it was typically my jam, I was just so inspired by female musicians rocking out en masse that it became so easy to support them unconditionally.
I hit the peak of my obsession (or “rock bottom”, as some called it) when I borrowed a school friend’s mother’s credit card to buy unofficial Spice Girls collector cards via mail order. The Spice Girls didn’t make it on to this playlist, but a lot of other all-female acts did – there are some riot grrrls, some pioneers and some rockers who are out there killing it right now. Hope you enjoy.
Girl Power
Hej – Skulker
Dark Side – Netocris
Seether – Veruca Salt
Romance – Wild Flag
Born To Be Bad – The Runaways
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone – Sleater-Kinney
Deceptacon – Le Tigre
Jimmy Dean – Hunter Valentine
Barcelona – The Plasticines
We Got The Beat – The Go-Go’s
Hero Takes A Fall – The Bangles
Bedroom Eyes – Dum Dum Girls
I Want You To Rock Me – Vixen
Pretend We’re Dead – L7
Pleasure and Pain – Girl In A Coma
Hands – Bonney Read
Brackish– Kittie
Want to suggest a playlist theme? Hit me up on Formspring and someone on the team might make it for you.
Playlist: I Kissed a Gay Girl and I Loved It
michigan womyn's music festival - 1976
Last night’s episode of Glee was entitled “I Kissed a Girl” and features hands-down the gayest girly playlist of all fucking time: Melissa Etheridge, Dolly Parton, KD Lang, Cyndi Lauper, and that Katy Perry song we all love so much. Of course not all of those musicians are gay, but that’s besides the point, I suppose.
A while back we did a Lez the Fuck Out: B-Sides playlist, but I was inspired by last night’s incompleteness to assemble the Lez the Fuck Out A-List.
Prove it On Me – Ma Rainey
Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
Hot Topic – Le Tigre
I Kissed a Girl – Jill Sobule
Do It Like a Dude – Jessie J
Take Me On the Floor – The Veronicas
As Cool As I Am – Dar Williams
Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover – Sophie B. Hawkins
If It Isn’t Her – Ani DiFranco
Nineteen – Tegan & Sara
Power of Two – Indigo Girls
Rebel Girl – Bikini Kill
Become You – Indigo Girls
Secret – Missy Higgins
Constant Craving – k.d. lang
Weakness in Me – Joan Armatrading
Take Me or Leave Me – Cast of RENT
Some Kind of Wonderful – Pam Grier & Betty
Drive – Melissa Ferrick
You Don’t Own Me – Lesley Gore
Say So – Uh Huh Her
Young James Dean – Girlyman
Come to my Window – Melissa Etheridge
Playlist:
What are your favorite lesbian songs? Remember that to make these mixes we actually have to own the songs ourselves, so if you see something that isn’t on here and you are absolutely horrified by that omission, you gotta email me the song!
Want to suggest a playlist theme? Hit Crystal up on Formspring and someone of the team might create it for you.
Playlist: Lez the Fuck Out (The B-Sides)
You either know the classics (or have intentionally avoided them all your life) — Indigo Girls’ Closer to Fine, Melissa Etheridge I Wanna Come Over, Tracy Chapman Fast Car, Ani DiFranco Untouchable Face and so forth.
But let’s take a slightly deeper look into the Lez the Fuck Out Canon — all the musicians on this list have kissed a girl and liked it.
Lez the Fuck Out
This Is Everything -Tegan & Sara
Blood And Fire – Indigo Girls
To Feel Real – Melissa Ferrick
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone -Sleater-Kinney
The Promise – Tracy Chapman
Parentheses – BLOW
Where I Stood – Missy Higgins
What Can I Say – Brandi Carlile
TKO – Le Tigre
Camp Out – An Horse
At Seventeen – Janis Ian
Crying – KD Lang
Troubled Mind – Catie Curtis
School Night – Ani DiFranco
Cruel and Clumsy – Chris Pureka
Rebel Girl – Bikini Kill
Genius – Murmurs
Not An Addict – K’s Choice
I Need This – Jessie J
The Weakness in Me – Joan Armatrading
You Don’t Own Me – Dusty Springfield
Everytime I Go to Sleep – Holly Miranda
Lovertits – Peaches
STREAM THE PLAYLIST HERE
Add your favorite lez the fuck out tracks in the comments below!
Want to suggest a playlist theme? Hit Crystal up on Formspring and someone on the team will make it for you.
Win a Copy of ‘Who Took The Bomp?, Le Tigre On Tour’ DVD
Today is a very special day because Le Tigre are releasing an amazing tour DVD, and we’ve got two copies to give away to Autostraddle readers. Rad, right?
Who Took The Bomp? Le Tigre On Tour follows your favorite feminist electro outfit as they travel across four continents and ten countries on their ‘This Island’ tour. From the press release:
Supported by a community of devoted fans and led by outspoken Riot Grrrl pioneer Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill), Le Tigre confronts sexism and homophobia in the music industry while tearing up the stage via performance art poetics, no-holds-barred lyrics, punk rockethos, and whip-smart wit in this edgy and entertaining documentary. Directed by Kerthy Fix (Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields) WHO TOOK THE BOMP? LE TIGRE ON TOUR features never before seen live performances, archival interviews, and revealing backstage footage with these trail-blazing artists.
The DVD is jam packed with lots of special features including:
+ Video commentary with Le Tigre about the film (2009)
+ Rare performances from the tour: “After Dark,” “What’s Yr Take on Cassavetes,” “Mediocrity Rules,” “Nanny Nanny Boo Boo,” “Seconds,” “Well, Well, Well,” and “Punker Plus”
+ Outtakes with Johanna Fateman and JD Samson
+ Live footage from a show in Vienna, Austria (2002)
+ Rattina the Puppet interviews the band at Ladyfest (2001)
+ With an exclusive essay by filmmaker Matt Wolf (Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell)
Win a copy of Who Took The Bomp? Le Tigre On Tour!
To enter, send an email to crystal [at] autostraddle [dot] com and include your full name and address, as well as the name of your favorite Le Tigre song.
Entries will close on midnight Thursday 9 June, and the winners will be notified on Friday. If you miss out, don’t fear. You can pick up a copy via Amazon.
Phasefest: Come See Homogay Bands In Our Nation’s Capital
Do you like queer events and music, AND do you happen to live in the DC metropolitan area? If you leapt into the air and screamed “YES,” then check out this event featuring MEN (featuring JD Samson of Le Tigre), Hunter Valentine, and more!
Phasefest, DC’s Queer Music Festival, has something for everyone — from eletro-pop bands and singer-songwriters to producer/MCs. Also, lots and lots of lesbians, transmen, transwomen, gays, and presumably, even straight people! Check out the details below: (more…)
10 Fashion Icons in Music: Women Rocking Homosexy Style
Once upon a time, Karmen from our music blog Audiostraddle was like, hey, we should probably co-write a piece about trendsetting female musicians. She said it just like that, too. So WHAM BAM, THANK YOU MA’AM, we did.
So! Here’s an overview of some fashionable artists who are /aren’t/ we often pretend for the validity of our liquid dreams are, queer.
Also, do you guys remember liquid dreams? No? That’s okay, I just got really distracted, so we’re even. LET’S GET TO IT.
1. Ladyhawke
KARMEN: You know, usually I would be the first person to complain about straight girls wearing flannel, army boots, loose t-shirts or any of that other lesbian-approved attire. Ladyhawke, however, is just one of those people that makes everything she wears into something all her own. Much like her music, Ladyhawke isn’t just one thing – she tries to be everything at once. And she is pretty excellent at it. She mixes grunge with hipster and recessionista (what?? You haven’t heard of that term yet? It’s so fetch!). She is nostalgic and modern, yet somehow remains mysterious. She is undeniably sexy and makes us feel funny things in our pants.
BECKY: Vintage t-shirts the likes of which you’d pick up in souvenir shops when abroad in the ’90s, top hats, big sunglasses, and of course, flannel. They’re also selling top hats at Hot Topic now for pretty cheap in celebration of the new Alice In Wonderland movie. Maybe top hats will become a thing, which I would be pretty down with.
2. Janelle Monae
To speak on behalf of Janelle Monae’s awesomeness, we’ve brought in fabulous Editorial Assistant Katrina to share her feelings, which is super good and convenient because I’m speechless by her hotness.
KATRINA: Janelle Monae is so cool. Oft hailed as the lady version of Andre 3000, Monae is super cute, super tiny, super talented, and super. duper. fly. Diddy says she’s the most important artist he’s ever signed to his record label. I say she’s the greatest living reason to bring back the saddle shoe. And the only reason I have ever thought androids could be in any way appealing. But Monae does it.
Her second album, The ArchAndroid, is dropping this year as part of the projected four-piece afro-punk, dance hall, funk-rock, soul-pop suite that is to be her discography, a concept based in the fictional city of Metropolis in the year 2719. Outrageously original with an intellectual twist, Monae’s suite carries a message about social stratification and big brother governments. Music, she believes, is an art form that has the potential to change the world, and for a girl like Janelle, living up to this shouldn’t be any big feat.
Speaking of top-ish hats:
3. Uh Huh Her
KARMEN: Forget about the fact that one of the members of this band was Alice Pieszecki on The L Word. Ignore that the other has played bass and keyboards for bona-fide gangstas the likes of Dr. Dre and Busta Rhymes. Uh Huh Her isn’t interested in being anything besides what they are. Maybe that’s what makes Leisha Hailey and Camilla Grey so heart-stoppingly hot.
BECKY: Leisha Hailey has done quite a bit for queer fashion already by being the “girlie” lesbian on The L- Word. Off screen, her style, as well as Camilla’s, is a pretty sweet mix of edgy/glam I can definitely get behind. These girls love designer clothes, dark colors mixed with primary colors, spiky shoes, skinny jeans, and are known to rock a lot of Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen.
KARMEN: Aside from making ridiculously catchy electropop music that dares you to keep your feet from moving, these two women have the sort of fashion that is so cool it makes me feel like the awkward girl at the middle school dance all over again. They’re the girls I’ll always be too shy to approach and secretly always wish to be… or do. Same thing.
Watch them be awesome and hot with a miniature unicorn (!!!)
4. Le Tigre
KARMEN: Le Tigre (Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman, and JD Samson)’s music has been the soundtrack for the riot grrrl movement for over a decade and, through their music, has helped put LGBT issues in the spotlight for just as long. So these girls are smart. Very smart. They also have opinions, strong ones. On top of that, they have a knack for making amazing music that just begs to be rioted to. Are they more than that? You bet! Basically everything they do has people questioning their own preconceived notions. This includes their clothes.
BECKY: What I like about Le Tigre, besides their uncanny ability to rock variations-on-a-theme-matching outfits, is the way they can do so much with so little. Their style reminds me of punk/new wave in the Devo/B52s sense of the word(s). What they wear is unique and varied. Personally, this is my favorite way to dress, like: “Hey, I think I’ll wear my Romanian blouse with combat boots and those yellow shorts I found at Goodwill today.” Basically what I’m trying to say is, they mix it up with a kind of “it don’t matter what you wear” fierceness.
KARMEN: Sometimes femme, sometimes butch, sometimes androgynous. Le Tigre refuses to let themselves be pigeon-holed. “Get out of your fucking box!!” has never looked so very good.
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Next: Brody Dalle, Sia, and more!