rockandthesinglegirl - Tumblr blog

[rockandthesinglegirl]

[Image set: 2 black and white photos of a young Black woman. Text imposed on the top photo says, “If art doesn’t make us better, than what on earth is it for?” The quote is attributed to Alice Walker.]

[rockandthesinglegirl]

my new favorite sky ferreira song

[rockandthesinglegirl]

Yes! Excerpt:

Our lyrics often cover topics like fetishization and white privilege. In the song “Island Holiday,” we talk about how people from the West often take trips to “exotic” countries and exploit the people that live there for their own pleasure and enjoyment but then criticize their ways as being backwards.

My experience as an Asian American in punk is really complicated. The reason I got into punk in the first place was the desire to be different, but so much of the scene is homogenous, male, and white. Punk is supposed to be radical, but so much of it is complacent, especially with issues surrounding racism, sexism, and transphobia. I think this frustration is why I wanted to start a zine with other Asian-American folks to talk about our shared experiences within the scene.

Cella, who plays bass in Chondria, is definitely a bad ass and did an interview with Technically Philly on her experience as an Asian American women in the tech industry and punk, and her every day life too. Check it out!!!

[rockandthesinglegirl]

[Image set: 3 photos of a band performing live. The first photo is of a young white woman guitarist, the second is of a young white woman drummer and young Asian woman guitarist, and the last photo is of the same young Asian woman guitarist singing into a microphone.]

CHONDRIA ~ Rockers! 071115 ~ LaVa Space, West Philly.

[rockandthesinglegirl]

[Image set: several screencaps of an article entitled “Kesha’s Career May Reach ‘Point of No Return’ If She Can’t End Her Contract with Dr. Luke”. For a link to the full, accessible text of this article, click here.]

The commentary ^^^

That really is how it is, though

“Kesha is losing her career for publically accusing her rapist and people wonder why more victims of rape don’t speak up”

[rockandthesinglegirl]

none of your faves are unproblematic. none of your friends or family are unproblematic. you are not unproblematic. there is literally no point during the process of learning about social justice type stuff and unlearning internalized bullshit and dismantling power systems at which you magically become enlightened and unproblematic. it does not exist. there is no tangible finish line, there is only endless, arduous work and it’s hard but it needs to be done.

[rockandthesinglegirl]

“Mare said rappers have a responsibility to inform their audiences of real-life struggles. ‘You can't just go up to the mic and say whatever.’"

Cool article about Mare, an Indigenous Zapotec woman hip hop singer.

Oaxaca City, Mexico - Rain spattered against the taxi’s window during the uphill drive to the Colonia Jardín neighbourhood on the outskirts of Oaxaca City, the capital of one of the country’s poorest states.

Mare, 28, an indigenous Zapotec, has made a name for herself on the Latin American hip-hop scene. Her rap stands out in part because of her indigenous roots, the poverty she’s endured, as well as her politicised upbringing. Most of the homes in the neighbourhood are single-storeyed and cobbled together with cement breeze blocks. Despite its close proximity to the city, Colonia Jardín has a rural feel: turkeys, strays dogs, and cornfields dot the geography. Millions of Mexicans live in unplanned, sprawling communities on the edge of major cities, but Colonia Jardín stands out because the walls bear the marks of a strong local commitment to revolutionary politics. “Land of the resistance”, one reads.

[rockandthesinglegirl]

Excerpt:

"You realize after a while that in that situation, you're the enemy," she said. "You want the best for them, but if you remind them of their failures, or if you remind them of bad moments in their life, or even if you say I'm willing to put up with something, they think less of you — because they know you don't deserve what they're going to give. And if you put up with it, maybe you are agreeing that you [deserve] this, and that's when I finally had to say, 'Uh-oh, I was stupid thinking I was built for this.'"

“It’s not a subject to sweep under the rug, so I can’t just dismiss it like it wasn’t anything, or I don’t take it seriously.”

Rihanna opened up about her tumultuous relationship with Chris Brown, his assault and the unfair treatment she and other victims of domestic abuse often face in a new interview.

[rockandthesinglegirl]

Gomensai came from a conversation I had with Asma Maroof from Nguzunguzu. She hit me and was like, ‘Girl, have you seen this documentary 20 Feet From Stardom?’. I watched the film: it essentially tells the story of black women in popular music for the past 50 years. It’s so crazy how nameless and faceless [they are]. I’d never processed how many white men in popular music used black women’s vocals. I never noticed [it’s] the back-up part that I’m singing [along to] in the song, or the part that’s so recognizable. And all the dude is doing is yelling over it. It’s this literal representation of how I can feel sometimes. The American psyche can’t really process black women, especially without a major label behind them. Unless you’re on a major label, you’re not busting out the woodwork and making your mark in the indie world if you’re a black girl

Kelela // Kelela Decodes Every Track From Her Hallucinogen EP (via mizoguchi)

[rockandthesinglegirl]

[Image: a photo of a band comprised of 3 white women (2 guitarists and a drummer) playing onstage.]

Sleater-Kinney 2015 (my photo)

[rockandthesinglegirl]

basically stop putting off working on your craft until this magical time where you think you’ll have all the skills needed to create a masterpiece cuz it doesn’t work that way

it’s not a lightbulb that goes off it’s just comes with consistency in your production and hard work 

[rockandthesinglegirl]

“Cos we’re working class, we got to work our way to the top. And it’s hard cos you’re trying to make ends meets,” April says. “It’s just a balancing act to be honest. Because when we find time, the little spare, scraps of time we have, that’s when we meet up and try to make something. It’s difficult.”

“It takes a lot of drugs to keep up,” Omar says, laughing.

Check out the full interview at lagente.org !!

[rockandthesinglegirl]

[Image set: 5 photos of a young Black woman playing a mint green electric guitar.]

(x)

[rockandthesinglegirl]

[Gif set: 4 captioned gifs of a young white woman walking and talking on stage in front of a large crowd. The captioning says, “Look how beautiful the girls are! Oh, my God! Men, frankly, can suck my fucking toe. But, girls, I love you! Oh my God! You’re beautiful, wow!”]

xx

[rockandthesinglegirl]

[Image: a photo of a young Black woman seated in front of the controls in a large recording studio.]

Putting in work 👑 #queen #dominiqueyoungunique

[rockandthesinglegirl]

On the Overwhelming Whiteness of the Boston Music Scene

The Boston indie rock scene is overwhelmingly white. If you’re reading this and this is the first time the aforementioned sentiment has ever crossed your mind, you’re probably white. I’ve been playing live music in Boston for about 4 years now. Back in 2013 I had the privilege of playing a few gigs with a good friend of mine who is also a ridiculously funkadocious bass player. Like myself, he is black. In total, I think we played about 7 or 8 shows together. On two seperate occasions, at the conclusion of two different shows, we were asked by two different booking agents if we were related. “Because you look similar,” they said. The bass player and I do not look alike. We both have big toothy smiles. We’re both awesome musicians. We’re both black. But we do NOT look alike. I don’t think that either of these promoters had ever even seen a local indie rock band with 2 black musicians before. So why is the Boston indie rock scene so white? As Pitchfork recently pointed out in an eloquent article, indie rock in general is overwhelmingly white. I’d extend that sentiment to rock music in general. Additionally, Boston is extremely segregated and that level of segregation extends to the local music scene. If I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen 4-piece indie bands comprised of 4 white guys in t-shirts, I would have to surgically attach about 50 more fingers to that hand. The promoters are white, the bands are white, the fans are white. Everyone is white. It’s a statistical fact that 75% of white Americans don’t have any non-white friends. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/08/25/three-quarters-of-whites-dont-have-any-non-white-friends/) So, statistically it makes sense that a group of white bros would form an all white band, invite all of their white friends to their white shows and have a big white party. So, what’s the problem with that? The problem is, white people aren’t the only race of humans that listen to or create indie rock. As a black musician, whenever I book shows I make a point to look for bands comprised of women, queer people and people of color because these demographics are embarassingly underrepresented in the Boston indie music scene. So, what are we supposed to do about the overwhelming whiteness of the Boston indie music scene? Honestly, I don’t know. At the very least, I believe it starts with awareness and critical analysis. Is your band comprised exclusively of cis white men? Is your band comprised exclusively of white people? Is your fanbase primarily white? Are your shows essentially a sea of white people? The first step to dismantling racism and oppression is recognizing its existence. The next time you’re at a show, take a moment to examine the racial diversity of the crowd, because it says a lot about the band and it says a lot about the scene. There aren’t enough people of color in the Boston indie rock scene, and that is a problem.