Friday, January 2, 2009

She Plays Music

She Plays Music

Happy New Year: A Music Blogger Retrospective

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 07:09 PM PST

I’ve only been writing on ShePlaysMusic for six months. Seems rather a serendipitous that I should mark six months here with a new year. Over my time here, I have worked to provide you, dear readers, with a mix of indie and mainstream, sometimes even the banal-if-only-fun music news.

I’ve had tons of fun, actually, digging up all these news bites, traveling to festivals, and generally indulging my insatiable need for tunes. To wit, I share some of my five favorite music moments from the last six months.

I was super excited when Sleater Kenny’s “Dig Me Out” made the list of top guitar songs of all time. In fact they were the only all female band to make the list, with the full onslaught of acerbic punk guitar heroics. And dammit, not many dames rock like that anymore.

One of my favorite indie discoveries of the year was definitely Janelle Monáe. I bought her debut EP Metropolis: The Chase Suite after hearing only one single…it was completely worth it. The girl is fantastic, and apparently she’s electrifying in concert. If I get a chance to catch her in LA sometime, I’ll be sure to let you know. ;)

September was book-ended with two awesome music festivals. At Seattle’s Bumbershoot (full coverage), I was wowed by Paramore’s performance and pretty much won over by their talent. Later that same month, I headed up north for San Fransisco’s Treasure Island Music Festival (full coverage) where Goldfrap dazzled, Teagan & Sara charmed, and The Kills blazed. Both festivals were wonderful and unique; each a fun funky time.

I didn’t write much in October, new job and other life struggles got in the way. I wasn’t completely absent, and one of my posts for the month was about who I considered the top 10 female rappers of all time. The best thing about writing it was the long manefesto comment, left me by a reader named Tudd. He respectfully disagreed with some of my choices, particularly, my choice to leave Queen Latifah off of my list. He basically said most of my list was a bunch of flash-in-the-pan, almost famous, just aiiite rappers. I have to admit that I have an affinity for the underground, but if you read here often, you know that. You should really check it out, it’s the best comment I’ve gotten all year.

Finally, I was excited to get an advance copy of Nico Vega’s up coming album (read the review). This trio has quickly become one of my favorite underground bands. I saw them burn down the viper room in June and it was easily one of the best shows I’ve seen…ever. If you’re into rock music, you need to give Nico Vega a listen.

Images via Flickr, Newscom, and Big Hassle

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