Seattle P.I.: What’s a “spurned den mother,” anyway?
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Posted by Guest Blogger August 28th, 2007 |
By Guest Blogger Carla DeSantis 
For the past 15 years, I have been a professional advocate for women in music. You may wonder exactly why women in music need an advocate. Sure, there are plenty of women in music, but these days you rarely see anyone under age 40 playing instruments covered in mainstream media. And if you do happen to hear about them, they are usually not superstars because the female superstars - with very few exceptions - are singers. Most of them rarely write their own songs. The underlying message is, there is always a great man (or a team of great men and their female publicist) behind a singing woman.
Although Beyonce has an all-female band backing her up on tour, the opportunity to see women playing anything besides the occasional acoustic guitar is infrequent. The all-girl bands of the ’70s (Girlschool, Vixen, The Runaways), the ’80s, (The Go-Go’s and Bangles) and the early ’90s (L7, Babes in Toyland), have been replaced in the ’00s by - well, nobody. (Indie artists like Ani DiFranco have garnered loyal cult followings and release one powerful track after another, year after year, but in this ClearChannel-dominated music landscape she and other independent musicians are shut out from most radio playlists.)
The Dixie Chicks are one of the most successful all-female groups of all time but even they found their careers in jeopardy after lead singer Natalie Maines said she was embarrassed to be from the same state as George W. Bush. (Who wouldn’t?) The Chicks were set up as an example of what happens when a woman speaks out politically instead of simply smiling, being pretty and not rocking any boats.
And with the music industry in grave decline, record companies don’t like to go out on too many limbs. Somehow they have gotten the impression that female musicians don’t translate to record sales.
This brings me to Heart, one of my musical touchstones. Heart is fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, and are one of the most enduring and iconic acts in music, having been at it for more than 30 years. In the ’70s and ’80s they had a string of hits (”Barracuda,” “These Dreams,” “Alone,”) and were household names. It was rare to see women playing rock at arenas in those days (and more rare now) but Heart was at the forefront.
This past weekend, I stumbled on a review about Heart’s recent concert in our local paper, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Here are some gems from the 8-paragraph review:
“There’s never been anything girly about Heart.”
[Yes, they are female. Point taken.]
“singer Ann Wilson sounded as authoritative and full-throated as a spurned den mother”
[What is a spurned den mother? Not sure I want to know.]
“They were all witch, no pixie.”
[Ah, the perennial madonna/whore archetype.]
“Lita Ford and Pat Benatar learned a thing or two from them, as did Sleater-Kinney’s genius guitarist Carrie Brownstein.”
[Why is it de rigeur for women who play music to endlessly be compared to other women? Heart’s influences are Led Zeppelin and the Beatles. Why assume female artists only listen to other female artists?]
“Throughout their careers, the Wilson sisters have always been on top — even when Ann has crooned about being under a man’s thumb.”
[Woman on top? How subtle!]
“you can tell from the edge in his voice he knows: She might just go crazy on him.”
[you know how those spurned den mothers can be.]
“So now that the lady metal duo has reached a certain age, it’s no surprise that they sound as good as ever.”
[Please tell me “lady metal duo” will not be introduced into the musical vernacular.]
“Youth never really suited them, anyway.”
[Yeah, being young sure sucks!]
“Heart won back the loyalty of every last groovin’, big-haired diva in the packed house.”
[What was the final big-haired diva count? I guess you must have been the only guy there.]
“Stomping around the stage like a hot wiccan Mama Cass.”
[Do I even need to comment?]
So why should a glowing review stating that Heart still “kicks ass” be troublesome? After all, isn’t a positive review better than a negative review?
In my opinion, there are more “good for a girl” rock cliches in this piece than I’ve seen in ages. Witches? Pixies? Spurned den mother? Hot Wiccan Mama Cass (which is more of a reference to Ann’s weight than her vocal ability)? WTF?
It may seem like I am splitting my own bleached hairs here, but as a musician myself, it is deflating to see that nearly 50 years since rock was born, women who play rock music are still considered a novelty. If we can be doctors and lawyers, why is music still such a hard nut to crack?
And consider this. Pop music is a huge influence on teens. It’s the place they bring their anger and frustrations and first feelings about love. It is the gateway to independence from parents and teachers. It is the soundtrack to their lives. Shouldn’t the soundtrack include a few female musical role models too?
What we really need are more successful women in every facet of music. Only then will female musicians be judged on their art rather than their anatomy.
Disagree? Talk back to me at carladesantis@aol.com or visit my web site.
Guest Blogger and former musician Carla DeSantis is the founder/editor-in-chief/publisher of the late, great ROCKRGRL Magazine (1995-2005), the only national magazine for and about women who play rock.
September 8th, 2007 21:36
Of course, I agree with every word, Carla! I’m just curious if any men were as equally offended, insulted, and disgusted by this ignorant and misinformed article, or if more women are going to have to step up and advocate for themselves on this one, too. Or even more disappointing, there’s the realization that reviews such as this one feed into the continued socialization of women so that the lens through which they (we) view the media often blinds us to the fact that there is even anything wrong with this article. Many women might read this and find nothing wrong with it, which is deeply disturbing. As you said, it’s a positive review and not a negative one - we’ve “evolved” past pointing out their hot boobs so we must be making progress and giving props to their music, right?! This review could be used as a teaching tool in classrooms - one to be dismantled as you have done to demonstrate the acceptable marginalization of women in a genre where there still remains a complete lack of entitlement, even for the groundbreakers themselves.
File my reply under “Angry Women Rockers” I suppose. There are only a couple of boxes alotted to us and I’ve lived the life long enough to know the urgency to slam me into one of them.
Here’s to the hope that you review the next Heart concert.
rock right on,
Misty