Jezebel: musicians

The Importance Of Being Earnest

Sadie — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:30:00 EDT

Joan Baez: "I think I kept (my humor) under wraps...I was pretty humorless in the face of the cameras. And desperately soul-searching, talking to people like you – desperately wanting to be real, you know, and not phoney." [Telegraph]

Beams Of Heaven

Intern Katy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:40:00 EDT

Gospel legend Marie Knight passed away Sunday at the age of 84. Knight first came to fame in the 1940s, while touring with Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The interview (left) is from the release of Knight's last album in 2007. [WWLTV]

Hand-Picked

Sadie — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:30:00 EDT

Musician Alison Brown: "It's a kind of sisterhood, really...women are leading the charge with the most interesting bluegrass." (That's legend Lily May Ledford at left.) [WSJ]

Converse All-Star

Sadie — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:30:00 EDT

We've recently become fixated on Connie Converse, a 1950s folk singer whose work has just been rediscovered. Converse, who'd long since given up her musical dreams, disappeared in 1974. [NPR]

R.I.P. Frances Blaisdell

Sadie — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:45:00 EDT

Frances Blaisdell, a musician who, when she made her debut with the New York Philharmonic was known as "the girl flutist," has died at 97. A musical pioneer, Blaisdell was also an accomplished teacher. [NYT]

British Educators Wonder Why More Girls Don't Play Guitar

Jessica — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Most rock bands these days consist of several near-emaciated, floppy haired boys who wear very tight pants and play their guitars slung low near their penises. Delightful girl group Smoosh (pictured here), notwithstanding, where are all the rocking lady guitarists? Maybe there's a dearth of female guitar players because, as a new report from the UK shows, girls from a very young age are discouraged from playing traditionally "masculine" instruments like guitar and horns, while boys are discouraged from playing traditionally "feminine" instruments like the flute and harp. According to the BBC, the report, published by the British Institute of Education, says, "The size of the instrument (bigger, male), its pitch (higher, female) and the physical characteristics needed to play it could be partly responsible [for the gender preferences]. Another factor may be that brass instruments and drums have long been used militarily and therefore are associated with war."

not explore is the Freudian implications of instrument size and shape. Maybe little girls want to play the flute because of a latent desire for penis, while boys prefer the ladylike curvature of an acoustic guitar. Or...not.) Anyway! The Institute of Education suggests that "schools introduce single-sex bands to force both sexes to try other instruments." That sounds both expensive and impractical. There has to be a better way to encourage young girls to rock out on the bass and for young boys to play the flute without getting their asses beat. There is good news for older musicians, though, as the BBC explains that the BIE report "says girls are more open to taking 'male' instruments as they get older...and the fact that some of the world's leading performers buck the trend suggests there is much more fluidity in the professional world." Sounds like it's about time for the Rock 'N' Roll Camp For Girls to set up shop in merry old England.

Why Don't Girls Play Guitar? [BBC News]
Why don't Little Girls Play The Tuba? [Times of London]

Earlier: Meet The Headbanging, Bad-Ass Ladies Of Girls Rock