Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power

As part of my conference, we had an opening reception last night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (I did this after running 4 miles on the treadmill at the gym - go me!)

Always a favorite spot of mine, the Rock Hall is a great place for my introverted self. I did my best to chat while drinking my Great Lakes Burning River and eating a snack. I also came back hungry - or at least unsatisfied. Anyhow...

My favorite exhibit was the Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power. I could have spent even more time watching the interviews and the performances. The focus on the history was great (Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Wanda Jackson, etc.), but the newer artists profiled - like Gaga or Britney - just don't do much for me. When the artist is more about style or image than substances, I get bored and annoyed. Gaga apparently is a great piano player; too bad she thinks she can't make it without being shocking (also, too often her outfits are clearly derivative).
Now it's time for my first full day of the conference.

2 comments:

Rabdrake said...

Adrienna, upon your visit to the museum, did you notice any open expressions of same-sex attraction by women in popular song, as part of the exhibit?
You mentioned the history. Did the Rock Hall feature Ma Rainey's bull dyke anthem, "Prove It On Me Blues."? What about Laura Nyro, "Désiree" and her "Emmie" - Pop's first lesbian love song?
Since May, I have been asking the Rock Hall to spotlight these same-sex songs, at least 24. These candid sexual descritions were rarely heard in the popular music of the day. It has been my hope that the Rock Hall would take the posuition that Life in Ohio, "does get better" for LGBTQ youth.

Adrienna said...

In the interviews, there was actually a little bit. I remember, specifically, Melissa Etheridge talking about Ma Rainey and how groundbreaking it was. (She also said something about how it makes her coming out no big deal.)

But yeah, not much.