Indigo Girls

Like any philosophy, political ideology, or school of thought, feminism isn't really a single, stable concept but more refers to a spectrum of ideas and beliefs about the role gender and sex play in human life and if they even exist in the first place.

If we were to further describe this spectrum but (for some reason) were allowed to speak only in terms of music from the 1960s forward, we might establish twin poles anchored by North American girl power appropriators the Spice Girls on one end and quintessential riot grrl progenitors Bikini Kill on the other.

Somewhere in between Baby Spice's hypersexed doublespeak and Kathleen Hannah's poetry about armpit hair -- just left of the Dixie Chicks, with a soulful smidgen of the South (verses the Chicks' Texan 'tude) -- lie the Indigo Girls. More »

AF

Maybe if it said "ENGLISH ONLY, PLEASE"

Regardless of what rumors you've heard, or the excessive and rather inane coverage we give inconsequential humans like the Kardashians, the Wests (and their upcoming hybrid model) and the Biebers of the world; your Broward/Palm Beach New Times has always thought of its readership first and foremost. We strive to provide a voice and a line of interest for the local reader who deserves better than our mainstream counterparts. While we can't cover everything, at times, we try to make amends.

See also:
- Clarity in Neo-Nazi Stabbings at Ritz
- The Forgetters - The Talent Farm, Pembroke Pines - January 7

Imagine the eye-opener suffered by this County Grind correspondent this past Monday while on route to the Forgetters show in west Pembroke Pines, when he realized that the sonic needs and necessities of the White Power community here in Broward County had been ignored for so long?! Especially those armed with a pen, a buttload of ignorant hatred, and with a taste for delicious pan con lechón, cascos de guayaba con queso crema, and fritas.

And to think! These constituents of ours are forced by ethnic expansion to shop at Sedano's! That's right, the image above was taken inside the men's room of the Pines Boulevard store. We'd like to set the record straight, and do so with music.

More »

Since releasing his cut-and-paste masterpiece Night Ripper in 2006, Gregg Gillis, better known by the stage name Girl Talk, has become the belle of indie blogs. Taking jumbled, sample-based dance music and pushing it to extremes, Gillis upped the ante for laptop performers, bringing the genre a new found credibility and mainstream exposure.

Fame, fortune and globetrotting was the furthest thing from Gillis' mind however when he began taking snippets of top 40 tracks and mashing them up into lively re-contextualized nuggets. Gillis was enrolled in Cleveland's prestigious Case Western University and biomedical engineering was his focus at the time he began releasing work under the pseudonym Girl Talk.

Gillis released two albums while at Case Western -- 2002's Secret Diary and 2003's Unstoppable -- and toured with his sample-loaded project while on summer and winter breaks. He went on to graduate from Case Western and landed a job as a biomedical researcher, all the while rocking the socks off art galleries and house parties on the weekends with his mashups.

"I never saw it as a viable profession," Gillis tells New Times about his sizzling music career. We caught up with the affable computer music whiz when he was relaxing at home in his native Pittsburgh. "I'd book a tour, jump in a van, and aim at breaking even," said Gillis about his early stages. For him, making music was not about "making a dime," but rather "fucking shit up."

More »

There is nothing South Florida likes (read: loves) more than contests. Be it moronically closely watched dangling chads versus dimpled keypunches, Cubans versus Ozzie Guillen's big mouth, or which douchey nightclub charges more for lackluster VIP setups, ours is a competition-driven society. More »

What distinguishes the Night o' Ladies, however, is the large-scale cultural-institutional support (usually by way of free hooch) that launches the depravity far past the realm of the lady who leisures and into that of trench warfare.

Tired of gussied-up, completely trashed trollops trying to impale you with their platform heel because you looked at they man? Well, maybe it's time you embraced That Time of the Month.
More »

Sayre Berman

​

Better than: Figuring out the "hipster" application on the new 21 Jump Street film. 
More »

​In the '90s, the explosive riot grrrl movement rolled in, banging on doors of the music industry and inspiring woman all across the globe. As this past summer marked the 20th anniversary of events that brought the feminist crusade to life, many of the original riot grrrls -- now in their 30s and 40s -- are paying tribute through books and films, while younger girls are discovering the scene for the first time.

From her earlier days as a zine creator to being the frontwoman of punk band Bikini Kill, there is no doubt that Kathleen Hanna is the godmother of riot grrrl and a feminist cultural icon. But unfortunately, she's also been a lightning rod for controversy, and five years ago she disappeared from the public eye. As Hanna begins to reemerge with a more open mind about sharing her stories, she has agreed to collaborate with filmmaker and Sister Spit founder Sini Anderson on a biographical documentary titled The Punk Singer.

More »

The Jazz Gals

​

One of the funny things that I find about jazz is that whenever I engage in a conversation about it, 90 percent of the time the talk gravitates toward the men of jazz. Granted, there have been some heavy hitters in the world of jazz, but I feel uneasy walking away with a feeling that the jazz genre is some exclusive boys' club.

Clearly that's a load of bull when you start looking at the fantastic ladies of the scene. Icons like Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Dinah Washington, and Sarah Vaughan... those four ladies alone are unquestioned royalty.

More »

Body art by Keegan

​Today might be the Hallmark-inspired Valentine's Day, but Saturday at the Bubble belonged to Janette Valentine and more than 20 other women (and some men who pretended to be) who transformed the venue into a veritable showcase of talent and entertainment.

Trouble With Girls, in its second year, is the Bubble's only woman-centric event. Curated by Shroud Eater bassist and pin-up photographer Janette Valentine, this year's show was a success both in attendence and in artistic scope. Burlesque dancers teased and grrrl bands Angry Pudding and Prettie Please entertained the sizable crowd outside, while vendors and crafty types sold jewelery and artwork inside.

More »

​There's hardly a day that relies more on gender stereotypes than Valentine's Day. Lingerie, flowers, and expensive dinner tabs, we're told, make Cupid's aim a sure thing. But thankfully, Broward's foremost indie gallery, the Bubble, will offer an alternative to the endless dinner specials and pink balloons that ostensibly appeal to women this time of year.

Instead, the all-female art show "The Trouble With Girls," in its second year at the gallery, will celebrate XX-chromosomes with much more than stuffed animals and Hallmark platitudes -- though there will be some lingerie, compliments of the burlesque dancers and curator Janette Valentine's photography.

More »