Sometimes when I’m listening to music – particularly music written and/or performed by women – it occurs to me that the music I’m listening to would probably annoy or even anger Men’s Rights Activists. And that makes me want to share this music with the world. So I’m starting a new series here: Music to Annoy MRAs With.
First up: Meredith Monk, an avant garde composer/performer/filmmaker/etc probably best known for her “extended vocal techniques” which one music critic has described as a melange of “extraordinary ululations and incantations, vertiginous leaps, drops, cries and other wordless acrobatics.” That seems about right.
If you’re a fan of The Big Lebowski, you’ve heard at least one song of hers: when the lovably pretentious feminist artist Maude Lebowski makes her memorable entrance, swinging naked through the air on a harness in a darkened studio, splattering paint onto a giant canvas, it’s the voice of Meredith Monk that provides the musical accompaniment. (Monk found the scene hilarious.)
Anyway, here are some Meredith Monk videos for you all. You may like them, you may not – Monk is sort of an acquired taste — but one thing is virtually guaranteed: they will confuse and annoy the hell out of any MRAs who happen to watch. A critically lauded female composer/musician making music they don’t understand? Noooooooo!
The first video is a selection from a longer piece called Dolmen Music; essentially, we’re supposed to be listening to a conversation in a strange language amongst Neolithic Brits (or perhaps space aliens, as Monk has suggested). I may have posted this before, but I’m posting it again, dammit.
The second is a clip from her film Book of Days depicting a variety show of sorts in a somewhat unusual Medieval village; stick with it until the end. I think I posted a shorter version of this once as well.
The final video is Monk performing a solo piano piece that actually has words; try to ignore the really patronizing voiceover.
Her official site is here, though I was having trouble reaching it today.
This was such a tempting topic, I think Lorraine Feather’s The Minor Drag” (“You’re Outta Here”) from her New York City Drag album and Uncle Bonzai’s satirical songs Penis Envy, I Want a Man, and Fat Boys.
I Want A Man
I want a man who’ll wash the dishes
I want a man who’ll make the bed
I want a man who’s not suspicious
I want a man who’s halfway dead
I want a man who’ll do the laundry
Vacuum the carpets, sweep the floor
I want a man who knows his boundaries
No one could ask for more.
(I want a woman who)
Shut up, sit down
(Yes dear, here dear?
Right away)
I want a man who’ll follow orders
I want a man with nothing to say
I want a man with no ambition
I want a man with half a brain
I want a man without a mission
I want a man who won’t complain
I want a man who’ll carve the turkey
Feed the goldfish, cook the meal
I want a man who’s kind of jerky
I want a man who does not feel
(Just a second dear I am coming
Just a moment I’m on my way
Can I get you a cup of tea dear
Just a moment you’ll need a tray)
I want a man with no desires
I want a man without a goal
I want a man who’ll build the fires
Stir the coffee, stir the coals
I want a man who likes what I like
Does what I do, won’t say no
I want a man who’ll always be here
I want a man who’ll let me go
(Just a second I’ll fix the toaster
Just a moment I’ll get the door
Just a moment you’ll need a coaster
Let me get it, your feet are sore)
(Just a minute dear, wait a minute darling
Just a moment love, I’m on my way
Can I get you this, can I get you that
Can I get you anything at all
To start the day)
I think bands like Girlschool perfectly exemplify the absurdity of the claim that metal requires “manly” vocalists. The vocalists of Girlschool have very feminine voices, but they fit perfectly with the music.
Another topic the MRAs don’t like is kitties. Here’s a great Shonen Knife song about a kitty stoned on the ‘nip.
@Ally S: And it isn’t like women can’t do “rough” vocals either. Just look at bands like Arch Enemy or Gallhammer, for instance. Women can do “rough” vocals just fine. And it isn’t like Rob Halford or King Diamond have the gruffest, deepest, manliest of voices either.
GNL, why would I think Meredith Monk would annoy MRAs? Because so many MRAs seem to think that there have never been any significant female composers? Because MRAs hate Yoko Ono, another female musician known for using her voice in unusual and sometimes jarring ways? (She’ll be the topic of a future post.) That sort of thing.
Guess who won Eurovision (which I just found out about and it seems to be kind of like Idol but less crappy because it’s for ALL OF EUROPE, am I right?)
Feeemale hyper agency
Not to mention his abuse of the English language. “Prostalatzing”? Is that something to do with the prostate, or in his case, recto-cranial inversion? I know proselytising is a tricky word – I had to look it up just then – but oy, what is it with MRAs and their hatred of spelling?
It sounds like it’s describing prostate cancer, like a portmanteau of prostate and metastasizing. GNL, stop being so misandrist and wishing ill upon the prostates of random dudes.
Or a portmanteau of prostate, latte and zing. Not a combination I really want to think about, though I daresay it’d be the onlly way GNL would ever get a latte.
When you say “zing” in the context of beverages I think of those zinger teas that you can get in the supermarket, like raspberry and so on. I really don’t want one of those as a latte, and I’m not quite sure how a prostate would get involved.
well, Girlschool, Heart & Diamanda Galas have been mentioned….. but not Rough Trade, Lisa Dalbello, or Sherine Abeyratne (Big Pig).
Hmm.. might be showing my age….
Awesome voice AND not very femmey AND she’s black? You know they’d hate this woman.
Singer from this band once responded to a “show us your tits” male heckler by removing the tampon she was wearing and throwing it at him, right in the middle of a show. I think she’s pretty much the MRM’s musical anti-Christ.
@cassandrakitty: Pretty much all of riot grrl is an MRA’s worst nightmare, I would image. XD
Also, Otep. How the hell did I forget about Otep. A bit too nu-metal for my tastes, but I would imagine that listening to her would cause an MRA to get a migraine. XD
Ooh, I love her lyrics, and she seems like a really cool person. Like you said, though, shame about the nu-metal elements of their sound.
@cassandrakitty: Yeah, it really is. It is a shame she doesn’t do grindcore, she seems like she would be perfect for that genre. I would listen to her a lot more often if she was, too. D:
I’m the same way with Emilie Autumn. In theory I very much approve, she seems like a pretty great person, lyrics are good, but please don’t make me listen to that kind of music or I’ll have to spend the next few days locked in a dark room with some Joy Divison to cleanse my ears.
Oh thank God, I’m not the only one. I always feel guilty for not liking Emilie Autumn, but every time I listen to one of her songs, I find myself just waiting for it to be over.
Oh, it’s not just me? That’s a relief. I’d even be happy to interview her, because she really does seem like a cool person, but something about the music just sets my teeth on edge.
More musical misandry. Here’s a woman blatantly celebrating the idea of riding the cock carousel, and I’m pretty sure she’s over 30 too.
@Kittehs, rather off topic but has Mr K been moonlighting at Eurovision?
Totally misandry-free, but best Eurovision is still Lordi just for the sheer WTFerry of it.
Strewth no! He can do the
guitarlute god thing but NOT in clothing like that!I swear, Eurovision is out to make ABBA’s outfits look like the epitome of understated style …
::is torn between amusement and horror::
O_o
It’s all of Europe, it’s been going for almost 60 years, it happens annually, there’s often an element of self-parody, lots of WTF-ery and it’s the biggest, campest party night of the year. Basically, the whole of Europe has a hangover, this morning. As well as a feeling of hope because, wa-hey, Conchita won!
More random OT: did any Whovians see this gorgeous clip from the Tenth Doctor’s day? Five and Ten meeting: it was done for a children’s charity.
Even cooler: I didn’t know David Tennant is married to Peter Davison’s daughter Georgia.
http://youtu.be/szuP0oBZX4g
@titianblue: not *all* of Europe. There are some villages that resist the invaders, thank you very much!