1. Iggy Pop
2. Captain Beefheart
3. Frank Zappa
4. The Clash
5. Bob Dylan- now this one does pain me and I have a couple of his albums. I do really like John Wesley Harding. Just never been able to warm to him
6. Lou Reed
7. Velvet Underground
8. Sex Pistols/PiL
9. Tom Waits- No, just no!
10. R.E.M.
Could add any number of other acts
Sunday, 9 February 2014
61. 10 'Classic' acts I don't care for
2. Pink Floyd- again a caveat in that I like some of the Syd
Barrett period material but they set the standard for what I term ‘moan rock’ –
i.e. self pitying privileged white middle class guys thinking they have so many
problems
3. David Bowie- just don’t get it. Kudos however for spotting
Luther Van Dross
4. The Smiths/Morrissey- what Morrissey says about Motown and
Stevie Wonder especially gets him a spot on this list.
5. Radiohead- again Moan Rock. I think of their music then the
most joyous life affirming gig I ever went to by Mary Love who had a truly
appalling childhood, was widowed at a young age with a young family and had to
deal with depression. She completely put Thom Yorke to shame in my book. The
use of Radiohead’s ‘exit music’ in the final episode of Fr. Ted sums it all up
better than I ever could
6. Oasis- Al I will say is that considering Noel Gallagher stole a
couple of George Harrison titles he learned chuff all from George’s humility,
sense of perspective and kindness to others. Love the fact that George made his
thoughts about the band public! And Noel’s comments about Pet Sounds would earn him a place here (yo- the Beatles-
that band you love ripping off, all love the album!)
7. Blur- Ok they are/were more musically inventive that Oasis, and
kudos to Damon Albarn for issuing world music, reissuing Candy Stanton album
and working with Bobby Womack (but I agree with Peter Young!) but he always
looks a bit too pleased with himself8. Led Zepplin- OK Robert Plant and John Paul Jones may have redeemed by championing /working with several female artists from around the world. But still….
9. Coldplay - YAWN
10. White Stripes- Now there is a band I love which comprises of
an ex married couple where the woman drums, has a charismatic man singing his
soul out and has a strong blues influence – that band is Quasi. Sam Coombs
would never marry a supermodelWednesday, 1 January 2014
60. A biography in Ten albums pts 1 & 2
Recently on facebook I was asked what ten albums had stayed with me. Inspired by this, I thought it would be a good idea to write a piece about each album that I listed, how I was introduced to it, why it has stayed with me and my favourite track on the album
Just a caveat before I go further-this is not necessary my favourite ten albums and I have not included any compilations- the list would look a bit different in both cases! But not drastically.
I will discuss each album in order of when I was introduced to it. I also include a photo of my copy of the album (sorry in advance for poor quality).
Please note that this just me relating my personal reasons for loving these albums, not an analysis of these albums (in most cases!)
So here goes…
1. The Beatles – The Beatles (Apple 1968) – commonly known as The White Album
My copy of this album!
I must have heard this album first as a small child as I can clearly recall hearing the song ‘The continuing story of bungalow bill’ in the bungalow my family lived in when I was about five (I have written previously in this blog about my lifelong love of the Beatles)
I first became acquainted with the existence of this album when (bless his heart) Peter Young played ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ from the CD reissue on the radio one Saturday afternoon. According to Wikipedia this would have been in October 1987 when I was about 15. However I recall hearing this track over the summer of 1987. I remember being very haunted by ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ on a long car journey the next day. I also saw George perform the song at the Prince’s Trust concert 1987 (which happened on June 5/6 1987) on TV over the summer of 1987.
Here is a link to this performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ITrQXES8kU
George Harrison 'While my guitar gently weeps' - Princes Trust concert 1987 - uploaded by Orise
I have written about how I became a big Fan of George in late 1987 a previous post so will not repeat myself here! Needless to say when I became a fan I scoured my parent’s record collection, which also included a number of tapes which were kept in our utility room. This included a tape of the ‘The White album’. I listened to this on my Walkman and it was love at first listen.
Every Sunday night for several months I listened to The White album, almost turning it into a ritual.
I love all the Beatles albums from Revolver onwards but it is the white album which remains my favourite and the album which has meant most to me since I first heard it almost 25 years ago- why?
I love the diversity of musical styles on this album (as David Quantick points on in his book about the album). Ironically for an album called ‘The Beatles’ it is the most untypical album in the Beatles cannon. As Beatles fans will also know, many of the songs were composed while the band where in India in early 1968. There are bootlegs of the demo sessions where John, Paul, George and Ringo introduced their songs to one another at Kinfauns, George’s then home. I would argue that this album gives each Beatle space to explore and share their voice in a way they don’t on other albums. I even like ‘Revolution No. 9’ which whatever way you look at it was a brave contribution to this album. Due to their enormous success, many people think they know the Beatles, and some write them off as ‘lovable moptops’ or at best the psychedelic bards of ‘Sgt. Peppers’. It would be this album I would point these people towards to show just how revolutionary a band the Beatles were and what riches there are to be discovered in their music.
Of course, I also love this album because of George’s wonderful contributions. ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ is rightfully lauded and for many marks George’s emergence as a song writing force to equal Paul and John. While I love the full rock version on the album with Eric Clapton’s guitar solo and Paul’s wonderful keyboard work, I and many seasoned Beatle fans love George’s haunting acoustic demo even more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRzy_qW10Uk
George Harrison- 'While my guitar gently weeps' from Anthology 3. Uploaded by HistoryRepeats01
However my favourite song on this album is Long, Long, Long, one of George’s many songs directed at God. It speaks of yearning and searching and finally peace. I have to listen to this track at least three times and have some time to recover after this! Thank goodness for mp3 players.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyHcRlNkDFk
Beatles- 'Long, Long, Long' - uploaded by hk613
The one thing I think could have improved the album is the inclusion of the original version of ‘Not guilty’ – I love the hard rock play out on this track! I am delighted it was given a legal release on Anthology 3 along with the acoustic demo of ‘While my guitar gently weeps’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0lmqGT5s7Q
Beatles - 'Not Guilty (take 102)- uploaded by sameskybeatles
I have even attended an event about this album at the British Library, hosted by David Quantick. It was a fun evening and very moving to hear people talk about their favourite tracks from the album, and hear what the album has meant to them.
In recent years I have given three friends who are Beatles fans this album. I had a very good discussion with one about Revolution No.9 which she compared to eavesdropping on the band as they go about their work.
I was listening to the white album earlier today in preparation for writing this while walking around Regents Park. I often walk in Regents Park after work or on Sundays and over this is probably the album I listen too most while doing this.
I have been listening to this album regularly for 25 years and never once got tired of it. No matter how my musical tastes have changed it still speaks to me.
2. George Harrison- Living in the Material World (Apple 1973)
My copy of the 2004 CD reissue of the album
Here I am cheating a bit! I did put All things must pass in the original list but on reflection I would chose this.
I was familiar with the artwork for this album though a book about the Beatles I had borrowed from the Library. Then In early 1989 I had a very vivid dream about walking down a local street holding this album…
I had arranged to go round to my Girls Guide pack leader Mary to listen to some albums one Saturday in late January 1989 (it was late January as it was my Mum’s birthday). I could not believe it when I saw ‘Living in the material world’ in her collection! This was no coincidence- having been duly tipped off I must pay attention to this album I remember chatting about OM being included in the art work with Mary. I was familiar with OM through the logo for George’s record label ‘Dark Horse’ but it was some years before I found out its full importance! (As an aside I also heard Revolver for the first time that day). This was the first solo album by George I had heard after 'Cloud Nine' which had been issued in November 1987 and I was keen to listen to more of his solo work (Over 1989 -1990 I would buy 'All things must pass', '33 1/3, 'George Harrison' and 'Somewhere in England'.
I recall going up to my room and listening to this album while my family and one of my aunts gave my mum the bumps! I took my tape of the album with me when I visited this aunt that evening. I was smitten
I listened to this album frequently throughout 1989- I recall having to tell school mates when asked what my favourite record was that it was not the Madonna track ‘Material girl’!
My favourite track for many years was ‘Try some, buy some’. This was originally recorded by Ronnie Spector in 1971 and George reused the backing track with its Phil Spector production for his version. I got immediately that this was about a search for spiritual peace/God (Can the reader who is not familiar with George’s work begin to detect a recurrent thread in his work?). Glad that this song got some recognition from David Bowie who covered in in 2004
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZYtuaD0yhQ
George Harrison 'Try Some, Buy Some' uploaded by R. H. Contreras
However in recent years I think that I prefer ‘Be here now’ (Oasis ‘borrowed’ the title for their 1997 album). The message about being at peace with the moment and understanding that in the words of a Flaming lips track I love ‘All we have is now’. I love the guitar playing on this track in particular.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He2yrzwgTtI
George Harrison 'Be here now'- uploaded by Piggies1
A bit about this album. It has been confirmed in recent year that despite the credits saying it was recorded at Apple Studios, it was in fact mainly recorded at Friar Park, the first of many albums George would record in his home studio. There is some lovely footage of the sessions in the ‘Living in the material world’ documentary. Klaus Voorman, who played on the album, spoke warmly of the relaxed atmosphere George created in the studio and this is reflected in the warm and intimate musicianship on this album. I think that I prefer this album to ‘All things must pass’ (wonderful, wonderful record that it is) due to this
This is undoubtedly a melancholy album and reflects George’s sadness at the state of affairs between his ex-bandmates (as reflected in ‘sue me sue you blues’) and his frustration at the confines of his role as an ex-Beatle (‘The light that has lighted the world’). George also makes no bones about his religious beliefs (‘living in the material world’, ‘The lord loves the ones’). While I do not share these beliefs I have enormous respect for George putting his neck on the line to share his beliefs. This may account for why it is less popular than ‘All things must pass’. But the album also offers compassion and hope (‘Be here now’ ,The day the world gets round’)
This is one of the few albums I own on Vinyl as well as CD. I brought on CD after George’s death and it was moving to get reacquainted with the album. I gave this CD to a friend who once met George when I brought the 2004 CD re-issue which includes a couple of lovely George rarities ‘Deep blue’ (which was about his mother’s final illness’) and ‘Miss O’Dell’
One of the many delights of reading Simon Leng’s book about George’s music ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ was his insightful and in-depth discussion of this album.
Again this is an album I have regularly listened to over 25 years. It is a delight that an album that meant so much to me as a teenager still has a lot to teach me about acceptance and moving on with life.
Just a caveat before I go further-this is not necessary my favourite ten albums and I have not included any compilations- the list would look a bit different in both cases! But not drastically.
I will discuss each album in order of when I was introduced to it. I also include a photo of my copy of the album (sorry in advance for poor quality).
Please note that this just me relating my personal reasons for loving these albums, not an analysis of these albums (in most cases!)
So here goes…
1. The Beatles – The Beatles (Apple 1968) – commonly known as The White Album
My copy of this album!
I must have heard this album first as a small child as I can clearly recall hearing the song ‘The continuing story of bungalow bill’ in the bungalow my family lived in when I was about five (I have written previously in this blog about my lifelong love of the Beatles)
I first became acquainted with the existence of this album when (bless his heart) Peter Young played ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ from the CD reissue on the radio one Saturday afternoon. According to Wikipedia this would have been in October 1987 when I was about 15. However I recall hearing this track over the summer of 1987. I remember being very haunted by ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ on a long car journey the next day. I also saw George perform the song at the Prince’s Trust concert 1987 (which happened on June 5/6 1987) on TV over the summer of 1987.
Here is a link to this performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ITrQXES8kU
George Harrison 'While my guitar gently weeps' - Princes Trust concert 1987 - uploaded by Orise
I have written about how I became a big Fan of George in late 1987 a previous post so will not repeat myself here! Needless to say when I became a fan I scoured my parent’s record collection, which also included a number of tapes which were kept in our utility room. This included a tape of the ‘The White album’. I listened to this on my Walkman and it was love at first listen.
Every Sunday night for several months I listened to The White album, almost turning it into a ritual.
I love all the Beatles albums from Revolver onwards but it is the white album which remains my favourite and the album which has meant most to me since I first heard it almost 25 years ago- why?
I love the diversity of musical styles on this album (as David Quantick points on in his book about the album). Ironically for an album called ‘The Beatles’ it is the most untypical album in the Beatles cannon. As Beatles fans will also know, many of the songs were composed while the band where in India in early 1968. There are bootlegs of the demo sessions where John, Paul, George and Ringo introduced their songs to one another at Kinfauns, George’s then home. I would argue that this album gives each Beatle space to explore and share their voice in a way they don’t on other albums. I even like ‘Revolution No. 9’ which whatever way you look at it was a brave contribution to this album. Due to their enormous success, many people think they know the Beatles, and some write them off as ‘lovable moptops’ or at best the psychedelic bards of ‘Sgt. Peppers’. It would be this album I would point these people towards to show just how revolutionary a band the Beatles were and what riches there are to be discovered in their music.
Of course, I also love this album because of George’s wonderful contributions. ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ is rightfully lauded and for many marks George’s emergence as a song writing force to equal Paul and John. While I love the full rock version on the album with Eric Clapton’s guitar solo and Paul’s wonderful keyboard work, I and many seasoned Beatle fans love George’s haunting acoustic demo even more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRzy_qW10Uk
George Harrison- 'While my guitar gently weeps' from Anthology 3. Uploaded by HistoryRepeats01
However my favourite song on this album is Long, Long, Long, one of George’s many songs directed at God. It speaks of yearning and searching and finally peace. I have to listen to this track at least three times and have some time to recover after this! Thank goodness for mp3 players.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyHcRlNkDFk
Beatles- 'Long, Long, Long' - uploaded by hk613
The one thing I think could have improved the album is the inclusion of the original version of ‘Not guilty’ – I love the hard rock play out on this track! I am delighted it was given a legal release on Anthology 3 along with the acoustic demo of ‘While my guitar gently weeps’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0lmqGT5s7Q
Beatles - 'Not Guilty (take 102)- uploaded by sameskybeatles
I have even attended an event about this album at the British Library, hosted by David Quantick. It was a fun evening and very moving to hear people talk about their favourite tracks from the album, and hear what the album has meant to them.
In recent years I have given three friends who are Beatles fans this album. I had a very good discussion with one about Revolution No.9 which she compared to eavesdropping on the band as they go about their work.
I was listening to the white album earlier today in preparation for writing this while walking around Regents Park. I often walk in Regents Park after work or on Sundays and over this is probably the album I listen too most while doing this.
I have been listening to this album regularly for 25 years and never once got tired of it. No matter how my musical tastes have changed it still speaks to me.
2. George Harrison- Living in the Material World (Apple 1973)
My copy of the 2004 CD reissue of the album
Here I am cheating a bit! I did put All things must pass in the original list but on reflection I would chose this.
I was familiar with the artwork for this album though a book about the Beatles I had borrowed from the Library. Then In early 1989 I had a very vivid dream about walking down a local street holding this album…
I had arranged to go round to my Girls Guide pack leader Mary to listen to some albums one Saturday in late January 1989 (it was late January as it was my Mum’s birthday). I could not believe it when I saw ‘Living in the material world’ in her collection! This was no coincidence- having been duly tipped off I must pay attention to this album I remember chatting about OM being included in the art work with Mary. I was familiar with OM through the logo for George’s record label ‘Dark Horse’ but it was some years before I found out its full importance! (As an aside I also heard Revolver for the first time that day). This was the first solo album by George I had heard after 'Cloud Nine' which had been issued in November 1987 and I was keen to listen to more of his solo work (Over 1989 -1990 I would buy 'All things must pass', '33 1/3, 'George Harrison' and 'Somewhere in England'.
I recall going up to my room and listening to this album while my family and one of my aunts gave my mum the bumps! I took my tape of the album with me when I visited this aunt that evening. I was smitten
I listened to this album frequently throughout 1989- I recall having to tell school mates when asked what my favourite record was that it was not the Madonna track ‘Material girl’!
My favourite track for many years was ‘Try some, buy some’. This was originally recorded by Ronnie Spector in 1971 and George reused the backing track with its Phil Spector production for his version. I got immediately that this was about a search for spiritual peace/God (Can the reader who is not familiar with George’s work begin to detect a recurrent thread in his work?). Glad that this song got some recognition from David Bowie who covered in in 2004
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZYtuaD0yhQ
George Harrison 'Try Some, Buy Some' uploaded by R. H. Contreras
However in recent years I think that I prefer ‘Be here now’ (Oasis ‘borrowed’ the title for their 1997 album). The message about being at peace with the moment and understanding that in the words of a Flaming lips track I love ‘All we have is now’. I love the guitar playing on this track in particular.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He2yrzwgTtI
George Harrison 'Be here now'- uploaded by Piggies1
A bit about this album. It has been confirmed in recent year that despite the credits saying it was recorded at Apple Studios, it was in fact mainly recorded at Friar Park, the first of many albums George would record in his home studio. There is some lovely footage of the sessions in the ‘Living in the material world’ documentary. Klaus Voorman, who played on the album, spoke warmly of the relaxed atmosphere George created in the studio and this is reflected in the warm and intimate musicianship on this album. I think that I prefer this album to ‘All things must pass’ (wonderful, wonderful record that it is) due to this
This is undoubtedly a melancholy album and reflects George’s sadness at the state of affairs between his ex-bandmates (as reflected in ‘sue me sue you blues’) and his frustration at the confines of his role as an ex-Beatle (‘The light that has lighted the world’). George also makes no bones about his religious beliefs (‘living in the material world’, ‘The lord loves the ones’). While I do not share these beliefs I have enormous respect for George putting his neck on the line to share his beliefs. This may account for why it is less popular than ‘All things must pass’. But the album also offers compassion and hope (‘Be here now’ ,The day the world gets round’)
This is one of the few albums I own on Vinyl as well as CD. I brought on CD after George’s death and it was moving to get reacquainted with the album. I gave this CD to a friend who once met George when I brought the 2004 CD re-issue which includes a couple of lovely George rarities ‘Deep blue’ (which was about his mother’s final illness’) and ‘Miss O’Dell’
One of the many delights of reading Simon Leng’s book about George’s music ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ was his insightful and in-depth discussion of this album.
Again this is an album I have regularly listened to over 25 years. It is a delight that an album that meant so much to me as a teenager still has a lot to teach me about acceptance and moving on with life.
Happy 2014! - Guess what one of my new year resolutions is....
Hi!
Sorry for long silence. I have had a number of technical issues in last 18 months so have not been able to work on this blog as much as I wanted. However I have a new laptop so one of my resolutions for 2014 is to blog more.
I am working on a new series which I will start posting in next couple of days.
I also really want to continue my blogs on the Beatle women - I have an idea for my first post already
Anyway good 2014 to you all!
Jen
Sorry for long silence. I have had a number of technical issues in last 18 months so have not been able to work on this blog as much as I wanted. However I have a new laptop so one of my resolutions for 2014 is to blog more.
I am working on a new series which I will start posting in next couple of days.
I also really want to continue my blogs on the Beatle women - I have an idea for my first post already
Anyway good 2014 to you all!
Jen
Sunday, 8 July 2012
No. 58- Losing my Mojo- part 2- the covers
To date there have been 225 editions of Mojo. Below is a list of the handful of covers that women have been the ‘cover star’ (i.e without any other artist or not as part of a band). It stated out promisingly enough- two women graced the cover in the first year of publication. However it took almost five years for another woman to front a cover.
Here is a complete list of all those Mojo covers which had a female covers star
Issue 2 ( December 1993)- K.D. Lang
Issue 11 (October 1994)- Chrissie Hynde
Issue 63 (February 1999)- Debbie Harry
Issue 79 (June 2000)- Janis Joplin
*Issue 111 (February 2002) – Kate Bush – UK only
*Issue 145-(December 2003)- Kate Bush – UK only
*Issue 168 (November 2007)- Debbie Harry – US only for the UK edition it was Oasis AGAIN!
Issue 170 (January 2008)- Amy Winehouse
Issue 211 (June 2011) Kate Bush
Then there is the interesting case of Yoko Ono
For Issue 114 (May 2002) there was one cover with Yoko Ono along with an alternative cover with Paul McCartney (not stoking up division there!) and Issue 186 (May 2009)- Yoko shares cover and cover story with John Lennon but her face is obscured on by a hat.
So who are the usual suspects in terms of Cover boys? I have attempted to count up the numbers and here they are
Beatles (NB 2 covers shared with Bob Dylan)
Pink Floyd - includes Syd Barrett Covers)
Bob Dylan (NB 2 covers shared with Beatles)
Rolling Stones
Solo Beatles
All the above had a great percentage of covers in their own right than women artists combined. Other usual suspects include Neil Young, Kurt Cobain and Radiohead.
Of 225 editions women have only been the cover artist on 8 issues of Mojo in the UK and 7 in the US. That is not even 4% of all covers. Compare this with Word which in its 113 issues has had a woman on the cover 10 times. Still only 9% but a big improvement on Mojo. Clash is has had female musicians as cover stars on 9 issues out of a total of 75 (12% of total) Since 2002 Q has had 17 covers which have been fronted by female artists (I have not counted the November 2006 issue which had a choice of 20 cover artists, 5 of which were women). However this higher rate of female representation is immediately undercut by the fact that for least half these covers the women are portrayed in sexually provocative poses and dress more suited to a lads mag. There have also been covers where male musicians have been shown with semi-naked women draped around them At least Mojo has never once done ths! There is one bright note in that in the past six months Q has had Lana Del Rey, Florence Welch and Amy Winehouse as cover stars in respectful ‘portrait’ photos (i.e. not in sexualised poses or dress). I can only hope that these women’s undoubted musical talent and critical/commercial success was more to do with this as their physical attractiveness.
It is not just women who are underrepresented. I also counted Black artists as cover artist on their own right and they account for only 14 covers (One of which is a Motown artists cover). This is 6% of covers. Bob Marley accounts for 5 of these covers and Jimi Hendrix 3. No woman of colour has had a cover in her own right (although Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Lauren Hill have appeared on the front cover with other artists). K. D. Lang is the only gay woman to have been on the cover.
My intention here is not to point Mojo out for particular censure, although its’ rate of female cover stars is low even by music magazine standards. Mojo does include a good number of reviews and news coverage of female artists. It includes a reasonable proportion of female artists on its free CDs. But there is enormous room for improvement. If I may, here are my suggestions for Women who Mojo could have as cover stars and hey they may even sell a few issues!
Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul. Aretha has been on the cover of No. 36 (November 1996- cover story ‘The best of everything!) along with other artists but not in her own right. There is many a tale to tell and a stack of classic albums to devote articles to.
Nina Simone
A legendary artist. She did have an article in No. 224 (July 2012) about her discography. How about a cover story?
Sandy Denny
Nick Drake, a similar cult English folk figure has been on the cover twice- Sandy Denny is similarly loved. Again there was an article in No. 223 (May 2012) about her discography
Patti Smith
There have been a couple of covers with the Ramones and a few covers with Bruce Springsteen. Why not Patti Smith who is still making vital music after 35 years? Patti was on the cover of Uncut magazine last month.
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell has been featured on the front cover of issue 87 (August 1998- cover story ‘American legends’) but this was a long with several other artist. Neil Young has been on the cover five times, and even ‘Laughing’ Leonard Cohen has been the cover a couple of times. Why not Joni Mitchell? Joni Mitchell has managed to be on the soon to be closed Word Magazine twice in its short run.
Emmylou Harris
Emmy has had a highly respected 40 year career and is still making highly regarded music.
Kirtsy McColl
Much loved and much missed singer/songwriter.
Dusty Springfield
We have had all the important Mod bands on the cover of Mojo- The Who, the Kinks, Rod Stewart, the Small Faces – why not Dusty? There is certainly a very interesting story there to tell or is Dusty’s sexuality seen as something that might scare the readership?
Carole King
Tapestry was reissued a couple of years ago- surely an excuse for one of Mojo’s cover cds where an entire classic album gets covered? It has only sold over 10 million copies! And that is before we get into her career as a songwriter for others. She has only written over 400 songs which have been covered by over 1000 artists!
Siouxsie Sioux
We have had domestic partner murderer Sid Vicious on the cover of Mojo at least twice. Yet there has been no cover featuring one of the many women of the UK punk scene. Siouxsie Sioux is a striking looking woman who would have a few stories about Punk/music industry. And while we are at it how about included the sadly late Ari Up and Poly Strene?
Marianne Faithful
Rather than put the Rolling Stones on the cover again- why not Marianne Faithful? She is still making music and her ‘ Broken English’ album would certainly be worth an article
Bjork
A unique artist- now here is my confession. There was a lengthy article on Bjork and her new album in the November 2011 edition of Mojo. The cover boy was none other than George Harrison. Guess the reason I brought the magazine. Say ten hail Bjorks as penance
P. J. Harvey
Twice Mercury winning- the only artist to do so.
Even dare I say it Madonna? If Abba and Michael Jackson can make the cover why no Material Girl
There are also so many female artists to write in-depth articles about. Here is just a small selection- Etta James, LaBelle (First African American women to appear on cover of Rolling Stone!), The Supremes, the female artists of Motown (Martha Reeves, Mary Love, Brenda Holloway, Tammi Terrell), Marcia Griffiths, Betty Davis (one time wife of Miles), Bettye Lavette (Deep Soul legend who has made a number of excellent albums in recent years), Missy Elliott, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Carla Bley, Doris Troy, Laura Nyro, Judee Sill, Poly Strene, Ari Up and the Slits, The Raincoats (beloved of Kurt Cobain), Aimee Mann, Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, ‘Lovers rock Queens’ Carole Thompson and Janet Kay, ‘Mama’ Cass Elliott along with contemporary female artists such as Thea Gilmore.
Anyway here’s hoping!
Here is a complete list of all those Mojo covers which had a female covers star
Issue 2 ( December 1993)- K.D. Lang
Issue 11 (October 1994)- Chrissie Hynde
Issue 63 (February 1999)- Debbie Harry
Issue 79 (June 2000)- Janis Joplin
*Issue 111 (February 2002) – Kate Bush – UK only
*Issue 145-(December 2003)- Kate Bush – UK only
*Issue 168 (November 2007)- Debbie Harry – US only for the UK edition it was Oasis AGAIN!
Issue 170 (January 2008)- Amy Winehouse
Issue 211 (June 2011) Kate Bush
Then there is the interesting case of Yoko Ono
For Issue 114 (May 2002) there was one cover with Yoko Ono along with an alternative cover with Paul McCartney (not stoking up division there!) and Issue 186 (May 2009)- Yoko shares cover and cover story with John Lennon but her face is obscured on by a hat.
So who are the usual suspects in terms of Cover boys? I have attempted to count up the numbers and here they are
Beatles (NB 2 covers shared with Bob Dylan)
Pink Floyd - includes Syd Barrett Covers)
Bob Dylan (NB 2 covers shared with Beatles)
Rolling Stones
Solo Beatles
All the above had a great percentage of covers in their own right than women artists combined. Other usual suspects include Neil Young, Kurt Cobain and Radiohead.
Of 225 editions women have only been the cover artist on 8 issues of Mojo in the UK and 7 in the US. That is not even 4% of all covers. Compare this with Word which in its 113 issues has had a woman on the cover 10 times. Still only 9% but a big improvement on Mojo. Clash is has had female musicians as cover stars on 9 issues out of a total of 75 (12% of total) Since 2002 Q has had 17 covers which have been fronted by female artists (I have not counted the November 2006 issue which had a choice of 20 cover artists, 5 of which were women). However this higher rate of female representation is immediately undercut by the fact that for least half these covers the women are portrayed in sexually provocative poses and dress more suited to a lads mag. There have also been covers where male musicians have been shown with semi-naked women draped around them At least Mojo has never once done ths! There is one bright note in that in the past six months Q has had Lana Del Rey, Florence Welch and Amy Winehouse as cover stars in respectful ‘portrait’ photos (i.e. not in sexualised poses or dress). I can only hope that these women’s undoubted musical talent and critical/commercial success was more to do with this as their physical attractiveness.
It is not just women who are underrepresented. I also counted Black artists as cover artist on their own right and they account for only 14 covers (One of which is a Motown artists cover). This is 6% of covers. Bob Marley accounts for 5 of these covers and Jimi Hendrix 3. No woman of colour has had a cover in her own right (although Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Lauren Hill have appeared on the front cover with other artists). K. D. Lang is the only gay woman to have been on the cover.
My intention here is not to point Mojo out for particular censure, although its’ rate of female cover stars is low even by music magazine standards. Mojo does include a good number of reviews and news coverage of female artists. It includes a reasonable proportion of female artists on its free CDs. But there is enormous room for improvement. If I may, here are my suggestions for Women who Mojo could have as cover stars and hey they may even sell a few issues!
Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul. Aretha has been on the cover of No. 36 (November 1996- cover story ‘The best of everything!) along with other artists but not in her own right. There is many a tale to tell and a stack of classic albums to devote articles to.
Nina Simone
A legendary artist. She did have an article in No. 224 (July 2012) about her discography. How about a cover story?
Sandy Denny
Nick Drake, a similar cult English folk figure has been on the cover twice- Sandy Denny is similarly loved. Again there was an article in No. 223 (May 2012) about her discography
Patti Smith
There have been a couple of covers with the Ramones and a few covers with Bruce Springsteen. Why not Patti Smith who is still making vital music after 35 years? Patti was on the cover of Uncut magazine last month.
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell has been featured on the front cover of issue 87 (August 1998- cover story ‘American legends’) but this was a long with several other artist. Neil Young has been on the cover five times, and even ‘Laughing’ Leonard Cohen has been the cover a couple of times. Why not Joni Mitchell? Joni Mitchell has managed to be on the soon to be closed Word Magazine twice in its short run.
Emmylou Harris
Emmy has had a highly respected 40 year career and is still making highly regarded music.
Kirtsy McColl
Much loved and much missed singer/songwriter.
Dusty Springfield
We have had all the important Mod bands on the cover of Mojo- The Who, the Kinks, Rod Stewart, the Small Faces – why not Dusty? There is certainly a very interesting story there to tell or is Dusty’s sexuality seen as something that might scare the readership?
Carole King
Tapestry was reissued a couple of years ago- surely an excuse for one of Mojo’s cover cds where an entire classic album gets covered? It has only sold over 10 million copies! And that is before we get into her career as a songwriter for others. She has only written over 400 songs which have been covered by over 1000 artists!
Siouxsie Sioux
We have had domestic partner murderer Sid Vicious on the cover of Mojo at least twice. Yet there has been no cover featuring one of the many women of the UK punk scene. Siouxsie Sioux is a striking looking woman who would have a few stories about Punk/music industry. And while we are at it how about included the sadly late Ari Up and Poly Strene?
Marianne Faithful
Rather than put the Rolling Stones on the cover again- why not Marianne Faithful? She is still making music and her ‘ Broken English’ album would certainly be worth an article
Bjork
A unique artist- now here is my confession. There was a lengthy article on Bjork and her new album in the November 2011 edition of Mojo. The cover boy was none other than George Harrison. Guess the reason I brought the magazine. Say ten hail Bjorks as penance
P. J. Harvey
Twice Mercury winning- the only artist to do so.
Even dare I say it Madonna? If Abba and Michael Jackson can make the cover why no Material Girl
There are also so many female artists to write in-depth articles about. Here is just a small selection- Etta James, LaBelle (First African American women to appear on cover of Rolling Stone!), The Supremes, the female artists of Motown (Martha Reeves, Mary Love, Brenda Holloway, Tammi Terrell), Marcia Griffiths, Betty Davis (one time wife of Miles), Bettye Lavette (Deep Soul legend who has made a number of excellent albums in recent years), Missy Elliott, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Carla Bley, Doris Troy, Laura Nyro, Judee Sill, Poly Strene, Ari Up and the Slits, The Raincoats (beloved of Kurt Cobain), Aimee Mann, Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, ‘Lovers rock Queens’ Carole Thompson and Janet Kay, ‘Mama’ Cass Elliott along with contemporary female artists such as Thea Gilmore.
Anyway here’s hoping!
No. 57 - Losing my Mojo- part 1
First off let me say- I love Mojo magazine. I find it a more intelligent and considered in its music coverage than any other part of the music press. I have been reading it since my mid 20’s (I am now looking at 40 coming up quickly in the rear view mirror!)
However there is one major problem. Out of 225 issues, excluding bands and covers featuring several musicians, women artists have only been featured on the cover eight times in the UK edition and seven times on the US edition. I will discuss this in more depth in my next post.
The lack of women as covers stars indicates a serious issue in lack of coverage of women musicians generally. Occasionally there will be an in depth interview with a female artist who has not appeared as cover star of the issue (both Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush have had interviews flagged up on the front cover) but examining the covers has also indicates how rarely there are in-depth articles about the careers of female musicians. The names of female musicians appear on the front cover a fraction of the time that male musicians do, and it is often difficult to tell if the female musician is the subject of an article or just a review.
I am also not saying that it is just Mojo that has a problem. A quick glance at the gallery of covers of most music magazines- (Uncut, Q, Word, Clash) confirms this (again I will discuss this in my next post).
There are numerous reasons why this state of affairs has probably come about.
Firstly is the perceived audience for these magazines. Many of the magazines, particularly Mojo, are aiming at the legendary ‘£50 bloke’ a male baby boomer born c1945-1962 who would spend £50 a time in a record store (of course the digital revolution and recession have somewhat changed the music market). Middle aged men are seen as the largest audience not just for music magazines but music and home entertainment, in no small part due to their disposable income. However as I have written above I have been reading and buying Mojo since my mid 20’s and a one-time female boss was a proud subscriber to Word. There are women of many ages who are interested in music (as I show in the discussion of zines at the end of this post).
It is important to note that music magazines are finding it harder and harder to find an audience. Word Magazine has just folded and Uncut has recently changed focus to include classic interviews to try and boost sales. Inevitably Mojo will put artists on the front cover that it will know will sell copies and the Beatles, Stones and usual suspects get sales.
But to really understand this situation, we need to look at two aspects of rock writing- the masculine values and culture of rock journalism and lack of women writers (alack this is a fairly widespread issue in the media).
There are several distinct and occasionally interlinking unwelcome tendencies within rock music writing. Firstly and significantly there is a tendency towards macho values. Hard living with drinks, drugs, womanising, fighting and ‘bad boy’ behaviour are seen as the marks of an authentic artist. We are not just talking about artists such as Led Zepplin, Oasis and Rolling Stones. This is linked with the coverage of the hard living, sexually transgressive male figure such as David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. Even though these artists may seem to challenge the hetronormative expectations of their audiences, their hard living stories and their sexual confidence actually align them with acts such as the Rolling Stones and Led Zepplin in the male audience’s eyes.
This is linked to the focus on the rock band as the ‘Boy’s gang’ reassuring male rock fans of the primacy of male friendship and the male gang. The conflict between band members is aligned a masculine concern with power The coverage of bands such as the Clash, the Sex Pistols and Ramones, and even the Smiths can be said to be part of this trend.
There is the ‘muso’ tendency which values intellectualism and musical ability (often at the expense of the musician engaging emotionally and socially with their audience). Thus the love of artists such as Pink Floyd and Radiohead.
Finally there is glorification of the mentally ill ‘Outsider’ male figure such as Brain Wilson and Syd Barrett. These figures ironically fit in with the myth of male exceptionalism, with their mental illness being a product of exceptional talent and behaviour (I have my own theory of Brian being a victim of paternalistic values and masculine aggression that were prevalent in his family but he ho).
Of course certain female artists slip through the net. Kate Bush is enormously popular in the rock press (as the number of her Mojo cover stories show) as she is undoubtedly feminine and physically attractive. She fits in with the model of ‘exceptional eccentric’ and is almost a prototype for the ‘Manic pixie dream girl’ trope. I want to make it clear that this is not to denigrate Kate Bush in any way- she is an astonishing artist who has dome things entirely on her own terms with integrity for over 35 years and unapologetically brings feminist themes to her music. It is far more difficult however for a female artist to challenge gender roles in the way that men like David Bowie have. None of the female artist who challenged the stereotypes of women in rock during the punk era – Siouxsie Sioux, Poly Styrene, Ari Up, have featured on the front covers of any of the magazines I discuss.
The second serious issue is the issue of the lack of women both as writers and editors of these magazines. The NME only got its first female editor in recent years.
I have had a look through my own holdings of Mojo and there are few if any articles written by women (Sylvie Simmons is one exception I can bring to mind). This reflects a lack of women in music writing. I can only think of Lucy O’Brien and Charlotte Grieg as two excellent women writers. Significantly they write specifically about women artists.
Charlotte Grieg wrote the magnificent ‘Will you still love me tomorrow’ (published, tellingly, by Virago) which takes a serious look at what are pejoratively termed ‘Girl groups’ and also ‘Girl signers’ such as Dusty Springfield. These groups are rarely taken seriously be the rock press. There is the double issue with many ‘girl groups’ of race as that many of these groups are African American. Grieg shoes in her book how music produced by ‘Girl groups’ illustrate the effect that the social changes of the 1950s-1990’s have had women, particularly African American women have gone through. The changes in economic, employment, relationships and sexual expectations are reflected in the lyrics of ‘Girl group’ songs (i.e. a perfect illustration of the feminist argument of the Personal is political).
This points to another issue with rock journalism. Female artists are often aligned with pop or the more mainstream side of rock music. Many of the successful artists of the last few years (most notably Adele), no matter how credible their music, have not been featured on the cover of Mojo while they have made the front of Q and Word. Would the staff at Mojo be afraid of disgruntled readers complaining that these young ladies should not be on the front of Mojo?
There are few female instrumentalists, particularly guitarists in rock (or at least mainstream rock). Only a few of the groups that have been on the front of Mojo have female members (White Stripes, New Order, Smashing Pumpkins).
There is an undoubted difference in how women approach rock music. It is no accident that women dominate the production of music ‘zines (independently produced and distributed), which allow them to discuss artists that don’t appear in the mainstream music press (many of which are female) and that these zines often have a strong political content and are highly engaged with their readership. The informality and autonomy of zines suit women and their ways of communicating with other women (I know there are far more scholarly discussions of women’s music zines).
This is only a very brief discourse on the issues of sexism in rock journalism as I perceive them. So on with those Mojo covers!
However there is one major problem. Out of 225 issues, excluding bands and covers featuring several musicians, women artists have only been featured on the cover eight times in the UK edition and seven times on the US edition. I will discuss this in more depth in my next post.
The lack of women as covers stars indicates a serious issue in lack of coverage of women musicians generally. Occasionally there will be an in depth interview with a female artist who has not appeared as cover star of the issue (both Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush have had interviews flagged up on the front cover) but examining the covers has also indicates how rarely there are in-depth articles about the careers of female musicians. The names of female musicians appear on the front cover a fraction of the time that male musicians do, and it is often difficult to tell if the female musician is the subject of an article or just a review.
I am also not saying that it is just Mojo that has a problem. A quick glance at the gallery of covers of most music magazines- (Uncut, Q, Word, Clash) confirms this (again I will discuss this in my next post).
There are numerous reasons why this state of affairs has probably come about.
Firstly is the perceived audience for these magazines. Many of the magazines, particularly Mojo, are aiming at the legendary ‘£50 bloke’ a male baby boomer born c1945-1962 who would spend £50 a time in a record store (of course the digital revolution and recession have somewhat changed the music market). Middle aged men are seen as the largest audience not just for music magazines but music and home entertainment, in no small part due to their disposable income. However as I have written above I have been reading and buying Mojo since my mid 20’s and a one-time female boss was a proud subscriber to Word. There are women of many ages who are interested in music (as I show in the discussion of zines at the end of this post).
It is important to note that music magazines are finding it harder and harder to find an audience. Word Magazine has just folded and Uncut has recently changed focus to include classic interviews to try and boost sales. Inevitably Mojo will put artists on the front cover that it will know will sell copies and the Beatles, Stones and usual suspects get sales.
But to really understand this situation, we need to look at two aspects of rock writing- the masculine values and culture of rock journalism and lack of women writers (alack this is a fairly widespread issue in the media).
There are several distinct and occasionally interlinking unwelcome tendencies within rock music writing. Firstly and significantly there is a tendency towards macho values. Hard living with drinks, drugs, womanising, fighting and ‘bad boy’ behaviour are seen as the marks of an authentic artist. We are not just talking about artists such as Led Zepplin, Oasis and Rolling Stones. This is linked with the coverage of the hard living, sexually transgressive male figure such as David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. Even though these artists may seem to challenge the hetronormative expectations of their audiences, their hard living stories and their sexual confidence actually align them with acts such as the Rolling Stones and Led Zepplin in the male audience’s eyes.
This is linked to the focus on the rock band as the ‘Boy’s gang’ reassuring male rock fans of the primacy of male friendship and the male gang. The conflict between band members is aligned a masculine concern with power The coverage of bands such as the Clash, the Sex Pistols and Ramones, and even the Smiths can be said to be part of this trend.
There is the ‘muso’ tendency which values intellectualism and musical ability (often at the expense of the musician engaging emotionally and socially with their audience). Thus the love of artists such as Pink Floyd and Radiohead.
Finally there is glorification of the mentally ill ‘Outsider’ male figure such as Brain Wilson and Syd Barrett. These figures ironically fit in with the myth of male exceptionalism, with their mental illness being a product of exceptional talent and behaviour (I have my own theory of Brian being a victim of paternalistic values and masculine aggression that were prevalent in his family but he ho).
Of course certain female artists slip through the net. Kate Bush is enormously popular in the rock press (as the number of her Mojo cover stories show) as she is undoubtedly feminine and physically attractive. She fits in with the model of ‘exceptional eccentric’ and is almost a prototype for the ‘Manic pixie dream girl’ trope. I want to make it clear that this is not to denigrate Kate Bush in any way- she is an astonishing artist who has dome things entirely on her own terms with integrity for over 35 years and unapologetically brings feminist themes to her music. It is far more difficult however for a female artist to challenge gender roles in the way that men like David Bowie have. None of the female artist who challenged the stereotypes of women in rock during the punk era – Siouxsie Sioux, Poly Styrene, Ari Up, have featured on the front covers of any of the magazines I discuss.
The second serious issue is the issue of the lack of women both as writers and editors of these magazines. The NME only got its first female editor in recent years.
I have had a look through my own holdings of Mojo and there are few if any articles written by women (Sylvie Simmons is one exception I can bring to mind). This reflects a lack of women in music writing. I can only think of Lucy O’Brien and Charlotte Grieg as two excellent women writers. Significantly they write specifically about women artists.
Charlotte Grieg wrote the magnificent ‘Will you still love me tomorrow’ (published, tellingly, by Virago) which takes a serious look at what are pejoratively termed ‘Girl groups’ and also ‘Girl signers’ such as Dusty Springfield. These groups are rarely taken seriously be the rock press. There is the double issue with many ‘girl groups’ of race as that many of these groups are African American. Grieg shoes in her book how music produced by ‘Girl groups’ illustrate the effect that the social changes of the 1950s-1990’s have had women, particularly African American women have gone through. The changes in economic, employment, relationships and sexual expectations are reflected in the lyrics of ‘Girl group’ songs (i.e. a perfect illustration of the feminist argument of the Personal is political).
This points to another issue with rock journalism. Female artists are often aligned with pop or the more mainstream side of rock music. Many of the successful artists of the last few years (most notably Adele), no matter how credible their music, have not been featured on the cover of Mojo while they have made the front of Q and Word. Would the staff at Mojo be afraid of disgruntled readers complaining that these young ladies should not be on the front of Mojo?
There are few female instrumentalists, particularly guitarists in rock (or at least mainstream rock). Only a few of the groups that have been on the front of Mojo have female members (White Stripes, New Order, Smashing Pumpkins).
There is an undoubted difference in how women approach rock music. It is no accident that women dominate the production of music ‘zines (independently produced and distributed), which allow them to discuss artists that don’t appear in the mainstream music press (many of which are female) and that these zines often have a strong political content and are highly engaged with their readership. The informality and autonomy of zines suit women and their ways of communicating with other women (I know there are far more scholarly discussions of women’s music zines).
This is only a very brief discourse on the issues of sexism in rock journalism as I perceive them. So on with those Mojo covers!
Sunday, 24 June 2012
56; Women in ‘The Wire’ pt.2- Women in the police, legal system and political system
NB – SPOILERS! Only read if you have watched ‘The Wire’ in its entirety
In this part of my essay I will be examining how women are portrayed in the three branches of government (executive, judiciary and legislature) in The Wire
Women in the Baltimore police department
The Baltimore Police Department, like the drugs organisations is a highly masculinised environment. As I notes in part 1, it is a highly competitive, hierarchical organisation. To assert their authority, police will use sexually aggressive language. The culture within the homicide department is so macho that Jay Landsmann, the department supervisor routinely shown looking a porn magazine in the course of his work
Women are seen in lowly administrative/clerical roles such as putting up the name of the homicide victims on the board in the homicide department.
It is telling that while women manage to rise to high positions with the legislature (Nerese Campbell becomes Mayor of Baltimore), and judiciary (Rhoda Pearlman eventually becomes a judge) there is no sign that a woman will be able to achieve any similar position within the Baltimore Police Department. There were no female lieutenants or heads of districts.
Kima Greggs
The main female character in The Wire is Kima Gregg, played by Sonja Sohn. She appears prominently in all five series.
Kima is reassigned from the narcotics department to the Barksdale unit at the beginning of series one. She proves to be a highly professional and efficient worker. This occasionally draws pejorative comments from her more senior male colleagues. She already had developed a highly useful informant in Bubble and her professionalism is noticed by McNulty. Through Bubbles Greggs is able to get identification of most of the Barksdale crew. Greggs later helps develop Shardene Innes as an informant. Greggs is made to go undercover in the disastrous ‘buy-bust’, where she is shot and seriously injured. Her partner Cheryl urges her to become a lawyer, but she joins the Sobotka detail in series two. It is Kima who helps uncover the secret alliance between Stringer Bell and Prop Joe. In series three she is part of the Major Case Unit, where she joins McNulty in rebelling against the re-direction of the Unit away from investigating the Barksdale crew. Kima is the first police detective to properly investigate Marlo and the first to realise what a treat he poses. She remains part of the major case unit in series four. After Marimow is make head of the unit , Kima gets herself transferred to the homicide unit, where she faces teasing. She is also assigned a politically charged murder case. She returns to the major crimes unit when it is reconstituted but moves back to the homicide unit in series five. Kima is often referred to by her surname ‘Greggs’ by her male colleagues, which is a sign that she is accepted as an equal.
Kima’s domestic life
Early in series one we find out that Kima is gay and living with another woman Cheryl, who works as a TV producer. They seem to have a happy relationship although Cheryl wants Kima to finish her law degree and leave the police. When Kima is shot, Cheryl makes it clear she does not want her going back into frontline duties. Cheryl is deeply unhappy when Kima joins the unit investigating Sobotka. This adds to tensions between the two women over Cheryls’ plans to have a baby via artificial insemination. By series three Cheryl has given birth to a son Elijah. Kima begins to feel alienated from Cheryl, and they separate. Although they are temporarily reconciled, Kima starts having affairs. By series four she has permanently separated from Cheryl. They remain on amicable terms with Kima paying child support for Elijah. In series five Kima starts becoming more involved in his upbringing.
Kima’s relationship with Cheryl is compared to the relationships her male colleagues have with their partners. In series two, she and Daniels support each other through having to inform their partners about their involvement in the Sobotka detail.
We only see one scene over the five series where Kima socialises with other lesbians. The other women work in more middle class professions and start teasing Kima about working for the police. Kima responds by telling the story of her first arrest and the praise she got from her commanding officer. This scene opens up the possibility that Kima is marginalised not just within the police but in the lesbian community. Cheryl’s desire that Kima become a lawyer is not just motivated by concern about the dangers of her work but by her disapproval of the seemly lowly status of police detective.
Cheryl also makes clear her displeasure at Kima going to conduct an interview with a stripper in a strip club in series two (to the point that she accompanies her to the club). After the interview Kima takes Cheryl to see the container that the fourteen dead women were transported in, to impress upon her why it is important that those who responsible for their deaths are brought to justice. This is the one moment over the five series where one woman appeals to another woman about the conditions women find themselves in the illegal economy.
Kima’s eventual revolt against domesticity in series three is compared with McNulty’s domestic issues. In series one she is shocked by the way McNulty talks about his estranged wife Elena ‘Did you just call the mother of your children a cxxt?’ However a couple of years later, after Elijah’s birth she is as exasperated by Cheryl as McNulty was by Elena. During one drinking spree, she tells McNulty “How come they know you’re police when they hook up with you. And they know you’re police when you move in. And they know you’re police when they decide to start a family with you. And all that shit is fine until one day it ain’t no more. One day it’s ‘you should have a regular job’ and you need to be home at five o’ clock’. Kima, like McNulty, Bunk and Freamon is shown to be ‘married to the job’ more than to her domestic partner. Like McNulty and Bunk, Kima’s rebellion against domesticity is shown to be a product of the stress of policing. The emotional demands of dealing with murder and drug trafficking on a daily basis makes it difficult to fully connect with the domestic female sphere. Many police take refuge in alcoholism and womanising. It is also no coincidence that Kima is also rebelling against Daniel’s authority at work at the same time she is rebelling against Cheryl’s authority at home.
Kima’s ‘masculine’ attitude towards domesticity is part of what allows her to bond with her male colleagues. Indeed, the reactionary Herc tells her in series two that she is better than most men in the police (but then goes on to tell her if she was a man her would call her pussywhipped due to the fact she has allowed Cheryl to pressurise into a desk job). They respect the fact that she takes her work so seriously. She is also able to join them in their misogynistic talk about their wives. Her male colleagues also know that as a lesbian she is off bounds sexually so they don’t try and make sexual overtures to her. It also means that there is no sexual tension that would make working together in close proximity awkward.
Kima at first resents Elijah, Cheryl’s son, seeing him as intruding on their relationship. However after she has separated from Cheryl she takes her responsibilities to him seriously and ensures she pays child support. Ironically it is through her work that she finally realises how important her role as his co-parent is. Kima is assigned the case of the home invasion murder of June bug. Kima discovers June Bug’s young son hiding in a closet at the murder scene and immediately starts behaving in a protective maternal manner towards him. Her reaction to discovering the young boy is not that of a police officer but an outraged woman. It is during a visit to the young boy that Kima makes a phone call to Cheryl to arrange to have Elijah to stay overnight with her. Kima’s relationship with Elijah is compared to her male colleagues’ (particularly McNulty’s) relationships with their male children. Kima discusses parenthood with McNulty and asks his advice about where to get furniture foe Elijah’s stay. We see Kima cursing as she tries to assemble Ikea furtinure, which echoes a scene in series one where McNulty assembles furniture in preparation for his two sons visit. Further parallels between Kima’s developing parenting skills and McNulty’s are underlined in one of the most well loved scenes of the series when Kima comforts Elijah by getting him to say goodnight to all the junkies, dealers, police and Baltimore street life.
Kima and Cheryl’s relationship can be compared to the relationship that Kima’s male colleagues have with their wives and faces exactly the challenges, which in and odd way is a form of equality. There are also no attempts to turn Kima straight and Kima feels no need to apologise for her sexuality.
Kima as a ‘Man with tits’
One of Sophie Jones main complaints in her piece is that Davis Simon admitted in an interview with mysteryone.com that “I tend to suspect that my female characters are, to quote a famous criticism of Hemingway, men with tits.”
Kima is shown on several occasions as being able to dole out aggressive behaviour. She ring leads the beating of Bodie in retaliation for his assault on Mahone in series one. She also assists with the beating of Bird later in the series. In series two when Cheryl and herself are held up in traffic by the behaviour of some frat boys, she wrestles one out of a car and arrests him responding to his ‘back off lady!’ with ‘I ain’t no lady! In series three when the Major Crimes Unit discover that Avon has been released from prison after only two years it is Kima who gives physical expression to their anger by pushing papers off a table.
Only once does Kima dress in a ‘feminine manner’ and assume a feminine role- when she is made to go undercover in series one as Orlando’s girlfriend. When she does this, it ended disastrously and she is almost killed. It is not just that by removing all the symbols of police authority she becomes more vulnerable. The top and tight jeans she has to do not allow her to conceal a weapon and do not allow for protective clothing. When Wee-Bey (who I argue in part one has particularly little respect for women’s lives) and Little Man start shooting at the car they see only a ‘ho’ whose life is not worth much.
Kima dresses in a track suit and a trademark baseball cap during most of season one but later starts wearing fitted suits when she moves to the homicide department. The final suit she is shown wearing even has a softening frill round the jacket collar. Interestingly Snoop also wears a baseball cap.
Kima and Sexism/Homophobia
Kima has to deal with a number of sexist/homophobic comments over the five series. Only once is she addressed in an outright homophobic sexist manner by Bird. In series one Herc makes comments both about her sexuality and perceived arrogance (in spite of being in a less senior position to Herc and Carver, whom she had been working alongside, she proves to be more efficient than both of them).
Kima’s shooting, is in no small part a result of sexism. Kima is made to go undercover to protect the money the DEA had given to make Burrell’s ill advised ‘Buy-Bust’ sting possible. She was chosen because as a woman she would be less suspicious as an undercover police. Unfortunately she proved too be too convincing.
After Kima is shot, her male colleagues have difficulties dealing with Cheryl. We see Carver’s discomfort when he goes to inform Cheryl about Kima’s shooting. When Rawls is asked if Kima’s family has been informed he says her ‘room-mate’ is with her, ignoring/negating their true relationship.
When Kima moves to the highly masculine Homicide department in series four she is made the butt of several practical jokes. Even Freamon joins in on these. She is also assigned to the politically charged case of the shooting of Braddock, a state witness. Landsman had been ordered to slow the case down to avoid any potential embarrassment to Mayor Royce before the election. Kima as a ‘rookie’ was perceived as not having the necessary skills to be able to solve the case quickly. When Carcetti then uses this against Royce, Kima is demoted to work under the original investigating officer, Norris. After further interference, Kima is finally allowed to work properly on the case. She reinvestigates the scene Braddock’s shooting and discovers that he was accidentally shot.
At the end of series five McNulty reveals the truth about the ‘serial killer’ to Kima, so she is able to concentrate on investigating June bug’s murder. Horrified, Kima decides after a carefully worded conversation with Carver to inform Daniels. Kima is aware that ‘snitching’ is one of the worst offences that she can commit in the eyes of her colleagues and that she should not inform on colleague to the authorities lightly.
We finally see Kima investigating a killing at the same location that William Gant was killed in series one. She is settling in to be a valued member of the homicide unit and partners with Bunk. Their banter has elements of an old married couple (Kima jokes about Bunk accidentally ruining her crime scene). Bunk cannot be to use the mock sexually aggressive/homoerotic talk he has used with McNulty and Freamon as a form of affection, so the pair find a more appropriate and desexualised context to show affection for each other.
Beadie Russell
In series two we meet Beadie Russell, played by Amy Ryan, who patrols the port. Her car both makes her a familiar part of port life but also distances her from the men who work there. She has a friendly relationship with Frank Sobotka.
In episode four Bunk and Freamon question her about her police work . She reveals she does little more than paper work issuing traffic tickets, patrolling and report writing. She explains she worked previously in a toll booth, earning $22,500 a year was not enough to support her two children after her partner had deserted her and their children. When she saw an advert for the job of at $33,000 and benefits for a port authority officer she took the opportunity. However the conversation ends with Bunk asking her ‘Did you want to be police?’ expressing concern about her motivations.
After Bunk’s gentle chiding about her lack of information, Beadie meets her ex-boyfriend Maui, who works at the port and flirts with him trying to which get him to become an informant. She manages to get the information that all the containers that have gone through the port would be recorded in the computer. This helps open up the case considerably.
Later in the series Beadie discusses policing with Kima asking what it is like to be part of a bust. Kima, prompted by Cheryl’s pregnancy, expresses concern about giving up the exciting cut and thrust of police work in order to be a parent. This is the one occasion in all five series where we have two female characters discussing the tensions between the responsibilities of parenthood and career.
Beadie tells McNulty that her husband left her because he did not approve of her working and ‘he did not get married to cook his own dinner’.
Both Herc and McNulty flirt with Beadie in series two but she does not act on either men’s attentions, although a mutual respect develops between herself and McNulty.
Beadie returns at the end of series three when McNulty decides to start a relationship with her. Her warmth and down to earth nature are in contrast to the coldness and arrogance of Theresa D’Agostino, whom McNulty had a brief relationship with during the series. Beadie acts as the ‘good girl’ to Theresa’s ‘bad girl’. In series four Beadie and McNulty are living together happily and Beadie seems to have pulled off the impressive task of domesticating McNulty. She is rewarded by Freamon and Bunk regularly teasing McNulty and trying to tempt him back to his alcoholic misbehavior.
At the end of series four, McNulty is pulled back into his old circle to help investigate the Stansfield organization. He soon reverts to his alcoholic womanizing ways. Beadie confronts him about his behavior and eventually throws him out. However in the final episode of series five, there is an ambiguous scene where McNulty and Beadie sit on the porch of Beadie’s house sharing a tender moment. They have either been reconciled and will attempt to move forward or are separating.
Caroline Massey
There is one last member of the Baltimore Police Department I want to discuss. Officer Caroline Massey is a member of the Major Crimes Unit in series three and four. She is a diligent and effective team member, working the wire taps and deciphering the drug organisation drug slang. She is shown coupon clipping. This both testifies to a highly practical nature but also illustrates that she may so focused on domestic affairs she will never be completely committed to the police force.
Massey joins in Freamon’s undercover operation to get Bernard and Squeak to buy pre-taped mobile phones. She greatly enjoys playing her role as an indignant shop assistant who complains that running up false receipts for the burners will mean she will be late for bingo!
Policeman’s wives
Any discussion of women and the Baltimore Police Department also needs to look at the wives of the various police in the series.
Elena McNulty
Elena McNulty is McNulty’s estranged wife and mother of his two sons Sean and Michael. Elena has left McNulty after she uncovers his affair with Rhoda Pearlman. She uses her lawyer vindictively against McNulty. She also worries about the effect McNulty is having on their two sons and the influences he is exposing them to. One cannot help but sympathise with her. McNulty turns up to his son’s Michael’s soccer game with Bubbles (clearly a drug addict) in tow. He also takes Sean and Michael with him when he takes Omar to identify his murdered lover Brandon’s body. He also turns a trip to a market into a surveillance operation on Stringer Bell- in the course of which he loses his sons! This leads Elena to seek further restrictions on McNulty’s access to his sons.
In series two it is revealed that Elena is a successful real estate agent who is helping to price the likes of Nicky Sobokta out of their own communities. She is also shown playing with McNulty’s emotions. She initiates a one night stand with McNulty then coldly throws him out the following morning. This sends McNulty on the famous self-destructive binge at the beginning of episode 8.
In series three, Elena has begun a relationship with a man called Dennis who is clearly finically successful (Bunk speculates when McNulty and himself see him at the baseball game that he is a uptown lawyer). The implication is that Elena is behaving like a gold digger.
However Elena’s character is somewhat softened in the last two series. In series four she is happy that McNulty seems to have finally settled down and made a happy domestic life with Beadie and in series Five she warns McNulty to not throw away his relationship with Beadie away.
Marla Daniels
Marla is Cedric Daniel’s wife on series 1-3. In the first two series their marriage is shown as being strong with Cedric respecting Marla’s opinions. However there are shown to be some tensions. Marla is highly ambitious for Cedric and is shown perhaps pushing him in a direction he would not want. When Cedric complains he has been given a poisoned chalice in being made head of the unit investigating the Barksdale Organisation, Marla urges him not to play his superiors game and tries to talk him into leaving the police department to become a lawyer (Daniels has a law degree). In series two she is displeased when Daniels informs her he has taken on command of the Sobotka detail. The marriage is also childless, although neither Marla or Daniels ever mention any regrets about this.
These tensions have finally lead to the couple separating between series 2 and 3. Daniels agrees to hide their separation in order to assist Marla’s political ambitions as she now standing for a seat in the Baltimore Council. She is shown as the right hand woman of Odell Watkins, a powerful figure in Baltimore politics. However her ambition to take over the seat of one of Mayor Clarence Royce’s allies Eunetta Perkins means that Daniels promotion to Major gets blocked. It is only through Watkin’s intervention that Daniels gets his promotion. Daniels pointedly tells Rhonda Pearlman when they go for a meal to celebrate his promotion that Marla had always wanted him to become a major but she was no longer with him when he achieved this rank. Marla is eventually elected as a councilwoman for Baltimore’s 11th district.
In series five Marla and Daniels are shown to still be on amicable terms with one another. Marla helps to advise Daniels when Burrell threatens to make public a damaging internal investigation into Daniels behaviour while he was based in the Eastern district (Daniels was found to have $200,000 in his account he was unable account for) to prevent Daniels from taking his place as Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department. During this conversation that Marla mentions Daniels’ past has already cost them their marriage, which was price enough (she holds his hand at this point of the conversation showing that she places no blame on him). The viewer is left to fill in Daniels’ back story and make up their own mind as to whether Marla may have pressurised him into this behaviour in any way.
In the final episode of the series Daniels is promoted to Commissioner. However Nerese Campbell tries to blackmail him into ‘juking the stats’ in order to aid her ambition to make Carcetti Governor of Baltimore and herself Mayor of Baltimore. Marla visits him to advise him to resign. At the end of their conversation Daniels makes reference to the fact that ‘Someone I care about’ (i.e. his partner Rhoda Pearlman) could get hurt. This causes a frisson of tension between the ex-spouses.
There are aspects around Marla’s character that make me uncomfortable. She is shown as being highly ambitious to the point where she may have pushed Daniels in a direction he may have been happy with. She may or not have pushed him into the misdemeanour that casts a shadow over his police career and eventually ends.
Nadine Morland
Nadine is the never seen (but often referred to) wife of Bunk. Rather like Maris in the show ‘Frasier’, the audience never gets to see Nadine. Like Maris, this helps turn her into even more of a comic monster. The most telling anecdote about Nadine and Bunk’s marriage and Bunk’s attitude towards her is the story he tells McNulty about dealing with a mouse in series 1. Bunk was at a critical point in investigating a murder when Nadine called him to deal with a mouse in their bedroom. She refused to respect the fact that he was busy working. He was obliged to go home where he dealt with the mouse by shooting it (‘I lit up his ass’ as Bunk puts it). He admits he accidentally ‘killed’ one of Nadine’s shoes in the process. He then returned to his investigation. This story illustrates for Bunk and McNulty why women cannot be respected- they are too weak natured and no not understand the serious business of policing Baltimore.
We are never informed what Nadine thinks about her husbands’ alcoholism or if she knows about his womanising. The couple however remain married throughout the series. Perhaps clue to why can be deduced from Bunk’s similarly firmly established role in the homicide department. Bunk, unlike McNulty and Freamon, is able to be a team player and comply with his superiors wishes, without compromising his commitment to justice.
Women in the legal system
Rhonda Pearlman
The other female character who plays a significant role in all five series is Rhonda Pearlman, played by Deidre Lovejoy, who is a public prosecutor. Rhonda plays a critical role in all five series as it is she who is responsible for getting legal authorisation for the wiretaps. She also plays an important role in trying to get plea bargains after major arrests are made (She tries to help D’Angelo and Frank Sobotka). Rhonda also plays an important role in trying to get prosecutions for public figures who have received drug money, such a Clay Davis. Rhonda is promoted by Rupert Bond in series four, in spite of her fears her work on these prosecutions will lead to her demotion.
In the final episode of the series, Rhonda has to deal with the fall out when Freamon and McNulty’s fake serial killer and illegal wire tap are uncovered. She ensures that Chris Partlow pleads guilty to the murder of the twenty two bodies found in the vacants at the end of series four, and that Marlo Stansfield steps away from the drug trade.
Rhonda is shown to be efficient and principled. Her behaviour is contrasted with Maurice Levy, an unprincipled lawyer who works for the drugs gangs. Rhonda also has a number of female colleagues such as llene Nathan whom she can network with.
Rhoda’s style of dress- trouser suits in pastel colours with satin shirts emphasises both her efficiency and femininity.
Rhonda’s personal life
In series one and two Pearlman and McNulty have an on-off relationship. McNulty’s affair with Rhonda had been one of the main factors in his wife Elena’s decision to leave him. McNulty is never able to commit properly to Rhonda as he still mopes after Elena. Pearlman complainst that their relationship was more functional when he was married to Elana.This leads to arguments between Rhonda and McNulty. Rhonda realises McNulty will never commit to her so the on –off relationship finally goes off. There are also the additional tensions of class- McNulty is unapologetically working class whereas Rhonda is most certainly middle class and educated to a higher level than McNulty. As a public prosecutor Rhonda is also a figure of authority (who McNulty always feels the need to rebel against). McNulty is also unsupportive, if not out rightly critical of her ambition to become a judge with all the necessary compromises she will need to make to advance to this position.
In series three, Rhonda realises that Daniels has separated from his wife (David Simon says this is a sign that Rhonda is someone who cares about people). She initiates a relationship with him which becomes the most stable and happy of the entire show. Rhonda and Daniels are both educated to a similar level (he is has a law degree and eventually becomes a defence lawyer) and are both middle class. Both are ambitious about achieving high office. Both also have to deal with the hostility of those who they have to manage (there is an amusing scene where they discuss Freamon’s passive aggressive behaviour in series five).
Rhonda is confident and assertive in her sexuality, initiating a tryst with McNulty in a police car park in series one and it is her who initiates the relationship with Daniels. She is never portrayed in a negative light because of this. Her sexuality is linked to a pragmatic but caring nature. Rhonda manages to deal with the low level sexual harassment she is subjected to in a humorous manner. She finds Judge Phelan’s flirting more amusing than annoying, in spite of his patronising nature.
Rhoda also shows no interest in motherhood throughout the entire series, preferring to pursue her job. This is never equated with her being ‘unwomanly’ and she is shown as being as hard working and professional as any man.
One of the few happy moments in the final montage is when we see Rhonda has been appointed as a judge and trying her first case. However there is a slight sting as she has to recuse herself as Daniels is the defence lawyer for the accused! But she is shown as contented and having reached the top of her profession.
Ilene Nathan
Ilene Nathan is head of the violent crime unit during the first four series of The Wire. As such she is responsible for bringing prosecutions for murder. She is shown to be hard working and dedicated to her work and genuinely concerned to ensure justice gets done. She also proves to be a valuable ally to Rhonda Pearlman. Rhonda and Ilene’s professional friendship is the one incident of female networking and women supporting each other professionally in the series.
Nathan manages to get Wee-Bey to accept a plea bargain at the end of series one in return for him receiving life imprisonment rather than the death penalty. She also successfully prosecutes Bird for the murder of William Gant, whose murder occurs in episode series one, episode one.
Ilene is so impressed by Omar she gives him a ‘get of jail free’ card. Omar calls this in during series four, when he is held on remand for a murder he was framed for. Nathan gets Omar transferred to safer prison but considers her favour repaid in full.
Women in the Political System
If there is any group that the makers of ‘The Wire’ hold with complete contempt it is politicians. At best they are power hungry comprised idealists who delude themselves that they are following their quest for power in order to help others (Carcetti), but most likely cynical career driven opportunists such as Mayor Clarence Royce. At the very worst they are venial corrupt pocket liners such as the infamous Clay Davis.
Theresa D’Agostino
Theresa D’Agostino is introduced in series three. When we first see Theresa she is sitting alone in a bar where Carcetti and his fellow politicos are discussing strategy. Carcetti spots Theresa and goes up to her. We at first think Carcetti is trying to hit on Theresa, but he is actually interested in offering her a job as his campaign manager when he runs for mayor. At first Theresa rebuffs him saying that there is little chance of a white person winning the mayorship of Baltimore with its large and highly politically active African American population. But in the end the challenge proves too irresistible
McNulty meets Theresa at a fundraiser for his son’s school and they quickly fall into a sexual relationship. After their first tryst Theresa throws McNulty out in a manner which impresses McNulty with its matter of factness. It is worth comparing Theresa’s sexual confidence and autonomy with Rhonda Pearlmans. While Rhonda’s sexual confidence is shown as being linked to a warm and caringnature, Theresa’s is a sign of emotional detachment and coldness.
There is the scene at the beginning of series 3, episode where Theresa calls up McNulty for sex on the night of the presidential election 2004. We see a naked post-coital Thesesa arguing against the analysis of the television pundits. McNulty, who has no interest in politics returns home after the tryst and rather than watch the election coverage watches a documentary about world war two.
McNulty explains his disaffection with politics during a dinner with Theresa explaining that Washington politicians completely ignore the problems of West Baltimore that he has to police every day.
While McNulty is at first impressed with Theresa’s tough demeanour he eventually explains to Kima how demeaned he feels by Theresa’s arrogant attitude towards him.
Theresa finally sets up a ‘romantic’ dinner with McNulty in order to get information from him about Bunny Colvin’s ‘Hamsterdam’ project in order to aid Carcetti. A disgusted McNulty ends the relationship and his experience with Theresa helps him prepare him for his relationship with Beattie who is the antithesis of Theresa with her warmth and down to earth nature.
During series four we see Theresa working on Carcetti’s campaign. When Carcetti is elected Mayor of Baltimore, Theresa claims her ‘Win bonus’ and tries to seduce Carcetti. However when he nervously rebuffs her, rather than being offended she ironically complements him on being aware of already being more mayoral (ie being aware of the effect that any
The programme makers show their disapproval of Theresa by showing that she is far more at home in Washington D.C. where she scarpers back to after she has successfully got Carcetti elected. She has no long term interest in Baltimore and les still in its problems.
Nerese Campbell
Nerese Campbell is introduced in series four. In series five she is keen to ensure Carcetti’s success as mayor to set him up as credible candidate for the governorship of Maryland. This in turn will set her up as a credible candidate for Mayor of Baltimore (which is her long term goal). When Daniels is appointed as Commissioner of the Baltimore Police department Nerese orders him to ‘Juke the stats’ in order to aid Carcetti (and herself). When Daniels refuses she threatens him with making public the investigation into his behaviour when he was based in the eastern district. Faced with this, Daniels decides to step down as Commissioner, robbing Baltimore of the one person who perform the task with integrity and sense.
Nerese is shown to have close links to the African American churches and their pastors who have an important role in Baltimore politics. Their approval is shown to be necessary to any person trying to gain the mayorship and maintain political approval. One thing to be admired about Nerese is the way she can handle a group of middle aged powerful men.
In the closing sequence of the series, we see that Carcetti does indeed become Governor of Maryland and Nerese becomes Mayor of Baltimore.
If there is one thing to be grateful for in the portrayal of Nerese Campbell it is that in spite of her physical attractiveness she is never shown using her sexuality to manipulate others or get what she wants.
Nerese Campbell is clearly based on Shelia Dixon who became major of Baltimore in 2007. Many US viewers would have been aware of this while watching series five in 2008. While the makers of the show admit that many of the characters in the show are based on real people, such an explicit referencing of a real person, particularly a woman makes me uneasy.
Dixon’s career ended in a manner even makers of ‘The Wire’ might have found rather extreme. She was eventually forced to resign after three years in office when she was found guilty of embezzlement
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/06/AR2010010605022.html.
Eunetta Perkins
Eunetta Perkins is the Baltimore council woman who Marla Daniels is trying to unseat. She has become notorious in Baltimore politics for not bothering to turn up to Council meetings. However Mayor Royce defends her and keeps her on his team as she is an ally.
We only see Eunetta once during series four when she finally bothers to attend a council meeting. She becomes a by-word for cynicism in Baltimore politics.
Jen Carcetti
Jen Carcetti is Carcetti’s long suffering wife. We know that Carcetti is regularly being unfaithful to her and it is never explained in the programme if Jen is aware of this and if she is what her attitude is.
We see that Carcetti is genuinely fond of Jen and respects her judgement. He discusses political matters.
In many ways Carcetti’s behaviour toward Jen is emblematic of his attitude towards his role as a politician. He does want to right thing but cannot help but give into his selfish desires.
A final point I would want to make in defence of the programme makers the female politicians in The Wire are shown as no more corrupt than the male politicians. That in a way is a form of equality.
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