When I was a teenager, I was angry. Of course I was angry! What teenager isn’t? When guys were jerks to me and bratty girls made me homicidal, I had music as my medicine, and fabulous women to look up to.

They were gorgeous and bright, well versed in their rights, talented, and respected. They had lyrics crafted especially for the freeing of the spirit. You know who I’m talking about. Ani Difranco. Tori Amos. Fiona Apple… the list goes on. These ladies helped mold me into who I am today with presence and personality that could give any girl hope and strength.

My questions is this: Where have all of these fantastic ladies gone? As a musician, I can only aspire to be like them, but when I look around, I feel as though I hardly see anyone else aiming for that goal. I see one hit wonders without longevity. I see women using curse words matched with a catchy chorus to be “cute”. Giant boobs and bare midriffs and lyrics written by some fifty year old guy.

Where are the heroes of this generation? Read More »

2008 marks the 15 year anniversary of the release of Liz Phair’s middle finger of an album Exile in Guyville. Its re-release has been getting a lot of publicity on blogs and public radio stations because for many, it was a landmark album, a defining album of their teens-to-early twenties. I didn’t get into Liz Phair until after I graduated high school, but the recent hullabaloo over Exile in Guyville got me thinking about the albums that really defined my formative years. Here is a list of my top five:

5. Relationship of Command: At the Drive-In
I mostly listened to grrl rock like Tori and Fiona, but something about the rawness of lead singer Cedric Bixler’s (now of the far inferior Mars Volta) voice and the frantic intensity of the music really appealed to me. Maybe it was an outlet for my teenage anger and angst, or maybe it just made me feel cool. Either way, the album still kicks ass.

4. Rated R: Queens of the Stone Age
I listened to this album over and over after I broke up with my first boyfriend. It’s not an especially sad album, so I don’t know why it brought me so much comfort, but it really became a security blanket. I can’t listen to it now without feeling a little sad and really, really nostalgic. Which is a shame, because it also kicks ass. Read More »

There are so many reasons to root for Regina Spektor. Not only does her music have a unique, refreshing and whimsical sound that will lighten your heart, but the girl has worked tirelessly to get to where she is today.

With the release of her fifth album, Begin To Hope, things are finally starting to take off in the mainstream. Her song On the Radio was featured on Grey’s Anatomy this past season, and despite the decline in quality of the show itself, its soundtrack still manages to make stars out of relative unknowns. And the mainstream is right about where Regina deserves to be—except that we’ll miss her intimate shows at small venues.

Moving to the Bronx from Russia at the age of 9, Spektor had to improvise when she got to the States. The family left their piano behind in Moscow, and Regina was forced to practice on anything she could find upon her arrival here—window sills, and benches included. She ended up honing her craft, and developing her songwriting skills on a piano in the basement of her synagogue. Read More »