Interactive poll # ?!: The Rocking Ladies

Joan Jett – I Hate Myself for Loving You.  Already know this one too well.  Joan was one of my best friend’s favorite artists when I was growing up, so I’m quite familiar with her music.  Fanny – Place in the Country – This is the vibe I love to hear, raunchy, and not over-produced and a lot of attitude.  And a great mix of soul in there with the rock with impressive guitar and piano solos.  Killer ending.  Girlschool – Race with the Devil – Great guitar work with an addictive hook, the vocals a bit to sweet however, and it’s a bit cliché, but still fun.  Blood Ceremony – Goodbye Gemini – Sort of a Grace Slick vibe and the added flute is cool.  Love the solid hooks, but I do lose interest towards the end.   My pick from yours is the Fanny track, and it is a contender.

JD:

Lee Aaron – Watcha Do To My Body – She’s got the swag for it, but I’m not that convinced, and nothing there really reeled me in.  It’s basic heavy pop.  Lita Ford – Kiss Me Deadly – Already quite familiar with this one.  Great hooks and more convincing than the previous one, but its still heavy metal pop and not the style I care for “You know I like dancin’ wit’chu”  .  The Runaways – Cherry Bomb -  Much better.  I like the attitude and it seems more authentic.  Great hooks, better video, more of the punkish attitude which I love, though it’s not punk, I still like it better.  This one would be my favorite.

Bonus track:  Nina Hagen – Universal Radio – Glam rock with the larger-than-life personality to match.  Not a fan of the programmed synth, and the clips from the live show with the guitarists hitting the power chords when there are no guitars playing at the time is humorous.  Still like The Runaways best.

Lewian:

Sylvia Juncosa – One in Three – That’s what I’m talking about.  A lot of attitude mixed with an unpolished sound and a lot of originality.  Plus a great hook, crazy tempo and a blistering guitar solo.  This is perfect.  Ideal – Eiszeit – Not bad, but a bit on the repetitive side, melodically.  Not quite as captivating as the Juncosa track, but still pretty good.  Punkish, but with a high dose of new wavish sound mixed in. 

Suitkees:

Anouk – Nobody’s Wife – Solid beat on the chorus with softer verses, but it has the right attitude.  I like her vocals and the track is also pretty good.  It’s got that ‘90’s alternative rock feel which was a bit cliché in 1997, but it sounds good now.  Anouk – It’s a New Day – Still love her vocals which stand out even more on this song.  And it’s got a more updated feel to it, not just in the message, but in the sound.  There are great rocking ballads, and this one is really good.  Izia – So Much Trouble – Great tension build up that delivers nicely.  I love that it keeps the driving rhythm on the 2^nd verse.  This one is another great track.  I like all three of your tracks, so I’d be good with any one of them, though I probably lean towards the Izia track most as it has more of an unpolished feel to it, though I like Anouk’s vocals more, so it’s a though choice.

mathman0806:

Dead Sara – Weatherman – Yeah, I like this one.  It definitely is convincing and sold me on her gruff vocals and the driving rhythm.  Yeah the chorus is a bit repetitive, but her vocals make that okay.  And that hook is awesome, so is the middle section when it builds that tension.  Did I mention that I love the vocals.  I’m sold!  Love it.  My favorite out of your submissions.  Thunderpussy – Powerhouse – Hard and heavy, but it doesn’t deliver the punch like your first selection did, even with the video, which seems a little mismatched to the song for me.  The Pretty Reckless – And So It Went – This one is a bit better, but it’s still a little unconvincing to me.  I do like the alt-metal feel to it, the RAtM/Audioslave-like guitars (Morello is involved after all and that’s the best part), and the delivery is okay, but it just doesn’t have the punch of the Dead Sara track. 

tigerfeet:

Joanne Shaw Taylor – Bad Love:  Yeah, I love the blues-influenced hard rock on this one, and she definitely rocks.  Killer guitar solos.  This is a great track and her use of the famous lyrics which fit perfectly here.  It’s my kind of rock, blistering and hard driving music.  Great track.

Logan:

Melt-Banana – Shield for Your Eyes, a Beast in the Well on Your Hand – Yessssssssssss!!!!  This noisy guitar driven, bass heavy music is what I absolutely love.  And then the unhinged vocals only make it all better.  I’m going to have to dive into this one even more.  Great stuff!  Midori – ミドリ — かなしい日々。Okay, this one is a little bit over the top, though there are some parts about it that I love.  Not a fan of the vocals, even though I understand where they’re coming from.  I suppose I might get to like it if I could get past the vocals.  Melt-Banana is my choice from these two.  Eskaton – Dagon – Nice slow build and the organ and harmonized vocals mirroring each other is a great touch, very mysterious and sinister.  Then that crazy change of direction at 5 minutes is awesome!  The growling bass sounds like a behemoth.  The beat drives forward, pushing like it can’t wait to get to a certain pay off of sorts.  Love this.  I gotta get me some more of that, for sure!  So, I would be happy with this one or the Melt-Banana track.

jamesbaldwin:

Cristina Donà - Ho Sempre Me – Yes, I really like this one and it’s good to hear that Italy has impressive nineties artists.  Great guitar (though I wish that was a little longer) and excellent vocals, it’s one that grabbed my interest right from the start.  It’s a far cry from that Matia Bazaar song “Fantasia” that I loved back in the early 80’s, and that’s a good thing.  Carmen Consoli – Besame Giuda – And here’s another great one, though it is a little less intense, it’s still a great track.  Nice, unique voice which stands out more than anything on the song.  Ustmamo – Tannomai – Great mix of sung vocals and rap-style vocals.  Some really great guitar work underneath it all, plus I love the way it switches from that punk feel to a funky style in the middle, and then an alternative flair towards the end.  Love the style changes. This one is pretty good, but I think I like the first of your submissions the best.

Snicolette:

Heather Nova – Walk this World – Nice, sultry, and yes a rock edge to it all, kind of that dark alt-rock that I really like.  There are some great guitar effects in the middle that grabs my attention.  Love the cello-like bass in it too.  Romeo Void – Never Say Never – This is a band I remember from the 80’s, but I never paid a lot of attention to it for some reason.  After hearing this now, I don’t know why I ignored them so much as this is the kind of messy, punkish feel that I tend to be attracted to now.  That being said, I do remember this track and am familiar with it, though I guess I never put the band name and the song together.  Love the song, but, I know it already, but I do thank you for reminding me of it.  The Pretenders – Middle of the Road – An all-time favorite of mine from way back when I first heard it.  I love the first three albums by The Pretenders, including and especially this hard rocking, fast moving song.  It gets me going every time!  So, I have to go with the Heather Nova track since I already know the other two, but The Pretenders would otherwise have been a contender if I had never heard it.  How can you resist that driving, unrelenting beat and wild guitar?