Stuck Rolling Phone
I wanna see mick jagger in a tight red sequined dress
shaking his narrow ass on stage
singing about how happy and fulfilled he feels
under his girlfriend’s thumb
I wanna see Bob Dylan in a blonde wig and full makeup
convincing everyone of his genius
without being allowed to write his own lyrics
as he sings exclusively about romance
with rhymes like
love/above
moon/june
arms/charms
I wanna see Paul McCartney figure out how to get to his Fab Four rehearsals
while he does all the childcare
since of course Linda’s career comes first
saturday morning 10:45
working mom rushing through
grocery store left the baby and
my partner at checkstand gotta
get one more item
where’s the organic shortening? No not Crisco Damn.
out of stock
rush back to checkstand when
I get arrested by bright red
Rolling Stone cover
100 top musicians of all time
every single artist on cover a man
every sullen brooding rock face
every smiling pop face
every neck an adam’s apple
every upper lip mustached/shadow/shaven
every one
collector’s edition
what
the
hell
?
I pull out camera phone
snap photo of cover
snap another of my female face scowling beside
bright red outrage
two rows of masculine musicians
before I rush back to screaming
baby and stressed partner
I slam dried mango and organic onions
into recycled bags
wish I had bought the shortening
any lubricant
cause women are always getting screwed by the music business
we get it rough whether we like it like that
or not
so to Rolling Stone
I say
you can’t find one woman to rep for 100 best?
ready to flash a redheaded Rhianna’s cleavage
or Lady Gaga’s bubble covered ass
but no question of estrogen when questing for excellence
like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
he got the props as a dancer
while she did everything he did
only backwards and in high heels
you can’t measure men’s and women’s musical careers
by the same yardstick
because men and women can’t have the same careers
only when Michael Jackson sings
yes
billie jean was my lover
the kid is my son
and I’ll be quitting music for the next ten years to raise him
only when James Brown sings
it’s a woman’s woman’s woman’s world
only when the glass ceiling for women in music
isn’t just high enough for the woman a tall hairdo and six inch stilettos
only when masses of teen boys giggle in the wal-mart
crushed out on Ani DiFranco
only when the butches get as much play as the femmes
only when the industry makes reparation for chewing up Lauryn Hill
only when managers and producers acknowledge
they should have sent Amy Winehouse to rehab
instead of just making a mint off her singing about not going
only when we invent a time machine to go back
and give genius Nina Simone the career she deserved
will I be fully satisfied
if I had a sword right now
I would bow before queen of soul Aretha Franklin on one knee
ask her to knight me
so I could rage into battle to defend her honor
Her royal face should have graced the cover
Beside King Michael and Elvis
Rolling Stone, how dare you desert the queen?
And I would storm the doors of Rolling Stone
in armor made by the albums of my top 100 women musicians:
Ella Fitzgerald/Annie Lennox/India.Arie/La Lupe/Tracy Chapman/Grace Slick/Anna de Leon/Erykah Badu…
I know I’m missing people because I’m writing this at 4:11 AM, the hour when working mothers find time to write...
I’d rock Janis Joplin/Meshell Ndegeocello/Dionne Warwick/Des’Re/Stevie Nicks/Alicia Keys/Joan Armatrading/Coco Peila/Mavis Staples/P!ink/Sheila E/Zap Mama/Queen Latifah, Norah Jones…
picture the glint off my breastplate of cds
vinyl around my hips
cassettes and 8-tracks clanking below the knee
big ass speakers on my back
an iPod in each hand blasting my way in with Chaka Kahn
I am every woman
it is all in me
armored with Brenda Russel/Susana Baca/Mary J. Bilge/Big Mama Thornton/Jill Scott/Cesaria Evora/Sade/Deva Mahal/La India/MC Lyte…
F*** rolling stone. They’ve proven themselves unequal to the task of picking the best.
Who’s on your list?
Angélique Kidjo, Ani DiFranco, Tracy Chapman, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Björk, Zap Mama, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Bonnie Raitt, Carla Bruni, Édith Piaf, Joan Armatrading, Kate Bush, Eva Cassidy, Kate Wolf, Laurie Anderson, Linda Tillery, Miriam Makeba, Sara Thompson
ReplyDeleteGrace Slick, Chrissie Hynde, Sandy Denny, Martha Reeves, Gladys Knight, Joan Baez, Mimi Farina, Maria Muldaur
ReplyDeletei spent easter sunrise with patti smith today -
ReplyDeleteat least on youtube.i posted joni mitchell's 'judgment of the moon & the stars' on facebook for whatever part of the world has 'friended' me & asked why she isn't mentioned in the same breath as
leonard cohen, lou reed or bob dylan when rock n roll hands out it's poet laureate statues.
could be james brown was right, that it's man's world then going on to say it means nothing without a woman...because, as he acknowledged over and over, who would ex beatle john have been without yoko ono?
when singer songwriters are discussed, as neil young sang, from a genuine feminine connection, i used to be a woman,' where is the name carole king, who was only made to 'feel' like a natural woman?
why has laura nyro been left out of the eqquation entirly? have you even heard her 13th confession?
david bowie himself said standing next to tina turner was the hottest place on earth, but why wasike her abuser's name put first...or for that matter, sonny & ..cher, what was her share? how did the misogynist muderer phil spector make veronica a ronette before he slayed the actress/waitress from dan tana's?
i'm agreeing with you. janis joplin, grace slick, patti la belle, dusty springfield, joan jett, the list goes on...
who cared when i was the boy, in make up, standing in front of a row of excellent women musicians, trying to make a name for ourselves in the 1980's, singing cathie's exquisite meldoes?
i'm with you, aya...although i don't blame paul or bob or even mick. where are the fans standing behind a prophet like patti smith, whose sins no man, not even jesus, could ever die for? supply and demand. the supply is at hand but the demand is not making it the dying industry's last command.
ted quinn, joshua tree
wow, typoetry again. should said 'melodies,' not 'meldos' etc. etc etc. :)
ReplyDeletePreach power to truth! Rolling Stone should be ashamed of themselves. How could they be so unaware of their actions? Grrrh
ReplyDeletePhyllis Hyman, Patty Austin, Angela Bofill, Ledisi, Rachelle Ferrell, SADE!, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, ARETHA,
I can go on.