150 Shades of Hey! Women, Music & the Infamous List!

150 Shades of Hey! Women, Music & the Infamous List!

Week 15 | July 27, 2017
By the Forgotten Woman, JoOnna Silberman

This week, NPR Music released a list. The list was about Women in Music and their albums.  “Turning the Tables: The 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women”  This is how they described the list and explained it as well.

“This list, of the greatest albums made by women between 1964 and the present, is an intervention, a remedy, a correction of the historical record and hopefully the start of a new conversation. Compiled by nearly 50 women from across NPR and the public radio system and produced in partnership with Lincoln Center, it rethinks popular music to put women at the center.”

Interesting I thought. I actually read through the entire list and thought about each choice carefully. And while impressed with their efforts I couldn’t help but notice; 1) that there were albums in there which were recorded by bands, not only by women and 2) that there was not one Indie artist in this list. What a missed opportunity, if you really wanted to make people stop and think and start a conversation where the hell are the Indie artists?  Are you saying that everyone must be a megastar artist to have a great album? There are tons of lists out there to find.

Also, you were missing quite a few and paid tribute to women who excuse me were in my opinion not the greatest albums made? The title doesn’t say “Most Influential” or “Socially Impactful” it says “Greatest”.  So, are we talking production quality? Are we talking influence? Are we talking culturally insightful? What are we talking here, because the list seems to be a mishmash of women at NPR’s whims and personal taste.

In a world where male dominance is still present and yes that includes the music industry, NPR has created a list, which doesn’t list any criteria except that their colleagues from around NPR have generated a list. A numbered list I might add. May I ask NPR? Why that order! Are you telling me that Carole King one of the most prolific songwriters  of our time, who broke ground and cracked the glass ceiling for many to follow, should come after Amy Winehouse? Please do not get your knickers in a twist. I love Amy, but when you are numbering a list, not telling us the meaning of the numbers and Carole King is 10 and Amy Winehouse is 9, I have to ask, “to what do we owe this order?” While I agree with many choices on this list (not the order), I also am a little befuddled as to the approach that was taken. And really, while I will agree that the Spice Girls and Britney Spears had a huge impact on the culture at the time, as well as social issues which would make those albums Influential and of social significance, but certainly not great albums. Alicia Keys is at 149 and Bobby Gentry is at 83? Do you see anything wrong with this?

 

Women have been fighting and clawing to get ahead in all industries for years, not only the music industry and when you state that you want us to rethink popular music and put women at the center, may I suggest that you at the very least come up with some criteria to form such a list. It is difficult enough for us, women to get ahead and to have an organization such as NPR publish something that apparently supposed to make a statement, I would like a little for forethought than just personal fancy and throwing caution to the wind.

This list states that these are the greatest albums and I take issue with that entirely. Especially when you are missing women like Pat Benatar, Joan Armatrading, Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, Janis Ian, Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Dion Warwick, Gaga, Josephine Baker and Judy Collins to name a few. And if you were going to include bands/group albums for that matter, where is Grace Slick, the Mama’s and the Papas, or Peter Paul and Mary, as well as bands like Renaissance with women fronting them like Annie Haslam. Instead we have the Carpenters? Is that truly one of the greatest albums by a woman? Sorry, I don’t think so.

While I realize that Rolling Stone released a similar list of the top 50 in 2012 (interesting that It is very similar in some ways, except their numbers are a little better and they included some you omitted) at least they showed deference to the albums. And I assure you that Alicia Keys was not 149 or even 49. However, I will take issue with both of you about the inclusion of Hole on either list.

NPR, it’s not that you did a list and I certainly applaud the attention and attempt toward provoking a conversation, but their needed to be a method to your madness, especially in these times. You cannot just pick women out of a hat and say that is these are the greatest women’s albums of all times without telling us how you arrived at those conclusions. There are so many women missing from this list while others are named twice and I certainly don’t want my daughter and/or my granddaughters thinking that the Spice Girls were the best that women had to offer, especially when there are so many others of merit on that lists and women missing from it and you have not shed light on the issues facing women, and the industry at large and why these albums matter or what they did for women? It might have been nice to do a little introduction other than telling us how benevolent you were being to women. It seemed a bit self-serving to me.

If you want to do everyone a favor start focusing on the decline of music as we knew it. Start paying attention to Indie artists and their efforts and stop sucking up to the labels. Create a protocol for lists other than telling us that the women of NPR chose these albums

I am not a huge proponent of lists, but if you are going to do them, then do them right or at least with some semblance of order. This article in My Spilt Milk  hits the nail on the head when it comes to lists and discussed this list especially.  Some valid points are made directly attacking certain inclusions. Which I agree with. Except for her commentary on Blue. Absolutely will argue that to the death.  However, while I believe Missy, Lauren and Amy belong on this list, I do not believe they belong in the top 10. But most certainly in the top 20-30 along with Ms. Keyes.

“Everybody will have personal reactions to parts of the list. Since I associate Portishead more with its sonic architect Geoff Barrow than its voice, Beth Gibbons, Dummy (No. 79) it seems out of place on the list to me, and I think Siouxsie and The Banshees’ find a more distinctive voice with JuJu than The Scream. Alison Fensterstock makes convincing arguments for the inclusions of The Shangri-Las’ Leader of the Pack (No. 107) and Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica (No. 20), but I still wonder if those albums and Where Did Our Love Go? (No. 15) by Diana Ross and the Supremes aren’t on the list to recognize important singles artists more than great albums. Since Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica and Where Did Our Love Go? are on Spotify, I’ll start my homework there.”

The only conversation I think we are having right now is about the list and not the women on it or what they did to advance the industry and why they should be at the center.  Your hearts were in the right place; however, I think you fell short on this one.

The women and albums on this list should have at least had these requirements.

• The integrity of the recording and production of the album itself
• The impact the artist had on the industry as well as the audience
• What contribution did the Album and they make to breaking the glass ceiling?
• The musicality, composition and creativity
• Songwriting ability- Did thy write their own songs?
• Lyrics and message of the album in its entirety.
• The merit of the album as a whole, and not a single.

As far as the numbering of the list. Once you compiled the titles and artists than the order should have been voted on once the albums were decided. Also, one album per artist. I also feel that longevity should have been a factor when numbering. How long has that album been relevant? In other words, Tapestry has been relevant throughout it’s existence for much longer across many generations, then say Lemonade. However, I certainly realize Lemonade’s ability to meet and excel on all the 7 criteria I list above.

My top 10 would have not included Missy or Amy, and would have been something like this- Lauren, Missy and Amy would have probably been 11, 12 and 13, with Alicia also in first 30 women along with Dione Warwick, Mama’s and the Papas, Carly Simon. I would have gotten rid of Spears, Spice Girls, Hole, and a host of others, and made room for the aforementioned that I feel were overlooked. But that’s just me.

10. Stevie Nicks, Buckingham Nicks – (Polydor Records, 1973)- Nicks in on the list, but not this album
9. Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane – Volunteers (RCA Victor, 1969) – Not included in list
8. Heart – Dreamboat Annie ((Mushroom, 1976) – # 44 on the NPR List
7. Beyoncé- Lemonade (Parkwood/Columbia, 2016) – # 6 on the NPR List
6. Patti Smith-Horses (Arista, 1975)- # 7 on the NPR List
5. Nina Simone – I Put A Spell on You (Philips, 1965)- #2 on the NPR List
4. Carole King -Tapestry (Ode, 1971)- # 10 on the NPR List
3. Janis Joplin – Pearl (Columbia, 1971) – # 8 on the NPR List
2. Aretha Franklin – I Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You (Atlantic, 1967)- #3 on the NPR List
1. Joni Mitchell -Blue (Reprise, 1971)

Women in music is a topic near and dear to my heart. I don’t have the power that NPR does, nor the voice, so when I see wasted space and missed opportunity it truly irritates me. I do applaud them, and am a fan, but have to wonder what they were thinking when they put this together.

I respect all genres of music and while Rock in near and dear to my heart, as is the entire industry to which we serve, the younger generations need to know who the women were that pioneered the way for us and for those who followed. That Lena Horne, Josephine Baker or Dion Warwick are not even mentioned in this list is a travesty. That according to NPR those women like Carole, the Wilsons, Mama Cass, Billie, Grace Slick and more don’t matter or belong all the way in the back of the line, when it is they who made the sacrifices for us. Amy, Missy and Lauren would be nowhere today if not for the 10 women who I have listed before them and even others. Considering my own criteria, I put them in the top 20, but we all must really think on the subject of what albums, by what women really paved the way and should be at the center of the conversation and in the spotlight. Me thinks some rearranging and changes needs to be done!

Cheers and thank you for reading,

JoOnna Silberman, The Forgotten Woman at Forgotten Man
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