Under the Covers

It's video Friday, and this week we've got two ladies covering songs originally done by gents.

First up is Amanda Palmer covering Radiohead's "Creep". The original sounds haunting and empty enough, but the lyric "I wish I was special" as delivered by Amanda Palmer is simply gutting. There is something about a woman screaming that line that adds an entirely new level of desolation.

Next is Madeleine Peyroux with her take on Elliott Smith's "Behind the Bars". Slower, more sultry than the original. Heartbreaking.

Songs to snuggle up with in this cold, bitter weather. Enjoy!

Justice, Sort Of, For Lilly Ledbetter

President Obama signed his very first bill into law this morning, with an event celebrating the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Ledbetter was a worker at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for many years, but did not realize until she was near retirement that she was being paid less than her male co-workers for doing the same job. She sued, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, but she lost. The Supreme Court determined that under current law, pay discrimination claims had to be filed within 180 days of when the discrimination happened. Because most workers don't know what their co-workers make, and because pay discrimination largely occurs in small increments over time, the current law nearly invalidated most cases. Because Lilly Ledbetter stood up and refused to let the matter die, the Democrats vowed to change the law, and named it after her. Now, claims must be filed within 180 days, but the 180 day rule re-sets every time you receive a new paycheck, making the rules much more reasonable.

The Sun Times has an account of the reception following the signing of the bill, and here's what Lilly said:

"I have spent the past two years since the Supreme Court decision in my case, fighting for equal pay for this,'' Ms. Ledbetter said. "But to watch him sign a bill that bears my name, a bill that will help women and others fight pay discrimination in the workplace is truly overwhelming. Goodyear will never have to pay me what it cheated me out of. I will never see a cent from my case. But with the passage and the president's signature today, I have an even richer reward." Crowd claps.

Goodyear will never have to make good on Lilly's claim, but it might be something for you to think about the next time you buy a set of tires, maybe?

Congrats Lilly, on behalf of working women everywhere!

She deserves the applause / I surrender because...

I'm currently obsessed with figuring out who plays the guitar solo in the video for Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible":



(NOTE: For those of you not familiar with the 80s, this video is possibly not work-safe, as it contains a whole lotta spandex-clad T&A. For the rest of you, fast forward to about 2:45 to see the guitar solo... or hey, maybe you like T&A, you don't have to fast forward.)

Now, I'm not talking about who plays the solo on the recording, as I'm pretty sure the two are not one and the same. Besides, the guitar player in the video doesn't much look like a John, a Dennis, or an Eddie. And in contrast to the girls from the "Addicted to Love" video, who are the least convincing fake musicians ever*, I'm fairly certain this chick knows what she's doing. If only I could find the Pop-Up Video version of this online somewhere... I bet it would tell me.

I'll continue my research and keep ya'll posted.


* According to Wikipedia, rumor has it that "a musician was hired to teach the models basic guitar fingering techniques, but 'gave up after about an hour and left'." Heh. I'm also starting to have a sneaking suspicion that the hands you see playing drums at 1:17 in on the "Addicted to Love" video might not belong to the girl sitting behind the drums for the rest of the video... or even to a girl, for that matter. I wonder if they stuck one of the dudes on crew in a dress and slapped some fake nails on him to get the shot?

Maybe? Maybenaut.

Hey look, it's friend of the show Ellie Maybe, playing with her new band! *koffkoff*

Martyrs is located at 3855 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, show starts at 9.

Setlist for 1/27/09 Women on Women Music Program - Every Tuesday from 8 to 10pm on WLUW - 88.7fm in Chicago, wluw.org everywhere else!

The Shangri-Las - "He Cried" Myrmidons of Melodrama (RPM)
Azure Ray - "New Resolution" Hold on Love (Saddle Creek)
Saint Etienne - "Sun in My Morning" Tales from Turnpike House (Savoy Jazz)
Ladytron - "Last One Standing" Witching Hour (Ryko)
ADULT. - "Lovely Love" Gimme Trouble (Thrill Jockey)
The B-52's - "Dance This Mess Around" Nude on the Moon: The B-52's Anthology (Rhino)
Quasi - "Our Happiness is Guaranteed" Featuring "Birds" (Up)
The Gossip - "Yr Mangled Heart" Standing in the Way of Control
Suzanne Vega - "99.9F" 99.9F EP (A&M)
Karen Dalton - "Ribbon Bow" It's So Hard to Tell Who's Going to Love You the Best (Koch)
Kirsty MacColl - "A New England" Galore (IRS)
Belly - "Dusted" Star (Sire)
The New Pornographers - "The Jessica Numbers" Twin Cinema (Matador)
Dresden Dolls - "The Jeep Song" S/T (8 Ft.)
Blake Babies - "I'm Not Your Mother" Sunburn (Mammoth)
The Breeders - "So Sad About Us" Safari EP (4AD)
The Ellie Maybe Experence - "I Thought I Could Love You" Meet Ellie (Horse-Drawn)
Kate Bush - "Between a Man and a Woman" The Sensual World (Columbia)
Eleni Mandell - "I've Got a Tender Heart" Country for True Lovers (Zedtone)
Rilo Kiley - "Ripchord" More Adventurous (Brute)
Tegan and Sara - "I Bet it Stung" So Jealous (Sanctuary)
Bratmobile - "I'm in the Band" Girls Get Busy (Lookout!)
The Muffs - "Sad Tomorrow" Blonder and Blonder (Reprise)
The 5.6.7.8's - "Dance in the Avenue A" Pinheel Stomp EP (Time Bomb)
Free Kitten - "Party With Me Punker (Live)" Unboxed (Pearl Necklace)
Lydia Lunch - "Why Don't We Do it in the Road" Widowspeak (New Millenium Communications)
Rip, Rig and Panic - "Storm the Reality Asylum" V/A: Girlz: Women Ahead of Their Time (CDHW)
Annie Hayden - "Money Trouble" The Enemy of Love (Merge)
Bjork - "All is Full of Love" Livebox Sampler (Wellhart/One Little Indian)
Puffy Ami Yumi - "Tokyo I'm On My Way" Splurge (Tofu)
The Runaways - "Blackmail" The Best of the Runaways (Mercury/Polygram)

Video Fridays: Vivian Girls, "Tell the World"

I'm embarrassingly slow to pick up on new bands. I instead tend to go backwards and seek out older bands I wasn't around for the first time, or just continue listening to my old standby favorites and their latest singles and B-sides releases. Perhaps I'm too jaded and set in my ways... or perhaps I'm just lazy.

The Vivian Girls, however, grabbed me right away. I don't know what it is about this band, but they remind me of the Shaggs, if the Shaggs had had a few more music lessons under their proverbial and collective belt. Kind of like the Shaggs meets "52 Girls"-era B-52's, meets mid-90s K Records twee. There's a certain stripped-down, sonic innocence to the Vivian Girls, balanced by solid, hooky songwriting. Better yet, it's completely genuine.

Here's the video for their song "Tell the World," off their self-titled release on Mauled by Tigers.

We TOLD you we were wearing ball gowns!

See??


(Lovingly created for us by our friend Lisa at iheart45s.blogspot.com.)

Women on Women Music Program - Inaugural Ball Show Setlist!

Tonight was the first official WOW Inaugural Ball show! Jen and I wore sequined ball gowns (in blue and red, respectively, so as to complement First Lady Michelle Obama, who wore white), and spun tunes by Illinois bands, a few choice political songs, and YOUR celebratory requests!

X - "4th of July" See How We Are (Elektra/Rhino)

Illinois First - "Who Was Abraham Lincoln?" Songs About the Land of Lincoln (Proshop)

Mekons - "Dream Dream Dream" The Edge of the World (Quarterstick)

New Black - "Angel with Cockroach Wings" S/T (Thick)

The Avengers - "The American in Me" The American in Me (DBK)

Hidden Mitten - "Marry Up" Roma! Roma! EP (S/R)

The Ponys - "Little Friends" Laced with Romance (In the Red)

Bang! Bang! - "All Nite" Do You Like It? (Heads Up)

The Tyrades - "Dance Like a Maniac," "Money Boy, Money Girl" S/T (Broken Rekids)

The Dials - "Nothing but Crazy" Flex Time (Latest Flame)

Starball - "Pretty Young Man" Holstein Park (Pussycat)

Sarge - "Half as Far" The Glass Intact (Mud)

Liz Phair - "6'1"" Exile in Guyville (Matador)

Metric - "Dead Disco" Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (Elgonix)

Milemarker - "Shrink to Fit" Anaesthetic (Jade Tree)

The Audreys - "I Got It Made" EP/LP (unreleased)

Lunachicks - "Jerk of All Trades" Jerk of All Trades (Go Kart)

Gravy Train!!!! - "Laffin' All the Way... to the Bank!" Hello Doctor (Kill Rock Star)

Happy Supply - "Spooky Song" Crucial Cuts (Dutch Courage/Gifted)

Erase Errata - "Go to Sleep" At Crystal Palace (Troubleman Unlimited)

Manhandlers - "Disposable" V/A: Maybe Chicago? (Criminal IQ/Protomersh)

The 1900s - "When I Say Cohen" Medium High EP (Parasol)

Bobby Conn - "Rise Up" Rise Up! (Thrill Jockey)

Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - "Jennie That Cries" I Bet You Say That to All the Boys (Fashion Brigade)

Tallulah - "Big Bang" Untitled Demo (S/R)

Fake Fictions - "Time Machine" Raw Yang (Fresh Produce)

Kung Fu Monkeys - "Summer School" V/A: Chic-A-Go-Go: The Soundtrack (Beluga)

PurrBox - "Fireman" S/T (LoveFest)

Sleater-Kinney - "Step Aside" One Beat (Kill Rock Stars)

Mavis Staples - "We'll Never Turn Back" We'll Never Turn Back (Anti-)

Thanks to everyone who called in!

Happy Inaguration Day America!

Today, America celebrates the Inaguration of President Barack Obama. The historical significance of this moment, combined with the seemingly overwhelming challenges our nation faces, is both awesome and sobering. While we at WOW celebrate the election of what I suspect may be our first "feminist" president, and look forward to seeing President Obama's work on women's issues, we are also realistic about the very difficult moment that America finds itself in today. Rampant unemployment, a healthcare crisis, foreclosures in every neighborhood, disappearing savings - these issues of growing poverty affect us all, and won't be solved after President Obama takes the oath of office this morning.

There's a saying going around that I think bears repeating -

"Rosa sat, so King could walk. King walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so that we all could fly."'

It's up to all of us to take a cue from our grandparents, members of the post-WWII "greatest generation" who found themselves in a very similar place several decades ago, and undertake large scale committments, both personal and national, to creating the change we want to see in the world. I think that one of the smartest things that President Obama has done is to put the ball back into the court of the American people, and I encourage you to listen to his latest YouTube video below.

Today, make a commitment to yourself that you will undertake one single thing this year to make the change you want to see in the world. Whether it is as small as changing your lamps to environmentally friendly lightbulbs, or as grand as lobbying your Senator for universal health care, whether it is as personal as reaching out to a lonely relative or as communal as joining neighbors in collecting items for homeless people in your neighborhoodl, whether it is as local as tutoring at the community center down the block or as global as sending pencils to schoolchildren in Iraq, make one committment to yourself today that you will be a part of this historic moment. That when you look back in ten years at today, you can say, I was a part of that. That when your kids and grandkids ask you, what was it like to be alive in January of 2009, you can tell them how you didn't sit on the sidelines of history, you were a part of the living history that is the definition of America itself. Are you with me? Leave your commitment to change in the comments section!

Friday Video Feature: Lykke Li

She's been called powdered-sugar pop and an international wanderer, but we think Lykke Li is just one of the more interesting musicians to hit American shores in the last year. Born to artists in Sweden, twenty-two year old Li has spent much of her life living around the globe, from Portugal to Nepal. Her first album, Youth Novels, was released about ten months ago in the Nordic area, and spread across Europe, finally coming to America in May.



If you enjoyed her video, she's coming to Metro in Chicago on Saturday February 7th. Stay tuned to the WOW blog for a chance to win tickets!

setlist 1/13/09 for the Women On Women Music Program every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm on 88.7fm Chicago / wluw.org online

setlist 1/13/09

Bebel Gilberto - "Aganju" S/T (Six Degrees)
Portishead - "The Rip" Third (Mercury)
Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton - "Bottom of the World" What is Free to a Good Home? (Last Gang)
Cibo Matto - "Know Your Chicken" Viva! La Woman (Warner Brothers)
Bjork - "I See Who You Are" Volta (Atlantic)
Metric - "Soft Rock Star" Grow Up and Blow Away (Last Gang)
The Breeders - "Regalame Esta Noche" Mountain Battles (4AD)
Headlights - "So Much For The Afternoon" Some Racing, Some Stopping (Polyvinyl)
Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden - "In Your Dreams" S/T (Red Valise)
Rachel Goswell - "Plucked" Waves are Universal (4AD/Ada)
Juliana Hatfield - "Hang Down From Heaven" Only Everything (Atlantic)
Mirah - "We're Both So Sorry" C'mon Miracle (K)
Eleanor Murray - "Electric Sky" For Cedar (Anonymous Monk)
The Reputation - "Some Senseless Day" To Force a Fate (Lookout)
Eleni Mandell - "Easy On Your Way Out" Afternoon (Zedtone)
Sarah Shannon - "Hey Heartache" City Morning Song (Minty Fresh)
Belle & Sebastian - "(My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique" The BBC Sessions (BBC/Matador)
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - "Something's Changed" 100 Days, 100 Nights (Daptone)
M.I.A. - "Boyz" Kala (Interscope)
ADULT. - "I Feel Worse When I'm With You" Why Bother? (Thrill Jockey)
Architecture In Helsinki - "Heart It Races" Places Like This (Polyvinyl)
Cocorosie - "Japan" The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn (Touch & Go)
Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - "Then And Not A Moment Before" S/T (Bloodshot)
X - "Breathless" Under the Big Black Sun (Elektra)
The New Pornographers - "All The Old Showstoppers" Challengers (Matador)
Bratmobile - "Yeah, Huh?" The Real Janelle EP (Kill Rock Stars)
The Ponys - "Sad Eyes" Laced with Romance (In the Red)
Sahara Hotnights - "The Difference Between Love And Hell" Kiss & Tell (Sony)
Dressy Bessy - "In Your Headphones" Holler and Stomp (Transdreamer)
Loretta Lynn - "Have Mercy" Van Lear Rose (Interscope)
Mavis Staples - "I'll Take You There (live)" Live: Hope at the Hideout (Anti)

Setlist for the Women on Women Music Program, every Tuesday from 8 to 10pm on 88.7 in Chicago, wluw.org everywhere else!

Holy crap, it's the first WOW show of 2009!

The Ex + Tom Cora - "Stupid Competitions" And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders (Ex Records)
18th Dye - "Big Sky" Amorine Queen (Crunchy Frog)
The Au Pairs - "Monogamy" Equal But Different: BBC Sessions 79-81 (RPM)
Delta 5 - "Try" Singles & Sessions 1979-81 (Kill Rock Stars)
Julie Ruin - "Radical or Pro-Parental" S/T (KRS)
Belle & Sebastian - "The Magic of a Kind Word" The BBC Sessions (BBC/Matador)
Imogen Heap - "The Walk" Speak for Yourself (RCA Victor)
Eleni Mandell - "American Boy" Afternoon (Zedtone)
Rachel Goswell - "Gather Me Up" Gather Me Up (4AD)
Electrelane - "The Valleys" The Power Out (Too Pure)
Vivien Goldman - "Launderette" V/A: Anti NY (Gomma)
Papas Fritas - "The Way You Walk" Pop Has Freed Us (Minty Fresh)
Stereolab - "Three Women" Chemical Chords (4AD)
Portishead - "We Carry On" Third (Island)
Rilo Kiley - "Wires and Waves" Take Offs and Landings (Barsuk)
Rose Melberg - "Four Walls" Cast Away the Clouds (Double Agent)
Illinois First! - "Who Was Abraham Lincoln?" Songs About the Land of Lincoln (Proshop)
Unknown Artist - "Track 11" V/A: Cambodian Archives: Khmer Folk and Pop Music Vol. 1 (Sublime Frequencies)
Vivian Girls - "Tell the World" S/T (In The Red)
The 5.6.7.8's - "My Boyfriend From Outer Space" The Early Days Singles (Time Bomb)
Deerhoof - "My Pal Foot Foot" V/A: Better Than the Beatles: A Tribute to the Shaggs (Animal World)
Miss Murgatroid & Petra Hayden - "Theme for the Sleepless" Hearts and Daggers (FMU)
Anna Fermin's Trigger Gospel - "How Do You Judge Me" Oh, the Stories We Hold (Undertow)
Holly Golightly - "You Have Yet to Win" Truly She is None Other (Damaged Goods)
The Breeders - "Wicked Little Town" V/A: Wig in a Box: Songs From and Inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Off)
Shonen Knife - "Get the Wow" Let's Knife (Virgin)