Vixens with Vinyl

A vintage photo gallery of Chicks-n-Records, thanks to Retrospace.


(I liked the title "Chicks with Discs" better.)

Fallen Princesses

From Fallen Princesses, a photography project by Dina Goldstein:

In the artist's own words: "These works place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The '...happily ever after' is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues.... I explored the original brothers Grimm's stories and found that they have very dark and sometimes gruesome aspects, many of which were changed by Disney. I began to imagine Disney's perfect Princesses juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me, such as illness, addiction and self-image issues."

While I do question the inclusion of a rubenesque Red Riding Hood as a "fallen" princess (Goldstein claims it to be a "personal comment on today's fast food society," but I smell mixed messages about beauty and body-image for women*), I am nevertheless intrigued by her work. It reminds me a lot of Dulce Pinzon's The Real Story of the Superheroes series, which examines the everyday heroism of Mexican immigrant workers in New York.

I'm not knocking fairy tales, but for better or for worse, they've had an undeniable effect on the construction of gender and gender roles. (Although if you ask me, there's a lot of "worse"... the perpetuation of the "damsel in distress" stereotype, the necessity of a Prince Charming to save, redeem, and/or complete a princess's life, the emphasis placed on beauty as a woman's most important asset, the negative portrayal of older women as crone/evil stepmother/wicked witch, etc.) Either way, anything that takes a closer and more critical look at the cultural mythology we're passing on to our kids is a-ok in my book.



*To make up for it, I give you the brilliant and oddly empowering Big Beautiful Wonder Woman Blog.

More Gossip

And since we're on the subject of gossip, (instantrimshot.com), have you heard that they're making a film about The Runaways? Slated to come out in 2010, it will be a "coming-of-age biopic" directed by Floria Sigismondi, best known as a director for music videos by Marilyn Manson, David Bowie, and Sheryl Crow.

Now, I like a coming-of-age biopic as much as the next girl, but I love The Runaways just a little bit more. And I will admit, I'm a bit nervous that they'll screw this one up. Mostly because they've decided to cast Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame as Joan Jett, and precocious child actress Dakota Fanning as the corset-n-boots clad Cherie Currie.

Let that sink in for a minute: Dakota Fanning. As Cherie Currie.


But who knows? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this will be like Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver, where everyone was worried about exploitation and kiddie porn and she delivered nothing less than a totally solid performance that proved her versatility as an actress.

But then again, it could suck. Much like the vampires in Twilight. Ahem.

At least Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains has finally been released on DVD.

WOW Valentine's Day Shows!

This year, Valentine's day falls on a Saturday. Good for date night, bad for WOW... we couldn't decide if it would be better to do our Valentine's Day show four days before V-Day, or three days after. Luckily for you, we decided to do both.

On Tuesday, February 10th, we'll get you in the mood with the happiest, sappiest love songs.

On Tuesday, February 17th, we'll appeal to your bitter, angry side and bring you our favorite breakup songs.

Make sure to tune in for both! (And if you have any requests, get 'em in now!) Listen live in Chicago from 8 to 10pm CST on 88.7 fm, or online at wluw.org everywhere else.

We TOLD you we were wearing ball gowns!

See??


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

Boi, Do I H8 Rayon

In case you ever wondered what the Women on Women show looks like behind the scenes...

Also, who says there aren't enough girls starting bands? It's like a Shaggs pajama party!
(Click to enlarge.)

Thanks to the gang at the I'm Learning to Share! blog for the groovy images.

WOW!

Are you ready for the show tonight?

Tune in to the Women on Women Music Program, every Tuesday evening from 8 to 10pm, on WLUW!

Rock over London (wluw.org), rock on Chicago (88.7fm).

----------

Also! We're having a caption contest for the above image. The best entry (leave a comment below) gets a mix cd from one of the lovely ladies of WOW. We'll announce the winner on next week's show.