Why We (or, at least I) WOW

I got back to Chicago from New York a few weeks ago and have been slowly readjusting to Chicago life: slower than a snail public transport, chilly summer nights, an abudance of fried/dead food and riding in cars. In New York, I knew no one who had a car and here it is pretty commonplace.

Something that frequently comes with riding in a car is listening to the radio, an activity I rarely partake in unless it is tuning in to the WLUW webcast. On a recent trip to the suburbs, I had the pleasure of listening to commercial radio for TWO HOURS. And guess what? In those two hours, I heard one band that had a female member (The Talking Heads).

When I tell folks that I co-host a radio show that only plays bands with women in them, a response I frequently get is "Why? Isn't it, like, reverse discrimination? " or "How can you play a show of just women's music?! Women aren't monolithic!".
Ok, so no one has actually used the word monolithic, but you get the idea.

And my response to that - and why I continue to do the show - is that two hours of radio with only one band with only one woman in it is ...well, it stinks. And it stinks because it is true - women aren't monolithic! There is so much music out there made by women that there really isn't any excuse to exclude them.

So until commercial radio (and, let's be honest, independent radio) gets on board with gender equality, we'll be here with two hours of diverse, lady filled jams.