When it comes to making it in mainstream music, showing up on the pages of Rolling Stone magazine is a pretty good sign that you're heading in the right direction. For all of this publication's flaws, it does manage to juxtapose the classics with the up-and-comings (to MTV, that is) in nearly every issue. And how.
This month's Top 100 Guitar Songs promised to be a nice combination of modern, classic, and something in between (Aerosmith? Are they classic yet?). Looking at this list, though, one might be prompted to ask - Where the ladies at?
# 21- Seven Nation Army // The White Stripes
Let's all agree that for this to even be included with a discussion on ladies in rock 'n' roll is a stretch. Jack White hogs the spotlight from his sister-girlfriend-wife-thing Meg, perhaps rightfully so as the producer for most of the albums, the lead-singer of an insanely popular spin-off, and the rebellious singer-songwriter of choice for alternative thinking Hollywood ladies. So this is more like a half point for women.
#50 Debaser // Pixies
You could make the argument that this one barely counts, but I'll give partial women points to Kim Deal, despite the fact that during this "Fuck or Fight" tour she was almost fired from the band about a thousand times for her drunken state, her disagreements with Francis, and her serious decrease of participation in the music and performances. The partial credit goes to her for not killing everyone in the room when Francis threw a guitar at her on tour, and for her assistance in writing all of the albums up through Doolittle. Another half point for women.
#79 Silver Rocket // Sonic Youth
Let's be honest, I like me some Sonic Youth. Kim Gordon as a founding member in the first American band to perform on Soviet soil is no small feat. Sonic Youth also has this super-human endurance for a group that not only got fairly popular, but one in which the two founders married. All the potential for drama and they are still rocking around the U.S. and even rolling around the ol' former Soviet Union once in a while. Ms. Gordon warrants the first full point for women.
#89 I Love Rock N Roll // Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Disappointingly low on this list appears Joan Jett. This punk royalty has been recognized on another Rolling Stone list, The 100 Greatest Guitarists, with only Joni Mitchell accompanying her as a delegate for womankind. She is the sweaty, slashing Godmother of Punk, the first female performer to start her own record label, plus the voice of countless Women's sports events. Anyone debating her musical awesomeness or her independent woman status will be immediately torn to bits by all of her raving fans. Joan Jett SHOULD get somewhere between 10 and 12 points for women, but we need to be fair here, and just give the full one.
Four women, three points, and no one in the top 20. No full credit awarded until nearly the 80s? (If you haven't figured it out yet, that's the BOTTOM 20.)
The moral of the story here is not that Rolling Stone magazine is an evil, patriarchal machine, but that the live music/rock 'n' roll community needs to be revolutionized. Or at least, we all need to be far more supportive of the next generation of women. So pick up your guitar, or bongos or just a Sing-A-Long Songs VHS, and go start influencing your nearest relatives.
For the full list, visit http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527
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