-~-WOMEN'S MUSIC: May 1980 RAIN Page 13 by Connie Smith THE LOVE OF WOMEN Outside the established record and concert circuit, feminist music flourishes. Commonly known on the inside as Women's Music, G C :P C this new genre emerged out of the last decade of feminist struggle and awareness to fill a cultural and emotional void. Women were going to tell it 11their way." By questioning old values and daring to speak their truths, Women's Music opened new realms of experience previously unexamined in popular music or examined only from a male viewpoint. One of the messages in popular music is that there are no strong women in the world who care about anything other than the men in their lives. There are no songs about women loving other women or even women loving themselves. The themes of Women's Music are self-love, love of other women as lovers and friends, love of animals and nature, the damage done to women by society, the healing power of sisterhood, women as spiritual beings, the rising tide of feminist power and the creation of a new social order. The qualities are celebration, passion, gentleness, sensitivity, anger and strength. Women's Music also means women in roles usually reserved for men: writers, arrangers, promoters, operators of studios, sound systems and lights. Women's record companies cut the records, feminist publications and bookstores in Canada, the U.S. and parts of Europe sell them, and the network of women producers put on the concerts. Depending on the performer and the needs of the group, concerts may be for women only as well as general admission. This gives the performer and her woman-audience a chance to choose with whom they wish to share their experience. Then, every summer in Illinois, Michigan, and on the Northwest Coast, thousands of women attend one or all of the three women-only music festivals (the International Festival was held in Sweden last year). The record companies (Redwood, Olivia, Pleiades, Wise Women Enterprises, Submaureen, Full Count-Lima Bean, Atthis Productions, Paredon, Ladyslipper-to mention a few) operate collectively. They are not interested in becoming a female version of the male record industry. They consider themselves political organizations as well as recording companies. Another important aspect in philosophy is the elimination of the 11star trip." All women in the industry, including the audience, are considered equally vital. Musicians also retain complete control over their albums. The range of music is as diverse as the women involved: blue- , grass, jazz, latina, rhythm and blues, classical, gospel; with one thing in common. The music is all for the love of women defined by women. This is the element which has always been missing from any other form of music. And this is the element which sets Women's Music apart. Reprinted with permission from June 1979 Open Door, $8/yr. (10 issues) from: Open Door Music Society, 1925 W. 4th Ave., Vancouver, BC V6] 1M7 Canada. Access: Mark Levy has written and recorded "Radiation Nation on a Three Mile Isle" . (1979), available from: New Clear Productions, P.O. Box 559, Felton, CA 95018.
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