Women Singer-Songwriters in Rock

March 15, 2010
Lankford readably examines the 1990s work of Alanis Morissette, P. J. Harvey, Liz Phair, Courtney Love (and her band, Hole), Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, and Sheryl Crow, and discusses selected themes in the singer-songwriter world, from the riot grrrl philosophy to the less confrontational style of performers at McLachlans brainchild, the Lilith Fair, which reflects her mellow tastes, for which she and it were criticized. Despite very pronounced differences in musical styles, all these women wrote and sang their own material. Lankford notes that the women singer-songwriter trend arrived roughly simultaneously with third-wave feminism, and he believes the trend shares many qualities with the ideology, which he contends was born out of the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. These singer-songwriters music, which he says constitutes populist feminism, became the soundtrack to many third wave feminists and non-feminists lives in the 1990s. Fans of the individual artists will enjoy Lankfords detailed discussions of their music, as will anyone who wants to understand this particular aspect of 1990s pop-music culture.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)