Le Monnier release new single

You may remember some time agao me writing about Le Monnier and you probably know as well that they are headlining Ladyfest Essex

well they are releasing a new single 'Con Amor Siempre' which in my opinion, is amazing, it has the same awesome epic feel of songs on 'Cynic Sister' and mulitplies the power by at least ten. It's songs like this which make me wonder why this band isn't more known yet! If you like rock with great grrrl vocals, good basslines and frankly fantastic metal tinged guitars, you will love this track.

The song is officially released on June 13th, but if you're attending Ladyfest Essex on June 11th, you will be able to get a limited edition of the single for a mere £2 with 25% of the money going to the charity Ladyfest Essex is supporting 'Refuge'

you can hear the track right here and on my show in the next few weeks- what do you think?

Con Amor
Siempre by Le Monnier

you can check out more info on the Hertfordshire based band on their website, their new album is released in September.

Robots in Disguise @ The Old Queens Head, London, 26 May 2011

Rating: *****

Being a huge fan of Robots in Disguise, it's quite difficult for me to write an unbiased review of this gig. This was the fourth time I have seen the band live and was in a signifcantly different venue from all the other times. This time it was upstairs at The Old Queens Head in Islington, in a tiny crowded and warm room, with a tiny stage with no barriers.

We arrived fairly late on in the evening, so the only support act we managed to catch was Dimbleby and Capper. A solo artist with two dancers. The music was a mix of dreamy pop and electronic, making a beautiful noise you could happily dance to.

Robots in Disguise took to the stage shortly after 10pm, looking amazing in their almost identical outfits and making a fitting start with 'Wake Up'. They then proceeded to play a fairly short but fantastic set list. They played most of their most popular songs including 'Turn it Up', 'Girl' and 'The Sex Has Made Me Stupid' as well as playing a few tracks from their forthcoming album Happiness V Sadness including the title track and the new very catchy single' Chains'. The new songs sounded fresh and exciting, but still had the trademark Robots in Disguise sound.

After 'The DJ's Got A Gun' rather than actually going properly off the stage, they encouraged the audience to act like they had and give them a big cheer. This lead into a rather energetic performance of 'Arguements' which involved dancing on tables and pigbacking on audience members!

The whole gig had fantastic and fun energy to it, making everyone in the room feel involved. I think even if you weren't a fan, surely seeing them at this particular gig, you couldn't help but dance and fall in love with these fabulous girls.


Robots in Disguise's new album Happiness V Sadness is released on July 11th, with the new first single, the very catchy 'Chains' being released a few weeks earlier on June 27th.

Were you at the gig too? What did you think? Did you like the new songs?

This weeks playlist

Kittie- Paperdoll
Bjork- Human Behaviour
PJ Harvey- A Place Called Home
Pink- The One That Got Away
Everything But The Girl- Missing
Thomas Tantrum- Trust Rhymes With Crust
Chicks on Speed – Sell Out
The Joy Formidable- Greyhounds in the Slips
The Birthday Massacre- Black
Melissa Nadler- Box of Cedar
Liz Phair- Never Said
Blondie- Rapture
Bat For Lashes- Seal Jubilee

Joan Jett- Victim of Circumstance
Damone- Wasted Years
TLC- Waterfalls
The Pretenders- Don't Get Me Wrong
Joan Osborne- One of Us
Kim Wilde- Kids in America
Sophe Lux- God Doesn't Take American Express
A Brokeheart Pro- Pink Mischief
Stephanie Schneiderman- Rubber Teardrop
Siouxsie and the Banshees- Monitor
Pat Benatar- Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Bikini Kill- Reject All American
KT Tunstall – Let's Stick Together

Let's Play a game..

Can you guess the songs these first lines of songs come from? (no googling/other internet search things please)! Winner can get a random mix of great female fronted music on CD from me sent to them..

1. You can tell from the scars on my arms and the cracks on my hips..
2. The waves keep crashing on me for some reason
3. I've got a lot to say to you, I've got a lot to say
4. Calling me high on the telephone, came by plane all alone
5. we are young, heartache to heartache we stand
6. sometimes they'll want to cut you down
7. you pretend you're high
8. hold me, one time, one time only
9. I'm the little girl at the picnic
10. I never know how to treat you
11. creeping up the backstairs
12. midnight getting uptight, where are you?
13. I can see you stalking like a predator
14. colour me your colour baby
15. Your back's against the wall
16. you and me were cut from the same cloth
17. I'm a blond bombshell and I wear it well
18. tingling mind and too big a smile
19. hey, whats your name, hey where you from
20. I made a mistake
21. I see it all before me
22. I put your stuff out on the porch
23. I lost my heart under the bridge
24. you chat to me like we connect
25. come on everybody get on the dancefloor

this weeks playlist

The Creepshow- Candykiss
Suzanne Vega- Tom's Diner
Madonna- Take a Bow
The Go Go's- Vacation
The Raveonettes- Blush
Daisy Chainsaw- Pink Flower
Inkubus Sukkubus- Call Out My Name
Janis Joplin- Summertime
Elastica- Vaseline
The Long Blondes- Century
Amanda Palmer- Guitar Hero
Horrorpops- Bring It On!
Lunachicks- Binge and Purge

Kenickie- I Would Fix You
Le Tigre- Slideshow at Free University
Fleetwood Mac- Everywhere
Deborah Harry- Naked Eye
Kate Nash- Mouthwash
The Cardigans- Country Hell
Grim Dylan- Kids Don't Sleep
Sarah Rocks- Blueblood
Stephanie Schneiderman- Anchor
L7- Scrap
Blood Red Shoes- Count Me Out
Gaggle- I Like Cigarettes
The Distillers- The Gallows is God
Thee Ultra Bimbos- We're Not Gonna Take It

Things of Interest

Slutwalkinghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

If you have somehow missed all the media covering Slutwalks (both positive and negative) they are basically a protest that originated in Canada, when a policeman said 'women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised' when talking to students about personal safety regarding rape etc. Quite rightly so, this has stirred quite a reaction, slutwalks have been happening worldwide with women (and men) protesting that the rapist is always to blame and not how they dress. Some people are using it also as a way of reclaiming the word 'Slut'. I was personally really hoping to get along to the London Slutwalk but the date has now changed to June 11th, the same day as Ladyfest Essex!

Womens Liberation Music Archive
I'm yet to have a good browse through this, but this website provides lots of information and links to music which was made during the 70s and 80s by feminist bands. It sounds fascinating.



Ellen Willis
good article on Alternet (very worth checking out) about a female music writer. A book is being released of her work.

This week's playlist

Alanis Morissette- Sister Blister
Joan Armatrading- There Ain't A Girl Alive
Tori Amos- The Pool
Salt N Pepa- Let's Talk About Sex
Be Your Own Pet- We Will Vacation, You Can Be My Parasol
Wetdog- Steal A Car
Dead Disco- Too Late
Kelly Osbourne- Coolhead
Belinda Carlisle- Leave a Light On
Dido- Take My Hand
CSS- Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above
The Go! Team- Get it Together
Cyndi Lauper- When You Were Mine
The Breeders- Divine Hammer
Ladytron- High Rise (club mix)
Paramore- For a Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic
Hole- Reasons to be Beautiful
Nightwish- Dead To The World
Berlin Brides- Rejection Junkie
Ten Tigers- 82
Stephanie Scneiderman- River Stone
Lush- Ladykillers
The Sounds- Running Out of Turbo
Skunk Anansie- Weak
Bif Naked- Nothing Else Matters

Ladyfest Essex and my other projects

If you read this blog regularly, you may remember at the beginning of the year about all the projects I was hoping to do. Well most of them are happening! Only one has not really taken off yet. I was hoping to set up a feminist group in Southend, sadly after several months trying I had to give up as no one was turning up to any meetings. I tried to arrange with people on the facebook group but no one would commit to a date so I had to just pick a date, advertise it and see what happened. Nothing happened. I haven't completely given up though. I've given it up as Southend Fawcett Society and later in the year I'm going to try a different approach and give it a go as Grrrl Virus Southend and do things differently. I really want to meet other grrrls in my area, I know they must be out there somewhere!

One of the things that has succeeded, although slowly, has been making my own zine. I wrote it back at the end of December, it's called 'Dancing Barefoot' and is a perzine. In the first issue I've wrote about growing up and friendships. It took me a while to get printed versions. The quotes I got were very expensive, so I decided to make it into a free PDF. and then in the last few weeks I found out that a local stationary shop does double sided photocpying pretty cheap, so I got some copies made there last week! They are A4 sized, and are £1.75 to buy which is to cover the cost of printing and postage. If you're interested in buying one, just email me- moonlight.phoenix@gmail.com and I'll send you details on how to buy it. Hopefully I can get started on the second issue soon!

Lastly but the biggest thing of all, is Ladyfest Essex is actually happening! andf I have been working super hard on it!
It's happening Saturday June 11th, upstairs at The Railway Hotel pub, Southend, it will be £3 to get in with all proceeds going to the charity Refuge
Basically it is an all dayer event (2pm-11pm) with the main focus on the music. There will also be spoken word from Sundown Multimedia as well as stalls selling cds, zines, crafts, and other feminist related goodies! I'm also lucky enough to have someone from Refuge actually attending the event, to do a stall and also do a short talk about the charity!
The band line up is:
Art Gruppe http://www.reverbnation.com/artgruppe
Ten Tigers http://www.tentigersmusic.co.uk/
Femmepop http://www.myspace.com/femmepop
Candy Panic Attack http://www.myspace.com/candypanicattack
Calico http://www.myspace.com/calicobanduk
Death of the Elephant http://www.myspace.com/deathoftheelephant
The Scarlet Echo http://www.myspace.com/thescarletechomusic
Le Monnier http://www.le-monnier.com/

The only problems I'm having at the moment is trying to sort out a drumkit that we can use for the whole day, and volunteers! so far, only myself and one other person are doing anything. I need 3 more for on the door (2 people for each shift) people who can collect donations with tins, a photographer (identifed as female would be prefable in the spirit of ladyfest) and general help with promoting (flyers up, handing out etc)!

This weeks Playlist

Natalie Imbruglia- Big Mistake
Lauren Harris- Hit or Miss
Kate Bush- Hounds of Love
Candie Payne- All I Need To Hear
Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Kiss Kiss
Babes in Toyland- Flesh Crawl
Gossip- For Keeps
Blondie- Maria
Nina Simone- Ain't Got No, I Got Life
Altered Images- I Could Be Happy
Garbage- When I Grow Up
Joan Jett and The Blackhearts- You Want In, I Want Out
Heather Nova- Make You Mine
Portishead- Biscuit

Texas- When We Are Together
Everything But The Girl- We Walk The Same Line
Aretha Franklin- Chain of Fools
Grace Jones- Williams Blood
New Young Pony Club- Grey
Sleater Kinney- You're No Rock n Roll Fun
Shocking Blue- Rock in the Sea
The Wind Up Dolls- Angel
Dirtblonde- Brookyln
Stephanie Schneiderman- Hush
The Pretenders- I Go To Sleep
The Duke Spirit- Dog Roses
MEN- Who I Am To Feel So Free?
Ann Wilson- We Got Get Out Of This Place

RIP Poly-styrene

I feel like I can't let this go without posting something.
Poly-styrene, lead singer of punk band X Ray Spex passed away this week after a battle with Cancer. She was only 53.
Poly has been an inspiration to many female musicians punk and non punk alike. She has been an inspiration to me and my show. She created one of my favourite songs of all time. How could I not be swayed by the line 'some say little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think...OH BONDAGE UP YOURS!'
It was only recently that she released her solo album 'Generation Indigo' with it's positive vibe.
Poly was also a vegan and stood up for things she believed in. I don't think there are any words I can really say that really sum up just how amazing she was, there are many blog posts and news items that share my sadness, I just couldn't NOT blog about it, even if Idon't actually have the right words to express how I feel.