Best Girl Band

[pokerfan]

Poll question: Best Girl Band

Was listening to some Runaways earlier today and I started reminiscing.





ETA: That is one beat up looking Gibson:

[GOPisEvil]

1. No Sleater-Kinney? No Slits?

Phooey! :P

[pokerfan]

4. I considered Slits

There are many. This poll could have had a hundred entries.

[AngryAmish]

84. amen (at least S-K wise)

[RevolutionaryActs]

2. What about The Go-Go's?

:P

[gmoney]

53. Definitely the Go-Go's

An actual "girl band" in that all the members were women, playing virtually all the instruments, writing most of the songs. All their records really hold up, imho.

I wouldn't consider most of the nominees to be "girl bands" at all, but rather bands with female lead singers, or female singers with a interchangeable backing band of nameless musicians.

I think Chrissy Hynde and Patti Smith would kick your ass if you called them "girl bands." Courtney Love for that matter, too.

[JohnnieGordon]

59. Have you ever heard of The Flirts?

They weren't a real band, just a studio group assembled by producer Bobby Orlando. However their first album was a direct rip-off of The Go Gos and the resulting surf-pop music is fabulously fun.

Here's the 4 out 5 star review on All Music Guide:

When the Flirts' debut album, 10 Cents a Dance, came out in 1982, the female trio found themselves being compared to the Go-Go's more than anyone. However, while the Go-Go's, who were huge at the time, were a major influence, the Flirts had an equally fun-loving personality of their own. The Go-Go's' influence is hard to miss on "We Just Wanna Dance," "Jukebox," and the wildly infectious surf ditty "On the Beach," but you won't hear them echoed on "Passion" -- a sexy Euro-disco/synth-funk gem that was a hit in dance clubs, despite receiving little radio airplay. (This album contains the three-minute version of "Passion" -- dance club DJs favored the nine-minute version that O Records released on a 12" single). While the Go-Go's were a new wave/power pop band who loved the 1960s girl-group sound, the Flirts were a new wave/power pop group who loved the 1960s girl-group sound, but also got into high-tech Euro-disco, dance-pop, and synth pop. The guitar-powered Go-Go's wouldn't have recorded anything as European-sounding and synthesizer-driven as "Calling All Boys," which sounds like it could have been produced by Giorgio Moroder even though the whole album was produced by Bobby Orlando. From power pop to dance-pop, 10 Cents a Dance is about as fun-loving as it gets.

[3.14158675309]

63. Correct!

With the Bangles coming in a close second. :hi:

[leeroysphitz]

3. I'm sorry pokerfan but HTF could you forget Sleater-Kinney???

I guess the term "girl" band is somewhat demeaning since they are the 2nd best rock band of either gender after the Foo Fighters but to leave them out makes no sense here.

I have spoken.

[pokerfan]

8. The best part of creating polls

is listening to the criticisms... :)

[leeroysphitz]

24. Nevermind about all that. You just hit that little "edit" button and...

[pokerfan]

30. Too late

:P

[lightningandsnow]

52. Sleater Kinney = WIN.

[flvegan]

5. Lucious Jackson

With former Beastie Boy, Kate Schellenbach.

[underpants]

28. Thank you and I agree

I saw them in a very small bar in Richmond in the early 90's

Great band.

it was a good night

[swag]

36. Great band.

[JohnnieGordon]

50. I love Under My Skin..nt

[GOPisEvil]

6. By the way, I love that Cherie Currie is a chainsaw artist now.

Yes, I have been watching VH1's 100 best hard rock songs. Why do you ask?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. I have always wondered if Heart is considered a girl band...?

:yoiks:

[pokerfan]

9. I love Heart

but I don't think they're a girl band any more than The Blackhearts is a girl band.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

10. what about bands with female lead singers? Jefferson Airplane

and Big Brother and the Holding Company come immediately to mind...

[pokerfan]

12. In my mind it needs to be all female

playing their own instruments...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

14. okie dokie...

:toast:

[pokerfan]

17. I should have put more thought into this

because going by those rules, The Pointer Sisters and the Supremes really don't fit either.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

18. polls can get complicated...how well I know!

I don't recommend doing them if you are drunk ;)

remembering my all time greatest female rock n roll singer :blush:

[ghostsofgiants]

11. Bikini Kill comes to mind.

Though I think their guitarist might have been a dude.

If they don't count, I'll say Sleater-Kinney.

[GOPisEvil]

16. They did have a guy, Billy Karren.

He was also in The Go Team with Tobi Vail.

Hmm...Olympia, WA had quite the music scene, eh?

Edit - in keeping with flvegan's Beastie Boy connection, Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill is married to Adam Horovitz.

[ghostsofgiants]

19. Damn.

And yeah, Washington and that whole area seems like a mecca of kickass music.

[GOPisEvil]

20. Geek that I am, I used an ATM on Sleater-Kinney Rd just for the receipt.

Sigh...I should just take a picture of the road sign.

[ghostsofgiants]

21. Hahaha, oh man, I would totally do the same thing.

[leeroysphitz]

25. WOW. Great Idea!!! If I ever get outthat wa I'm gonna steal that idea.

:P

[pokerfan]

22. beginning with Jimi

[tigereye]

56. some amazing and innovative music came out of there!

[pokerfan]

61. true

Jimi Hendrix
Jimmy Rowles
Sleater-Kinney
Heart
Nirvana
Soundgarden
Foo Fighters
Pearl Jam
Queensryche
Candlebox

and I'm probably forgetting a bunch. Even Ray Charles moved to Seattle in the forties. Oh yeah, Quincy Jones.

[tigereye]

78. I was thinking of all those Evergreen College folks -the Olympia alt music

crowd, but you are right.

Who was that great young blues player in the 80s? The one with great cross-over appeal? I think he was from Seattle as well.

[Doc_Technical]

13. Fanny

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=band+fanny&aq=0&oq=band+fann

[JimGinPA]

37. "Charity Ball" By Fanny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTA0PHkZbt0

One of my favorites. I saw them in concert - they rocked.

[tigereye]

57. I have several of their records... good point.

[Fire Walk With Me]

15. Cibo Matto! Fuzzbox!

[leeroysphitz]

26. Cibo Matto! Yes yes!

You've GOT to know your chicken.

[KamaAina]

93. Do they count? Sean Lennon (guy) was with them at one point.

:shrug:

[johnnie]

23. The Donnas are pretty good

[mitchum]

27. The Slits

[swag]

38. Can't argue against that choice.

[aquaman]

29. Babes in Toyland....

The first few releases were raw punk. Their last release before they broke up is shit.

[swag]

39. Great live, too.

[aquaman]

43. Saw them once.....

We accidentally ripped off the front of the stage. Great show.

[bridgit]

31. Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySvCe_lgbRM&feature=related

[Kat45]

32. Other: Girlschool.

All female British heavy metal band. Saw them live; they kicked ass.

[coyotespaw]

47. I'll agree with you there...

If they can rock with Lemmy, they get my respect...

Although I did notice that nobody mentioned Vixen so far...


:hide:

[tigereye]

58. I have some of their records too...

[Radical Activist]

33. No Donnas?

I pick the Dixie Chicks.

[bridgit]

34. No Donna's are cool!

:smoke:

[swag]

35. The Raincoats

[ghostsofgiants]

75. Good call.

[mitchum]

40. As much as I wish we XYers didn't have to claim the incredibly lame Eric Erlandson...

his presence in Hole disqualifies them as a "girl band"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

41. The Ronettes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ONH3hIjO3c

[Fire Walk With Me]

42. The Andrews Sisters.

Although they were not an entire "band"...

Ronettes :thumbsup:

[abq e streeter]

69. LOVE Ronnie Spector( my very 1st celeb crush) --The Crystals too

[Amerigo Vespucci]

72. Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on Letterman, 1995:

This was an annual event...not sure if she did it this year. But the 1995 performance was amazing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbzhrjz_gVc

Darlene was once interviewed about her vocal styles, and when she referred to this song, said "It's all just power."

It certainly is.

:toast:

[abq e streeter]

80. Thanks for posting this!

According to recently posted comments on the you tube page, she did do this again on Letterman this year.I've watched this many times on you tube from various years, and I have to agree, the 1995 one was as good as it gets. I just love the old Phil Spector girl-group stuff. Ronnie (Veronica) will still always be my first and forever celebrity crush, but what can you say about Darlene Love...incredible. I actually participate in an annual, Christmastime reunion show of an old, legendary New Mexico band . (Not bragging ,or exaggerating; we really are a local legend, and not bragging because I understand very well that the legendary status would have happened with or without me and much of it did in fact occur without me; I just got lucky to be along for a lot of the ride.) After last year's show, I actually sent the youtube of one of Darlene's Letterman performances of this to one of the 3 female singers who front the group, and said we've GOT to learn this for next year; she agreed 100% but it never happened , maybe next year ( not sure how many more years we'll keep doing this, most of us are in our late 50's). There's a you tube of us (Cadillac Bob---its the very first thing that comes up if you type cadillac bob in on you tube) doing Doris Troy's Just One Look with Denise ( the one I sent the Letterman video to) singing lead. ( the main lead singer is the woman with black hair on the right). I'm singing harmony but am barely on camera, which is good; couldn't hear my monitor to save my life and the off and on again slightly flat high harmony near the end is , embarrassingly, me. Thanks again for posting, no such thing as seeing this too often...

[masshole]

44. Hormel Girls

Who doesn't love songs about canned meat products?

[timtom]

45. I voted for Dixie Chicks

but I think the McGarrigle Sisters ought to be on that list.

[Guava Jelly]

46. I voted Hole

:)

[peekaloo]

48. Shonen Knife or The Shaggs

[JohnnieGordon]

49. Remember A Taste Of Honey?

The OP listed a few black groups, but they were all vocal and not really a "band", they didn't play their own instruments. A Taste Of Honey was two black women who played their own instruments, most known for their disco hit Boogie Oogie Oogie. They won the Best New Artist Grammy for 1978, and their first two albums are both quite good funky disco. The quality of their music dropped off sharply after that though, and they went the way of most disco groups and disappeared into obscurity.

[mitchum]

67. They beat out Elvis Costello for best new artist of 1978

I always thought it would be funny if he had them sing back up on a current song

[Burma Jones]

51. L7 and/or Rasputina

[Witchy_Dem]

88. L7 rocked in concert with Cypress Hill and Rage Against the Machine.

[ogneopasno]

54. Sleater-Kinney and L7. It pains my heart that the Dixie Chicks are winning this poll.

[Bryan]

81. Sleater-Kinney doesn't belong on a list with The Bangles and the Go-Gos

Sleater-Kinney are towering figures; calling them a "girl band" is like calling the Beatles a Liverpool skiffle combo.

[ogneopasno]

82. Good point.

[tigereye]

55. wow, hard to choose..

The Donnas rock pretty well, as did (does?) L7. I'm torn between my love of jangly pop a la the Bangles and Joan Jett's raucous rocker voice.... :(


The Go-Gos seem to be the complete punky package though. If it hadn't been for them I would never have bought a drumset and joined a band. Oh, and you left out Luscious Jackson! :hi:


Damn how could I forget my favorite all-female band Scrawl!

[pokerfan]

60. Not me!

I'm torn between my love of jangly pop a la the Bangles and Joan Jett's raucous rocker voice....

I'm not!



* In 2003, Jett was named in the Rolling Stone greatest 100 guitarists of all time at number 87. She was one of only two women in this list. The other was Joni Mitchell.

* Joan Jett is now honored by Gibson with a signature model of her melody maker, which is a white double cutaway with one zebra humbucker and "kill" toggle switch.. Jett bought her actual guitar from Eric Carmen, following the breakup of The Raspberries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Jett#Accolades_and_awards

[tigereye]

95. no, she's great - the best female rocker of all time, perhaps

(well, Chrissie Hynde would be up there, too and Patti Smith. But Jett is the real gritty deal.)

But I love power and jangly pop. Can't help it.

[mitchum]

68. I was a Thunders/Stooges/Gun Club sleaze rocker and I stole LOTS...

of basslines from Kathy Valentine.

The Go-Gos were a great band.

[tigereye]

96. she plays really well.

And Gina Shock was a pretty good drummer, too.

[MineralMan]

62. My fave girl band, for sure:

[AwakeAtLast]

64. Kitty

Whatever happened to them? :shrug:

[pokerfan]

71. If you mean Kittie

they're still around albeit with many changes to the line-up. They toured Europe a few months ago.

[Wetzelbill]

65. The Hansons?

In the end, I couldn't decide between the Dixies and The Bangles.

[Joey Liberal]

66. I love the Runaways, but the Dixie Chicks rule! nt

[abq e streeter]

70. somebody had to vote for The Pointer Sisters, so I did, but

give me the Ronnettes and The Crystals any day. Love the Dixie Chicks too, even though not particularly a country fan. Did a show with them several years before they became famous, and they were just sweet down to earth Texas girls ( hopefully that hasn't changed with their incredible and well-deserved success). Real seriously talented musicians too...

[Bennyboy]

73. No love for the Indigo Girls?

Wow.

[Magrittes Pipe]

74. Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch

Cherry Bomb!

[DS1]

76. The Jonas Brothers. Followed up by Metallica

[ghostsofgiants]

77. Okay, this is a band that none of you have likely ever heard of but deserve mention...

http://www.myspace.com/cougarparty

[Shardik]

79. Heart

[Shell Beau]

91. Exactly

[mvd]

83. Impossible to choose, especially for a girl band fan like me

The Bangles, Hole, The Runaways, Dixie Chicks, and Supremes are all excellent. This also shows the range of music I like. There are other worthy suggestions like The Go Gos, Ronettes, Donnas, Sleeter-Kinney, Luscious Jackson, Martha And The Vandellas, En Vogue, and The Crystals. And I'll add new groups like The Like, Halo Friendlies, and All Girl Summer Band. And more with only 2 main members.

[Iggo]

85. From that list: The Runaways. (n/t)

[DBoon]

86. What, no Ronnettes?

[TZ]

87. All I want to know is...

Which one of you bozos voted for the Spice Girls...:crazy:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

89. Many of those aren't really bands....

but girl groups, big difference.

As for girl bands, The Runaways get my vote.

[Iggo]

97. Yep.

There's a difference between a band a singing group.

EDIT: I spel gud.

[Throd]

90. The Lunachics or L7

[Greyskye]

92. Fruit - out of Australia

I've seen these gals at music festivals for years now - my wife and I are huge fans! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXLunb2yNgI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U8QsifO1mY

[SalmonChantedEvening]

94. "Hurry, c'mon boy, come see about me."

Yes Ma'am.