Female Singers - Halp?

[beccatoria]

Hey guys
First off I'm really, really sorry I've been so crap about posting here lately and stuff. It's been a bit of a grind-you-down kind of couple of weeks. But I still love you all!

In other news, HALP ME.

For reasons that are far to long and boring to be of interest to many of you, I find that I need some suggestions for female singers, or bands with female lead singers, that I might like. My music taste tends to be somewhere in the vicinity of indie rock with various odd jaunts toward both singer-songwriter and rap artist. I like complicated lyrics. I like when not all the songs are about being in love. Or if they are, the lyrics are complicated and interesting. I like drumming. I like "strong" voices rather than "pretty" voices.

Here are some female artists I already like:

Florence and the Machine
Joan Baez
Tracy Chapman
Pat Benatar (shut up!)
Jefferson Airplane
Regina Spektor
Tori Amos (during her early years)

Any recs welcome!

Thanks guys!

Comments

[pellucid.livejournal.com]

Oooh!!! The majority of what I listen to is female singer/songwriter and/or indie rock artists, so this is fun! My tastes tend to trend a bit toward indie country, as well (though not over-produced Nashville country), and that's not everyone's taste, so ymmv on some of these, in particular. Among people you might try:

Basia Bulat
Martha Wainwright
First Aid Kit
Ruthie Foster
Dar Williams (really kickass lyrics; possibly too much of a "pretty" voice, if you don't like that)
Lucinda Williams (though she may be too country, if you don't like country)
Patty Griffin (with something of the same caveat as Lucinda)
The Wailin Jennies (also a bit country)
Shawn Colvin
The Indigo Girls (too obvious?)

[jo-lasalle.livejournal.com]

Hm, checking my music folder for female singers that might fit the bill. Your description sounds a lot like what I liked to listen to most before the Jpop invaded my life, though of course that doesn't mean any guarantees for my suggestions below...

Have you tried: October Project (drums, slightly weird, slightly dark), Ani DiFranco (my teenage years, let me show you them... but very strong on lyrics, still), Dar Williams (lyrics; also, funny), Natalie Merchant (pretty but different), Skunk Anansie (I've never liked a whole album but when I like a song, I *really* like it), Indigo Girls (okay, now I'm being really obvious)? There are also a few other people where I like individual songs very much (Shakespeare's Sisters, Tegan and Sara, a few others) but wouldn't recommend them overall.

And I didn't want to upload random samples before seeing what you might already know and not like, but happy to do that if any of those sound interesting.

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

My interests might be a little softer voice-wise and/or more country than yours (although country is good, because the lyrics are usually more interesting). But here's some suggestions:

Allison Krauss (esp. Now That I've Found You: a collection and Forget About It) --She's indie singer/songwriter who veers into bluegrass and a voice that's strong and clear.

Mary Chapin Carpenter's Come On, Come On--great lyricist, I Am a Town is a hauntingly awesome song about sisters

Missy Higgins' On a Clear Night and The Sound of White (Sugarcane and Angela are lovely non-love songs)

Anna Nalick's album--sadly she only has the one but it's great--good writing

And...is it ridiculous of me to suggest Pink's Funhouse and Who Knew?

[sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com]

Poe
Pink
Indigo Girls
Melissa Etheridge
Over the Rhine
Natalie Merchant
10,000 Maniacs

Those are all off the top of my head, but I can go and actually look at my CDs, if you want any more.

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

I second Poe, "Haunted" was one of my favorite albums. <3 Always liked Natalie Merchant too.

[gatezilla.livejournal.com]

I definitely second both Patty Griffin and Dar Williams. Also:

Neko Case! Very strong voice, beautiful lyrics and unusual songs.
Rilo Kiley has a female singer, their stuff is sort of quirky and Jenny Lewis also does solo work
The Weepies, female singer, their stuff is pretty folk-y and sweet but not lovey-dovey.
The Corrs, pop, but interesting rhythms and a nice sound
Meg Hutchinson
Catie Curtis
Antje Duvekot, interesting voice, singer-songwriter stuff
Jen Foster
Kyler England
Vienna Teng

[chaila.livejournal.com]

To add to the overwhelming list:

PJ Harvey (the voice of Sarah Connor, I swear to god)
Neko Case (very powerful voice, awesome lyrics)
Imogen Heap (occasionally generic but some stuff is very interesting)
Cat Power (bluesy, a bit “pretty” but uniformly awesome)
Suzanne Vega (sometimes has a very Regina Spektor vibe)

Also, there are a few people I’ve recently snagged from endlessgravity and don’t yet have a firm opinion on but think are worth checking out. Namely Emma Pollock, Jenny Lewis, and Ivy

*hearts you a lot*

[rose-griffes.livejournal.com]

Brooke Fraser
Frou Frou (lead singer Imogen Heap also does solo work)
Dar Williams
Butterfly Boucher
Jem
Sara Bareilles
Pink Martini

Hah, I see Dar Williams is already here two or three other times...

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

I could rec a 100 females, but here's a few:

Blues
Janis Joplin

Rock
The Pretenders
Joan Jett

Alt Country
Lucinda Williams (brilliant lyrics)
Patty Griffin

Trad Country
Loretta Lynn

Punk
Sleater-Kinney
Hole
Liz Phair

Alternative
New Pornographers
Jenny Wilson
Kate Nash (very similar to Regina)
Cat Power
Fiona Apple

Jazz
Billie Holiday
Cassandra Wilson

R&B
Amy Winehouse
Aretha Franklin

World
M.I.A.

Singer/Songwriter
Carol King
Laura Nyro


I've got lots more if this isn't enough.

[bluerosefairy.livejournal.com]

All of my favorites have been mentioned, but here's my list:

Janis Joplin
Neko Case
Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs (I only know the one song of theirs, "Devil Do", but it's definitely in the vein you're looking for)
Vienna Teng ("pretty" voice, but the lyrics are worth it)
Poe
Alison Krauss (a little on the "pretty" side)
Anna Nalick
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Shirley Manson/Garbage

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

At the risk of stepping into the ableism wankstorm that's going on right now, I love Amanda Palmer's stuff, alone and as the Dresden Dolls.

Kate Bush (very Tori-esque, or more accurately Tori was very Kate Bush-esque)
Poe
Sia
Lily Allen
PJ Harvey
Amanda Ghost
Blonde Redhead

Edit: Oh, I can't believe I forgot Tegan & Sara until I noticed someone else mention them.

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

Why do you HATE differently-gendered conjoined twins with a history of sexual abuse, Nicole. WHY DO YOU HATE THE CHILDREN??

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

...honey, you made my whole day. XD

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

OKAY. CLEARLY I HAVE TOTALLY MISSED A WHOLE SOMETHING ON THE INTERWEBS. o_O This I must investigate...

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

(Excellent use of icon?)

She and her male collaborator have an upcoming concept album called "Evelyn Evelyn", where they pretend to be conjoined twins. Feminists With Disabilities called it offensive, she tweeted a very dismissive response, and the whole thing spiralled from there.

Idk, I think the main aspects of it are kinda tacky and I get the criticism, but at some point you have to be like "Okay, does a goofy side project that's basically an excuse for her and her friend to stick their outfits together and play the accordian demand THIS MUCH outrage on Linkspam?"

Anyway, I always fangirled her music more than her-as-a-person. On the scale of "people I admired who disappoint!" she falls somewhere around Joss Whedon and way lower than, like, TWoP Jacob. ;p

[chaila.livejournal.com]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuude IDEK. I think it might be the survivors of sexual abuse thing that pushes it a little over the edge into pure WHAT THE FUCK????????????????? Funny joke haha. Though yeah, what Nicole said, the LJ (excuse me, Dreamwidth) hivemind does seem to have latched onto it as the next oppressive horse to beat to death.

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

Hell, between all the seriously shitty (http://www.barcc.org/blog/778/) things embodied in the project and Palmer and Webley's responses to comments, I say keep bringing the shit-kicking on. (Even if I hate that it's giving the record and its creators that much more free publicity.) Even if some of the reaction posts are bound to repeat what others have said. linkspam's only up to its fourth digest so far on this, anyway - that ain't nothin' compared to its coverage of other imbroglios, heh.

[chaila.livejournal.com]

I think it's the treatment of this as an "imbroglio" that has me...something [ETA: Not because I think it is less serious or less offensive than other such events treated like that, but because the form of the discussion just doesn't look the same to me, as in the other instances where the people involved in the discussion are actually disagreeing or coming from different angles. /ETA], because as far as I can tell, there's nobody who's part of the discussion who's disagreeing that this is horrible (nor am I!) I'm all for ripping the project apart as it deserves and obviously people should talk about whatever they want, regardless of who's already said it, but when fandom adopts it as wank, posts about any other aspect other than how horrible it is (which 40 people have said already!) get labeled as "derailing." So the adoption of it as an "imbroglio" and the accompanying attempts to police the discussion about it and limit discussion to just how horrible it is (which, in this case, pretty much everyone agrees with) makes me rudely snarky. I don't actually think that 40 more people shouldn't write posts about how horrible it is, if they want to for any reason!

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

which, in this case, pretty much everyone agrees with

At the risk of being kicked out of polite society, I'm not in "everyone" in this instance. I'm not even a huge Amanda Palmer fan (at all), and I definitely see the basis for some of the criticism, but... IDK. For me, things that are so obviously designed to be horrible and play on every offensive stereotype out there in the most OTT way possible - and ultimately transcend them, which I think is what AFP's at least going for here - have a certain... appeal, whereas things like Glee (or hell, BSG,) where the offensiveness is unintentional and embedded are far more disturbing. All in the Family vs. Seventh Heaven?

And I may be completely wrong, but the way the discussion's being conducted (i.e. "how can Nieeeeeeel like this woman, ) is a major turn-off.

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

My musical knowledge is pathetically lacking, so this post is good for me too. *g* I heartily second the recommendations for Vienna Teng and Neko Case. And Janis Joplin and the Wailin' Jennies. And if you're willing to branch out into folk (of the British variety), I simply adore Kate Rusby. She's a good gateway artist. ;)

[beerbad.livejournal.com]

Garbage! Ingrid Michaelson! Veruca Salt! Lily Allen! No Doubt! Laura Veirs! Fleetwood Mac! Joni Mitchell! Nelly Furtado! Paramore!

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

Tanya Donelly, Kristin Hersh, The Nields, Kim Richey, Aimee Mann, The Organ, Christine Fellows, Jessica Star Rockers, Gillian Welch. For Liz Phair, I'd start with Exile in Guyville (legendary, with good reason!); whitechocolatespaceegg is the other Liz Phair album I like a lot. For Hole, I'd start with either Live Through This or Celebrity Skin; the latter is more mainstream.

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

Oh, and also the legendary Patti Smith (Horses, her debut album, is an excellent starting point), and Belly.

[asta77.livejournal.com]

I don't listen to a lot of music, but a recent 'discovery' of mine is Ingrid Michaelson. I'm not sure how to describe her. Can you be indie and pop friendly at the same time? Her songs are frequently used in TV shows and commercials. She does remind me a bit of Tori Amos. I find her music very soothing. And she has one song I think would make a great White Collar vid. ;)

[emmiere.livejournal.com]

I have next to none that haven't been mentioned yet, but I'll mention Laura Marling (ambiguous lyrics) and Lizz Wright (jazz/soul, with an amazing voice) as a couple I've been listening to recently. *seconds at least half this list*