Punk Feminist Reader, Finals Madness Edition

So even though I've been preoccupied with school-related matters, I have managed to keep up with my reading. Since it's Friday, and who actually does work on a Friday afternoon, I thought I'd share some links so you can dig what I've been thinking about/planning on possibly writing about. A lot of it is kind of old news, but still, enjoy, my punk feminist Friday slackers!

First: I rarely get to write about it here, but as the proud descendant of Puerto Rican migrants, I try to keep up with the island's news. Unfortunately, lately the news seems all bad: it's all about the aftermath of the hatecrime murder of Jorge Steven López Mercado, and the resurrection of the dastardly Proyecto 2499.

In better, gayer news, my personal heroine Trish Bendix has been bringing the gay music news over at AfterEllen (along with our morning brew). This week, she reports on how Lady Sovereign is FINALLY out, and last week Trish got us the news on Melissa York's latest projects. (Which includes Team Dresch reunion shows this summer, OMGYAY!)

In feminist blogger gal pal news: the lovely Maggie of Rocker Repro recently asked why Taylor Momsen is so into old school dude rockers. Another heroine, Alyx Vesey, has been killing it over at Bitch, and I especially loved her response to the new M.I.A. video. And then ANOTHER friend, RMJ, who has also been blogging over at Bitch (dang, I have some good feminist blogger taste!), recently posted at her blog Deeply Problematic about why Kristen Stewart doesn't have to smile for us. In other Bitch news, Jessica Yee asks us to consider when an issue becomes a feminist issue.

Meanwhile, my faves The Two Funerals and their tourmates/bffs in P.S. Eliot have been fighting and calling out scene sexism and misogyny in the trenches and on the intarwebs. Read all about what incited their righteous rage for yourself, read TTF's response, read Katie of PSE's response, and then get active and do something good for your own scene.

And if you still haven't got anything to do after that, go read some Tiger Beatdown, and maybe listen to some good, old fashioned, feminist straight edge vegetarian grindcore.

Promise to come back with a real post soon, my dear readers. Hasta luego!

Hump Day Treat, extra early edition

Usually I post every Wednesday's Hump Day Treat from my bedroom, while I'm getting ready to go to work, or in the afternoon from my office. There's a change in plans this week because tomorrow I'll be accompanying my stepfather to a chemotherapy appointment, and this apparently will take up the entire work day. As you can imagine, the time spent at chemotherapy is really not what's upsetting about the entire affair.

It's fitting then, that this week's treat is "So Human", the catchy, upbeat new hard-times-are-for-dancing single from Lady Sovereign. It's the second single from her new record, Jigsaw, which was released in the U.S. today.



Now, just as you might have thought when I posted a video from M.I.A., you might now be thinking: what is Lady Sovereign doing here, when she is neither punk nor hardcore? It's simple really. My love of Lady Sovereign is based on four things:

1. She is a fearless solo female artist, boldly going forth in a genre with very few women performers;
2. Whether she realizes it or not, she mixes and reshapes dance, rap, and hip hop as genres in groundbreaking ways on her new singles;
3. She's funny and British;
4. She is, as far as I can tell, a great big homo.

So go and support the made-over, mature, consistently humorous, newly independent (...sort of) Lady Sovereign by dancing this Wednesday mess around to her latest video!