Hump Day Treat, Leos Love Gossip edition

As it happens, I have not one, but two close friends celebrating birthdays today. And in further coincidence, both of these friends are fans of The Gossip. Isn't that totally crazy?! Okay, it isn't really. But still: happy hump-day birthday to my favorite fire signed ladies, Stephanie and Jen!

Hump Day Treat: More Sweet Gossip Edition

My love and appreciation of (the) Gossip is well-established, I know. But I'm in the mood to celebrate: not only did the tangible, non-digital, cd version of The Gossip's newest release, Music for Men finally hit stores yesterday, but the disco euro punk power trio themselves just hit the road! So today let's give it up for the band's newest single on this sort of dreary, sort of not day!



The Gossip will be touring both the U.S. and Europe in the next two months! Get the dates here at their myspace. After watching the video I'd say it's worth checking out just to see if they have an actual keytar onstage, wouldn't you?

Why Gossip Matters.

Why spend an entire week blogging exclusively about The Gossip? They're a great band, and they're one of my favorites -- but there's more to it than that.



The Gossip exploded into the cooler-than-cool, indie-r than indie community in Olympia, Washington, home of Kill Rock Stars, K Records, and the Riot Grrrl movement after moving there from their hometown of Searcy, Arkansas. In doing so, The Gossip brought the sound and perspective of the Southern, Christian-raised rural working class to the typically urban, coastal middle class orientation of punk rock. The Gossip gave a voice to the all but completely obscured Southern lesbian feminist.

The band has evolved from it's roots and grown to address new issues: on Movement, the group's second full-length album, Ditto sings about being part of the so-called in crowd, and tracks about obnoxious scene politics and shallow hipsters reverberate with a righteous rejection of scenism. The band takes it further on the following Standing in the Way of Control and Music for Men by taking on gay and trans rights issues. Ditto sings love songs about gay couples that could be about anyone, broadcasting LGBTQ issues over the radio without sensationalism or self-consciousness.

In recent years, vocalist Beth Ditto has gained arguably more attention for her appearance than for her feminist and pro-LGBTQ politics. But with the support of her bandmates, she's turned issues around sizism and fatbashing into a feminist and political issue as well, standing up for the right of women to be as large as they want, and to love their bodies as they are.

The Gossip bring radical, open-minded, anti-hate politics back to punk, which is exactly where such politics belong. They increase visibility for unseen communities within punk: queer punks, lady punks, Southern punks, and working punks, to name a few. And they do so in a creative way -- by making dance music, short upbeat songs about love, queers, and the importance of community that are capable of reaching a broad audience. Even better, now they're doing it on a major label's dime, having just released their first record for Sony's Music with a Twist Records.

Political beliefs, and the importance of one's identity to one's beliefs, are a part of the Gossip's work. It's not something tacked on after the fact, it's not incidental -- it's part of who all three members are, and is a key factor in their work. They are the embodiment of something I heard legendary activist Cleve Jones say in a speech recently: he said to a crowd of other gay activists, "You want equality? You want to be equal? Then act equal!" he encouraged the crowd. The Gossip make music about acting equal -- whether you're gay or straight, big or small, male or female -- no matter who you are.

The Gossip actually wants you to do more than act equal -- with the music they're making, they want us to dance. In a class on the politics of women's bodies, I read about how poverty impacts women physically, and about poor women who claimed that when you're faced with mounting bills, hungry children, and a system that won't help you break the cycle of poverty, the bravest thing you can do is retain your sense of humor, and laugh. The Gossip's music operates on a similar principle: when you're being treated like a second class citizen, and when your government is trying to take away your rights, when you find yourself living in fear of harassment and violence, the bravest and most defiant thing you can do is dance.

The Gossip wants us to stand in the way of control, and to live our lives. And that is why The Gossip matters.

A Gossip Guide

You know all about The Gossip's new album, Music for Men, and you know their sound right now. But what about what came before? The band has a respectable catalogue by now. Read on for a brief guide to their releases!

The Early Years: 1999 - 2002

Formed in 1999, the Gossip wasted no time: they moved from their tiny hometown of Searcy, Arkansas to Olympia, WA, and released their debut self-titled EP the following year, on K Records. The Gossip sounds a bit sleepy compared to the rest of their works, but it already has the band's trademark elements: Beth's huge voice fearlessly singing about desire, disaster, girls and sex, Brace Paine's rhythmic, fuzzed out, swampy sounding guitar, and previous drummer Kathy Mendonca's deceptively simple, low-down drumming.

In January of 2001 the band put out its first album, That's Not What I Heard, on Olympia's famed Kill Rock Stars. From start to finish the album bursts with energy and defiance, and each song explores the band's original Southern gospel punk sound. Beth Ditto howls about love lost, love gained, fighting with other women, and making up with them too on songs like "Swing Low", "Where the Girls Are" and "Hot Date". As provocative as the songs are, it's clear that they are not meant merely to titillate -- their purpose is to make Ditto's voice, and her Southern Christian-raised diy lesbian perspective heard. From the beginning, the Gossip aren't playing songs about sex to be skeezy, they're doing it as a form of activism. And by this time, they're already capable of taking that activism live, as you can watch in the video below from 2001:

Movement: 2002 - 2006

After some extensive touring in the US, the Gossip finally put out a second ep, Arkansas Heat in 2002. Though the title feature's the group's Southern home state, you can already hear them getting away from that influence on this EP. The full length Movement (2003) bravely speeds up the tempo, fuzzes out the guitars even more, and focuses on crafting a new indie dance style. Both guitars and percussion are louder and challenge Beth's overpowering voice, and Beth takes it back a notch. The whole band learns to balance itself better on this album, and the result is a satisfying, sunny Southern-fried post punk album that seemingly never gets old. Beth mixes critiques of the indie scene into her lyrics about love, loss, and "dancing", taking shallow scenesters to task for their focus on shoes and hairstyles, and the band works to create a real community with this work.

Dance Dance Revolution: 2006 - right now

In 2006 the Gossip shocked their fans with Standing the Way of Control: a relentless assault on the conservative US government that draws mainly on....disco? The band leaves behind the deliberately sloppy distorted guitars and tin can drums for smooth, glossy, cool beats that almost sound like they could have easily been made in the late 1970s. New drummer Hannah Blilie, who's style is higher and more sibilant than Mendonca's was, helps the band breach this identity crisis with flair, while Beth and Brace experiment with new sounds and perfect their new brand of activist disco punk. The album is chock full of songs that would travel easily from the picket line to the dance floor, an impressive feat for any band, I think.

SITWOC launched the band's unexpected success in the UK. The Gossip toured extensively in Europe and put a lot of time into doing press their in 2007. Watch this footage of them from a Portuguese music festival:

The band follows up their new found popularity in Europe with Music for Men, a further exploration of gay life and gay rights, love, and European dance music. On this record the group experiments with keyboards, synthesizers and drum machines -- but somehow at the same time manages to keep it true to their punk roots. For ten years the Gossip have been seeking out barriers and taking sledgehammers to them. Let's hope they do it for ten more, and beyond.

Want a full Gossip discography? Try their Wikipedia page, which is pretty detailed and well-done.

Hump Day Treat, Gossip, Folks! week Edition

In the continuing saga of Gossip, Folks! week here at R&tSG, Hump Day Treat today brings you the brand new single from Music for Men: "Heavy Cross"!



BUT there's a bonus --- this week we also have The Gossip's criminally underrated cover of "Are You That Somebody?" The video is from a 2007 performance in the UK, taken by a fan that also took some superb videos of Sleater-Kinney back in the day:



So enjoy these Gossip songs, new and old (especially the "Vogue"-era Madonna feel of the first video) on this lovely Hump Day!

Music for Men is officially out!

The day we've all been looking forward to has finally arrived: The Gossip's fourth album, Music for Men, is here! The album is available worldwide digitally. Non-digital versions will be available in stores in early October.

Watch the Music for Men informercial (yes, there's an informercial!):



This new album is meant to reach exactly the audience it refers to: men. As Ditto explains to Clash Music, "I think people who are really down are really gonna think it’s funny, or they’re really gonna get it. It’s really ironic, but it’s really true; I think the idea of making a feminist record for men is really cool. Because we already know that we’re oppressed — men need to know that we’re oppressed." The band is clearly committed to making socially conscious and politically aware music. Kudos to them for sticking with this on their major label debut.

But socially conscious and feminist doesn't mean the group doesn't have a sense of humor. Beth Ditto followed this statement up with, "I wanted it to be a hit in Ibiza. I wanted it to be gay like that."

Still not sold? Well thanks to spinner.com you can preview the entire album before you spend your hard-earned pennies on it! Here's the link: Music for Men by Gossip | Listening Party


For further reading:
Clash Music: Gossip on New Album, 2 Jun 2009

Clash Music: Gossip - Full Uncut Interview

That's Not What I Heard! The Truth About the Gossip

*****It's Gossip, Folks! Week here at Rock and the Single Girl! In celebration of the release The Gossip's fourth full length album and major label debut, Music for Men, for the next 6 days R&tSG will feature musings, music, photos, and video of the acclaimed PDX-by-way-of-Arkansas trio, (The) Gossip. Already a fan? Turn up the volume and get ready to dance. No idea who they are? Turn up the volume anyway, and get ready to be converted, because The Gossip is just that kind of band.*****



I got hooked on The Gossip the first time I saw them live, back in the summer of 2000. My high school best friend had their new record, and she was going to see them; when she invited me to go with her I reluctantly agreed. "What if I don't like them?" I fretted, almost falling off my seat as the 7 train turned by Shea Stadium. "Don't worry", my friend said, expertly maintaining her balance as the subway car rattled and shook. "Trust me, you'll like them."

And of course, that night I fell in love with them -- I fell in love with their lead singer, Beth Ditto, because she was the loudest and most unself-conscious woman I'd ever seen on a stage, and more than that I fell in love with their music, with the sound of gospel-style vocals about having sex with girls over messy garage-style punk, a violent crashing mix of distorted, Southern-sounding guitars and low-tuned Riot Grrrl percussion. Watch this video from back then so you can see for yourself what I'm talking about:



I'd always been so sure that The Gossip are a really good band. It wasn't just that I happened to like them; they were actually making quality music and giving quality, energetic performances. So I was completely shocked when my friend Jess sent me this link, along with the commentary, "I don't know why I read comments, but this whole post annoyed the crap out of me": http://perezhilton.com/2009-06-12-alex-blimes-is-a-douche

Perez Hilton's love of the Gossip is nothing new, he's been talking them up for a long time, right? But what about Alex Bilmes' criticisms? I thought the The Gossip were beloved throughout the UK! And what about the comments? "Um Perez, nobody likes the Gossip but you"? "He's right, they suck"? "Who the fuck are these people"? I didn't realize just how much Gossip hate there is out there.

Then there are the comments about Beth Ditto's appearance. It's one thing to not like The Gossip's music, or even to hate their sound. It's another thing to be put off by Beth's opinions or the way she expresses them. It is something else entirely to bash the band because of Beth's appearance, or more to the point, her size. There is palpable contempt for Beth's so-called 'morbid obesity'.

There's not much I can say about those comments -- I don't think I need to say that it's wrong and sad that people are so shallow, in addition to being sexist and fatphobic. But I will take on the quotes from Bilmes' article. As a journalist and critic (rather than a longtime fan), I can say this about Bilmes: he's wrong.

I don't see how the fashion industry's recent interest in Ditto could possibly be an attempt to appease "feminazis" -- I don't think Bilmes understands that such a massive and lucrative industry doesn't have to appease anyone, least of all feminists. I'm suspicious of the fashion industry, yes, and I'll admit that I don't entirely understand why Beth Ditto is suddenly so chummy with Kate Moss and Karl Lagerfeld, but Lagerfeld is a powerful designer. Homeslice is not hanging out with Beth because he's worried or scared, okay? Okay.

Bilmes is equally off the mark in calling Beth a poor role model for young women. Is he foolish enough to think that young girls are going to go out and eat everything in sight and try to make themselves larger so that they'll look like her? (And if they do -- so fucking what?) As a woman myself, I can tell you that it's more complicated than that. Beth is an inspiration not necessarily to be larger, or to be 'unhealthy'; she's an inspiration to love yourself and your body even when the mainstream tells you that you shouldn't, whether it's because of boniness, flab, acne, stretch marks, 'bad' hair, or whatever 'flaws' you might have.

And finally: Bilmes calls The Gossip "a deeply average, resolutely unsuccessful rock band." I read this and thought "....is this true? Are they average?" As I said above, it had never occurred to me that they were anything but quality.

And I stand by this assessment. There is no one in the world making music like The Gossip -- not ten years ago when they were playing their inimitable Southern dance punk, and not now as they write and record songs that can best be described as disco punk. The Gossip are innovators, that's just the way it is. The Gossip is comprised of three very skilled musicians and songwriters, capable of evolving and experimenting with new sounds and styles. And I know, that's not really a big deal, any decent band should be able to evolve and experiment, but that's just it -- not every band out there is capable of that. I don't understand how Bilmes can call The Gossip "average".

Regardless of what Bilmes says, regardless of Perez Hilton's or even my opinion, regardless of what Hilton's commenters say, the truth about The Gossip is just this: they kick ass, on many different levels.

official website
Gossip on myspace

Hump Day Treat, Late Edition

I don't know about you, reader, but I feel the mid-day slump that much more on Wednesdays. Something about being at your mid point of the week makes you look back, take stock, and truly feel the amount of energy it's taken to get you to where you are right now. Sometimes just thinking about it is exhausting.

So for everyone else out there who's at the office, watching the clock and trying to get their second wind, for everyone who's sick of office politics, for everyone who just wants to go home, I present: "Listen Up", by the Gossip. It's almost quittin' time here in the states, so check to make sure your boss isn't coming, plug your headphones into your computer, and bop your head to the disco punk sound of the future being created by one of the finest bands in the business!