Mind you, I really don’t care for Avril or Alanis. Nevertheless, I applaud their determination and hard work. And lots of people certainly don’t share my opinion, as these artists are pretty darn popular.
Let’s put taste aside for a few minutes, because this is a very serious issue that simply will not go away.
Yesterday’s Washington Post contained David Segal’s review of Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morissette’s new albums. Segal probably thought he was being funny, but when you put the review into the larger context of women in modern rock, it’s just appallingly sexist. Take the first paragraph:
The nearly simultaneous release of new albums by Canadians Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morissette is enough to make you wish the bureaucrats in Ottawa would regulate the export of rock. Or maybe we could write something into NAFTA. Whatever the answer, let’s just agree that the system isn’t working, because the market for frostback pop in the guitar-strumming, cranky-female category is about to be flooded.
Flooded. Two albums is a flood? Mosey on over to Billboard Magazine and take a gander at the Modern Rock charts. How many male artists do you see on that chart? I see a lot. And how often do you see reviews stating that we should only have one male singer at a time with a new release? Male artists are compared to other artists all the time, but that’s a weak device of music criticism in general. They aren’t singled out because they’re male artists who sound like other male artists.
Turn on the radio. Linkin Park. Godsmack. Hoobastank. 311. The Offsping. A Perfect Circle. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah.
We can have all the angst we can swallow from male rockers, it may be derivative but we never question a male rockers right to put out a whine-fest while other guys are doing same. But, we can only have one female rocker at a time, else we have a “flood.”
Segal is talking about album releases, no less. He’s not even talking about radio airplay. (Which, when issues such as payola and consolidation are factored in, is just way too complex to get into here). Radio holds you captive in many situations, but I can’t think of any real life-or-death situations involving which album to buy.
Segal’s views echo opinions and perspectives that resonate throughout the entertainment industry. Suggesting that these female artists are interchangeable and that we only need one at a time is absurd. Do they threaten the boys? It’s a big market. Girls don’t actually have cooties. Get over it.
Maybe it would it be better if female artists took turns releasing albums? One could record and tour while the others stayed home, barefoot and pregnant.
Segal goes on to write, “It’s a situation best described as “lose-lose.”
Lose-lose. I have this silly idea that the world is better off having more artistic voices out there appealing to smaller segments of the population, rather than fewer voices mass-marketed and homogenized to allegedly appeal to everyone. Sillier still, I don’t think we need quotas – formal or informal – on gender. It’s so 1950s it makes me ill.
Don’t like an artist? Don’t listen to their album. Segal, as a critic, doesn’t have that option, of course. He’s paid to write stuff, and snarky reviews – especially of music performed by women – are perfectly in step with our “trash everything as criticism” culture. It’s easy. It pays well. It keeps the readers coming back.
Segal has the option of not reinforcing sexist notions of who should be allowed to express themselves and in what terms, but instead he takes the easy way out – cheap shots at Canadians and strong women are easier than original thought any day of the week.
Not that we shouldn’t be worried about Canadians, of course. Something not quite right about those folks…