The last thing that Ann Powers said to me after a long day of lecturing, was: "I think the girls at Dartmouth should pick up their guitars and start rockin'."
The title of Powers's speech, "How Rock and Roll Invented Feminism and Feminism Re-Invented Rock and Roll" only scratched the surface of a day-long experience with Powers, having had her speak to my music seminar prior to the speech and having dinner with her, along with several faculty members, directly after.
Powers began writing about music bands in high school and has been involved with music since then. Coming to Dartmouth with the experience of writing for The New York Times, Spin, and the Village Voice, Powers is now the acting music editor of The Village Voice, and her exposure and reviews of music by women artists such as Liz Phair and various other "Riot Grrls" groups has empowered women in the world of music, and women in general.
In her lecture, Powers declared that the "borders of the subject (feminism in rock) are fundamentally blurry." Going from the period of the punk indie rock scene during the Regan era to today, Powers pointed out how punk, as well as women's studies courses at colleges, are responsible for bands such as Hole and Bikini Kill.
Rock n' Roll was cited by Powers as the source of stigma and the secret model for indie rock. Indie rock, an American off shoot of English punk rock, appeared first in Providence, R.I. in the 1980s. Powers cited indie rock was the source of today's "alternative" music.
Pointing out such important early acts such as Patti Smith, who was considered the "first female rock star" by many, and Debbie Harry, of Blondie, whose vocal style early on was a critique of traditional feminine style, Powers recounted the history of acts such as Lilliput, The Raincoats, and The X-Ray Specs to Bratmobile, Hole. She classified Bikini Kill as either riot grrls, the basis for riot grrls, or musicians critical of the "riot grrl" scene.
Powers also had several samples of women's music for the audience to evaluate, concluding the lecture with the song "So" performed by Heavenly, a mixed gender group. The song is about date rape, demonstrating that the crucial point about music by women is that it provides an opportunity for women to have a voice, a stage, an audience, to speak to about women. As the group Heavenly demonstrates, men are not entirely excluded from this scene.
During a conversation between Powers and an aspiring young musician who plans on performing with her recently assembled "all women band," it was noted that in all probability, it would be the first time that such a band was assembled at Dartmouth. Why? Is it because women at Dartmouth aren't musical? Or could it be because things like that "just aren't done here"? If this is so, why not? Powers confronted all these questions and demonstrated that as far as women in music are concerned, the stigma to starting "my own band" is no longer present? Why would there be with the multitude of talent on the campus?
Powers gave no easy answers, but she did provide encouragement and support for all women interested in music. She stressed the need for a new consciousness for women in music, and how music is a whole new arena for voicing concerns that relate to women.
