Grrl rock ‘She’s a Rebel’

Gillian G. Garr

She’s a Rebel: A History of Women in Rock ‘ Roll

Seal Press

003… Gillian G. Garr

She’s a Rebel: A History of Women in Rock ‘ Roll

Seal Press

003

“She’s a Rebel: A History of Women in Rock ‘ Roll” by Gillian G. Garr, rock journalist extraordinaire, was recently released in an expanded second edition. While the original version encompassed everyone from the Chantels to Carole King to Patti Smith to Karen Finley, the new sections showcase the Riot Grrrl movement with profiles of Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. Carla DeSantis, founder of Rockrgrl magazine, even gets a few pages. Unlike Rolling Stone’s “Women in Rock” issue, Joan Jett gets more than a sentence about her amazing career and Sleater-Kinney isn’t billed last.

Although most profiles featured in the old and new editions highlight predominantly the mainstream crowd, the wealth of information offered by Garr is reason enough to dive into this musical extravaganza. Honestly, the fact that Maureen Tucker is highlighted as a musician rather than shadowed by the rest of the Velvet Underground seems like reason enough to read away.

Garr, who has enjoyed a successful career as a freelance writer for Rolling Stone, Q, and The Rocket, while publishing numerous other pieces in music anthologies, captures the wild and sometimes violent nature of women and rock ‘n’ roll from page one to 500 in “She’s a Rebel.” While pop stars like Mariah Carey feel awkward in the midst of a rock ‘n’ roll anthology, the collection is divided by musical era and type. Each section is clearly headed so you won’t eagerly tear into pieces on Kim Gordon and Bjork only to have a head-on collision with the Spice Girls. Yes, the Spice Girls are included, but the setup of the chapters is all about democracy. Read what you want and trash the rest.

The more than 50 years covered in the course of the book presents itself as a necessity for any music fan. In a way, it’s a social commentary. Women, being the minority in music, consistently rise to the top and show the men how it’s done. Though this may seem like a feat that was accomplishment overnight, history tells a different story and readers work from the ground up as the ladies take the stage and steal the show.

By the end of the novel, the state of women in rock is bittersweet as it becomes evident that while these women are accomplished inequality abounds after decades of struggle. With an ending consisting of Britney Spears and Destiny’s Child, it seems as though there’s no rock left to write about. It’s sad that these are the artists that bring the collection to a close – women parading about as sex symbols instead of rock ‘n’ roll legends in the making.

“She’s a Rebel,” at times random and unfocused in its selections, has the ability to appeal to any lover of music. It’s as calculated as a radio station’s playlist, but even when the worst songs are playing a gem always slips in.