Dinosaurs, Diva’s and the “Men” that Label them…..
I walked to work one morning listening to my best of Blondie CD; yes I said CD. It is bad enough that the era of the vinyl record is over, not to mention the thrill of actually going to a record store to buy your favorite artists music along with pretty packaging, artwork and their predictable thank you notes inside.
Now I had to conform to the iPod?! It actually is an amazing gadget- just less magical.
What about Blondie, I thought? What a pioneer, what a performer; is she listening to an iPod?
Were there any women still out there rocking hard, singing live and tearing up the stage anymore? Or were they extinct? Yes, okay Madonna is still going strong but she doesn’t count because I don’t even think she is human!
Where are the Billy Holidays, the Janis Joplin’s, the ones with a few lines under their eyes and maybe some meat on their bones?
Why is it okay for EVERY woman to be expected to lie about their age, holding steady at 25 and weigh 95 pounds?
I mean clearly some of these “girls” are over 35 but what is wrong with that?
Why does every female being signed have to be a cookie cut out of the one before her.
What is this teaching the pre-teen of today?
I tried to think of one new female “artist” that moved me. As the names turned over in my mind, all they moved me to do was never listen to the radio again.
I mean where was the new Nina Simone or Carole King; distinct original voices? YES, I thought that will be the topic of my next piece- Dinosaurs or Divas?
As someone who had just turned thirty, in a land where you are considered dried up at 23, was I now a dinosaur? Was I out of style and outdated? Should I just be put out to pasture?
Why does wanting to hear music that shakes your core instead of wanting to shake your ass and “pop bottles” make me “old”?
No, I will find a beautiful intelligent muse who is sexy and witty singing her song…and is over 30!
She will be the icing on the cake for this month’s feature.
I very enthusiastically skipped into my editor’s office and laid my idea in his lap. In turn he very unenthusiastically dumped all over what I thought to be a brilliant story.
He proceeded to tell me that I was out of touch. No one cared about “Old lady singers”. It is all the about the young hot female. That like it or not, it is a world that idolizes Youth and beauty.
Easy for him to say; Although he was an overweight and balding middle aged man, he could probably get a record deal before a beautiful singer/songwriter who just happened to not be going through puberty.
It isn’t a world that idolizes Youth and Beauty. It is a world that has a distorted view of what beauty is.
It has become so bad that women are getting so much plastic surgery to look “young” they look like Deranged Cats.
Lil Kim, who was the cutest thing going, started getting plastic surgery when she was TWENTY EIGHT years old!! Just a few years later she looks like a Bratz doll gone wrong.
As he tried to “school me”, as he put it, on music industry standards, I drifted off. I could not help wondering…
When did these rules take affect? Who was the greedy business man who started this tragedy and how could I slash his tires?
I refocused and caught the last bit of his speech.
I needed to go down to Joe’s Pub Friday night and do my next article on the hot new female performer that has been creating a buzz around the village.
I was not happy about it and I planned on having a couple of drinks to numb myself of the boredom I was sure to face watching the “performance”
That fateful night came and although a night of Bingo with my 90 year old neighbor Marty would have been more fun at this point, I headed out to see “miss new it girl”.
I arrived at Joe’s Pub and because I am “press” I get two free drink tickets and a front row seat.
The MC came on and announced the first act. Great, I would have to sit through not one but possibly a few mind numbing singers.
I look up and standing in front of me is a blonde nightmare- A deer in the headlights who was having a hard time balancing her fake boobs while singing into the microphone.
I barely sat through the first song and I decided I did not need my drink tickets. I needed some coffee to help me stay awake. I had to get away at least for a few moments.
I went outside to bum a Cigarette and mumble to myself. As the men in suits walked by I stared at them with laser beam eyes. I wished music still inspired me. I wished to hear a haunting female voice. The kind you can relate to, soul to soul, by their words and inflections. There were few Ani DiFranco’s out there.
I must have been out there for about 20 minutes when all of a sudden the most wicked, raspy, soulful voice came bursting out of Joe’s Pub. Could it be? It was like the sidewalk shook and rolled me back inside.
As my eyes adjusted to the dimly lit stage, I strained to make out whom or what angelic force was creating this sound.
It was a tiny woman no more than 5’2 with wild curly hair and an hourglass figure.
She was pacing and owning the stage like an Olympic gold medalist. She was a wild stallion taking the room hostage.
As the spotlight hit her face, the portrait of a life of adventure and challenges was immediately revealed.
She did not have a technically perfect pitch, she wasn’t a model, she wasn’t 18 years old but she was more alive than anyone I had seen in my life.
Her first song ended with a cymbal crash and a thank you to her appreciative audience.
Of course now I recognized her. It was Daphne Rubin Vega!!! She was the original star of the Broadway play RENT. I was quite moved by her a decade earlier when I had first seen the Play. She played “Mimi”, and so would I someday, I vowed.
She engaged the audience and right away shouted out that she was 41 and proud of it, and the room cheered!
The Dinosaur was alive!
WOW, what a voice, what a set, what a woman. She was my story.
I refused to even stay and watch the girl I was the there to see, who I guess was the main event.
I went back outside to try and call someone, anyone, who would let me tell them what I witnessed- what inspiration.
I dialed number after number, no one answered. In the midst of my frenzy I heard Daphne’s voice; could she be doing an encore? I ran back in hoping it could be true.
This time the lights were bright and Daphne was introducing Nellie Mckay. Yes, she was the one I had come to see.
I will go back outside and come back when she is half way through. There would be no way I could sit through that after seeing Daphne. There would also be no need.
I quietly removed myself and stood out on the sidewalk.
In a matter of seconds I heard the most lovely sound reverberating from inside; A velvety, tone peppered with warmth, light and insight.
No, that cannot be Miss Mckay!! I went again back in and saw a yellow haired beauty, old fashioned in her attire and demeanor. She wore a Pink Satin Dress, had pale skin and a shy speaking voice.
She quietly giggled as she sat in front of the piano and said to forgive her for she was just warming up. The spotlight shined on her porcelain skin and her first note hit the air, gently floating down melting away any prejudice I had against her.
It was just her and her piano and that is all she needed to capture the audience.
Her first song, “I want to get married” was a tongue and Cheek Ballad about being a housewife.
Her next song, “David”, was an intriguing love song mixing politics and wit. She blew me away. She was a modern day female Eminem at times, yet she was as old fashioned as Billy Holiday or Dinah Shore.
This girl was not a day over 24 but had the soul of The Dinosaur!
At the end of her set, Daphne came out and plugged Nellie’s album for her.
I hung my head a little in shame and a very small tear came to my eye. I had been just as prejudice and just as harsh as the “men” that I thought were the enemy.
The Realization washed over me like a baptismal oath. The music did not die. There is no old or new, you just need to look beyond your own barriers and find the rainbow of truly great song that is still out there.
I had witnessed a true awakening; the dinosaur and the “new Diva” were both part of one heartbeat and that night I witnessed the fusion of the best of both worlds.
