A list with more records (by women) than the K.G.B.
August 2, 2018 12:19 PM   Subscribe

Last summer (and previously discussed here), the NPR music team put forward a "correction of the historical record" and a new canon, with the top 150 albums by women. It was awesome, and we had a great time mentioning all the other women that they could have mentioned. For an encore, this summer, they have produced The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+, a new list focusing on work by women and non-binary artists whose debut albums or most substantial contributions came after January 1, 2000. The series includes an introduction by Marissa Lorusso as well as additional articles/interviews on curating the list, the stylistic diversity on the list, the foundations laid in the late 1990s, the importance of black and latina artists. You can stream the playlist on your service of choice with the links here. The full list is below the fold.

1: M.I.A., "Paper Planes" (2007)
2: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps" (2003)
3: Beyoncé, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" (2008)
4: Amy Winehouse, "Back To Black" (2006)
5: Alabama Shakes, "Hold On" (2012)
6: Lorde, "Royals" (2013)
7: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, "100 Days, 100 Nights" (2007)
8: Alicia Keys, "Fallin'" (2001)
9: Brandi Carlile, "The Story" (2007)
10: Peaches, "Fuck The Pain Away" (2000)
11: Janelle Monáe (ft. Big Boi), "Tightrope" (2010)
12: Solange, "Cranes In The Sky" (2016)
13: Lana Del Rey, "Video Games" (2011)
14: Hurray For The Riff Raff, "Pa'lante" (2017)
15: Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass" (2010)
16: Mitski, "Your Best American Girl" (2016)
17: Florence + The Machine, "Dog Days Are Over" (2009)
18: Grimes, "Oblivion" (2012)
19: Beyoncé, "Formation" (2016)
20: Adele, "Rolling In The Deep" (2010)
21: Carly Rae Jepsen, "Call Me Maybe" (2012)
22: Kacey Musgraves, "Follow Your Arrow" (2013)
23: Amy Winehouse, "Rehab" (2006)
24: Rihanna (ft. Jay-Z), "Umbrella" (2007)
25: Cardi B, "Bodak Yellow" (2017)
26: Miranda Lambert, "Gunpowder & Lead" (2008)
27: Kesha, "Praying" (2017)
28: Norah Jones, "Don't Know Why" (2002)
29: Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance" (2009)
30: Rhiannon Giddens, "At The Purchaser's Option" (2017)
31: Against Me!, "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" (2014)
32: SZA, "The Weekend" (2017)
33: Courtney Barnett, "Avant Gardener" (2013)
34: Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats" (2005)
35: The Knife, "Heartbeats" (2002)
36: Bomba Estéreo, "Soy Yo" (2015)
37: Paramore, "Misery Business" (2007)
38: St. Vincent, "Cruel" (2011)
39: Valerie June, "Workin' Woman Blues" (2012)
40: Rihanna (ft. Calvin Harris), "We Found Love" (2011)
41: Kelly Clarkson, "Since U Been Gone" (2004)
42: Esperanza Spalding, "I Know You Know" (2008)
43: Taylor Swift, "Blank Space" (2014)
44: Lizzo, "Good As Hell" (2016)
45: Anaïs Mitchell, "Why We Build The Wall" (2010)
46: Azealia Banks (ft. Lazy Jay), "212" (2011)
47: Avril Lavigne, "Complicated" (2002)
48: Beyoncé (ft. Jay-Z), "Crazy In Love" (2003)
49: Robyn, "Dancing On My Own" (2010)
50: Downtown Boys, "Monstro" (2015)
51: Feist, "1234" (2007)
52: Vanessa Carlton, "A Thousand Miles" (2002)
53: Cecile McLorin Salvant, "Monday" (2015)
54: Margo Price, "Hands Of Time" (2016)
55: Tune-Yards, "Powa" (2011)
56: Nelly Furtado, "I'm Like A Bird" (2000)
57: Lady Gaga, "Born This Way" (2011)
58: Adele, "Someone Like You" (2011)
59: Little Big Town, "Girl Crush" (2014)
60: Ivy Queen, "Quiero Bailar" (2003)
61: Broken Social Scene, "Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl" (2002)
62: M.I.A., "Bad Girls" (2012)
63: Katy Perry, "Teenage Dream" (2010)
64: Waxahatchee, "Bathtub" (2012)
65: Shakira (ft. Wyclef Jean), "Hips Don't Lie" (2006)
66: Sia, "Chandelier" (2014)
67: Grouper, "Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping" (2008)
68: Nicki Minaj (ft. Beyoncé), "Feeling Myself" (2014)
69: Xenia Rubinos, "Mexican Chef" (2016)
70: Blu Cantrell, "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (2001)
71: India.Arie, "Video" (2001)
72: Regina Spektor, "Us" (2003)
73: Icona Pop (ft. Charli XCX), "I Love It" (2012)
74: Sharon Van Etten, "Every Time The Sun Comes Up" (2014)
75: Jill Scott, "Golden" (2004)
76: Rihanna, "Bitch Better Have My Money" (2015)
77: Anohni, "Drone Bomb Me" (2016)
78: Natalia Lafourcade, "Hasta La Raíz" (2015)
79: Gretchen Wilson, "Redneck Woman" (2004)
80: Joanna Newsom, "Peach, Plum, Pear" (2004)
81: Jenny Lewis, "Just One of the Guys" (2014)
82: Corinne Bailey Rae, "Put Your Records On" (2006)
83: Young M.A., "OOOUUU" (2016)
84: Pink, "Don't Let Me Get Me" (2001)
85: Ibeyi, "River" (2014)
86: Matana Roberts, "All Is Written" (2015)
87: Sylvan Esso, "Coffee" (2014)
88: Evanescence, "Bring Me to Life" (2003)
89: FKA Twigs, "Two Weeks" (2014)
90: Caroline Shaw, "Partita For 8 Voices" (2012)
91: The Moldy Peaches, "Anyone Else But You" (2001)
92: Fea, "Mujer Moderna" (2016)
93: HAIM, "The Wire" (2013)
94: Eve (ft. Gwen Stefani), "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (2001)
95: Noura Mint Seymali, "Ghlana" (2016)
96: EMA, "California" (2011)
97: Ludicra, "Clean White Void" (2010)
98: SOPHIE, "Lemonade" (2014)
99: Ana Tijoux, "1977" (2009)
100: Maggie Rogers, "Alaska" (2016)
101: Shovels & Rope, "Birmingham" (2012)
102: Janelle Monáe (ft. Grimes), "Pynk" (2018)
103: Beyoncé, "Countdown" (2011)
104: Princess Nokia, "Tomboy" (2016)
105: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, "We The Common (For Valerie Bolden)" (2013)
106: Babymetal, "Gimme Chocolate!!" (2014)
107: Gwen Stefani, "Hollaback Girl" (2004)
108: Pistol Annies, "Bad Example" (2011)
109: Angel Olsen, "Shut Up Kiss Me" (2016)
110: Santigold, "L.E.S. Artistes" (2008)
111: Mary Halvorson Octet, "Away With You (No. 55)" (2016)
112: Estelle (ft. Kanye West), "American Boy" (2008)
113: Flor De Toloache, "Dicen" (2014)
114: Laura Marling, "Rambling Man" (2010)
115: The Internet (ft. Kaytranada), "Girl" (2015)
116: First Aid Kit, "My Silver Lining" (2014)
117: Jean Grae and Blue Sky Black Death (ft. Chen Lo), "Threats" (2008)
118: Big Freedia, "Azz Everywhere" (2010)
119: Tanya Tagaq, "Uja" (2014)
120: Miley Cyrus, "Wrecking Ball" (2013)
121: G.L.O.S.S., "G.L.O.S.S. (We're From The Future)" (2015)
122: Kali Uchis (ft. Jorja Smith), "Tyrant" (2017)
123: Tegan And Sara, "The Con" (2007)
124: Amerie, "1 Thing" (2005)
125: Priests, "And Breeding" (2014)
126: Andra Day, "Rise Up" (2015)
127: Julia Wolfe, Anthracite Fields: "Flowers" (2015)
128: Hop Along, "Tibetan Pop Stars" (2012)
129: Joanna Newsom, "Sapokanikan" (2015)
130: Elizabeth Cook, "Heroin Addict Sister" (2010)
131: Jlin, "Black Origami" (2017)
132: Ciara (ft. Petey Pablo), "Goodies" (2004)
133: Gossip, "Standing In The Way Of Control" (2006)
134: Maren Morris, "My Church" (2016)
135: Big Thief, "Mary" (2017)
136: Mon Laferte, "Pa' Dónde Se Fue" (2017)
137: Jazmine Sullivan, "Bust Your Windows" (2008)
138: Micachu & The Shapes, "Golden Phone" (2009)
139: Moor Mother, "Deadbeat Protest" (2016)
140: Jenny Hval, "That Battle Is Over" (2015)
141: Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me" (2008)
142: Cooly G (feat. Aaron Carr), "He Said I Said" (2012)
143: Mala Rodríguez, "Yo Marco El Minuto" (2000)
144: Jamila Woods, "Blk Girl Soldier" (2016)
145: Nicole Mitchell, "Shiny Divider" (2017)
146: Metric, "Help I'm Alive" (2008)
147: Imogen Heap, "Hide And Seek" (2005)
148: Rilo Kiley, "Portions For Foxes" (2004)
149: Sky Ferreira, "Everything Is Embarassing" (2012)
150: Arooj Aftab, "Lullaby" (2015)
151: Fever Ray, "Seven" (2009)
152: DJ Sprinkles, "House Music Is Controllable Desire You Can Own" (2008)
153: Lily Allen, "Smile" (2006)
154: Holly Herndon, "Chorus" (2014)
155: Mortals, "View From A Tower" (2014)
156: Julien Baker, "Sprained Ankle" (2015)
157: Terri Lyne Carrington, "Mosaic Triad" (2011)
158: Mary Gauthier, "Mercy Now" (2005)
159: Sarah Kirkland Snider, Penelope: "The Lotus Eaters" (2010)
160: The Band Perry, "If I Die Young" (2010)
161: Carly Rae Jepsen, "Run Away With Me" (2015)
162: Cristina Pato, "Muiñeira for Cristina" (2013)
163: Windhand, "Orchard" (2013)
164: Amara La Negra, "Poron Pom Pom" (2013)
165: Tweet (ft. Missy Elliott), "Oops (Oh My)" (2002)
166: I'm With Her, "I-89" (2018)
167: Daymé Arocena, "Mambo Na' Má" (2016)
168: René Marie, "Dixie/Strange Fruit" (2001)
169: Brandy Clark, "Hold My Hand" (2013)
170: Kelis, "Milkshake" (2003)
171: Fatima Al Qadiri, "D-Medley" (2011)
172: Juana Molina, "Eras" (2013)
173: Jhené Aiko, "The Worst" (2013)
174: Abigail Washburn, "City Of Refuge" (2011)
175: A-WA, "Habib Galbi" (2015)
176: Victoire, "Cathedral City" (2010)
177: Light Asylum, "A Certain Person" (2010)
178: Noname (ft. Raury & Cam O'bi), "Diddy Bop" (2016)
179: Laura Mvula, "Father Father" (2013)
180: Sara Bareilles, "Love Song" (2007)
181: St. Vincent, "Digital Witness" (2014)
182: Idina Menzel, "Let It Go" (2013)
183: Jorja Smith, "Blue Lights" (2016)
184: Khia, "My Neck, My Back (Lick It)" (2002)
185: Ms. Dynamite, "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" (2002)
186: Torres, "Sprinter" (2015)
187: Anna Thorvaldsdottir, In The Light Of Air: "Luminance" (2015)
188: KING, "The Greatest" (2016)
189: The McCrary Sisters, "Train" (2013)
190: Phoebe Bridgers, "Smoke Signals" (2017)
191: Ashley McBryde, "Girl Goin' Nowhere" (2018)
192: Emel Mathlouthi, "Kelmti Horra" (2012)
193: Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom,"Otis Was A Polar Bear" (2016)
194: Lizz Wright, "Hit The Ground" (2005)
195: Buika, "Mi Niña Lola" (2006)
196: La Insuperable (ft. Chimbala), "Damelo" (2013)
197: Kaki King, "Playing With Pink Noise" (2004)
198: Demi Lovato, "Cool For The Summer" (2015)
199: Rapsody (ft. BJ The Chicago Kid), "Black & Ugly" (2017)
200: Lori McKenna, "Humble & Kind" (2016)
posted by Homeboy Trouble (47 comments total) 54 users marked this as a favorite
 
"I got more records than the K.G.B." is one of my favourite lyrics ever. I've heard that song probably a hundred times and it makes me smile every time.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:29 PM on August 2, 2018 [9 favorites]


A great list for it's variety, and for reminding me to listen to "Drone Bomb Me" from ANOHNI's Hopelessness (Bandcamp) as a first cut.

Also, kudos to them for making their playlists on 5 platforms (YouTube Music, YouTube Playlist, Spotify, Tidal and Amazon Music)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:47 PM on August 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


That's a better list than I might've expected and I have to love any list that includes Terre Thaemlitz, Mary Halvorson, and Taylor Swift all together. But I might've enforced a "one artist, one song" rule and made room for Goldfrapp's "Utopia," Róisín Murphy's "Overpowered," and Yazz Ahmed's "La Saboteuse."

(And I would've liked to have made room for Glasser, Susanne Sundfor, Cindytalk, and Kylie's "Chocolate.")
posted by octobersurprise at 1:05 PM on August 2, 2018 [4 favorites]


My wife Janelle Monáe is on the list so all is right with the world 👌
posted by Hermione Granger at 1:09 PM on August 2, 2018 [9 favorites]


The reminder that Khia "My Neck, My Back" was (somehow) in 2002 gave me the pleasing sensation of feeling exactly my age.

Good list!
posted by Ennis Tennyone at 1:24 PM on August 2, 2018 [5 favorites]


Ctrl-F Fiona Apple...hrm
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:31 PM on August 2, 2018 [3 favorites]


Ctrl-F Fiona Apple...hrm

The hedge in the list compilation is that the most substantial contributions should be after 2000, I believe. I'd put her debut as the most significant so far, though you could argue that I suppose.
posted by jzb at 1:35 PM on August 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


Well, Fiona Apple's Tidal is pre-2000, so she's not an "artists whose debut album came after January 1, 2000." But the "artists whose most substantial contributions came after January 1, 2000." dodge makes is a little weird that she appears not at all.

I take greater issue with the absence of Katie Stelmanis/Austra and inclusion of Evanescence.
posted by crush at 1:36 PM on August 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


No Sleater Kinney or Le Tigre/Julie Ruin?
posted by politikitty at 1:42 PM on August 2, 2018 [6 favorites]


Austra on KEXP <3

Stuff not on the list? Lemme see!!!
posted by Ennis Tennyone at 1:46 PM on August 2, 2018


No Sleater Kinney or Le Tigre

Yeah, Le Tigre, especially, given how huge Feminist Sweepstakes was at the time.

(One of my recent favorite tweets was someone repeating "What's your take on cold spaghetti?")
posted by octobersurprise at 1:48 PM on August 2, 2018 [7 favorites]


No Kimbra, either.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:52 PM on August 2, 2018


Stuff not on the list which should be: double-jointed, triple-threat Dessa:
Bandcamp
Twin Cities PBS broadcast schedule (clip)
NPR Tiny Desk
KEXP 2013 and 2018
Paste Studio Live

An evening of poetry (Dessa and others)

She's also a delight on twitter
posted by crush at 2:00 PM on August 2, 2018 [5 favorites]


dammit my band never makes it in to these lists grump grump grump
posted by capnsue at 2:02 PM on August 2, 2018 [3 favorites]


Couple quick points, I am far more familiar with this list of female musicians than I would be of a corresponding one for say novelists or filmmakers. Second, I haven't looked around NPR music in awhile, and they are leaning hard into this rosewave thing.
posted by Keith Talent at 2:04 PM on August 2, 2018


This list ... doesn't make me that fighty! I think it is actually pretty great! That is unexpected!

OK, I'm a little mad "Maps" isn't number one but that's mostly because my husband commandeered the band at our wedding to sing me a slightly tipsy but really heartfelt version. For the record, the guy on the accordion nailed the guitar riff.
posted by minervous at 2:07 PM on August 2, 2018 [6 favorites]


I don't know a lot of the 200-100 artists, so I've got some listening to do for the weekend.

hell yes to Brandi Carlile at #9.

Can't believe Winehouse was 2006. I.. don't know when I expected that song to be from - it's clearly not a 90s tune - but it feels so damn classic.
posted by curious nu at 3:56 PM on August 2, 2018


What, no Pussy Riot?!
posted by evilDoug at 3:57 PM on August 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


On a Positive note: Juana Molina!
posted by evilDoug at 4:00 PM on August 2, 2018 [2 favorites]


No Screaming Females. Shakes fist angrily, but 'follows' playlist on Spotify to check out all the other awesomeness.

Shocked to see M.I.A. up there on top honestly. I now want to go back and see what kind of reviews NPR gave her when she first released Kala.
posted by viramamunivar at 4:20 PM on August 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


Two songs by St. Vincent, no songs by Bjork?
posted by GladysKnight at 4:30 PM on August 2, 2018 [2 favorites]


Would you honestly say Bjork's most substantial contributions came post-2000?
posted by rewil at 4:50 PM on August 2, 2018 [3 favorites]


Yes because of Vespertine
posted by GladysKnight at 5:26 PM on August 2, 2018 [2 favorites]


Some from my complaints last time, and fit the 21st century thing, and picking one I really can't ever get enough of:
Ladytron (Destroy Everything You Touch), Asobi Seksu (Red Sea), Alela Diane (White As Diamonds), Glass Candy (Digital Versicolor), School of Seven Bells (ILU), Chairlift (I Belong in Your Arms), Dum Dum Girls (Rimbaud Eyes), Austra (I Love You More Than You Love Yourself), Yamantaka // Sonic Titan (Whalesong), Chromatics (Looking for Love), Warpaint (Disco//Very), Stealing Sheep (Not Real)
posted by lmfsilva at 5:36 PM on August 2, 2018 [5 favorites]


I basically agree with the list as far as who's on it, not 100% with which songs they chose for each artist.
Also huge huge shout out to my fellow Chilean Ana Tijoux, with "1977".
posted by signal at 5:51 PM on August 2, 2018 [2 favorites]


I gotta say, except for Evanescence, this is a really good list.
Except for Evanescence.
posted by signal at 6:08 PM on August 2, 2018


Also except Katy Perry.
And Evanescence.
posted by signal at 6:10 PM on August 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


IMHO, this is missing Laura Veirs / "Fire Snakes", Jolie Holland / "Goodbye California" (or "Morning Birds"), Little Dragon / "Little Man", Neko Case (dissed again?) / "Blacklisted" , Bat for Lashes / "Daniel", Mirah / "Monument". I can make a pretty good case for Cat Power too. I don't know the Taylor Swift songs they list, but I do know "Shake It Off" was kinda ambient in the consciousness for a couple of years.

Glad they're doing this - and hope we can get to a time and place where we don't require a separate space for womens' songs to inhabit. I know I slowly came to realize that I tended to make playlists of mostly male artists with token females included. My mixes improved immensely when I started consciously trying to balance gender.
posted by SoundInhabitant at 6:20 PM on August 2, 2018 [2 favorites]


Interesting list.

Would have liked to see these on there:

Nina Nastasia (Our Day Trip is my favorite but can't find a video) - Cry, Baby, Cry

Marissa Nadler - Thinking of You or Ghosts and Lovers

Scout Niblett - Kiss

If instrumentals are welcome: Julia Kent would have been cool, and Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou

Good to see EMA on the list, though I would have chosen Marked. Same for Grouper, and I would have chosen the same song.

Take the above with a grain of salt. Hadn't heard the song they chose for #1 before and couldn't make it through the thing.
posted by dobbs at 6:42 PM on August 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


As for Grimes, Oblivion is a good song, but no Kill V. Maim or Flesh Without Blood?
posted by signal at 6:46 PM on August 2, 2018


Didn't Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre, and Julie Ruin do their best work in the 90s? This is post 2000 stuff.
posted by dobbs at 6:46 PM on August 2, 2018


No, Feminist Sweepstakes came out in ‘01? (I’m not gonna look this up.) And One Beat came out in 2002. (I listened to that album while I waited for my oldest niece to be born.)
posted by octobersurprise at 7:30 PM on August 2, 2018 [3 favorites]


babymetal but no 2NE1 (2011 I am the best) or Blackpink (2017 Boombayah)? I can see Ddu du ddu du not making the list as its only been out for a little over a month (but with 200mm views and climbing, you gotta believe it would make the next list)
posted by forforf at 8:08 PM on August 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


viramamunivar, you made me curious. It looks like they gave it a pretty positive review:

Even if her politics may not prove as irresistible as her rhythms, the scope of her musical ideas and the focus of her execution have both improved over the last two years. Her debut rolled in on a wave of hype, but with Kala, M.I.A. shows that she's a formidable tidal force all her own.

I think I've had this song stuck in my head for the past 11 years.
posted by montag2k at 9:09 PM on August 2, 2018


I woke up this morning and thought "Wait, 'Toxic' isn't on that list." Which is a shame, because it's one of the great pop songs of the early aughties and it's a little sad to see Spears entirely forgotten.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:15 AM on August 3, 2018


My recommendations:

Susanne Sundfør: Fade Away
Lykke Li: Get Some
Laura Jansen: Pretty Me
AURORA: Running With The Wolves
BAND-MAID: the non-fiction days
BANKS: Fuck With Myself
Charlotte Gainsbourg: Deadly Valentine
Daughter: No Care
Kate Nash: Fri-End?
Meg Myers: Desire
K.Flay: Blood In The Cut
Tove Lo: Cool Girl
Waxahatchee: Silver
Wye Oak: Holy Holy
Flock of Dimes: Semaphore
posted by Pendragon at 7:09 AM on August 3, 2018 [3 favorites]


> Pendragon:
"My recommendations:


Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your playlist.
Seriously, make a playlist.
posted by signal at 7:50 AM on August 3, 2018 [2 favorites]


> forforf:
"babymetal but no 2NE1 (2011 I am the best) or Blackpink (2017 Boombayah)?

So many QFT in this thread.
posted by signal at 7:51 AM on August 3, 2018


The "substantial contributions" rule is confusing, but I think Neko Case, Gillian Welch, and Susan Tedeschi should be on that list somewhere, even though they all had their first albums in the late 90s..
posted by rocket88 at 7:55 AM on August 3, 2018 [1 favorite]


> forforf:
"babymetal but no 2NE1 (2011 I am the best) or Blackpink (2017 Boombayah)?

I'd also add Red Velvet, 2015 Dumb Dumb.
posted by signal at 8:07 AM on August 3, 2018 [1 favorite]


Missy deserves better than just a feature on a Tweet song! Where's "Get Ur Freak On?" Where's "Work It?" Even 2015's "WTF" is a damn sight better than anything from Katy Perry!
posted by zeusianfog at 9:22 AM on August 3, 2018 [3 favorites]


Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your playlist.
Seriously, make a playlist.


This is the iTunes playlist of the music I listen to on a daily basis.
posted by Pendragon at 9:47 AM on August 3, 2018


From the introduction article:
To make our list, we wanted to zero in on the voices of women and non-binary musicians of this particular era; that is, the artists who belong to this moment, who are making (or made) their best and biggest impact since the start of the new millennium. This meant we considered artists who released their debut albums on or after Jan. 1, 2000. (We did, however, make a few exceptions; artists like Robyn, Tegan and Sara and Kelis, who debuted before 2000 but have made their most substantial impacts in this era.)

I think maybe the better way to think of the artists they included is that they excluded artists who could plausibly be on a similar list of best music from the 1990s or earlier. Bjork, Sleater-Kinney, Missy Elliott, Fiona Apple, Britney Spears, PJ Harvey, hell, Loretta Lynn -- they all had an impact on music before 2000 even if they did release some great stuff this millennium. On the other hand, Tegan and Sara had only put out one indie album and a couple demo cassettes in Canada in 1999 (and they were still Sara and Tegan back then).

It seems to me that from the perspective of the team that made the list, if you want to argue someone who released a debut album before 2000 should be on this list, you're really simultaneously arguing that everything they released before 2000 was insubstantial and unimportant. I'm willing to do that for Tegan and Sara, and even Robyn (sorry, Show Me Love). But I couldn't say with a straight face that Supa Dupa Fly or Dig Me Out or Rid Of Me or "...Baby One More Time" weren't important in their various spheres.

I'd also recommend Ann Powers' accompanying article about the foundations laid in the late 90s; she mentions virtually every exception people have brought up and then some -- Gillian Welch! Erykah Badu! Christina Aguilera! Jennifer Lopez! The Dixie Chicks! -- and also notes that Neko Case is "an artist who's gone on record about not wanting to be included in gender-based lists like Turning the Tables".

PS: I'm grateful to this list for introducing me to: Xenia Rubinos - "Mexican Chef"
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:48 AM on August 3, 2018 [4 favorites]


A few more artists from my hard drive/bandcamp/stack of cds on my desk for no other reason than I think they're all amazing:

Jamie Branch
ohmme
Julia Holter
Carla Dal Forno
Vivek Shraya (who really should be on the list just for the breadth of her accomplishments)
Christina Vantzou
Aisha Devi
Sarah Davachi
Jessica Pavone (who's performed with Mary Halvorson)
Eiko Ishibashi
Eartheater
Crissy Bell (who's song "Citoyenne," in particular, just slays me every time I listen to it)
posted by octobersurprise at 10:04 AM on August 3, 2018


EXCELLENT WORK CRUSH this comment is so important ugh she's so great
posted by clavicle at 12:37 PM on August 3, 2018


I made a Spotify playlist* with the suggestions from this thread, adding a few of my own choices including The Be Good Tanya's Littlest Birds, Macy Gray's I Try.

*There were a few things that weren't on spotify :(
posted by vespabelle at 10:11 PM on August 4, 2018 [7 favorites]


Thanks for the Spotify list, vespabelle.
posted by Pendragon at 2:21 PM on August 13, 2018


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