Photos from the Vignettes' CD release show

Better late than never, right? Here are some photos (all taken by the lovely Ms. Katie Amundson) of the Girl Germs-sponsored Vignettes CD release show at the Hexagon earlier this month!

Openers Trinity (a local, all-female metal band) got the party started with insane guitar solos and filling the stage with headbangers. These ladies were AMAZING!

The Vignettes!

Francis also plays drums!

Freddi also plays guitar!

There was even some dude-tastic slow dancing going on. Awwww....

May's Honorary Lady: Rufus Wainwright

You may remember that we debuted our "Honorary Lady" feature last month (April's was Antony Hegarty). The honorary lady is an artist who may not be female, but who in some way embodies the innovative spirit of Girl Germs - by challenging perceptions of gender, standing up for GLBT rights, contributing to the DIY scene, blazing trails for female artists or supporting feminist ideals.


This month we're honoring Canadian-American singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright. Wainwright is an accomplished, prolific and award-winning musician (he won a Juno award at the age of 25 for Best Alternative Album). Wainwright, who is gay, has been lauded by the Grammies, GQ and GLAAD alike. He participated in Cyndi Lauper's True Colors tour in 2007, which donated profits to the Human Rights Campaign.

One of the many things we at Girl Germs love about Wainwright is the fact that he often collaborates with women and is forthright about their influence on his life  - musically and personally. He not only makes great music on his own, but has worked with his mother, Kate McGarrigle (who sadly passed away this year), his sister Martha Wainwright, and his aunt Anna McGarrigle. His 2006 tribute concert to Judy Garland (backed by a 36-piece orchestra and featuring his mom, sister and Garland's daughter Lorna Luft) was released on CD and DVD in 2007, and is also not to be missed.

Rufus Wainwright's website
Rufus Wainwright myspace

Check him out performing on the Isaac Mizrahi show!

Playlist 5.25.2010

Aretha Franklin	Chain of Fools	Soul Hits Volume 3
MIA	Born Free	Born Free [single]
Golden Triangle	Blood and Arrow	Double Jointer
Helium	Pat's Trick	The Dirt of Luck
[Screaming Females instudio]
Crystal Castles	Vietnam	Crystal Castles II
12 Rounds	Come On In Out of the Rain	My Big Hero
Best Friends Forever	How BFF Breaks it Off With Movie Stars	Best Friends Forever
Sibylle Baier	The End	Colour Green
Twin Sister	Lady Daydream	Color Your Life
Smoke Fairies	Fences	Ghosts
Kostars	Jacqueline	Klassics with a K
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings	Give it Back	I Learned the Hard Way
The Mamas and the Papas	Words of Love	16 of Their Greatest Hits
Throwing Muses	Hazing	University
CocoRosie	R.I.P Burn Face	Grey Oceans
Times New Viking	Devo & Wine	Present The Paisley Reich
Team Dresch	The Council	Captain My Captain
Pat Benatar	Love is a Battlefield	Best Shots
Veruca Salt	All Hail Me	American Thighs
Breeders	Fortunately Gone	Pod
Breeders	Iris	Pod
Breeders	Opened	Pod
The Blow	Pardon Me	Paper Television
Juana Molina	No Seas Antipatica	Son
Anomie Bell	Down	Sleeping Patterns
Sleigh Bells	Crown on the Ground	Crown on the Ground Single

Girls on Film news!

Don't forget - we're kicking off our Girls on Film series with Reviler.org on Monday, and you can join us at the 501 Club all summer long as we screen movies celebrating women in music. Monday's screening will be episodes of MTV's Daria (check the Facebook event here) and we've just announced the rest of the films (click the flier to enlarge it).

On Sunday morning at 9, Anna will be a guest on Culture Queue, Radio K's arts program. She and host Sarah will be discussing the Girls on Film series and the top 7 reasons that Daria is so great!

Playlist 5.18.2010

The Chambermaids	The East Place	Down in the Berries EP
Noun	Holy Hell	Holy Hell
Crass	Shaved Women	Stations of the Crass
Calamity Jane	Love Song	Love Song 7"
Anni Rossi	Crushing Limbs	Rockwell
Splendora	You're Standing on my Neck	In The Grass
Bat For Lashes	Glass	Two Suns
Seven Fields of Aphelion	Pale Prophecy	Periphery
Undercover Lovers	Fake Fly Guys	Ladies First
Crystal Castles	Celestica	Crystal Castles
Bjork	Earth Intruders	Volta
Karen Dalton	Katie Cruel	In My Own Time
Tracey Thorn	Oh the Divorces!	Love and its Opposite
White Hinterland	Icarus	Kairos
Rilo Kiley	The Frug	Desert Blue Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Mika Miko	Totion	We Be Xuxa
Heavens to Betsy	Axemen	Calculated
Rainer Maria	Ears Ring	Long Knives Drawn
Shannon & the Clams	I Wanna Go Home	I Wanna Go Home
Selby Tigers	Droid	Charm City
Lake	Sing 99 & 90	Let's Build a Roof
Cocorosie	Lemonade	Grey Oceans
Cate Le Bon	Hollow Trees House Hounds	Me Oh My
Rufus Wainwright	Greek Song	Poses
Erykah Badu	Gone Baby, Don't Be Long	New Amerykah Part II: Return of the Ankh
Blondie	Atomic	Greatest Hits
Lookbook	The Only Ones	Wild at Heart
Dinah Washington	Drinking Again	Dinah '62
Joanna Newsom	On a Bad Day	Have One On Me

Lady you should know about: The Seven Fields of Aphelion

Tobacco and Father Hummingbird often receive most of the credit for Black Moth Super Rainbow's unique brand of creepy, psychedelic pop, but The Seven Fields of Aphelion (a.k.a. Maux Boyle) is the lady behind all those crazy synth sounds. If you've ever seen BMSR or Tobacco live, you probably recognize her as the tiny figure hunched over a laptop and a pile of vintage synthsizers.

Also an accomplished photographer (she specializes in multiple-exposure 35mm prints that combine industrial images with natural ones), The Seven Fields of Aphelion released her debut solo LP, Periphery, on Graveface back in February. It's more ethereal than BMSR, as the schizophrenic glitchiness and hip hop elements have been stripped away and replaced with haunting, magical soundscapes that are harmonious with her visual work.

Our friends at Now Like Photographs, Radio K's epic instrumental show, featured Periphery as their record of the week . Listen to The Seven Fields of Aphelion's music here and check out her photography here.

Basses Wild: Elizabeth Hart of Psychic Ills

We debuted another new feature tonight on Girl Germs. "Basses Wild" is an opportunity for us to showcase a female bass player in a band that we might not normally play on Girl Germs - a "wild card," if you will (get it?).

This week we featured the song "Red Split" by Psychic Ills, an experimental band from New York that combines elements of drone, noise and psych to create futuristic, yet hauntingly timeless songs. Elizabeth Hart, Psychic Ills' bass player (and the only lady in the band) is not only a great musician, but her stage presence is nothing short of mesmerizing. She is also involved in the NYC dance-music collective Skint. Psychic Ills just released a new 12" EP, Astral Occurrence.

Check out this epic video for "Mantis," and see what we mean by mesmerizing!

Psychic Ills myspace

And the special announcement is...

Sorry to ruin the surprise if you haven't yet streamed tonight's show, but we finally spilled the beans about this super special secret business we've been planning.

Girl Germs and Reviler.org present Girls on Film: a summer movie series at the 501 Club celebrating women in music. The first installment of the series will feature episodes of MTV’s cartoon classic Daria, a show chronicling the life and trials of a sarcastic teen wise beyond her years. Not only did Daria stike a chord with people who came of age in the nineties, but its wit, sincerity and unconventional soundtrack endure for audiences today. 

We'll have listeners (that's you!) vote on what episodes we'll be watching. Ohmagah this is gonna be so good! Join us on Monday, May 24^th at 8pm at the 501 Club in Minneapolis for Girls on Film: featuring Daria- brought to you by Radio K’s Girl Germs and Reviler.org.

Thanks Laura!

Thanks again to Laura of Red Pens for hanging out and DJing with us on tonight's show! She picked some awesome music (playlist is here) and gave some great life advice (drink plenty of water and don't ever offer to give her drum lessons).

Make sure to check out the many shows the band is playing this spring and summer, including during Art-a-Whirl this Saturday at the 331 Club and Sunday at the Triple Rock. Also check out the in-studio session they did at Radio K back in June here.

Red Pens myspace

Laura's art blog

Playlist 5.11.2010

The Alpha Centauri	Electrostatic	Lava Rocks
Lena Horne	Stormy Weather	Stormy Weather: The Legendary Lena
Desdamona	I Don't Stop	The Ledge
The Seven Fields of Aphelion	Mountain Mary	Periphery
The Fiery Furnaces	My Dog Was Lost but Now He's Found	Blueberry Boat
Evelyn Evelyn	Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover)	Evelyn Evelyn
Interstate Judy	Pheremone Dispenser	Stuck on AM: Off the Record in Minneapolis
The Mynabirds	LA Rain	What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood
Gospel Gossip	Sippy Cup	Drift [EP]
The Raveonettes	Breaking into Cars	In and Out of Control
Sharp Teeth	Water	Sharp Teeth
The Fall	Hot Cake	Your Future Our Clutter
Pixies	Gigantic	Death to the Pixies
The Kills	Last Day of Magic	Midnight Boom
Sonic Youth	Anti-Orgasm	The Eternal
Babes in Toyland	He's My Thing	Spanking Machine
Babes in Toyland	Right Now	Fontanelle
Mayda	My Circuitry	Voltage: Fashion Amplified
The Pretenders	Back on the Chain Gang	Learning to Crawl
Neko Case	Deep Red Bells	Blacklisted
The Vignettes	Fast Car	I am U/U am I
Julie Doiron	Consolation Prize	I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day
Suzanne Vega	99.9F	99.9F
Psychic Ills	Red Split	Early Violence
Mono	The Flames Beyond the Cold Mountain	You are There
Plasmatics	Corruption	No Hope for the Wretched
Visqueen	Buried Alive	King Me
Marianne Faithfull	The Mystery of Love	Before the Poison

Girl Germs presents: The ViGNETTES May 13 at the Hexagon Bar

Girl Germs is proud to present The ViGNETTES' EP release and tour kickoff at the Hexagon Bar this Thursday, May 13. The local duo of Francis and Freddi Vignette is a staple of the Twin Cities DIY scene. The fact that they hand-make their album artwork and merch only adds to their fun and exuberant songs. The band will be celebrating the release of their excellent self-released I am U/U am I EP and it's one of the last times they will be playing in Minnesota before they move to Memphis!

The show starts at 8pm, there's no cover, and it's 21+. Also performing are: Little Dog on Top of a Big Dog, The Bombay Sweets, Seytanlar, and Trinity (a local all-female metal band!). See you there!

Playlist 5.4.2010

Sonic Youth	Malibu Gas Station	The Eternal	Matador
Girlschool	C'mon Let's Go	The Very Best of… Girlschool	Castle Music
BNLX	Do Without	EP # 1	Susstones
Deee-lite	Deee-lite Theme	World Clique	Elektra
ESG	Erase You	A South Bronx Story	Soul Jazz
The B-52's	Lava	The B-52's	Warner Bros
The Mynabirds	Let the Record Go	What We Gained in the Fire We Lost in the Flood	Saddle Creek
X-Ray Spex	Identity	Germfree Adolescents	Virgin
Be Your Own Pet	Bicycle, Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle	Be Your Own Pet	Ecstatic Peace
The Amps	Empty Glasses	Pacer	4AD
Prinzhorn Dance School	Up! Up! Up!	Prinzhorn Dance School	DFA
Slumber Party	Why Do I Care?	Slumber Party	Kill Rock Stars
The Seven Fields of Aphelion	Mountain Mary	Periphery	Graveface
Scout Niblett	Kings	The Calcination of Scout Niblett	Drag City
Tiny Vipers	Dreamer	Life on Earth	Sub Pop
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings	She Ain't A Child No More	I Learned the Hard Way	Daptone
Tom Tom Club	Dangerous Dub	The Good, the Bad and the Funky	Ryko
The Little Girls	Not a Perfect World	The Clear Album	Ramo
Vivian Girls	Wild Eyes	Vivian Girls	In the Red
Lydia Lunch	Solar Hex	Shotgun Wedding	Triple X Records
Koalas	Hold Your Breath	Koalas	Self-released
Eagle and Talon	Tight Score	Thracian	Self-released
Red Pens	Reasons	Reasons	Grainbelt
Best Coast	This is Real	When I'm With You [7"]	Black Iris
Bis	Famous	Intendo	Grand Royal
CSS	Believe Achieve	Donkey	Sub Pop
Lightning Dust	Wonder What Everyone Knows	Infinite Light	Jagjaguwar