The 2009 Women of Rock

Nov. 1, 2009

The 2009 Women of Rock
By Kristi Kates 11/2/09

2009’s Women of Rock blend their feminine viewpoints into the world of rock n’ roll to state their views, support their causes, showcase their musical skills and ideas, and sing about everything from love to war, romance to politics, dancing to philosophizing. This year’s nine may be a diverse group, but all of them have made some sort of an impact this year, and only stand to do more of the same in 2010.

9. Karen O.
Although Karen O. could use a little decorum in her life (aka more music, less controversy), she and her band, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, have made big strides this year. The band’s latest album, It’s Blitz! hit stores in March, mixing old-school Siouxsie and the Banshees sounds with danceable beats and art-rock concepts. Karen herself surfaced artistically on stage in a variety of extravagant outfits, including giant headdresses, most designed by her friend, designer Christian Joy. Also this year, the band’s song “Runaway” was featured on Gossip Girl, and Karen and the boys stepped up to replace the ailing Beastie Boys on a main stage spot at this year’s Lollapalooza festival.

8. Shingai Shoniwa
Zimbabwean/British singer Shoniwa, frontwoman for UK buzz band The Noisettes, lands at number eight this year mostly due to the band’s massive radio single, “Don’t Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go),” on which she both establishes herself as a stand-alone pop singer (after providing backing vocals for a wide variety of other bands) and channels a little Gwen Stefani in the process. Shoniwa’s band’s sophomore album hit stores in April, sending Shoniwa and the band on European and U.S. tours, where they shared stages with TV on the Radio, Bloc Party, and Mystery Jets, among others. Shoniwa also supported Amnesty’s Make Some Noise campaign to help stop violence.

7. Sheryl Crow
Singer-songwriter Crow might’ve been under the radar for much of 2009, but that doesn’t mean she was any less busy. Following her performance at last year’s Democratic National Convention and the Get Out and Vote Tour with the Beastie Boys and Ben Harper - and her subsequent work this year with Michelle Obama on charity events - Crow’s been keeping an eye on her health after beating cancer, and spending time in the recording studio working on a new album. She also snagged an Honorary Degree in Music Production from Temple University this past July, and in August, sold her music publishing catalog for a whopping $10 million. That’ll fund a lot more Crow albums.

6. Lisa Loeb
Lisa Loeb started 2009 in a big way personally, marrying Late Night with Conan O’Brien music coordinator Roey Hershkovitz at the end of January. One coastal move from NYC to L.A. later, and it was back to promoting her new album, Camp Lisa, a funny, critically-acclaimed, and catchy mix of popified summer camp songs on which she collaborated with the likes of Nina Gordon and Steve Martin. While the album was snagging honors on NPR music lists, Loeb’s accompanying Camp Lisa foundation provided funding for actual camps - and she still found time to do some touring, start a popular Twitter account (@lisaloeb4real), and make a guest appearance on Gossip Girl.

5. Madonna
Michigan’s own Madonna makes the list again this year because, well, she just keeps accomplishing things in the music industry and beyond. Although her year began sadly with the dissolution of her marriage to director Guy Ritchie, Maddie pressed on, and was awarded Japanese Gold International Artist of the Year in March. In June, she adopted yet another child from Malawi, and began work on what will be her third greatest hits album and the album that will close her long-term contract with Warner Bros. Records (she’s re-signed with Live Nation.) By summer 2009, Forbes Magazines had named Madonna the third most powerful celebrity of the year.

4. Beyoncé
Singer Beyoncé Knowles started her year off with a huge bang, too - by performing the Etta James song “At Last” at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball in Washington, DC while newly inducted President Obama and his wife Michelle danced. In the spring of 2009, Knowles kicked off her third world tour, which took her through the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, as her new singles were doing big business on the European and U.S. charts. Knowles also won Best R&B Artist at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards and Outstanding Female Artist at the 2009 NAACP Image Awards, and teamed up with the Show Your Helping Hand hunger relief initiative to increase meal delivery to food banks.

3. Imogen Heap
Former Frou Frou singer and Grammy-award winner Heap spent the bulk of 2009 getting far more attention on her own than she ever did with the band (although the band was quite successful in its own right.) The classically-trained musician spent much of the year utilizing such online resources as Twitter and Flickr in previously unprecedented ways to keep her fans appraised of the many details of recording progress, track by track, of her latest album, Ellipse,just became available in August. In the meantime, her song “Not Now But Soon” was included on the soundtrack for the popular TV show Heroes, and she continues to work on plans for an Ellipse-promoting tour.

2. Adele
Performing her self-described stylistic songs of “heartbroken soul,” Retro Brit singer-songwriter Adele’s debut album spawned the single “Chasing Pavements,” which would spend much of 2009 gathering various honors. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, she won Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song, while she was also nominated for three 2009 Brit Awards for the same track. In March, she launched a North American tour, and in June relaunched the MTV Unplugged series with an acoustic set. After performances on David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, and Dancing with the Stars, she resumed work on her sophomore album and also posed for Vogue Magazine.

1. Regina Spektor
Soviet-American singer-songwriter Spektor, who first started to catch the edges of Americans’ attention during her performance at 2007’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, has seen her quirky, intelligent songs finally get the kudos they deserve this year. With the release of her 2009 album Far, critics and fans alike sent rave after rave about Spektor’s musical style, instrumental skill, songwriting deftness, and her ability to both craft complex melodies - and perform them live. Spektor headlined the Serpentine Sessions at London’s Hyde Park in June, and went on from there to a number of prestigious European music festivals, from Glastonbury to T in the Park and Latitude. Meanwhile, stateside, her song “Better” was used in the movie My Sister’s Keeper, while both “Us” and “Hero” were featured on the soundtrack for 500 Days of Summer. Spin Magazine profiled the busy Spektor in July, and by that time, Far had been released and had sold 50,000 copies in its first week. For the rest of the year, she’ll be performing selected dates in both the U.S. and overseas - and probably planning Far ahead for her next musical moves.