THIS IS AMERICA - Girl Groups' in Rock Music

THIS IS AMERICA - Girl Groups' in Rock Music
By Robert Brumfield

Broadcast: Monday, February 02, 2004

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VOICE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. In the later years of the twentieth century, female musicians helped define¹ new sounds in popular music. These bands are often called "girl groups." This week, learn about three of the most influential².

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During the nineteen-seventies, guitar bands filled popular radio. One of the first all-female guitar bands on the radio was the Runaways⁴. They appeared with their first album in nineteen-seventy-six.

The music of the Runaways had the sounds of all-male heavy metal bands like Kiss and Aerosmith. But listeners could also hear the influence of punk music. Groups like the Sex Pistols⁵ and the Ramones made this kind of music popular.

Here, from that first album by the Runaways, is a song called "Cherry Bomb."

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Like other rock and roll groups, the Runaways sang about teen-age rebellion⁶. But here the girls in the songs did everything that boys did. One song was about breaking out of a jail for teen-age girls. The song is called "Dead End Justice."

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Three of the Runaways -- Lita Ford⁷, Cherie [sheh-REE] Currie and Joan Jett -- went on to separate lives as performers. But before the group broke up, they made two more recordings⁸ together. Here is the title song from their album "Queens of Noise."

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In the nineteen-sixties, the Beach Boys defined⁹ the California sound ...

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... but in the nineteen-eighties, it was the Go-Go's.

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Like the Runaways, the Go-Go's were influenced by the punk movement. But their music was more fun. In fact, their carefree sound influenced a lot of the "new wave" music of the nineteen-eighties.

The Go-Go's had one of their first hits with this song from nineteen-eighty-one, "We Got the Beat":

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Most of the songs by the Go-Go's were written or co-written by guitarist Charlotte Caffey. A strong guitar and drums drove the sound, carried along by electronic pianos and led by the strong voice of Belinda Carlisle.

This song, "Vacation," is still played in American dance places.

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The Go-Go's broke up in nineteen-eighty-five. During the nineteen-nineties, they worked together from time to time. And they released a few collections of older material. Then, in two-thousand-one, the five members reunited and produced the album "God Bless the Go-Go's." The band continues to perform together.

 
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"God Bless the Go-Go's" kept with the sound that made them famous. The album includes this love song called "Stuck in My Car."

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In the early nineteen-nineties, music produced independently of large record companies became more and more popular. The city of Seattle, in the Pacific Northwest, became known for what people called grunge music. All-male bands like Nirvana and Pearl¹⁰ Jam became famous.

In nineteen-ninety-four, two young women, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, formed a group. They called it Sleater-Kinney. They named it after a road near the city where they met in college: Olympia, Washington, south of Seattle.

Their first album was released by an independent record company, Chainsaw Records of Olympia. Here is "Slow Song" from that album.

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Sleater-Kinney was part of a movement in punk music from the early nineteen-nineties known as "riot¹¹ grrl" [girl] ... G-R-R-L. This movement was an answer to the mostly male culture of punk music. It started with all-female groups like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile.

Sleater-Kinney is not as widely known as other bands in the country. Yet in two-thousand-one, Time magazine declared this three-member group "America's Best Rock Band." The words to their songs are both personal and political. Many of the songs have to do with women's rights. This one speaks out against sexual¹² violence. The song is called "#1 [number one] Must Have."

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Sleater-Kinney has recorded six albums so far. For their third album, "Dig Me Out," they left Chainsaw Records. Since then, the band has been with another independent record company, called Kill Rock Stars.

They recorded their most recent album, "One Beat," in two-thousand-two. It has been the biggest success to date for Sleater-Kinney. It includes this song, called "Oh."

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Many music critics say the Runaways, the Go-Go's, and Sleater-Kinney have had a big effect on an industry where males hold most of the power. In fact, some consider them among the most influential groups ever to record music in America.

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Our program was written by Robert Brumfield and produced by Caty Weaver¹³. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week for the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA. We leave you with a Sleater-Kinney song. It's called "You're No Rock 'n Roll Fun."

1 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

4 runaways   

（轻而易举的）胜利( runaway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They failed to find any trace of the runaways. 他们未能找到逃跑者的任何踪迹。
• Unmanageable complexity can result in massive foul-ups or spectacular budget "runaways. " 这种失控的复杂性会造成大量的故障或惊人的预算“失控”。

5 pistols   

n.手枪( pistol的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Meantime he was loading the pistols. 而同时他在往手枪里装子弹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two strangers menaced him with pistols and forced him to give up his money. 两个陌生人用手枪威胁他并强迫他拿出所有的钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rebellion   

n.造反，叛乱，反抗

参考例句：

• The next year they rose up in rebellion.第二年他们就揭竿起义了。
• The new government quickly suppressed the rebellion.新政府迅速把叛乱镇压下去。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

8 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

9 defined   

adj 定义的; 清晰的

参考例句：

• These categories are not well defined. 这些类别划分得不太明确。
• The powers of a judge are defined by law. 法官的权限是由法律规定的。

10 pearl   

n.珍珠，珍珠母

参考例句：

• He bought his girlfriend a pearl necklace.他给他女朋友买了一条珍珠项链。
• The crane and the mother-of-pearl fight to death.鹬蚌相争。

11 riot   

n.暴（骚）乱，（色彩等）极度丰富；vi.聚众闹事

参考例句：

• They had to call the police in order to put down the riot.他们只得叫来警察以平定骚乱。
• Flowers of all sorts are blooming in a riot of colour.百花盛开，万紫千红。

12 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

13 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。