Jaclyn Barbarow

One Hand Loves the Other

admin — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 01:43:00 +0000

I admit I have a soft spot for local music, and One Hand Loves the Other hails from my local music scene in Atlanta, where the group’s name is a familiar sight on posters for local venues. The classically infused electro-pop band’s first full-length album is marked by extraordinary vocals, creative electronic stylings and classical instruments like the cello. On first listen, I wasn’t sure whether I should get up and dance or sit back and close my eyes. I settled on a combination of the two, letting the rhythmic percussion of “Burden of Barnacles” get me on my feet, then allowing the piano-driven “Petey Penance” to chill me out. The classical tones eased my usual aversion to electronica, creating a new way to hear the full-bodied music. Attributing perhaps to the diversity of the band members’ backgrounds, this album took my unsophisticated musical taste to a new height of appreciation for collaboration among styles, sounds and people.

Written by: Jaclyn Barbarow, September 4th 2007

Women of Our Time: 75 Portraits of Remarkable Women

admin — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:40:00 +0000

By Frederick S. Voss

Merrell

Opening Women of Our Time, I expected to find glossy photos of Eleanor Roosevelt, Marilyn Monroe, and other names and faces I recognized. While I found summaries of the lives of Roosevelt and Monroe beside typical portraits, I also found glowing descriptions and realistically unflattering pictures of women whose names I had never heard or whose faces I had never seen. Among the familiar list of names and unfamiliar faces were Margaret Sanger, pioneer of birth control rights; Anne Sexton, a poet who wrote with heart-gripping emotionality; and Pearl S. Buck, whose works I had read in high school with little context. Among the women whose stories had been hidden to me until now were Rosalyn Yalow, a medical physicist who made in-roads into male-dominated fields; Frances Perkins, the first woman to hold a post in the U.S. Cabinet; and Zitkala-Sa Bonnin (also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin), an author and activist for Native American rights.

As broad and deep as the selection of featured women is, my only complaint is also about the selection. While a number of black, white, Asian and Native American writers, artists, activists, politicians and scientists are featured, nearly all of the subjects whose fame was acquired outside of the arts are white. The inclusion of Congresswoman and lawyer Barbara Jordan and Vietnam War Memorial architect Maya Lin is heartening, but surely a broad survey of ground-breaking women in the 20th century could offer a more inclusive pallet.

Written by: Jaclyn Barbarow, August 31st 2007

The Trucks

admin — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 12:41:00 +0000

By The Trucks

ClickPop Records

The Trucks’ self-titled album is a consciousness-raising, therapeutic jam session that sounds like the musical lovechild of riot grrrls Sleater-Kinney and gay glam-rockers Scissor Sisters. The foursome’s first outing makes the personal political by letting off steam about subjects as varied as emotionally distant lovers, the politics of neighborhood bullies, sexual assault and concepts of beauty. No single song sounds like the next, showing off the band’s ability to be creative and engaging.

The song “Zombie” gets you on your feet with the girls asking: “If this is the end, would you die not dancing?” and “Man Voice” is an eerie ballad reminiscent of Lolita’s captivity in Nabokov’s classic novel. Despite the often-heavy topics, their good humor is evident in their wardrobe (often corsets and fishnets) and their lyrics (“You’re always talking shit/Your mouth just never quits”).

This band that began in response to a music festival’s conspicuous lack of women performers could be the cool older girls who grew up next-door to you and who you always wanted to be more like.

Written by: Jaclyn Barbarow, June 5th 2007